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.

Ananias and Sapphira - Died, so that their souls might be saved

When I was a young Christian convert, the story of Ananias and Sapphira frightened me. Please read Acts 5: 1-13. Briefly, the new Christians in Acts 5 sold their belongings and shared what they had with others.  Ananias and Sapphira sold theirs, but kept some money for themselves.  The apostles confronted them and both they dropped dead for what they did.  (But this does not happen anymore.  Nowadays, when Christians sin, they don't have to drop dead.)

When I read the Gospels, I had the impression that Jesus was kind and forgiving.  I understand that all men sin, even Godly men.  For example, King David of the Old Testament loved God, but he was also a murderer more than once.  What's so serious about telling a lie or not sharing some personal wealth??

I searched the internet and found that many other people were perplexed over this story in the Book of Acts too. Many were asking: why Ananias and Sapphira dropped dead, and would they go to heaven after that? (See http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/5122/what-happened-to-ananias-and-sapphira-after-death/24198#24198)

There are only 2 possible answers to this question.  If  A and S were believers, then they went to heaven.  If A and S were non-believers in the first place, then they probably did not go to heaven.

From my personal experience, I know many Christians who sincerely believe in Christ were also great sinners.  They were sincere believers, but not faithful believers.  Many were liars, did harm to others, gave in to all kinds of temptations, and brought disrepute to the church.

So am I - a sinner.  God has forgiven me.  I  thank Jesus for dying on the cross as a propitiation for my sins.

Hence I think A and S went to heaven even though they sin against God.  "They were dead and their flesh might be destroyed, but their spirits might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." (See 1 Cor 5:1-5).

Thank you Jesus for saving me, a sinner.  I believe A and S were saved too.

Story of a Human becoming a Deity

I am very impressed by this video on how a human, an exceptionally virtuous and kind human, became a deity and is now worshiped by 200 million followers.

Just like to share with you.

Christmas Day Disasters

Today is Christmas day.  Merry Christmas.

I remember the Tsunami disaster on the day after Christmas in 2004.  Over 300,000 people perished when Tsunami, emanating from an earthquake, swept across the Indian Ocean that day.

Today, I read in the news that ice storms knocked out electric power to 370,000 homes in USA, and  also to few hundred homes in Canada.  For those of us not affected by such natural disasters, we could continue our celebration of Christmas.  But for those affected and sustained loss or injuries, what was there to celebrate??

But wait !!  Isn't it Christmas?  Isn't it a time to celebrate the birth of Christ and the Love of God?  Why did God not hold back all these so that His people can celebrate His presence joyously?

But now, look at the facts again: 
1) When Christ was asked, "Are You the Son of  God?"  Jesus answered, "Yes I am." (Luk 22:70)
2) When Pilate asked Jesus, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus answered, "It is as you say." (Luk 23:3)
3) Pilate asked Jesus, "...It was your own people and the chief priests who handed you over to me.  What have You done?" Jesus explained, "My kingdom does not belong to this world;  if My kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities.  No, My kingdom does not belong here!" (John 18:36)

So Christ had explained why bad things happened to Him and to us, even on Christmas day and Christmas season.  -- He is the Son of God, the King, not of this earthly world but of another world we are to go to.

Without doubt, disasters will occur in this world - even on Christmas day.

Still I wish you MERRY CHRISTMAS.

God's Promise to Abraham - The Abrahamic Promise is done !

And God took Abraham outside and said "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him "So shall your descendants be." Then he (Abraham) believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:5.

You see, when you believe in God's promises, you are reckoned as righteous !!!

Now, how many stars were there when Abraham looked up the night sky?  There must be billions of stars in the Universe !

But in 2012, there were about 14 million Jews (or descendants of Abraham) in the world.  The world population of Jews peaked at 16.7 million just before World War II.  Surely this is far below the number of stars that Abraham saw in the night sky!

But its not just 14 million Jews.  I estimated that in the past 6,000 years, about 1200 million Jews had walked on Earth, although only 14 million are alive at this moment.  (The rest of the 1200 million were dead.)

When God said "count the number of stars", God simply mean figuratively "a very very large number".  Now, would you consider 1200 million as a very very large number?   I believe so.   God's promise to Abraham is fulfilled. (And we have not even included Abraham's descendants from his other wife, Hagar, yet.)

In conclusion - trust God and His promises.  If you do, you will be reckoned as righteous in His sight!  Merry Christmas.

 

God stopped the river-flow, again and again, for His people.

How many times did God parted the waters for His people?  You would remember the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 14.  But there were 3 other occasions.

