Christmas Reflection

Today is 28 Dec 2014.  Christmas has come and gone.  The year has come to a close.

This year has not been a great year to me.  Just before Christmas, on 17 Dec, I received news that my friend Terrence Thomas passed away.  He was younger than me.  Together with the demise of my eldest sister, my mother, my father and my father-in-law, the past 3 years was a painful time of breaking bond and some regrets.  I still dream of my parents almost every week.

Perhaps it is part of the life cycle that we all have to go through.  At my age, it may be natural to see more and more people leaving.

I too understand that to live, we should not think too much about death, and after every incidence of death around us, we need to close the subject and move on quickly.

But it is easier say than done.

Christmas is a time when I remind myself of Christ’s incarnate and His purpose to come die on the cross for me.  'Silent Night' was the most beautiful carol ever, and it romanticize the love of God.  As I knelt before the cross this Christmas, I thank God for life, for His blessings, the love of people around me, and the love of people departed from me.  I seek forgiven for my failures to live up to God asked of me, just as I had failed to live up to my departed parents' expectation from me.

It has been an emotional time for me.  Thank you for reading this blog entry.

No Human, Not Even Jesus, Knows When -- Christ's Second Coming

Since God is the creator, God is outside the time dimension.  God's perspective of time is totally different from human's perspective of time.

In Isaiah 7:14, God told His people, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you (yes you, the people who were listening) a sign: Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel...".  However, the timing was not what the people expected.  Immanuel did not come in that generation, but over 500 years, or over 20 generations later.

When reading the New Testament, we must not put a time to future events such as the Second Coming of Christ.  Regarding this, Jesus said "But of that day and how, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." Matt 24:36.

When Jesus was on earth as a human, He was no longer omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.  He was limited in time and space and knowledge, as all humans are.

So when Jesus told people of His generation that 'This generation will not pass away till all these things take place." Matt 24:34, this did not take place.  By being wrong, He actually proved Matt 24:36 correct !!!

It is reassuring that Jesus, while He was human, made mistakes in timing like all humans.

So the lesson is clear.  We should not predict Christ's second coming.  It may be close, it may be very far away.

Merry Christmas 2014

Joe failed to understand Dad's love

I hope this is not a true story.  It happened before the mobile phone era.

Joe completed his tour of duty in the war in Middle East.  He was flown back to San Francisco.  He called his parents in New York. 
"I'm really glad you are coming home son." said Dad.
"Just a few more days, Dad.  By the way, I would like to bring a friend with me." Joe said.
"Sure, and who is he?"
"Dad, his name is Peter.  He stepped on a landmine and lost an arm and a foot.  He has nowhere to go. Can I bring him home and live with us permanently?  Joe replied.
"Son, you don't understand what you are asking.  It will be too much for us to look after Peter.  We have our lives to go on. Surely Peter has somewhere else to go and someone to look after him? Dad replied.
The phone call ended shortly.

3 days after, Dad received a call from the police that his son Joe had apparently committed suicide.  When Dad went to identify the body, he was stunned that Joe was without an arm and a foot.

Lesson:  Joe should not do what he did.  He should not test his Dad.   Joe did not grasp the immense greatness of parental love.  He did not did not really appreciate the different types of love.

A parent's love to his own child is not the same as his love to another person's child.  There are many parents who have severely handicapped children who require life-long care.  Yet these parents are prepared to forsake everything, glory, freedom, wealth, worldly enjoyment, and even their own lives, to look after their own handicap children for 20 years, 50 years, 80 years. But ask them, the same parents, to adopt someone else's handicap children and accord them the same sacrifice, the answer is no.

Love is like that.  Joe's Dad can sacrifice much, or readily sacrifice everything, for Joe's sake.  But do not expect him to do the same for Peter, who was just another person in the world of 7 billion.  Parental love could be sacrificial.  Other human love could come and go, wax and wane, or turn hot and cold.

There was no need for Joe to use Peter to test his Dad's love.  Joe was the begotten son.  Peter was not.

"So then, you are no longer a slave but a son.  And since you are a son, God will give you all that he has for his sons." Gal 4:7.

Christ has freely invited us to be sons of God.  You decide.

Some have more crowns, some have less, and all have none.

Some of us love God and serve God almost all our working lives.  Christ will reward you with 'crowns' (or trophies) when the time comes.  There are different types of crowns.  There is the crown of righteousness, crown of glory, crown of honor, crown of life, etc. (2 Tim 4:8, 1 Pet 5:4, Heb 2:9, James 1:12, etc)

Some of us believe and accept Christ's gift of salvation at the end of our lives.  Hence you do not have time to serve Christ.  You will go to Heaven, but without any crown.

Now, all living things need to live with a sense of purpose.  Being rewarded for one's effort is important.  When we are in Heaven,  some of use will be wearing many crowns, and some, probably, without any crown.  This is inequality.  Whenever there is inequality, there is dissatisfaction and unhappiness. (Because all living things have a natural tendency to compare with one another!)

But fret not.  Revelations 4:10 says that we will all lay our crowns before the throne of God.  So, yes, perhaps for a short while, some may be walking around with several pretty crowns, and some with no crown.  But in a while, those with crowns will offer them back to God.  Then, everybody will have no crown to show off again.  All are equal.  The source of unhappiness has been removed.  And now everyone is happy.

