Minding Christ

Present in the Moment

2009-10-06T23:08:00.002+08:00

It's been a while since I truly behaved like a tourist. While I was living in southeast Asia, it didn't take long until I embraced it as my home. A native is one who longer thinks it a novelty to eat the food, use the facilities, feel the weather, talk with the people. While on my trip to Europe with my family, however, we behaved like total tourists. One thing I noticed that tourists do is to live for the photo shot. The place in which one stands and the view that one behold is not really about the being present in the moment. It's about saving the picture digitally, to be shared and looked when you are no longer there.

I've noticed the same thing happening during New Years and National Days - any celebration involving fireworks. The dazzling displays explodes in the night skies, sending shafts of brilliantly coloured light across the black expanse speckled with twinkling stars. The human eye is really the only thing that can really take in that live-action shot in all its splendour. And the human soul is the only thing that can really appreciate its beauty. And what do we do? We spend the entire 30 seconds to 3 minutes of the fireworks display trying to capture the "perfect" shot in our cameras. Failure after failure, blurry shot after blurry shot, we stare not at the fireworks in the sky, but the 2X3 inch screen on which a crappy picture displays, proving over and over how inadequate the technology is compared to our eyes.

No camera can fully grasp the moment - not even close. It cannot reproduce the same light, the same sounds, the smells, the textures, the memories. And yet we devote the entire moment into force feeding the moment into digital memory, to be saved for another time, when we are not there anymore, when we cannot possibly experience that moment any longer.

Tragic, that we are not present in the moment. That we live not for the true moments, but for the fake ones. We live for those moment which are after the fact. We click and move on without truly beholding and we wonder why we don't remember the scene the way the picture depicts it.

Do we do the same thing with God? Are our musings about him but a click shot of trifling things about him and not a true beholding of him? Perhaps I am guilty of this when I engage in theology, or debate matters of doctrine and scripture. If my theology does not become a filling of myself with and an enjoyment of the excellencies of God, and a commitment to deeper worship and closer obedience, then has it done me any good? Have I not stored him away in a small box, having missed the point of being present in the moment?

Europe and the Christian situation

2009-09-15T19:05:00.002+08:00

I'm currently in Germany visiting family, but in another way, I'm visiting family of another sort, treading upon the same earth as our ancestors of the western Christian tradition. These are the very lands that was home to Christianity for centuries, the birthplaces of doctrine and the great theologians of the faith. We owe so much to the believers who contended for and hammered out the essence of our faith in fires of affliction and controversy. Christianity had a large part to play in the flourishing of the sciences, health care, social justice intervention, economics, and academics. But now, the dazzling blaze of vibrant Christianity is but a fading shaft of light struggling to peak through the gloomy clouds of secularism. Europe is now largely post Christian. They say that on a given Sunday, there are more Anglicans worshipping in Nigeria, than in all of England, US and Canada COMBINED!

If anything can be learned from history, it's this: These things happen. It may shock the types of things that are possible in a fallen world. The fear, of course, is that history will repeat itself. One of the purposes of studying history is that it gives us a good idea of what to expect in the future. We asian believers and immigrants have believed on the testimony of American and European preachers who taught our forefathers so long ago. Such preachers are long gone but we have embraced their message and are running with it.

Will the same thing happen to us that happened to them? Will we find ourselves getting tired with the fad and lay Christianity behind us in pursuit of other things? One would think that when a society is transformed by the influence of its faith, as is the case with Europe, that the religion of the people would continue to likewise flourish. On the other hand, there are countries like Thailand, whose religion has done nothing to improve the quality of life of the people; but this very religion remains rock solid and impenetrable. How odd ...

on apostasy in the Christian church

2009-07-24T22:29:00.004+08:00

These days, I'm encountering friends who are or questioning or leaving the faith. Perhaps the scariest thing of all is these are not the outcast and rebellious ones who used to smoke cigarettes outside of the church while the service was going on or the ones who dragged to church by their parents and later realized that they were neither genuine Christians nor even very sympathetic to the faith in the first place. In fact, they were the ones with whom I rubbed shoulders in ministry, who led outreaches, cell groups, Christian events; the ones who I saw weeping in repentance and who lifted their hands in fervent worship!

Now, they were bordering on atheism at worst, and agnosticism at best. Some common things I find about these friends, from what they related to me:

1. They are questioning the Church, its culture, its customs, its leadership.
2. They were a part of a parachurch organization, filled with fun and excitement, but only for a season.
3. They were confronted and hurt by Christian leaders.

My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will work in their hearts to revive them from the blindness they presently experience. In my theology of perseverance, those who are genuinely saved and inhabited by the Holy Spirit will never finally or ultimately fall into apostasy but will be preserved to the last day. It would utter sadness to know that these brothers who fought beside me in the trenches of ministry were never truly born again to begin with!

Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matt. 7:21-23). This passage always struck me as sensational, something I never thought would actually happen. Only now do I how possible this scenario really is.

Perhaps the fundamental problem is that their entrance into faith was birthed within the context of a particular season or phase of life, or through the trappings of a well-done presentation of how exciting being a Christian can be. Now, it's not wrong that people come to faith because of a need in their life- indeed all genuine conversion must start with a deep sense of despair and helplessness. The problem is that the need was cosmetic and not fundamental: they sought Christ to fill a temporary and superficial need, be it a need for community, physical provision, a sense of calling. Once this need was met for a while by the religion called Christiantiy, the demands of the One called Christ began to be an impediment and obstacle to their real goals in life: to live for themselves. Rather than meeting the risen and glorified Christ, the exalted ruler of the universe who demands total allegiance, they met Christianity, the established institution that provided a momentary sense of belonging and purpose.

Yes, it's true that the Son of Man came not be served but to serve (Mark 10:45a). But read on ... "... and to give his life as a ransom for many." Once he ransomed us from our enslaved and pathetic state, he became exalted and we became free from sin so that we can be enslaved once again to a new Lord and King: Jesus. Hence, the Apostle Paul calls himself Doulos, slave of Christ Jesus.

Embracing Christianty is simply the easiest part. Embracing Christ, however, is much more demanding.

Michael Jackson

2009-07-10T04:00:00.002+08:00

It's been almost 2 weeks since news of the death of Michael Jackson, and yet the news is still news. It's still being splashed on the billboards, CNN, music networks. His albums are still top of the charts and his pictures (the sightlier, not-so-recent ones, interestingly) are everywhere. All over the world people held memorials and candle-light vigils mourning the loss of this music icon. Tears were shed from L.A. to Tokyo, and some even travelled from Australia to stand with a crowd outside the Staples Centre - without a hope of getting in to watch to memorial service.

Why the hype, you ask?

You see, Michael Jackson, talented musician though he was, was more than a musician and dancer with some fancy moves. I remember the cover art of one of his albums, History. It was an apocalyptic scene where a statue of Michael Jackson stood towering against a night backdrop with tiny helicopters flying around and bright flood flight lit the area, though unable to capture the entire statue. On his right arm, the number 777, tatooed in all its arrogance.

They say there was not a person in the world who was not in someway touched by the character of Michael Jackson. He represented so much for so many people. Perhaps, in the final analysis, all he was a stark reminder of the idolatry that our generation is guilty of. The making for ourselves, images which we are familiar with to mask the terror of divine reality. In our day, we have seen great men. Human rights activists like Martin Luther King Jr, but few tears are shed for him; political heroes like Ghand and Winston Churchilli, but few tears are shed for them. In our day, who is the one in which lay so much of our concern and for whom we shed the most tears when he is gone?

The entertainer.

The one who was a sparkle to our eyes as we watched from the television screen or on the stage. We've along way it seems, in the opposite direction. The world seeks a Messiah. It always has. We seek a noble ruler, an unshakable kingdom; one in whom to pin our hopes. The world has lost the king of pop, and the mourning continues until today.

How very, very sad.

438 out of 6912 - lots to be done

2009-06-22T23:39:00.003+08:00

Last week I was at a missions conference in Dallas Texas with an organization called Pioneer Bible Translators. They're sorta like Wycliffe, translating the Bible into never-before-heard-of languages all over the world, but they're a smaller and more manoeverable outfit. They're also committed to church planting as well.

Bible translation is a crazy task. I didn't realize all the issues that are involved in communicating truths from the biblical context to our today. In the west, or any Christian-influenced country, we have the benefit of centuries of religious jargon in our English language. We know the meaning of "faith" or "Amen." But what about a pre-literate nomadic people living somewhere in the sub-Sahara desert? There are languages who don't even have the verb to be, other languages don't use any abstract nouns at all. What a task it is to translate profound Biblical truths like justification by faith, or predestination.

But it can be done, and it must be done. God has a plan to gather people from every language, tribe and culture around his throne to worship him in their own native language. There are currently 6912 known languages in the world, but only 438 of those languages have a completed Bible. Many of these languages have never been learned about outsiders before. How then, as Paul says, are they to believe in the one whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher?

They say that less than 5% of all missionaries are serving among a people group who generally have never heard the gospel. They go to places that already have an established church, published Bibles and theological schools. All the while, there are thousands of people groups yet to have of the name "Jesus" translated into their dialect.

I've committed myself to going as a missionary, where I will barely be scratching the surface of the task that needs to be done. Who's coming with me?

The Atonement and the Love

2009-06-07T04:18:00.004+08:00

^{Ephesians 5
25}Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰for we are members of his body. ³¹"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." ³²This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.

I've recently been pondering more and more about Christ's work on the cross, especially the question: For whom did Christ die? Those of us with any appreciation for the cross will agree that Jesus' crucifixion was big news, it made a big deal - all the difference in the world. My question has always been, Who reaped the benefits of Jesus' work? We naturally assume, The whole world, of course! Sinner, saint, the Pope in Rome, the Pygmy in Africa. Jesus died for everyone all the same.

But the above passage suggests differently. The kind of love that a husband shows his wife is not the same as kind he shows to his secretary, the door-to-door salesman, or the shoeshine boy. I know it's the 21st century and anything goes these days, but hey. Paul seems to be saying that it was love that propelled Jesus to lay down his life to sanctify his bride into a spotless splendour. But this wasn't any kind of two-bit love for just anyone, it was a husbandly love, the kind that sacrifices his own life for the sake of his wife, his own flesh. If a husband shows the same amount of affection for the stranger at the grocery check-out as for his wife, we call him a Playboy, a cheat, a fool. He doesn't deserve to be married.

Special deeds are motivated by a special love, directed to special people.

This is precisely in line with what we see in God's affection towards Israel in the Old Testament: special treatment for special people as a result of a special love. I'm not saying that God doesn't love those who are not his people. Psalm 145:9 says, "The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made." But, it seems clear that some enemies and non-Israelites weren't shown the same type of "love."

How does this fare with our assumptions about a general love of God for all humanity, or a general atonement made for all humanity? Of course, on the surface, it does sound better, more polite, more universal and makes everyone feel equally cuddled. But it just seems that the embrace of God's arms are more tightly wrapped around those he loves more.

The Grudge

2009-05-25T21:31:00.002+08:00

Why did God order to complete annihilation of the Amalekites in 1 Sam 15? Why order the Israelite army under Saul to "blot out their memory from under heaven?" Imagine you're an Israelite solider. If you're going to do your job correctly and obey the command of the Lord you and your platoon needs to raid a village, burn it to the ground. After breaking the door down, you first need to kill the man of the house. After him, take out the wife (maybe she's pregnant?), then the baby in the crib, the bed-ridden grandfather, the servant, and don't forget Mr. Whiskers the Cat. When you're finished in the house, your job is only half done. You need to go around back and care of the animals, but on your way, you find an Amalekite boy playing with his trucks - take him out. Then proceed to slaughter the cows, donkeys, camel and chickens.

Once you've made sure that nothing left is breathing. Move onto the next house.

In our modern language this type of act is called by many words: ethnic cleansing, genocide, holocaust. Take your pick. Such people who make this type of war are considered sociopaths, utterly depraved and terrible men against whom the world rushes to hang from the gallows.

But this is our God. How will we vindicate him? In our post WWII and 9/11 days, the thought of holy war, terror and ethnic cleansing freaks us out. The God of Abraham is not the most in-vogue figure around, and things are only going to get worse.

The reason given in the Bible for this act against the Amalekites was relatively quite simple: They were godless men who attacked the Israelites as they were coming out of Egypt, worn out and weary (Exo 17, Deut 25). God remembered that assault and made sure that Israel remembered it too. He vowed to pay them back for their offence once they settled in the land as a nation.

It was a 500 year grudge. Our God bears grudges. This is negative and repulsive to our 21st century sensitivities, and we want so much to ignore this aspect of God. To some Christians, this has led to embarrassment and a reformulation of theology altogether - one that keeps God "innocent" of such behaviour.

But this is our God. And before we slam down the gavel to judge him, let's consider it a bit more. The wrath of God is a function of two things: God's holiness and his Love. In his terror against the Amalekites, he shows us his disgust for godless sinners. In his 500 year-long grudge, he shows us his love toward his people. God is certainly good, and loving, and forgiving ... to Israel. and to us. Israel receives love. The Amalekites received wrath.

Is this only the God of the Old Testament? Not so! Consider another place where the wrath and love of God was expressed at the same time: The Cross. The ultimate display of God's wrath and love. Jesus received wrath. We received love. How terrible is the grudge of God, and how precious is the One who bore it for us.

Does the ends justify the means?

2009-02-17T11:29:00.002+08:00

So, I'm currently living in small cluster of villages in Northern Thailand, about an hour away from Chiangrai. What am I doing there? Everyday I ask that question.

How am I going to stay there? Well, my supervisor's plan for me to obtain a visa to stay Thailand is creative. We approached a school in the nearby town asking for a position for me to teach part time as a volunteer, in exchange for a work permit. In short, they've agreed and I'll be going to a Thai consulate in Laos with a letter from the school that will get me my visa.

Here's the thing. In this letter will be written one line, just one small line, maybe 5 cm long stating the "salary" that I'll be receiving. Of course volunteers don't receive a salary. I'll probably get a complimentary lunch on my teaching days, but no salary as such.

So, the school must lie to the government in order to make it seem like I'm a bonavide teacher. What a way to do missions and testify to the truth: by lying. My supervisor tells me to "go along with it." But ultimately, I'm the one holding the visa and holding the responsibility. I'm the one with the power to call a halt to this whole thing. It would no doubt be seen as sabotage, and even I am not sure of my true motivation for doing this.