The second time was when God parted the Jordan River for Joshua's people to enter the Promised Land some 40 years after the parting of the Red Sea.  This time, the people remembered what happened 40 years before.  They knew God would do it.  They were not surprised. (Joshua Chapter 3 and 4)

God parted the waters the third time for Elijah to cross Jordan River, and did it again the fourth time for Elisha to do the same (2 Kings 2).

So, do not be surprised that God will do it again in future for you and I.  In times of pain, when we beseech God to help us to cross our own 'rivers', we can be certain that God could do it.  After all He did it four times in the Bible alone.

In life, there will always be rivers to cross and mountains to conquer.  Have faith.  God is the same today and four thousand years ago.  He will still be there for us.  Merry Christmas.

...And the Word became flesh (What Happened?)

When the Son of God was incarnated and born of Virgin Mary, He took on a physical dimension.  He was flesh and blood.  He was finite in time and space like all human beings.  In the physical dimension, He was no longer all-knowing.  Many things he needed to ask in order to know.  He asked "How many loaves do you have?" Matt 15:34 "Who touched my garments?" Mark 5:30. "...of that day...no one knows...but the Father alone."  Matt 24:36.

But while in the physical dimension, Jesus Christ was still able to exercise his divinity and knew things that humans did not. He knew of Judas' betrayal before hand.  He knew Peter would deny him 3 times before the cock crowed.

God sent His Son to take on the lowly human form to die for our sins.  The wages of sin is death  - and Jesus Christ died for us.   Thanks be to Jesus Christ.

Worship in Quietness

We are now in the second week of Advent.  Soon, it will be Christmas 2013.

Yesterday I attended a wedding at The Bible Church Singapore (TBC).

I had not heard or visited this church before.  I was a bit puzzled why the church is located at a building called the Clementi Bible Centre (CBC).  So upon arrival, I walked around the building to see for myself.

Apparently, within the CBC, there are 2 churches - The Bible Church and Mt Carmel Bible Presbyterian Church.  That was interesting ! There were a few sanctuaries in CBC, some used by TBC and some by MCBPC

I sat down in the sanctuary used by The Bible Church.  The sitting capacity was around 500.  It was a cosy santuary - high roof, no pillars, air-conditioned, simple.  I was very happy with this place of worship.

My own home church is Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church.  Within AMKMC there are a few sanctuaries too.  I only attend the 'traditional' worship services which are less noisy - no noisy musical instruments are used.  I believe the 'contemporary' worship services are somewhat noisy.

So when the wedding service started at TBC, I was really surprised and amused.  The drums were pounding at 150 to 200 decibels and those who sang were shouting.  It really did not matter if you sang off-key.

It was an interesting experience.  But I now confirmed that I prefer worship services that do not use drum instruments that exceed 70 decibels.  The softer the musical instrument, the better - that I could hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit more clearly.    

Right Interpretation or Misinterpretation depends on a comma

In Luke 23:43,  Jesus said to the Second-Thief as they were crucified at the same time:  "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."

Is the comma at the right place ??  Shouldn't it be "Truly I say to you today, you shall be with Me in Paradise."

So it depends on where the comma is.  Catholics interpret that after death, a person goes to purgatory, not to Paradise yet.   Mormons interpret that after death, you have to wait to be called out of the grave by a new name before reaching Paradise, not reaching Paradise immediately today. 

Others interpret that after death, you have to be go through a period of soul sleep, or some future resurrection, or some other forms of baptism, before reaching Paradise.

So it's up to you to place the comma.  Is it "comma today" or "today comma "

But why confuse yourself?

Whether Paradise or Heaven, It's fine with me.

While being crucified on the cross, Jesus told the Second-Thief that "Truly I say to you today you shall be with Me in Paradise." Luke 23:43.

Now, this is the only time the word  'Paradise' was used in the New Testament. I thought we go to Heaven upon death?  How come Jesus said Paradise instead of Heaven?  What is Paradise?  How is it different from Heaven?

Actually I am relieved that I will be going to Paradise.  And honestly, it doesn't matter whether it is Paradise or Heaven.   Both are OK.

Thanks be to God.  Thank you for Your grace.

Jesus' Last Lesson - And Also The Best

There were 2 thieves crucified next to Jesus.  The crosses they were nailed on must be very close to one another - because they still could hear and talk to each other.

The First-Thief mocked Jesus and said "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" The Second-Thief retorted "Don't you fear God?  You received the same sentence ...We are getting what we deserve for what we did;  but he (Jesus) has done no wrong.  And he said to Jesus, 'Jesus, remember me when you come in Your kingdom!'"

Jesus said to the Second-Thief  "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."

Now, let us examine this Lesson.  Jesus' closest disciples/apostles fled or stayed away when He was nailed to the cross.  (The disciples became fearless witnesses only after the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them on Pentecost.)  The Second-Thief must had his doubts about Jesus too.  But unlike the First-Thief, he used kind words even though he had his doubts. His kind words came from his sincere heart.

