The Mind Of A Pastor

For Whose Sake

2012-02-17T14:19:00.001+08:00

A reporter once interviewed a person who was involved in humanitarian ministry. This person was well known for the great sacrifice made in humanitarian work. The reporter asked what motivated the person to make such great sacrifice and the answer was the person did it for self. The person wanted to make sure that enough good deeds are done to ensure salvation. My immediate reaction was to shake my head.

I know it is easy to cast a judgment on the person. However how many of us can truly say that we are not doing what we are doing for ourselves? I am certainly in no position to judge another person’s heart and I can only examine my own heart. Even then my heart can be so deceiving.

On Sunday mornings I rush to make sure I am on time for Church. The reason I would like to give would be because it is God whom we are going worship and thus we should be early. However many times I found myself rushing for a myriad of other reasons. One of the biggest reason is because I am the pastor and at other times because I have invited speakers. I have to constantly remind myself it must be because I am going to worship God.

In preparing for my sermons, it is a constant battle of trying to impress the hearer and being faithful to the exposition of God’s word. It is not easy to differentiate the intent most of the time. It is only when I react to feedback given that I am able to know what is truly in my heart. I always pray for God to enable me to deliver His word faithfully and carefully because it is His WORD.

I question the intent of my heart when I show care and concern for others. I have to ask is it because I see it as my responsibility or am I compelled by the love of Christ? Both entails an obligation, one is an obligation out of love for Christ and the other is out of love for self.

Outwardly I can be seen as a good pastor. I can be caring and be a good expositor of the word. I can be a very good teacher and a visionary leader. In the eyes of many I may be considered a very good pastor. However if my aim is to develop a personal branding then what I have done is only pleasing in men’s eyes. I am not doing it for the glory of God. It may well be a case of “I must increase “and not “He must increase and I must decrease”.

I may have given my life to full time ministry work but it does not mean that I have given my life to Christ. I may have made many sacrifices to serve in the Church but it does not mean that I did because of Christ.

The apostle Paul has set for us a good example through many of his letters. In Philippians 1:21 he declared, “For me to live is Christ.” In 2 Corinthians 5:14, he wrote, “For Christ’s love compels us.” In Galatians 2:20, he shares, “I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” In 1 Corinthians 10:31, he exhorts us to do all things for the glory of God.

Who are we living for? For whose sake are we doing what we are doing? Consider what it means to do all things for the glory of God and may we live a life that is compelled by Christ’s love for us.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

Psalms 139:23-24

In Prayer We Trust God

2012-02-10T10:46:00.000+08:00

Why do we pray? How do we react when our prayers are not answered?

I was reading a devotional by Oswald Chambers and he made some remarks on prayer that really caught my attention.

He wrote, “Whenever the insistence is on the point that God answers prayer, we are off the track. The meaning of prayer is that we get hold of God, not of the answer.”

I began to ponder on the times when I do not get the answer that I am looking for from God in my prayers and how I have felt dejected and I begin to ask why I feel dejected. I ponder on the times when I just learnt to fully trust in God and expected Him to work things out by a certain time and it was delayed and I felt disappointed and I begin to wonder why I felt disappointed more specifically why I was disappointed with God.

I wonder what I am really seeking when I pray. Is it wrong to make petitions to God? The answer is no because we are instructed to make petitions to God? So if it is not wrong to make petitions to God than should we not in faith trust God to answer our prayers? The answer is yes we should trust God to answer our prayers. However the focus of our petitions is not on the answers but on God, when we bring our petition to God, it is an expression of our faith and it should lead us to learn to trust in Him completely. In making our petitions what we should ultimately seek is God. Whatever the answer to our prayer maybe, we learn to trust in God completely.

We were also instructed to make intercessions for others and perhaps we may feel more justified in expecting God to answer our prayers. After all we are praying for the good of others, it is not about us. Again there is a need to refocus. In making intercession we represent the needs of others to God but in so doing what we are expressing is our God given love for others which must stamp from our love for God. So even in making intercession for others our focus is still primarily on God.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray in Luke 11, He began by telling them the manner on how they should pray and He began by saying, “Father hallowed be Your Name.” The very first focus of prayer is on the glory of God’s Name, the very first focus of our prayer is God and not us.

If we are only impress with God when our prayers are answered, we too have missed the whole point of prayer. When we only give thanks to God when our prayers are answered according to our desire we have missed the true essence of prayer. Paul exhorts us in Ephesians to give thanks for all things and in Philippians he reminded us we are to rejoice always. Regardless of circumstances regardless of the answers to our prayer we give thanks for all things and we rejoice always because we are giving thanks to God and we are rejoicing in Him. God is the source of our thanksgiving and He is the source of our rejoicing.

“Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’”

Matthew 6:9-13

The Mortification Of Sin

2012-02-03T17:28:00.000+08:00

I was listening to a sermon online and it was one of those fiery sermons on sin. The speaker gave an illustration that I have heard before but never quite applied it. It is a story of a monkey who put his hand inside a cookie jar and got stuck in it. Upon seeing the hunter coming, the monkey struggled to get his hand out but was not able to because his hand was still grabbing on to the cookies. Often that is how we deal with sin, we struggle with it but we refuse to let go of it.

The scripture exhorts us in Colossians 3:5,

“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.” What it primarily calls for here is a mortification of sin meaning to put sin to death. It is what Romans 6:11 exhorts, “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Sin is often still very much present in us and the temptations of the world is very alluring and we do often struggle with sin but consider with me our struggle with sin, how do we struggle with it? I suspect often we struggle with sin in our own strength. We use many creative means to try to prevent us from falling into temptations and it usually works for a while that we find ourselves falling again. While an ongoing struggle with sin does provide proof of our faith but it can be also because we are relying on our own strength or it can be something more than that, it could that we are still in love with our sinful life.

When we talk of the mortification of sin, the aim may be to destroy sin completely but note that we are unable to do so in this lifetime. Just because we have some small measure of success in overcoming sin, we think we have destroyed. It will not be long before the sin revisits us.

When Paul is sharing his struggle with sin, in that somewhat controversial passage in Romans 7, he asked, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” and in the very next sentence he proclaimed, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” The answer is simple enough isn’t it, “Through Christ.” but how?

It is by being dead to sin and alive in Christ. To be in Christ means we no longer struggle with sin but we put to death all our sinful desires. To mortify sin we must place our absolute trust in Christ and rely on the Holy Spirit to give us the strength. Unless we are truly converted we cannot mortify sin. The mortification of sin involves surrendering every area of our life to God. It involves a willingness to obey Him in all things. Every area of our life must be lived out in obedience to God.

We cannot begin to put sin to death until we begin to surrender our all to Christ. Unless we learn to let go of our desires and surrender them to Christ, our struggle with sin will always be a struggle it will not lead us to put it to death.

We may desire to do what is pleasing to God, we may desire to live a life of obedience but that desire must be expressed through the surrendering of our all to Jesus

“So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

Romans 8:12-14

"I" At The Centre

2012-01-13T11:28:00.001+08:00

It was observed that we lived in a very self centred world, which is nothing really new actually. One of the most phenomenal products invented in this century begins with “I”. Often we go through life without realizing how much the “I” is at the very centre of our life. It is therefore really not surprising that when it come to our faith, the “I” will naturally take centre stage.

Many in the churches respond very well to the love of God and it is so touching when told that even if there is only person in the world God will still send His Son to die on the cross. Many would naturally be drawn to conclude that if they were the only person in the world God would still send Christ down to die. It sounds good but it is a ridiculous statement to make. It is a statement that panders only to the natural inclination of the “I” because it is an impossible scenario; it is not going to happen. Right from the beginning of creation God has already determine that it is not good for man to be alone. I would discourage us from using such an illustration as it does not magnify the love of God it only serves to magnify our ego. The love of God is fully displayed on the cross where Jesus was hung.

Our culture encourages us to be self motivated and to have faith in our self to achieve and you wonder why I make it sound so negative. Even within the body of Christ that is how we often encourage one another isn’t it. Another of our favourite phrase is God help those who help themselves. I know the intentions are good especially when we try to encourage students to not just pray but to do their part by studying as well and indeed we must do our part in that sense. However as good as the intention of phrases like these may be but often they have no biblical basis. God helps those who helps themselves is certainly not in the bible at all, in fact scripture points to the fact that God helps the helpless and this is so very true when it come to our salvation. For it was when we were yet sinners, spiritually dead that God sent His Son to die for our sins and call us to a new life. Sadly we do attempt to try to take some credit for our salvation when there is none at all for us to claim. It is all glory to God.

Is it any wonder than that you seldom hear the call to take up our cross and follow Jesus when that is one of our most fundamental calls as Disciples of Christ? It should not come as a surprise to find people lifting up their fist when faced with tribulations rather than bowing in submission to the Lord.

Even when we decide to walk in obedience to God we may be in danger of having the inclination to want to dictate terms for our obedience. When our obedience does not lead us to the desired consequence we protest and rebel. True obedience demands that we obey God period and we leave all the consequences with Him. Regardless of consequences we simply obey.

I also know that many wants to know the secret to a successful prayer life and by definition it is usually a prayer life that always sees God answering our prayers. We want to learn the secret of how we can claim God’s promises or “command” God to answer our prayers.

The secret to a successful prayer life begins with a heart willing to submit and it leads us to a total submission to God. It is not something we are willing to do when we are so pre occupied with self. We want a dynamic prayer life, we want to lead a powerful Christian life. Many are obsess by those who claim to have the power from God to heal, to send blessings of health and wealth and all leading to personal self gratification. True prayer does not merely lead to answered prayers but it must lead us to God and it is not just bringing us closer to God but it must ultimately lead us to trust in God fully and surrender to Him totally because we know He is God. The journey begins when we acknowledge Jesus not only as our Saviour but also our Lord. It involves the “I” in us to be in Christ, to abide in Him.

The battle must begin in our hearts. The words of a saint 400 years ago rings so true when he wrote,

“It were an easy thing to be a Christian, if religion stood only in a few outward works and duties, but to take the soul to task, and to deal roundly with our own hearts, and to let conscience have its full work, and to bring the soul into spiritual subjection unto God, this is not so easy a matter, because the soul out of self-love is loath to enter into itself, lest it should have other thoughts of itself than it would have.”–Richard Sibbes, The Soul’s Conflict, and Victory Over Itself by Faith, XV:vii:6, in The Complete Works of Richard Sibbes, Vol. 1, (Edinburgh: James Nichol, 1862), 200.

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

Galatians 2:20

What Really Matters

2011-12-30T14:32:00.000+08:00

The countdown towards 2012 has begun, in less than 48 hours we will be ushering in the New Year. And somehow during this particular time of the year it will lead many to reflect on what has gone by and to resolve to do something in the year to come and I am no exception.

As I ponder on what to reflect on, a question begin to prop up in my mind, “What are the things that I have done that really matters?” and as I look forward, “What are the things that I am going to do that will really matters?”

I desire to know the word more deeply, I desire to preach the word more effectively, I desire to proclaim the gospel more clearly; I desire to have a more intimate prayer life; I desire to lead the Church to grow deeper and wider. The question is does what I desire really matters? My desire seems spiritual enough, of course that is not to say I have no other desires, I do, having a licence and having car etc. But let me focus just on the “spiritual: desires.

Does it really matter if I desire to know the word of God more deeply? IAs important as it is to know God’s word deeply but it is pointless if I merely know the word of God more deeply but the knowledge does not lead me to a deeper relationship with the God of the word. So what if I have deep knowledge of the truth but do not lead a life that is deeply entrenched in the truth, it may only make it more puff up than build up.

Does it matter if I am able to preach the word of God more effectively? It does matter if by effective it will lead to a transformation in the life of those who hear His word. It does matter if the word leads to obedience. It does matter if the word brings the hearer back to God.

Does it really matter if I am able to preach the gospel clearly? Negatively it does matter if I can articulate the gospel clearly but not accurately for I will be held accountable to my Lord. It does not matter if I can move hearts with my words without leading to a conviction of sins and repentance for my preaching will be merely in vain.. It matters that the gospel be preached clearly and accurately but it matters more for the presence of the convicting powers of the Holy Spirit to regenerate the walking dead to life to be able to respond to the gospel of life.

Does it really matter if I have a more intimate prayer life? It does not matter if the intimacy does not bring me to a more intimate encounter with God and lead me to walk in His will and follow His ways. For my prayers will be in vain. What matters more than the effectiveness of prayer is an intimacy with the God whom we are praying to.

Does it really matter if my desire of the Church to grow deeper and wider really comes true? It does not matter if it only leads the church to a deeper knowledge of God but not a deeper relationship with God because knowledge will only puffs us up when we do not respond in obedience to the truth. We need to be diligent in studying God’s word but we need do more than knowing the word we need to love out the knowledge in our life.

It does not really matter if the Church grows wider and is strengthen by dynamic programs and strong finance if the body is not in Christ. It does not matter if we grow big and strong if the fellowship of love and truth is missing. It does not matter if the Church is full of people and programs because a true body of Christ must be filled with what Christ is filled with and scripture informs us that He is full of grace and truth. If Christ is full of grace and truth, this is what we must expect of His body. What matters is that we are a body of Christ and not simply a corporate body gathering in a building we call Church?

Many things we do, do not really matter when we measure it in the light of God’s purpose and examine it in the light of His creation. As we reflect on the year that is fast passing by, what have we done that really matters? As we look forward to the coming what will we do that will really matter? We were created to give God all the glory and to enjoy Him forever, should it not be then that whatever we do leads us to what we were created for, is that not what really matters the most.

Have a Most Blessed 2012

“To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ”

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Beyond Celebrating The Birthday Of Christ

2011-12-22T12:25:00.000+08:00

I remembered one occasion while we were celebrating Christmas on the eve and at the stroke of midnight someone brought out a cake and we began to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. I am not about to give a harsh criticism to what I participated in a long time ago and I certainly do not have the intention of lamenting why we have not done that for a long time. The fact is whether we bring out a cake or whether we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus, most Christians who celebrate Christmas treat the day as the birthday of our Lord and Saviour. To many Christians the true meaning of Christmas is all about the birth of Christ.

There are a few problems that we often do not bother debating on but fact remains nobody knows exactly when is the birth of Christ and it is very likely that He was not born on 25 December. There are a number of stories and traditions concerning the origin of Christmas but again the fact is nobody is absolutely certain so I am not going to attempt a piece on the origin of Christmas in this reflection.

So why are we celebrating Christ birth during this season and when was Jesus born? My answer to both this question is it does not matter. As far as I am concern this is the day that many in the body of Christ have chosen as the day to remember the birth of Christ and what it reminds me of.

The birth of Christ reminds me of many things. It reminds me of the amazing grace of God and His great love. It was because of His love that God sent His one and only begotten Son to bring salvation to a fallen world. The birth of Christ reminds me of the immeasurable humility of Christ that He being fully God would be willing to be fully man for our sake. The birth of Christ reminds me of our great offence against God that only through the blood sacrifice of His Son that His wrath against us can be appease. The Birth of Christ points me to the cross and reminds me that it was while we were yet sinners that Christ died for us. The birth of Christ points me to the empty tomb and reminds me of the victory that our Lord has over death and we all can live because of that great victory. The birth of Christ reminds me that our Lord will return one day and the need for me to live a life ready for His return.

It does not matter if we celebrate the birth of Christ or not but it does matter if we proclaim His salvation or not. It does not matter whether people are celebrating the birth of Christ in the world, what matter is that they come to know Jesus as the way the truth and the life. It does not matter how beautifully we decorate the Church, it does not matter if we don’t decorate the Church. It does not matter of we have a grand Christmas program or if we have a simple program. What matters is whether we preach the gospel clearly. For Christmas to be truly meaningful for us as a Church is when we seize the opportunity during the season to proclaim the gospel and continue doing do beyond the season.

May this Christmas brings us beyond the birth of Christ and points us to the crucifixion of Christ. May this Christmas brings us beyond the celebration of the birth of Christ and leads us to the bold declaration of the gospel of Christ. May we go beyond the road to Bethlehem and move onward to the road to Calvary. May we lead people from the manger to the cross.

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7

Coram Deo

2011-12-02T11:10:00.000+08:00

During our Men’s Fellowship, we were given an article by RC Sproul titled, “What Does “Coram Deo” Mean?” It has been many years since I last heard the term “Coram Deo” and it brought back memories of how the word convicted my heart when I first learnt of it. It was a term that made me seriously reflect how I have been living my life and helped me determine who I want to live my life for. Yet at the same time it also brought sadness to my heart because I have all but forgotten this precious word.

So what does “Coram Deo” mean? It is a latin word that literally translates into, “Before the face of God”, it is to live life in the presence of God. To be more precise it is to live all of life in the presence of God. There is no compartmentalization of our life. We do not have a religious part of our life and a non-religious part of our life. It is to live a Christian life both within and outside the Church. Regardless of vocation we are to live out our life with integrity and consistency as a believer and follower of Christ.

The kind of life we are to live involves not only an awareness of the presence of God, it involves being aware that He alone is Sovereign over all and we are to live under His sovereignty. We do so willingly because we are able to recognized that there is no higher goal in life than to live for His glory and giving Him all the honour.

This reminder made me reflect on my own life right now. How have I been living my life? I am beginning to ask myself a series of questions which I would encourage all of us to think about as well. How different is my religious life in Church and outside of Church? Am I only religious when I am in Church or in the presence of a Christian fellowship? Do I live in humble submission to the Lord only when I am in Church and live a life of defiance outside of Church? Am I merely a Christian within the walls of the Church but a pagan outside the Church? Is my life and my conscience led and guided by the word of God? Am I reading the word of God daily so as to be guided by His word?

The most important question that I think we need to ask ourselves is the question that someone asked RC Sproul, “Why are you doing what you are doing?” In answering this question it involves asking, “What is our goal in life?”

In preaching we often asked the question, “What is the big idea?” and this basically means what is the main point of the sermon? Similarly in our life we also need to learn to ask, “What is the big idea?” Consider what Sproul says, “Next to this idea our goals and ambitions become mere trifles.

We have entered into the final month of the year and perhaps we can ask have we been living our life in the face of God and how has that been translated into what we have been doing in the past eleven months. Is Sunday mornings in the service the only time when you are aware of the presence of God? What about the rest of the week? How aware are we of His presence when we work, when we are at home, when we are travelling, when we are on holidays, when we are resting or simply having some recreation? How much do we desire to please our God in the things that we do? Can we say we do all things for His glory?

It is my prayer that we will learn to live, “Coram Deo”, living our entire life in His presence, under His authority and for His Glory.

“Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 10:31

"All Knowing" Daddy

2011-11-25T11:11:00.000+08:00

My son Zachary has a penchant for asking questions and he could be quite relentless in his quest to know more. Just the other day he was asking me all sorts of questions and some involves the cults like the Jehovah Witnesses and the Mormons because he has read about them. I told them that they are cults and explained to him the meaning of cults. He did not give up in asking his question and so he asked why they are considered cults and I gave him some general answers but he wanted specifics. I went against my own better advice to admit I do not know when I am not sure of the details. Instead I began my quest to try and be the all “knowing” daddy as I try to recall all that I have read about the cults but alas my memory failed me. And I lost my patience and mumbled to him to stopped asking me so many questions. I came to my senses some days later and I read up on it and told him what the primary error of the Jehovah Witness was, to them Jesus is not God, they do not believe in the trinity.

Just when I taught I can settle back into my role as the “all knowing” daddy (obviously still have not learn to be humble), while doing our family devotion my inquisitive son asked me another question which was supposed to be a simple one or so I thought. We were reading the verse in Matthew 1:23, “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” My son asked why Jesus was not named Immanuel by Joseph and Mary and this time I was certain I know the answer, surely I know the answer. The I realize I have never thought about it. It was a question that never really came to my mind even though I was supposed to know that Immanuel was the title given to the Son of God. So trying to be the “all knowing” daddy, I mumbled some answers to him which was no answer at all. I had to take another humble pie and read up on it. I gave him the answer a day later.

