Jesus, Light of the World

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."
(John 8:12)

During the Cultural Revolution, the Communist government of China purged its land of Christianity so effectively that for over a generation any vestige of the gospel message laid long forgotten, buried under deep memories of a few, suppressed by much persecution. It was a dark time indeed for China.

Yet in the late 1970s, from the cold ashes, God rekindled the fire in such a dramatic way that China today has more than 100 million born again believers! No one, no missionary, no human alive could claim ANY glory from this most miraculous revival. It was God and God alone who pulled this off. And like any nation in the past 2000 years, where the Gospel of Jesus Christ was preached, the nation was transformed - for the LIGHT has come!

And so too are the lives of true believers.

When the Light comes, people are transformed. When the Light comes, darkness flees. When the Light comes, people are set free from bondages. When the Light comes, liberty reigns. When the Light comes - love, joy, peace MULTIPLIED!!! O SUCH JOY!

Are u tired? Are u burdened? Are u facing a hopeless tomorrow? Are u living in bondage? Are u living in defeat? Are u living in hate? Are u harbouring deep unforgiveness? Are u living in fear? Are u living in pain? Are u living in DARKNESS?

COME TO THE LIGHT!

No matter who u are, where u are, how u are - God can SAVE U and TURN ur situation around!!! Just COME!

giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
(Col 1:12-14)

The Law EXPOSES our Sinful Nature

I often hear ppl explain it this way: Religion is about ppl REACHING OUT for God but Christianity is about God REACHING DOWN for man. And that is so true.

In Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam...just to name a few, salvation of ur soul is 100% dependent on ur SELF performance. Heaven-hood is qualified by a summation of ur lifetime's merits. Therefore, God is not an active participant. He only observe from a far away place... almost like us watching tv... non-intrusive...impersonal...cold...

In simple term, religions of the world are MAN-centered. Its ALL about U.

But thats not the Truth. God, far from been just our Creator, He is ACTIVELY searching us out night & day. He is ACTIVELY seeking out true worshipers. He is ACTIVELY enjoying us & blessing us. And He is ACTIVELY revealing Himself to us...

In fact, God knows mankind has NO ABILITY to save themselves. Just like a terminally ill person has no ability to enjoy any sort of active lifestyle with his family... man is corrupted to the core with sin that he has no ability to live a righteous life.

Only problem is, man is NOT AWARE of his own terminal condition. In fact, man thinks he is doing very fine, thank you very much. So in order to EXPOSE that condition, God gave the Law thru Moses. I mean He could have given 100 or 1000 - but God ONLY gave 10. Simple enough? Easy enough?

Guess what. From mount Sinai where the Law was given more than 4500 years ago, up until today, NOT even a SINGLE human being has yet to achieve 100% compliance. (With the only exception of Man Christ Jesus as God incarnated.)

because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
(Rom 3:20)

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;
(1Co 15:56)

Yes, u read that right - the POWER of sin IS the Law!

Does that mean the Law is evil??? No. Far from it. The Law is HOLY, JUST & GOOD. Problem is, man is not. Man is a SLAVE to sin - unholy, unjust & corrupt.

Christianity is about DESTROYING that illusion of self-sufficiency, self-righteousness. It is about driving u to the realisation that u NEED a Saviour. That u are stuck in mire clay so deep, u can't pull urself up by urself. U NEED HELP!!! And just like Buddha was searching for the Light all his life after realising how hopeless man is, I got GOOD NEWS for u - the LIGHT has come!

We are ALL Sinners

Bible says:

as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."
(Rom 3:10-12)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Rom 3:23)

But the attitude of most people would be: "Me sinner? NO WAY!"

Their typical argument: "I provided for the family, I put food on the table, I put kids thru schools, I worked hard, I don't cheat ppl money, I don't kill ppl, I don't burn ppl house down... Me SINNER???"

Like the Pharisees in the bible probably would have argued: "We followed all the laws of Moses! We fast 10 times a week! We give tithes faithfully! We keep the Sabbath! We pray loudly 20 times a day! Us SINNERS??? How DARE U!"

Or like the rich young ruler in the Bible: "ALL these things (laws of Moses) I have KEPT! WHAT am I still lacking that I may gain eternal life?"

Are u one of them? Allow me to apply just 3 tests:

1) Have u lied? (White lies included)
2) Have u hated? (Didn't matter u were the victim)
3) Have u lusted? (Didn't matter it was only for 2 seconds)

Have u? No? Wow, u just failed test #1!

Bible Prophecy

We, generally, have an intense desire wishing to know our future. Yet foolishness isn't a word that comes to people's mind when they read their daily horoscopes faithfully, or forking over money generously to mediums, fortune tellers for something little more than "guesses". And often they would bet their last dollar on the "accuracy" of these readings/predictions irregardless how many times they had been "cheated" before. Funny, isn't it?

When it comes to the Bible, the standard for prophecies coming to pass is - 100%. Anything LESS is not acceptable. And yet, there is a "blindness" in the world to this amazing fact. For instance, Jesus fulfilled 109 prophecies in His First Coming - from His place of birth, to His earthly ministry, to His death - in explicit details! Btw, the odd of any single person fulfilling all 109 prophecies is statistically so astronomically huge that it is beyond the mental capacity of our human brain to comprehend.



