The Flesh, The Law and the Spirit

In Galatians 5:13-26, the church in Galatia faced a two-pronged attack in their new life as follower of Christ. The first attack is the sinful desire of the flesh, that kept asking them to go back to their former self. The second attack is the persuasion from Judaizers that requires them to adhere to the Law of Moses.

They were new believers, but the knew that they are freed, and that the salvation is given for free because Jesus has died for the humanity. But they also struggled with the reality of sin and the flesh.

Now, we all know that to follow the desire of the flesh is not good. We are bound to commit many undesirable things. For a modern context, I choose 'seven deadly sins' to illustrate the examples of sins in modern day life: Wrath, pride, lust, envy, sloth, gluttony and greed.

Different people may have a tendency to fall into one or more types of the above mentioned sins, whether we want to admit it or not. Some are more prone to anger, some fell to lust, others are always envious about what others have, whether it is possession or school results.

One probable solution provided is to follow Law. But is following law a real solution? Law is good to point out what is wrong, but by adhering to the Law, is that really something that is good?

One good example will be the MRT's priority seat. The seats marked as priority seats are reserved for those who are handicapped, pregnant or elderly. The marked are there, so that people may give up those seats for those who needs them. In reality, how many times do we see those things happen? Many times, the youngsters and adults who occupied the seats just refused to give up their seats. But, is giving up the seats marked as 'priority' the real point? the point is this: if you are young and strong, and you got a seat, regardless whether it is marked as priority or not, and if you see someone who needs a seat, you should give up the seat. That is a true act of love. That is what I always do.

Plainly, just following the rule, is not the solution. Follow the Spirit, and we will do more, out of love for the people around us.

Another example will be the maid/domestic helper policy in Singapore. Only recently, Singapore passed a law, that says that all domestic helpers are entitled for 1 day leave / month. This is a new law, or regulation, for non-philipino maids, for they are entitled for 1 day leave / week already. Based on these law, many singaporeans or PRs, christians or believers of other faiths, then decided to 'follow the law'. They give their maids 1 day leave / month, or pay them 30SGD to exchange for that 1 day.

Let's pause and ponder. If we, who are students or workers, need to rest 1-2 days per week, from our works and studies, then what makes us think that our domestic helpers who have been working daily from maybe 6 am to 10 pm, deserves only 1 day rest per month?

As an employer, if you abide to the law and give 1 day leave, are you truly acting out of love? yet, many christians, even leaders in the church refused to budge. On the contrary, I know many non-christians who are more loving than Christians. Are we really Christians who are loving, or are we the modern day pharisees who treasure the law more than the Spirit of God?

Obeying the law, is not necessary obeying the Spirit. In fact, more of the time, the law is used as a means so that we can indulge in our sinfulness. A youth, who are not allowed to buy hard liquor may get an older friend to buy for him or her. He or she then can go to a place without the sign 'no drinking below 18 yrs old' and it will seems that they have followed the law. But is that right?

The only way to escape from the evil desire of the flesh and the sinful life style, is not following the law, but to live according to the Spirit of God. How to live and walk according to the spirit of God?

It is really simple, actually. All you need to do, is to read the bible every day, pray and commit your life to the Lord, and if you are willing to do it regularly, it will be very hard for people not to notice that you are really a person of the Spirit of God.

Positive Thinking, Negative Thinking vs God-Mindedness

I am by nature a very negative thinking person. When something happens, I will always (almost) begin to think about the bad or negative side of it. I believe that has got to do with the many bitter experiences that I encountered with my life, the people I worked with, both in the secular and christian circles. I perceived everything is bad, and has a tendency to be worse.

It is not that I cannot trust God can be good to me. The very fact that I am still alive, and able to serve Him despite of my iniquities and other limitations, shows that God is good. But I have problem to look at things in life and always be positive. These are just a few backgrounds behind my bitterness:

- born in a country where your race is oppressed, even murdered. Where your culture is being obliterated, your school results was being manipulated.
- worked in a company owned by christian boss, who lied, cheated, in order to gain max profit and insulted you for a bottle of mineral water ordered from a hotel.
- served in a church where God's justice is considered as secondary, and the wounded are left behind.

