Thank You, Lord!
Lord of Heaven and earth, Lord of the Universe, Thou who art on the throne, and who ordains the powers that be, I praise and thank You.
For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another. Psalm 75:5,6
Against big money and Hollywood celebrities, film makers, pop idols, bestselling book writers, newspapers and TV networks, against world opinions and all kinds of pundits and pollsters, George Walker Bush won! People may make fun of him, hate him and his very face and name, say and write all kinds of things against him, but does Bush worry? No, he looks cool and upbeat most of the time, and as the night of vote counting begins. Here is a man who does not make decisions based on the polls or to seek the approval of the greatest majority, needing to pass a "global test". Many cannot understand him. Doesn't he care? Is he dumb? Is he heartless? Is he insane? Who does he think he is?
I think I know. It is because he knows who he is: a man under God. He is a man who has put his faith in the God of the Bible and who seeks His approval and will first, above all, and one who has chosen to live by His word and makes His rules his principles.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee. Isaiah 26:3
Lord, grant Mr. Bush and his team the strength equal to the tasks demanded of them in the coming days, and the wisdom they need. And grant them steadfast and growing faith in Thee.
Thursday, November 04, 2004
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Election Fever
It's the American elections, but it seems like the whole of the world is involved too. It seems like all of America and of the world too is divided: Bush or Kerry? Right or left, Republican or Democrat, war or peace, right or wrong, God or the devil? I guess it's because of the web that we all can be involved: all the blogs for and against, the breaking news, even the videos and ads can be seen online.
I'm in deep: reading the blogs, watching the debates and videos, and I laugh and I weep. I can't vote, but I can pray. Everyone else is too, it seems, even the atheists, each for his or her candidate to win. Father in Heaven, Thy name be hallowed, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.
At the recent Australian elections, our friends, the Leslies in Adelaide were up to their necks in helping to campaign for their former pastor's newly formed party, Family First Party. Amazingly, against the odds, it won several seats and made a real difference in the whole election. And Howard won by a high majority, upsetting predictions that he would lose altogether.
Father, grant that there be a smooth, incident-free election and a clear winner without any doubt or legal tussles ensuing. May Thy mercy and grace be upon the US and upon us all.
Oh yes, I'm rooting for GWB to be re-elected .
Actually, I did vote for GWB in the Malaysiakini poll. An American expat gave up his vote (and his mind) to Malaysians. Sadly, the majority was for Kerry.
I'm in deep: reading the blogs, watching the debates and videos, and I laugh and I weep. I can't vote, but I can pray. Everyone else is too, it seems, even the atheists, each for his or her candidate to win. Father in Heaven, Thy name be hallowed, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.
At the recent Australian elections, our friends, the Leslies in Adelaide were up to their necks in helping to campaign for their former pastor's newly formed party, Family First Party. Amazingly, against the odds, it won several seats and made a real difference in the whole election. And Howard won by a high majority, upsetting predictions that he would lose altogether.
Father, grant that there be a smooth, incident-free election and a clear winner without any doubt or legal tussles ensuing. May Thy mercy and grace be upon the US and upon us all.
Oh yes, I'm rooting for GWB to be re-elected .
Actually, I did vote for GWB in the Malaysiakini poll. An American expat gave up his vote (and his mind) to Malaysians. Sadly, the majority was for Kerry.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Righteousness in the heart
Attended the Asia Pacific Family Dialogue from 11 to 13 October with D and Ethan, as participants and rapporteurs. Met people from all over the country and the world, and heard all kinds of interesting facts and figures, comments, queries, anecdotes, from all sorts of speakers, some good, others who have apparently not taken any public speaking courses in their life.
One unforgettable lady was a 30 or 40 something year old gynaecologist from Afghanistan, by the name of Fakhriah Haseem. She had come to learn from all of us and not so much as to share with us how they do things in her country, she said in her halting English. "We are just rebuilding our country now. There is so much to do." The elections for their president were going on while she was preparing to come over here, so she had missed casting her vote. But hey, she's here, and going back to work with the government, the ministry of health, to rebuild her poor war-torn country. I felt really excited to meet her because I had recently finished a book My Forbidden Face: Growing Up Under the Taliban, a Young Woman's Story by Latifa (a pseudonym) and had got a glimpse of what it had been like, living under the oppressive regime of the fundamentalist Muslims, especially as a female. It was worse than prison, it was femicide. And now there's freedom to come out of the house, even of the country, freedom to work and freedom to breathe and live.