As I reflect on what happened, I found that I have missed out on two valuable opportunities to teach my son an important lesson on knowledge or the lack of it. Instead of trying to be the “all knowing” daddy which I am DEFINITELY NOT, I should have admitted that I do not know which is true (forgotten or otherwise) and proceed to help him find out the answers or better still search the answers together with him.

There is only one father whom I know is all knowing and He is my Heavenly Father, so the rest of us fathers we are not all knowing and it is ok to say, “I don’t know but let’s try to find the answer together.”

It is important for us to know what we believe and it is profitable for us to be able to answer questions with regards to our faith. However there will be times when the answers slip our mind or we find ourselves stumbled by the questions. In such instances I find two dispositions that I deem very important, one is humility, the other is patience. In humility we must not be afraid to admit we do not know the answer, even for you the “all knowing daddy” or the “all knowing teacher” or like me the “all knowing pastor”. We do not even need to try and find excuses for not knowing the answer at that moment. The more important thing to do is be diligent in looking for the answer and see it as a learning opportunity.

Patience is needed not only with the person asking the question, yes we can get frustrated and impatient simply because we do not know the answer. However we need to be patient with ourselves and realize not everyone is gifted with super knowledge or super memory but we can all learn to be super diligent to learn and to teach His word.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

Psalm 119:105

Right Priorities

2011-11-11T13:07:00.000+08:00

In the prayer bulletin that was distributed during Wednesday prayer meeting, there was sadness in my heart as I read a statement from the prayer request written by Wai Ling with regards to project serve, “Some may face parental objections even if their parents are Christians.” I always find the YFC project serve to be a wonderful discipleship program having witness the changes in our youths who were involved in it and I would certainly encourage participation. Thus it was sad to read what Wai Ling wrote. I can understand objection from non-Christian parents in allowing their children to serve the Lord during their term break but Christian parents objecting as well. Perhaps I may be too quick to jump to conclusion but I certainly hope the Christian parents are pointing the hearts of their children towards the Lord and towards the things of this world.

I have no doubt that parents have the interest of their children in mind and they would want their children to be involved in what they feel is most profitable. They certainly do not want to see their children wasting time in what they deem as non essentials. As a parent I want the best for my children too but I need to ask what the best is.

What is the best for my children? Is it the best that I can afford or the best that the world can offer? How do we determine what is best for our children? To the chosen race during the time of Moses the word of God instructs, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! “ You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. “ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. “ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” The best that we can offer our children is the best that has been given to us. The best that has been given to us is not the things of this world but Christ our Lord.

I do not know why the Christians parents would object to their children serving in project serve but I certainly hope it is not because they feel that their time will be better spent in chalking up their experiences and in building up their resume. Certainly hope it is not so they can yield better returns by earning extra pocket money. I hope that what the parents see as most important for their children is not focus on the created things but on the Creator Himself.

As a student each child has a responsibility to the Lord to be diligent in their God given task. They are to do their best as a student for God’s glory. As parents we are to direct the heart of our children towards the Lord and help them be the best that they can be for the Lord. It is important for a child of God to do what God has enabled him or her to do. However it is vital that the end result is that what has been achieved is to the glory of His name and not for us to boast in. It is important for us to point our child away from personal pursuits and point them towards pursuing the things of God.

How do we do that? By giving them an example they can follow, by living out the right priorities in our lives and pursuing the things of the kingdom and not the things of this world. I am not saying that in pursuing the things of God we neglect our work or we ask our children to neglect their studies. It is not at the expense of neglecting our responsibilities but rather in the fulfilling of our responsibilities our focus in on the kingdom of God and not on our earthly achievements. When we do that what is important and what should be a priority will come naturally.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it” Proverbs 22:6

Reformation Day

2011-11-01T13:59:00.000+08:00

31 October is a popular day in western cultures whereby Children will dress up in various costumes to go trick or treating. In Singapore it is also a popular day with people having costumes parties and many retail outlets riding on the theme. The day we are talking about is Halloween.

Even among Christians most of us know Halloween is on 31 October. However I suspect not many knows that 31 October has an even greater significance for Christians and certainly because of Halloween, which we should have no business celebrating it. Among the reform church communities and among the Lutherans the day 31 October is celebrated as Reformation Day.

On October 31 1517, almost 500 years ago, a young Augustinian Monk by the name of Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis on the Wittenberg Door not realizing that his action would spark the Protestant Reformation.

When Luther nailed his 95 thesis on the door of the Church, he was not going against the Church or intent on starting a revolution. What he did was a common practice during his time to post public notice on the Church doors. His aim was to protest against the sale of indulgences which was also very common during his time. This sale of indulgences was promoted as being able to help people “purchase” for their salvation and the salvation of their love ones in purgatory. It was his understanding of Romans 3:38 that led him to write to the Church. Convicted of the truth that justification is by faith alone, he set out to write against the practice of indulgences.

The protestant movement did not begin on 31 October 1517. The term Protestant is derived (via French or German Protestant) from the Latin “protestari” meaning publicly declare/protest which refers to the letter of protestation by Lutheran princes against the decision of the Diet of Speyer in 1529, which reaffirmed the edict of the Diet of Worms in 1521, banning Martin Luther's 95 theses of protest against some beliefs and practices of the early 16th century Catholic Church. (Source: Wikipedia).

Today I have the feeling that many Protestants are not clear of what exactly our “protest” is about. We know we are different from Catholics but more and more we do not clearly understand the difference. Some may think it is because they worship or pray to Mary but there are Catholics who do not pray to Mary. Some think that the main reason is because Catholics believe in salvation by works and do not believe in justification by faith. Fact is Catholics do believe in justification by faith, they believe that Jesus is the way to salvation.

There are many Catholic doctrines in which we do not agree with but the most fundamental of all is pertaining to salvation and yes it is with regards in particular to justification by faith. You may wonder what the difference is since the Catholics also believe in justification by faith.

One word made all the difference and that word is alone. Romans 3:28 says, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” The term justification by faith alone is not found in scriptures but Romans 3:28 is from the scripture and it clearly states that we are justified by faith apart from works and I believe that is clear enough.

The Catholics while believing in justification by faith do not see justification as a completed work of salvation but just a part of the process. Which is tantamount to saying salvation is not the finished work of Christ. They see the needs for good works to complete their salvation.

The implication is Christ's work on the cross is not a complete work of salvation; we need to do our part. The Bible says we cannot do our part because all of us have sin and fallen short of the glory of God, there is nothing in us that can justify us before God, we are all condemned and we are all under the wrath of God.

We do not know God if we think for a moment that we can work for our salvation. We do not understand the righteousness and holiness of God if we for a moment think we can do enough good works to save ourselves from His wrath.

The word of God is clear when it says to us in Romans 3:10-12, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

The good works that we do apart from Christ are no good works at all in the sight of God, the goodness that we think we have apart from Christ still falls very short of God’s standard. When we continue to insist that we must do good works to complete our salvation, we are still living in rebellion against God by thinking that we are good enough to play a part in saving ourselves. By our insistence we fail to acknowledge that we are sinners, totally depraved sinners that do not deserve to be saved at all if not for the grace and mercy of God.

In our church we do not celebrate Reformation Sunday but as a body we must learn to see the significance of that day because many have died defending the faith that we hold, many have died to ensure that the truth is kept. However more important than the reason that many have died is the fact that the truth was declared and made known to the masses that were kept in the dark. Today we must continue to proclaim the truth and today we must continue live in the confidence of our salvation in Christ alone and hold firm to the truth that we are justified by faith alone.

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophet, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” Romans 3:21-28

Why are sad?

2011-10-21T11:35:00.001+08:00

Recently we saw the passing of what many considered to be one of the most creative minds in the world today. Millions are using at least one of the products he has created. Despite the disappointment of many who were waiting for the arrival of the Iphone 5 only to be disappointed by the Iphone 4s, his death still sent the sale of the latest Iphone once again into the millions. Last count I heard was about 17 million or more. I did not cry when Jobs pass on but must admit that I was sad to hear of the passing of a great mind and I was also seriously contemplating getting an Iphone 4s because like many I felt that it is the last product that came out of Apple while he was still alive. Just for your info, I did not wait for the Iphone 4s but I got a free phone for my re-contract instead, a phone that is not popular in Singapore at all, a Motorola Atrix. Even so I wonder why I was sad when this one man pass away.

A friend of mine posted the picture below in his facebook. “1 PERSON DIES and 100 million cry; 1 MILLION DIES and no one cries.” (sorry picture did not show up) An exaggeration perhaps but it nonetheless jolted me for it is not too far from the truth. My friend commented that it is an upside down world we are living in but I rebutted and said it is not upside down it is self centred. I said that it is a self centred world because the only reason why millions would cry for this one man is because the lifestyle of those millions has been greatly influenced by the products of this one man. He has produced brilliant toys that captivated many. He has changed the way we listen to music, the way we communicate and he has done what no one has dreamt of before.

The millions who died of starvation or in poverty do not affect the millions in the world. There may be many whose hearts may feel a bit of a pity if they were to see some picture of poverty and death but soon enough they will forget for their minds are preoccupied with when will the Iphone 5 be presented.

In further reflections I would like to correct myself and state that it is not a self centred world, it is a world lost in the total depravity of sin. For it was sin that led us to rebel against God, it was sin that turned us away for the One who can truly satisfy, the One who can give true pleasure and delight. Ever since our rebellion we have been pursuing after what is after all vanity, running after what can never satisfy. We look towards or fellow men to offer us satisfaction and delight. Every once in a while we have someone whom we can put on the pedestal because he has make significant contribution towards enhancing our satisfaction.

However we fail to see that the greater the significant of the contribution the greater the dissatisfaction it will cause in the long run because we will want something even better and at shorter period time. The duration of our satisfaction is getting shorter and shorter, we take hold of one new product today and we are already waiting for the next new thing to come.

All the things in this world that we run after are as the wise man in Ecclesiastes declares, “Vanity of all vanities! All is vanity.” So why are we seeking after the things that can never satisfy. We will continue to seek after the things that can never satisfy if our pursuit is after the treasures of this world.

The word of God reminds us, “For where your heart is, there treasure will be also.” And where our treasure is, it is also where our pursuits will be.

I am not saying it is wrong for us to feel sad because Steve Job has passed away, we should feel sad because no matter how great his achievements was, he still misses out on the all important thing, a reconciliation with God through Christ. No matter what he is still a soul condemned for all eternity. However I am asking us to reflect on why this one man made us feel sadder than the millions who have died or dying of starvation. Could it be like most other people those millions who died have nothing to offer us. Could it be we like the rest of the world feel sad for this one man because he can no longer surprises us with brand new toys? What is the true treasure of our hearts? What do we really seek in life?

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness...” Matthew 6:33

Why Bother Memorizing Scripture?

2011-08-18T12:32:00.000+08:00

I am not gifted with photographic memory although I wished I was. I also realized that not many people are gifted with photographic memory. In fact more often than not I often forget what I try so hard to remember. I remembered the last time when I was very determined to memorize scriptures and I started rather successfully with Psalms 119:9-16, which was a good place to begin my journey. I proceeded on to try and remember the Sermon on the Mount beginning with the Beatitudes. As the weeks and then the months progresses, I begin to struggle more and more until I gave up altogether.

However one thing always bothered me. The psalmist declares, “Your word I have treasured in my heart. That I might not sin against You.” This bothers me because I often wonder how I can keep the word of God in my heart if I cannot recall it in my mind.

Early this year I was determined to commit myself once again to scripture memory. I started all over again from Matthew 5. I took one small step at a time, memorizing an average of four verses a week, it was easy at the beginning but as the verses became more and more each week I found myself mentally challenged. Currently, I am struggling, I have yet to complete the whole of chapter 5. I am stuck at the last few remaining verses but I am not giving up.

While this may be my umpteen attempts to memorize scripture, I use to try doing it during my younger days with various memory cards etc, there is a change in what I am doing now from what I have done before. The difference is one of the mind and the heart. What I did before was simply an exercise of the mind. I was using various means to try to remember the verses, reciting them daily, writing them down etc. I still rely on some form memory system now but there is fundamental difference and the difference is this time round I involve my heart.

Reflecting on the words of the psalmist, “Your word I have treasured in my heart. That I might not sin against You.”, I kept the word of God in my heart and not just my mind and by keeping it in my heart it convicts me to want to live out the truth in my life. I started to reflect on the word of God that I have kept in my heart in dealing with the matters of my heart and the circumstances of my life. What it means to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be gentle etc. It is basically to want to have the desire to keep God’s word in my heart that I may not sinned against Him.

In our family devotion where I am doing a sort of children’s version of the Catechism by Sinclair Ferguson, I am also getting the family to memorize the scripture verses related to what they have learnt for the lessons. Even Adley my youngest son who is turning 4 in November have attempted and currently his favourite verse and the only one he can remember is Psalms 90:2, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.”

Many of us are not good at remembering verses but I want to encourage all of you to do so if you have not started. If you have started persevere on. It is not just about being able to memorize and recite scripture verses but much more than that it is to be able to keep His word in our heart and live out His truth in our lives.

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

Blessed are You, O LORD; Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.

I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word.” Psalm 119:9-16

Short Note

I want to thank all of you for taking time to read my reflections and for the responses that you have given me, both the affirmations and the corrections. It has helped me a lot. I will be taking a break from my reflections and hope to return to writing in October.

Rationalization

2011-08-04T17:45:00.001+08:00

Contrary to what some may think. Human beings are generally vey rational beings. We are very clear in our thoughts and very self convincing in our reasoning. There is often a rational behind every action that we take and every mistake that we make. Even when it comes to our relationship with our Lord and Saviour, we are often very rational.

When we sin the first thing that many try to do is not to confess but to find reasons and excuses. We may say to ourselves, “I am too weak” or we may try to mitigate the seriousness of our sins by saying, “It’s really not that bad” or perhaps we may even ask, “God why did you let this happen to me?”

What God looks for when we sin is not how well we can defend our transgressions but He is looking for a sincere and honest heart that is willing to confess and seek His forgiveness. When we try to rationalize and justify our actions, we are merely promotion a distortion of the truth and finding excuses to sin some more. Full admission and confession will often lead to genuine repentance. When we confess our sins we are putting our faith and trust in the saving grace of God. We are saying we believe You God when you say to us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” However when we try rationalize our acts we are in effect saying to God I don’t trust you, I trust in myself.

What about in the area of faith? The word of God tells us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”. Many know the verse but how many are living out the truth of the verse. We often rationalize more than we pray, we reason things out with one another more than praying together. Decisions are often determined by our reasoning and analysis rather than trusting in God. The amazing deeds and miracles of God are often restricted to being mere true stories found in the Bible.

In 2 Kings 7 was recorded an event during the reign of Jehoram the king of Israel at a time when the nation was having a famine and were besieged by the Arameans.. The prophet prophesies that the condition will change the very next day and they will have good products available again. Jehoram chief aide using his own wisdom and intellect found out what Elisha said almost preposterous. He declared that even if God were to open the window of heaven and pour out grain it will not be enough to solve the great famine that they are facing. Elisha told the aide that he would surely witness the providence of God but would not get to eat it.

Indeed God moves in mysterious ways which often confound human rationale. It so happen at that time there were four lepers who out of desperation decided to surrender themselves to the Arameans since they were already staring death in the face and thus have nothing to lose. Strange thing was when they reach the Aramean camp they did not find a single soul but amazingly all the supplies and the animals were there. Apparently God has caused the Arameans to hear the sound of great army marching towards them and they were so terrified that they fled and left everything behind. One can only imagine how thunderous the sound was that even seasoned soldier fled without even bothering to pack. The king was duly informed of this. He was initially sceptical but soon he led the plunder of the camp.

Now what happen to his chief aide, well he did bore witness to the event but was trampled to death in the midst of the plunder thus fulfilling the prophecy of Elisha. Is this merely a biblical story? No it is a true account and a testimony of the hands of God at work. God has not and will not change, He is the provider then and He is still the provider now. The question for us is how far are we willing to trust in God or would we rather try to rationalize things out like the chief aide of Jehoram.

Faith in God often requires prayer and waiting upon the Lord, faith involves looking beyond our circumstances and simply trusting and waiting on the Lord. Many things are impossible when we evaluate base on our human rationale and faith is often impeded by our reasoning. Human reasoning does not lead us to the will of God for often our vision will be restricted by what our eyes can see but faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Prayer will lead us to the presence of God and enables our hearts to be quiet that we may hear Him speaking to us.

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,” Ephesians 6:18

Has The Swan Lost Its Feathers?

2011-07-28T10:26:00.001+08:00

One hundred years before Luther, the man who ignited the flame of the Protestant Reformation, there was a man by the name of Jan Hus from Bohemia (present day Czech Republic). He was the rector, the person in charge, of the University of Prague. While a visiting student at Oxford, he was greatly influence by the teaching of John Wycliffe and he became a great defender of his teachings. He also became an outspoken critic of the Church to the point where he publicly denied the power of the Pope to issue indulgences and questioned the existence of purgatory. As to be expected he was excommunicated and place before the Council of Constance to defend his views. While there he was put in prison for six month and at a mock trial, where he refuse to recant of his views, he was charged as a heretic and given the death sentence. It was said that before he was burnt at the stake he uttered, “You may roast this goose(Hus means goose in Czech) but a hundred years from now a swan will rise whose singing you will not be able to silence.” Almost a hundred years later came Luther who was a great admirer of Jan Hus, and who believed that he was the swan Hus spoke of, shook the foundation of the Church. He unleashed the doctrine of justification by faith alone on the world. Today at the base of the great statue of Hus in Prague is written these words, “Great is the truth; and it prevails.”

More than five hundreds has gone by since the reformation and I do wonder if the swan has begin to drop her feathers and the fire of the reformation has lost its heat. I wonder if personal experience has taken over the authority of the word and absolute truth replaced with subjectivity.

Without any statistics to make any firm statement, I can only offer my own personal observation. What I have firstly observed is the apparent clarion call of the reformation, “Justification by Faith Alone” does not seem to be so apparent today. I do wonder how many people understand the meaning of the justification by faith alone and more importantly understand the great significance.

Many Christians used to think that the Catholics believe in salvation by works until they realize that Catholics also believe in justification by faith and they begin to wonder why we are still Protestants. Even among Protestants, those who purportedly understand justification by faith alone is saying it is not scriptural because you cannot find the term in scripture. What has distinguished most of the Protestants from the Catholicism and Eastern Christianity is being questioned within the Protestant ranks. Others simply could not be bothered about this doctrine at all. Fact is although you will not find the term justification by faith alone in the whole of the translated English Bible, a few hundred statements that imply that we are all justified by faith Alone. One example is Romans 3:28 where it is written, “RO 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” The fact is we are all justified by faith alone for if the faith that justifies is not alone then it would imply that our salvation can never be certain. I would even go all the way to say that we will have no salvation because no amount of work that we can produce can ever justify us before God. This is not just an important doctrine, it is a critical doctrine that we must know and cling on to.

Men like Luther cannot shake the foundation of the Church and create such a great divide if they have not the truth in their heart. I wonder if Luther in declaring “justification by faith alone” will be standing alone today among many churches.

Men like Jan Hus died because of their conviction of the final authority of scriptures. They would sooner die at the stake then betray their conviction of the absolute truth found in scriptures. I wonder if the goose (Hus) will feel that even the swan is being roasted today if he is still alive.

In evangelism the gospel has taken a backseat in place of personal testimony because the full gospel in its unadjusted form is deemed to be irrelevant and not engaging enough for the society today. Personal experience seems to have taken over scriptural authority. Often when engaged in a debate over scriptural truths the big “buts’ often have to do with what they have personally experience which does not tally with scriptures and experience usually gain the upper hand.

If the people of God who have been convicted by the truth and authority of the word no longer read the word and no longer seek to be guided by the word. The swans will indeed lose it feathers. If the people of God choose to cast aside the important doctrine of justification by faith alone aside for the sake of unity not only will the flame of the reformation be extinguish but the foundation of the gospel will be broken. For at the very heart of the gospel is the doctrine of justification by faith alone and as Martin Luther aptly puts it, “It is the article upon which the Church stands or fall.”