Yes, Life is a choice, some book says. So, choose to be positive. Even many Christian leaders are persuading people to be positive and refused to look at the bleak side of the reality of life.

My question is, is positive thinking the 'right' thinking, the correct thinking? Although negative thinking, or be a negative thinker is not so good for the long run, but is positive thinking entirely right?

I believe that people who insists on positive thinking, even when they quote the examples from the Bible, are wrong. Why? They only looked at the examples that suit their purposes. In the bibles there are a lot of examples where by being positive will not solve your problem!

1. When the nation of Israel is about to be attacked by Assyria, how does it help by being positive?
2. When the Jewish people are about to be wiped out in the book of Esther, can they just be positive and pretend nothing is going to happen?
3. The book of Ecclesiastes is full of negative thinking from a most wealthy, wise person.

The solution to the problems of the world, is not being positive thinking. It is having a godly thinking. It can be positive, it can be negative, but it looks in the Bible, it looks to God to find the solution, and NOT by just being positive.

A casino is bad, no matter how positive you think it is. Yes, it is good for the economy, but it is bad for the society. Positive thinkers will always think of a round-about justification to help them be positive when something wrong happens. By being positive and think that it is necessary to provide 'food' for the country is a wrong way to justify the existence of the casino.

Hezekiah repented in dust and the nation of Judah was spared for 100 years. He was not a positive thinker. He is a person with God in His mind. God granted his prayer request.

When Paul asked the church to be like-minded, I serious doubt that he asked all of them to be like minded in positive thinking. There are always optimists and pessimists among us, and all can contribute in their shares for a godly purpose. A negative minded person can help you see the dark side behind a decision. A positive minded person can help you see how far you can go. Both can be godly persons and work together towards a godly goal. And that, is what I call to be like-minded.

Therefore, though I know that being overly bitter or negative is not good for health (mental, physical, spiritual, emotional), and I need to change to try to look at the brighter side of life, I refuse to admit that there is only bright side to life.

Are you a Positive Thinker or a God-Minded person?

The search is over, it is done

The past few months have been tiring and stressing for both me and Susan.

We are glad, that the search for the church is finally over.

We are thankful, that God still gives us option to choose. In a way, the choices are available for us to compare, not just in term of pay package, but also in many other ways:
1. Ministry exposures and responsibilities
2. Room for character development
3. Consideration for future ministries

As what I have said to anyone who asks me, Yes, money is important, but it is not everything. When our basic needs for living are not covered, even if the church can provide for all the three above, it is very hard to take on any church. But, when the basic needs are covered, we can choose with a cool head without worrying about our stomachs.

After praying, thinking, and even taking advice from many sincere friends, teachers and family members, we have decided to take on the CNEC church. Yes, it is small, but it means that there will be room for me to grow together with the church. Yes, the pay is less, but it means that there will be chance for me to see how God can bless me more. Yes, it is very far from my current house in Ghim Moh, but that means I need to sleep early and wake up early and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Most importantly, both me and Susan felt that the environment is suitable for us to start our family (many young couples), and enables me to develop my interests and passions better, and last but not least, the church is mission-ready and may open the door for us to serve in the mission field.

I guess, the same principal is applicable to anyone finding a secular job. If there are two jobs available, one is giving you, say 2k and the other 4k (I am not saying these are the offers given by the two churches). If 2k is not enough to cover for your family needs, than you have to take 4k. But if the offers are 4k and 8k, whereby 4k is already more than sufficient and 8k will require you to work 80-90 hours a week, require to cheat, to have 0 family time... then it is clear that you should avoid 8k.

Well, maybe some people will disagree with me. some will rationalize, saying "I can earn more money now, and save them, and later when I retire I will enjoy a good life, both me and my family and my children. I may give more for the church and mission as well!" My friend, if you are thinking along this line, then I beg you to rethink again.

Just as the parable told by Jesus about the rich man building a new storeroom, we can never be sure whether we will live past 50 years old. We do not even know whether we will wake up tomorrow or not. Further, the time with the family is so precious, that no money in the world can buy them back once you lost them. Even further, human greed knows no bound, once you have 8k, what makes you think you are going to stop after 50? you will work for more, and more and bring all your wealth into the coffin with you.

