The Sinful women in Jesus Christ's lineage

As a young christian, I always feel that the Genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:1-16 is just a mouthful of redundant information with no significant meaning. My view changed after listening to a sermon CD which spoke about the undesirable ladies in the lineage of Jesus Christ. They were prostitutes or ladies born of very low social status. There are 4 very special ladies worth mentioning here. They are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba.

Tamar was the Canaanite widow who disguised herself as a prostitute in order to seduce her father-in-law i.e. Judah (Genesis 38). Rahab, a Gentile from Jericho, was actually a prostitute whom God used to help in Joshua's conquest of Jericho (Joshua 2). Ruth was a Moabite, a descendent of an incestuous race which had been despised by the racially proud Jews. Even the Law of Moses had disparaging things to say about the Moabites: "No Moabite, nor any of their descendants to the tenth generation shall enter the assembly of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 23:3). But yet Ruth found extraordinary favor in the eyes of Boaz. ( a very rich male relative of her mother in law Naomi.)

And lastly, we see Bathsheba, a Hittite, whom King David seduced, and whose husband(his name was Uriah) David had killed in order to have her for himself (II Samuel ll). Notice that Matthew emphasizes (verse 6) the nature of David's tryst with her: "David was the father of Solomon, whose mother HAD BEEN Uriah's wife," thus underlining the sinfulness of that link in the lineage.

These 4 ladies exihibited the fact that not only is Jesus born for sinners, he is also born through sinners. For it seems the longer we are Christians, the more tempted we are to please God and earn His approval by our "religious" behavior and "religious" language, rather than through changed hearts and lives. Abba does not care about your looks, your social background,your occupation, the number of sins commited by you or your race (note the barrier between Jew and Gentile is down. Rahab, the woman of Jericho, and Ruth, the woman of Moab, find their place within the pedigree of Jesus Christ.) or your "works". Abba only cares about the quality of your affection & thoughts in Him.

PS:Another noteworthy observation:

It is the women among Christ's disciples that remained near the Cross when the going gets tough. (Matthew 27:55, 56). While the disciples cowered in fear after Jesus' death, the women were found at the Tomb, caring for the body of our Jesus Christ. Consequently, women become the first witnesses to proclaim the news that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead (Matthew 28:1, Luke 24:9-11)! All you sisters are so precious in Abba's eyes!!!!.

Shatter the Jericho STone Wall in you.

(Picture 1: Overview of Joshua's attack route into the Canaan lands.)

(Picture 2: Pictorial Impression of Joshua 6:1-7)

(Picture 3: Present day picture of Jericho from Google Earth)

(Picture 4: A portion of the Jericho foundation stone wall excavated in the 1950s)

Joshua 6:1-27 offers some very good insights into Abba's mysterious ways to victory. These insights i hope will encourage and motivate you.

We first trace the events to the book of Exodus 3, where Abba spoke to Moses and commanded him to lead his people out of the Egypt(Exodus 3:7). Then Abba declared repeatedly for 2 times (Exodus 3:8) & (Exodus 3:17). that the people will be freed from the Egyptians and they will be brought to a land that is good and spacious, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. You must appreciate that Abba does not have to repeat his words twice, because his words are final and guaranteed. Yet He did so to reassure the Isreali people that this piece of good land aka victory is assured to them. See also (Genesis 12:6-7) and (1 Chronicles 16:14-18). In fact, Abba also gave further instructions regarding how the capture of the Land of Canaan will be done. (See Numbers 33:51-55).

Now, we move on to Joshua 6. In Joshua 6:1-7 Abba told Joshua what to do to take down Jericho. Why capture Jericho 1st? You see based from Joshua's camp at Gilgal near the Jordan River the Israelites could see steep hills to the west.(See 1st picture). [1] Jericho controlled the entry into these mountains, and Ai, another fortress, stood at the head of the ascent. The Israelites must certainly take Jericho and Ai. This would put them on top of the hill country and in control of the central ridge, having driven a wedge between the northern and southern lands of Canaan. Israel could then engage the armies of the south in battle followed by the more remote enemy in the north.

The strategy stated in Joshua 6:1-7 is one which no human military advisor would ever dare to suggest; not to say even adhere to it submissively. You take down a city with battering rams, catapults and ladders, not with the blowing of some trumpets. You see men are prone to believe in a plan that introduces works and striving into the equation rather than faith alone in Christ alone. The truth is simple: Put your trust in Christ.

(I am not advocating that you simply lie in bed and subsequently the good grades, promotions and money will drop from the sky. By all means, study diligently, be responsible at work & earn a decent living. Abba wants you to work you know?. He wants you to earn your living in the fields so that you may then build a house and start your family. See Proverbs 26:27. "Works" refer to the gesture of compelling yourself to say pray like e.g. 5-10 times per day, fast your meal prior to asking Abba for a huge prayer, or restrict yourself to only pray when you are kneeling. BUT you will fall into a huge panic attack when you fail to pray up to the specified number times per day, you fail to fast a meal or you fail to get a chance to kneel for the day to pray. You will then fear if your blessings have been revoked by Abba. This is a life of "WoRks" that Abba says NO to you)

The number 7 is used prominently in this chapter for eleven times!!![2]. 7 priests, with 7 trumpets were to march around the city 7 days with 7 trips around the city on the 7th day. 7 signifies perfection or completion which reminds us that God’s plan, no matter how foolish it may seem to us, is always perfect and cannot be improved upon by man (first cf. 1 Cor. 1:18f and then Rom. 12:2; 11:33-36).