Those who are committed to the mission will say, "But this is what we need to in order to spread the gospel! We have no choice, it's just the way it is!"

Which takes precedence, integrity and submission to the government or the spread of the gospel? Jesus said to "Render the Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's." Apparently, the things we render need not be mutually exclusive to either one. There must be a way to satisfy both.

What does God want?

2009-01-15T20:26:00.005+08:00

If God had a personal will for our lives, or for each decision that we make, we would assume that he wants us to know it. How else would we find it, or be accountable for it?

Now, he could either make it obvious or not obvious.

I believe there was a time that he made it obvious and when people went along with it, salvation history was being made and the Bible was produced as a record. But this was an undeniable work of God's Spirit, and it could not have ever happened otherwise.

In our day, he could make his personal will for us obvious, but there are some problem to this. First, it could never be more obvious than what has gone before, namely, the revelation of Jesus. Hebrews 1:1-2 says, "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe." Because Jesus has already been revealed, the authoritative word of God is established and nothing could ever match it. Second, there's still the problem of whether we, in our sinful state, would grasp or understand his revelation adequately or correctly in every instance. Lastly, and most importantly, it seems perfectly obvious, that God doesn't make his will perfectly obvious. Almost no one hears audible voices from God. Almost no one has miraculous burning bush or Damascus Road experiences.

So, it seems that if God reveals his will, he does it in a way that is not obvious. He is soft, subtle and often ambiguous. This means that it's up to Christians to "figure" out his will. Let's be honest some more. After all the praying and fasting, the putting out of fleeces, the asking of many counselors, the discerning of circumstances, the dipping in the Bible for divine words stripped out of their context, how many of us can say that God's will becomes perfectly clear and obvious, no room for error. Most occasions, we can say that we "feel" or "sense" God's leading, but it's really not all that obvious. Perhaps oftentimes, God's guidance is so subtle, that it can be easily manipulated through our own desires, rationalizations, suspicions and calculations. Faith, risk, and uncertainty are always involved.

In the end, what can we really know? We're back to what we do know: 1. God is sovereign. 2. God has revealed the commands he wants us to obey. 3. God is good.

What are some implications that we can draw from these truths?

1. Whatever you do, obey God's commands. And when you obey them, obey with fullness of joy and comfort in knowing that this is certainly what he wants you to do.
2. Go for it and make some bold moves for his Kingdom.
3. Don't fret about the decision errors you've made - God doesn't make any.
4. Whatever happens, God is at work to bring you the greatest good and himself the greatest glory.
5. Don't put yourself deliberately into a situation of strife unless you already have a sense of joy and hope in God's end-product.
6. Focus on walking with God. This is the clear thing that he wants us to work on. The rest of life are basically entertainment decisions.
7. At the end of the day, the person who hears voices and puts out fleeces (whether by God's actual intervention or not), and the person who doesn't, will end up in basically the same place.

God's will and why we want to know it

2009-01-15T19:56:00.003+08:00

Let's think about the will of God.

We know God has a will. In fact, according to the Bible, there are at least two senses in which the will of God is described. One is his sovereign will of decree, which is his overarching and grand plan that will certainly come to pass in and through the tiny, minuscule happenings of the universe. Every event from photosynthesis happening in algae to 9-11 in New York, God is ordaining all things to happen according to his will, and his plans are reaching a glorious and purposeful terminal point. A second kind of will are his commands. It is his will for us is to be like Christ, to behave according to his moral standards, and to do good works. Unlike the sovereign will, his moral will can be, and is often, thwarted and disobeyed by his free creatures.

We also know that as Christians we want to know God's will in another sense, that is, his will for our lives. Which school should I choose? Which job should I take? Who should I marry?

Let's think about this for a second. First, of all, let's ask: why do we want God to reveal to us these things? Is it because we want to position ourselves most strategically for his Kingdom, to maximize our effectiveness and reach in winning people to Christ? Is it because we want to be in those places that will best challenge us to live holier lives of greater purity? Maybe some people actually do think this way, but most of us don't.

So why do we want to know God's will? I think we simply want to have the happiest life possible. Now, this not the happiness that Christians often equate with sensual pleasure, rather, it's the happiness which comes from being in the right vocation where you're using your gifts and talents to maximum and making an impact on systems and societies; it's the happiness that comes with being with the right person and enjoying lifelong partnership together. We seek the happiness of living life efficiently, smoothly and with little struggle. Let's be real. Isn't this what we all want? When we seek to make "wise" decisions, by following the advice of Proverbs for example, isn't it for the purpose of maximizing happiness and minimizing strife in life?

If this is so, then we think that it would be best if we knew the future. And who's the only person we know that knows the future and is planning its outcome? Exactly. Hence, we seek God's will because of our desire to maximize happiness in life.

Of course, while the Bible has a lot to say about the pursuit of happiness and blessed living, it also has much to say about suffering. So, there's a balance to everything, but for now, let's just admit that we seek God's will to our own personal happiness. It's sounds a little selfish and unchristian, but I think it's true.

Incarnation and 1 Implication

2008-12-23T14:40:00.000+08:00

Imagine that God, omni-glorious, infinite, all-powerful, and perfectly holy should come and dwell in human flesh. How the infinite squeezes into the finite? no one knows. How the omni-present squeezes into space and time? no one knows. How the giver of life should become mortal flesh? no one knows. But it happened.

We can say without hesitation, reservation or derogation that the almighty creator of the universe was once a frail zygote, a collection of precious cells in Mary's womb.

Those cells were human cells. Man was made in the image of God, therefore only humanity could adequately contain the Son of God. Two natures, one person; unmixed, undivided, unconfused.

Not only that, but the Christ remains in a glorified body, even now. He did not ascend to heaven as a spiritual entity. He ascended in a body that could be touched, could eat, could speak. He remains human, but so much more.

what does this say about human flesh? It is the most precious, priceless substance in the universe, for the Son of God once - and continues to - dwell in human flesh. Consider tatooing. Today I saw a guy with both arms covered. The saddest thing, the craftsmanship of the tatoo was crap. It was messy and look unfinished like an amateur had it. How sad. Ok, there's no strict NT theology of tatooing, but consider what is being done to the body: an indelible image is being etched with ink onto human skin. But wait, the surface of human skin is the most priceless surface in the universe. You wouldn't scratch your name onto a piece of jade, or draw a happy face on mother of pearl with a permanent marker, would you? How much more senseless to etch a permanent image onto human skin! There is no image or message drawn on skin that could ever come close to being worthy of that surface. The untatooed surface is far more precious, and it already bears an image and message that is far more profound than anything conceived by the artist.

Love Divine

2008-10-20T09:56:00.004+08:00

The love of God is demonstrated in his unconditional election of his saints.

The doctrine of the love of God had always confused me before I understood it in light of limited atonement. In the past, I assumed that God had a homogenous and monotone love for all creation and all humans alike; that it did not matter whether someone was a sinner on his way to hell, or a saint who had been redeemed by the blood of Christ. I thought that the love, that we had coined the "agape" love of God, was a single blob of love dumped on everyone at exactly the same time, in exactly the same measure and mode.

Here's what confused me:

1. God has agape love for me
2. God has agape love for the one going to hell
3. The love of God can result in the eternal damnation of the soul
4. The love of God is therefore not a saving love
5. The agape love for me is weak, undirected, and indistinct

The implications would be:

1. God's love for me is nothing more than a general positive disposition that God has for all his creatures, including slugs and microorganisms.
2. God's love for me is not what saved me, for there are people loved by God who are not saved.
3. There can be no true comfort nor security in the love of God.

Now, the rebuttal is that people go to hell because they reject the love of God.
First, let's remember what hell is. It is everlasting torment and torture without possibility of relief, the result of the wrath of God against sinners. How this reality and God's superabundant love can be given to the same soul, I do not know. This seems more like the outworkings of hate than of love.
Therefore, if people receive this hate as a result of their rejection of love, then God's love is no longer unconditional, but conditional.

The solution to this problem is to understand the love of God as the Bible presents it. A sermon by John Piper helped me to understand it, from Malachi 1:2-3,

I have loved you," says the LORD. But you say, "How have you loved us?" "Is not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the LORD. "Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert."

How does God demonstrate his love? By choosing Jacob over Esau. By choosing Israel over the nations. By choosing the saints over the sinners. As it is written in Romans 8:38,

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

missions end game

2008-10-11T14:40:00.002+08:00

What exactly is a mission trip? and what is it supposed to accomplish.
Is it simply the finding of opportunities to interact with unbelievers and have them come away with a feeling that Christians are nice people?
It just seems to me that there is limited time, energy and resources on the mission field. We can't do everything, we can hardly reach everyone. But with what we have, we are obligated to be most efficient and faithful as stewards. With the limited time, energy, and resources that we have, how can we herald the gospel in the clearest, most effective way? This seems like the end game.

But what do we usually do on the field? We coax the people, we entertain them, we paint their buildings (usually poorly), we try to hock our wares of English lessons, community development work, and health care, and we call it missions. To what end do these things point?

Not everyone is going to swallow the gospel pill. It's bitter and obnoxious and the Bible even says so. It is foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to Jews. But to those who are being saved, it is the power of God unto salvation. I think we need to start off on the right assumptions based on what we know is true. Not everyone wants to submit to Christ, not everyone embraces his lordship. The gospel is not good enough news for a lot of people. So, it's time to stop selling it attached with free bonus products.

There are those who will respond to the gospel if they will but get the chance to hear it. To these the gospel must go.

Jireh

2008-10-05T22:37:00.002+08:00

When God provided Abraham with the ram to replace the sacrifice of Isaac, he provided it at the eleventh hour. He supplies all our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. There are those verses sometimes that are existential enough that you wonder if you'll ever experience it tangibly. How convinced I am of this truth right now. Being in Thailand for two months now, I realize just how weak and needy I truly am. Illiterate, lonely, and poor. But God provides - he always provides. I received a gift of $1000 from a friend I hadn't known for very long, right at the moment when I needed it most, right at the time when I was wondering if I was really going to make it as a missionary in this place.

If I'm not in need, how could God ever be my well-spring of life? If I do not undergo suffering, how could God ever be my comfort? Isn't it true that God brings trials and testing our way, not because he is evil, but because he is perfectly good. Not only is he good ontologically, but good expressively. He shows us his goodness time and time again. And when we can't see his goodness, he turns up the contrast so that we might.

How to become an atheist

2008-10-03T19:09:00.002+08:00

One becomes an atheist through an intricate yet predictable series of unfortunate events.

1. He begins to become seduced by the illusion that objective reality lies only in what can be perceived by the senses, measured, reproduced and demonstrated as proven fact.
2. This, in turn, causes him to become highly skeptical of phenomena. Perhaps it begins with a skepticism about trivialities like deja vu, ghosts, angels, demons, clairvoyance.
3. He reasons that there must be a scientific explanation for EVERYTHING. Note that this is an assumption and will play a major determinative role as a screen and filter for every idea that comes henceforth.
4. He begins to question his own faith and is deeply troubled by inconsistencies in the tradition that he has embraced. This expresses itself in several ways: 1) Questioning of the subjective experiences that he had encountered; 2) Becoming critical of areas of logical inconsistency in certain passages in holy texts; 3) Becoming highly cynical of the commands that the religion imposes on followers; 4) Finding fault with the moral quality of the deity in question; 5) Finding fault with the leaders and so-called spiritual giants of the faith; 6) Realizing that the world's religions all teach fundamentally different and irreconcilable things; 7) becoming troubled by the problem of evil; 8) Realizing that science has very different answers about the nature of reality and the origin of the universe.
5. This leads him to establish another set of tenets: 1) We cannot know what God wants of us; 2) If God were truly good, he would: a) remove all evil b) reveal himself to all creatures c) provide salvation for all; 3) religion is vastly incongruent with current scientific knowledge and progress.
6. In light of the fact that no religion offers what he wants or expects, he determines: 1) it is futile to worship this or any other god; 2) Indeed religion offers nothing and has no place in the landscape of future society; 3) There is no god.

Saved from ... ?

2008-09-26T21:44:00.003+08:00

The gospel. It's about salvation right? Gospel means good news, and that good news is that there is hope for salvation in Jesus Christ. But, have you ever stopped to wonder exactly what it is that we're saved from?

Some answer: hell! We're saved from that awful place that people don't ever want to think about. That place of torment and torture.

Others answer: Sin! We're saved from that awful thing that separates us from God and truly knowing and enjoying him.

Still others answer: Despair! Without Christ, we are left despairing, without hope, without meaning and without purpose. Christ is our rescue from a life of worthlessness and self-pity.

Actually, these are all partial and incomplete answers. It is not so much that we are saved from a location such as hell. Sure, it's an awful place and we wouldn't want to go there. The fire is hot and the fleshing eating worms never have their fill. But we're not saved from an unpleasant place or experience.

And we're not saved from sin, either. Sin is awful and does separate us from God, but sin is simply the name we give our mistakes, our failure to live up to God's standard of righteousness. Sin is problematic in its effects it brings. We're not saved from sin per se.

And we're not saved from psychological pathology either. Christ did not die to rescue us from a low self-esteem or feelings of lostness and despair. We're not saved to feel good about ourselves.

No. We're saved from God himself. We are being rescued from experiencing the full measure and manifestation of God's wrath against evil and wickedness. At times past he has expressed his deep bitterness against sin in shocking ways that have left us offended, confused and even bitter ourselves. Lest we miss the point of hell by thinking of it as some impersonal location like a holding cell, or as a series of unpleasant sensations, we need to recover what hell truly is: the eternal and complete pouring out of his holy hatred not only against sin, but the sinners who have committed them.

I'm so glad that Jesus already bore that on the cross for me.

If I could but from the pod emerge

2008-09-09T21:25:00.003+08:00

Inter-faith Dialogue. Is that a game that Christianity can play? While religion and spirituality are in vogue, absolute claims to truth regarding ultimate reality are scorned with utmost intolerance (yes, it is ironic, come to think of it). It may seem obvious to state, but we are living in the age where the most number of people have been killed in the name of religion than ever before. Duh! We're coming to the threshold of capacity, the balloon is about to pop, and all the world is doing everything possible - even tweaking ideologies - so that more blood need be shed anymore. The world is trying as hard as ever to get along. The world is shrinking, cultures mixing, nations trading, people exploring and appreciating one another, while ideas are being exchanged and discussed.