Another lady was an old varsity mate whom I hadn't seen in over 20 years. She could recognise me and I her, and we were telling each other how we haven't changed. I guess it means that we don't really change physically through the years, though I hope we grow wiser and not duller. She had done an Arts course and became a teacher in the small town of Mentakab for many years. And now, to my surprise, she had taken up law and is practising in a firm in PJ. She's still single, and the session we were attending was on the subject of the rising number of singles, so we got to talking and realizing that many of our contemporaries have remained single. But they're living full and busy lives as pastors, real estate agents, teachers, lawyers, etc., and looking good.
One thing I took back from the Conference was a little bookmark they gave us with our bags and folders containing this Chinese proverb:
One unforgettable lady was a 30 or 40 something year old gynaecologist from Afghanistan, by the name of Fakhriah Haseem. She had come to learn from all of us and not so much as to share with us how they do things in her country, she said in her halting English. "We are just rebuilding our country now. There is so much to do." The elections for their president were going on while she was preparing to come over here, so she had missed casting her vote. But hey, she's here, and going back to work with the government, the ministry of health, to rebuild her poor war-torn country. I felt really excited to meet her because I had recently finished a book My Forbidden Face: Growing Up Under the Taliban, a Young Woman's Story by Latifa (a pseudonym) and had got a glimpse of what it had been like, living under the oppressive regime of the fundamentalist Muslims, especially as a female. It was worse than prison, it was femicide. And now there's freedom to come out of the house, even of the country, freedom to work and freedom to breathe and live.
Another lady was an old varsity mate whom I hadn't seen in over 20 years. She could recognise me and I her, and we were telling each other how we haven't changed. I guess it means that we don't really change physically through the years, though I hope we grow wiser and not duller. She had done an Arts course and became a teacher in the small town of Mentakab for many years. And now, to my surprise, she had taken up law and is practising in a firm in PJ. She's still single, and the session we were attending was on the subject of the rising number of singles, so we got to talking and realizing that many of our contemporaries have remained single. But they're living full and busy lives as pastors, real estate agents, teachers, lawyers, etc., and looking good.
One thing I took back from the Conference was a little bookmark they gave us with our bags and folders containing this Chinese proverb:
"If there is righteousness in the heart,How true! Lord, grant that we may hunger and thirst more and more for righteousness, for then we will be filled, and satisfied and have peace within and without.
there will be beauty in character.
If there is beauty in character,
there will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house,
there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
there will be peace in the world."
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Paradise Lost?
About the hour we landed in the Bali International Airport, on Sept 9, the bombs shattered the morning hustle and bustle in Jakarta in front of the Australian embassy. 9 people were killed, all Indonesians, and hundreds injured. The Indonesian TV channels in the hotel room were all on the scene the whole afternoon. It brought back sharp memories of the Oct 2002 bombings in the Kuta nightclubs in Bali. Asta, our tour guide, did not take us to see the bombed out site.
Everyone tried not to think too much of the bombings everywhere and somehow managed to have a pretty good holiday. We enjoyed the clear skies and seas, the abundant flora and fauna, the handmade artistic products, the spicy and fingerlickin' seafood, and the cheerful and gentle but tough and resilient islanders.
Read Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen)'s Anecdotes of Destiny, which includes the story Babette's Feast. The movie of the same title is beautifully made and received the Academy Award in 1986 for Best Foreign Film. I have watched it more than once, each time savouring even more the art and the message. It is quite faithful to the written story, one of hope and redemption, of seeing beyond life here on earth, beyond a life of missed opportunities, unfulfilled dreams and ambitions.
Everyone tried not to think too much of the bombings everywhere and somehow managed to have a pretty good holiday. We enjoyed the clear skies and seas, the abundant flora and fauna, the handmade artistic products, the spicy and fingerlickin' seafood, and the cheerful and gentle but tough and resilient islanders.