My encouragement to all of us is to know the truth and live out the truth. You cannot know the truth unless you study the word of God, you cannot live out the truth unless you submit to the final authority of the word.

Let us pray that the truth will prevail. Don’t let the swan lose it feathers.

“For, “ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER.” And this is the word which was preached to you.” 1 Peter 1:24-25

Pre-Believers

2011-07-21T10:18:00.002+08:00

Some years back I came across a term which I am not sure where it originated from. It was a term for non-believers which made it more inclusive, pre-believers. When I first came across the term, I thought it was a rather positive and creative terminology. It carries a rather optimistic hope that all would turn to the Lord. Soon I notice that the trend kind of caught on with Christian organizations and Churches. Initially I did not give the term much thought beyond seeing it as something positive or optimistic.

However when I ponder deeper about it, I realized it can be in danger of holding more subtle danger of turning salvation into something universal. Universal salvation or Universal reconciliation as it is known is the belief that ultimately, because of the love and mercy of God, all will be reconciled back to God and no one will go to hell.

I know it may sound like I am stretching it a bit too far but if I were to bring the term pre-believers to its logical conclusion, it will mean that everybody is going to be saved. The term itself implies that. If everyone is a pre-believer that can only mean that one day everyone will be a believer, they may even die a pre-believer but they will eventually be reconciled back to God.

The term pre-believer is becoming or has became a very popular terminology and most people who uses it are not advocates of universal Salvation, they just hold the hope that one day the non-believers will come to receive the gift of salvation. The argument is that we do not know who will be saved, so everyone could be a pre-believer. In so doing we could end up implying that someone can be saved through our efforts. We have the responsibility to share the gospel with others but salvation is found in the power of the gospel and not the power of our efforts or persuasions.

Truth is no one can with certainty say that someone is a pre-believer because you are assuming that he or she will become a believer. Furthermore given the fact that the majority who have pass on from this life did not turn to the Lord, non-believers will better reflect the situation more than pre-believers.

Perhaps you may argue that a pre-believer, as far as you are concern, is someone who will eventually be saved and he is known by God and so the person is a pre-believer. The point is God knows but we don’t so why persist in using the term when it can lead to wrong conclusions. In all of scriptures you will not find the term pre-believers, only unbelievers and sinners.

I know some in trying to use the term pre-believers hope to be inclusive and not create an exclusive faith. However the fact is our faith is exclusive. It excludes all other means of salvation except through Christ and Christ alone. It has only one primary means of communication God’s salvation plan and that is through the gospel. We may share our testimonies, our experiences and stories but these are not the gospel. To all who have received the free gift of salvation, we all come under the Lordship of Christ and called to live a life that is set part for God.

There are no pre-believers, you are either a believing and forgiven sinner or you are an unbelieving sinner. It is exclusive and not inclusive. When we use the term pre-believer we are being presumptuous in assuming that the person will become a believer. Our task is not to determine who is a believer; our task is to share the gospel with all unbelievers.

This may seem like a trivial issue but all it takes is a little yeast to affect the whole batch of dough. The damage that comes out of something seemingly harmless cannot be measured for by the time you realized it, it is too late.

“He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:5-6

Priority In Worship

2011-07-14T16:06:00.000+08:00

I was trying to encourage my son, Zachary, to join his school trip to Taiwan at the end of the year as I felt the exposure will be good for him. However he was very reluctant to go and I asked him why. One of the most unexpected reasons that he gave me was that if he were to go, he would have to miss going to Church on Sunday. I asked him if he meant it or was it an excuse that he is trying to use. He said he meant it.

What my son said was the same stand that I have made many years back.. Corporate worship has been a priority that I have set since the Lord called me into His kingdom. I admit my attendance at worship is not 100%, there were times when I had to miss Church services. These were mostly because of duties I had to perform such as during my army days when I am on duty and in my secular job when I had to miss worship on two or three occasion. The other times when I miss worship was when I was sick or under hospitalization leave.

Except for one or two occasions when I confess I did compromise on my stand, I have made it a point to not go for my holiday over the weekend. I have missed going for weekend trips with friends and I skipped a heavily subsidized trip to Australia because it went over the weekend. For the long vacations that I had that extends more than one week, I have manage to attend Sunday worship services. It has always been my desire to run the marathon but I have never attempted it because it always seems to fall on Sunday and I know I will have to miss worship.

You may sense where all this is going to lead to by now. You may be asking is it wrong therefore to go for holidays over the weekend and miss one or two worship service? Is it wrong to miss one Sunday of worship in a year to run the marathon?

As one Christian body we have chosen Sunday or Saturday for some as the Lord’s Day or our Christian Sabbath. On the Lord’s Day we have set it as a priority to gather together for worship and acts of spiritual devotion. While most Churches do not set rules on what can or cannot be done on Sunday but often our activities on the Lord’s Day will go according to our Christian conscience under the Lordship of Christ. To answer the question is it ok to miss one Sunday of worship out 52 Sundays a year to go for a holiday or go for a run. We need to answer what does worship really mean to us?

Do I desire what the psalmist desire when he sing, “As the deer pants for water brooks so my soul pants for you.” Or do I rejoice as the psalmist rejoices when he sings, “I was glad when they say we will go into the house of the Lord.” How would I then feel if I were to miss one Sunday of worship knowing that there are only 52 Sundays a year?

I know some will say we can worship God anywhere and anytime and that is true but as part of a body of Christ in the local Church that He has placed us in, we have made a commitment to worship God together as one body on the Lord’s Day. God desires us to come together in worship because we are one in Christ. So the question is as a Church is worship a priority? How would you feel if a Church decides one Sunday to take a break and not have any worship services?

If we say that worship is a priority of the Church, than worship must be our priority because we are members of the body of the Church. The primary reason why as a Church we gather on Sunday must be because we are gathering to worship God as one body and in our worship we completely put our focus on God and do everything to give Him the honour and glory.

We were created for His glory and we have the privilege as a body to come together to give Him the glory through our worship. Worship is and must be a priority for us as a Church.

So if worship is a priority of the Church and worship must be our priority because we are the Church, what does it mean when we say worship is our priority? What does it mean for us to see worship as very important and to be placed before other things?

However it is important for me to remind all of us to go beyond just considering our Sunday attendance for we may face the danger of turning a day of rejoicing to a day of burden, worship is much more than that.

“Consider the Lord's Day an honour and delight. Let your heart be elevated in holy joy, and your lips be employed in the high praises of God. This day more resembles heaven, than any other portion of our time; and we should endeavour to imitate the worship of heaven, according to that petition of the Lord's prayer -- "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Never permit the idea to enter your mind, that the Sabbath is a burden. It is a sad case, when professing Christians are weary of this sacred rest, and say, like some of old, "When will the Sabbath be gone, that we may sell corn, and set forth wheat?" As you improve this day, so probably will you be prospered all the week.” Archibald Alexander, First Principal Of Princeton Theological Seminary.

“Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.” Psalm 95:6-7

Courageous Wizards And Romantic Vampires

2011-07-01T11:25:00.000+08:00

During the 17^th Century people caught practicing the black arts of magic are burnt at the stake. Today we create fictional heroes who practice the black arts of magic. Through the likes of the Harry and Potters, we popularizes the art of wizardry though boyhood innocence which grew darker as the fictional series progresses. What we allow our young to read and watch, are they harmless fiction or evil sublime influence?

Through the mind of Bram Stocker, an evil living dead was created in the form of a blood sucking vampire. While I do not endorse how the cross was being abused in the vampire stories but there was a time when the Draculas and Vampires are all pure evil and doomed for destruction. Today we have popular “diaries” of vampires who are diehard romantics fighting over girls with werewolves. Are these merely entertaining fictions that do not harm anyone or are there subtle and sublime dangers being planted in the recesses of the mind?

Books and movies franchises like the Harry Potter series and the Vampire Diaries are very popular especially among the young. The books are usually best sellers and the movies blockbusters. Many are waiting with anticipation part two of the final instalment of the Harry Potter movies.

I remembered when the first Harry Potter movie came out, there were much debates from the Christian community with regards to the theme. I decided to go check out the movie myself having never read the book before. My verdict there was the whole story was just a harmless fantasy. However despite my verdict, I have not seen another Harry Potter movie since.

Now as I reflect on the issue, I stand to be corrected. On the surface books like Harry Potter and Vampire Diaries are really just some harmless fantasy and they are not real. The question is, are they really harmless?

The fact is the series have redrawn the boundaries of what is good and what is evil. Vampires may be fictional but they have always being portrayed as evil blood suckers but the Diaries have turned the vampires into romantic blood suckers who are not necessarily evil. Harry Potter has turn witchcraft into fantasy magic capturing the imagination of the minds of our young. What these books and movies have done is they have turned what was once as clear as black and white into something grey. What we see is a reflection of the culture we lived in today where most things are no longer black and white. We have justified many things we do by classifying them as grey areas but the problem is there are no grey areas with God.

Grey areas are the creation of all of us sinners who want to find justification for our disobedience against God. A sin is a sin no matter how small it is or whatever the circumstance may be that led us to sin. Eve has no excuse when she took the fruit, Adam is not an innocent victim of circumstances, and both participated in the act of disobedience. Perhaps the day will come or maybe it has come that some may say God overreacted over a mere fruit.

What will happen or probably has already happened is many will become insensitive to sin; many will become more unwilling to judge let alone correct others because they feel all things are grey areas. What I am writing will be merely seen as an overreaction of someone who has lost touch with the culture.

Calluses on our hands do not grow overnight, it takes a while for the skin to grow harder and thicker and by the time it has developed we will not really notice it because it has become insensitive. Young minds growing up reading and watching movies such as Vampire diaries and Harry Potter can potentially developed greater tolerance towards what has once been deemed as evil, having been fed poison a little at a time that soon they become insensitive to what is evil. Perhaps you may feel I am exaggerating and making a mountain out of a mole hill but a mole hill given enough time and attention can become a mountain.

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16

Gays Have Rights

2011-06-23T14:38:00.000+08:00

Gays have as much rights as any of us living in Singapore. They have the right to be a citizen of Singapore. They have the right to all the privileges and responsibility accorded to all who are citizens within the framework of the law. They have the right to have relationships with people of opposite gender. They have the right to relationships with people of the same gender. They have the right to work, to have houses to have cars. However to live the gay lifestyle is not an issue of right but one of morality.

The gay lifestyle is not about human rights it is about moral values. Practicing the gay lifestyle not about human rights it is all about going against the natural order of creation. Gay marriage is not about human rights it is all about going God’s ordained institution of the marriage..

Sadly in the ever eroding standards of morality in many of our cultures today, we have turned what was once a moral issue into a rights issue. I saw a video released by the National Organization for Marriage, whereby former New York Giants receiver David Tyree cautions against marriage equality for same-sex partners. He warns that if New York’s State Senate passes the Assembly’s same-sex marriage legislation, it will “be the beginning of our country sliding toward … anarchy.” He was grilled by the interviewer on CNN and to my chagrin, he actually had to defend his stand when he said same sex marriage is unnatural and it seems offensive for him to criticize the moral fibre in community which allows same-sex marriage. There use to be a time when a man is put on trial for committing a moral offence but now we see a man being put on “trial” by a television network for making a firm moral stand.

The reporter challenge Tyree by arguing that there have been many cases of success story of same sex marriage where the couple are able to bring up a “normal” family compared to many broken families comprising of marriage between a man and a woman. It seems that we are replacing moral yardsticks with social statistics. The danger has already entered the society when we see people replacing moral standards with human logics and rights and when freedom of rights and social statistics can be use to justify anything we do.

The Christian body has not been spared either, there has been many controversial appointment of gays into Church leadership and recently the Church of England has proceeded to appoint an openly gay bishop but with a restraining order that he must be celibate. Yet that are still some who have protested the restriction despite an already liberal move.

Thankfully the majority of Churches and denominations in Singapore are still firm in their stand on the issue of homosexuality but I wonder if we can sustain this stand for the generations to come. If we continue on our current trajectory, it will only be a matter of time that we see churches and denomination making a case for the rights of gays to serve as pastors and leaders in the Churches. The trajectory I am looking at is one that is moving further and further away from absolute truth, a trajectory that replaces Biblical authority with numerical popularity and individual experiences.

The moral downgrade even in society and Churches will continue to slide as long as the Bible is no longer the final authority and the final yardstick in governing our lives as believers is being replaced by logic, by what is socially acceptable, by sheer numbers and statistics. It is already happening and the attack is at the foundation of our faith the gospel. We have been seeing the gospel truth being compromised and adjusted to cater to the masses.

Churches are not only accommodating and working alongside people who make adjustments to the gospel but more and more are jumping on the bandwagon because it brings in the crowd. We will continue to see an ever declining moral climate as long as we continue to fan the flame of accommodation. In no time, the issue on gays will turn from a moral issue to a human rights issue. So how should we respond?

I think the first question we should be asking ourselves is what is shaping our mind and our life? Are we shaped by the culture we lived, are we shaped by the pursuits of what society deems to be an acceptable lifestyle? Or are shaped by the word of God? We may not be able to stop the moral downgrade but we can be a beacon of hope for a people lost in the storm of moral depravity. We cannot be silent about our stand, we need to,

“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isaiah 60:1-3

As children of God we need to hold on to the truth and all the more we need to learn to submit to the authority of scripture to pursue the truth and understand that there is only one truth and it is absolute and it is in found in His word and His word alone. Scripture, our Bible is the revealed word of God, it is truth without any mixture of error and it is all sufficient for us to live a life of obedience and to guide us in walking in the ways of the Lord. We must not succumb to the temptation to interpret the truth within the context of our culture but interpret the truth within the context of the Bible itself. Know the truth and live out the truth in our lives.

“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13.14

Developing A Spiritual Habit

2011-06-17T10:54:00.000+08:00

The first thing that I usually like to do when I wake up in the morning is to browse through the morning papers. It is a habitual routine that do not require much effort or prompting. Except for mornings when I am in a big rush, I would usually spend time to read the papers. The first few pages I turn to normally are the Sport’s pages where I hope to catch the latest news on the soccer scene. Even when I need to answer nature’s call, I would bring my papers with me and sit on my “throne”.

It took me a while before I broke the habit. I still try to find time to read my papers in the morning but that is no longer the first thing that I do. The first thing that I do on most mornings is to read His word and some devotional thoughts by Spurgeon or Oswald. It is slowly becoming a habit but I still do find myself battling with the draw of the morning papers.

I used to prefer doing my devotion and reading of scriptures in the evening. When I went into full time pastoral ministry, I began to develop the habit of reading the Bible and spending time in prayer the minute I step into my room. I do that before I do anything else and that has stayed with me since.

After my trip to Northern Thailand last year, I began to treasure spending my first waking period with the Lord. It helps me to keep my focus on the right things and the right things are things that bring glory to God. My habitual prayer each morning would include surrendering my desires to the Lord for it is only then that I can learn to seek first His kingdom. Even then there were many moments when I still find myself seeking first my desires. So it is a daily battle, a daily surrendering for me.

Don Whitney wrote in an article titled, “Discipline Yourself”,

“No one coasts into Christlikeness. Any progress in godliness requires Spirit-filled effort and purpose. But the Christian spiritual disciplines, rightly practiced, can bring some simplicity and order to the process of becoming more like Jesus.”

Growing in our spiritual life takes efforts and requires much discipline. However when the discipline turns into a spiritual habit, it does help a long way. It begins to take lesser and lesser efforts as we grow deeper in the habit of reading and spending time with God and this is certainly one habit I would encouraged all of us to build. It takes discipline to develop a healthy spiritual habit but once you get into the habit, it becomes much easier. I will not say the struggle is gone, we must still constantly watch ourselves lest we fall but with good spiritual habits, it does help a lot.

To grow deeper in relationship with the Lord involves discipline and good spiritual habit does help established strong spiritual disciplines. Be encourage by the word of God which says to us all,

‘But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.’ 1 Timothy 4:7-8

A Drive Thru Church

2011-06-09T16:45:00.000+08:00

There is a Church in a certain State and in a certain town in USA called the First Trinity Unity Community Church that features drive though order similar to what you may find at drive through order booth in a fast food joint in the states. At the booth you can place your order on the type of service you want, request for the type of sermons you prefer, determine how the children ministry should be conducted, demand for how the Lord’s Supper should be serve etc. Would any of us like to go to such a Church where all our wants are met? I am sorry to disappoint but you will not be able to find the FTUCC in the States, it is a fictional Church featured on GodTube (yes there is such a site). It was quite funny viewing the video but in one sense it is not too far from reality.

Everybody has a certain expectation when they come to Church. It may be the type of music they prefer; the way the children or youth ministry is run by the Church, the kind of sermons preached by the pastor or even how well the preacher is able to engage the audience. I have been to Churches whereby audio and visual aids have used by the preacher to enhance his sermon and a sermon without illustrations is often not appreciated and deemed not engaging enough.

There are some who wants to make sure that it is convenient to go to church, near MRT or ample parking space etc. There are some who prefer an early morning service so that they can have the rest of the Sunday to do what they want and others a later service because Sundays are the only time they can wake up later. The list can go on and on, we have our expectations which we deem reasonable and we have heard of the “unreasonable” expectations of others.

Perhaps we may ask, “Is it wrong to have expectations?” Having expectation is one thing but I wonder how many go to the Church and ask what does God expects of us. I certainly do not think that it is an unreasonable question because when we gather as a body each Sunday, we gather as one body to worship and give glory to our God and King, so should not the question then be what is expected of us rather than what we expect from the body.

Come to think of it, we should not be talking about expectations, it is not expectations but identifications that we should deliberate on. We should be learning how to identify a faithful body of Christ and be willing to commit to be a part of that faithful community. A Church is a body made up of Christians like you and I and what we expect of the Church must be what we expect of ourselves because we are the body.

A few weeks ago I sent out some questions suggested by Kevin De Young which I like to repost but this time round, I like to rephrase the question a bit,

Are you faithful in sharing the gospel?

Are you pursuing your understanding of the Bible with clarity and passion?

Are you living out the truth from sermons manifestly rooted in a text of Scripture?

Are you committed in praying for elders/pastors and deacons that meet the qualifications for church office laid out in the New Testament?

Are you obedient in participating in the sacraments that are faithfully administered and protected?

Are you willing to come under church discipline when needed?

Even as you ask do the elders exercise personal care over the flock, do you exercise personal care for one another?

Even as you ask are there good relationships among the staff and other leaders, also are there good relationships among each other?

As much as you seek for the worship service that is put together thoughtfully and carried out with undistracting excellence (as much as possible), have you also check the disposition of your heart when you join the body in worship?

Do you sing the songs with gusto or are simply going through the motions?

Do you a high bar set for yourself as a church member?

Are you as part of the people of the church engaged in personal ministry?

Are you as part of the congregation marked by increasing prayer and evangelism?

Do the pastors and do you believe in the complete trustworthiness of all of Scripture?

Do they and do you take adequate time for study and preparation?

Do they and do you truly believe and eagerly rejoice in their church’s/denomination’s statement of faith, creeds, and confessions?

Are their lives and your lives examples of personal holiness?

“Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.” 1 Timothy 4:16

The Blood Of The Lamb

2011-06-02T12:01:00.001+08:00

There are days when things just don’t seem to go well and I find myself far away from the Lord. There are Sundays when I felt utterly unworthy to stand at the pulpit to preach because I was not walking right with the Lord. So often I felt so unworthy and unqualified to be a pastor especially when I gave my heart a close examination. In moments like these I come before the throne of God and seek His forgiveness.

There are days when everything seems to go just fine and I have this closeness to the Lord that I do not want to leave the oasis of spiritual abundance. There are Sundays that I just felt just good about standing and preaching God’s word. There were certainly times when I simply praise God for the privilege that He has given me to be a pastor. In moment like these I thank God for the victory that I have in Him.

Today is the day when I had to ask the Lord to forgive me for looking at myself and my spiritual health as my qualification or disqualification for His ministry. I was reminded that it is not how I feel and how I have walked with the Lord that determines my qualification. I am seeking forgiveness for thinking that what qualifies me to be pleasing to the Lord is based on the kind of day I had and the closeness of my relationship with Him.