What a clever solution to make everyone happy.

Remember, serving God is a privilege.  It is hard work, but the satisfaction is intrinsic.  Physical rewards are there, but we will happily place these trophies at Jesus' feet.

Note:   Why is there a 'crown'  in the slogan below?
Answer: Keep Calm and Carry On was a motivational poster produced by the British government in 1939 in preparation for the Second World War. (Below is the original poster. Source: Wikipedia)

Being Sovereign

God is not only the creator of  all things in Heaven and Earth, He is also sovereign over all things.  (Mind you, all creation were good when created.  Only after they were created that some turned bad.)

Now being sovereign means having control and authority over all things - good or bad things.

Being sovereign, God is in a risky position.  He would be praised and glorified for the good things.  But He would also be 'blamed' for allowing bad things to happen.  After all, He is in a position to stop all the sufferings and all the bad things, but He did not.

So Lord,  why did You allow the Ebola epidemic?  Why did you allow natural disasters?  Why did you allow genocides in so many countries?

But God is God.  We will never understand Him fully.  We are mere creatures.  We understand Him based on what He has revealed to us.  And compassion is one of His attributes.

Joining a Perfect Church

There is no perfect human being.  Some are Extremely good.  Some are Extremely bad.  All the rest fall within these 2 points of the continuum.

 

Same for the churches.  Church is the body of Christ, but made up of people.  There is no perfect church.  Some are Very Christ-like, following the beliefs of the New Testament very closely.  Some are Very unChrist-like, following all kinds of non-biblical beliefs and misinterpretations .  Most of the churches fall within these 2 points of the continuum.

An author in Wikipedia says that there are 41,000 Christian denominations. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominations)  Okay, this number is unimaginable and may be exaggerated.  Let say there are 5,000 denominations, in all different categories (such as Western Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Churches, Various independent Catholic Churches, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Lutherans, Anglicans, Reforms, Presbyterians, Congregationals, Anabaptists, Baptists, Free Evangelicals, Methodists, Apostolics, Pentecostals, Charismatics, Neo- Charismatics, Independents, etc).

If you are looking for the perfect church, then be assured that you will not find it on earth.

However, we must join a 'decent' church.  Look at the church's Statement of Doctrine, Statement of Faith, Statement of Purpose and the Creeds it embraces.  Avoid churches that have unorthodox beliefs about the Trinity, about Salvation, about the Son of God, the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection.   This is my view.

 

 

Say the right thing, do the left thing - Whitney and Solomon

Whitney Houston was a real inspiration to me and to many people of our generation.  Her songs instill hope and love and encouragement.  I really really like her beautiful clear voice, and the uplifting lyrics of her songs.



So it came to me as a great surprise that she was using drugs during the last period of her days.  Through her songs, she had ministered to me in times of loneliness and dejection.  She had inspired me and millions with her songs  -- but she had not been able to inspire herself to overcome the difficult periods of her own life.

King David's son, King Solomon was the wisest man on earth.  He wrote 4 or 5 books in the Bible, teaching and exhorting others to live meaningful and godly lives.  But he himself married one pagan wife after another-- a thousand wives and hundreds of them were pagan.  In the end, he worshipped pagan gods with his pagan wives. 

Probably because of his sins, King Solomon died relatively young -- he ended less than 70 years old.  God never considered Solomon a friend.

The world is full of examples of human beings who say great things, but live lowly lives.  We must NOT aspire to be like them.  We must keep our eyes on Jesus alone.

Why Jesus asked Father to "let this cup pass from me"?

At the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as you will."

Many of us are puzzled by this prayer.

Was Jesus saying, "Father, I don't want to die on the cross-- but I'll do it if You insist" ???   No.

Brother Andrew, in his book AND GOD CHANGED HIS MIND, put it this way:

Remember, it was only a short time before this that Jesus said, referring to His coming crucifixion "What shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this reason I came to this hour." (John 12:27)  Obviously Jesus would not make such an emphatic statement and then do a complete about-face in the Garden and ask God to keep Him from the dying on the cross.

I'm convinced that the 'cup' He was asking God to take from Him was premature death in the Garden of Gethsemane as a result of the crushing satanic pressure that caused Him to sweat drops of blood (Luke 22:44) as His soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. (Matt 26:38).

If He were to die prematurely in the Garden, then He would not die on the cross to save mankind.

So His prayer was in essence, "Father, let this cup pass:  I don't want to die here in the Garden.  If You have changed Your mind about me dying on the cross later, I'm asking You to change Your mind again... but may your will be done."