In Joshua 6:10, Joshua stressed that during the march around Jericho, the Israelis who followed behind must be utterly silent. Imagine several hundred thousand people marching around the city in silence. There were the priests with their trumpets, those with the ark, the armed men and then the rest of the people. This may have included the women and children as well. This silence must be difficult to maintain!. [3]This silence (see also Exodus 14:14, Psalm 46:10-11) portrays the need to be quiet, to stop our running around that we may rest quietly in Him as we think on Him in the midst of our trials and conquests in life. Our tendency is to complain or seek comfort from our friends more than we talk to God and seek our comfort from Him.

If you read Joshua 6:1-27 carefully, [4]Joshua did not reveal Abba's entire plan to the people at first. Joshua merely gave daily instructions. The people submitted to Joshua. They would march silently around the city daily and yet the walls were still standing and Jericho had not surrendered. Yet, they did not murmur or complain or question Joshua’s instructions. They simply complied until the seventh day. At the command of Joshua on the seventh day they gave a great shout and the walls came tumbling down by the mighty hand of God.

Is it not significant that Hebrews 11:30, which says, “by faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been circled seven days,”. Abba often works slowly. [5]We want immediate deliverance, but the Lord often tests our faith and in the process builds our character and our relationship with Him so we find Abba to be what we really need.

Source:

[1] J. Hampton Keathley, III , Th.M, "Destroying Fortresses; Victory at Jericho", bible.org http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=298

[2] ibid

[3] ibid

[4] ibid

[5] ibid

Dr. J. Hampton Keathleya is 1966 graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and a former pastor of 28 years. In August of 2001 he was diagnosed with lung cancer and on August 29th, 2002 he went home to be with the Lord. Hampton wrote many articles for the Biblical Studies Foundation and on occasion taught New Testament Greek at Moody Bible Institute, Northwest Extension for External Studies in Spokane, Washington.

Jesus- Our High Priest

Following on what i have written about the tebernacle of Moses versus David, I am curious about the High priests who had access into the holy of holy in the tebernacle to speak to God.

From numbers 17, we know that the tribe of Aaron i.e. the Levis is the only tribe designated as the tribe of priests by Abba. Nothing was mentioned about the tribe of Judah where Jesus has descended.(Hebrew 7:14). The verse in Hebrew 7:1 has expressed that the Levitical priesthood was imperfect, otherwise there wouldn't be a need for another priest aka Jesus to come.

11 If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood

(for on the basis of it the law was given to the people),

why was there still need for another priest to come—

one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?

Why is this incumbent priest in the order of Melchizedek? Why the emphasis? Hebrew 7:1-3 sheds some light on the importance of Melchizedek as this name meant "King of righteousness" and "King of Peace". I believe it meant that the incumbent priest to arrive is in the order of "King of righteousness" and "King of Peace".

Moreover, I believe that Melchizedek represented Grace because even before any forms & notions of laws (oral or written) were concieved, Abraham already tithed to King Melchizedek out of his own accord, grace and positive submission. This is in stark contrast to the Levitical tribe of Aaron who imposed strict laws to collect a tenth of earnings. Hebrew 7:8 says it succintly:

8In the one case, the tenth is collected by men who die;

but in the other case,

by him who is declared to be living.

All the other levitical high priests pales in comparison to Jesus our High Priest because these mortal high priests could not conquer death.(See Hebrew 7:23-24). A very good, morally upright and righteous annointed levitical High Priest in office naturally meant the people under him recieved God's blessings and prosperity. But when this mortal priest dies, the office could be succeeded by say an evil or less than perfect Levi high priest. Subsequently, the entire nation could suffer from the retraction/reduction of God's blessings.

These mortal levitical high priests also have to strive by works daily. They have to offer burnt offerings & sacrifices daily, 1st for their sins, then lastly the sins for their people. (Hebrew 7:27). It is so dry and laborious. But Jesus paid for our sins, ONCE AND FOR ALL, and only ONCE on the cross. Jesus was the only Priest to have recieved a Declaration/Oath from Abba declaring that he is a priest forever(Heb 7:20); because Jesus lives forever, he has permanent priesthood(Heb 7:24) and hence Jesus has become the guarantee of a much superior convenant with Abba.(Heb 7:22). We are what our High Priests are. By virtue that Jesus is now seated in Abba's right hand, so are we.

We have a high priest who is there not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. Awesome.. amazing.. man.

Parable of the Bak Chor Mee

Yesterday evening, i went to the 85 hawker market in Bedok for dinner. I ordered the famous Bar chor mee. When the hawker arrived with the mee, i paid him a $50 dollar bill. He said he didnt have the change and will return shortly with the change. After say 20 minutes, i was really getting worried.

Where is my $50 change for a bowl of $3.50 Bar Chor Mee!?!. I paniced and walked to the stall. I asked the attendant for my change. The uncle gave me a blank look and retorted, "SINCE WHEN?". Even the boss who is inside the stall cooking, peeped out and warned me not to fool around.

In a very serious and pissed off tone, i said, "Uncle, this is hard business for you, selling mee. I also understand it is hard earned money. But so is my money. I honestly have no reason to cheat you of $50.". After much hestitation, he finally decided to return me the change. Morale of the Story: If you have a big change to pay the next time, pls follow the attendant back to the stall to collect your change; or otherwise break your cash into smaller change of $10 bills b4 u decide to eat at a hawker centre.

