Happy Lunar New Year!

A few years back when I was getting "serious" with my Bible reading I came to realise that the mystical Dragon is REAL. Yes, as in real LITERALLY.

What is my authority? Job 41.

Job 41 describes a beast called Leviathan. And below are some of its descriptions from the Bible:

14 Who can open the doors of his face?

Around his teeth is terror.

15 His back is made of rows of shields,

shut up closely as with a seal.

16 One is so near to another

that no air can come between them.

17 They are joined one to another;

they clasp each other and cannot be separated.

18 His sneezings flash forth light,

and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.

19 Out of his mouth go flaming torches;

sparks of fire leap forth.

20 Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,

as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.

21 His breath kindles coals,

and a flame comes forth from his mouth.

There are more descriptions. Go and read Job 41.

But why was God telling Job about this TERRIFYING BEAST that He had created?

9 Behold, the hope of a man is false;

he is laid low even at the sight of him [Leviathan].

10 No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.

Who then is he who can stand before me?

11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?

 Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

Well, I guess partly to SHOW FORTH the AWESOMENESS of our CREATOR.

As the Chinese around the world celebrates the Year of the Dragon this year, may fresh revelations of the awesomeness of our Jehovah God so fill your hearts and minds.

A day WILL come when all the creations will come and BOW before Him.

Happy New Year!

Baptism

Hallelujah! Both John & Jane were baptized last night together with their cousins. What a joyous day!

Thanks for all the wonderful products & memories.


For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away;
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever...
(1Peter 1:24-25)

Friendship Park Revisited

Been a while since the family last visited the gorgeous park next door... And what better occasion to revisit than joining the crowds there for the Mooncake Festival! What a wonderful night.

School Revisited

 I know, the classroom looks spooky, but hey, this just brings back so much fond memories. With the exception of the plastic chairs, the classroom looks just like mine...25 years ago? 

That's John waiting for his turn during the "Meet the Parents Day".

Jane did well on her recent poster competition at the school...she got second place! Praise God!

Kampung Sikog Church Revisited

A couple of months back we had the opportunity to visit the church at Kampung Sikog, the church which helped "jump start" this blog in the first place :)

 After nearly 7 years, the place hasn't really changed much...but I have. Not just my hair color, but my theology has since shifted from Word-Faith, Prosperity Gospel branch to... the Reformed  :D

Praise the LORD for the people here.

Ulu Trip

Almost in anticipation of the possibility of an upcoming chance to go for a short "mission" trip I have been roaming around to odd places for the past weeks. It has been fun.

One of which requires a 5 hours boat journey - one way! But truth be told, the boat journey was extremely comfortable. These express boats are fully air-conditioned & even play a good selection of movies.

The most uncomfortable part of the journey was probably the destination itself. With only limited or restricted modern amenities, I do get to appreciate my comfy home A LOT!

One surprising "new" happening I discovered was that many timber camps are now visited by pastors on a regular basis supported by their companies. And that's a great thing. But obviously there are still much work to do done ;)

How the Kids Spent their CNY

Well, the pictures here tell a thousand words...

Yes, even the youngest was not "spared"...

Saddle Brown Cameo

The Cambridge Saddle Brown Calfskin came into my attention a few years back when a Wide Margin Cameo version was sold for more than USD600 on eBay! Ever since I have been on a look-out for one too...no, not the Wide Margin version, but just a "regular" Cameo :)

And recently I was able to get one on eBay. And I must say it is lovely. The Calfskin basically looks the same as a Water Buffalo grained Calfskin only much more supple...which is a great bonus.

Now what I need is a Sea Green or Forest Green Cameo to add onto my collection... Or an UltraMarine Blue... ;)

Lost

Mercy, LORD! Mercy!

Happy New Year, 2011!

Since I am reading Francis Chan's Crazy Love on this first day of 2011, may this video be a blessing to you too :)

Christmas 2010

The opportunity to listen "live" to Pastor Stephen Tong is definitely a highlight for me on Dec 22nd. Greatly blessed by the message.

Thanks to David & Ah Hui - to their amazing love & energy - for organising a BBQ gathering for the youths. And thanks to Chin for opening up his house for this party.

Merry Christmas All!

AccordanceBible 9

My AccordanceBible 8 has since been upgraded to version 9, and it is awesome. It is just incredible. From doing daily devotion to topical study to preparing my coming "sermon"... it is such a joy to use!