Some Miracles of the Old Testament

1. The Multiplication of Languages (Babel) Gen 11:7-9
2.  Certain Sodomites Smitten With Blindness (Sodom) Gen 19:11
3.  Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah  Gen 19:24-25
4.  Lot's Wife Turned into a Pillar of Salt (Road from Sodom) Gen 19:26
5. The Burning Bush Not Consumed (Horeb) Ex: 3:2
6. Moses' Rod Transformed into a Serpent (Horeb) Ex 4:2-5
7. Moses' Hand Made Leprous and Healed (Horeb) Ex 4:6-7
8. The Ten Plagues (Egypt) Ex 7:12
9. The Pillar of Cloud by Day and of Fire by Night (near Egypt) Ex 13:20-22
10. The Red Sea Divided, and Returned to Its Channel (near Egypt) Ex 14:21-30
11. Water Brought from the Rock (Horeb and Meribah) Ex 17:5-7, 8-16
12. Aaron's Rod Buds, Blossoms and Dears Almonds (Kadesh) Num 17:1-13
13. The Jordan Divided (River of Jordan) Josh 3:14-17
14. The Walls of Jericho Fall (Jericho) Josh 6:6-20
15. The Sun and Moon Stand Still (Gibeon) Josh 10:12-13
16. Dagon and Many Philistines Fall Before the Ark (Ashdod) 1 Sam 5
17. The Chariot of Fire Takes Elijah to Heaven (Near Jordan) II Kings 2:11
18. The Waters of Jericho Made Fit to Drink (Jericho) II Kings 2:19-22
19. The Widow's Oil Multiplied (II Kings 4:1-7
20. The Sun Made to Go Back (Jerusalem) II Kings 20:9-11
21. Saved in the Fiery Furnace (Babylon Dan 3:19-27
22. Daniel Saved from Lions (Babylon Dan 6:16-23
23. Jonah in the Whale's Belly (Mediterranean) Jon 1:17
24. The Syrian Army Put to Flight (Samaria) II Kings 7:6-7

Solomon the Wise, Solomon the Vile

Solomon was the son of David.  He was wise.  When God asked him "What would you like me to give you?" Solomon answered that he wanted more wisdom.  God was so please that He said "Because you have asked for the wisdom to rule justly instead of long life... or riches... or death of your enemies...I will give you more wisdom and understanding than anyone ever had..."

So Solomon was the wisest man on earth.  (1 Kings 3:9 onwards).  But not for too long.

Sadly, despite all his wisdom, Solomon stopped obeying God.   1 Kings chapter 11 says that Solomon started to marry pagan wives who turned his heart to their pagan gods.  In fact he had a thousand wives, mostly pagan ones. 

Sigh! When the wisest man turned away from God, he was no longer wise. 
Refer to http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/1111.htm

Christianity is not a religion about human wisdom.  Other religions produce wiser human beings than Christianity.  For example, Buddhism could provide logical answers to many questions on worldly problems.

Christianity is a religion of our relationship with God.  With regards to eternal life, having more or having less wisdom is not an issue.

The grace of God is sufficient for all.  We only need to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross; that He rose again on the third day; and that He ascended to heaven after 40 days in the presence of hundreds of witnesses.

I believe.  This is enough.

  

Lessons From the 11th Century Crusades

 

Christianity started in 30 AD when Jesus started His ministry.  Through the evangelistic effort of the early disciples, Christianity spread quickly for the next few hundred years through persuasion, cohesion or conquest.

 

Islam started around 620 AD, Also through evangelistic effort by early believers, Islam spread to many areas including those already entrenched with Christianity.  The spread of Islam was also through persuasion, cohesion and conquest.
 

The collision and rivalry between these 2 religions had resulted in the famous or infamous Crusades when advocates of both religions fought and died.  There were 9 main Crusades and many smaller Crusades.  Read more about them in Wikipedia.
 

Finally the Crusades ended.  Both sides realized the futility of fighting and the idea of 'Dying for your religion results in great honour and reward in Heaven'.
 

The ending of the Crusades resulted in the Ottoman Empire and a Middle Eastern region that is predominantly Islamic, even though this region was originally evangelized successfully by the Christian apostles and disciples.
 

TODAY, I am sad to note that some renegade groups are now conquering regions of Syria and Iraq and committing heinous acts like beheading, rape and torture, to force the people there to adopt their kind of so-called religious beliefs.
 

But the civilized world had learnt its lesson from the futility of military Crusades fought during the 11th to 13th century.  The civilized world is a world of religious freedom. The civilized world would not wage religious wars anymore.
 

Hence, there is now seemingly no effective solution on how the civilized society could counter uncivilized militant group behavior.  What manner of 'crusade' will eliminate this scourge?  

 

 

Epilogue to Taoism

My father passed away on 31 May 2014.  He chose for Taoist funeral rites.  Today marks the final rite -- the 100th-day Rite.

The Taoist priest performed the rite at PekSanTeng Columbarium in the morning. The priest told me that all procedural rites had been duly completed and all matters should now to re-set to normal.

Most likely, this was the last time I have anything to do with Taoist rites.  With both parents settled, I am the start of the new generation of God-fearing believers of Jesus Christ. 

I am now the pioneer who leads future generations to Jesus Christ.  Taoism could now be seen as a religion of the ancestors. The breakaway is now complete.

Jesus Christ shall be the one and only God whom I will worship.  He has resurrected from the death and He is alive.  He has been with me ever since I invited Him into my life, although sometimes He appeared to be very far away. 

For His dying on the cross for me, I will be faithful.

Empty home and memories...

Both my parents had passed on.

It was painful to dispose what they had treasured in the last 60 years, 80 years.  Their beds, their mattresses, their tools, their cookery, their dressing table, their photograph albums, their favorite clothing.

However I did that.  I cleared out their favorite things which they treasured.  I need to face the fact that they had left.

What is left is their empty home; and my memories.

And over time, I know my memories will also fade.  But it would be a long long time.

Meanwhile I still pray for them.  That God will grant them His loving grace.  That in the new world, they would recognize Jesus Christ and dwell with Him in the Father's House (John 14:2).