Be contented. That is the key to the happy life, not more money.

pray that we will always trust in God to cover all our needs: spiritual, physical, emotional, financial and all.

Chinese New Year in Bintan: PLN Sucks

Yes, Bintan is one of the popular destination for holidays.. but that is not the place where I spent my chinese new year. My hometown is at Tanjung Pinang, a town of 150k population at the southern part of Bintan island (the resorts are located at the northern part). The island of Bintan is actually about twice the size of Singapore, with many under-developed areas.

Well, new year at home, this time round is not actually as sweet as I wanted it to be. In the years before, we always have the problem of water shortage. The usage of water has to be properly rationed, so that we will have enough before the next time the water is going to come again. It is apparent, and many believes, that it is the govt officials trying to make our new year miserable.

Well, they succeeded, and this year it is even worse. For not only we have the problem of water shortage, we also have problems with electricity. The PLN, claims that they do not have enough 'power' to supply for the growing industry, and as such, the entire city (so called capital of the province) was divided into parts, and each take turn to enjoy a 'blackout' period of 3 hours. Sometimes you may experience two blackouts in a day.

The reality? The PLN for Tanjung Pinang uses Diesel to run their generators. For this, the govt subsidized the price of the diesel for the running of the generators to provide electricity for the population and industry. Unfortunately, the clever yet corrupt official retain some of the subsidized diesel/petrol and sell it off at normal market price.

Well, that is nothing new. The Navy did the same thing, by selling off the petrol that is supposed to be used for the ship to patrol in the region. There is nothing new under the sun. The difference is only this, when the Navy did this, the population generally did not suffer, but when the PLN does this, the population suffer.

Tanjung Pinang is much hotter this year than before, and can you imagine a blackout at night, without any power to turn on any fan? when you actually started to perspire 5 minutes following a cold shower at night?

The best is this: The people stay in the central part of the town has already endured a 3 hours blackout in the afternoon, and promised that there won't be any black out at night. And guess what, just when the clock strikes at 12 midnight, the power was cut off again. Curses resounds throughout the city. It is no wonder when many tens of motorcyclist stormed the PLN office and demanded the power to be supplied. 30 minutes later, the lights returned.

In my own observation, ever since the reformation started, there is no improvement in the welfare of the common people.

May God Himself judge the corrupt officials and deal with them accordingly.

Celebrating Chinese New Year in Tanjung Pinang

Tanjung Pinang, the place where I was born, is a town much older than Singapore. By this year, it has went past its 226th years birthday, compared to Singapore which was founded by Raffles in the year 1811, Tanjung Pinang is rightfully the elder brother in the region. Why is that so?

Tanjung Pinang is a port town situated in the island of Bintan, with about twice the size of Singapore. There are many natural ports around the entire island, allowing for trading which is a very important economic factor, in the past as well as today. Starting from the time the Portuguese navigators visited Malacca 500 years ago, Bintan was the thriving island of trade.

I have spent more than half of my life in this small port town. Born there, grew up there, educated there and made my friends there. It is still a small town, except that now it has become a popular escape gateway for many Singaporeans over the weekend and during holidays.

What are the attractions in Tanjung Pinang?
- Nice local food, away from the generic taste of food at hawker center in Singapore
- Cheaper hair treatment, salon and massage parlor
- Places of worship, big Buddhist temple
- Sex industry => I hate to say this, but this is true

Well, the food is not that cheap nowadays, especially after Singaporeans visit and claiming the food to be cheap so loudly. The food price increased over the last decades that it can match the food price in Singapore! That literally makes the life difficult for the local people who cannot afford.

Regardless, I am going to make my visit to my dear hometown today. I have never missed any chinese new year celebration at home, mingling around with siblings, squeezing ourselves in the small tiny bedroom. Visiting relatives, rejecting AngPaos that are always given no matter how old I am, because I am not married. Attending high school reunion, meeting old friends, taking pictures and post them to the net.