But then there's Christianity, just as exclusive and 'archaic' as ever. He's never willing to budge, to give in, to agree with anything that isn't precisely revealed in Scripture. He doesn't allow any heterodox ideas to mingle with his and he judges other faiths by his own criterion. What a party pooper.

Truth matters. It matters because ultimate reality exists, although it may not seem plain right now. The world we're living in pretends that ultimate reality ends at the boundary of our frontal lobes. All that really exists are synapses firing creating thoughts, feelings, sentiments, and emotions. Even we Christians are living as if Jesus is just a synonym for peace, love and hope, that it's just another worldview that helps to make sense of this world that is meaningless without one. He often becomes another excuse for gathering together for feel-good sessions of song, food and banter.

But is this the way it's supposed to be? Are we living out the implications of the truth that we know. It's one thing to believe, but it's quite another to REALLY believe. I'm not sure I'm there yet, to be honest. I'm still fitting in with the general current of things. Sometimes I wish I could just wake up. Like Neo from the Matrix, or a caterpillar still in the cocoon, just wake up and see the way things really are and begin living that way.

The Best and Getting Better

2008-09-02T19:18:00.003+08:00

I came to know of a up-coming wedding of a girl I used to know. I didn't know her well, but she was well-known; a respected and accomplished leader, intelligent, charming, kind, godly and beautiful. When you observe such people from a distance, they seem larger than life - too good to be true. Doesn't she have any flaws? Does anyone despise her for any reason other than pure jealousy?

Her love story posted online seemed likewise surreal, the kind of stuff that gets published or seen on the silver screen. Love at first sight with a perfect guy in perfect circumstances; a perfect proposal made with perfect timing. The perfect couple. I'm sure I'm not the first or only person to look upon them with green eyes wondering if I will ever be dealt a hand so 'ideal.'

How easy it is to compare our circumstances with others! And after we calculate the payouts we make our conclusions on the goodness of God to Us vs. Them. Usually, the smoothest ride in the nicest wheels to the most coveted destination with all your friends and family cheering you along the way is what wins the day. It's what we define as a successful, happy life. It's the thing we all long for in our default state when we're looking at the looking glass rather than through it; when we're focused on life in this world rather than the kingdom of God. While it's most natural to consider the value of our lives in terms of happiness, possessions and comfort, it is also most unnatural and unbiblical to actually view and live our lives in this way. It's unnatural because because we have been born of above and are no longer of this world. It's unbiblical because in Christ we have been given all things. Anything that we possess at any given moment is God's very best for us, whether that amounts to much or nothing. While it may not seem so according to the world's economy, we have been given every blessing and can ask for no more. In dying with Christ we have renounced the world and all its cheap temporal benefits. In its place we have opted for treasure of which moth and rust cannot destroy.

At times, we see the kindness of God when we (or others) receive gifts of material, relational or pleasurable worth - things highly desired in our world. But we need not receive these things in order for God to be good. He has already poured out his life unto death in the crucifixion of his beloved Son for our sin. The salvation that we have and the glory that will be revealed in heaven is great indeed, and we will be embarrassed at the intensity with which we sought after other things at the expense of things that truly mattered. What an insulting sin it is to think that marriage, or money, or monuments are anywhere near as precious.

Lord, help me not covet the petty and trivial things of this world which distract me from coveting you alone.

When we look at the eternal killing fields with unveiled faces

2008-08-27T20:26:00.002+08:00

If you were to wake up in heaven and find that your parents, siblings, and best friend were not there? How could that place be heaven for you? From where would you derive the ecstatic joy and gladness that constitutes our idea of eternal bliss in the presence of God?

The answer is difficult, but simple.

Jesus.

Unless we get our minds and hearts around the perfection and majesty of the glory of Christ, we miss the entire point of our salvation and what it means to enter into eternal bliss. On this side of glory, our self-centred humanistic flesh draws us away from basking in the glory of God as the ultimate good. Our eyes are only for ourselves, for our humanity and our sentimental thoughts of secondary happiness.

One day, from the viewing gallery of heaven perhaps we will see many of our loved ones perishing in eternal torment, receiving the just retribution for crimes committed against the holiness of God. Looking with unveiled faces, perfected and glorified in the consuming fire of our Saviour, with all sin and flesh purged completely from our being, what will we do?

We will exalt in the glory of God with such immense ecstasy and joy that all of our petty sentiments of the joy of salvation in our present time will shamefully pale in comparison. We will rejoice in the vindication of God and in the wonder of his great mercy in Christ in which we were selected from before the foundation of the world.

To God alone be the glory.

2008-08-17T16:13:00.002+08:00

What is it that lay in the heart of the Thai people? Through what lens do they perceive the world? From the extravagance of their Buddhist architecture and decor about their shrines, it would seem that they are a very religious people. But is it that they are religious or simply superstititious about their beliefs?

I've been thinking about whether or not a high-church form of Christian spirituality would work here among the Thai. Sort of a highly ritualistic set of actions that would resonate more with their attitude of worship within a Buddhist context, perhaps much like the forms seen in Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

The form of Christian worship that we introduce as missionaries is western, no doubt about that. It is altogether normal for us to transmit the faith that has been passed down from tradition from those who gave it to us, not to mention the fact that the urbanized world is western in its character the world over. Those who convert are embracing a certain amount of western civilization, yet they are neither ignorant nor resistant of it.

Perhaps it's not such a good thing to give them a Buddhist version of Christianity knowing that their beliefs are not relational, but based on fear, superstition and appeasement.

2008-07-24T18:12:00.002+08:00

When I was young(er), I thought to myself, "I can't wait to get to leave all this junk behind and get to the mission field." Often looking through eyes of scorn for those who would not leave the materialsm and comforts of western urban life, I now see how precious some of these little things are - things that I'm going to miss. Now that I'm closer that ever before, just weeks away from stepping out to begin my 3-year assignment in Thailand under Korean church and agency, I realize just how hard it is to let go of the things which bring us comfort.

I'm sitting in the National Library in Singapore. Air conditioned, quite, peaceful, free wireless internet access. All that anyone could ever want or need is found in this very city which I have grown to love. The convenience of daily errands, the efficiency of services, the integrity of public transportation, the food, the movies, the skilfully crafted landscaping and the tranquility of safety.

I'll surely miss these things. I doubt Thailand has even half of these things.

But, one cannot deny one of the main sources of fulfillment and happiness: purpose. I know that God has called me for a season of missionary service. Perhaps he does not give everyone a burden for those who have never heard the gospel, but I'm certain that he's given it to me. Like Frodo Baggins I carry it around my neck while it brings to me places of terrifying uncertainty and danger. I could wish that I were a yuppie in the city, marry a bonny lass who catches my eye, apportion some time to church ministry so as to inspire the next generation, take up a hobby, plan the next holiday overseas. But I cannot. It's just not me - at least not for now.

At the same time, I, in no way, want to come across as some super-spiritual person. I know with certainty that trials and temptations will buffet me on every side. I'm not even entirely sure that I will prevail. I've read and heard enough people who could not hack it. Why should I be exempt from statistics?

2007-04-30T09:26:00.000+08:00

Proverbs 31:30

Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

The first girl was beautiful, a head-turner where ever she went. Tall, clear skin, gorgeous smile. Our relationship lasted a little while, then she got bored. Maybe she wanted more attention, or maybe she wanted less. One thing's for sure, when you have someone beautiful, they don't always stay that way. You get used to their appearance. They don't turn your head anymore. And with the passage of time, the beauty fades ... and fades ... and fades.

The second girl had a sense of calling. I thought she was the one. A missionary-in-the-making, full of courage and ministerial zeal. She was young and in the prime of her life, yet was willing to sacrifice it all to be where God wanted her. I found this extremely attractive. She was a person with a vision not only for her future vocation, however, but also her future partner. He was to be like this, and like that and going in the same direction. Long story short, I didn't fit the bill. I wasn't the one. Oh well, moving on...

The third girl had charm. A magnetic personality that drew me right in. I felt so comfortable around her and could actually be myself. She was entertaining in a simple and quiet way and not a lot of expectations of our friendship - which was nice for a change. However, this person glimmered of character deficiencies, and not a big lover of God. No, No, No... Enough said.

The next one ... must fear the Lord. She must be a woman of integrity and character, someone who is first a Christian before she is a romantic. I know now: Beauty, charm, and calling are secondary characteristics; they do not make the woman. They may be little extras that make the relationship exciting, but in the long run, they mean nothing. The godly woman trembles at God's word, which she has hidden in her heart. She loves with depth and acts in purity.

She is the one.

the wilderness of testing

2007-04-09T00:54:00.000+08:00

And Jesus was driven into the desert by the Holy Spirit to be tempted ...

Why?
Why the desert? Why to be tempted? Why by the Holy Spirit?

Let's think about the desert. What are some things in the desert that we can't find in normal everyday, urban existence?

First, the desert is a place of isolation. No one's around. Nobody peeking over your shoulder to see if you're behaving like a Christian. Inconspicuous. Christendom is a long way away. Here, no one knows about your vows, your convictions, and no one expects you to uphold them and no one cares if you do or don't. You could sin, and no one would know, in fact, it was most "normal" of you to do so.

Second, the desert is where you're at the mercy of the environment. The sun will beat on you during the day, the frost will bite you at night. Sand storms, venomous critters, hungry animals. It's where you need to keep alert and deliberately work at surviving. The only time you "get used to" that environment is when you're dying - reaching homeostasis with the surroundings, they say.

Third, in the desert is a lack of sustenance. No abundance of the usual things we feast on so gluttonously. No conferences, seminars, commentaries, 5 different versions of Bibles. Just you and whatever comes out of the mouth of God, and the mouth of the raven. Maybe there isn't a lot of new insights, but a time when you get to think long and hard about the stuff you've already learned. Now is the time to make sense of it all, ask yourself if you really believe it - out here, like you thought you did back there.

When God tests a man in the desert, it's not to see how he'll do. He's not ignorant of the future or our prospects for success. It's not so that God'll know how we'll fare. It's so that we'll know. It's for us to find out what God really means to us. It's for us to see what we're made of; whether we revert to our animal instincts, or we abide in the Spirit. It was essential for Jesus' ministry to find Himself in God and experience Him in the desert, away from everyone, away from the expectations of being the Son of God. The testing was about His humanity and the place that God occupied in the heart of a Disciple. The wilderness is where we each need to go and meet God ... at some point.

have mercy

2007-04-03T10:56:00.000+08:00

Just finished preaching a sermon from John 3:16-21. The gospel, clear and straightforward presentation on the sacrificial and universal love of God. It took 20 mins, then for 30 mins, I got chewed by my class during the critique.

They took apart the transitions, complained about how the intro could have better tied into the 2nd point, and wondered why the applications weren't more "concrete". I mean, do I really need walk you through a 3-step process on how you examine your beliefs and reflect on the love of God and how to respond in continuous, fruit-bearing faith?

Sometimes I fear the direction that theological education is going. I fear where the church is headed. The flabbiness, the apathy, the intellectual impoverishment.

God have mercy.

Fish stink

2007-03-29T22:51:00.000+08:00

Luke 5:1-11

Fishing. Now that's something that Peter could do. You don't find yourself, some 30 plus years of age, doing the same thing over and over again since your daddy taught you when you were a little runt and not being pretty darn good at it. Peter had to have been a good fisherman, but sometimes you land a sweet catch and sometimes you don't. This time he didn't. All night long and not even a wandering crab (provendential failure, perhaps?)

Contrast this with the next scene: a haul of fish so massive that neither the net nor two fishing boats combined could sustain the weight of the catch.

And the difference between the two scenes: a program? an ideology? a strategy?
Nope.

Jesus.

A great catch of fish, but it didn't come easily. The fish could only be found in deep waters. Deep waters. But deep waters are ... deep! They're dark! They're far away from shore, from home, from comforts. Out there in deep waters, there's so much uncertainty! We're sitting ducks at the mercy of the sea!

That's what we think.

Jesus, he just thinks, deep waters ... where else can I find enough space to summon all those fish to mash themselves into Peter's net?

And the rest is history. After Jesus comes on the scene, everything changes, nothing matters anymore. The earth-shattering, record-breaking, career catch of fish, the busted nets, the soggy boats; they're all left to rot on the beach. Jesus has just walked into their lives and it is no gamble for them to leave everything and follow him. From now on, they'd be catching men. From now on, they'd be forever caught by Christ.

orthopraxy

2007-03-27T13:28:00.000+08:00

On a certain mountain stands a tall tablet shaped stone with a flat surface. On it are inscribed words. The words are not in any foreign language, and although the phrases are a little mysterious in meaning at times, what it says is generally straight forward. Many people gather at the foot of this stone. They carefully read the words and then scribble their own words onto a parchment and head back down the mountain and tell others what they wrote. Of course not everyone has the same reflections about what the stone said, so they spend their time arguing with one another to see who's right. Some people go to the stone, read what it says, but don't write anything down. They simply try to remember what the stone said, head down the mountain and begin putting it into practice as best they can.

Much of theology can be reduced to grown men who don't know how to say those 3 precious words: "I don't know". What they do not know they strive to know and in so doing build vast systems to help them organize their thoughts on God. God is in no way impressed with them. Rather, he delights in the one who meditates on his words day and night, who remembers what it says and puts it into practice.

The emerging church is moving in the direction of orthopraxy over orthodoxy (right living over right knowing) and I don't think it's such a bad thing. Of course there are some fundamental truths that can never and should never be compromised. There can never be a truly postmodern, relativistic Christian. But I can appreciate the emphasis. It's time to move. It's time to start living as if we actually believe in the supremacy of Christ and the desperate need this world has for the gospel. It's time we come down from the mountain and show the world that we know God and we have his word.

The Isaac Offering

2007-01-12T16:11:00.000+08:00

"A guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do ..."

Whatever the Chaldee version of that phrase is, Abraham certainly muttered it into his cloak as he made that ascent up the mountain of Moriah on the eve of the sacrifice of his son to God.

