關於 current state of nature ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

Exposing a Popular Erroneous Teaching in this Season

““If I shut up the sky so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles‬ ‭7:13-14‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

Recently, due to current events in the world, there have been many erroneous teachings based on the passage above.

People are saying that the bush fires in Australia, the locust swarms in Africa, and the COVID-19 pandemic are God’s judgments upon the world for their sins.

Most of them then sincerely ask people to turn from their sins and pray to seek God’s forgiveness so that He would heal their lands.

This is complete nonsense because if the people could turn from their sins by themselves, why was there a need for Jesus to come and die on the cross?

These erroneous teachings are just going to bring people back to bondage under the Law and make them think that God is punishing people with droughts, fires, plagues and pestilences.

“But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation; namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians‬ ‭5:18-19‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

It is not God doing these. They are either effects of the fallen state of the earth, or caused by Satan and his demons.

“in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience;” (Ephesians‬ ‭2:2‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

Don’t forget that the apostle Paul called Satan “the prince of the power of the air”. It means that Satan has some limited power over nature in this world. Causing fires, tornadoes, pestilences and plagues are not beyond his ability.

God is not using all these bad things to threaten the world into repentance. It is not the stopping of their wicked ways that causes God to heal them and their land. God already paid for healing of mankind and the earth through the blood that Jesus shed at the cross.

To suggest that your efforts at turning from wicked ways is the basis for God healing your land is a huge insult to Jesus’ finished work at the cross.

Have you really turned from all your wicked ways in both thought and deed, and can you ensure that your whole nation does that perfectly? Don’t be foolish and go back to bondage under the Law and works-based justification.

God knows that man will continue to sin because of their sinful flesh, and He already poured out His full wrath for sins upon Jesus at the cross. You cannot perfectly stop sinning for the rest of your life because you still have sin in your flesh, but all the condemnation for sin is gone because it has all been exhausted in Jesus who was offered up as your substitute.

Can you pray for God to heal your land? Sure, do that and also pray that God will save the people in your land through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But know this clearly that it is not because of you turning from your wicked ways that God hears and heals. It is because of Jesus’ finished work at the cross—the precious blood that paid for your sins and the death that established the New Covenant of Grace.

“Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatians‬ ‭5:1‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

Stand firmly in the freedom of Grace and don’t be again entangled in the Law!

Learn how to properly understand the Four Gospels through the Lens of Grace so that you know what applies to you today, what was for the past, and what will be for new dispensations in the future: https://bit.ly/understandeveryparable

China’s “New Squabbling Situation” (Lee Yee)

Yesterday, I mentioned that the US deterred the Soviet Union’s intention to employ nuclear weapons to attack China’s military base in 1969, and since then implemented a half-century policy of interactions with China. Although the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has always said that “the US will never give up their ambition to destroy our nation,” looking back at history, even when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China in the nineteenth century, the US did not make territorial claims from the Qing empire. Instead, it advocated “open doors to share the benefits equally” to avoid China being carved up. The US’ share of the Boxer’s indemnity has been gradually paid back through the training of Chinese talents and the studying of Chinese students in the US. The Rockefeller Foundation founded the Peking Union Medical College (PUMCH) in 1917, the predecessor of Tsinghua University, bringing modern western medicine into China. When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, a veteran American military aviator Claire Lee Chennault was hired as an aviation adviser and trainer in China. He organized the First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, and assisted China in fighting against the Japanese in World War II.

In response to the anti-China speech given by the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a mainland Chinese netizen commented, “you needed education, they gave you Tsinghua University; you needed medical care, they gave you PUMCH; you needed to fight against Japan, they gave you the Flying Tigers; you needed to oppose the Soviet Union, they gave you a platform; you needed to open up, they gave you foreign funding; you needed trade, they gave you a trade surplus...You say that they have an endless ambition to destroy your nation, they will give it a try!” This is a very vivid description of how Sino-US relations have evolved so far.

Just a few days before Pompeo delivered his “Communist China and the Free World’s Future” speech, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi also gave a long speech at the inaugural ceremony of the Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy Studies Centre on July 20. The speech was titled, “Study and Implement Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy Conscientiously and Break New Ground in Major-Country Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics." I share the URL here ( https://www.sohu.com/a/408705618_99900926 ) and strongly recommend readers to browse this masterpiece. Let’s see if anyone can tell me after reading it, what is the content of Wang’s three to four thousand words on “Xi’s Thought on Diplomacy,” and what specific facts were there about “breaking new ground in major-country diplomacy.” Nowadays, the daily news is about Western countries’ policies, acts, and speeches directed at China and Hong Kong. Mainland netizens have recently lined up the front-page headlines of the Chinese internal newspaper “Reference News,” and they were all, “China condemns…, China warns the UK…, China is resolute to fight back…” This is not at all a new diplomatic situation but a new squabbling situation.”