The word of God in Revelation 12:10-11 reminds us, “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”

The grace and sufficiency of Christ is exclusive, it is not dependent on the kind of day or the manner we have walked. I realized during moments when I feel qualified or disqualified, I have failed to understand that is not about me or what I have done that qualifies before the Lord. It is not how well I have stand up against the devil and his temptation that determines whether I walk in victory or defeat. We overcome and we walk in victory on the basis of the blood of the lamb, it has nothing to do with us.

We can and must walk in obedience, we can and must serve with faithfulness and we can and must walk in victory because of the blood of the Lamb. I realized that while my mind will never accept the theology of works but the conviction of my heart does not manifest in how I live. I often fail to live out the theology that I am convicted of. I still look inside of me to do the ministry of God and still seek to be accepted as righteous by God based on my walk and my works. I tried to be righteous instead of hungering thirsting for righteousness. In trying to be righteous, I look to the self and not to the cross. In hungering and thirsting for righteousness I can only look to the cross.

What qualifies us to be a child of God is the blood of the Lamb. What qualifies to be in the service of our King is the blood of the Lamb. What qualifies us to be justified and righteous before the Lord our God is the Blood of the Lamb.

It is so easy to forget that we overcome with the blood of the Lamb, especially when the going gets tough and when we are struggling with our walk with God. It is so easy to simply look at ourselves because I suspect deep down we still want to be in control of our lives we still want to rule our lives. Fact is we belong to Christ, we are His, redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb. We walked in obedience not so that we can be right before God, we walked in obedience because we have been freed by the Blood of the Lamb from our sins. We can rejoice in the Lord and give thanks for all things not because we have a good day but we can give thanks under all circumstances because we know we can overcome by the Blood of the Lamb. The call for all of us is to rejoice always in all things not just when things are going well. We overcome all things because of the blood of the Lamb, let us stop loving ourselves and start loving the Lord for we cannot love ourselves more than the Lord love us. Let us be grounded in the Word of God and not in our wisdom and intellect.

“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”

Revelation 12:11

Doomsday Cometh

2011-05-26T11:06:00.000+08:00

A news report in Yahoo caught my attention. It was about a California preacher who foretold of the world's end on 21 May 2011 but the day has come and gone and the world is still around. Apparently the 21^st May date was revision of a previous date that he set in 1994. When 1994 came and gone he said he miscalculated. Once again with 21 May gone, he again came forward and said he miscalculated. He gave a new date in October 2011.

I remembered when I was a youth attending training union a preacher came and shared about the end times and he scared the living daylights out of many of us and he too made a prediction that the world will end on a certain date in the early 90s if I am not wrong, well the 90’s is gone.

Over the years many have tried to predict when the world will end and when the Lord will return. They try to find some secret codes in the Bible and they read the times of the age and say the world will end at a certain time. Each world war and each major disaster and acts of terrorism always led to people saying that the world is coming to an end. They are certainly not wrong because the world as we know it will indeed come to an end, just that we do not know when.

What caught my attention on the Yahoo news was not the wrong prediction made by the preacher but the many who believed him. One man threw caution to the wind and took his family he thinks would be their final holiday only to see the Saturday of May 21^st come and go and being stuck with a massive bill because he has max out his credit card. Many also poured in millions in donations to help the preacher put bill boards all over the states to announce the coming of doomsday.

The mystery of when the Lord is coming again has always intrigued us. There are many who will continue to try to unravel the mystery to try and discover the secret of when the world will end and when the Lord will return. However, the Bible tells us in 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”

The question for us is not when the world will end, what we should know is it will end and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. The question for us is not will our Lord return, what we should know is He will return. What should we then be considering and how should we then live? This is what the Bible tells us in 2 Peter 3:11-18 continuing from verse 10,

“Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen”

Tough Questions

2011-05-20T11:24:00.001+08:00

A dear brother sent me an article written by Kevin DeYoung and in the article he asked some tough questions for all members of the Church to ask themselves. They are not easy questions but I feel these are some question we all should start asking ourselves concerning our Church.

Is the gospel faithful preached?

Is the Bible taught with clarity and passion?

Are the sermons manifestly rooted in a text of Scripture?

Do the elders/pastors and deacons meet the qualifications for church office laid out in the New Testament?

Are the sacraments faithfully administered and protected?

Is church discipline practiced?

Do the elders exercise personal care over the flock?

Are there good relationships among the staff and other leaders?

Is the worship service put together thoughtfully and carried out with undistracting excellence (as much as possible).

Do the people in the congregation sing the songs with gusto or are they going through the motions?

Is a high bar set for church membership?

Are the people of the church engaged in personal ministry?

Is the congregation marked by increasing prayer and evangelism?

Do the pastors believe in the complete trustworthiness of all of Scripture?

Do they take adequate time for study and preparation?

Do they truly believe and eagerly rejoice in their church’s/denomination’s statement of faith, creeds, and confessions?

Are their lives examples of personal holiness?

Let us hold each other accountable and let us learn to spur one another on as we ponder on the questions above.

“Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;” Philippians 1:27

Love Thy Neighbour

2011-05-11T16:59:00.001+08:00

When we just moved into our new place, I had a good conversation with my immediate neighbour, who shared that her sister is brining her to Church. When she found out that I was a pastor and told her sister about it, her sister said it was divine intervention

We thought it was indeed divine intervention and we still do. However little did we expect that the divine intervention was for us to learn to love and tolerate. When we first moved in, we could at times hear loud banging in the middle of the night and we did not know where it came from. We asked our neighbour and she did not comment much. "Accidental discoveries" from other neighbours brought us to realize that it was our immediate neighbour's doing. She had told me that she would often play music to calm herself and to find peace but she did not tell me that she would often pay Buddhist chants. The volume varies and she could play through the night or start playing early in the morning. We bought radio alarm clock for our children so that they would at least wake up to some soothing music rather than buddhist chants. She has also begun to exhibit strange behaviors, mimicking my mom’s cough when she passes by my corridor and recently we suspect she threw some dirt into our house.

We have yet to determine what triggered her behavior; it could be that she could not stand the noise generated by my children when they are all at home at the same time. My children can out scream the cheering crowd at a Workers Party rally.

Still I must confess that her behavior does get on the nerve and more than one occasion I had wanted to confront. We have been praying for our neighbour and we have been for ourselves to show love and tolerance to our neighbour and we certainly need patience. I am thankful to God for helping me to restrain myself from reacting and for refusing to exercise my rights in confronting thus far.
We have been praying as a family for opportunities to show kindness towards and if we were to knock at her door, it will not be to confront but to bear gifts. This is certainly one lesson that we are learning and to know what it takes to love our neighbour. It is easy to love “thy neighbour” when the neighbour is nice and friendly but it is quite another when they behave erratically and annoyingly. While we try not to be annoying to our neighbours, I admit we expect our neighbour not to be annoying as well. We want to do to others what we want them to do to us but fact is that will not always be the case. I certainly can exercise my rights as a resident to file complaints or I can try to understand the situation and the struggles of our neighbours better.

There was time when very late into the night we heard one of our neighbours playing the piano. I was pretty annoyed that someone would play the piano at such a late hour. My wife made a comment which causes me to not react, she just said perhaps the neighbour is troubled. I can still exercise my right and feel that she can be troubled all she want but don’t disturb others or I can have the freedom to react kindly and lovingly.

The thing that I am also aware of is that kindness and patience towards our neighbours may not always be reciprocated in the same way. That will certainly be a test of patience, a test of one’s wiliness to offer the other cheek , to go the other mile, to love thy neighbour.

Of course loving our neighbour is easier said than done. My children have been quite affected by some of my immediate neighbour’s eccentric behaviour and my daughter had nightmares over an incident. It is a learning process for me and my wife. It is not easy especially when we were not the first to have problems with the neighbour, the occupants before us had a very sour relationship with her and apparently they had stacks of complaints against each other with the housing authority. We certainly don’t want to walk down the same path.

Since we moved into our new neighbourhood, our prayer has been that we can be the light and salt in where we are as a family. Despite the challenges that are in front of us, it is still our prayer to be the salt and light.

“‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’” Matthew 22:37-39

Testifying Christ

2011-04-29T13:04:00.001+08:00

Last Saturday evening I had dinner with some couples and among us was a non-Christian couple. Towards the end of the dinner a brother from our group took the opportunity to share his testimony. He was relating on how God has delivered him from some pain in his body. While his intention was to share Christ with the couple but the main trajectory of his testimony was not leading up to the sharing of the gospel. In sharing God’s faithfulness in answering prayers, he likened God to be like an on/off switch and he can just switch Him on whenever he needs Him. He also went to say that God will always heal when we pray in faith. He then turn to me looking for affirmation but I replied by telling him I beg to differ. I shared that being a Christian does not mean all our problems will go away and believing in God is not simply about Him able to answer our prayers. I took the opportunity to share briefly the gospel. Sadly the brother while agreeing with me, still persisted to share a second testimony of how God healed him on another occasion.

There is without a doubt that God answers prayers and we certainly should not undermine the healing power of God. However God is not a genie who is at our beck and call. He is certainly not a light switch that we can turn on whenever we need the light and turn of when we don’t need Him. We can share testimonies of the goodness of God in our lives but a good testimony does not exclude the trials that we face in our lives and it certainly should include how we came to be convicted of our sins and accepted Christ as our Saviour and Lord.

I have been encouraged in evangelism to share my testimony and I would agree that testimonies help to connect with others. While testimonies can be useful tools to aid us in the sharing of the gospel, testimonies are NOT THE GOSPEL. Our gospel message should have at least four basic elements. The first is people should be led to know that God is our creator and we are accountable to Him. The second is in knowing that our problem began when we rebel against God and refuse His rule in our lives which resulted in us being in a fatal trouble under the judgment of God. The third is in knowing how God in His love have sent His Son as the only way back to God , Christ went to the cross to die for our sins and was resurrected to bring new life to us. Finally knowing that the only way we can have salvation is by confessing our sins and receives the gift of salvation by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.

The brother should be commended in trying to reach out to the non Christians couple and he is certainly enthusiastic in sharing how God has healed him on more than one occasion. While I applaud the initiative of this brother but in his enthusiasm to offer a sensational testimony he painted a rather distorted picture of God. Not only was the picture of God distorted but he failed to share the gospel. This is something that I find prevalent today where many in sharing testimonies of our faith, the focus is often not towards presenting the Christ of the gospel. We seem more eager to present a God who can meet our every wants and needs, a God who will bring us out of troubles and suffering. What is often lacking is the call to repent and turn to Christ. Usually it is to turn to Christ and be blessed and the blessing is not focus on the forgiveness of sins.

Christ came to die on the cross for our sins and to offer the gift of salvation to us. He did not come to bring the kind of world peace that the world expects. He certainly did not come to solve the problem of the world. He came to call us out of this world, to die to self by taking up our cross and following Him. He came to redeem us not so we can live in freedom to rule our own lives. He redeems us by staking His rightful claim to our hearts and to free us from the bondage of sin. He came to enable us to live in freedom from sin and be able to willingly subject ourselves to His rule over us. Our message is God loved us and gave His Son to us so that we will not perish but have everlasting life, it is not so that we can have a good and wonderful life on this earth; it is not so that all our earthly problems will go away. I encourage us to boldly share our testimony but be sure that it Christ we are testifying to.

““For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “ He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18

The Man Who Cries Out In Despair Trust God

2011-04-20T17:46:00.000+08:00

“HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words. Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. But the rest of them said, “ Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split”. Matthew 27:43-51

When our Lord cried out in despair, “My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?” To those who heard him perhaps they may be thinking that He has finally cracked and have given up. In their mind, this Man who claims to be the Son of God is now abandoning His faith in God.

Some may use the despair of the Lord as a source of comfort when they cracked under pressure and lost their trust in God. They may reason that since even Jesus cracked under great pressure so we don’t have to be overtly concern when we lose our trust in God.

The truth is our Lord did not cracked under pressure. His cry of despair was not a display of His lost of trust in God the Father. Our Lord cried because He was forsaken by God. As the weight of sin and guilt came down on Him, darkness hovers the land and God was absent from the scene. His cry of despair was because of the great agony of separation from the Father whom He has never been separated even for a moment from.

Still our Lord stayed on the cross and suffered the agony of separation so that we never have to suffer the same fate. He cried out in despair because He was forsaken by God and He did it so that we do not need to cry out in despair.

Our Lord knew the consequences of staying on the cross. And He knew the irony of His obedience to His Father, knowing that obedience will lead to separation. Yet on the cross He remained, His obedience opened the door for God’s forgiveness for our disobedience. The consequences of His obedience ensure that we do not need to pay for the final consequences of our disobedience.

They mocked the man on the cross and they despised His weakness. They hurl insults upon Him because in their eyes they saw a helpless man who is unable to save Himself. When He was about to breathed His last breath, they still mocked Him saying, “Let’s see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” Little did they realize that it was the death of Christ that leads to the death of death. In His resurrection He conquered death

At the very moment when our Lord gave up His life the veil of the temple was torn into two and the way to God was opened. Now In Christ, no barriers and no law can prevent anyone from coming before God. He cried out,”My God, my God why have you forsaken me” so that Andrew Goh will not have to. He cried out that agonising cry so that those who are in Him will not have to.

On the wretched day the soldiers mocked him,

Raucous laughter in a barracks room,

"Hail the king!" they sneered, while spitting on him,

Brutal beatings on this day of gloom.

Though his crown was thorn, he was born a king-

Holy brilliance bathed in bleeding loss-

All the soldiers blind to this stunning theme:

Jesus reigning from a cursed cross.

Awful weakness mars the battered God-man,

Far too broken now to hoist the beam.

Soldiers strip him bare and pound the nails in

Watch him hanging on the cruel tree.

God’s own temple down! He has been destroyed!

Death’s remains are laid in rock and sod.

But the temple rises in God’s wise ploy;

Our great temple is the Son of God

“ Here’s the one who says he cares for others,

One who says he came to save the lost.

How can we believe that he saves others

When he can’t get off that bloody cross?

Let him save himself! Let him come down now!-“

Savage jeering at the King’s disgrace.

But by hanging there is precisely how

Christ saves others as the King of grace

Draped in Darkness, utterly rejected

Crying, “Why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus bears God wrath alone, dejected-

Weeps the bitt’rest tears instead of me

All mockers cry, “He has lost his trust!

He’s defeated by hypocrisy!”

But with faith resolved, Jesus knows he must

Do God’s will and swallow death for me

D.A Carson

The Man Who Can't Save Himself Save Others

2011-04-13T14:03:00.000+08:00

“In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him.” Matthew 27:41-42

“He saved others; He cannot save Himself.” What the scribes and elders meant as mockery could not be further away from the truth. Indeed the Son of God could not save Himself. The reason He could not save Himself was because He wants to save others. It was not so much He could not free Himself from the cross. To seriously think that the nails could hold the Son of God is the real mockery. It was the scribes and the elders who were making a mockery of themselves by nailing Jesus on the cross and thinking they have the victory because they have succeeded in getting rid of Christ.

The question they should be thinking about if they knew Jesus, is why did He stay on the cross and not save Himself. If they knew the will of God, they would know that the answer is because He wants to save others. He stayed on the cross in obedience to His Father; it was out of love for His Father that He was determined to do His Father’s will. His love for His Father and within that context His love for us kept Him on the cross.

Jesus needs to die on the cross in order that we can be saved. Jesus needs to stay on the cross to take the wrath of God upon Himself in order that we need not come under the wrath of God. Most people have a tendency to think of the wrath of God as only pertaining to the Old Testament. Most today only want to see the love of God and when things do not turn up well, when disaster strikes they question the love of God.

Have we ever paused for a moment to ponder on the symbol of the cross in so many of our churches? The cross does reminds us of how great the love and mercy of God is. However that is not all that we can see in the cross for when think of the Son of God hanging on the cross and when we think of God turning His back on His Son, it is a frightening display of the wrath of God on the sins of men for He did not spare His own Son who took upon Himself all our sins.

The world will look at a person who died for a cause as a martyr but Jesus did not die a martyr; He died to be our Saviour. Without His death we could still be under condemnation and subject to the wrath of God. He died and was laid in the tomb in order that He may conquer death and reign in victory. In His victory we have life, a newness of life.

The mockers were not just the scribes and the elders, the mockers included the disciples. They were expecting their Saviour to overwhelm the enemies not realizing that if He did that they all too would have been overwhelmed as well, for all of us are God’s enemies,. Romans 5:10 states this very clearly, “For if while we were enemies..”

It was because Christ stayed on the cross that Paul can continue to write, “..we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

Let us watch ourselves least we too mock at our Saviour by making a mockery of His salvation. We do that each time we question His love, we do that each time when we refuse to submit to His Lordship. We mock Him when we sweeten the gospel and adjust it thinking that by so doing we can meet the needs of the hearers. We do that when we bring our worldly ways into the world thinking that the ways of God is not relevant to our modern world. Stop trying to mock the Lord.

“ Here’s the one who says he cares for others,

One who says he came to save the lost.

How can we believe that he saves others

When he can’t get off that bloody cross?

Let him save himself! Let him come down now!-“

Savage jeering at the King’s disgrace.

But by hanging there is precisely how

Christ saves others as the King of grace

The Man Who Is Utterly Powerless Is Powerful

2011-04-06T15:42:00.002+08:00

(A reflection on the ironies of the cross based on Scandalous by DA Carson)

“As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink. And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “ THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” At that time two robbers *were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Matthew 27:32-40

We know Jesus could have come down from the cross if He intended to. However, we also know the consequence if He had done so. We know that but his mockers do not know it thus they mock at Him. In their eyes he was no more than a joke, a man who made such big claims suddenly looking so weak and powerless.

They make a mockery out of Jesus for they deemed it to be an atrocious claim that He would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. Not even our modern technology today can achieved such a feat let alone the technologies of during the days of Jesus. Now seeing the Man who made that claim hung half naked on the cross with blood oozing out of Him and barely alive, they can’t help but mock at him. They did it because they do not know who they were mocking. They do not know that it is by staying on the cross that Jesus is displaying His power of tearing down the temple and rebuilding it in three days. It is by staying on the cross and looking so powerless, that He intends to display the power of His resurrection and establishes Himself as the chief cornerstone of the temple of God.

While we cannot imagine ourselves staying at the foot of the cross mocking at our Lord but if only we knew how often we have mocked our Lord when we laugh at what we deem to be weak. We still perceived strength and power with a very worldly perception; it is often still very visual. A strong and growing Church automatically must be one that is big and have deep financial means. We still see someone who is outspoken as powerful and someone soft spoken as powerless. We still in many ways deem meekness as weakness and we hate to lose out. Contributions often count more than faithfulness, eloquence is valued higher than humility and sophistication is much more appreciated than simplicity, ambitions more valued than contentment. Power is worshipped and weakness is frown upon.

Yet it is when we are weak than are we strong, it is the meek who are considered blessed, it is godliness with contentment that is great gain and the Bible also tells us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” But how often do we perceive all these as weakness? When we mock the word of a man we mocked the man. When we mocked at the living word of God, we mocked at the Son of the living God.

Let us not perceived with blinded eyes and see the man who is utterly powerless as truly weak and powerless but let us God to open the eyes of our heart to see that the man who is utterly powerless is powerful.

Awful weakness mars the battered God-man,

Far too broken now to hoist the beam.

Soldiers strip him bare and pound the nails in

Watch him hanging on the cruel tree.

God’s own temple down! He has been destroyed!

Death’s remains are laid in rock and sod.

But the temple rises in God’s wise ploy;

Our great temple is the Son of God

The Man Who Is Mocked As King Is The King

2011-03-29T17:43:00.000+08:00

I can’t help but feel it was timely to have picked up, among the many books that I wanted to read, DA Carson book Scandalous-The Cross and Resurrection Of Jesus. It was timely because I was thinking of doing a series of reflections on the cross few weeks before Good Friday. The first chapter of the book already caught my attention it was titled “Ironies of the Cross”. There were four ironies picked up by Carson and I like to begin my reflections on the first of the four ironies of the Cross: The Man who is mocked as king is the King.