The Second-Thief did not know Jesus as well as the 11 closest disciples/apostles.  Most likely, he did not know the Scriptures. He did not follow Jesus for 3 years and was not baptized.  But he had a sincere heart!

So you see, like the Second-Thief, a non-christian may be saved through Jesus.  In his dying moment, a non-christian may encounter Jesus and recognise Him.  When he ask "Remember me, Jesus, in Your kingdom." Jesus would admit him to Paradise.  OR, after his last breath, a non-christian soul may recognize Jesus. If he says "Remember me, Jesus, in Your kingdom!", Jesus may admit him to Paradise too.

Jesus' Last Lesson while He was on the cross was the best, the most magnanimous, the most comforting.  Who says non-christians cannot go to Heaven? God can admit non-christians, anytime, through Jesus Christ.  My interpretation.

We have Hope. 1 Cor 13:13.    Merry Christmas.

God Shows How To Avoid Natural Disasters (Rare)

The story of Jonah is short, simple and easy to read.  But it has many lessons. This is one...

Nineveh was a city of wicked people, and Jonah disliked the whole city.  God asked Jonah to be His messenger to tell the people of Nineveh to repent, otherwise God will destroy the city as punishment.  Jonah wanted the city to be punished, so he refused to go and to warn the people of Nineveh.

By and by, Jonah had no choice but to bring God's warning to the people of Nineveh.  A surprising thing happened.  It was rare, but it happened...  THE PEOPLE OF NINEVEH, THE WHOLE CITY, REPENTED!

The story goes:
"When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ashes.  And he issued a proclamation and it said, In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing.  Do not let them eat or drink water.  But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth;  and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. Who knows, God may turn and relent, and withdraw His burning anger so that we shall not perish?"

When God saw their deeds that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them.  And He did not do it."  Jonah 3: 5-10.

See ! God can turn back natural calamities if the WHOLE CITY heed His warning and repent !

But if only a handful repent, do you think God will stop a deadly Typhoon? (Hint: Read Gen 18 & 19)

God and Typhoon Haiyan - in Nov 2013

Last week Typhoon Haiyan devastated the city of Tacloban and other cities in Philippines.  Probably 4,000 people were dead, 10 million displaced.  Churches were destroyed and the poor, mainly Catholics, local communities suffered untold miseries.

But God is still there.  He just allowed nature to exercise its fury and destruction.  God did not stop His believers from natures harm.

Yes, God ALWAYS allow natural disasters to lash His people nowadays.

But in the past, God did intervene to help His people.  He even split the 'Red Sea' to allow His people to cross when they were pursued by the Egyptians.  Didn't God told Abraham that He would spare the city of Sodom from natural disaster if He could find 10 men who were righteous? Gen 18:16-33.  Could there be less than 10 godly men in the city of Tacloban last week?  And hence God allowed the Typhoon to whip the land?

In reality, in this Dispensation of Grace, Jesus already taught that our "Heavenly Father causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."    Matt 5:45. 

We don't know why.  We don't need to know how  -- how all the pain inflicted, 'work together for good'.  We may ask Apostle Paul, who wrote this in Romans 8:28, when we meet him.  But in the meantime, we simply need faith - that God is God. 

Praise the Lord.

Vanities - When the objective is to satisfy one's own desire...

There are people whose ambitions are to climb the highest mountains, or to walk to the north and south poles, or to swim across the Pacific ocean, or just to run the Marathon.

There are people who want to the wisest human being, or to be a champion philantropist, or to be the best politician, or to be the greatest explorer, or to be god himself.

The Preacher in the Book of Ecclesiastes says "Vanities of vanities!  All is vanity."  What does he mean? Is vanities good or bad, noble or ignoble?

Unless we have a deranged mind, we all have objectives in the things we do.  We want to achieve some meaningful things. We do not just hang around on the beach all day, catch some fish and birds for food and let the days and years go by.

Many of us will want to do something which we believe to be meaningful.  Many of these things are just be fulfill our self-esteem/ego needs, our personal or self-actualization needs, boost our dignity in our own eyes and in the eyes of others.  Like the desire to climb the highest mountain, it may or may not benefit others.

But all is vanity.

My own conclusion is that 'vanities' to satisfy one's own ego or to satisfy one's own purpose, even if a billion people's lives have been improved as a result, is still 'futile'.  Only 'vanities' that are not to fulfill the personal ego needs and self-actualization needs, are noble.

The Preacher of the Book of Ecclesiastes has this conclusion: "The conclusion when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.  Because God will bring every act to judgement, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil."  Eccl 12:14.

We better be close to God, then.