But there are 3 times MORE prophecies concerning Jesus' Second Coming in the Bible than His First Coming! Why do u suppose God wants to put down SO MANY signs for us to watch out for? I could think of only ONE reason - so that we WON'T MISS IT for heaven sake!!! (no pun intended)

For the Body of Christ - Pls WAKE UP.

Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
(Rom 13:11-14)

For my friends & relatives who have yet to come to know the Lord, pls do not say in ur heart: "Aiya, u Christians have been talking about Jesus coming for hundreds of years already la..." For when u say that, u ARE fulfilling Bible prophecy too, for the Scripture says:

Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."
(2Pe 3:3-4)

To those believers who think Bible Prophecies are not important:

"Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
(Mat 24:32-34)

Let me ask u: "How do u 'SEE ALL THESE THINGS' & 'RECOGNISE THAT HE IS NEAR' when u have no idea what to see & what to recognise?"

Bible says ALL Scriptures is given by inspiration of God and are necessary that the man of God may be COMPLETE, thoroughly EQUIPPED. Let us not neglect more than 1/4 of the Bible which are prophecy related.

For instance, do u know the REBIRTH of ISRAEL is the SINGLE BIGGEST SIGN fulfilled for the past 2000 years after the death of Jesus?!

Decision Time

To my beloved friends & relatives who have yet to come to recognise that u are a sinner in need of a Saviour; who have yet to receive Christ Jesus as ur Lord & Saviour, know that we are living in a time the Bible calls - The Last Days. It is a time of increasing darkness filled with unimaginable perils. But there is HOPE in Jesus.



Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
(1Co 15:51-52)



For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
(1Th 4:16-17)

Current world events are proceeding at a furious pace in accordance with the prophecies as foretold in the Bible. We are living in the generation where more Bible prophecies are coming to pass than in any other generation since the day of Jesus.

Without an understanding of a Biblical world view, it is almost impossible for anyone to comprehend the rapid deterioration of morality, the alarming rise of wickedness, and the never ending political upheavals in the Middle East where there seems to be no solution.

But I got GOOD NEWS for u. The God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob, the Creator of the heavens & the earth, the God of Israel - He has a plan for u. Bible says:

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
(Joh 3:16)

What separated mankind from our Creator - sin - God has already taken care of that thru the death, burial & resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today, ur salvation is only a confession away. Bible says:

But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
(Rom 10:8-10)

There is a way OUT of the terrifying time ahead. And the answer is found in Jesus, and Jesus only.

Ur eternal destiny - the outcome is in ur power to decide.

Kampung Seruit

Today, I followed Pastor Cheng to brother Liz's kampung. Meant to be a "mission survey" trip. But I decided to bring the family along. And it was the RIGHT decision! Hallelujah!


Brother Liz's kampung actually isn't that far away from the city. But it is 100% kampung. Very cool. Brought back a lot of memories.


The kids just LOVED the place. Immediately they went about exploring the place. Even the discovery of a mushroom was a thrilling experience! ;)


The house that we went to was surrounded by all sorts of fruit trees. Among them was this Dragon Fruit tree - John's 3rd favourite fruit. Actually this was the very FIRST time for me to see the actual tree! :P


Soon, the kids from the kampung led us to explore more of this beautiful place. From this very cool wooden platform on the river bank...


...to this rubber "mill"!!! Just AWESOME! (Second time in my life to see it.)


For me, it was dejavu. When I was a kid, I did a LOT of the above... trekking over thick undergrowth... looking for rubber seeds... playing hide-n-seek... :)


The place is just so beautiful. I walked the "street" by myself for about 20 mins looking for interesting subjects to photograph. And I noticed every corner is beautiful...


...every plant is beautiful...


Even the flowers on the fence are gorgeous...


Even the cat!


The kampung trip was supposedly a short trip. But an unexpected heavy downpour delayed the journey back.


But it was "good" delay. We had lunch at bro Liz's sister's house instead, and the desert was NANGKA-CEMPEDAK! The kids had been clamoring for me to buy the fruit for a couple of days already! But cuz of Hari Raya, most fruit stalls are closed. Praise the Lord for the delay! :P


A wonderful short trip.

A video of the last couple of minutes drive up to the destination:

Bethany & Kids

Amazing Grace

Last week I was caught in a flight delay that lasted for 8 hrs in a tiny town! And somehow I got the feeling that it was "purposely" arranged so that I could share the Gospel with a friend - which I did. Hallelujah!


While waiting in the airport, I saw this guy escorted by 3 policmen... a drug pusher now awaiting for death sentence. To me, anyone who is involved in the drug business is "unpardonable". Actually to us, a lot of crimes are "unpardonable". Which, upon reflection, makes God's GRACE so much the more... AWESOME.

Seriously, we all are SO "worthless" - just like this drug pusher. Yet, the MOST worthy of ALL, the CREATOR of heavens & earth, was willing to come down to die for us.....

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
(Rom 5:8)

U think u are willing to "die" for this drug pusher? Not in a million yrs, right? Yet, the Son of God came down to die for him too...