God's lovingkindness and mercy is eternal. 

Lessons from a 'slipped disc'

I have suffered from a 'slipped disc' for the last 3 weeks. I understand that my case is mild, because a serious case means I will be out-of-action for several months.

I am now about 95% healed.  It is easy to know whether it is healing -- I could tell from the degree of pain when I cough.  3 weeks ago, the pain was excruciating when I coughed.  Now it is only slightly painful.

I guess getting older means more prone to getting hurt physically.

This episode is also a timely reminder that health and wealth could disappear any moment.  If my slipped disc is more serious, I would be bedridden and require serious therapy.  If I fall and break my spine, I may not be able to walk again.  If I suffer from dengue fever, I may die within a few days...

Every few years, God allows me to go through a testing to remind myself that I have been richly blessed... and I should not take the blessings for granted.

I hope I do not need to be reminded again in future.  But if I have to be reminded, then I would gladly go through a bit of pain, for my own good.

I am grateful.  Thank you LORD.

(Tips: If when you cough, you feel a pain along your spine, then hold onto an overhead pole (such as a chin-up pole) before you cough.  This will relieve the pressure and the pain on your lower spine.)

Faith and Fanaticism

Today's newspaper carried a very good article by Alan Mattingly of NY Times.  I like to add my comments.

The world can live with religions.  Religions can co-exist.  It's Fanaticism that is destroying the world.

However, in order to gain a foothold, all new religions, or split-offs of old religions, must be fanatical.

Same with Christianity.  Admittedly, the early Christians and Apostles were fanatics too.  They were saying "Time is short.  Christ is returning soon (during their lifetime).  Go tell the world and everybody the Good News."  Many Christians died and suffered for their zeal and fanaticism!

Today, August 2014, fanaticism is sprouting all over the world!  Muslims against Jews in the Holy Land. Buddhists against Muslims in Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Muslims against Muslims in Iraq and elsewhere.  Boko Haram in Nigeria, etc.

My view is that we are living in the world of 7 billion individuals.  7 billion differences.  If we do not moderate our beliefs, live and let live, we will be killing each other on Earth all the time.

Hence, in order to have peace while on Earth, we must accept differences in beliefs.  At the personal level, we could be most extreme in what we believe and do.  But at the social level, we must let others believe whatever spirituality they want.  There is a need to compromise at the social level.

Perhaps when we all leave this world some day, there will no longer be a need to compromise.  Then, we will know what is, and what is not, for sure.

My last THOUGHT, My first WORDS

All the relatives came for my father's wake the night prior to the his cremation.  They came on the same night to chat-chat with one another.

In one of the conversation, the 'moment of death' was discuss...

Cousin A:  "I told my mum, at the moment of death, you must pray (chant mantra) repeatedly until the last breath, until your consciousness slips away."
Cousin B: "Yes, the final journey must be travelled alone.  No one can help you at the moment of death.  One must take care of oneself."
I quizzed: "What did you tell your mum to chant at that final moment?"
Cousin A:  " It's up to her.  Maybe can simply chant 'namo ahmeetoh, namo ahmeetoh, namo ahmeetoh...' until the consciousness slips away."

Prior to that night, I had not personally considered of what to do at the moment of my death.  The conversation set me thinking.  Yes, one day I will leave this world.  If I leave peacefully, it is a good idea to 'chant or pray repeatedly'  during the final moment, since I would not know the exact point in time my consciousness slips away.  That prayer must be short and easy.  That will be my last thought on this world, and my first words into the next world.  Now what should those words be?  Think Think Think!

After some thinking, I have chosen the 3 words "Thank you Jesus". Jesus is my link between this life and the next life.  I have considered other options like 'Praise The Lord', 'Have Mercy On Me Jesus', 'Jesus I Commit My Spirit', 'Save Me Jesus' etc.  But I finally decided on a 3-word-Thanksgiving.  Thank you Jesus for this life, and for welcoming me to the next life.

Thank you Jesus.  You made all these possible by dying for me on the cross, and then rose again on the third day.  YOU MADE ETERNAL LIFE POSSIBLE !!!

Jeremiah 20 -- Rise above discouragement

I can identify with Jeremiah.

Like what Jesus did while He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jeremiah also poured out his heart and his thoughts in Jeremiah Chapter 20.  It was a mixture of praise, of bitterness, of seeking forgiveness, of obedience and of discouragement.

v 13: Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord! For He has delivered the soul of the needy ones from the hand of evildoers.
Then starting from v 14, his expressed his immense pain and sadness...
v 14-18: Cursed be the day when I was bone; let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me...Why did I ever come forth from the womb to look on trouble and sorrow, so that my days have been spent in shame?

Please read the whole of Jeremiah 20.  Jeremiah was human, with human emotions.  On the whole, Jeremiah had done splendidly as an instrument of God.

We always tell new Christians the good news that they could obtain eternal salvation freely when they accept Christ.  As these new Christians grow in grace and faith, they would see the reality that a Christian life is not always a bed of roses. Life is not easier for a Christian. But with Christ, we are always stronger. We can overcome.

Beyond the sadness and the pain, God is still in control.

Today is Sunday 13 July 2014.

So many things happened in the last 2 weeks.