This episode really invoked some thinking. The Bar chor Mee uncle is a debtor to me. If he had refused to pay up the change, should i forgive him?. Wah.it will be heart wrenching to pay $50 for a $3.50 bowl of mee leh!. BUT in Mathew 18:21-35, Jesus told a parable about a servant who owed a great debt, which was forgiven of him by his master. He then went out and demanded repayment of a smaller sum of debt owed to him by his fellow servant. The master who originally forgave his debt punishes him, not for being a debtor but for being unforgiving.

32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, '

I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.

33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?'

34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured,

until he should pay back all he owed.

35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you

unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

The servant owed his Master ten thousand talents[in modern day weighting, this sum= millions of dollars] (Mathew 18-24) & he was forgiven of this sum by his master. But the servant went on to pursue a debt of a hundred denarii[in modern day weighting, this sum = a few dollars] (Mathew 18-28) owed to him by his fellow servant.

If Abba can forgive us of a GREAT DEBT(i.e. of all of your SINs), wah and yet we can't forgive people of a debt smaller in scale owed to us. Jesus wants us to forgive...

Easter Day Special: Difference between tebernacle of Moses and David.

You must understand that although Abba loves everyone on Earth, be it saved or unsaved; Abba on top of love can also like a person. God liked King David in particular because he moved the Ark to Jerusalem. [See 2 Samuel 6 (NIV)].

See top 2 pictures for a detailed description of the Arc and the hidden meanings.

In fact during that era, both the tebernacle of Moses and David existed; but the Ark was moved to David's tebernacle.

In Moses's tebernacle (See 3rd picture), no 1 could just enter the centre tentage(marked in white aka holy of holy). Only a priest could enter it. And even so, the priest had to 1st make some burnt offerings, clear his mind of any evil, bad thoughts, i.e. make sure he is as holy as he can before he crosses the veil and enters the holy of holy. Any mistake, or should any evil thought suddenly creep into him, he could lose his life. In fact in Moses's tebernacle, the closer you go to GOD, the higher the chances of the person losing his life.

On the contrary, in David's tebernacle (See 4th picture), (which has the Ark), the holy of holy place is now merely replaced by just an airy, see-through tent with the ARK in it. There was no veil, and practically anyone and everyone regardless of his sins, or mental state could enter the tebernacle, enter the holy of holy and worship Abba via the Ark. In this case, the closer one goes to GOD, the higher the chances of him/her surviving and prospering. This is the new church that Abba is raising in the End days, where anyone and anybody can readily be embraced into the church and be free to worship Abba and recieve his gift of Grace & righteousness.

Easter Day: Tebernacle of David Arisen

Did you know that a thousand years on Earth is but merely a day to Abba in the Heavens? There are some interesting prophecies in the bible which are of relevance to this festive day when Jesus rose from the dead.


Hosea 6:2-3 (New International Version)


2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.

3 Let us acknowledge the LORD;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.

The year is now 2008, i.e. 2 thousand and 8 years have passed. In Heaven's context, already 2 days (aka 2 thousand years) have passed. We are now entering early into the "3rd" day. You do know that Jesus arose from the dead very early on the 3rd day. Hence, we should expect Rapture to occur really soon. Within this decade? I strongly believe so.

Another interesting prophecy lies in Amos 9:11-15 (Amplified Bible):

11In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David,

the fallen hut or booth, and close up its breaches;

and I will raise up its ruins,

and I will build it as in the days of old,

12That they may possess the remnant of Edom and of all the

nations that are called by My name,

says the Lord Who does this.

13Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord,

that the plowman shall overtake the reaper,

and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;

and the mountains shall drop sweet wine

and all the hills shall melt [that is, everything heretofore barren

and unfruitful shall overflow with spiritual blessing].(B)

14And I will bring back the exiles of My people Israel,

and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them;

and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine from them;

they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them.

15And I will plant them upon their land,

and they shall no more be torn up out of their

land which I gave them, says the Lord your God.

You must appreciate that near the end days, Abba will raise and prosper a new generation of "LIVING" churches (like the church of David; see also [1] Hebrews 10:19-20) which are full of the spirit, noisy, happy, and widly singing, jumping and worshipping Abba. That is the church of David i.e. over-flowing spirit and grace. Moreover, the level of prosperity, wealth and health experience by these "LIVING" churchs are described in Amos 9:13-14 (see in red bold).

A church in decline is one which their pastors are still seeking to preach a mixture of half grace & half law. This is sure to fail as explained in Acts 15:10-16 (NIV),

10Now then, why do ^you try to test God

by putting on the necks of the disciples

a yoke that neither we nor our fathers

have been able to bear?

^ Peter was explaining to the apostles and elders that why are you still carrying the LAWs which is something which either you nor your fathers can bear.

11No! We believe it is through the Grace of our Lord Jesus that

we are saved, just as they are."

12The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and

Paul telling about the miraculous signs

and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.

13When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me.

14Simon[a] has described to us how God at first showed his concern

by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself.

15The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
16" 'After this I will return.......

and rebuild David's fallen tent.

Its ruins I will rebuild,

and I will restore it,

Again, it is mentioned in Acts 15:16, that the tebernacle of David will be revivied. Im thankful that i have been led to church which is the tebernacle of David. I will continue in part II to explain the difference in the tebernacle of Moses versus tebernacle of David.

Japan's Role in biblical Prophecy

Last week, i saw a Tv documentary called, "Of Rites & Rituals 2" which featured a village in Japan celebrating a fire-God day. All men who hit the ages of 25 & 43 are said to be most prone to Demon's attack. Hence they must drag several sacred tree logs to the countryside, build a big altar, then burn it to appease the Fire God. For me, i do not condone such "works". Japan is a nation which heavily worships Gods of the weather elements, e.g. fire gods, river gods, mountain gods,their ancestors and shinto shrines. For a nation where most citizen are bound by religious laws and Works, i ponder what is Japan's future in biblical prophecy.