Read Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen)'s Anecdotes of Destiny, which includes the story Babette's Feast. The movie of the same title is beautifully made and received the Academy Award in 1986 for Best Foreign Film. I have watched it more than once, each time savouring even more the art and the message. It is quite faithful to the written story, one of hope and redemption, of seeing beyond life here on earth, beyond a life of missed opportunities, unfulfilled dreams and ambitions.
Achille Papin writes to his love, Philippa, who is gifted with an angelic voice but misses the chance to become a famous opera singer: "... As I write this, I feel that the grave is not the end. In Paradise I shall hear your voice again. There you will sing without fears or scruples, as God meant you to sing. There you will be the great artist that God meant you to be. Ah! how you will enchant the angels. ... Babette can cook. "
And later, Philippa echoes his words to Babette: " Yet this is not the end! I feel, Babette, that this is not the end. In Paradise you will be the great artist that God meant you to be! Ah!" she added, the tears streaming down her cheeks. " Ah, how you will enchant the angels!"
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Fair is foul, and foul is fair
"How goes the world, sir, now?"
"Why, see you not?"
"....Fair is foul, and foul is fair.
Hover through the fog and filthy air."
This is the world we live in: where the rich and privileged are admired and feted, the poor are despised and shunned; the handsome and beautiful are sought after, the plain and ugly not worth a second glance; the strong and powerful rule and lord it over others, the weak, young, old, disabled, female, are neglected, taken advantage of, or worse, oppressed and subjugated.
This is the world we live in: where possessions maketh the man, things are more important than people, self-advancement and fulfilment than relationships, and one is judged by his colour, clothes, his outward appearance, not his heart.
I forget who now, but someone wrote about we humans being in a state of amnesia. We have forgotten who we are, who made us, who our Creator is, why we were made, why we are here on earth. So this is the upside down world we are in: where things are opposite to what they should be, where fair is foul, and foul is fair, as Shakespeare put it in Macbeth.
We lie and rationalise it (harmless white lies), we lust, we seek to possess more and more, we hurt each other in anger and hatred. We kill in a rage or in jealousy, in revenge, in the name of a god or in delusion.
I suppose that's why when the Son of God came to earth, we couldn't recognise him. As the prophet Isaiah said, many years before Jesus came and fulfilled his prophecy,
"Why, see you not?"
"....Fair is foul, and foul is fair.
Hover through the fog and filthy air."
This is the world we live in: where the rich and privileged are admired and feted, the poor are despised and shunned; the handsome and beautiful are sought after, the plain and ugly not worth a second glance; the strong and powerful rule and lord it over others, the weak, young, old, disabled, female, are neglected, taken advantage of, or worse, oppressed and subjugated.
This is the world we live in: where possessions maketh the man, things are more important than people, self-advancement and fulfilment than relationships, and one is judged by his colour, clothes, his outward appearance, not his heart.
I forget who now, but someone wrote about we humans being in a state of amnesia. We have forgotten who we are, who made us, who our Creator is, why we were made, why we are here on earth. So this is the upside down world we are in: where things are opposite to what they should be, where fair is foul, and foul is fair, as Shakespeare put it in Macbeth.
We lie and rationalise it (harmless white lies), we lust, we seek to possess more and more, we hurt each other in anger and hatred. We kill in a rage or in jealousy, in revenge, in the name of a god or in delusion.
I suppose that's why when the Son of God came to earth, we couldn't recognise him. As the prophet Isaiah said, many years before Jesus came and fulfilled his prophecy,
"Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry groud: he hath no form or comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.And when Jesus came, He came to turn the world right side up. He said things which shock our amnesiac brains: love your enemies, bless those who persecute you, blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers, it is more blessed to give than to receive, the last shall be first, and the first last, whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it, whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all: For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life as a ransom for many. And He laid down his life for those who had rejected and despised Him, and He rose again. Thank you, Jesus, for coming to turn us back to our Maker and to turn us right side up to become who we were meant to be.