My father passed away on Saturday 31 May 2014.  I am still trying to make sense of what had happened.  I am still terribly sad.  God did not allow me the joy of witnessing my father's salvation.  My father did not accept Christ before he died.  I had been praying for my both my parents' salvation for thirty over years...yet they did not recognize Christ at their moment of death.  I could only ask God to give them the grace to recognize Christ after they entered the next world.

Then on Wednesday 2 July 2014, my father-in-law passed away.  He had embraced Catholicism.  After being baptized and received the 'Last Rites' while in hospital a few years ago, God let him lived another 4 years.  I am confident he died a Christian. Alleluia!

The last 4 deaths -- first my eldest sister, then my mother, then my father and now my father-in-law, all within 26 months, had really affected me emotionally.  The thoughts of life, the brevity of life, and what is important in life, are constantly churning in my mind, even in my sleep.

I have an emotional disposition.  But the irony is that I do not show emotion on my face. I am sentimental to the core. Sometimes I do not even understand my own emotion.

During the Sunday morning church service today, the pastor preached about praise, the power of praise.  Yes, I need to praise God for what had taken place -- that my father died a peaceful and happy man, confident that he was returning to the place where all his ancestors went before him. 

I like to cling on to the hope that when my father entered the next world, God would grant him the grace to recognize Christ, and to grant him a room in the house of God forever. 

God will still answer my prayer - because He died on the cross and rose again for me... And I have pleaded with Him for thirty over years.

Father's Day: Final Tribute to my Father

Today is Saturday 14 June 2014.

My father passed away on Saturday 31 May 2014.  It has been 2 weeks.

My father was lucid till the end. That morning, he sat on a stool at the sink and kept throwing out lumps of blood clot.  At 6.25 am, he changed to a clean pair of pants, passed me an envelope of cash which he always carried in his pocket, and asked me to "call the ambulance".

Those were his last words. By 6.30 am, his breathed his last.

I was there to take in his last words.  He left me, and this world.  He left me and my siblings all the physical things he had worked for in his life.  He brought nothing along. He was alone.

He loved me, and provided for me, throughout his life.  He had tried to teach me all that he had learnt in his lifetime, although I was seldom listening or teachable.

I am extremely grateful to father and, of course, mother.  Nobody had given me so much of themselves.  What I gave them was miniscule compared to what they had selflessly given me.

I am forever thankful to father and mother.

And I thank God who gave me my parents.  God, please let us meet in Heaven again one day.

It was just 2 weeks.  Of course I am still emotional about father's departure.  Of course I am still very sad...

Father God, I thank you for giving me my wonderful parents.

You decide. You set the time. You stop smoking.

Smoking is an unnecessary habit.  I have relatives who smoke.  I know a lot of sales people smoke.  If you have friends who smoke, pass the message...

My late father belonged to the older generation where smoking was the norm.  He must had smoked since he was 20.  He passed away a few days ago at 89.

He died of throat tumour.  The tumour grew for 10 months.  It was at the entrance to the lung and stomach cavities.  His smoking habit had killed him.

Nobody can stop a smoker from smoking permanently.  Only the smoker himself can give up the habit for good.

So please, tell your friends who are smoking to set a deadline to stop smoking.  Decide on their own.  Perhaps stop smoking after the next birthday, the 40th birthday, or the 50th birthday or the 60th birthday, or whatever.

Do not smoke throughout life, because the chances of dying from throat or lung cancer will then be very very high.  -- And coughing and throwing out blood when suffering from end-stage cancer is a painful and horrific sight -- even for the bravest smoker.

Be determine to stop.  Don't let the cigarettes win.  Send this message to your puffing friends.

In My Rememberance, Always

On 19 June 2013, my mum passed away.  Not one year yet.

On 31 May 2014 morning, my dad passed away too.

I am much sadden by the demise of both parents within a short span of 12 months.  They were absolutely great parents.  I was their only son, and hence the most loved child.  I love them dearly as well.

My father had told me that he wished for Taoist rites when the time come.  I respected his wish, and hence it was Taoist rites for both mum and dad.

I myself, am a Christian..  Taoism is not my religion nor my belief.  However, out of respect and reverence for my parents, I went through the Taoist rites.

I rest on Christ's promise that "Behold I stand on the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him..."  Revelations 3:20. I have asked Jesus to grant my parents, even after they had already entered the spiritual world, the grace to recognize Him as the true Son of God, to acknowledge Him, and to be granted a place in Heaven.  Then, one day, when its my time to leave this world, I will see them in Heaven again. This is my plead to God.

When he was still alive, I had told dad that when he breathed his last and crossed over to the spiritual world he meet various spiritual beings, deities, and gods great and small. Then, he would have to identify the Greatest God, and recognize God's Son and follow after Him.  Our God of Host is merciful forever, and He will always grant salvation to someone who 'opens the door', regardless of whether a person is on earth or in the spiritual world.  I strongly believe that Christ will not reject someone who 'opens the door'.  It's never too late.

Thank you Jesus Christ..

No, a mother cannot be punished for a son's crime

Mother's Day had just been celebrated.  Father's Day will be celebrated in June.

There is this story about a mother and her son -- a loving mother and a not so good son.  One day the son committed a heinous crime, was caught, and was sentenced to 15 years jail by the court.  The mother was heartbroken.  She asked the judge whether she could bear the 15 years punishment for the son, so that the son could continue with his life of freedom.  "No, No, that can't be done.   Whoever commits the crime, whoever would be punished.  There is no substitute." the judge replied.