I found an article[1] on this issue and will attempt to do a summary. Ezekiel 38-39 prophesies the fate of nations in the end of days prior to the return of Jesus Christ. It speaks of a world war between two blocs. The attacking bloc will be led by Russia, China, Iran, ex-Soviet states in Central Asia, radical Islamic states in Central Asia and northern Africa etc. The bloc under attack belongs to the 10 tribes of Isreal. They comprises of modern day European and Scandinavian nations, the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. It also includes allies such as the modern day Israelis, Eastern and Southern European nations and moderate Arab states.

Then Ezekiel 38:13 prophesies:

"Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto you [to Gog, the Russian-led alliance], Have you come to take a spoil? Have you gathered your company to take a prey? To carry away silver and gold, to take cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?". The modern day nations of Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions will oppose this global war with all of their might.

In the Author's view, "merchants of Tarshish" infers modern day Japan because 1) the people of Tarshish is identified in genesis 10:4 as descendants from Japheth, whose offsprings now populate mostly Asia; 2) Japan pioneered the export-driven model of mercantile sales to other nations as a national policy so much so they have been called a nation of "merchants". The article also explains how Sheba & dedan refers to India, and all the young lions refer to nations such as South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, etc.

This bloc of Asian nations (India, Japan & young lions nations) could be an ally of the ten tribes of Israel; or as a neutral bloc between two warring alliances. Nonetheless, the author believes Japan will be a military ally of the USA in this final world war. Even if Japan, India and other Pacific Rim nations are not initially attacked, the USA would surely retaliate with forces based in Japan. Also, Japan, India, etc. should realize that if the US and the West fell, Japan, India and the other nations would next be targeted for attack by Russia, China, Iran, etc.

Matthew 24:21-22 calls this climactic world war at the end of our age (prophesied in Ezekiel 38) the "Great Tribulation," a time which would result in the death of "all flesh" if God were not to Divinely intervene to stop it. Ezekiel 38-39 prophesies that God will intervene in this final world war to fight on the side of the ten tribes of Israel and their allies. The nations who are on the side of Russia, China, Iran, etc. will suffer a death rate of 5/6ths of their populations, according to Ezekiel 39:1-6.

I finally understand what is Japan's destiny.. and Singapore's destiny as well... in Abba's plan.

[1]Source: Steven M. Collins (May 23, 2007), “What is Japan's Role In Biblical Prophecy?”, The Bible Study
website at Biblestudy.org Url: http://www.biblestudy.org/prophecy/what-is-role-of-japan-in-bible-prophecy.html

Click here to download: http://andrewsmu2005.googlepages.com/JapansroleinBibleProphecy_2007_.pdf

[2] Ezekiel 39:1-11 explains in detail how Abba will intervene in this great war & make the enemies lose. In particular refer to Ezekiel 39:11 The number of dead bodies left after the great catastrophe which God will send upon Gog and his hosts would necessarily amount to several millions. Their graves would naturally interfere with traffic on the interstate highway. The dead will not be slain in battle. God will slay them by a great "cosmic catastrophe" (Ezek. 38:18-23). And not just some, but "all" of Gog's multitude will die then (Ezek. 39:4, 11); before they have had a chance to use their weapons, God will strike them from their hands (Ezek. 39:3). That one-sixth of the horde from the north will be left alive, as the King James Version says (Ezek. 39:2), is without noted exception conceded to be a mistaken translation by all authorities of modern times.

url:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2038-39%20;&version=45

Is your Fire Dying??

I would like to share with you what i heard during the Prayer chain loveSingapore briefing. Pastor invoked the image of a satay man fanning the dying red hot charcoal to bring across the essence of 2 Timothy 1:6-7 (Amplified Bible)

6That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands

7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

The best way to stir up & fan the flame of the Gift of Abba is through the praying in tongues.. that you may recieve the spirit of power, love, and in general of sound mind and clarity.

Highs and Lows

Today, i was quite pissed with the 2 incidents(Read below). But at the end of it, something salvaged and pacified my unhappiness. I got a birthday card from my RockKid's ministry. It is very sweet and i like the handwritten scripture. It spoke a great deal to me.

**

Today i got a huge package in my mailbox. When i opened it, i was a little pissed off with what i saw. It reads, "MOE and MCYS have collaborated with SDU to extend me one year free complimentaty membership." There is also a opt-out letter to decline this kind offer. I promptly signed on the opt-out letter without hesitation. Period. I am Single, But I ain't Single, Desperate and Ugly.

**

Today, I went to my Church's main corporate building aka (NOEL Building) to pack goodies for the kids for this coming Sunday's Easter Service. Well, it was my 1st visit to the corporate building and lets just say i was plain lazy and didnt bother to find out how to get to the place in advance. We were supposed to meet 630pm, but i only did the streetdirectory.com search at 530pm. Well, I keyed in "NOEL building" and Streetdirectory.com only provided one search result for it. I suppose this must be it. I printed the map and headed to the said address. I got a rude shock when i got there. NOEL building is indeed there, but it is a freaking Industrial building. It then dawned on me that there must be more than one building named NOEL in Singapore. Streetdirectory.com sucks. Finally, i got to the right NOEL building..

**

I am still a mortal and by the way i still get pissed at things ok?!?!. ;-)

Power of Praying in Tongue

Well, i just came back from a briefing for Prayer Chain Love Singapore exercise. In this project, 52 churches in Singapore have come together to pray for Singapore 24/7 for the entire year. Each church is allocated one week. Next week is my church's allocated slot.