Imagine if he, after receiving the command from God, asked his friends what they thought about it. Imagine if he asked his wife Sarah, "I think I heard God say that I'm suppose to offer our son as a burnt offering." What would she have thought? "Are you out of your damn mind? God would never tell you to do that!"

Perhaps that's why he set out so early in the morning.

But that is exactly what God had spoken and Abraham knew it. He had to dispell every word of resistance discouraging such a disgusting act such as human sacrifice, and yes, it was a terrible thing to command a father to do. But God had said it. Abraham had learned to recognize the voice of God. Now, he was to learn to trust it.

It's a scary thing to come face to face with an Isaac offering request, but it is essential to our discipleship. A time will come when God bids up lay down the very thing that we have invested our entire lives for, the thing that we love more than anything on earth. He asks us, "Do you love me more than these? Can I have this?"

It's not that He intrinsically wants it or needs it, but knows that our hearts are attached to it, and our grip has tightened around it. It was a gift to begin with, but with time we clutch it like a child clutches a candy bar. We forget that there was a time when we were without it and God was enough to satisfy us completely. But then this 'thing' came along.

I must ask myself, "Am I at rest if I am not in fulltime ministry, or on my way to the mission field just yet? Am I satisfied, sitting still, doing little but being attentive at the feet of Jesus, like Mary? Or am I constantly compelled to shake and move and get busy for the ministry, like Martha?" If my identify has been programmed by what I do for God and not who I am in God, then my heart is laid captive by an external force that is not God Himself. My proper integration into a church where I am not given a high profile responsibility is essential at this point of my life. Though this may run contrary to the suggestion of many and makes little sense given my soon approaching graduation from a Bible College, I am sure that the call of God, for now, is to stop, and to receive, to be led, and to fellowship. It's high time I flow and resonate with a church rather than flail about impatiently as one of its leaders hoping to get where I 'really wanna be'.

It's time to offer Isaac.

Giddy up.

memoirs of an invisible man

2006-12-29T00:11:00.000+08:00

Babel is fallen.

Crumbled into a heap of rubble by the hand of the Almighty. For a time we may mourn the passing of our dreams and aspirations, but it's necessary that Babel die. God will tolerate no competition for our hearts. It is impossible to attempt to make a name for ourselves while calling ourselves His disciples.

Missions. Something so close to God's heart. But because it is not God Himself, it is susceptible to idolization. Missions and ministry was my Babel, made in my own image and for my own glory. And God must act in order to bring total chaos and confusion into my life so that I come down from Babel, and so that I will turn my eyes upon Jesus once again. Once Babel is out of the picture there's nothing obscurring the view.

The call of God now is not into the mission field, but into the Church. Go to church ... for real this time. Love the church ... for real this time. For so long it was my workplace, a place of struggle and strife. I liked the feeling of doing something for God, but I despised the instituion itself. I secretly resented how I was being used like a comodity.

All that's gotta change. Time for a great exchange. Learning to feel what life is like on the other side, as a member, a recipient. How hard it will be to give up control, to shut my mouth and not take charge, not make a comment or give an answer or show them how it's done. To follow and not lead, to listen and not speak, to submit and obey. To be in the church and not outside, above or beyond the church. To be one of the sheep again, for the first time.

baa.

Horses of War

2006-12-23T12:30:00.000+08:00

Sure, wild stallions can have a function. Let them loose and watch them fly. They jump and spin and flail about, running faster than the wind. They’ll kick with brutal force. You might even be able to mount one for a few seconds and it might even take you somewhere towards your desired destination before it throws you off. It’s got zeal, passion, energy.

But a horse who has gone through the trials of time and testing; now he’s another creature altogether. Hours upon hours, days upon days of exercise and drill in order break him. You tame him, yet he is not weakened. You make him submit and obey. Then, that horse becomes still … disciplined. He goes where his rider wishes. He will run swiftly towards an oncoming lance and never flinch, he will leap over a cliff to certain death if commanded to. He becomes a horse of war; a truly useful beast. He will last for the long haul and be faithful companion.

It's true that passion without purpose is pointless. And that purpose must be that which lay on the horizon and not what is two steps in front of you. To fulfill the purpose that lay on the horizon one must focus his passions. At times focussing one's passions looks like anything but passion. In the movie Higher Learning, with Ice Cube (heh), the two most racist and most passionate guys in the movie (the bosses) were the one's who held back, they were calm and reserved through most of the movie while the "wild stallions" were out causing trouble like petty thugs. They controlled their zeal and did not unleash it too early. They let it sit, slowly boiling, slowly festering. It's not until the very end where you see how serious those bosses really were.

Missions that matter are long term missions. Going far and going long means digging your roots deep. It means building relationships and solid foundations of support. I need to be reminded that whlie I may seem zealous for missions, it's God who's heart is boiling over and deeply grieving over the lost. He is the passionate one. Instead of flailing around making splashes in the sea, all I need to do is ride the wave of God's passion and do what I see the Father doing.

to infinity and beyond.

Babelling out from the centre of the world

2006-11-26T00:37:00.000+08:00

New word,

to Babel: verb, meaning to build up one's own Empire and seek self-actualization. To grasp at whatever is necessary to make a name for oneself.

Is it possible to Babel about ministry? I think so. It's so subtle and insidious. Imagine making plans to build up the kingdom of God, to do this and that for God, go here and there for God, while all along God is no where to be found in the whole equation. How difficult that must be to catch.

Perhaps I see that in myself and my zeal to be a missionary. "Missions, the final frontier. These are the voyages of Dennis Oh. His continuing mission to seek out new tribes and languages ... to boldy go where no one has gone before!!"

I am such a nerd.

Am I doing nothing more than grasping at means to become significant in my own eyes and the eyes of others? Am I truly driven by love for God? and how could I know for sure, if the heart is truly deceptive and wicked above all things? The only upshot is that the Apostle Paul is not too concerned with our inferior motives when it comes to preaching the gospel; to him the mission is more important than our lousy reasons for getting there.

but I think I'm entitled to ask, nonetheless.

See, it's all too easy to love the world or the things of the world. It's easy for ministry and missions to fall into that nasty 3rd category: the pride of life. Ministry can become our identity, our price tag that determines our market value in the world. It can become our source of security, status or income.

But where's God? We've displaced Him with the very things of His own kingdom, like worshipping the creation and not the Creator. That's a scary thought.

May Christ Himself be my life mission, the goal, the very point of existence. He's not the thing we settle for or the means to an end. He is the end, just as He was the beginning.

O Christ,
Be the Centre of our lives
Be the place we fix our eyes
Be the Centre of our lives

Theology: the toy everyone has

2006-11-17T16:51:00.000+08:00

Theology is ubiquitous. Everyone has one whether they like it or not. It's funny that theology is so often relegated to some anti-spiritual, academic exercise. But even the super-spiritual have a dogma that they will defend with everything they have, just like the scholastics. They may even be more dogmatic than scholars are on certain issues.

What exactly is theology of the academic variety? Well, chiefly, it is a theology rooted in the Bible, such that undocumented and unscriptural phenomena are considered secondary data. Academians also spent inordinate amounts of time and effort hearing one another's views and attempt to trace the development of doctrine down the centuries; they evaluate it in light of the available Biblical data. Seems responsible so far.

Theology of the super-spiritual kind? Well, seems like it's based on one's own experiences, intuitions, feelings. That doesn't mean that it's wrong, just not as objective. There's no need to confirm it with through others or read what others say about it - I experienced it, and that's all that matters. If God revealed it directly, who is anyone to scrutinize it? History? no need, God is doing a "new thing". Here's the rub: when experiential theology drifts off the path, how does it get back one? How does one even know that it got off to begin with.

The beauty of academic theology is that it is always done in community. Sure, theological debates are often heated and pointless and seem like anything but community-oriented. But such feedback from the theological community and saints through the ages is invaluable in preserving sound doctrine. But when 'theologians' come by claiming, "God is doing something new!" or "God directly revealed such and such to me .." what are we to say in response to that. This kind of theology operates within its own subjective framework and everyone goes with the flow until there's a desire to return to the Word. It's a vicious cycle.

I'm not against charismatics, I wish the church was more 'charismatic' in many ways. I just don't see the propriety of dismissing academic theology in favour of an experiential one; or viewing it as somehow unspiritual.

The Anatomy of Lust

2006-11-16T12:35:00.000+08:00

What is lust and why is it sin?

Technically lust is defined as an intense desire for something or someone. How is one to measure the degree of desire and at what point does a desire become intense enough to be labelled sin?

First, desires require an object. It is impossible to desire nothingness. This is the basic inconsistency with Buddhism in its purest sense. Desires will always exist and they are fixed upon an object. Whether it is a woman, a car, a job, a status or a Tag Heuer watch, people desire objects. That object must be a specific person or thing, whether they are before your eyes, or on the pages of a magazine. One of the Ten Commandments is "You shall not covet your neighbours' house, wife, possessions ..." Inherit in this covetousness is desire for something.

Second, God commands "do not love the world or anything in the world" (1 John). What did he mean? Shall we not love our families, puppies, Christmas dinners and the budding flowers in spring. Answer: No, we shouldn't. Not if the love of these things are an end in themselves. Any love and desire for anything that does not ultimately leads us to a love and desire for the glory of God is sin. Sin is when we exchange the glory of God for ANYTHING else - however warm and fuzzy it might be.

Third, the lusting after a person occurs when your desire is turned towards yourself. If you are attracted to someone or something, praise God - you're normal. When you appreciate physical beauty or charming characteristics, praise God - He's a creative and wonderful God. But as soon as desire does not translate to love for God or the others, the only person left to receive the benefits is yourself. We are commanded, "Love the Lord and love one another." The sin of Adam and Eve was a sin of lust: a lust for nourshment, independence and power. Everyone who ever committed the sin of lust thought of how they might take and use that object for their own personal gain.

Fourth, lust is adultery. In the sexual sense, the lust that is conceived in the mind of man is fully evident before the eyes of God. You think it, you did it. Spiritually, lust is adultery of the idolatrous kind. Adultery is unfaithfulness and a prostituting of oneself to someone to whom you are not joined. Lust diminishes the supremacy of God, casting Him momentarily aside.

simple impetus

2006-11-09T23:33:00.000+08:00

As I grow older and wiser, I want my life to become simpler and more straight forward.
When I think of my impetus for wanting to go overseas for missionary work, there's a simple thing I have in mind.

What is the thing that drives me to the nations? The glory of Jesus Christ. I live for that day when people from every tribe and nation fall before the Lamb in worship. Those who do not worship will, at least, be forced to confess the Lordship of Christ.

Until then, there is one thing as our responsibility: preaching the gospel to the farthest ends of the earth. Let us get one thing certain: there is absolutely no possibility of salvation outside faith in Jesus Christ, and there is absolutely no way for people to believe except by the preaching of the gospel, and there is absolutely no way to preach unless you, or I, or better yet both of us, go.

2006-10-25T14:05:00.000+08:00

There I was standing in front of you the entire time
and you never took notice, did you?
You never realized that for some people revelation of oneself is a rather big step
It doesn't come to naturally for all
Only for the one in love

But you look at me with wooden lenses
Your feet sunken in cement shoes to approach me
Your mouth gnaws molasses to speak
An arduous chore it seems to lift your gaze

If only you would explode out of your passivity
and ravish me till I am near dead
that, at least would satisfy

but as all good things come to an end
the heart grows colder

the silence envelops the sound

quick thought #3

2006-10-17T00:37:00.000+08:00

Thomas Acquinas (they call him a "Saint") was known to have said, "Preach the gospel at all times and in all places ... use words if necessary."

are you kidding me?

THE GOSPEL IS WORDS. PERIOD.

Paul (they call him a "Saint" too) once said, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Words of Christ." There is no gospel that is preached without words. The gospel will forever be the power of God unto salvation for all who believe, conveyed in the foolishness of preaching WORDS. You cannot believe propositional truths that are not ultimately conveyed using words.

Don't confuse good works and kind acts as synonymous with the Gospel.

quick thought #2

2006-10-17T00:33:00.000+08:00

We have this tendency to venerate people from the past. Augustine, Thomas Acquinas, Luther, Calvin, Owen, Edwards.

Snoopy was once writing a book entitled, "Did it ever occur to you that you might be wrong?"

Smart pup.

Sure, those guys were godly men and contributed to the Church in amazing ways. But they were fallen sinners like you and me. It's very likely that they were wrong on some point. I, for one, am convinced that Owen was wrong about limited atonement.

but I could be wrong.

quick thought #1

2006-10-17T00:26:00.000+08:00

The words of Scripture take priority over the historical context for which, or in which, it was written. Consider this:

1. The words of Scripture are objective, the historical context is subjective
2. The words of Scripture are completely known, the historical situation cannot be entirely known
3. The words of Scripture are ultimately penned by the Holy Spirit to the first reader, but also ultimately canonized by the Holy Spirit for us.

Every word of Scripture is for the Church, even if it deals with animal sacrifices, head coverings, or holy kisses. It is there to teach us something. Anytime we use historical context to make the text say the opposite of what it seems to be teaching , beware.

The Radiance vs. The Veil

2006-09-25T10:57:00.000+08:00

After Moses met God, his face shone with brilliant radiance - and he did not know it. The radiance was the latent presence of God. It was the residue and after effect of being in communion with God. He had been with God and it showed. But when he came down from the mountain, the people feared the radiance and were reluctant to approach him. Hence, Moses veiled his face when he spoke to the people God's commands and unveiled it when he spoke with God in the tent.

Moses had the after glow of God's presence, and the people were taken aback instead of being drawn towards it. They did not understand the radiance. It was a hindrance and distraction to them. It made them afraid.

However, when Moses was in the tent with God, that veil came off. There was no need of it. In the tent, the veil became the hindrance and the distraction. Moses' own face resonated with God's presence. Moses felt at home.

Moses hated that veil. That veil was the veil of compromise. He wore for it for the people's sake - because they did not welcome the radiance. Just like the veil in the temple that hid God's presence from the people, the Most Holy from the holy. It was erected for the people's sake.

Interesting that when God came down and revealed His Glory and Name to Moses, that entire narrative is encased in law and commands such that there is hardly a separation between God's presence and God's law. So often we only want the presence of God, the experiences and feelings, but we do not want His law. Sheesh.