Now if only I can save up for that Graphic Bundle & IVP Reference before Christmas :)

New iPhone 4

Haven't had much time to test out the new iPhone 4 yet, but so far the pictures coming out from the new 5mp camera is "delicious"! The HDR REALLY works!

RL Allan ESVR1R

Last week when I came home...déjà vu... a parcel on the floor...

That was exactly how my Allan Longprimer arrived 2+ years ago... on the floor :)  The dear postman, seeing nobody home, just dumped the parcel instead of writing me a "pls come to collect at post office" ticket. Actually, I prefer getting "dumped". LOL!

* ESVR1 Crimson at bottom.

This is a limited edition (well, at least for now) of RL Allan's ESV Reader bible in Crimson color. Though I have loved red bibles for a long time, and have collected some really nice gems over the years, yet this Crimson bible is extra special...

Since my red bibles are all KJV & NKJV, I praise God for this ESV edition. (Allan has another red ESV - Personal Reference edition which I skipped.) But that's not the reason why this Crimson ESV is special...

This ESVR1R is special cuz this bible is for my beloved wife :)

I don't know about you but I am guilty of buying stuff... and then I didn't really quite like it... so I passed it to *ahem* my wife??? Or worst, using reverse psychology - I bought stuff pretending to be for her, but was hoping she wouldn't like it... and I sorta had to receive it back reluctantly??? U know what I am saying?

So I pre-ordered this for my wife. REALLY!

One major reason why I selected ESVR1 is cuz of the REASON for its existence - note taking. Personally I love to mark up my bibles (except the vintage ones). I love to underline, draw circles, draw arrows...etc etc. And I know my wife loves marking up her bibles too... which she couldn't really do with her ESV3. So this ESVR1R is a perfect gift.

ESVR1R is also generously filled with 32 lined writing pages bound at the back of the bible.

And with an Allan bible, you get so much more. Just in case this is your first introduction to Allan bibles, here is a short list of WHY u should save your $$$ for an Allan that will last you for years to come:

The bible opens FLAT... from page 1. This has a tremendous practical advantage. It adds so much to the daily reading experience.

Another critical advantage to all Allan bibles - sewn text blocks. If your bibles pages are constantly "falling out"in chunks... thats cuz they are GLUED. Urrr... come to think of it, a bible that is "falling out" has a higher "piety-look" index... so unless thats what you want, always get a sewn bible.

* ESVR1R at bottom.

Most Allan bibles are leather lined inside. You don't find too many of that anymore... if at all. Not unless those of the by-gone eras, like this Cambridge bible from the 70s!

Notice the "overlapping" of the cover leather for the ESVR1R at the bottom of the stack? Kinda makes the other 3 bibles on top "naked" & "exposed", right? Allan calls this feature - Semi/Full Yapp. It protects those gorgeous red-under-gold edge lining from being scratched too easily.

Then there is the superior leather binding - probably the FINEST in the world. If you are like me who used to get so frustrated with the quality of bonded leather bibles, or even genuine leather bibles that tend to flake & disintegrate over a short time, you will really appreciate these Allan bibles. I don't have enough adjectives or technical knowledge to explain much here. But pls do check this Bible Design Blog out for your own edification :)

Praise the LORD for these wonderful bibles.

Bearing Fruits

Last Sunday my pastor preached a sermon on John 15:1-8, and I was particularly intrigued by - bear much fruit - in verse 8 since God is glorified by it.

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

(John 15:8 NKJV)

But exactly what kind of fruit are we talking about here? How does this fruit look like in real life?

Using my Accordance bible software, with only the downloaded version as the DVD is still en-route, I decided to do a bit of word search on "fruit"... particularly in the New Testament.



What I found is there are 60 hits in 52 verses for "fruit" in the NKJV (NT only).



I can even visualise the spread of "fruit" with the help of a graph :)

Eventually with the full installation (can't wait for the DVD to arrive) I can do more in-dept word study - from Greek to dictionaries to commentaries... and so much more.

But a quick glance at the 52 verses, already I could pick out a few relevant verses related to John 15:8. Here are some examples of the GOOD FRUIT the Apostles admonish us to bear:

“But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.”

(Romans 6:22 NKJV)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”

(Galatians 5:22 NKJV)

“(for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),”

(Ephesians 5:9 NKJV)

“Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

(Hebrews 12:11 NKJV)

“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

(Hebrews 13:15 NKJV)

This is FUN!

Accordance Bible Software

Finally took the plunge to get a "real" Bible software for my Mac. And I choose Accordance.