Just like to share with you on a very powerful scripture on praying in tongues. Refer to

Psalm 29: 3-11

3 The *voice of the LORD is over the waters;

the God of glory thunders,

the LORD thunders over the *mighty waters.
(*when we pray in tongue, there is OVER flowing currents of living water that GUSHES out of our mouth like a MIGHTY WATERFALL)

4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;

the voice of the LORD is majestic.

5 The voice of the LORD *breaks the cedars;

the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

(*Cedars is a type of tree that has very very deep stubborn roots entrenched in the ground. Praying in tongue is so POWERFUL that it UPROOTS whatever obstacles/problems that you have)

6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,

Sirion like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the LORD strikes

with flashes of lightning.

8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;

the LORD *shakes the Desert of Kadesh.

(*In the bible, Kadesh was a place of disbelief, Refer Deut1:19-32. Where 12 spies were sent to recee the land, but eventually, 10 of them decided against proceeding forward. Praying in Tongue shatters all of your doubts and disbelief.)

9 The voice of the LORD makes *the deer give birth

and strips the forests bare.

And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"

(*Praying in tongues is akin to the gesture of giving birth because it symbolizes the bearing of fruits of success, fruits of health, wealth and prosperity.)

10 The LORD sits [d] *enthroned over the flood;

the LORD is enthroned as King forever.

(*No matter how big the calamity/storm you are facing, Abba is sitting on top of it, looking after you)

11 The LORD gives strength to his people;

the LORD blesses his people with peace.

Ps: My prayer slot is on 26th mar 4am to 430am. lol.. if you are awake,you can join me .

State of Mind

[eh im the happy Red M&M hor , on the left. ;-) ]

Today was a very special day. Have you ever wondered why somehow you are able to muster the energy to do something extra & special aka beyond the call of duty for a very special person? I, for one experienced it today. Despite it been a long and tiring day for me , coupled with the fact that i also sprained my left ankle, i was willing to do something special for that person today. I didn't feel the lethargy, but i got peace from Abba and that continuous flow of sweetness and happiness in my heart.

I also bumped into a lost tourist today. She was from England and wanted to head to Bras Brasah Complex. Instead of merely giving verbal instructions to her like any typical Singaporean would do, i volunteered to walk her to the complex. Along the journey, i did some small talk and thank god, she could understand my English. ;-). I made her felt really comfortable and when we bidded farewell, she commented i was a real Gentleman. Hmm, i also did something which was sweet and beyond the call of duty for her. Of course, compared to that special person, my heart felt less sweeter for the English lady.

Abba gave us many forms and levels of love and affection. There is the love for your friends, your spouses, and for your family. When Jesus Christ went beyond the call of duty to die for us on the cross,that continuous flow of sweetness and happiness in his heart is several thousand, if not million times greater than what i felt today from doing sth special for that special person. Jesus has given us the highest form of Agape love..

On hindsight, i was meditating on whether i should proceed and do sth more tangible and concrete to get that special person's attention? Proverbs 24:27 came to my mind.

27 Finish your outdoor work

and get your fields ready;

after that, build your house.

My focus should now be on earning my craft , and earning a living in my fields 1st; aka finding a good job first. Abba blesses order eh.. not legalism.. ;-)

Trends and Statistics.

Today, i was led by the spirit to find data on the rate of evangelism globally. I did a fast google search & found an very interesting article on the tide of evangelism (See 1st picture: The red arrow signify the tide). [1]The tide is now flowing towards the southern and eastern part of Earth.

[2]In table 1 (the 2nd graphic), the data and forecast supports the trend that the next big surge in Christian growth at least till year 2050 will centre mainly on Africa, Asia and Latin America continents while on the contrary, the rate of increase in Christians growth will diminish in Europe and Northern America continent.

[3]In table 3 (the 3rd graphic), the data provided gives the top 10 Christian countries in the World from 1900 to 2050. I took the liberty to transpose the data in table 3 into a graphical chart (See the 4th graphic), and i observed similar trends as well; i.e.

1) China ,and India will enter the top 10 christian countries from 2005 onwards. (Symbolic of Asia continent)

2) These african states will also eventually enter the top 10 ranking; Congo & Nigeria frm 2005, Ethopia frm 2025, & Uganda by 2050.(Symbolic of Africa continent)

3) Brazil has been consistently ranked within top 10 countries since 1900. (Symbolic of Latin American continent).

Folks in Asia be prepared to be hit by the Tsunami of Evangelism...

[1] Todd M. Johnson, Ph.D.,Director (May 2006), "Christianity in Global Context: Trends and Statistics", P1, Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Prepared for the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

[2] ibid, table 1, P2

[3] ibid, table 3, P3

Click here to download: http://andrewsmu2005.googlepages.com/global-christianity.pdf

Forgiveness of Your Enemies. Can U do that?

I just watched the movie "The Interpreter (2005)" starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn on VCD yesterday afternoon. The theme of this movie was on the forgiveness of your enemies. In this film, there is an native ritual to forgive the murderer of your loved ones. In the African ‘Ku’ tribe featured in the movie, a ritual is held a year after the murder. The criminal is bound and taken by boat to the middle of a lake while the family of the victim stands on the shore. The murderer is then thrown into the lake, unable to swim. The only way that he will survive is if the family swim out to save him. This action cures the family of grief, enabling them to continue their lives in peace, whereas letting the murderer drown may satisfy their revenge, but it will cause them to grieve for the rest of their lives.