Well, it seems sensible that whoever sins, whoever should be punished.  It is logical that there is no substitute. 

When a person sins (now, we all sin), then 'the wages of sin is death' (which is eternal separation from God).  But fret not -- God has hatched a redemption plan.  God sent His only begotten Son to die for us sinners.  God use His Son's death to substitute for the death for sinners, so that sinners need not die.  This is substitutionary atonement.

I have been grappling with this issue for a long time.  Why in the real world, the mother cannot take the rap for the son, but in God's kingdom, this can be done through the person of Jesus Christ.

I have stopped confusing myself.  After all God is so big and infinite, that mere humans like me can only understand 5% or 1% of what He is.  I accept Christ's substitutionary atonement by faith.

After all, Christ has proven he could do it.  He is the only one who died and rose again.  No one else can ever do this.

  

Corruption and Shrewdness

This parable is really a surprise!

There was once a rich man who had a servant who managed his property.  The rich man was told that the manager was wasting his master's money, so he called him in and said, 'What is this I hear about you?  Turn in a complete account of my property, because you cannot be my manager any longer.'  The servant said to himself, 'My master is going to dismiss me from my job.  What shall I do?  I am not strong enough to dig ditches and I am ashamed to beg.  Now I know what I will do! Then when my job is gone, I shall have friends who will welcome me in their homes.'

So he called in all the people who were in debt to his master.  He asked the first one, 'How much do you owe my master?' One hundred barrels of olive oil,' he answered. 'Here is your account, the manager told him; 'sit down and write fifty.' Then he asked another one,  'And you - how much do you owe?'  'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he answered. 'Here is your account,' the manager told him; 'write eight hundred.'

As a result the master of this dishonest manager praised him for doing such a shrewd thing; because the people of this world are much more shrewd in handling their affairs than the people who belong to the light."  Luke 16:1-8.

What! Praise the dishonest manager? Okay, okay, praise his shrewdness, then sack him after that! After all, the master had already told him 'you cannot be my manager any longer'.

Now, 2000 years ago, people were already so corrupted and shrewd. Today, people are more so.  Be careful.

However this is not the lesson behind this parable.  Read Luke 16:9 for the real lesson.

Poor Mother Theresa - She missed God for 60 years

I find this article by Father Ron Rolheiser very interesting and profound. 
http://ronrolheiser.com/what-dark-nights-do-for-us/#.U29_jZVZrIU

He explained, in a rather scholarly manner, how Mother Theresa's dryness of God's presence and God's experience in the last 60 years of her life, had resulted in purity of her ministry and her love for God.

I like this article because I too experience God's absence all the time.  I know many God's people who have experienced the same dryness after dedicating their lives to serve God.  Conversely, their are many charismatic Christian speakers who claimed that whenever they read the Bible, or when they pray, God's voice is so real and so close, as if God is whispering to their ears.  These people never had "Dark Nights".  Mother Theresa had "Dark Nights" for 60 years. 

I leave it to you to read this article.  The English is difficult and heavy-going, so read slowly.

Shalom.  Have faith even during "Dark Nights" . 
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  Hebrews 11:1 

Ignore All. Focus on Him Alone

Sometimes when we read the Bible, we are bothered by what we read.  Sure, we do not understand a lot of things written.  We do not understand the story of Cain and Abel, or the story of  Abraham, or the stories of  Moses, or the old Testament laws or the prophetic accounts.

Sometimes when we look at the many Churches, we are bothered by the lack of unity, the difference in practices and sacraments, the differences in teachings, the disagreements in beliefs, the Church politics.

Sometimes when we look at the Church leadership, we are bothered by the low morality, by personal failures of leaders, by sin and greed.

But this is earth.  This is not heaven.  The world, and all that is in it, is sinful - including the things of the Church.

That is why God sent His Son Jesus to come down from heaven to die on the cross to redeem us and the world.  He that is without sin, died for us sinners.

We will just have to ignore the sinful nature of man, and the imperfections of the Church, and focus steadfastly on Jesus Christ.  He alone was crucified, died, buried and rose again.  No one can prove this is not so....although everyone can choose not to believe. 

3 Impossibilities After Death

Jacky passed away. 
His soul fluttered above his stiffening body for a while, and was then whisked into a big reception area, not unlike the Arrival Hall of a big international airport.

Just metres away from the entrance to this Arrival Hall To The Next Dimension were rows and rows of beings.  Representatives of all the earthly religions were there.  There were Christian Representatives and sub-Representatives.  There were Buddhist Representatives, Taoist Representatives, Muslim Representatives, Bahai Representatives,  Free-thinker Representatives, Agnostic Representatives, whatever religious ideology you could imagine, its Representatives were there.

Jacky's soul was shocked, confused and muddled.

"We are all here." the Representatives echoed. "Whom do you want to join?"

"I believe a bit of this religion and a bit of that religion.  I am not sure whom I should join now." Jacky replied.

"Well, it's up to you.  You think over it.  But don't make us wait too long."

This anecdote is purely fictional.  But it illustrates the 1st Impossibility after death.  How could all the religious ideologies continue in the Next Dimension ?

Stay tune to this blog for the 2nd and 3rd Impossibilities.


Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him..." Rev 3:20

Betrayal and Remorse

Good Friday.

The story of the last days of Jesus was filled with Betrayal, Regrets and Remorse.

Judas, supposedly a trusted disciple, led the Roman soldiers to Jesus and had Him captured.  It was an act of betrayal.  Later, Judas was so remorseful that he threw away his reward and hung himself.

Peter acted bravely and drew his sword to protect Jesus.  But it was false bravery because he did not turn his sword against the Roman soldiers, but only hurt the high priest's slave.  It was a cock's crow that reminded Peter that he denied Jesus 3 times at the most critical moments.  Peter cried bitterly.  He regretted his human weakness, his act of betrayal.  He was remorseful.

Foolishness, human weakness and temptation, regret and remorse - these emotions were fully played out -- just like the scripts of popular TV shows and movies.

Aren't these emotions what we experience in life?

Jesus was human just like us.  He experienced these emotional pain, just like us.

Thank you Jesus for being human, for the passion on Good Friday, and for rising from the dead on Easter.  All these, You did it for us.

Too many rites and rituals

Today is Good Friday.  I wish you a 'Good' Good Friday.

In Philippines, the largely Catholic population has strange Holy Week practices.  Their Good Friday rituals include nailing themselves onto the cross, and bloody self-flagellation.



This rituals must had historical origin.  When the Spanish/Portugese colonized Philippines years ago, they quickly evangelized the people.  The Church at that time must had given in to the local pagan practices and allowed the local people to transfer some of such practices to their adopted faith.  Now the Catholic Church is too confused on whether or not to agree with such rituals.

Personally, I do not pay attention to worship rituals instituted by church leaders.  The older the Church history, the more elaborate the rituals.  The dotting of ash on the forehead, the waving of palm leaves, kissing a cross, etc, are all instituted by humans.

I only hold rites which Jesus had instituted for the Church as necessary  -  the act of Baptism and the Holy Communion.

The best way to die

The topic of death is on my mind lately because my dad is dying of cancer.

I am impressed by the God-assisted-death experienced by Moses. Deut 32: 48 onwards...

32:48 - 50  And the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying, go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel for  a possession.  Then  die on the mountain where you ascend...

34:1 - 4  Now Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo... Then the Lord said to him, "This is the Land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying 'I will give it to your descendants'; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.."

34:5 - 7  So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.  And He (God) buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Bethpeor, but no man knows his burial place to this day.  Although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated.

Please note the following:
1. God told Moses how to die well in advance.  Moses had time to prepare himself.
2.  Moses still had good eyesight.  He was still 'vigor'.  He did not suffer much pain, did not he need chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or went in and out of hospital.
3. He could climb up Mount Nebo.  He did not need wheelchair.
4. God had comforted him that He would fulfill His promise.
5. God was with him at the moment of death
6. God brought him down to the valley to bury him.

In contrast, Jesus Christ died an excruciating death upon the cross.  Christ Jesus suffered at the time of death, but not Moses.  Jesus Christ had to suffer because He died for our sins.

Honestly, I prefer to die peacefully and comfortably like Moses.  God, please grant my wish when the time comes.

There shall be no 'eternal' punishment

When I was a young Christian, I was recommended to read several 'classic' Christian books to deepen my faith. I remember one of them was 'KNOWING GOD' by J I Packer.


Although our finite mind can never understand the infinite God fully, understanding 3%, or 5%, of God's character and attributes is still a good thing. I understand and KNOW God, my creator as merciful, kind and loving. Hence, knowing (a little about) God, I will never believe that God will let anyone suffer eternal condemnation in Hell. (The key word here is 'eternal'.) God is our creator. Humans are God's creation. How can a creator allow His creation to suffer eternally, forever and ever and ever??!!??

Hence, I came to believe that even though non-believers may not go to Heaven, they will not go to Hell 'eternally' too. The merciful and loving God will give these people 70 times 70 chances, or 7000 times 7000 chances, or 7 million times 7 million chances to recognize and acknowledge Christ -- and to receive salvation and hence go to Heaven through Jesus Christ.

That is why we will all be happy in Heaven -- being assured that ultimate, ALL our non-believing friends and family members will also be there sooner or later. Otherwise, how can Heaven be a truly happy place if we look down from Heaven and recognize one of our friends is suffering punishment in Hell forever without end? We will be laden with sadness although we ourselves are in Heaven.

This is my logical personal perspective. Even though my Church or your Church holds a different view, I will still cling onto my own perspective because my God is merciful and loving to those whom He had created.

Thank you Lord Jesus Christ.

Trials and Sufferings

I have a neighbor who had just accepted Christ and was baptized.  She experienced God, and was getting active in Church.

Then a series of trials lied before her.  She had problem with her employer and supervisor and had to change job.  She gained a lot of weight and became obese.  She was in and out of hospital because of some other illnesses.  Her daughter developed serious mental problem.

Her faith was under severe testing.  She was being refined in a hot crucible.  She must emerge as fine gold.

Back to my own situation - I am heartbroken for a few weeks.  Psalms 34 is very dear to me.  The words quench my bleeding soul:
>Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
>The righteous cry and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
>The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
>I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
>O taste and see that the LORD is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

My conclusion is: Though many are the afflictions, so too would be the LORD's deliverance.