In Matthew 27:27:31 it was recorded,
“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “ Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.”

The soldiers probably thought that they had just came up with the most brilliant mockery without realizing that it was one of the biggest ironies. They thought it fun to mock the Man who was about to be crucified. Perhaps they may have heard of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem and took the opportunity to mock Him. If only they knew who they were mocking.

The man they mocked as the King of the Jews is indeed the King of the Jews and not only is He the King of the Jews, He is the King of kings. Would the soldier still dare to mock Him if they knew? If they knew they would not even dare to put Him on trial let alone mock Him and hang Him on the cross.

For us we know better than the soldiers or don’t we? We know He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We call Him our Lord and King. We sing praises and we give glory to His name with our lips.

Yet there are those who would make distinction in the salvation plan of God. They say Jesus can be our saviour and not out Lord. Can He? He came to redeem us from our rebellion against the rule of God, He paid the price with is life to stake His claim on our lives. Have we ever pondered for a moment that He was the Son who reign in all His glory. Ponder for a moment “When He was enthroned in the highest heavens He was very God of very God; by Him were the heavens made, and all the hosts thereof. His own almighty arm upheld the spheres; the praises of cherubim and seraphim perpetually surrounded him; the full chorus of the hallelujahs of the universe unceasingly flowed to the foot of his throne: He reigned supreme above all His creatures, God over all, blessed forever.” (Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening)

We see Him as a Man who was hung on the cross. We feel His love for us and we think we are great. He is great and His love is beyond our comprehension. For God to become a man is already mind blowing, for God to become a man of sorrow is beyond mind blowing. He is our God, He is our King.

It is also ironical when we do call Him Lord we restrict Him only to being the Lord of the Sabbath and even then for an hour or so. At times not even on the Sabbath at all when we feel the worship experience does not meet up to our expectation. It is ironical that we call Him our Lord and make Him our genie pandering to our every need. We take the King to task when our needs are not met. We call Him our Servant King and we often try to make Him our servant.

The soldiers were not the only ones who mocked Jesus. For more than 2000 years on many are still mocking the King of kings. As Carson puts it, it is a profound irony that we speak of the King of king reigning from the cross.

As we celebrate Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, may we submit to our King and not mocked Him. For we know better than the soldiers, for the Man whom they mocked as king is THE KING.

On the wretched day the soldiers mocked him,

Raucous laughter in a barracks room,

"Hail the king!" they sneered, while spitting on him,

Brutal beatings on this day of gloom.

Though his crown was thorn, he was born a king-

Holy brilliance bathed in bleeding loss-

All the soldiers blind to this stunning theme:

Jesus reigning from a cursed cross.

(Abstract from Scandalous-The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus)

Ask Not Why But Ask What

2011-03-17T11:13:00.000+08:00

“For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” Mark 13:8

What in the world is happening to our world? I believe this is a question on top of many people’s mind. We hear of one disaster after another, we hear of one revolt after another, what is happening to our world? For the disasters in Japan, we may wonder if it is God’s judgment upon the land, I would think it is judgment for those who have lost their life without Christ. However for those surviving it could also be God’s mercy and grace upon them that they will in this time of crisis turn to the one true God. However the fact is the judgment day is yet to come.

I am not trying to be nonchalant about the whole situation but fact is what is happening should not come as a surprise to us for it has already been written in scriptures. The other thing I would refrain from doing is trying to predict the end times. Is this the prelude to judgement or the precursor to deliverance? According to scripture what we are experiencing is the beginning of birth pangs. As much as birth pangs only indicates but does not determine the timing of the birth so too is what is happening.

We do not need to worry if the Lord will return, He will. The thing is what is happening is not necessarily an indication that Christ return is imminent. In all likelihood, the worst may be yet to come if this indeed is merely the beginning of birth pangs.

The fact is Christ will return and it will be both a time of deliverance and a time of judgment. To rebels who refuse to believe in Christ and choose to continue to walk in the path of rebellions, those who refuse to submit to the Lord, they will face the certainty of judgment. To those who remain faithful and steadfast in the midst of what is happening, those who have turned from being a rebel to being a servant to the Servant King, they will be delivered to claim their inheritance.

So the question we should be asking ourselves is not why but what do we do in the midst of all that is happening? We could gripe like some of our fellow Singaporeans who wrote in the forum complaining of bad services from the airline just because everybody is busy trying to cope with the crisis. Others complain about the disruption in their travel plans. Some instead of being thankful that they are safe decide to feel that they are being abandoned, just because no one answered their call in the Singapore Embassy in Tokyo during the weekend. Then there is this other guy who complain that he had to pay over two hundred dollars in taxi fare just to get to his destination without even realizing that the fact that he can get on a taxi and reach his destination is already a blessing.

We can gripe about many things in this life or where we can learn to be resilient and courageous like the Japanese during this time of crisis. Unlike some other places where you hear of looting and people fighting in the aftermath of a disaster, there has been very little report of looting in Japan. What we see are images of people queuing and waiting their turn for the much needed supply and even then they just take what is needed so that others can get their share. This morning I just read in the paper about the fifty brave men who are risking their life to contain the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima. When one of the men was interviewed, he said it was his job and he was prepared to sacrifice his life. Tears welled in my eyes when I read the report.

As I ponder on how different people react to the situation, I can’t help but reflect on how we often react to situations in our life and in our churches. Do we gripe more than we serve, do we complain more than we love? As a Christian living in the world, do I dim the light that is supposed to be shinning by complaining and griping on all the injustice in life just because I do not get the service that I want? Or are we losing our saltiness when our behaviour is no different from the rest of the world or sometime we behave even worst. It is easy to sit back and think about many things from a distance but I am not even certain if I would gripe and complain like our fellow Singaporeans stuck in Japan if I am stuck there myself. I guess I would if I am not abiding in Christ; I probably would if Christ is not all I have and if He is not my life.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16

Rekindling Our First Love

2011-03-04T15:49:00.001+08:00

I was reading the letter of the Lord to the first of the seven Churches mentioned in the book of Revelation and I found that I can identify with all the positive things mentioned concerning the Church. I can see them present in our Church and in other Churches as well.

The Ephesians Christians were hardworking and by that I would assume they were diligent in their ministry and conscientious in their endeavours. Not only were they hardworking but they persevered on in the face of oppositions and false doctrines; they will not compromise on the truth. Where truth is concern they detest those who preach a false doctrine.

I find myself drawn to the Ephesians because they will not compromise on the truth and they will persevere despite oppositions. That is something that I advocate. So I was about to give myself a pat on the back when I got slammed in my face by the word of God.

“But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.”

I love the word of God and I study hard to try and defend the truth. I hold a high view of scriptures and firmly believe that the Bible is our final Authority. I am not about to compromise on my stand and conviction on this.

Still I cannot help but wonder if the Lord has the same thing against me as He has towards the Ephesians. I wonder how can people who are diligent in studying and teaching the word of God not love the Lord. How can anyone who will persevere in holding and defending the truth not love the Lord. Well apparently the Ephesians manage to do that and as I examine own life I have on many occasion done the same.

Derek Thomas in his sermon on Revelation wrote, “This letter is a warning to those who can detect false doctrine a mile away, but whose hearts do no beat in tune with love of God shown in the gospel.” I believe that is what it is. There are sincere people who may be practicing formalism, a form of godliness but it remains just a form, the missing element is love. It is not just love but first love, the innocent love and pure love for the Lord. It can and must be expressed in our love for one another, love that has no strings attached, love that is simple and pure. I wonder if that first love is missing me and I have made love very “hard” and “dogmatic”. We must be dogmatic in the absolute truth but what kind of love it would be if it is dogmatic. There were times I feel I have turned love into a dogma and instead of practicing love I debate about it. So have I lost my first love for the Lord?

Thankfully there is a prescription to cure this problem and the prescription is repentance. By His grace, God will time and time again remind us of our first love for Him and He will show us when we lose it through the lack of love for one another. If we truly love the Lord, that love will be expressed and be very evident in the life of His people. I certainly hope you have not lost your first love but if you have heed the word of God and repent of your ways.

“For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” Romans 2:28-29

Stewardship

2011-02-24T13:10:00.000+08:00

I was listening to a sermon on the train and the speaker asked a question that really made me think. He asked “What do we have that we did not receive?” This came from the letter that Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 4, “For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”

The question made me ask myself is there really anything in my possession that I can really call my own? The fact is my life itself came from God. I do not really own my life, it was given to me by God and is sustained by God.

Now, if even my life is from God, is there anything that I have that I can say I did not receive, that it is mine all along. There is really nothing that truly belongs to me, it was given to me. I am but a steward of the life I have, the things I possess and the family and friends that God has given me. A steward is responsible to take care of the things that his master has entrusted upon him. That is my responsibility in Christ; it is our responsibility in Christ.

So often I have to consciously remind myself that I am but a steward. As a preacher standing in the pulpit, I am but a mail man delivering the letter from God, I do not write the content of the mail. As a pastor entrusted to lead the Church, I am but a servant entrusted with the responsibility to take care of God’s church. Even if I am the founder, it means nothing because I am but a construction worker whom God has used to build His congregation in a certain location. As a parent, the children that I have belong to God and my responsibility is to bring them up in the ways of the Lord. Whatever little talent or things I possess, they are not mine at all. I am still but a steward entrusted to use whatever I have for the Glory of God.

The problem I face is in having to live out this life in a world where we put one another on the pedestal, where we measure a man’s worth by what he does and what he possess. In Churches we have a tendency to turn our “mailman” into a celebrity and we choose whom we want to deliver our mails. What is even worst is we hold in awe mailman who writes the mail instead of delivering the mail.

As stewards we often find ourselves competing for more and more things. As a pastor I may want bigger and bigger church without realizing that the bigger the Church is the greater is my accountability to the Lord. It is the same for wanting more wealth, more talent, the more we have the greater will be our accountability to the Lord. Have we ever stopped to consider this for a moment or have we been too busy chasing after things and enjoying the things that were entrusted to us. When much is given to us, much is expected of us.

There will come a day when we will have to give an account to God for how we have used all that He has given to us. When that day comes will He find us faithful or will He find us wanting. Thank God the day has yet to come.

“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. “ Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. “Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name. “But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You. “For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. “O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours. “Since I know, O my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You. “O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the intentions of the heart of Your people, and direct their heart to You;” 1Chronicles 29:10-18

Encountering The Glory Of God

2011-02-18T17:06:00.000+08:00

“The heavens declare the glory of the Lord, the skies proclaim the works of His hands.” Psalm 19:1

As children of God we all believe in God and we know in our hearts that He loves us. We know in His word that He is glorious and deserving of all our praises. In accepting His gift of salvation we surrender our life to Him, to once again come under the loving rule of our God and King. I doubt anyone would dispute what I have written and I know it connects very well with our mind. However has it connected with our heart? Ever pondered upon how real God is in our everyday life.

Serving as a servant of God in the pastoral ministry, I encounter the word of God daily and I would often spend the whole day handling His word. I believe in God absolutely, I am absolutely certain that He is real. However with consistent frequency, I get so absorbed with the word of God, I fail to encounter the God of the word.

In the hurriedness of our urban lifestyle, we get so suck into the whirlpool of busyness that we seldom have time to engage our hearts to be still and know that God is present. We find ourselves so absorbed with life on this side of eternity that it almost seems that we are building our permanent home on this fallen world that has an expiry date.

With so many distractions and so many things to handle, I find it very challenging to just find adequate time to simply be in the presence of my Master and I wonder do I seek first His kingdom or am I seeking first my “kingdom”. Apart from Sunday seldom do we truly worship God in our daily life. In our pursuit of the dreams and goals in our lives, we are in grave danger of trying to compete for glory rather than giving God all the glory.

However this week has been quite different for me. With much resolved I drag myself away to Ubin during my day off, rented a bike and I cycled round the island marvelling at the creation of God. Stopping every so often just to be still before His awesome presence. I look at the grass in the fields and the wild flowers blooming under the watchful eyes of the Creator and indeed I can only say the heavens declare the glory of the Lord and the skies proclaim the works of His hands. I sat on a hill looking into the sea and I just marvel at the wide expanse of His creation. It was a refreshing experience just to be away on an island, just learning to still my heart before my King. If we can just still our hearts in the midst of His creation, we will find that we cannot help but to bow down and worship Him and give Him all the glory.

If we need to drag ourselves away from the hustle and bustle of life, away from all the distractions in order that we can experience the presence of God and to give glory to His name, let us do just that. Having still our hearts before the Lord, we must then learn to continue to be in His presence even in the midst of the hustle and bustle of life.

We were created to glorify God and enjoy Him forever and only an encounter with God can give us true satisfaction.

May we make it our prayer to pray,

“"Lord, help me to glorify thee; I am poor, help me

to glorify thee by contentment; I am sick, help me to give thee honour

by patience; I have talents, help me to extol thee by spending them for

thee; I have time, Lord, help me to redeem it, that I may serve thee; I

have a heart to feel, Lord, let that heart feel no love but thine, and

glow with no flame but affection for thee; I have a head to think,

Lord, help me to think of thee and for thee; thou hast put me in this

world for something, Lord, show me what that is, and help me to work

out my life-purpose: I cannot do much, but as the widow put in her two

mites, which were all her living, so, Lord, I cast my time and eternity

too into thy treasury; I am all thine; take me, and enable me to

glorify thee now, in all that I say, in all that I do, and with all

that I have." Extract from the Morning Devotions by Spurgoen

“To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” 2 Peter 3:18

Learning To Say Sorry

2011-02-09T17:26:00.001+08:00

During our family devotion, my daughter misbehaved and disrupted our devotion. I corrected her behaviour and she reciprocated by giving me a rude and loud reply. I was filled with rage and immediately I raised my voice and shouted at her. Determined to correct her behaviour I brought her to the master bedroom where I kept the cane. I can only thank God that I did not allow my anger to control me but I managed to control it.

As I spoke to my daughter explaining her wrong behaviour, it also causes me to reflect on my own reaction to her insolent behaviour. While I was concern for her behaviour as any parent would be but I also realized that my pride was at stake. I corrected her not because I saw her behaviour as something that is not pleasing to God, which is certainly not pleasing to God at all. I reacted out of my “rights” as a father rather than my responsibility as a father. As much as my daughter was wrong to be rude and disrespectful, it did not give me the right to shout at her either. I have the responsibility to correct her and I certainly will not hesitate to use the cane as an instrument for correction but it is not about my rights.

However by shouting at her and by demonstrating indignant, I was in fact exerting my rights rather than my responsibility. More than rights was the presence of pride and my pride was certainly affected by the way she spoke to me. So what do I do when I realize this unpleasant truth?

I corrected her behaviour, I gave her two strokes of the cane on her palm and I prayed with her. After the correction and prayer, I brought her close to me gave her hug and told her I love her and I apologize to her for how I have reacted. I told her that it was wrong of me to shout.

Often as parents just because we feel we are right we think we can say what we want and how we want without apology. Even when we make mistake we find it difficult to admit let alone apologize. However when we allow our hearts to be scrutinize, we will often find that pride takes centre stage.

Just because I have the right to be angry and I should be angry at insolent behaviour from my children but the rights does not extend to being harsh and reactive. I am still learning but I certainly hope I am progressing.

This goes beyond my family. I have a very big hung up on rights and I am all for exerting the rights that I have. A very dear friend of mine once said these words to me during a time when rights and pride took the better of me. She said with a gentleness of spirit, “Sometimes it is better to be kind than to be right.” This led me to ask myself can I not exercise kindness and love instead of exercising my rights all the time.

Instead of exerting our rights we can start to learn to exert our love for Christ and express it out in our daily lives. As sinners saved by grace we can and should learn to be kind to one another.

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:31-32

The Rubbish We Cling To

2011-02-02T10:45:00.000+08:00

I finally moved to my new place last Friday after spending ten years in block 133 Simei St 1. Weeks prior to our move, we had a lot of packing to do and I hate packing. The thing that I dislike the most is having to throw away things. I like to keep and accumulate things. I am very reluctant to throw them away. Every item in my possession seems to have a special meaning for me even the torn and tattered t-shirts that I kept in my cupboard.

So it was with much reluctance that I went through my things, knowing that I cannot possibly keep them all. I reluctantly threw away at least 3 to 4 big trash bags containing all my things. They were mostly things that I have kept with me for the past ten years or more, things that I never once took out of my cupboard. Still I was quite reluctant to throw them away. The first trash bag was the toughest but by the time I came to the 3^rd or 4^th trash bag I was too tired to pack my things and decided to throw them away.

Now if you were to ask me what exactly I have thrown away, I can’t quite remember. I find it simply amazing because those were things that I deemed important enough to keep for at least ten years if not more. Perhaps when I am feeling nostalgic and wanting to recall something then I will remember.

I have to admit that it took me ten years to realize that I have accumulated a lot of junks. Everything always seems to have sentimental value but in reality they are just things that cannot bring back the experiences I had. Though I know that still, it is so difficult to throw away things even those that have not much value. We tend to keep the junks in our lives and turn them into treasures after many years and we call them antiques.

As Christians we too often find ourselves clinging to our old self and not willing to let it go. We are reluctant to let go of things that we hold. We are reluctant to let go even when those things draws us away from the Lord.

Early this week I discarded another “precious thing” that I had. I cancelled my Starhub cable. The day when my children learnt of my decision to cancel, they were extremely upset and pleaded with me not to do so. I almost gave in to them because I know how much they enjoy watching their favourite cartoons. However I also realized how much junks I have allowed to enter into their minds as a result of the cable tv. Recently while watching a show on the kid’s channel with my son, there was an episode that startled me. It was about a kid who is barely in his teens being teased about never having kissed a girl before. I spoke to my son about it and he thinks it is a stupid thing to tease someone about. While I heave a sigh of relief but still I know the day may come when he will feel otherwise. The day when the “poison” finally seeped into his mind. These poisons do not come with a warning label and by the time you realize they are poisons, it is too late.

The experience I had in the past few days led me to see how we can so often be chained to the temporal things that we hold dear to. If we examine our lives and the things we keep, the work we do, the worldly treasures we accumulate, the priorities we place ahead of God, will we ever come to a decision to give them up. Give them up because they take us away from God. Letting go of things and getting rid of them is not easy but many time it is necessary. Can we consider them as rubbish compared to knowing Christ? Do our hearts really belong to Jesus?

“ for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

Kampong Spirit

2011-01-19T14:14:00.000+08:00

My very first academic encounter was in a kindergarten in a Kampong in Ghim Moh, it was the place where I learnt my ABCs. Along the way I also pick up some important life lessons, which I only realize upon reflection.

As I try to recall my days in the kindergarten, one incident left a very deep impression on me. It was the day when my bag was snatched away by a boy living in the kampong. Those days it was not uncommon to have children of my age walking to kindergarten alone. So it was one of those days when I was walking home after class when my bag was snatch away from me. I cannot remember how I reacted but I remember clearly the sister of the boy who snatched my bag running after her brother and retrieved my bag.

The incident left a deep impression in my mind not because I got my bag back but because of a certain kind of special community spirit that seems to exist during those times. Especially in a kampong, a kind of kampong spirit. It was the kind of community spirit where people are not overtly conscious of trying to “mind their own business”, they also mind the business of other people in a positive way. The kind whereby your children can run around the village and you know they will be safe because your fellow villagers will help keep a lookout for them. You can safely leave your house unlocked and know that it will be safe because you have neighbours who do not simply mind their own business.

Before my kindergarten days I used to stay near a fishing village and as a young boy of maybe 3 to 4 years old, I liked to wander around the small town alone. However as I looked back I was never really alone because there were always someone looking out for me. When I cross the road by myself, there will be someone to guide me back. When I wander too far into the beach during low tide, there will be someone who will call me back. In the village, the people take care of one another.

As the nation progresses, most of us move from the kampongs to the high rise apartments. As we become more educated we began to value more and more privacy. As our nation becomes urbanized we also begin to mind our own business more and more.