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53: 1-6
Monday, August 30, 2004
Church Robbed
Three men armed with parangs - they came, they took what were not theirs, and left 19 people, mostly women, shaken but thankfully unharmed. These things happen every day everywhere, all around us, but last night, it happened at our church, Hope EFC, during a seminar for the chinese congregation. We lost 3 guitars, 1 old amplifier, the collections from the 2 services of the day and David's LCD projector, besides all the personal effects, keys and handphones of all those attending the seminar.
Another evidence of the growing materialism and decadence of our society. People care more for money and possessions than for other humans. We will rob, steal, snatch, cheat, lie and kill to get what we want, what belongs to others. We are supposed to love people and use things, but we do the opposite. What wretched creatures we are! Who will rescue us from these bodies of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24)
Another evidence of the growing materialism and decadence of our society. People care more for money and possessions than for other humans. We will rob, steal, snatch, cheat, lie and kill to get what we want, what belongs to others. We are supposed to love people and use things, but we do the opposite. What wretched creatures we are! Who will rescue us from these bodies of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24)
In God will I praise His word: in the Lord will I praise His word.
In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.
I will say, "Surely the righteous still are rewarded;
surely there is a God who judges the earth." Psalm 56:10,11; 58:11
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
The KJV
I've fallen in love with the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible. I've read through several other versions, including the KJV sometime ago, and had been wanting to get back to it. Then in June, I found an almost brand new copy in our fave bookstore, Payless Books in Ampang Point, and grabbed it at RM10.90 only. A gift from Heaven!
Every morning I read 3 chapters, one Psalm, one Old Testament (Ecclesiastes now), and one New Testament (Romans). As the old hymn goes: "Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life." They lift up my spirit, fill my soul, satisfy my heart and mind. Not only that, they challenge me to change, first the thinking, then the behaviour. Most of all, they reveal God to me, the Lord Jesus Christ in ever increasing glory and majesty. As Simon Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." John 6:68
I did some online search on the KJV. There are some Christians who hold the view that the KJV is the only version we should all read. I believe that God works through many ways and that the many versions and translations that we have now are a blessing to mankind. My first bible was a gift from my Christian classmate Jennifer. A non-christian who knew little of Christianity except what the school curriculum taught, which was precious little, I came to know God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through reading the Living Bible, a paraphrase by Kenneth Taylor. Later, I went on to the Revised Standard Version, the New International Version, the New Living Translation and the Amplified Bible. Debates continue on the positive and negative qualities of the different versions (see the KJV only , the Living Bible, and why so many translations links). I thank God that He has enabled various people through the ages to write all these and also to translate into the many languages and tongues of the people groups of the world so that all men and women and children may be able to read His word and come to know Him. He is a God who speaks in all our languages and He is not silent!
From the KJV link, I found out more about King James, the King who commissioned the translation of the Authorized King James Version (KJV) of 1611. English history forgotten or not learned before, including the interesting fact that he was a friend and patron of William Shakespeare, who of course used the KJV and wrote Macbeth based on his family history in Scoland (King James was a Scot and Macbeth was known as the Scottish play.) Well, guess what, I'm reading Macbeth now, aloud, and enjoying it a lot, in between others like Philip Pullman's The Subtle Knife.
Every morning I read 3 chapters, one Psalm, one Old Testament (Ecclesiastes now), and one New Testament (Romans). As the old hymn goes: "Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life." They lift up my spirit, fill my soul, satisfy my heart and mind. Not only that, they challenge me to change, first the thinking, then the behaviour. Most of all, they reveal God to me, the Lord Jesus Christ in ever increasing glory and majesty. As Simon Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." John 6:68
I did some online search on the KJV. There are some Christians who hold the view that the KJV is the only version we should all read. I believe that God works through many ways and that the many versions and translations that we have now are a blessing to mankind. My first bible was a gift from my Christian classmate Jennifer. A non-christian who knew little of Christianity except what the school curriculum taught, which was precious little, I came to know God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through reading the Living Bible, a paraphrase by Kenneth Taylor. Later, I went on to the Revised Standard Version, the New International Version, the New Living Translation and the Amplified Bible. Debates continue on the positive and negative qualities of the different versions (see the KJV only , the Living Bible, and why so many translations links). I thank God that He has enabled various people through the ages to write all these and also to translate into the many languages and tongues of the people groups of the world so that all men and women and children may be able to read His word and come to know Him. He is a God who speaks in all our languages and He is not silent!