Sometimes the commands of God are simply not welcome. Preachers are responsible to be faithful in communicating the text of Scripture, but the people will not accept it. So, it is sadly veiled. Compromised. The people don't want to hear that God's hates divorce, that fornication is wrong, that Jesus is the only Way, so these truths get veiled and the glow loses its brilliance. But just remember, that veil is not the way it ought to be.

This week in class I'll be preaching on 1 Tim 2:11-12 (women are to be silent and may not teach or have authority over men in the church). Yeah, yeah, yeah, no one wants to hear this one. After my exegesis on the passage, I wish I could come to a different conclusion than the one I came to. The temptation to bastardize the text and preach the exact opposite is great, but then I will not have preached God's word faithfully and will have wasted everyone's time including my own. But my reflection on the "veil" confirms that it's time for the veil to come off. It's time to be judged by the Word of God instead of running away from It.

What's in a name?

2006-09-22T09:26:00.001+08:00

What did Moses and God do on that mountain that day? Remember, it was the closest that Moses had ever come to God. It was their most intimate encounter. Maybe it didn't last very long. But during those moments, what did God want to reveal to Moses?

Two things: First, His glory. Second, His Name. The LORD the LORD, the Compassionate and Gracious God, Slow to Anger, Abounding in Love and Faithfulness, Maintaining Love to Thousands and Forgiving Wickedness, Rebellion and Sin.

To truly know someone means to know their name.

God even reassures that Moses that He is pleased with Him because He knows him by name (Ex. 33:17).

God and Moses were friends. They spoke to each other face to face. They beheld each other's form. They experienced hardship together. They knew each other's name.

First Things First

2006-09-21T01:06:00.000+08:00

When Jesus Christ calls a man, he does not first call him to "do" but to "be with" (Mark 3:13-14). We are called to be with him FIRST and to do something for him SECOND. He calls us to relationship, not task. Why? Because he is both the source and the purpose for whatever task we might perform.

The task is important, but without the person it means nothing. Martha cared only for the task which is why Jesus sighed her name. Mary chose what was better, or rather, she rightly discerned what was first in priority - Jesus.

The two must be balanced, but first things first. There comes a time when we gotta get the task done. Moses was on the mountain with God for 40 days. He could have easily spent another 40, but God commanded to go down and minister to the people who were corrupting themselves.

2006-09-18T01:25:00.000+08:00

The Road of Life is long and complicated.
Convoluted
Along the way you meet people travelling a common path for a fraction of the journey
You share a story or two, a couple of laughs and a few drinks
They are your company for a while
And soon they are gone
You can't hold them back from pursuing their course
After all you have your own route to follow
You just say, "This is where we go our separate ways"
and bid each other "God speed"
and that's that.
Others will come along
Soon

Cleft for Me

2006-09-10T10:35:00.000+08:00

"Show me Your glory!" says Moses. Of course God doesn't show him right away. It's not so simple. If Moses truly beholds the full form of God, he'll vaporize. But there is a way and there is a place for Moses to be where he can behold God's glory: in the cleft of the rock.

How big was that space in the rock where Moses waited for God's glory to pass by? Indulge me to suggest that the cleft was small ... Just enough space for Moses. A cleft that God had nicely carved over the centuries through erosion and sand storms, preparing it for Moses to someday sit and wait for the encounter he'd never forget.

In this place he saw God closer than all the other encounters. The smoke, the burning bush, the pillar of cloud and fire, these were only emanations. Only within the rock did Moses behold the substance of God in all His glory. In this place Moses' face shone with its greatest brilliance; the glow would henceforth fade.

This was the highlight of Moses' life. The negotiation to spare the lives of the idol worshipping Israelites down the mountain had just occurred before this, and Moses was successful. But even persuading the Almighty was not the height of Moses' career. In light of this encounter, leading Israel out of Egypt was immaterial.

God's glory is the chief end of man. To glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. That is the point.

But where is the cleft of the rock for me? My space where I will find and experience God in His fullest?

2006-08-31T00:41:00.000+08:00

Those who are elected unto salvation do not become un-elected
Those who are justified by faith do not be un-justified
Those found in Christ are never lost in Christ
No one can snatch them out of His hand

Eternal covenants are never broken
They never go assunder
They ought never go assunder

chosen

2006-08-29T22:07:00.000+08:00

Who am I ...
Who are we?
From the foundation of the world, before time began its circuit around the cosmic clock
We were imagined in the mind of God
Formed from the infinite recesses of His counsel

Chosen

Chosen to be loved
Chosen to be saved
Chosen to be found in Christ
Planned beforehand to be plucked out of the darkness, the sewage

Did I have anything to offer Him?
Is there something found in me that deems me worthy?
Shall I not receive my just desserts and be cast into outer darkness, gnashing my teeth with the horde?

No. So, why?

nice try.

perfect scars

2006-08-17T17:14:00.000+08:00

Your form is glorious perfection embodied
Divine substance and flesh merged into one
Without separation or mixture
No other can be my representative
No one else can understand me more
and have the power to transform me from my deathly state

forever will your perfect form bear the scars
that you bore on the cross
forever will your brow be poked with holes
forever will your back be gashed by bone
forever will your hands and feet have a see-through spot

but even so

perfection.

Perhaps one day our scars will no longer be memories of pain
maybe we'll show them off one day
maybe they too will be glorious and perfect.

birthdays

2006-08-14T11:13:00.000+08:00

I get older, but wonder if I've grown more mature.
On this journey called life, you look back and realize that you haven't gone very far
Though you've gone to many places, seen different things and met different people
There still remains that lingering void of dissatisfaction.
My head has grown bigger
My heart has shrunken and grown harder
Colder
Still so many things I have not done
Accolades I do not have
Never had a job, driver's license, girlfriend
Been a student my whole life. Been given a timetable and told where to stand.
This is the year of major life transition. Pivot point. The compass may point anywhere.
Major decisions to be made that will affect the course of my entire life.

Whoa Whoa Whoa ... take it easy man. It's just life. A breath.

Wait on the Lord
Be strong and take courage
And wait on the Lord.

PDA

2006-08-09T23:52:00.000+08:00

P.D.A.
Public Displays of Affection. Why do people do it? Why do couple kiss and hug while riding on the escalator, while one step down is we common folk who come up close to the action? Is the only time that people are together when they are in public, in full view of everyone?

Are they trying to make us jealous? Are they exhibitionists? I mean, let's admit it. Some of things people do in the park, on the train, at the movies are pretty "PG-13", know what I mean?

I suppose one of the benefits of being in a relationship is just that. You have the right to rub it in everyone's face. PDAs are a boundary marker that sets people off and creates exclusivity from the rest of society. It says, "This person is MINE."

I think this is something that God does too. Remember Jesus' baptism when the heavens rented open and the Father said to the people, "This is my BELOVED SON." Remember when He rescued Israel out of Egypt with an OUT STRETCHED arm, a column of fire and cloud, so that all the nations could see and melt with fear as they saw how God favoured the children of Israel.

Perhaps there's something to be said about loving someone, and not only showing them privately, but publicly.

rudder of the soul

2006-07-27T11:30:00.000+08:00

It is the mind that is the rudder of the soul. What you think affects what you feel.

A pastor gave this illustration...

It's 3 am in the morning, you're alone in a large house out in the 'boonies', in the dead of night - no one around. Suddenly you hear a creeking in the floor outside your room. You think, *INTRUDER!* and the adrenaline starts pumping; you're full of fear.

Another scenario:

It's 3 pm in the afternoon, you're alone in large house, but outside is the hustle and bustle of cars and schoolkids. Suddenly you hear a creeking the floor. You think *MR. JONES' STUPID CAT LOOKING FOR FOOD AGAIN*. All is well.

Emotions and feelings come and go.
If we were to wait for them to activate, we might never get anything done.
If we love someone only when the feelings are present, we'll hate them first thing in the morning, or after a sleepless night, or when sick in bed.
If we worship only when the feelings are present, then we're telling God that he's not worthy of praise about 85% of the time.

It is truth and commitment, which are held together by the mind that matters.
Perhaps love is nurtured after all.
Perhaps worship songs need to be sung with passion, not because passion is there, but because God deserves passion.

2006-07-24T23:13:00.000+08:00

i take no notice
you count the hairs on my head
you rouse when one falls to the ground
it's just a hair
you take notice

you watch me sleep
count my breaths
your eyes brighten as mine break open
you hold your breath
you watch me wake

Who loves most?

2006-07-20T10:02:00.000+08:00

A: "Honey, today is our anniversary, so I bought you these flowers because it is my duty."
B: "Honey, today is our anniversary, so I bought you these flowers because I thought you'd like it."
C: "Honey, today is our anniversary, so I bought you these flowers because nothing brings ME more pleasure than making you happy."

(adapted from John Piper's Desiring God)

B is good, but C is better. Why?
In B, the beloved delights in the gift, for it is something she likes. But in C, the beloved delights in the gift, AND in the joy of the lover. Because he delighted in making her happy, the love feels that much more intense.

Have we idealised love so that it has become so fixated upon the other person so as not to be concerned about the self at all?

Augustine proposed that the Trinity is the relationship between the Lover, the Beloved and the Love that flows between them.

Love, when given away, returns as joy a hundred fold. Miserable love is not so much the kind that is not returned, but the kind that's not even received. Sappy Korean movies have this concept of miserable love, for example, "because I love you, I cannot be with you." This kind of love has the guise of sacrificial love, but is a miserable love lacking joy.

Love and joy go hand in hand.

2006-07-18T17:57:00.000+08:00

I pictured myself as the godliest person I could ever be
Then I compared him to me
Wasn't happy with what I found
Because I saw that I was far from sound
What's one thing that irked my soul?
That I had rode on much, paid not the toll
All the tunes and all the vids
Stowed away in my digital lids
Along with sermons and Bible stuff
To break the dissidence, I've had enough
So while I'm still far from sound
Those sounds and those files won't be around
I can strike one more thing from my endless list
And search again for the things I've missed.

psalm of lament

2006-07-18T17:37:00.000+08:00

There is always something more I can give to You
I can sing sweeter to You, play better for You,
shout louder, jump higher, raise my hands longer, bow lower, cry harder
And it would never come close to reflecting Your worth
It would be as touching the tattered edge of Your sandal
Much less serving the train of Your robe

In my fallenness am I forever bound
Bound to the fear of others, my clouded vision, my unbelief
I would pour oil unto Your altar,
only to regret it and sweep it back into my jar.
I've heard of one who would sacrifice his son to You
because he knew You and trusted You
Could I do the same?

In You I live and move and breathe
In Christ I have everything I need
Yet in worshipping You, in feelings do I lean.
And reflect Your praise only on things that I have seen.

The dictionary of Male-Female dynamics (men's addition)

2006-07-14T22:32:00.001+08:00

An attempt to define what we know yet do not know how to express.
Because there's nothing unspiritual about being honest about what makes us tick.
Because being human is a good thing.

Chemistry: the dynamic state achieved between two people whereby the parties involved are comfortable, both with themselves and each with other, yet a force of attraction and curosity causes each to probe subtley into one another's psyche, and they love what they find.

Attraction (for guys): an irrational, instantaneous sensation stimulated by the presence and sight of a beautiful female form; further stimulated by hope or confidence that the female will respond positively and alluringly to his advances.

The Levels of Beauty from the male perspective:

1. Fugly - When a male perceives that few or no attractive genes have been inherited from the parental generation; visually repulsive. Men, beware of slander and mocking.

2. Homely - When certain key traits in the female form are considered abnormal or unshapely causing the overall figure to seem less than pleasing visually.

3. Average - A figure that evokes neither repugnance nor a second glace; having features that are plain or subtle; personality may have a great influence on possible attraction. Figure will tend to be either scrawny or slightly chubby.

4. Cute - Face is symmetrical and inviting, projecting a babyish roundness and innocence. Figure is shapely with no obvious extremes in appendage size; a type of figure evoking a hug-response. An unreasonable personality can often be written off with these looks. Men, beware of manipulation.

5. Pretty - Face and figure is symmetrical, shapely and healthy-looking; almost always warrants a second glance and apprepriation. Attention has been given to ensure that features are well groomed and evoke slight arousal. Unacceptable personality is very often insignificant in light of these looks.

6. Hot - Female possesses classically attractive features and has taken great pains to highlight her features (namely, the face, breasts, butt and legs) with external beauty products and erotic clothing. Her attempts, however, do have profound pay offs. Men, beware of lust.

7. Beautiful - the highest and most rare level of beauty. These females exhibit an external attractiveness, but also deep inner glow or 'presence'. Expression of godliness and character is essential and inseparable from the superficial display; both work in harmony and synergistically to enhance the other's traits. Men, find her!!

Gimme a dose of reality

2006-07-13T13:56:00.000+08:00

You gotta be real.
I think a lot of times Christians, especially Chrisitian leaders, avoid revealing their weaknesses and neediness. They're especially careful to convey an invulnerability before those who would be their subordinates in the ministry, their mentorees, etc. Here are possible reasons: 1. they wouldn't want those under them to feel insecure about them as leaders; 2. they wouldn't want those under them to stumble and fall into a state of greater weakness; 3. they want to prove to them they are more mature as Christians, and by living a victorious Christian life, they have earned the right to impart wisdom upon the younger generation.

There are probably a whole list of possible reasons or combinations of the above. The point is, weakness is bad - don't let people see. It might give them a bad impression of God's powerful and sanctifying work.

Being in Bible school for a couple of years now, I realize how really weak people are. They go through the same struggles that 'ordinary' Christians face, yet they are not allowed to reveal it, lest they jeopardise the flock. Rather, they use carefully chosen words to convey an invulerability that they do not necessarily possess, but always point to some ideal that is not necessarily attainable.

When my former pastor was just beginning his ministry in our church, he asked us, "what would you want or expect of me?" I responded, "I want to know that you are one of us, struggling through life and not afraid to let it show." Well, I guess he turned out to be Mr. Perfect after all, cause I never saw a the release valve open even once to let out some reality of genuine human struggle. Thus, he always remained far ahead of the game. Sure, we respected him greatly, but always as someone we could never be like.