So much so that even in Church, we tend to mind our own business most of the time. We come to Church on Sunday all prim and proper and usually accompanied with a big smile. So everyone will think of the other as having no problems at all and we may have the tendency to assume we are the only ones with challenges. Unless you have close friends if not you are quite on your own.

While I am not advocating that we should wear our problems round neck for all to see but perhaps we can learn to mind each “other business” and be a bit more “busybody”. This of course must be accompanied by a genuine spirit of love and care for one another.

As a Church I believe we have a much stronger spirit than the kampong spirit of old. We have been given the “koinonia spirit”. It calls for a community of born again believers, who in obedience to their Lord, willingly set out to love one another not just in words but in deed. To love one another in deeds does require us to be involved in each other lives; it does require an atmosphere of trust where someone can share freely without fear of being looked down upon. It calls for a community where every one cares and is cared for. We can because we are children redeemed by blood of the lamb, we can because we are one body in Christ. We can because our Lord commands us to love one another.

“Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 2:1-5

Busy Busy

2011-01-13T13:15:00.001+08:00

Last Sunday we just had our very first council meeting for the year. As I was about to go up the 3^rd level for our meeting, I met a fellow council member and we just felt a lethargy coming over us as we talk and anticipate the number of meetings we are going to have and things we are going to do. We both just blurt out that our busy time is starting again.

Indeed it has been a busy start of the year for me with Tammy just starting out in primary 1 and Zachary transferring to a new school as he starts primary 5. Adley has also been having a bit of difficulty adjusting to his kindergarten life without his sister around. The fact that we are in the process of renovating our new home certainly does not help in reducing our already busy schedule. I have not even begun to look at the number of Church commitments.

While we all have different responsibilities but I am certain that most of us as we look ahead to the coming months, one word will not escape our vocabulary, busy. Being busy is so much a part of our life that we often find ourselves hardly having time to just stop and breathe. Worst still when we are not busy, except on holidays but even then, I believe we all do to an extend suffer from a bit of guilt, guilty that we are not busy. It almost seems as if stress has become so much a part of our life that we actually missed it when it is not present. There are actually moments in my life that I find myself busy doing nothing but still busy.

Sundays are supposed to the one day of the week where we gather as a body to worship the Lord, it is time where we rest in the Lord. However, we often find ourselves overwhelm by the number of activities we have scheduled for ourselves.

We often find ourselves very busy doing ministry. I wonder how we find time to simply be still before the Lord. A greater wonder is how we know that we are doing what God wants us to do, when we do not even have time to just come and be still before Him. I do also wonder where we are heading in our busy schedule.

Our God who neither slumber nor sleep, rested on the seventh day of creation. When we speak of God resting, in one sense we are referring to God stopping from all His work of creation and yet at the same time it also provided for us a model for the cycle of labour and rest. Our Lord Jesus has a very busy schedule; He has a” three year dateline” to complete His task. Thousands demands His attention. Still He finds time to commune with His Father. An example, after His disciples had finish collecting the leftovers from the feeding of the five thousand, the Lord immediately sent them out to sea. After He had dismissed the crowd, He himself went to the mountain to pray. We probably would have been trying to create publicity for the miracle that has just occurred.

There is nothing wrong with being busy because it could simply mean we are diligently carrying out our responsibilities. However we must be careful that we do not become so busy that we have no time to wait for instructions. Let us not be so busy that we have no time to rest. Let us not be so busy that we have no time to be still before the Lord. Let us not be too busy to pray and read His word. As we begin our year let us not allow ourselves to be controlled by the “Mr Busy” but let be in control of “Mr Busy”.

Take time to be holy,

Speak oft with thy Lord;

Abide in Him always,

And feed on His Word.

Make friends of God's children;

Help those who are weak;

Forgetting in nothing

His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy,

The world rushes on;

Much time spend in secret

With Jesus alone;

By looking to Jesus,

Like Him thou shalt be;

Thy friends in thy conduct

His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy,

Let Him be thy guide,

And run not before Him

Whatever betide;

In joy or in sorrow

Still follow the Lord,

And, looking to Jesus,

Still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy,

Be calm in thy soul;

Each thought and each motive

Beneath His control;

Thus led by His spirit

To fountains of love,

Thou soon shalt be fitted

For service above.

“So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.” Hebrew 4:9-10

Thank You Lord

2010-12-31T11:43:00.000+08:00

I work up and I was able to breathe this morning and I thank God for sustaining my life and enabling me to wake up. I left my home with dark cloud hovering over me and I came out of the train station on my way to Church and I was greeted with the warm and bright morning Sun and I thank God for clouds and the Sunshine. I sat in my chair in my office and it dawn on me that the year has pass us by and tomorrow will be a brand new year. I thank God for seeing me through the year. It has been a most eventful year with a memorable trip to the States, a wonderful experience of witnessing God’s in Northern Thailand and Myanmar, a warm and relaxing church retreat and a most enjoyable holiday with family and friends. I thank God for all these wonderful and memorable moments.

This is the year where I will also remember as the year I sold my house and bought a new house and what an experience it has been. Things will come to a closure soon and I am likely to move into my new place by next month. I thank God for taking me and my family through this experience. My patience was put to a test and I to learn to deal with many angry and frustrating moments and my character was put to a test. I thank God for these frustrating moments, it helps me to know my weaknesses and reminded to work on it by surrendering them to the Lord. The saga also brought me to appreciate the family and friends that God has put in both Carine and my life. In our times of need, they were ever ready to help in whatever ways they can. At a time when we almost became homeless, our family and friend were ready to accommodate us and even my good friend in the States told me I could stay with them for as long as I need and I know she meant it. I thank God that through these difficult and challenging moments, He showed me the wonderful friends that He has put in our life, friends we cannot take for granted.

The gloom that hung over my housing saga is finally dissipating. We manage to extend our stay in our current home and we are able to get the keys to our new place earlier for renovation work to be done. What turn out to a daunting task to transfer Zachary and Tammy to a school within walking distance to our place has turn out well in the end. Zachary got his transfer request earlier and Tammy just got her transfer approval yesterday. I paused for a moment and can only thank God for all that He has provided. Do I deserve it? Is it because I have much faith in His providence? The answer is no. All I can say is He has been most gracious and I can only declare, Thank You God. Would I still say thank you God if the outcome has been different, I hope I will still say thank you God. As dear brother shared during prayer meeting, we must thank God for both the good and bad times and indeed we should.

Without the dark clouds we will forget how wonderful and beautiful is sunshine, without the dark clouds we will have no rain to cool and nourish the earth, without the dark clouds we will not be able to see the silver linings of hope. Often it is only through the trials in our lives that we realize how great is our God, it is often through the trials is our lives that the salvation of the Lord is clearly shown. Often it is through the trials in our life that we are able to grow in our faith in God. As we close the year may we be able to sing this favourite song that I learnt long time ago as a youth,

Thank you, Lord, for the trials that come my way In that way I can grow each day as I let you lead, And thank you, Lord, for the patience those trials bring.In that process of growing, I can learn to care.

But it goes against the way I am to put my human nature down
and let the Spirit take control of all I do.
'Cause when those trials come, my human nature shouts the thing to do; and God's soft prompting can be easily ignored.

I thank you, Lord, with each trial I feel inside, that you're there to help, lead and guide me away from wrong. 'Cause you promised, Lord, that with every testing,that your way of escaping is easier to bear.

I thank you, Lord, for the victory that growing brings. In surrender of everything
life is so worth while. And I thank you, Lord, that when everything's put in place, out in front I can see your face, and it's there you belong.

I thank you for journeying with me through my reflection for this past one year and I thank God for all your responses, the kudos and the critics, they have encouraged and helped me grow.

Have a most blessed and wonderful year ahead.

“Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” Psalm 146:1-2

Tis The Season To Be Jolly

2010-12-23T15:34:00.002+08:00

Have you ever tried stopping someone walking down a busy street and try to share the gospel with them? Chances are you will be ignored won’t you? You can consider yourself fortunate if you were to receive a verbal rejection. During this festive season, I certainly cannot imagine people willing to stop and listen to the gospel when they are down Orchard Road rushing to buy Christmas gifts or simply out to have a good time.

A group of youths, who attended our SKY camp, have far better imagination than I can master or should I say more faith. Arm with the Two Ways To Live Gospel Tract, they went down the streets of Orchard to share the gospel with whoever were willing to stop and listen. If they had told me they were going, I would probably pray for them that they will not be discourage by the response. Now I need them to pray that I learn to have more faith in God. I could not believe my ears when it was shared that our youths managed to share with more than 100 people. It is a pleasant surprise. However more than just a pleasant surprise, I find it most encouraging to know our youths were willing to go down to Orchard to share the gospel.

I have not spoken to any of the youths yet about their experience. I believe they were accompanied by a lot of apprehension when they walk down Orchard. I certainly would be apprehensive. However if they had not taken the first step they will have missed out on the opportunity to share with more than 100 people. If they had not taken the first step they would missed out in being part of God’s work.

Each time when I go for door to door evangelism, there is always a sense of apprehension in not knowing what to expect. Often the greatest obstacle is the first step of obedience that we need to take. Without that first step we will never encounter faith in action. We will not be able to experience what the Lord meant when He say, “And Lo I am with you always.”

They say this is the season to be jolly, let us indeed make this the seasons to be jolly, JOLLY IN THE SHARING OF THE GOSPEL. Let us join in the celebration of the season but let us celebrate by proclaiming the reason we celebrate the season. Let us take courage to share the gospel during this jolly season leading hearts to find true joy in the Lord. We may share with one or we may share with one hundred but the point is we obey our Lord and we share.

Wishing Everyone A Most Blessed Christmas

and

A Fruitful New Year

I Will Yet Praise Him

2010-12-16T13:20:00.000+08:00

It is very easy to praise God when things go our way. Our praise and thanksgiving are often the result of answered prayers and fulfilled desires. If anyone tries to give thanks and praise to God for the adversities and the most unfortunate circumstances of life, they may be seen as either going mad or being cynical. Ok I may be exaggerating on the mad and cynical part. The truth is it is never easy to praise God when you are going through tough times and do not see much light at the end of the tunnel.

I have shared on the predicament that I faced in the transactions that I experience through the selling and buying of my house. Just when I thought things could not get any worst, it actually got worst. Now not only am I am not able to get my new place earlier because the seller went back on his word but we also discovered that it is illegal for us to continue to stay in our current place after our final transaction. Our buyers are very nice people and they did try their best to accommodate our needs but we did not want them to do anything that is not legal for our convenience sake. So now we are left with a predicament, we are going to be homeless for about one to two months if things remain unchanged.

On Tuesday evening I prayed with my wife and my son and we thank God for the journey He is bringing us. We continue to want to put our trust in Him and I was at peace. The next morning as I was leaving for work, I got a phone call from a good friend and found that I have, without realizing it, broken my word. What was a blessing turned into a burden. However I am thankful that I was able to resolve and reduce the damage by the afternoon. While I am thankful for the opportunity I had to explain to my friend and he was magnanimous in accepting my explanation, my soul cannot but help feel downcast when one thing come after another. So now can I still praise God? The correct answer should be “Why not?”

Homeless we may be but thank God that we still have friends and relatives who can house us. Again things may change for the better and I am sure God will provide the way for us.

The psalmist in Psalm 43:5 wrote, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.”

Adversity may come our ways and the road we travel may be rough but God is still God. His grace and His love do not change in accordance with our circumstances. He is still on top of everything and He is still our Father in Heaven.

I have tried to lie down on a bed of roses only to be prick by its thorns. However when I dwell in the shelter of the Most High, I will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. The shelter of the Most high can and will protect us from all dangers. The shadow of the Almighty is like the widespread wings of the eagle hovering over her nest and her shadow gives assurance of the ever present protection.

Some of us may be going through a very smooth transition in our life right now, don’t forget to praise God. Some of us may be going through the worst period of our life right now, don’t forget to praise God.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” Psalm 91:1-2

Are We Prepared?

2010-12-02T15:02:00.001+08:00

It is so easy to behave in a Christ like manner in an ideal environment but we do not live in an ideal environment. It is so easy to be patient and kind with our words when things are going smoothly but life as it is often comes with bumpy roads. It is so easy to be gracious when you have been treated fairly and especially when thing are going your way but often what is fair depend on which side of the fence you are on and trying to be gracious does not come cheap.

In the course of the past one week, my patience was tested, graciousness seems to be in hiding from me. Kind words were nowhere to be found. Bureaucracy got on my nerve when I was going through the tedious process of selling my house and be on the receiving end of a curt reply by an inflexible bureaucrat, got the better of me. I literally asked him to shut up because I felt his comment was not helping the situation at all. That was just the selling part.

I almost chuck all semblance of graciousness out of the window of the new place that I am buying. The seller of the place I bought, staying true to form went back on his word again on something in which he has promised. This was not the first time he did not honour what he said. This time he had told us that he was able to give his unit to us earlier than the handover date. When I met him and took him up on his offer, he went back on his word and said that he had only said he will try his best. It was and still is very frustrating, dealing with someone who doesn’t keep to his word. I was really nearing the end of my patience and I had to stop myself from picking a quarrel with him. I can almost feel a violent streak brewing in me especially when I feel my blood boiling.

As a child of the kingdom of light, is that how I should behave. I may be justified in how I feel but that does not imply that I can be unkind in my words, impatient in my ways and ungracious in my reaction.

I wonder how would my reaction and behaviour help in giving an account of the faith that I hold, when it is to the very people who have tested my patience. How would it gel with the people whom I feel I have a right to be indignant with. I have my rights but would I be prepared to give up my rights if called upon for the sake of the gospel? Are we prepared to give up our rights when called upon for the sake of the gospel?

God has been gracious in allowing me to apologize and have a good closure with the HDB property officer whom I asked to keep quiet. However I am still working on how to react with grace to the seller of the house that I have bought. I am bracing myself for more surprises that he may decide to spring on us. I can only pray that when it happens I will not flip and allow my temper to get the better of me.

The only possible means in which we can always be prepared to give a testimony of our faith beyond the words we used, is to set apart in our hearts Christ as Lord. It goes beyond just a verbal articulation of what we believe. I believe that when Peter exhorts his readers to sanctify their hearts and be .ready to give a defence of what they believe, it involves more than words as vital as the word is It is time we need to not simply study and understand the truth but we must begin to start living out the truth, whatever the circumstance.

“but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;” I Peter 3:15

Building Altars

2010-11-19T11:51:00.001+08:00

In my morning devotion I was led to the passage in Hosea 10:1-2,

“Israel is a luxuriant vine; He produces fruit for himself. The more his fruit, The more altars he made; The richer his land, The better he made the sacred pillars. Their heart is faithless; Now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars And destroy their sacred pillars.”

I grew up in Kay Poh, I came to our Church in 1978. Except for the years between 2003 to 2007, I have been in Kay Poh all this while. Down through the years I have seen many changes to the Church. There was even a time when we had to conduct some of our Sunday school classes in the car park, we did not have a basement car park then. There were quite a number of my friends back then who came from lower income family.

As our nation progress through the years and became prosperous, our members in the Church also grew n prosperity. Today our car park cannot hold any Sunday school. On Sundays we have cars spilling outside the Church. Our life materially speaking has improved quite significantly.

Although modest in comparison to some other Churches in Singapore, we are still blessed with a healthy budget and I thank God for the heart of prudent generosity we exercise in the handling of God’s money.

Like what Hosea described concerning Israel, we too can be likened to a luxuriant vine. In comparison to our past we too have been blessed with abundance both as individuals and as a body. I pray that is where the similarity ends.

In Hosea, as the Vine’s fruit increase and the country improved and the more Israel prospered the more they sin. The altars and sacred pillars are probably religious in nature and it is with reference to the pagan gods. Israel in her prosperity has turned to other gods.

We may not be worshipping other gods in one sense of the word but we are in danger of building altars and pillars in our lives. These are the things in our lives that we accumulate as a result of our purchasing power, things which take our time away from God more and more. When I was in Northern Thailand during our Mission Trip, I found myself having little distractions from material things and much more time spend just being with God and appreciating the wonders of His creation. However back home there are a lot of distractions because of the things I have accumulated in my life.

The world often sees abundance as a blessing but it is often extremely risky and most of the time we can’t handle it well. There is much wisdom in God’s word found in Proverbs 30:7-8, “Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,” Where the Church is concern, the same thing applies, abundance are not necessarily blessings and I would risk saying often they are not blessings at all because they lure us into a false security and make us self-sufficient.

It is much needed for us to heed the warning in Scriptures and not find ourselves in the same position as the Church in Laodicea as written in Revelation 3:15-17, “So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. ‘Because you say, “ I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,”

As a Church we need to constantly examine ourselves and ask if we are indeed serving the Lord or simply serving ourselves. Our service to the Lord is not measured by the success of our ministry or the growth in our treasury; it is measured by the obedience of our hearts towards the King of our lives. Let us be sure if have the RIGHT KING ruling our hearts, the King of kings, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

“I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.” Revelation 3:18-19

Confession Of Sins

2010-11-11T11:18:00.001+08:00

Recently while browsing through a book by a local Christian writer, a section on confession of sins caught my attention. The author advocates that there is no necessity for us to confess our sins because of the finished work of Christ on the cross and I would assume there is no need for repentance although he was not specific on this. Logical conclusion is if we do not need to confess our sins then we certainly would not think of repentance either.

Anticipating the question his readers might pose, he took issues with Christians who uses 1 John 1:9 to state the necessity of confession. He claim it is dangerous to just use one verse to substantiate a point and further claims that the verse has been taken out of context. The verse as far as the author is concern is addressing the Gnostics and not the Christians although it baffles me as to why John would use this one verse to talk to the Gnostic when his entire text is written to Christians.

What the author intended was for the Christian to no longer live in the guilt of their sins and indeed we should not live in the guilt of our sins. We should live with the confidence that when we sin we can come to our Father who though angry with our sins is still willing to forgive us because of the finished work of Christ. The author argued we need not pray for forgiveness because we have been justified by faith and our sins both past, present and future are already forgiven. That is indeed a most logical argument but flawed nonetheless.

There are two aspects we need to consider when we speak of the forgiveness of sins, the first is the judicial and that has been settled by our Lord on the cross. It deals with the penalty of our sins and that penalty has been paid in full by our Lord. The second is what John Macarthur term as parental and that has to deal with the consequence of our sins. The difference between the two is elaborated by Macarthur as follows:

1. Judicial forgiveness deals with sin's penalty–parental forgiveness deals with sin's consequences.

2. Judicial forgiveness frees us from the condemnation of the righteous, omniscient Judge whom we have wronged–parental forgiveness sets things right with a grieving and displeased but loving Father.

3. Judicial forgiveness provides an unshakeable standing before the throne of divine judgment–parental forgiveness deals with the state of our sanctification at any given moment and is dispensed from a throne of divine grace.

4. So the forgiveness Christians are supposed to seek in their daily walk is not pardon from an angry Judge, but mercy from a grieved Father.

This is reflected in what is written in Hebrew 12:5-11, “and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness”

We must have the confidence that our sins are forgiven and we can stand justified before God because of Christ and Christ alone. However it does not mean confession and repentance is no longer necessary, the confession and repentance of sins is nonetheless an on-going process. While justification is a finished work but all of us are still undergoing the process of sanctification. The truth is not confessing your sins is not a reflection of your confidence in the justifying work of Christ but a lack of your understanding of His finished work. Not confessing your sins does not reduce your guilty conscious but enhance it, it does not lead to freedom it leads to enslavement. The Lord Himself exhorts us to pray for forgiveness as recorded in the gospels. The word of God in Psalms 32 exhorts us.

“How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “ I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him. Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.”

Celebrating Halloween?

2010-10-28T16:19:00.001+08:00

Halloween is an annual celebration that is fast gaining popularity in Singapore. To many it is just a fun time for people to enjoy and to retailers it helps ring in the tills. Thus far it is mainly celebrated in pubs and zoos and movies theatres that have horror movies specials. Some places such as children centres or some other retails outlets may have put some decor and organize some related events. While it is not as big as how it is being celebrated in the States but it does seem to be growing in Singapore. Perhaps the day may come when our children will begin dressing up and go trick and treating along HDB corridors and other housing estates.