A similar ritual was produced on TV in Northern Ireland. In March 2006, BBC ran a TV series call "Facing the truth"[1], where the relatives of victims of the IRA came face to face with the men who killed their loved ones in meetings chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The idea is that the victims’ families might be able to achieve some sort of end to their grief through being able to face their enemies and shake their hands in forgiveness. The episode featured the widow and brother of Dermot Hackett meeting his killer, Michael Stone. After the meeting, the widow Sylvia Hackett was asked whether she now thought it was the right thing to meet Michael Stone. Sylvia said[2], "I had waited a long time for this day and it had given me a ‘little bit of healing. It's been like a life sentence for me and the girls. This was something I just had to do. To show him I'm not just this bitter woman who everybody thinks I'm going to be. I do feel sorry for him. But it was my way of showing I'm a Christian.’

It is indeed very hard to forgive your enemies. I feel that too. But these scripture kept on flashing on my mind.
"Peter came up to the Lord and asked, "How many times should I forgive someone who does something wrong to me? Is seven times enough?" Jesus answered: Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times! - Mat 18:21-22. (CEV)"

‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5.44).

[3] Paul added in Romans that where revenge is required, God’s people need to put their trust in his judgment: ‘It is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him: if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this you will heap burning coals on his head.’

It's time for forgive.. eh?

[1] Eleanor Margesson(Mar 2006), "Forgiveness on the screen", UK Cross Map Life; http://uk.life.crossmap.com/article/forgiveness.on.the.screen/95.htm

[2]ibid

[3]ibid

The Truth about Food..

I was laying on my couch munching on a bag of chips watching a repeated TV telecast of the "Documentary of the week series: The Truth about Food" on ChannelNewsasia.

There was an empirical study done, where 2 groups of volunteers stayed for 6 months in a cottage in the English countryside. The 1st group was assigned a strict diet of the typical "detox" diet comprising of only fruit/plant juices and water, while the 2nd group aka the "Control group" was given an ordinary normal diet of meat, vegetables etc aka the usual mortal diet.

At the end of 6 months, the volunteer's saliva and urine was analyzed by a food toxin lab in Imperial College, University of London. The end results was astonishing. There was no significance difference in the amount of toxins detected in both groups. In fact, the professor interviewed commented that: "Our body has evolved and adapted itself to remove the toxins through our liver and kidneys. The way our body worKs is pretty unique, complex and mysterious. Simply flushing out your kidney and liver with loads of water and juices will NOT SPEED up the rate of removal of toxins through your liver & kidney. The inventors of these detox diets are simply naive and simplistic in imaging how simple the body works."

The point to put across is this: people are constantly spOOked by the Media into believing say this diet is better, that diet is healthier, so lets abstain from this food and that food. These folks are living in a life of bondage and fear. Are you doing justice to Jesus Christ who died on the cross for ya?

Common, detox diet has been proven empirically to be a myth. Do you think that Abba who is the creator of everything in this universe would give us a defunct, inperfect cleansing system aka our liver and kidneys? Common! i believe we can and should be able to eat any food even junk food as we please and crave, just make sure it is eaten in moderation. Have a balanced diet, eat NORMALLY.. lol. see? im snacking on a big bag of chips now and i ain't sPOOKEd.. lol

Parable of Light, baby Barber and Twins (Part 3)

In Ancient China, there lived a pair of twin brothers. Their looks were exactly identical. The elder brother's name was Choo and he was a scholar preparing to take the imperial exam. His younger brother's name was Huo and he served in the military as a junior general. Huo's character was fiery, impulsive and reckless. He was especially fond of drinking and always got into fights and accidents. Choo on the contrary was patient, civilized and meticulous.

On one fateful night, Cho was at home studying while Huo was out drinking after a day of military training. A brawl erupted somehow, and in a fit of drunkard-ness, Huo killed his drinking mate. When Huo regained consciousness, he realized what he did; panicked and fled the scene quickly. Many drinkers witnessed the incident. Huo ran home as fast as he could. Patting hard on the door, he screamed for his elder brother to open the door.

Choo was shocked at what he saw. Huo confessed that he killed somebody and begged Choo to think of something to save him. Without a flich of an eye, Choo calmly told Huo to remove his blood stained uniform. Then Choo: " Go change into a pair of new clothes, take some money and flee!!!.. never to return again." Huo did what he was told and disappeared through the backdoor. By this time, there was a horde of crowd slamming on the door demanding that the murderer step out. Without hestitation, Choo wore that uniform stained in blood; and surrended to the crowd.

Cho was sentenced to death. And Huo went on hiding for years. After 10 years later, Huo bumped into some mutual friends. His friends later informed him that his "younger brother" was sentenced to death for a murder case. Huo was petrified. His legs felt weak, and he realized Choo had volunteered as scapegoat for his crime. Huo rushed back to the county and seeked an audience with the magistrate.

Huo : "Your honor, you killed the wrong man. I am the real murderer. My elder brother took the rap for me!!!!!"

Magistrate:"I'm sorry Son, I am a very impartial Judge. I cannot punish you for a crime which already has been paid for. Go on, live out the remaining of your life meaningfully and well. I am sure that is what your elder brother had wished for...."

Abba is such a righteous and imparital god. All the punishments have been paid in one sacrifice, one offering.. his beloved son Jesus Christ. Such that now Abba can only love you and adore you.. because the wrath and punishment of your sins have been paid....... Go on, live out your life meaningfully, gracefully, abundantly and well. That is what Jesus Christ wishes for you"

Nostalgia

In a moment of boredom, i logged in to friendster to view the profiles of my friends. Pardon me, but i only stopped at friendster. Facebook is no go for me. lol. Anyway, there are quite a few friends/associates in my friends list who are happily married, working in a nice career, flying frequently for overseas holiday trips or partying like crazy.