I see something a little different of Jesus. He even once lamented that he had no place to lay his head. He even wept, in public, in order to identify with the sorrow of his friends - even though he knew he was about to completely change the atmosphere of the funeral into a time of joyous celebration.

Does anyone actually think that the clergy are superheroes, walking 3 feet above the ground and hears God's voice audibly, every 5 minutes or so? Please.

Show me a man who isn't going through hardship and toil and isn't honestly lamenting about it, and I'll show you a man who's putting on a mask - a fake.

missions futures and the cross of christ

2006-06-27T08:43:00.000+08:00

When you're away from the comforts of home for long enough, where you are starts to become home. I had been in Singapore for a year and a half before returning to Canada for my friend's wedding. For a little while that trip had felt like travelling to a foreign country. But soon, you realize how really comfortable it is to be home. The people speak like you and think like you; they've had similar experiences and share common dreams. Sometimes I struggle to remember what it is was that made me leave Canada so hastily to come here - even having the thoughts of not returning home.

After the first bout of bringing up my plans for missions and not receiving a positive response like I had hoped for, I packed up and moved on to Singapore, to a better launch pad where I felt I might have people behind me. On visiting Canada again, I realized that the mircocosm that I had originally left is not the norm for all 2nd Gen Koreans. There are more people like me - I'm not so unique afterall; I'm no trailblazer. There are churches who are zealous for foreign missionary work. There was no reason to write off Canada as being spiritually dormant on such issues.

There seem to be two main factors that influence my philosophy of ministry:
1. Where is there a lack of emphasis or workers in that particular field of need?
- I want to build and work on parts of our wall that people have forgotten and try to avoid.

2. Where are the places that are most Christ-starved?
- I want to climb someone else's wall and see that wall come down.

And so, ahead of me is a year of seeking the Lord and cataloging and 'red-tagging' my own selfish interests. But one thing came clear to me this morning ...

The cross was never and will never be something that we want to do. The joy and the bliss of the cross lay in its finished and final accomplishment, not in the mournful journey up the mountain, nor the nails that pierce the hands - no, that will always suck. When God bids us bear that cross, he bids us wear something we don't want to wear, do something we don't want to do. He bids us lose our logic and reasoning, to reject what is most comfortable and painless. We will always have issues with the cross our Lord wants us to bear. Lest we forget Gethsemane. As far as what could been seen on earth, there was nothing glorious about the cross or the journey up that mountain. The glory of the cross lay in some celestial space in heaven, silent to the ears and eyes of mortals. It was for that joy that Jesus was aiming and scorned the shame of the cross, but while we're on that path up the mountain, we're not expected to like it, we're just expected to do it.

Oh, to starve again

2006-05-19T23:35:00.000+08:00

When are people hungry?
... when they're starving

When do people seek company?
... when they are lonely

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Why am I not reading the Bible as much these days since I'm in Bible School?
Why am I not praying as fervently as when I was in the mission field, on the army camp?

The answer is poverty. Starvation. Loneliness.

These things drive a man to his knees in prayer, they keep him up late reading his Bible when he is sleep deprived, they make him sensitive to the tiniest hint of sin in his heart, so that he can be quick to confess and repent.

Being here in Bible school, there is a feast before me, and I am being force fed. What a way to get rid of your appetite. Around me is Christianity in all its various forms. The intrigue for God as the undiscovered country has vanished from the horizon. I think I know it all. I think I've arrived. This is when I need to stop and realize: Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the starved, the lonely. As long as we feel satisfied we will be complacent. If you do not feel need, you will not long, you will not pursue and lay hold of.

I need to be swept away by uncontrollable waters. I need to feel hunger again, sorrow again, loneliness again. Only after everything was taken away did Job first pray and worship.

Introspection

2006-05-16T11:37:00.000+08:00

They say that opposites attract, and that you should try to find a life partner that is very different from you. The problem with that is you first need to know yourself. Who am I, and what am I like? It can be a little confusing looking inward and analysing your qualities to see where you fit in the great personality scheme. I find that around certain people I behave in certain ways. This is probably normal for most people, but it makes it harder to figure out the real me. There's also the question of: who do I want to be?

Sometimes I'm slow and easy going, like to be alone and melancholic. Other times I like being the centre of attention, the sanguine storyteller and jokester. Sometimes I just follow along with the plans of everyone else, other times I want to take charge and lead aggressively. Sometimes I'm attracted to those quiet ones, whose aura is one of peace and calm; other times I'm drawn to outspoken vivacious ones with a fiery personality.

Picture the ideal You. What do you see? I'm 26, which means my personality has almost hardened to what it will remain for the rest of my life. Now is the time to make those changes, if there are any to make. What kind of guy do I want to be when I'm 35? But, at the same time, you don't want to be fake about it. Generally speaking, people are the way they are because of certain experiences they've encountered since their childhood and the environment in which they grew up. Perhaps because of my eclectic upbringing, I find myself adapting moderately well to a variety of different situations instead of stubbornly wanting my way. It's not like you can wake up one day and say, "I'm going to be an extrovert from now on."

They also say that you should be with person with whom you can feel completely comfortable being yourself. Find someone that you don't need to put on an act for; someone who loves the way you are first thing in the morning when you can't tell your right hand from your left. Acting and entertaining for the sake of someone else is tiring business.

but it is true that people's expectations of others can run so high sometimes. We want the most from people, whlie giving our least.

What about him?

2006-05-09T11:25:00.000+08:00

At the close of the book of John, Jesus is describing of life and death that Peter will have to endure, to which Peter looks at John and asks, "What about him?" Jesus knew that the Apostle John was destined to die from old age on the island of Patmos, whereas Peter would be crucified upside down, as tradition goes.

I can identify with Peter. We all have our paths to walk and it's not for us to compare ourselves with others. I can't get angry or jealous because I see people with the calling to stay in the city, get their PhD's, teach in a seminary, have a generally normal life, raise kids, have a condo and car and beautiful wife.

Jesus says, "what's it to you? You follow me" Those of us going into missions in hostile, uncomfortable areas are not getting the short end of the stick; it's not a shotty life we'll be looking forward to. It's life with our master. He's leading us and we're following; it's not like we're going off alone. There is great joy and excitement in following hard after the Lord and not fretting about the comforts that others get to enjoy.

And in the end, everything turns out be relative, a matter of degree. There is often a fine line between joy and strife. Life in the city with a career and wife is not all joy. Life in the jungles with the mosquitoes and no running water is not all strife. And vice versa.

The point is to walk wholeheartedly with God, not looking over our shoulder to see what the next guy is doing and how much fun it must be.

Easter: The only viable option

2006-04-11T14:05:00.000+08:00

If you were God, how would you have solved the problem of humanity's sin?

I might have created an earthquake that swallowed up the temple and the ark of the covenant and then speak through my prophets that this is God's way of forgiving our sin once and for all ... or something like that.

We should never think that God was ignorant of the way things were going to turn out in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve fell into disobedience. He didn't plant the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and become suddently surprised that they ate of it. Remember that before there was talk of the tree, God had already created man IN HIS IMAGE. Why? Because God was always intending on sending his Son into the world, clothed in human flesh, so that he could pay the penalty of man's sin.

It was his predetermined plan that Jesus should suffer and die at the hands of sinners. The gruesome image of Jesus' passion is not gruesome because it was a last minute freak accident. It was gruesome so that God could demonstrate to us how terrible his wrath is on sin, and how glorious his mercy is on us.

Although The Father had all the infinite wisdom of the universe at his disposal, he refused to consider any other way to purchase salvation for humanity other than through the death of his beloved Son.

Walk that path with Jesus this week, that uphill trek to the summit with a cross pressing upon his torn and bloody shoulders. Breathe in the dust that was kicked into his face everytime he stumbled under the weight of those beams while sweat poured down his bruised face, and once the horror of it all becomes so real, remember, that this was the only possible way for us to be made right with God.

Believer vs. Disciple: Lessons from the Rich Young Man

2006-01-09T23:05:00.000+08:00

Mark 10:17 ...

Now here's an impressive guy ... if he came to our church, we'd immediately mark him out as someone 'spiritual' cause as far as the lingo and the external behaviour, this dude's got it down pat. But does he? See, he claims to want eternal life, but he's still too in love with life on earth. He knows Jesus has the answer, but he doesn't like what he hears.

Here's a breakdown of the difference between believer and disciple. Note, this is our little definition of 'Believer' - someone who lives his/her life short of being a true follower of Christ. We're using it as a negative term to contrast with a disciple, though the Bible uses it positively as a name for the true Christians. Back then, believers were hardcore Christians, but today there are more varieties.

A believer is self-centred, seeking only to secure their eternal future. They ask, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Mark 10:17)A disciple is Christ-centred, sparing nothing for Jesus' sake. The disciple says, "We've left all to follow you!" (10:28)

A believer thinks he's got it all together, that his 'good' deeds have done God a favour. He says, "All this I have done since my youth" (10:20)A disciple, however, knows his own frailty and unworthiness to enter God's kingdom and desperately gasps, "Who then can be saved?" (10:26). To this Jesus responds, "No one, except those whom God has chosen."

A believer says, "Jesus is my saviour! Now show me my crown!"A disciple says, "Jesus is my LORD! Now show me my CROSS!"A believer thinks that eternal life is a span of time spent in heaven in the future.
A disciple knows eternal life is a person experienced here and now.

Lastly ...

A believer respects Jesus and calls him "Good".
A disciple obeys Jesus and calls him "God".

Pay-Back Time

2006-01-07T19:30:00.000+08:00

How can a God who is loving inflict pain and suffering on anyone? Perhaps you haven't seen enough Korean and Japanese revenge movies. There's a Korean revenge flick called "Old Boy." It's a story of a man and his love for his sister that grew into a incestuous relationship that was discovered by the film's protagonist. The shame of the discovery caused her to take her own life and the rest of the movie was the brother's 14 year long plot to get back at the man who began to spread the rumour in the most painful way possible.

If you ever read the Prophets, you'll find two very prominent themes: The love of God for his people Israel, and the wrath of God on Israel's enemies (and to a lesser extent, on disobedient Israel herself).

Yes, God is a God of love - jealous, vengeful love. But struggling with the idea of a loving God who is capable of inflicting harm means basing your definition of love on the assumption that a lover can not possibly act in venegence or wrath. This is simply not true, even in human experience. A loving God does not mean a sissy-God, who is mild and spineless, who allows himself and his beloved to be trampled under foot by their enemies. I really do feel sorry for those who are not the people of God - cause it seems as though God is a pay-back God, a bully par excellence on those who dare scorn him and those in his 'gang'. The more I see the fiery wrath of God, the more I am convinced of his passionate love for his people. Just rejoice and be glad that this God is on our side, he is our warrior-lover.

Presents

2006-01-07T19:24:00.000+08:00

We are overly concerned about the future. We always have meetings to talk about the strategy for next year,goals we want to see accomplished next year, or asking how much money we hope to make next year, who will I marry and when, where will I go or what ministry will I do and how will it be. We speak out of our fear and worry about what the future will bring for it is unknown to us, the undiscovered country, the final frontier to conquer.

What is it about horror movies that are so terrifying and spine tingling? Might I suggest that it is the element of uncertainty of what will happen next. That is why darkness is such a prominent aspect in horror flicks. Figures that are shrouded and doors half-open intimidate us to paralysing fear because uncertainty challenges our ability to evaluate our potential success or failure in the future.

Apparently the Bible condemns such concern for the future as arrogance and pride. James 4:13-17 says that we ought not say that tomorrow we will go to such and such a place and spend a year and make money, but we should have the attitude that if the Lord wishes we will live and do this or that. Sometimes we assume too much when we assume that by our own ability and wisdom we will successfully brave the dark and uncertain waters that is our future. We are simply ignorant beings having no assurance that our heart will lub dub another beat by the time we finish this sentence. Praise the Lord, it has!

I think the Bible here, and elsewhere is clear, that it is prideful to make plans without reference to God. He is the Lord of history and the future and in HIM we live and move and have our being. We ought not spend too much time concerning ourselves about the future because it only leads to covetousness of the things we want to possess and the successes we want to achieve. God knows what we need as he knows the needs of the sparrow and the lily of the field. We have his promises that all things will work out for our good and that he is working to complete that which he has started in us. Our lot is secure and future is certain if we will but trust in him. The worst that could happen is that we die at a young age, but when seen in a Christian light is not so terrible at all, but rather the most wonderful of all scenarios.

What we should be doing is asking more, how am I doing right NOW? Am I walking humbly and fearfully with the Lord, obeying his commands? How is my congregation NOW? What are the good traits and habits that I have now and should cultivate, and what are the sins I need to rid myself of right bleedin' NOW!

There is no 'calling'!

2005-12-10T21:13:00.000+08:00

Are people ever actually 'called' to go to the mission field? Now there were in the Bible when men and women were spoken to specifically and personally to embark upon a special mission. Whether it was to fight a certain enemy of Israel or call the nation to repentance, some individuals were given a special commission to serve the Lord in a particular field of ministry for a particular time and function. But is that the case now? Those individual played a special role in the establishment of scriptural truth and were the very participants in critical salvation-historical events. There are no more 'Apostles' and 'Judges' as far as the Biblical definition go. Things are different now, we are not living in a time when God is giving new and special revelation not already familiar to what we have read in salvation history. We are all priests and prophets of the Lord so long as we are indwelt by the Spirit of God.

I personally do not believe in any 'call' of God to enter the ministry or mission field. The term call evokes the picture of God giving a subtle, whispering plea to special individuals and not to others. Those who are not 'called' can go about their merry way pursuing the vocation that they please while those poor Christian workers are subject to the onslaughts and trials that await them, beckoning them toward impending doom - their only consolation: you will receive treasures in heaven. There is no call in the sense that person A is supposed to engage in disciplemaking while person B need not.

No.

The commission to make disciples of all nations is not an option for the follower of Christ. It is the very mark of what a disciple does - an absolute imperative. Taking up the cross and forsaking all for Christ's sake is not a suggestion, it's not advice!

Now, how one goes about fulfilling this command in their own individual lives precipitates into what we know as vocations and ministries. People go and do what they are gifted and led of the Lord to do. Some start businesses to advance the Kingdom of God, some go to jungle tribes, some open orphanages, others make movies. But where the explicit advance of the Kingdom of God is not seen in the vocation of an individual is where flesh and the world have cornered and choked the heart - syphoning off all evidence of personal redemption. It is to this type of man that Jesus says, "How difficult it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven!" The only vocation that is not a ministry is the one belongs to a non-Christian.