Suffered yet blessed

My father has a cancerous growth in the pharynx (throat). It is getting more serious.  He could hardly swallow now. I am distraught.

In the last 2 weeks, news relating to the disappearance of Malaysia Airline flight MH370 while on route from Malaysia to Beijing hoard every news media.  The jet plane is now confirmed to have crashed somewhere in the Indian Ocean.  The death of the 239 people on board was one of the greatest tragedy in recent years.

As I feel the pain and suffering of my father's condition, I could also empathize and share the anguish of those related to the ill-fated passengers of flight MH370.

Having a religion, or believing in the Lord of Hosts, the God Almighty, does not mean that we are spared from pain and suffering.  In fact, believing in God almost certainly invite more trials and tribulation.

However, in Ps 84:12 the Psalmist says "How blessed is the man who trusts in Thee, O Lord of Hosts."

You could expect the Psalmist to have suffered much trials and tribulation too.  And yet he testified that he was blessed.  Could you accept his testimony?

Share with me your thoughts

Generally I very much prefer to read blogs entries rather than Facebook entries.

Blogs tend to have more serious contents, more details, more solid, richer and more thoughtful.

Facebook tends to be superficial, wishy-washy, lots of photographs which lack comments, pictures of friends without depth.

In the same vein, I prefer songs with deep feeling and strong meaning. These are 2 songs. You can guess which one I listen more...

TO GOD BE THE GLORY-SONGS OF PRAISE CELEBRATING 50 YEARS

I happened to click on this Youtube video. I have never seen such a large British congregation giving Glory to God before. Hope you like the song too.

It is not possible to Forgive and Forget

The subject of forgiveness has been discussed and expounded for centuries.  In life we all experience pain caused by fellow beings.

During wars and genocides, atrocities were inflicted to the whole communities or on certain races.  That happened during the Second World War Auschwitz.  That happened in Cambodia during the Pol Pot regime.  That happened in Africa when one tribe exterminated another tribe.  The wounds would remain fresh in that one generation.  But after some generations, the pain is no longer personal.

I would talk about personal pain - the pain within ones lifetime.  It may be a case of grievous rape;  a case of desecrating what is more important than ones life;  a case seeing family members maimed, tortured and killed, right before ones eyes;  a case of wickedly destroying ones personal esteemed and dignity.  The pain would be there till the sufferer die.  Is forgive and forget possible??

Forgive is an act of the will.  It is possible to forgive.  In this world, there are many saintly sages who have the capacity to forgive.  We all know Nelson Mandela.  He was one.  I have the greatest respect for him.

It is not possible to forget.  The experience is embedded in our mind, our physical faculty, whether consciously or subconsciously.  When our brains deteriorate due to old age or Dementia or other illnesses, we may not remember anymore.  But that is not 'forget'. That is not remembering due to disability and illness.

Between the 2 extremes of not forgiving and perfect forgiveness, there is a range of possibilities:
a) I may forgive the wrongdoer but will not regard him as an acquaintance anymore. (I treat him as someone I do not know before.)
b) I may forgive the wrongdoer and do not want to have anything to do with him. (If he is trapped in a burning house, I will NOT try to save him.)
c) I may forgive the wrongdoer but do not want him to go to heaven with me.
d) I may forgive the wrongdoer and will love him as a friend. 
e) I may forgive the wrongdoer and I am prepared to sacrifice my own life for him one day...

So let us examine ourselves when we say we have forgiven someone.  Is it a), b)... or e)?

When Jesus Christ was dying on the cross, He asked God to "...forgive them;  for they do not know what they are doing...Luk23:34"  What forgiveness is that ???

That is Forgiveness in Agape Love.

 

Falsehood can become Truth

This article is from a Church Bulletin:

"We live in the age of relativism where people are attempting to blur the line between right and wrong.  Without 'right' and 'wrong' everything is relative.  Anything that is uncomfortable or inconvenient is 'rationalised' and explained away.  We all could be trapped in this feeling good culture - as long as something looks good and feels good, it is good! ...When we argue our point of view long enough and hard enough, it becomes 'truth' for us..."

Many people point out that this is the case with religion and spirituality. "Well if you think there is a God, and if you pray to that God, and if you believe in that God, and your a full of faith in that God, then, to you, it becomes 'true' that there is God, even though there is no such God!"  Your imagination becomes real!

But this argument cannot apply to Christianity.  This is because the Son of God, that is Jesus Christ, is real and physical.  The Apostle Thomas physically touched the resurrected Christ.  Many other people saw and heard the resurrected Christ at various times.  And many people saw the resurrected Christ leaving them physically and disappeared in a distance when He returned to Heaven.

So Jesus Christ is real.  1) He was dead.  2) He was risen.  3) And He promised to come again.

1) and 2) had taken place.  3) is going to take place.  This is the mystery of the Christian Faith.

Seek and you shall find

As I listen to this young man's testimony, it reminds me of my own journey in seeking God.  I was born in a traditional Chinese family and, while still a baby, my parents had asked the goddess Guan Yin to be my godmother.

As I grew up, I was confused about gods and deities.  I asked the true God to make Himself known to me. This man, Nabeel,  did that too.

His vision of hundreds of crosses and his dream of standing at the door reminded me of the conversion of apostle Paul.

Interesting.

God is there when you seek Him

This video seems to suggest that those who seek God will find Him - whether or not the seekers are in from another religion.