To put it in perspective, i do feel jealous. I feel that these people do not deserve all that because 1) they weren't university graduates, 2) back in my school days, i was way more superior than them in studies and CCA achievements, hence why did they surpass me?, 3) i just didnt like their faces.

Then i recalled a very good analogy spoken by my hokkien ministry Pastor Mark at our CNY combined service. He knows of a very famous fish-soup stall in Outram. It is always crowded, and diners have to wait for a very long time. Then you see some folks at the next table get the fish soup faster than you. Then you feel a little "buay shong" and start to panic. But hey, here's the deal, the order has been made isn't it? So eventually, sooner or later, you will still get the food!! Its a guarentee! In the same context, you may see that your brothers and sisters may have a beautiful/handsome spouse, nice career, nice car etc etc. Believe in your heart that I'm next. I'm the next in queue.

To those who are currently in dire straits, know that your predicament is not pemanent. Seek Abba's wisdom to bring you a way out. To illustrate this, there is another analogy from Pastor Mark. During CNY, his relatives drove to his HDB flat to visit him. However, the carpark was packed. His relatives after circling for rounds at the carpark called Pastor Mark on the phone. Here's the dialogue:

R(Relative) : eh Mark ah, i drive in circles & circles, still cant see any lot leh. If cannot find lot, we go home liao.

M(Pastor Mark) : , Aiyo, i look from my window. Got lah. There is an empty lot. You follow my direction ah. i direct you there.

R: Mai lai lar, i drive so many circles liao. Still did not see the parking lot.

M: eh you only LOOK horizontally, BUT i LOOK VERTICALLY DOWN leh!!.

Are you just loOking "horizontally"?? It's time to seek Abba's wisdom for he is Looking "vertically" and has a Bird eye view of your plight and predicament.

Parable of Light, Baby, Barber & Twins (Part 2)

<#2 Parable of the Barber>

A believer is having his hair cut at a hair salon. As it turn out 5 mins into the hair cut, the barber started to scold God, and said stuff like there is NO GOD because of all the evil doings, the killings, hatred and wars on Earth etc etc. The believer did not dare to rebute the barber during the haircut because he was afraid the barber will spoil the haircut in a heated debate.

When the haircut was done and after paying the barber, the believer declared loudly to the entire hair salon, "There is no barber in this world". The barber was annoyed. He retorted that, "Look BuDDY, you juz had your haircut, moreover you juz paid me and you juz sat here for a whole 30mins for the haircut. How can you say I do not exist!?!?!"

The believer, "Well, look out the streets now. See that unkept fella with his long untrimmed hair, See that beggar with his messy hair, See that street performer with such long hippie hair. Hence, there is no barber in this world."

In the same context, evil and atrocities commited by mortals which you see in this Earth as just akin to those who have not had their "haircut". When you have your "haircut" aka (recieving Abba's salvation), you would not have the heart to do those evil sinful things anymore.

Parable of Light, Baby, Barber & Twins (Part 1)

Today was one of the better services i heard for ages. Pastor sprinkled his sermon with 4 really good parables. They are memorable, succint and powerful.

(#1:Parable of Light ps: this was an real life dialogue which my pastor researched and found from the net)

A professor asked his students, "Did God create everything that exists?" A student replied yes. The professor then deduced, "If God created everything, then God created evil since evil exists, & because our works define who we are then God is evil." The student was speechless.

Another student asked "Prof, does darkness exist?" Professor responded, "Of course". The student retorted, "You are wrong sir, darkness does not exist. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. We can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. But you cannot measure darkness. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor. "Sir, does evil exist?". Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course. We see it daily. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love, that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.
The young man's name --- Albert Einstein

Self Denial

Today is the release of the A level examination results. The press did a feature on this group of comeback kids. They graduated from some prestigious secondary schools, but didnt do well in their O level. Hence, they could only enroll in some neighbourhood junior colleges. However, they manage to do decently well in this year's A levels.

I am a little disturbed by their replies to the press. All said that they were able to pick themselves up in these mediocre neighbourhood JCs because their cohort is weaker and thus they were able to get into the top 10 %. With this new found confidence and percieved "superiority", they manage to do decently well in the A levels. I would have expected them to perhaps say something like, a neighborhood JC is also capable of producing good performing students as long as they study diligently; or the dedication of the teaching staff in the neighborhood JCs is as good as those top JCs.

Sure, i endorse their honesty. So their route of success is to place themselves in a mediocre, below average environment, when their level of academic ability will obviously out-perform the general cohort, and subsequently ride on this false sense of "security" and "superiority" to eventually do well in the cambridge final exam. Isn't this self denial at it's best?

Well in Abba's Kingdom, his favors and presents are unearned and undeserving. In addition, Abba's sense of security to you is eternal, for now and into the future. Never ever short-change yourself and settle for second or third best circumstances and then hope for the best. Don't do that. Do not limit Abba. Aim and pray for the 1st best choice. Seek his wisdom and yeah He is better than you imagine.

The TRUTH

I have been catching the latest mediacorp 9pm chinese drama which centres on the lives of heartlanders living in a 1 room flat estate .

(http://8.mediacorptv.sg/around8/interviews/view/1068/1/.html)

A memorable dialogue in the drama deserves mention. Oh,before i get to the dialogue, here is the brief story plot: This elderly couple has lived in the 1 room estate all their lives. They worked hard to raise their daughter and to give her an education. Finally their daughter gets a good career and is happily married. The daugher stays in a condo and has for a while tried to persuade her parents to stay with her. But her Dad always declined her tactfully by explaining that they like the old estate way of life.