What we see a lot of in Singapore (and not alot in the west) are businesses in marriage with religion. You will hardly walk into a family business without knowing the religion of that family. Sometimes worship music is playing in the waiting room of an x-ray clinic, or the sign board of the store reads, "John 3:16 Electronics". There's someone who doesn't need a calling to 'Christian ministry' in order to advance the kingdom of heaven. (Those in the market place making Christ known, I commend you. It's a difficult job, the casualties and compromise runs high).

Having said of all this, there is a downshot. Although not everyone is meant to be a cross cultural missionary/church planter to the unreached. God is looking for volunteers. You will be successful if you go as God's passion is the wind behind your back. If it's one thing the parable of the lost sheep, coin and son is meant to teach, it's that God's heart is hotly pursuing those who are lost. You would be hard-pressed to think of any need that is more critical and urgent to God's heart than the Kingdom that has yet to be established in so many places around the world. God's heart is restless within the city walls of Christendom as long as millions live in outer darkness on the other side.

People who say they are called to missions only say that so that they can feel special or so that people will get out of their way and not question their decisions. They can blame God when the going gets tough.

People who say "I am not called" are either afraid, lazy or completely unconcerned with what concerns God most.

The Kingdom of God and what you're doing to hasten its coming: Outside of this, there is no 'calling'

So long Martin, Hello Jesus

2005-12-04T18:20:00.000+08:00

Today I sold my guitar.
It was the most valuable thing I owned and the most expensive
gift that anyone ever gave me. I guess I'll never own another
Martin ever again.
$1350 bucks, it'll pay off my tuition and secure another
semester of Bible school. sigh - what a costly education!
My first guitar, the beat up old Seagull I bought when I was
17 is now the possession of someone else when I gave it away
for the new one.

It's good sometimes to give up our material possessions
every now and then. Good for the soul and provides a sense
of identification with the rich young ruler who was commanded
to sell all his possessions, give to the poor and follow Jesus.
One thing I noticed about that guitar, something very peculirar.
I never seemed to really feel oneness with it, like it was never
meant to be mine. I could never appreciate it, and didn't play
it as much as you would have expected. She was out of my league
I suppose - tagged along with me for a short while but could
never actually be mine forever. I was just too boring, sporting
a pathetic repertoire of open chords and same old strumming
patterns.
I was so careful with her, never
strumming too hard lest I scar the wood (I've since lost some of my
strumming speed because of that too!).
I would never have been able to take her to the mission field
either. She couldn't endure the harsh conditions like the Seagull
could. That guitar went with me on a dozen mission trips in
5 different countries - i still see her every now and then
she's with a good owner now, many more adventures yet to come
Oh, the memories.

I think I'll go in search for a cheaper, more humble instrument
this time. Something I won't fear will get damaged or scratched.
A guitar that doesn't have a problem begin soaked with blood,
sweat and tears as it resonates its scratchy tones before
the throne of God.
Perhaps in some ways owning an expensive guitar for a year
made me understand how instruments and music can possess
the ability to lure you away from the unheard sounds of
heartfelt passion - the worship that is in worship and truth:
the only worship that God can hear. I became proud of owning
the most valuable guitar in school, and got caught up with
its tone quality, at time even silencing my singing
to focus more on the warm resonance. How pathetic! It's not
as if I can actually tell the difference in tone or resonance.

God, if I become a deaf and mute quadriplegic, I will still
give you all my worship and i will give you all my praise. For you
alone I long to worship, you alone are worthy of my praise.

Pretty girls and mission fields

2005-11-29T21:28:00.001+08:00

Ah, what the hay. I'm in the writing mood this evening as the rain pours down creating a pleasant cool breeze upon my back. Oh wait, that's the fan. Well, rain is better than snow. Actually they both kinda suck.

Perhaps we shall discuss something a little lighter and down to earth - though not any less spiritual of course. Sometimes we need to practice merging our everyday lives with our spiritual ones. The fact that I need to preface my thoughts with this shows how uneasy we are talking about everyday issues in such a 'spiritual' blog. Sheesh.

So, I often wonder about my dilemma I'm in these days. Who to marry. Will I even find this girl who fulfills all these narrow criteria I impose on her? Hope she forgives me. See, as a guy I'm naturally attracted to girls who are pretty, who have clear skin, dresses well, with a great smile etc etc. Honestly speaking (and I don't believe I'm actually being so open right now) I may catch a glance at a girl and tell God, "Did you see her God, that's the kind I want!" It's probably happened enough times that God has a pretty good idea what I'm looking for.

But the problem is, these girls that I fancy are not really suitable for me. At least, I don't see how they can be. The ones that I'm attracted are often the ones that half the population are also attracted to. It's not like I'm so different in my tastes than most guys. In a word, these girls are "hot" (no need to take read this term in any sexual way ... it's a figure of speech). The problem with 'hot' girls is threefold: they are either not Christian (therefore sharing nothing in common with me), or they are either taken (happily and longtime taken), or they are the kind who would never dare to leave the city to go with me to the mission field to live in a mud hut and squat defecate. Statistically (generally, not absolutely -- please don't take any offence ladies), girls who are called by God to go to the mission field are not the most gorgeous of girls. They don't style their hair or keep close tabs on their weight. Missionary women are always saying that there are not enough Christian guys to marry. But seriously, are we the only ones to blame? God, please call more attractive girls to the mission field.

So, my conclusion. 1) God miraculous provides. Though this might cause a frenzy of competition that I could do without; 2) I lower my standards for physical attraction and stop being so primally male; 3) Celebacy? So far the best option I must say.

Marching orders

2005-11-29T21:28:00.000+08:00

It’s often hard to take orders from someone, especially when you feel that person isn’t worthy to be obeyed. My experience in the army has taught me that the best leaders are the one’s who were once ‘grunts’, low-ranking soldiers who have had their experience of receiving orders, as well as scoldings and punishments. I remember people like Sargeant Johnson and LCol O'Brien. I'd go to war any day with these men and so would anyone in our company. They've been there, out in the rain, blistering their feet. We'll do whatever they say because their experience has earned our respect. They lead well because they once followed well.

A centurion beseeched Jesus to heal his beloved servant, and all that he required Jesus to do was to say the word and it would be done. Here is a man who understood authority, who was convinced that Jesus was willing and fully capable or entertaining his request. Because of Jesus’ authority, all that was needed was his word, and it would be done. Jesus had already proved himself to be worthy and completely dependable; he is infinitely worthy of respect and faithful obedience.

Is Jesus’ word enough for me to obey? Do I enthrone the power of Jesus’ command such that his word becomes my will? To the centurion, the severity of his servant’s sickness and the Lord’s physical presence at his house were inconsequential. It doesn't matter how sick he is, it doesn't matter if you come to my house or not (though I rather you do not because I am not worthy). Just say the word! And Jesus commended the Centurion's faith. Our biggest problem is not that we do not hear properly, but that we do not believe. God is only hindered in as much as we do not take him at his word.

words that silence

2005-11-22T19:25:00.000+08:00

words. so many words.
saying so many things, but who is listening?
does it even matter?

as long as we live in this material world
the word must become flesh.
Jesus has already demonstrated what it means for God's word
to be in line with one's life.
it is easier to speak words than perform deeds.
it is not enough to speak the truth
it must be spoken in love.
that's the hard part.
"I will follow you Jesus ... but first let me bury my father"
"I will follow you Jesus ... but first let me say goodbye"

deeds. so few deeds.
doing so few things, and how great is the need?

Lord, help me do more
and say less.

The Lesson of the Red Tile

2005-11-22T19:19:00.000+08:00

it's always wrong to compare yourself with others.
God has created you in his own image in a way that
is unlike his image in any other person. You specifically
and uniquely reflect a facet of God's image; thus, your
indivduality matters to God. to compare yourself
with another person is to duplicate that very facet
and effectively minimize God's image thereby denying
his manifold expression of his glory.

If you are a red tile in the stained glass window of
God's image, you must not compared yourself with a green
tile, nor does it make any sense to do so. They are two
different entities, made with two different sets of
characteristics or two different purposes. The red tile
must only be the red tile and function where he has
been made to function, for only there does his
characteristic find meaning. The red tile cannot wonder
why he is not a green tile, for that is only for the
green tile to share with his designer. Of importance
is only whether the red tile is being the best red tile
he can be. Whether he is fitting perfectly in his
appointed place, shining with perfect brilliance and
clarity as the light passes through. Again, it is the
light and not the tile per se that is of ultimate
significance. It was for the light that the tile was
created and it is with the light, and nothing else, that
colour is achieved and it is in the light
that beauty is beheld.

the light does take away or diminish the character of
the tile. Conversely, it reveals how truly brilliant
the tile really is. Likewise, when Christ became
incarnate into flesh, he did not substract or diminish
the essence of man; rather he revealed what man could
be and was meant to be. Conforming to Christ's image
means having Christ incarnate into our beings, which,
in no way takes robs us of our essence or unique
character. his light shining through us will reveal
how brilliant we truly are.

No one has it all together

2005-10-31T11:47:00.000+08:00

I want to learn to live contently without having all the right answers. Opinions are flying around like neutrinos and everyone thinks they have the truth altogether. I do believe in absolute truth but I doubt anyone's ever going to get a handle on it this side of eternity. Absolute Truth is a person, not a collection of words or a discourse of opinions. And we're never going to see that person with perfect vision, not while we're looking through these sin-tainted lenses - no way, not going to happen. So do me a favour and don't preach to me your opinions as if it's an air tight argument, and I'll try my darndest to do the same, lest I be labelled a hypocrite by my own words.

But then again, who isn't a hypocrite? If everyone's got an opinion that happens to be some fuzzy version of the truth, and if everyone's life is not a pure reflection of their words. How can anyone NOT be a hypocrite? Come on, let's get real. I have in a plank in my eye, and so do you. It's not that I should remove the plank from my eye to help you with your speck. Rather I should remove the plank from my eye because it's only one of many logdged in there!

The Bible, as long it remains in written form, is subject to interpretation and ambiguity. How many commentators have I read that all have something different to say about a particular passage. And let's admit it: we look to commentators and Bible scholars as our 'authority' on the scriptures. You've heard the preachers that validate their points by saying, "One commentator says that ..." Now I know I may be on the verge of sliding into some Neo Orthodox theology in the vein of Karl Barth, but all I'm saying is, no one's got the truth, even though it does exist.

I don't think Truth can possibly exist outside of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. All intellectual and rhetorical reasonings are fluff as we have seen that many people profound idiots have written many books and received many PhD's. I'm being more and more convicted that the attribution of truth is not in the grandeur of your analytical skills, but in your humility and willingness to listen to Jesus and obey Jesus.

Now, I'm not saying that everyone's opinion is erroneous or untrue - certainly we can discern the truth in statements. We all know the danger of being a skeptic to truth, because we would be forced to be a skeptic of our own minds and thoughts.

God knows that we don't all have it together and it's ok. That's why he calls us to daily fellowship with and dependence on Him. Let's get back to the person behind the Bible, let's get back to the God of all reasoning and truth. He's got it all together.

from concept to conduct

2005-10-28T00:51:00.000+08:00

We’re all cooking in a stew of ideas. Ever notice how there aren’t a lot of great thinkers in our day whose ideas have been revolutionary and new to the extend of changing the shape of the world we live in? It seems gone are the thinkers like Marx, Darwin and C.S. Lewis, who, with a few carefully chosen words in print can mould humanity’s mentalities so considerably? The Teacher in Ecclesiastes was right when he said, “Of writing many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” So many people with so many opinions and so much time to tell their so many opinions to so many people who have their own opinions and on and on it goes. The institution of the University thrives on this type of system of attempting to come up with a brilliant new idea, put it in print with your name beside it, and someone will call you “Doctor.”

Probably what God wants more than people who think they know something, is people who do something. Conduct – at the end of the day this is what matters to God. On judgment day, God will never ask us what philosophy we were able to comprehend, or what concepts we conjured up. Rather he’ll say, “I know your works!” Even as I sit hear writing, all I can think of is who will read this and say, “wow, what deep thoughts!” what a wretched man I am! Sure, we gotta use our brains, they are an indispensable tool and weapon in our spirituality, but thinking thoughts for the sake of impressing others is completely missing the point and is pride par excellence - even if it is theology and apologetics that you have mastered. According to Romans 12, renewing our minds is a function of already having offered our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. The discernment of the will of God comes after the body has been offered to God in worship - this is talking about deeds! How ashamed would I be if I were to fill my head with brilliant ideas, but to leave my hands empty and unused for God’s purposes!

Eternal moments of time

2005-10-22T23:36:00.003+08:00

Traditional theologians believe that there are no sequential moments with God. He exists in a moment of NOW. In other terms, they rationalize that God has no potentiality to Him, that He is pure act, which is to say that He is static in His unchangeableness and in no way experience any sort of succession in moments. They effectively reduce God to some infinitely large and unmoving blob. Is God like that? Our God is not static, but dynamic. We should not think of God's immutability in the sense that He does not ever change or move. He is a thinking, acting, creating, electing, redeeming, atoning God. These require some passage of 'time' however it may be that God would experience it. If there were no potentiality with God, He could never do anything that He has not already done.

Now, I'm no open theist. God is not a learning new things and experiencing the future with the same degree of surprise as we do. That is just plain unbiblical. But, I'm sure there's room in our theology for a God that experiences time in some sense or another. There had to have been an interval between God deciding to create the world and God deciding to redeem it from its sin.

Let's slow down in our lofty thoughts about God before we make Him into a being that we can neither really know or relate with.

Where are the Robin Hoods?

2005-10-17T01:24:00.000+08:00

Fact: Jesus isn't coming back until all nations have had a chance to hear and respond to the gospel.
How do we know this? First all, he said so in Matt. 24:14, "This gospel will be preached as a testimony to all nations, then the end will come." Secondly, Rev. 7:9 says that around the throne are peoples from every tribe and tongue. So let's get this into our heads. JESUS AIN'T COMING BACK TILL ALL THE ETHNIC PEOPLES HEAR THE GOSPEL. Now, can anyone tell me what implication that has for those who want Jesus to come back? Well, from my understanding, we should get our butts in gear and preach to the unreached.