After reading Wang’s speech, why not make a comparison to see if this Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, who has the same ranking as the US Secretary of State, is of the same caliber and merit as Pompeo? Then you will understand why the US now refuses to restart dialogue with China and only looks at China’s actions.

Looking at the successive Chinese foreign ministers after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, with the exception of the time during the Cultural Revolution, Zhou Enlai, Chen Yi to Qian Qichen were all decent. I still remember that after the breakthrough in Sino-US relations in 1971, the New York Times columnist James Reston visited Zhou Enlai in China and their battle of words was brilliant. Why does the current foreign minister only speak empty words but know not what they are?

Of course, this is related to the current situation in China for the apotheosis of the core leader. In addition to the unknown “Xi Jinping’s Thought on Diplomacy,” there will be “Xi Jinping’s Thought on Economics, Education, Military…” one after another.

A netizen quoted Wang’s speech and left a comment, “Brown-nosing is linguistic corruption and spiritual bribery...The giver only has to expend dignity and cunning with words, and the recipient is rewarded with personality and public interests. It is consensual for both giver and taker, and they usually have a tacit understanding where they jointly commit an ugly conspiracy...In a totalitarian society, brown-nosing is a multiple outbreak and refractory Covid-19. After an organized and large-scale epidemic, it will eventually become an incurable disease of personality cult detrimental to the entire nation and society.”

German Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that “the nature of folly is a moral rather than an intellectual defect.” I believe this moral defect stems from a totalitarian system. When power becomes absolute, all those in power at various levels will, as Lu Xun said, “fawn upon their superiors and be overbearing upon those below.” The regime causes those with authority to never hear the true voice, how is this not stupid?

Here in Sabah, May is known as one of the most important events of the year as it is the month of Kaamatan. During this month, the Kadazandusun tribes celebrate Harvest Festival as a symbol of gratitude towards the spirit of rice, also known as Bambarayon. 🎑

Due to the current outbreak, the annual state celebration at Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA) will not be celebrated this year, but let's keep the Kaamatan spirit in our hearts.
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📸 @sakurannaa
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#sabah #borneo #malaysia #tourism #photooftheday #nature #fun #photography #beautiful #enchantingsabah #travellater #traveltomorrow

2 New Karazhan Cards revealed Hearthstone Taiwan Fireside gatherings summer party !

New Card Reveals - Book Wyrm (Dragon), Moroes (Legendary)

Two new Karazhan cards have been revealed courtesy of Ben Brode! Say hello to the new Neutral Dragon, Book Wyrm and the Legendary Neutral, Moroes!

Lead Game Designer Ben Brode revealed the two Neutral cards on Hearthstone's Taiwanese Twitch channel.
It's been two days since the announcement of Hearthstone's upcoming adventure, One Night in Karazhan, but the steady flow of new cards keeps on going. Whereas yesterday two class minions were shown, today two Neutral cards cashed in their invitation to Medivh's party. First up is Book Wyrm, a Neutral rare dragon. It's effect is reminiscent of Rend Blackhand, although Book Wyrm's stats are far better for its cost. Book Wyrm looks for a place in a more Control version of Dragon-oriented decks, but the question is if at the current state of the game a Dragon Control deck can find its way. Dragon Warrior is one of the strongest decks at the moment, but has a more aggressive nature. Moreover, it already has a strong 6-drop that suits its nature more: Drakonid Crusher. One also has to wonder what minion with 3 attack or less will be up on the board by turn 6, and is threatening enough for it to demand removal.
The second card to be revealed is legendary minion Moroes, a servant of Medivh. It's end-of-the-turn effect is somewhat similar to Hogger, with the downside of Moroes being that he summons 1/1's without taunt, but with the upside of Moroes having stealth. The Stewards summoned by Moroes could become pesky over time, yet still it will be hard for Moroes to immediately find its place in the meta. Having only 1 health makes it incredibly easy to remove, even with stealth. With Warriors (running Ravaging Ghoul) and Token Druids (running Swipe) found everywhere, let alone Shamans that have a copy of Lightning Storm, Moroes is killed easily. Some combination with Steward of Darkshire might make it more sticky, but Moroes probably would have benefitted most from Hobgoblin, had the latter been still in Standard.
Be sure to check out our One Night in Karazhan spoiler page, with all the revealed cards of the new adventure!

Book Wyrm
Battlecry:if you're holding a dragon,destroy an enemy minion with 3 Attack or less.

Moroes
At the end of your turm,summon a 1/1 Steward.