As the story progresses, the daughter fired her errant indonesian maid. Then a few days later, the daughter visited her parents again. She broached the topic of moving in with her again and told her mum, "why you 老到有福不会享?" The mum was seemingly pleased with her daughter's filial piety. When the daugher left, here is the noteworthy dialogue between the elderly couple:

Naive Mum: "老的，有没有听到？我们的女儿如此孝顺，还说我们有福不会享。我们就搬吧 "

Cynnical Dad: "说你笨，就是笨. 你如果搬进去了，你不就成为了他们的新“FOC MAID”。 哪才真是有福不会享!!!!"

The above scenario is so realistic and i am sure it happens in our daily lives. Now what is the TRUTH? Is the daughter genuinely filial? or she indeed has ulterior motives? (i.e. She just fired her maid and urgently needs a foc maid to clean up the big household and babysit her young son.). lol. an interesting brain teaser exercise to think about.....

A very famous American fantasy book writer Mr. Lawrence Watt-Evans(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Watt-Evans) wrote a series of nine articles of advice to would-be writers during the 1988s-1990s. His episode 8th article (source: http://www.watt-evans.com/soyouwanttobeawriter8.html) was most impressive.

The gist of the article is, "If you get to write a book and publish one, never ever give out free copies at all, not even to your closest friends or family members." Watt-Evan's rationale is simple: people do not cherish anything that is free. He gave an anecdotal example. When he published his most successful hit "The Lure of the Basilisk" in 1980, he gave 5 of his friends free copies of his books. Then seperately he also brought another group of 5 friends to sign up for his reading club and buy his book. A month later, Watt-Evan casually asked the 5 friends who got the book free if they liked the ending. All 5 of them admitted awkwardly that they barely flipped beyond the 1st few pages. On the contrary, the other group of 5 who paid for the book, had a fascinating discussion of the book with Evan during the reading club meeting.

Jesus endured all the lashes, punishment, cuts, bruises, lacerations, nailing of his limbs on the cross so that he could PURCHASE with his blood, our freedom, our forgiveness of sins and of course our reconciliation with Abba. Our redemption & salvation did not COME FREE, but it was paid with Jesus's blood. How more can you now.. not choose to cherish the successful victory and triumph Jesus has won for us against the Devil.......

Mosquito Discovery channel

Moments ago, i caught a big fat mosquito feeding on my meaty thigh. Fortunately, i killed this pest in time. This episode prompted me to do a quick research on mosquitoes. Guess what i found?

"When a mosquito sucks blood from a human, it will take in twice its body weight in blood. To decrease this added weight, the mosquito URINATES on its victim to release fluids. Stimulation of this process when the mosquito is not feeding could make the mosquito die."

Source: http://www.unr.edu/nevadanews/detail.aspx?id=1205

OMG The mossie pee-ed on me. That is a great insult!. I wonder why did Abba create mosquitoes & other pests (roaches, rats etc)? Then, I recalled a sermon. It was on the fall of Adam and Eve. With the fall, things created initially in it's best intentions also "fell" to propagate negative influences. Thus I believe the primodial usage of the mossies were merely as food for the other flying creatures. However, with Adam's "fall", the mossies species developed other bad consequences like "being able to transmit dengee fever and feed on humans."

But thank God, Abba sent in another Saviour to redeem us, and redeem this damned and fallen world. Now this saviour needs no further mention. He is Jesus Christ.. ;-). He has taken all sins, illness, disease and sickness on our behalf. Moreover, Abba has already begun blessing the hands of the Scientists to weed out this pest. They are experimenting with ways to trick mossies to "urinate" without feeding, and this would kill it entirely. I am very sure, that success will come in soon!!!!Dear Abba, please impart wisdom to these scientists and clear their doubts along the way.

Are you an NATO person?

I recently read an article in the recruit section of the Straits Times and this acroynm "NATO" caught my eye. The article was talking about the different profiles of job candidates that companies should not attempt to hire. One such taboo profile was identified as NATO which stands for "No Action; Talk Only".

Perhaps there are cultural reasons for the NATO syndrome to manifest. For instance, Indians from India generally do not say "No" in circumstances even when they know they cannot deliver something which they promise. To the Indians, saying "no" is deemed as too indirect, disrupts harmony and is counter-productive to a good relationship. Source: Roderick Millar(2006), "Doing Business with India", P194, GMB Publishing Limited

Some may also argue that perhaps the NATO breed of mortals are merely mis-judged because they indeed commit action, but it is "behind the scene". But can the common eye even detect work done behind the scene? Some non NATO-folks on the contrary try to make their work more visible. However, excessive visibility backfires & earns you another undesirable title, "The Wayang(in malay means putting up a show) king". "The Wayang King" bears a worser connotation than "NATO" because the fella is percieved as doing tonnes of work on the surface but little real work is done at all.

Human beings are so quick to judge you isnt it? Be it calling you a "NATO" or "WAYANG KING". Human's logic and train of thoughts are myopic and dynamic yeah? In a world when everybody is judging everyone else; where can you hide????. Sure, but be glad to know that Jesus would never ever judge you or pass a stereotype on you because he so loves you so much. We only need to seek and establish our identity in Jesus and Abba. People's tongues will constantly waggle and gossip about you, but as long as we do our best in our job, complete our work, be responsibile to our work, Abba will bless us. Pay no heed to what others say of you. For every backstabbing/mis-judgement that you encounter in the workplace, Abba will restore the years owed to you and restore you like the Eagles .