But who are the unreached? Missiologists define them as people groups that do not yet have a church planted among them. Fine and well, but all too often this definition means those peoples who don't have many Christians. But, let's examine what 'unreached' really means. It seems to be, by the very semantics of the word, 'unreached' means those groups who have yet to have been reached with the gospel. It does not mean those with minimal exposure to the gospel, but those without any exposure to the gospel. So, Han Chinese, Thais, Cambodian, Indonesians, for the most part, are not unreached - they simply don't have many Christian converts. As long as one person from an ethnic group has heard the Gospel, they are reached. Now, that only leaves those small and neglected tribes out there in the jungles who are largely uncivilized. They are the ones truly unreached and untouched by the gospel. You would think hoardes of missionaries would be clamouring for the chance to reach these groups, but not so.

I think we're totally missing the point altogether. We spend all our money and efforts plugging away at the millions of 'unreached' in Asian countries trying to get the numbers up, when it's not numbers of individuals that is most critical per se, but varieties of peoples. While we try our darndest to evangelize those groups who already have converts in their number, entire tribal groups in the Amazon and Papua New Guinea are so far from the Gospel, that they don't have a single word of the Bible written in their native language nor the luxury of hearing Jesus' name ring in their ears even once. The languages of these people are not being heard in heaven, and Jesus isn't coming back until they are.

If the truths of the gospel were to be put in economic terms, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Why is so much being done to feed those who already have so much while generation after generation of genuinely unreached tribes perish? 2000 years of feeding the fat cats at home when we were supposed to be going to the farthest end of the earth - we ought to be ashamed.

Robin Hood was one who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. We need more of those in missions today. Once all the nations have been accounted for, then work on getting the numbers and the quality up. Doesn't this make sense?

Sovereignty of God

2005-09-30T00:11:00.000+08:00

I should get down some of these lessons learnt from my OT theology paper about the sovereignty of God in the book of Job.
1. God is supreme, in complete control over everything.
2. God never loses a bet, no matter how bad it may seem.
3. It's ok to attribute every little thing to the hand of God. He's certainly not threatened by the claim that he is ultimately (not directly) responsible for everything that happens: good, bad and ugly. I think we're more offended at that idea than God is.
4. God's looking out for our best even if he needs to find it in the crappiest of places.
5. God is much bigger, much better than we can ever know.

Here's another cool thing. I took a break from writing this paper cause i needed to go get my guitar back from my cousin who borrowed. With my head filled with material I was writing, i decided to pray that God sovereignly send the 855 bus just as i got to the stop. Surely enough... absolutely perfect timing. We hit the curb at the exact same moment. There was no pause in my cadence from walking to the bus stop to stepping on the bus.

Here's another cool thing. On my way to my cousin's place, i pray again. God, let a taxi meet me on my way back. Surely enough ... exact moment I walked onto the sidewalk. Mr Taxi is driving by, no passengers. Perfect God - perfectly illustrating in deed what i had just learned in his word . He sees, he knows. He makes things happen. This is the God you can trust in.

Salvation is not our specialty

2005-09-25T21:53:00.000+08:00

I’m a Calvinist. I believe that salvation has nothing to do with us, our skill in evangelism or tactics in community penetration. It is all of the Lord. God will save those whom he has predetermined in his sovereignty and love and therefore we cannot be but completely successful when we proclaim the Gospel. Why be sensitive about and tactical about it as if our style or methods were the decisive factor in a person’s coming to Christ? The problem with Arminian theology is that the burden has been placed on the shoulders of mortal and fallen humans. Suddenly God takes the backseat when it comes to our own salvation and the salvation of others (yeah yeah, my words are a little extreme). Let’s just proclaim the true and pure Gospel and leave the work up to the Holy Spirit. Is he so weak that we need to be flawless in our evangelism and apologetics in order to “win” a convert? Besides, even if we are sensitive in our presentation, the Gospel itself is totally insensitive. It bids us forsake our selves, our family, our finances, our future so that we may follow Him. After our meek presentation of the Gospel I wouldn’t be surprised if people got scared off by its demands. Let’s just preach the real deal from the beginning lest we be charged with deceit. Let’s get the job done and we can all go home.

The Sensitive Gospel?

2005-09-25T20:59:00.001+08:00

Postmodernity: the biggest buzzword heard around here these days. The questioning of the existence of absolutes, the loss of faith in production and modernity, the desire for the experiential. So, the Church likewise responds to the times. Seeker "sensitive" services, "conversational" apologetics, Opening the hearts of the people by meeting felt needs, never offending, never forcing religion down one's throat. I mean, I guess I can't say these things are bad, they are the natural approaches that the Church must conform to in order to be relevant to the world today.

But here's the thing: has there ever been an era in human history which did not resist true Christianity? In what sort of religious milleiu did the Church begin? I'm not a Church historian, but from my understanding, first century Roman empire and today's postmodernity had at least a few things in common. One thing is that the Romans governed territories which held many different beliefs, which could be inferred, that they wanted to keep the peace in a religious sense - everyone can have their own beliefs, just keep it to yourself. Secondly, I think the Roman empire wasn't very fond of Christianity in its early days. It was a religion that was highly suspect, a disease among the people. And so in this sort of "postmodern Roman empire", what do we see the Church doing?

I see people like Paul preaching and debating fiercely with the people in synagogues, on the street, in public squares. I see apostles who appeared before Kings and proclaiming the Gospel, not doing friendship evangelism. How "insensitive" of them! I see a Church who was aggressive in engaging with their culture and environment and did not blend in and compromise their convictions in order to be "relevant" with the world, or to potentially gain more converts. They were being the Church and the world and was not loving anything of the world, not even the culture, and the world was certainly changing. So have things really changed that much since then? Maybe we might be a little more effective if we began smearing our faces red with war paint instead of looking and thinking like everyone else. Jesus loved the world enough to incarnate himself into it, but he loved it too much to keep it the same

The Shamelessness of God

2005-09-18T16:55:00.000+08:00

God is audacious. Think about how hardcore he is in wanting to reveal himself to us in terms we can understand that he came into this world, born a human being. What might the angels in heaven thought of the Prince of Heaven gladly heeding to the request of the Father to make him known to an ignorant and obstinate people who had already received so much revelation. How shameless it is that an infinite God would confine himself in human flesh and expose himself to simple discomforts like cold and sickness, wounds and sleepiness.

Oh that we would become a little more like our maker and take a few drastically audacious steps every now and then - after all, it is not that God is like us, but that we are like God. He took the cosmological nose-dive into the dark abyss called time, matter and space. He lived the greatest life and suffered the worst death all for the thrill of his glory revealed when God would be manifested to the world in all his fullness.

Sometimes I find myself lowering my volume on a crowded bus when the topic of God comes up with friends. I find myself wanting to be accepted by people before I confront them with the truth of the gospel that they are dead in their sins and must repent. Christians in Singapore are so careful with the 'no-Christian gatherings' laws that they spent huge amounts of time and energy putting on fun and tiring activites for the community who doesn't even know that it was Christians who put it on. So, in effect whatever roads were paved with the gospel was snowed over before we weren't willing to engage society and make a name for Christ.

Just because

2005-09-11T00:09:00.000+08:00

So sad that in this day in age, we need to come up with reasons to believe God exists. This is how far our sin and wickedness has come in that we "suppress the truth". I thought the cosmological (first cause) and teleological (design) arguments were superb, but then I realized that some smart philosophers are still able to think their way around them.

At the end of the day, those who believe in God were not convinced from philosophical argumentation, but from a deep and personal sense of the presence of God. We believe because we simply do, because we cannot deny it, because we've experience him. Now all these may seem purely subjective and invalid as logical proofs, but who gives a damn? The only person who needs convincing is already convinced.

The existence of God and the Bible as God's word need nothing more than the argument: It is. Just because. It's like when your dad asks you to do something using his sheer authority and identity as his reason, "because I said so!" God started it all, not us with our tiny peanut brains. His word is the revelation of him because it is. These things should just be accepted as a matter of fact, but unfortunately we need to accommodate a world hungry for reasons and questioning everything. Proofs usually mean stating the preceding arguments that lead to a conclusion, but with God and his word, there is nothing previous to him that can be used as a reference point. He is it! The Bible said it best: In the beginning, God.

2005-09-09T01:08:00.000+08:00

familiarity ...
So I was walking the other day and my sandal tears in half ... darnit. I go to the Bata shoe store to pick up another pair of cheap slippers and decide to make a change to a flashy-looking blue pair with a red and white trim; the sole's even got some of those reflexology pressure point bumps that tickles when you walk. So I buy it, put in on and walk out. No sooner do I walk about 100 meters that I find that the straps are rubbing the skin right off the dorsal aspect of my feet. Ouch!
A couple of days of that torture, and I've had it. I go and buy the same pair that I wore before: A modest grey slipper with blue trim, 10 bucks, good to go. Feels great. Feels familiar. Why did I ever think that I could find anything better than the one I already had? How much more perfect could something be?
Those who have ears ... let them hear.

On the other hand, there is change. I got a hold of a Canada friend's web link to some of her pictures of the old London gang and my beloved home town. As I scanned through the pictures, old sights were seen and even old jokes replayed. I could almost smell what home was like and what the chatter would have been about. Then I realized one thing: I will never be home again - not in the same sense anyway. I've gone too far from the "Shire" and there's no turning back. Asia is home now, even if no previous acquaintances ever see me again. No more returning to that comfort of North American pleasure-seeking. No more competing to get into a program with hopes of becoming successful, settle down, buy and house and car, get married, have 2.5 kids, host dinner parties and go to the cottage during paid vacations. Nope.

Lord, let my blood be spilled on Asian soil to nourish a church that follows hard after you.

church these days

2005-09-03T01:39:00.000+08:00

words to remember from L.T.

There are two things that the church is doing these days. First, it is trying to get something out of God. Whether it's wanting to experience a new sensation during their worship time, how to be financially prosperous, a good leader, a better wife or husband, competent decision maker, skillful professional, wiser thinker, we're looking for God to fill in the gaps of our lives which are lacking. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with any of these things. They are in fact noble and worth pursuing as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

The second thing the church is doing is finding ways of doing something for God. Whether it's mission, teaching sunday school, volunteering at a fundraising function, we are wanting to serve God. Most people are doing it for good reasons, some are not, but no doubt God is still using imperfect people with imperfect motives to advance his kingdom.

Here's the problem. Between wanting something from God and doing something for God is a gap which receives very little attention. GOD. Notice how quick we are in our sermons to jump to the conclusion, and that conclusion had better be the part where we discover how this affects my life. The good sermon is relevant for the here and now and must have application. This is true to some extent but what kind of application is valid? Why isn't the Church studying the Eternal, Triune God any longer? Why has the appetite for theology proper been replaced by a demand for theology practical? Surely it cannot be that the Church feels they have grasped the fundamentals of knowledge of God that is necessary for life; that we've somehow arrived with adequate knowledge of God suitable to carry on with our more pertinent daily issues.

We are worshipping God out of shear ignorance and has been reduced to sentimentality instead of reverent awe. Buddy-Christ mentality has infiltrated Christendom and the Triune God has become minimized and not magnified. When our view of God diminishes, worship suffers, missions suffers, holiness degrades, and the unsaved world turns their head totally unimpressed. Doesn't this sound like a description of today's church?

truth: the passive brawler

2005-08-31T23:21:00.000+08:00

Truth has many enemies, but none ever match up. With but silence he anhilitates them all. Truth never turns down a challenge. He has no fear. He cares not what people think. He does not need supporters or defenders. He prevails at every turn, despises every attempt to take him down. He is no friend of error or deviation. He can burst out loud in laughter in a room of dispassionate souls and never feel awkward or self conscious. Truth is a vicious attacker, a brawler, but he never needs to lift a finger to finish the job. He only speaks his mind and all is accomplished. He pierces sharply, even to dividing the soul and the spirit, the motive and the intention. No one talks back to him, they only humbly bow before him. He demands submission, and he will get it - it's only a matter of time.

time to get really real

2005-08-31T12:05:00.000+08:00

About a second and a half after posting my previous blog, I realised the irony of what I had just written. The blog came across as some no holds barred, completely unshackled expression and self revelation to the world of who I am - the good the bad and the ugly. But, only after clicking "post" do I realise how unrealistic that is, how in my human depravity I am unable to be truly honest in exposing myself. I will never truly know myself because 'the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who can understand it?' (Jer 17:9). The answer to that question is the following verse, and in the Psalm 139 quote, that only God searches and knows my heart; only His gaze is unclouded, piercing to the truest reality of my motives and attitudes with pinpoint accuracy.

And so, I would have to repent of some of my words and acknowledge that I will never be completely honest and open with all that's going on inside the cistern of my heart - sometimes because I will rather wish to paint myself in a better light than I ought (pride), or omit information because I simply do not really know myself like God does (ignorance).

Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks, so please indulge me. My posts will often be flaky and shallow. A whine here and a character assassination there. I will often cover up my true weaknesses and exaggerate my achievements; I will often think highly of my ideas as if they were original masterpieces and criticise the thoughts of others.

Change my heart O God, make it ever true. Change my heart O God, make me more like you.

It's time to get real ...

2005-08-30T18:53:00.000+08:00

No more cutesie sayings and shallow journal entries and time spent harping on the trifling things of our existence. No more political correctness and fear of being known for who I am. No more masks of unreality, cloaks of invisibility and space suits of invulnerability.

The Psalmist says, "O LORD, you have searched me and you know me ..." The question is whether I know myself; whether I'm willing to delve into the darkest pits of well-concealed secrets and thoughts that are too taboo to mention lest people think less of me. Am I willing to ponder myself, ponder God, ponder life as honestly as I know how? To speak from a mind that is fundamentally depraved and crying out to renewed to the likeness and submission of Jesus Christ? Am I willing to go out on a limb and be wrong with most of what I think, so that in humility I may change the erroneous pattern of thinking that I have embraced so dearly? As I reflect on life will not God's spirit illuminate my heart to truth although every cell of grey matter in my brain may fight to eradicate it?

In the same that deep calls out to deep, I believe that truth calls out to truth.