The question is should we wait till its popularity becomes really widespread before we start to be concern more fundamental than that, should we be concern as Christians?

Personally I think it is prudent to exercise wisdom and not simply dismiss it as some harmless commercial activity. I would advice that we try to have a better understanding of the history before we even consider joining in the party. Below is an abstract from John Macarthur’s sermon on Halloween,

The Pagan Origin of Halloween

“The name "Halloween" comes from the All Saints Day celebration of the early Christian church, a day set aside for the solemn remembrance of the martyrs. All Hallows Eve, the evening before All Saints Day, began the time of remembrance. "All Hallows Eve" was eventually contracted to "Hallow-e'en," which became "Halloween."

As Christianity moved through Europe it collided with indigenous pagan cultures and confronted established customs. Pagan holidays and festivals were so entrenched that new converts found them to be a stumbling block to their faith. To deal with the problem, the organized church would commonly move a distinctively Christian holiday to a spot on the calendar that would directly challenge a pagan holiday. The intent was to counter pagan influences and provide a Christian alternative. But most often the church only succeeded in "Christianizing" a pagan ritual--the ritual was still pagan, but mixed with Christian symbolism. That's what happened to All Saints Eve--it was the original Halloween alternative!

The Celtic people of Europe and Britain were pagan Druids whose major celebrations were marked by the seasons. At the end of the year in northern Europe, people made preparations to ensure winter survival by harvesting the crops and culling the herds, slaughtering animals that wouldn't make it. Life slowed down as winter brought darkness (shortened days and longer nights), fallow ground, and death. The imagery of death, symbolized by skeletons, skulls, and the color black, remains prominent in today's Halloween celebrations.

The pagan Samhain festival (pronounced "sow" "en") celebrated the final harvest, death, and the onset of winter, for three days--October 31 to November 2. The Celts believed the curtain dividing the living and the dead lifted during Samhain to allow the spirits of the dead to walk among the living--ghosts haunting the earth.

Some embraced the season of haunting by engaging in occult practices such as divination and communication with the dead. They sought "divine" spirits (demons) and the spirits of their ancestors regarding weather forecasts for the coming year, crop expectations, and even romantic prospects. Bobbing for apples was one practice the pagans used to divine the spiritual world's "blessings" on a couple's romance.

For others the focus on death, occultism, divination, and the thought of spirits returning to haunt the living, fueled ignorant superstitions and fears. They believed spirits were earthbound until they received a proper sendoff with treats--possessions, wealth, food, and drink. Spirits who were not suitably "treated" would "trick" those who had neglected them. The fear of haunting only multiplied if that spirit had been offended during its natural lifetime.

Trick-bent spirits were believed to assume grotesque appearances. Some traditions developed, which believed wearing a costume to look like a spirit would fool the wandering spirits. Others believed the spirits could be warded off by carving a grotesque face into a gourd or root vegetable (the Scottish used turnips) and setting a candle inside it--the jack-o-lantern.”

Let us ponder on the origin for a bit. We may say it is ok because of its Christian origin. Is it really ok? We need to first of all ask what is so Christian about celebrating all souls or all saints day. There is nothing biblical about it at all.

The other consideration is even worst when we consider its connotations of demons and spirits. So do we want our children have Jack-O Lantern sitting on our side table, do we want t see our children dressing up as witches or holding the devil’s fork in their hands. Perhaps we see we will dress them up as spider or something but what happen when they mixed with others who ma dressed up as ghouls or witches.

We cannot stop retailer form promoting it as a fun time. However as Christians we need to consider if we too want to eagerly join in the fun and is it really harmless? Should we not exercise greater discernment?

Although today Halloween is hardly seen as a religious celebration but what it is associated should make us become wary of it. We must not allow ourselves to be desensitized by the culture we live in. Let us be careful that we do not get drunk in the thrills and excitement that comes with the celebration but let us learn to be wise and sober.

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1Peter 5:8

A Utilitarian View Of God

2010-10-20T15:45:00.000+08:00

A friend of mine in his write up concludes that at the heart of the Prosperity Gospel is a utilitarian view of God. What exactly is a utilitarian view of God? My friend sees it as God becoming nothing more than a means to one's self-centered ends.

I replied and said that it seems to me that at the heart of many professing Christian is a utilitarian view of God. In varying degrees, I have come across people who expressed disappointment in God in one way or another. There are people who simply don’t believe in God anymore because God “fell below their expectations”. I have had people asking me why God does not answer their prayers and I don’t have an answer for them.

I have heard many testimonies of how God has answered prayers or saw someone through a difficult situation. However I have yet to hear a testimony from someone who praises God in the midst of his suffering. It is easy to sing praises and give thanks to God during the good times but what about during the difficult moments in our lives? But Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 wrote, “in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” In everything we are to give thanks and that everything includes EVERYTHING, both the good and the bad.

I do not think anyone who while undergoing some trials or sufferings in life would jump up and down giving praises and thanks to God. However it is still possible to give thanks and rejoice even in the midst of trials. The reason why we can do so is given in James 1:3-4, “knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

As a young recruit in the army, I was praying that I will not get into a tough company but I ended being in the toughest company in the whole camp. As I look back I thank God for those times because it helped build up resilience and endurance in me, to an extent anyway. Often it s the bitter pills in life that helps strengthen us and usually those medicines that are most effective are often the ones that are bitter. Similarly the trials in our life are never meant to bring us further away from our God but it is aimed at strengthening our faith in Him.

Our faith are seldom tested during the good times but it is often when the trials comes that our view of God become very clear. How we view God determines how we react to the situations in our lives. For someone who holds a utilitarian view of God, there will be little hesitation to abandon the faith when the going gets tough.

On the other end of the extreme is the one having a fatalistic view of God. Everything is fated and we are simply resigned to it because everything is going to fall under God’s will anyway. This is also a very wrong view of God.

While the Bible did not say that troubles or trials will not come our way but we were told in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” And it indeed it does. We usually do not see it while we are undergoing some trials but we only see it when it is over. Can you imagine what greater joy and comfort it will be when we are able to still rejoice in the Lord in the midst of trials because we believe in His word?

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. “ 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

Forgiven

2010-10-12T16:53:00.001+08:00

This is a true story extracted from “When Sinners Say I do” By Dave Harvey.

“Gordon and Emma met at a church function. She was an admirable young woman, and he was a fairly new pastor. Their wedding day seemed to be the launched of a godly couple into the promise of a fruitful ministry in the decades ahead. But just a few days into their honeymoon, all of Emma’s dreams for her life were crushed. Gordon made it clear that he didn’t love Emma, and that he had married her simply because there were more opportunities for married pastors than single ones.

For forty years, through the birth of six children, and all the while functioning as a pastor, Gordon made no meaningful attempt to kindle love for his wife. Freely admitting to an adulterous affair that began after the birth of their fourth child, Gordon insisted he must remain married- divorce would derail his pastoral career. Marriage for Emma became a life of scret shame. She was relegated to sharing a room with their two daughters, while her husband stayed in a separate room and their four sons in another.

Gordon’s disregard for Emma permeated almost every facet of their marriage. While she continued to live under the same roof, she never experienced life under his care. Seemingly normal on the outside, Gordon’s disdain for his marriage created a home ruled by hypocrisy and indifference to his wife’s well being. His children grew up with a clear sense of the difference with their family and others, but little grasp on the fundamental wrong being done to their mother on a daily basis.

But Emma loved the Saviour, who was merciful to her and clung to Him through the trials and years. Bereft of human love from the man she had wed, she threw herself on the mercy of God. The gospel reminded her that she needed a Saviour- and that her principal need was not to be saved from a cruel twist of fate, or the evil of the man who shared her home, nut from her profound sinfulness before God.

Emma understood the mercy and forgiveness of God for her sin, and accepted the Father’s call to extend mercy toward her husband. Emma never allowed bitterness to take root in her heart. Instead, she learned how to stand with dignity by entrusting her welfare to Christ.

For four decades, mercy defined her actions, thoughts, and words toward the man whose very purpose in life seemed to be to crushed her spirit. Knowing that her response to her husband would testify to her children about the Go she served, Emma was resolutely determined to draw on Christ for grace and to honour Christ in her actions.

The marriage ended sadly and painfully after forty years- an apparent ministry call squandered, a financially destitute family shattered by the unrepentant sin of one man. In the years following their divorce, Emma sent Gordon birthday cards and periodic letters, calling the lonely and rebellious man to God. She was tasting the sweet joy of a deep relationship with her Father, and increasingly longed for Gordon to now that for himself.

Somewhere in that time, the mercy of God broke in on Gordon and he responded to the gospel call in saving faith. The children now adult Christians, lovingly confronted him on his past sins, and for the first time Gordon took responsibility for the destruction of his family. Gordon wrote a letter to Emma confessing his sin against God and her.

In response, Emma replied, “It is with mixed emotions that I read your letter. Sad, as I was reminded of many difficult years, but also glad for the work the Spirit of God is doing in your life. Glad to hear you share your failures so frankly and ask for my forgiveness. And glad to hear you share the with your children. Gordon, I forgive, I forgive you for not loving me as Christ loved the church and for your disregard of our marriage vows. Though I am saddened by many marriage memories, I have released them to the Lord and have guarded my heart from the ravages of bitterness. I rejoice in the mercy of God, that in spite of our failed marriage, our children all serve the Lord faithfully... God uses confession and forgiveness to bring healing. I am trusting God that will be true for both of us.

Both Emma and Gordon has gone home to be with the Lord. All their children serve the Lord and now see the mysterious purpose of God as they look back. Though Gordon and Emma were never restored as husband and wife, Gordon was late to rest in old age, no longer alone, surrounded not only by his family but by the friends of his church with whom he had knit his life. Emma’s body gave in over time to stroke, but her spirit and story define a work of God that transcends the failure of a marriage and touched many lives.

For Emma mercy has triumphed over judgment decades before Gordon repented. Mercy triumphed with every prayer cast heavenward, every sin covered in love, every refusal to grow bitter. For Gordon, mercy meant getting what he didn’t deserve forgiveness of his sins, the love of his family, a home with the Saviour, six God-honouring children, Emma’s lifelong love for Christ.”

We are all sinners who have rebelled against God and do not deserve His mercy at all. None of us is better than the other where our sin and rebellion against God is concern. Long before we show any signs of repentance, God sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. Long before we gave our life to Jesus, God has already through Jesus begun the work of salvation in our lives.

Today we who are the Children of God are forgiven of our sins, we do not deserve the forgiveness but we are forgiven. There may some people in our lives whom we feel are not deserving of our forgiveness. They may have wounded us very deeply or done things which are absolutely unforgivable. Let us remember we have done the unforgivable when we rebel against God and because of our sins, Christ in obedience to His Father had to go to the cross in order that we can be forgiven. Forgiveness is not easy but to not forgive is a great burden to bear.

“Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22

I Am A Sinner

2010-10-06T14:36:00.001+08:00

One Saturday morning while we were at a coffee shop near our place, my wife rife went to the fishball noodle stall to make her orders. The stall helper out of the blue blurted out to her that I am a good man. He made his conclusion after having had some conversations with me before. Humility will not permit me to say that I agree with him but in all of my humanness there was a head on my shoulders that was about to explode with beaming pride.

Am I a really nice guy? It very much depends on circumstances. If you were to ask the service staff of Singnet, my broadband provider, if I am a nice guy, they will not think so especially when I was pretty demanding with them recently..

The problem with me is I am nice as long as the environment around me is conducive, I am nice as long as others don’t step on my toes. The reality is I am not nice enough that I am able to measure up to the standard of God. I may be nice by human standards but in my relationship with God I still want full control of my life. When my pride is affected, I am not happy. When I feel a sense of injustice being done to me, I want to retaliate and demand justice. I have not committed so called any major sins and still am a pretty decent guy as far as I am concern. I may be a nice but that does not change the fact that I am a sinner. Sin as the puritans in the valley of vision rightly puts “Let me never forget that the heinousness of sin lies not so much in the nature of sin committed, as in the greatness of the person sinned against.” I was a sinner because I have rebelled against my God and rejected His rule in my life. I am a sinner because in many ways I am still living life my own way.

By God’s mercy I was convicted of my sins and was able to respond in faith and repentance to the Gospel and enabled to receive the free gift of salvation. The Spirit has enabled me to understand the great love and mercy of God. Christ died for my sins, I am not able to measure the greatness of such love, it is beyond me.

However despite the great mercy and love of God and knowing that His way is the most perfect way, I still find myself travelling on my old paths of sin and wanting my ways on many occasions. It is a daily struggle of giving up my will and submitting to the will of God. It is easy to submit when God brings me up the mountain to experience His love and glory. However when I am down in the valley where He often will put us to build up our faith in Him, I struggle and still drawn to the familiar stench of sin. Despite knowing that the greatest satisfaction and pleasure I can find is in the Lord, I still seek pleasures and satisfaction in the world, which needless to say is never fulfilling.

I can only thank God for His great patience and love. I find my assurance and salvation in Christ and Christ alone. I am unable to count on myself to try to live a life that is pleasing to God and certainly not on my own strength and efforts, certainly not by doing it my way.

As I reflect on myself, I cannot help but feel ashamed not simply because I am a sinner. I am very ashamed when I think of the many times when I feel God is unfair and He is not loving . I am ashamed for the times when I get frustrated with God because my prayers are not answered. I am ashamed for the many times when I move away from God instead of growing closer towards Him. I am ashamed for the many times I feel I deserve better than what I have now.

When I take time out from comparing with others or wallowing in self pity and just simply look into my own heart. I am appalled and I try to make myself feel good by looking at others whom I think are worst than me.

I am ashamed for I am a sinner. However I am glad, extremely glad and forever grateful that I have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and I am forgiven of my sins, for Christ died on my behalf. How then should I live my life before my God?

"It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.” 1 Timothy 15-16

The Difference Between Believing and Trusting

2010-09-22T17:39:00.001+08:00

In my recent trip to Northern Thailand and Myanmar, I learnt an important difference between believing and trusting. One can believe in something without necessarily putting our trust in it.

If you asked me do I believe in God and do I believe that Christ is my Lord and Saviour, I will not hesitate to answer yes. I can believe in God but have I trusted in God enough to surrender my all to Him or put it in another can I trust my life in God’s hand. If we truly know who God is, asking if I can trust my life in God’s hand is a very foolish question. Regardless of whether I can trust my life in God’s hand, my life is in His hands. I do not think any one of us would argue on this point, I certainly would not. However despite knowing this absolute truth, I often find myself foolishly not trusting God.

In my recent mission trip, we originally intended to go see the ministry in Myanmar but we had very little details. Then as the dates grew near and more details were made available I became fearful. We had to surrender our passport at the border and give the temporary passport issued by the immigration to our driver who is in charge, this arrangement alone cause me very great discomfort. Then news came that we were not able to go to Myanmar because of the political situation and I was filled with very mixed feelings, disappointed and relief at the same time. I was disappointed to not be able to witness God’s work in Myanmar and yet relief that I need not have to take the risk of losing my passport.

Even before I got over the mix bag of feelings, news came that we can enter into Myanmar after all but only to where the Seminary was located and not further up. Again I was filled with another new mix of feelings. I was happy, excited and apprehensive, all at the same time. I was happy and excited to experience the ministry in Myanmar. At the same time I was apprehensive because of the journey there and our having to travel without having personal charge of our travel documents. It did not help when I realized that our mobile phones have no connection at all. It also certainly did not help that before my trip my son shared with me a dream he had which was related to my trip. He dreamt of seeing a landslide along our journey in the mountains and along the way I indeed saw fallen rocks on the side of the road.

As I ponder on my mixed bag of feelings, I do not think anyone would fault me for having those feelings. However I cannot help but ask how much did I really trust God in the whole journey. Do I believe that God is Sovereign? Yes I do. Do I believe that God’s will is perfect? Yes I do. Do I believe that God is with us throughout the whole journey? Yes I do. Do I believe that God loves us and will watch over us? Yes I do. Despite all my beliefs I still worry and I wonder why?

I sometimes wonder if I worry because I am not in control of the situation and I very much want to be in control. Would I still worry if I know the outcome? If we know God, if we really know who God is and what it means that He is the creator of the world, then w would know that the outcome of all that we do and all of life is determined by Him, He is in control. If God our heavenly Father who cares and loves us is in control is that not sufficient reason for us not to worry. I pray we all will learn to trust God completely and not simply just believe in God.

“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. “ Hebrews 4:16

Be Still Before The Lord

2010-09-16T12:01:00.001+08:00

As we reached Banana Village which was to be our base camp for the next 9 days, I alighted from the vehicle a most beautiful sight welcomed me. It has been years since I last saw a night sky filled with stars, it was simply lovely. Early in the morning as I rise to the crow of the rooster, I walked out of the house, the cornfield was before me and the mountains beyond the valley and my soul was still before the Lord.

Back in Singapore, there is very little time to be still before the Lord. I find myself often sucked into the business of life, struggling to wake up in the morning and rushing the children to school and rushing to get ready for work. As I seat in my chair in the office, my mind is often flooded with a thousand and one things, it is so cluttered that there hardly any room left to contemplate being still before the Lord.

I love waking up in the morning and walking out of the house at Banana Village. The few mornings we spent there, I would read from the pilgrim psalms, I would stand and praise God as I behold the wonders and beauty of His creation and I would still my heart before my God. Despite knowing there are more beautiful sights than what I have seen but the sight before me was enough to make me stand in awe of God.

I wonder as I typed this reflection, do I need to go to the mountains before my heart can be still before the Lord. Do I need to be woken up by the rooster early in the morning and stepped out into the cool morning breeze before I can praise the Lord? Do I need to look up to the night sky full of sparkling stars before I can declare how awesome God is?

This trip for me was one that has been filled with many uncertainties. I was initially uncertain if I want to go. When I made up my mind to go, I was uncertain if I can find speakers to fill in the Sunday slot. Even the whole program for the trip was filled with much uncertainty and I was stressed out trying to figure what sermons and materials to prepare. In the midst of all these uncertainties, I was reminded to learn to trust in the Lord by the psalmist in Psalm 121. This psalm became my theme throughout the trip.

It dawned upon me that it was neither the mountains nor the stars that enabled me to be still before the Lord. It has nothing to do with the creations but everything to do with the creator. The creations are simply a reminder to me of my creator. My heart was at peace and I was ready for whatever the Lord may lead us to because I simply learn to trust in the Lord. No stress and no panic button to press because I know the Lord was with us. There were apprehensions as we made our way to Myanmar, which was another trip that was filled with many uncertainties. However as we travelled pass the border town of Myanmar and drove up the mountain, the anxieties and apprehensions began to slowly dissipate. As we travel up the long and windy road, up the mountains and down the valley, I can’t help but marvel once again at the wonders of the God of creation.

“I will lift my eyes to the mountains;

From where does my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.”

Our lives may be filled with many things and our minds occupied with many thoughts. We may not have mountains to behold or stars to marvel at but we have the Living word of God. His word assures us that in Christ we can find peace in our hearts, His living word assures us that we need not worry about our tomorrows. The word of God comforts us with the knowledge that He is our shepherd. We were brought into the salvation of God through the power of the gospel which reveals that we have been purchased by the blood of the Lamb of God. The stillness of our soul before the Lord is not from without but from within. If we know God, our hearts can be still even in the midst of the hustle and bustle of life.

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam,

Though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

He utters His voice, the earth melts.

The LORD of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Selah

Come, behold the works of the LORD,

how He has brought desolations on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

He burns the chariots with fire.

"Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!"

The LORD of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Selah

Psalm 46

Right Relationship

2010-09-03T12:03:00.000+08:00

I have been busier than usual lately and finding myself having to plan and do a few things at the same time. Occupying my top agenda this week was my preparation for the mission trip to Northern Thailand this coming Saturday. I have completed 4 sermons and also managed to string some training notes just in case we get to visit a bible school near the region. Each completion of my task gives me a sense of accomplishment. In preparing for the trip, I felt an increased need to keep a close walk with the Lord.