EBC Line Dancing

Latest Line Dancing outreach on July 4th... testing YouTube in HD :)



Praise the LORD for the Line Dancing Ministry in the church.

True Riches

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

(2Co 8:9)

Recently someone "preached" to me about how Christians should be rich - in monetary terms - because of this verse (2Co 8:9) above. This verse is of course one of the favourite verses for Prosperity Gospel preachers, and many of their "misled" sheep.

Now, let me say this carefully - I have no issue with Christians who are rich in worldly wealth (praise the LORD for them)... but I do have concerns with Christians pursuing worldly riches as a "right" bought by the precious blood of Jesus.

Is 2Co 8:9, therefore, a proof text verse for Prosperity Gospel preachers?

FAAAAAAAAAAAR from it. Let me show u.

If we read 2 Corinthians chapter 8 & 9 carefully, we see that this is a section about GIVING - and not just "anyhow giving", but giving GENEROUSLY & SACRIFICIALLY with LOVE.

Apostle Paul was boasting to the Corinthian church about this amazing spirit...this amazing GRACE of giving the Macedonian church was showing - a clear PROOF of their salvation & genuine love - not because the Macedonian church was rich, but they were in EXTREME poverty.

Paul was admonishing the church to give...to excel in this act of grace...JUST LIKE how Jesus gave His life for us...so that we too can imitate and GIVE RICHLY to others who are in need.

Please read verses 1 to 9 slowly to see this vital point:

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints-- and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you--see that you excel in this act of grace also. I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

(2Co 8:1-9)

Paul was not teaching "HOW TO GET RICH" to the Corinthian church via the means of giving. Nor was he teaching about this "divine right" we have as Christians that we should all be rich in monetary terms.

On the contrary, Paul was very much AGAINST "prosperity gospel":

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

(1Ti 6:6-9)

So was Jesus in many places. Here is just one example:

For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.

(Rev 3:17-18)

What is "true riches" above? Here's how Apostle Peter put it:

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

(1Pe 1:6-7)

Conclusion: 2Co 8:9 is NOT a license to monetary riches. And prosperity gospel is a false gospel.

Seeing is Believing?

In spite of all this, they still sinned; despite his wonders, they did not believe.

(Psalm 78:32)

One of my biggest struggle in reading thru Exodus was - HOW can the Israelites NOT believe in Jehovah God despite ALL those signs & miracles?! WHY?!

More than once, deep in my heart, how I wish I could literally go into the pages of the bible and SHOOK UP those blind fools! I wanted to scream: "CAN'T you SEE that God is REAL?!"

Yet, despite the 10 plagues...despite the parting of the Red Sea...despite hearing God's thunderous voice on Mount Sinai...despite ALL the signs & wonders, Bible says: "They DID NOT believe."

Now, forward the time to the time of Jesus... Again, we see a period of time whereby God fully manifested His glorious power in the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ through such an outpouring of signs & wonders.

Jesus touched the lives of thousands & hundreds of thousands. From the poorest to the richest, from the outcast to the most educated...Jesus touched the lives of all classes of people. His fame went throughout Judea & Samaria. Everywhere Jesus went, Bible says MULTITUDES followed Him.

Yet, despite ALL that, Bible says there were ONLY 120 disciples in the Upper Room, in fear, awaiting for the "promise of the Father". ONLY 120 out of the thousands & thousands & thousands who had been eye witnesses of Jesus' miraculous ministry.

ONLY 120.

Measured against much of today's "corporatized" churches, Jesus was a DISASTER, a MAJOR FAILURE! What happen to the "convincing" power of signs & wonders? It defies logic, doesn't it?!

What then is the purpose of signs & wonders? How are they applicable to the Church today? Well, these questions are beyond the scope of this article.

What I want to say is: When we, the Church, is seeking signs & wonders as a means to making believers...as a means to convince an unbelieving world... it is DOOMED to failure. And extremely dangerous. But most importantly, it isn't biblical.

There is ONLY one way - by the preaching of the Gospel.

Yes, it sounds like such foolishness. Yes, it sounds so weak & beggarly. Yes, it sounds so naive. Yes, it sounds so boring. Yes, it sounds so low-tech... Well, at least thats how it sounds to unbelievers, that is.

But what does the Bible say?

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is THE POWER OF GOD for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)

The Church is called to be faithful in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ - the death, burial & resurrection of Jesus Christ!

And that is the ONLY way God has ordained to save souls!

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

(1 Corinthian 1:21-24)

Seeing is NOT believing, but the righteous shall live by faith.