From the KJV link, I found out more about King James, the King who commissioned the translation of the Authorized King James Version (KJV) of 1611. English history forgotten or not learned before, including the interesting fact that he was a friend and patron of William Shakespeare, who of course used the KJV and wrote Macbeth based on his family history in Scoland (King James was a Scot and Macbeth was known as the Scottish play.) Well, guess what, I'm reading Macbeth now, aloud, and enjoying it a lot, in between others like Philip Pullman's The Subtle Knife.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
War
Finally finished Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, Book 1 of his Dark Materials. I could only read it whenever I went to the loo. It wasn't an easy book for me, but I persisted to the end because the boys had already finished all 3 of his books. It wasn't easy reading because it was set in a world like ours but not exactly like it, and it had strange creatures and concepts coming from the writer's fertile imagination. It is a world where the Church is a powerful entity but God is unknown. Lyra is a 12 yr old girl who thrown into an adventure which reveals truths about her parents and propels her to search for more about her world and other worlds.
In the midst of all that, I found a nugget: Serafina Pekkala, the Queen of a clan of witches, is talking to Lee Scoresby, a freelance aviationist adventurer, someone like Han Solo of the Star Wars series ...
In the midst of all that, I found a nugget: Serafina Pekkala, the Queen of a clan of witches, is talking to Lee Scoresby, a freelance aviationist adventurer, someone like Han Solo of the Star Wars series ...
"Mr. Scoresby," said the witch, "I wish I could answer your question. All I can say is that all of us, humans, witches, bears, are engaged in a war already, although not all of us know it. Whether you find danger on Svalbard or whether you fly off unharmed, you are a recruit, under arms, a soldier."This struck me because it is true of this our world. We are in a war, whether we like it or not. Ever since the fall of man, there has been a war between good and evil, God and the Evil One, Truth and Falsehood, Light and Darkness. But unlike the Muslim or what they call the Islamist terrorist, the Bible speaks of a war and a struggle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. That is why the Apostle Paul tells us to:
"Well, that seems kinda precipitate. Seems to me a man should have a choice whether to take up arms or not."
"We have no more choice in that than in whether or not to be born."
( pg 270)
"... be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.... so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." (Ephesians 6:10-18)We are in a war; question is, whose side are we on? Will each of us be able to say, at the end of our lives, like Paul, that "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith"?
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Sweet
How sweet indeed! Like the old song goes:
"How sweet to hold a new born baby
And feel the pride and joy (s)he brings!
But sweeter still the calm assurance
This child can face uncertain days
Because He lives!"
Websurfing, I found out that some people are making a movie coming out 6-6-06 the story of which is that Jesus Christ never existed in history. It is all a fraud, a myth, a great deception dreamt up by the church for power and wealth. Something like Dan Brown' and his ilk. The war is getting fiercer!
And here I am, rejoicing that Jesus not only lived on earth 2000 years ago, but that He died for me and all who believe in Him, and that He rose from the dead and He lives on today. I have read His words and about His life in the Book and I know He lives.
What if He hadn't existed, never came and did what He did and spoke the words He did? How dark the world then! Without the knowledge of truth or love , without hope.
"How sweet to hold a new born baby
And feel the pride and joy (s)he brings!
But sweeter still the calm assurance
This child can face uncertain days
Because He lives!"
Websurfing, I found out that some people are making a movie coming out 6-6-06 the story of which is that Jesus Christ never existed in history. It is all a fraud, a myth, a great deception dreamt up by the church for power and wealth. Something like Dan Brown' and his ilk. The war is getting fiercer!
And here I am, rejoicing that Jesus not only lived on earth 2000 years ago, but that He died for me and all who believe in Him, and that He rose from the dead and He lives on today. I have read His words and about His life in the Book and I know He lives.
What if He hadn't existed, never came and did what He did and spoke the words He did? How dark the world then! Without the knowledge of truth or love , without hope.
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