In reading through some devotional materials, I was made to ask myself, “What is God’s main concern with me?” Does He look at me and say He is well pleased with this servant of His who keep himself busy with the work of the ministry. Is he well pleased that I am careful to watch my spiritual health just before my trip?

What are the things that will cause us to rejoice? When a ministry is successfully carried out, a sermon effectively preached, a great number of people responding to the gospel message? Well we do rejoice in all these things and it is not exactly wrong to do so. I wonder what if we hardly meet with success in ministry and the sermons hardly caused a ripple in the pond let alone a storm in the ocean, can we still rejoice?

I was compelled to do a rethink on all that I have been striving for and consider what is at the top of the list? Am I concern with my effectiveness in the ministry that God has placed me in and do I give myself a pat on the back and expect God to do likewise for a job well done? Chambers made this remark, “The snare in Christian work is to rejoice in successful service, to rejoice in the fact that God used you.” While I do not think it is wrong to rejoice in success and to be glad that God has used us but the inherent danger is the tendency to place our emphasis on the service and neglect our relationship with God.

These past weeks, I have been striving to get things right, making sure I have sufficient materials to bring for the trip, I have been also trying to watch my walk with God and making sure I am regular in my quiet time with the Lord. I have been also watching my diet so as to keep myself healthy physically. So is the Lord well pleased with me? Honestly even I am not pleased with myself and my attitude and the reason is because my focus has been on the service. I simply want to be useful for the Lord.

While I believe the Lord does use and desires us to do His work but He treasures our close relationship with Him above all our services. We often hear people asking how the Church doing is and often it is asked within the context of her ministry rather than her relationship with God. We hear of Churches that are dynamic, or the Churches that are vibrant. Churches are known for their successes and growth and it often gets people excited. How often do we ask about the Church love relationship with God or how intimate is her relationship with God? How do we measure our relationship with God? Is it by the things we do and the ministries we carried out? How does one measure a relationship? We do not measure it by the amount of things we have achieved or the number of successful programs we have planned. We measure it by how much we value the relationship. Likewise our relationship with God is measured by how much worth do we out into that relationship. What differentiates between a close friendship and an acquaintance is by how much we have put into that relationship to build the bond.

As an individual perhaps a good way we measure our relationship with God is by the priorities we place in spending our time with God and in expressing our love for Him by loving others.

As a Church our relationship with God is certainly not measured by the amount of success we have achieved in our ministries but we may consider how much worth we place in glorifying God through our worship. We can measure our relationship with God not by the attendance we have in prayer meeting but by the number of hearts that willingly surrender to Jesus and declaring that all we have is Christ, He alone is our all in all.

What should give us the greatest joy and the highest value is knowing Christ.

“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,” Philippians 3:8-9

True Conversion

2010-08-26T10:55:00.002+08:00

While reading through some articles and blogs in the web, I came across this statement, “Joy is no indication of saving faith.” This was the point John Macarthur made during his session in this year Together for the Gospel Conference. The immediate question that comes to mind is “Can we not rejoice in our salvation.” The psalmist in Psalms 51 cried to the Lord to restore to him the Joy of the Lord’s salvation. So what do we mean when we say joy is no indication of saving faith? What then is a true indication of saving faith?

The psalmist who cried out to God to restore to him the joy of His salvation also acknowledged that the Lord will not reject a “broken and contrite heart”. Joy came into my heart when I experience the call to salvation but tears came to my soul when I was convicted of my sins. We can rejoice and we should rejoice in our salvation and we will have joy when we experience the forgiveness of God for our sins against Him. However I agree with the statement that, “Joy is not indication of saving faith.” True conversion begins with the regeneration of the heart by the Holy Spirit. Without a regeneration of the heart we are not able to respond to the gospel at all. Ephesians 2:5 clearly bring out this point, “even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),” A dead heart cannot respond only a regenerated heart is able to.

The picture of a regenerated goes beyond a person who stopped breathing and was resuscitated. The regenerated heart is one that is truly dead and buried and brought to life by the Spirit. To regenerate in Biblical language is to be born again into a new life. A regenerated is a heart that knows the gravity of the sin we have committed against God. It is one that will lead to a respond of what Jonathan Edwards sees as a mark of true conversion, “A broken hearted love for God.”

As I reflect on this, an immediate question comes to my mind, “Can anyone be saved without a true conviction of their sins and repentance from their sins?” The Bible tells us that when we believe in Jesus we will be saved. That belief encompasses the fact that all have sin and fallen short of the glory of God and the wages for our sins is eternal damnation in hell. It covers the truth that God loves us and sent His Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, it involves the fact that Christ rose again from the grave on the third day and thus is able to bring us into the new life in Him. It involves the hope we have that He will return one day to bring us all back to God.

In believing we all have sin and have rebelled against God, there is the need to confess our sins and confession must always be accompanied by repentance. Without repentance I don’t think there can be a genuine confession. If we believe Jesus to be our Saviour who have come to deliver us from the bondage of sin then there is a necessity for us to confess Him as Lord. We cannot honestly believe we have repented from our sins if we deny the Lordship of Christ. If Christ is not the ruler of our hearts that could only mean that sin still rules in us and we are still living in rebellion against His rule and we have no genuine salvation. No one can be saved without a conviction of sins and repentance from sin.

Joy is certainly no indication of saving faith, if one merely believes in Jesus because he has been healed from his illness or he has found love and support within the body of Christ or has delivered from some challenges or difficulties in life. The Lord out of the compassion of His heart healed many, the blind saw and the lame walked and thousands were fed when they were hungry and many hearts were filled with joy when He entered Jerusalem. I wonder how many of these people were involved in shouting for Him to be crucified.

We can rejoice and celebrate the goodness and blessing of God without the gift of salvation.

For people can lift their hands in praise to God for the rain He sent down after a long period of drought but they will juts as quickly raised their hands in defiance when draught ravaged their land. We have seen a fair share of people who have fallen from faith when they fall into hardship.

True conversion shares not only the joy of the Lord but will also enable us to be prepared to share in the sufferings of the Lord. We will learn soon enough to consider it pure joy when we undergo trials in our life. True conversion involves a heart afflicted with sorrow by the sins that come from within our own hearts and not merely by the sins and atrocities we see in the world. It involves a genuine and honest look into our own hearts and a realization of how sinful we are. True conversion brings us to a state whereby we find that our only hope is Christ and Christ alone. True conversion involves a heart that is surrendered to Christ; it involves a life that belongs to Christ.

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.” 1 John 1:5-10

Web Of Lies

2010-08-17T16:32:00.000+08:00

When I was young I used to love the stories about the adventures of the monkey king. I also remembered watching them in the movies. The stories often would revolve around how the monkey and his master Xuan Zang, together with his fellow disciples, would go through many perils in their journey to the west. Often it will involve some female demon spirits trying to tempt them and the monk and his disciples would be lured into a beautiful illusion. Mostly in the form of a big mansion with pretty maidens serving them all kind of delicacy and entertaining them with dancing and singing. When they finally realize it is a trap the whole scene would change and what was supposed to be a beautiful mansion would suddenly turn out to be nothing more than some wilderness or spider caves etc. The whole thing was nothing more than an elaborate web of lies spun by the evil spirits to trap them in order to consume the flesh of the monk Xuan Zang.

These stories while steep in Chinese mythology do however reflect some truths in the life many of us are living in the world. Many of us live a life chasing an illusion and our pursuit often turns into lust. We lust after many different things to seek intense pleasure. We lust after the flesh because we want satisfy our sexual pleasure, we lust for material things in the hope that they will make us happy, we lust for power that we may be in control, we lust for fame that we may have all the attention on us. Different people crave for different things but they seek the same end, pleasure and delight.

Where do we get the notion that beautiful girls, fast cars, big mansions, latest computers or gadget, exotic holidays and so on will offer pleasure and delight? Probably from others who are pursuing pleasure and delight and the medium today is often through what we read in papers and magazine and what we watch on television and movies.

I deliberately used the word lust because lust is often associated with the extreme craving for sinful pleasures and often sexual in nature. As long as what we pursue in life is not sexual in nature, we tend to don’t see it as lust and thus lessen the degree of guilt on our pursuit. The fact is what we pursue that drives us in the opposite direction of our pursuit for God is sin. The obsession and intensity in which we pursue it makes that very thing the idol we worship. Beyond the things that we crave for, it could be the job that drives us, or the hobby we cannot live without.

It is understandable that the children of darkness will pursue the fallen things of this world, things that are stained with the stench of sin. What is difficult to understand is why the children of light are often found pursuing the same things, while we are drawn to the sinful stench. We have allowed Satan to blind us with his lies. What Satan has been doing is to blind the minds of unbelievers and on many occasions I suspect even believers. 2 Corinthians 4:4 we are told that the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. In living in sin people are living under the lies and deception of the devil. As Christians if we are lusting after the things and the pleasures of this world we are in the same boat as the unbelievers and living out the lies and deception of the devil. We have the light to see the true state we are in, we have the light to see through the illusions of this life and realize that they are nothing more than filth and darken caves. The path of lust does not lead us to pleasure and delight, it leads us to sorrow and destruction.

Listen to the psalmist, “Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.” To delight in something or someone is to derive great pleasure from. The most lasting and greatest pleasure we can find is in the Lord, it is only in the Lord that we can find true satisfaction. Delight ourselves in the Lord and not trapped ourselves in the web of lies spun by the devil by delighting in the things of this world.

“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” Colossians 2:8

Heart Matter

2010-08-05T17:10:00.001+08:00

One the greatest challenge I face as a parent is trying to discipline my children. One would think having three children would give you a pretty good idea of how to handle your children but fact is nothing is closer to the truth as far I am concern. It does not get easier, they get progressively more challenging. Zachary my oldest when he was just a toddler, we never once see him try to climb over the railings in the mall. Tammy our second child attempted it once but did not try again after some stern warnings. Adley our youngest is in a league of his own, we cannot let him out of our sight at the mall and no warning no matter how stern can really sink into him.

I am not one who believes in sparring the rod and often I will not hesitate to use it but often more as warning than actual caning. The cane would split after a while as a result of “caning the cupboard or the wall” for it is too painful to hit my children too hard. Just the other day when my daughter really got on my nerves and I hit much harder than I normally do, it caused great distress in my heart long after the crying and the pain has subsided. The cane seems to have a greater impact upon me than the children. I often wonder how I can reign in my children and bring them up to become godly kids.

As a parent it is my desire to see my children grow up fearing God and loving Him above all else. That sounds pretty noble but recently while reading the book titled “Shepherding a Child’s Heart”, I realized that I have missed the mark in guiding them. Often I have dealt primarily with the symptoms of bad behavior but have often missed out the root of the problem. I react to a situation that I find undesirable, a behavior that I find unacceptable, I seek to solve an immediate problem but the root remains. The mark that I have missed out on is the heart. I missed out on my heart and the heart of my children.

The first heart that I need to deal with is my own, what should be the prime motivation for me to discipline my child? Often my answers would be I want well behave children, or I want some peace and quiet. I could also be because I don’t want them to get hurt to simply there are some behaviors or attitudes that I simply cannot condone. There may be a variety of other reasons, some noble and some not so noble but it more often than not involve what I want for my children.

While I would want to say that it is because I love my children that I discipline and that is biblical as written in Proverbs 13:24, “ He who withholds his rods hates his son; But he who loves him discipline him diligently.” However there were often times when I find myself disciplining my children out of anger and frustration more than out of love. My discipline instead of correcting my children in accordance with the ways of the Lord end up creating either fear of punishment or anger in their hearts instead of fear and love for the Lord. I have to be reprimanded by the Lord, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Bringing my children and disciplining them is not a right that I have but a responsibility entrusted to me by the Lord. I have been put in charge by the Lord to be the head of the family and it is my responsibility to teach and guide my children. My heart has to be in the right place and the right place is with the Lord.

When it comes to my children, my responsibility must not simply be wanting to deal with behavioral issues or ensuring good grades or even preparing the child to have a secure life in this world. Tedd Tripp, the author of “Shepherding A Child’s Heart” wrote, “You must address the heart as the foundation of behavior, and the conscience as the God-given judge of right and wrong. The cross of Christ must be the central focus of your childbearing.” And he concluded the chapter bys saying, “Correction and shepherding must focus on Christ. It is only in Christ that the child who as strayed, and has experienced convictions of sin may find hope, forgiveness, salvation, and power to live.” When we see things in that perspective we must begin to lead our children to see that their misbehavior is a sin and they are primarily accountable to God when they sin. And whatever discipline we carry out must be base on our God given responsibility and not simply because of our parental rights. Not just because I am the father!

My journey in learning how to raise my children is still a long one but at least I must learn to begin at the right place and the right place to start is with their hearts and the right place to end is also their heart, a clean heart, cleanse by the blood of Jesus. The preparation begins with my own heart and where my treasures are. If my treasures are here on earth, there my heart will be. If my heart is here on earth then naturally I will direct the hearts of my children to seeking the treasures here on earth. However if my treasure are in heaven, there my heart will be. That is also where I will direct the hearts of my children to.

“But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. “ Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:31-34

Chosen By God

2010-07-29T11:23:00.001+08:00

Some weeks back in my fellowship with some pastor friends of mine, we had a discussion on Calvinism and Arminianism. It was a lively debate which serves to reinforce my conviction.

In a nutshell Arminianism is the belief that salvation is accomplished through the combined efforts of God (who takes the initiative) and man (who must respond) - man's response being the determining factor. God has provided salvation for everyone, but His provision becomes effective only for those who, of their own free will, "choose" to cooperate with Him and accept His offer of grace. At the crucial point, man's will plays a decisive role; thus man, not God, determines who will be recipients of the gift of salvation.

While Calvinism believes that salvation is accomplished by the almighty power of the Triune God. The Father chose a people, the Son died for them, the Holy Spirit makes Christ's death effective by bringing the elect to faith and repentance, thereby causing them to willingly obey the gospel. The entire process (election, redemption, regeneration) is the work of God and is by grace alone. Thus God, not man, determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation.

Arminianism is a based on the teaching of a Dutch Reformed Theologian by the name of Jacobus Arminius and Calvinism is named after John Calvin who wrote a theological paper to refute the teaching of Arminius. In fact the debate went back before Calvin and Arminius, it is claims the roots of the debate went all the way back to the fifth century involving Augustine and Pelagius. The debate has been ongoing till today and I have long ago abandon trying to debate on the issue as there seem to be no conclusion until I began reading John Owen’s book titled “The Death of Death in the death of Christ”. It is a very difficult book to read and apparently John Owen spent 7 years writing the book and I have not gotten past the first five pages of his writing. The introduction by J. I Packer (which was an excellent piece of work) have revived my conviction that I am chosen by God and I am continually awed and humbled by the fact that God chose me.

I am reminded of a sermon that I preached from the text in Malachi 1:1-5, when the people asked God how has He loved them and His answer was simply, ““I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”

What kind of answer is that? Every Israelite worth his salt will know that Esau is Jacob’s brother. What has God choice of Jacob over Esau got to do with the question, “How have you loved us?” If you know the implication of the answer you would tremble at the love of God, a love that has been termed as the electing love of God. Not only were they brothers they were twins and Esau by virtue of the fact that he came out first was the elder of the two. While Esau may have sold his birthright but Jacob was equally despicable in cheating his father of the blessing that should have been Esau’s. None of them deserve God’s love but God chose to love one over the other. The very serious implication here is that God could have jolly well chosen Esau over Jacob and the people having the conversation now with God could have been the Edomites instead of the Israelites. God is telling the people I have chosen to love you.

Some of us may choose to believe that we chose God and you are most welcome to disagree with me on biblical grounds that your will played a decisive role in your salvation but for me base on this text and several other including Ephesians, the fact that God chose me is a most sobering truth for me. It was not my birthright to be chosen by God, my birthright is eternal damnation for I was born a sinner.

However God has chosen to love me and He has chosen to pay the price for my redemption and has given me a new birthright as joint heirs with His Son. What did I ever do to deserve it, NOTHING, A BIG FAT NOTHING.

Why did God choose Jacob and not Esau, I do not know, why did God choose me, I don’t know. Why did God choose you, I do not know. Fact is He chose Jacob, He Chose me, He chose you. What is our respond to this fact?

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:3-6

Prosperity And Security

2010-07-23T18:15:00.002+08:00

Jerusalem was the designated place of worship before the twelve tribes divided the kingdom. However when the kingdom was divided, the northern kingdom was effectively cut off from Jerusalem. At that time Jeroboam was made the first king of the northern kingdom Israel. Afraid that his people will defect if he allowed them to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast at the temple as God has commanded, he designated Bethel as the place to worship. It was recorded that he set up the golden calves for the people to worship there. He commissioned his own priests and instituted his own feast and even made concession by allowing the people to worship as they pleased and even where they pleased. If they cannot go to Bethel, they can go to Gilgal, they could even worship other gods.

His action not only did not result in serious consequences but Israel actually became prosperous and politically secure. It was by all counts a golden era for the kingdom. Thus it came as no surprise for the king and his people to think that what they did was pleasing to God. What the people of Israel neglected was the law of God, not only did they reject the rule and commands of God but they actually thought that God was pleased with them. That was until the Prophet Amos came into scene to pronounce God’s judgment upon the people.

While Amos proclamation may come across as a message of condemnation but it was the manifestation of true grace. With the judgment come hope and restoration, restoring the people back to God.

I wonder what if Amos simply came and preached a feel good message for the people to hear, non-judgmental and non-condemning. What if he looks at the golden era of the nation and tells them that God’s unmerited favour is upon them and God loves them and will continue to bless them. Will that be a true message of grace or is that a message that will eventually condemn the people? Of course we have the benefit of biblical history to tell us that will not have been a true message of grace.

Today people are drawn by “prophets” who teach them, “God is more eager to prosper you than you are willing to be prospered! In fact, He is so keen for you to enjoy His prosperity that in His mind, giving you a multiplication of wealth and assets is a settled matter...

My friend, expect prosperity in your life because you are already rich in Christ. Jesus took your place of poverty at the cross — “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9) In Him, you are poor no more. So stop looking at the lack in your natural resources. Look to the cross and say, “Yes, Christ has made me rich. It is a matter of time before I will see His prosperity in my life!” (Sample from devotional materials produced by a local Mega Church) The cross is not where Jesus took your poverty and replaced it with prosperity, the cross is where Jesus took your sins upon Himself and put His garment of righteousness on you.

Our biblical gospel is a gospel of grace but it does not point to the goodness of men rather it contrasts the depravity of men with the mercy of God. It points people to the cross where the wrath and judgment of God is manifested to show sinners the love of God. It brings forth the message of salvation from the bondage of sin and not the blessings of health and wealth. The message of the gospel reveals the sins of men and offers the justification of faith alone, in Christ alone. It calls for people to take up their cross and not put on their crown in this earth. While we may be destined to reign but our journey begins with the cross.

Today Churches that preaches a feel good gospel, one that does not require you to take up your cross are drawing in the crowds and they have been “richly blessed” with great wealth and their prophets are telling them God is pleased with them. I can only pray for God to show His grace upon them by sending an Amos into their midst. Be sure the warnings are already in His word that He has given us but many eyes are open only to the current wealth and security that they enjoy thinking that God is pleased with them. (2 Timothy 4:3-4: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (KJV)) I think that time has come and people are turning away from the truth.

The true gospel convict and not console, it calls for you to give up your old life and not build it up with wealth. It is a call to die to self and not to be blessed with good health. The false gospel of health and wealth while on the surface give grace and makes one feel so love and wanted but it will ultimately condemn all who lived by its “truth”. It condemns when you are sick and when you are poor, it condemns by pointing you to the cross of prosperity and brings you away from the cross of Jesus. The true gospel may seem to condemn but it offers the only hope for salvation and brings grace in all its true splendour. Taking up our cross to follow Christ requires you to give up your earthly life but then it will lead you into eternal life and eternal treasure and there is no treasure more precious than to be with Christ for all eternity. Jesus’ calling to His disciples is come take up your cross and not come and be blessed with wealth.