I am glad that I can still go home to spend some times with my parents. I am thankful that God still allow them to stay with us. I certainly hope that I soon have the courage to share the Gospel of Christ with them, especially since I am going to be a Pastor soon.

I hope that this year's celebration will be much more meaningful and not just a mere celebration of the season of time.

The TV Moments of my life

If a person wants to appear on TV, then it is better for the person to stay in a smaller country.

I remember that as a youth, I was fascinated and excited when I heard that SBC then (Singapore Broadcasting Corporation) is going to shoot some scene near my house in Tanjung Pinang. I got to see some TV Stars that normally shown in the square-box called TV. To be closed to the Stars, is something beyond the imagination to a Kampung boy like me. To be able to see any of the stars in real person was rare.

As I came to Singapore, I became literally closer to the "stars". They are human after all. They need food, and they have emotions. A couple of them may gather at Adam Road food center to order a late-night roti prata. Some health-conscious ones may workout at California Fitness Center. Some of them who are moms may shop in the NTUC near your house. Some maybe your hostel-mate in university!!

But, never had I dreamed that one day I will have the chance to appear on TV. Not to star a movie or TV drama of course. And not in a criminal show either, hahaha.

1. Mahler Symphony No.8: Symphony of the Thousand. A combined performance at Esplanade Concert Hall at 28th-29th May 2004. To be honest, I knew that the Annual Gala Concert of SSO (Singapore Symphony Orchestra) was being recorded live. But I do not know when it was shown on TV. It is there though, shown on Art Central and for a couple of times already. And there I am, strategically positioned in front of the video camera. Out of more than 600 performers on stage, I was fortunate enough to have the camera stopping on me for many times. I kept a copy of the recording, naturally.

2. "Say Goodbye" a recent Channel 8 show. I was on board the ship Doulos on their final stop in Singapore. I knew that that would be the last times I see the floating bookshop. I went there early to buy some books to support them. And there were the TV crews asking a few of customers whether or not they are chinese speaking. And, there I was, being interviewed in Mandarin. The interview, and another scene showing buying some books, appeared on TV on the 30th January 9.30 pm show.

3. Monday, 8th Feb 2010, there was a news about a senior pastor was interogated for his insensitive comments during a church service. The news was a front page news at the StraitTimes, and because of that ChannelNewsAsia wants to interview SBC regarding their view. They interviewed the principal, and for extra, they intruded into our homiletics class and took a video of the entire class. The recording was shown on TV last night (9th Feb), in almost every news segment of channels U, 8, 5, CNA, and my face was even shown in the news preview :)

Hehe.. it is nothing much.. but this is just coincidence :) it just goes to show, that when you are in a smaller country, there is a higher chance for you to bump into someone, and that someone could be a reporter :))

Where is Love? a seminar by Jose Philip

Where is Love?

That is the title given for the seminar given by the Young Adult Fellowship of Bukit Batok Presbyterian Church, Indonesian Congregation, to Jose Philip, a Prawn Biologist, who started an IT software house in Dubai, and graduated from SBC with MDiv and MTh degrees at the same time, and now an associate with RZIM.

Love is an interesting word. When being asked, anyone will have something to say about 'what is love'. Some may say that love is something that you will know once you experience it. But is that really so? Jose gave an illustration when he first his new born son. He held the baby, and his first sentence to the baby was "I love you." Why did he say that? it is beyond comprehension. Apparently, love is not just about experience, but it is something much grander than that.

So, Where is love? This question really depends on who is asking the question. - A Haitian kid who just suffered greatly from the earthquake will ask the question
- An orphan in Singapore may ask the same question
- A rich kid in Singapore with all the material needs provided for, but whose parents are too busy for him, may also ask the same question.

Is love really a sensual experience? a romantic experience? This question really depends on who ask.

We live today in a world where the meaning of love has become so blurred, that it is so difficult to speak of love without any sexual overtones over it. Love has changed from a four letter word L-O-V-E to a three letter word S-E-X or L-U-S-T.

Jose continued to talk about David Levy, a grandmaster who wrote a book : Love and Sex with Robots, where Levy described about the possibility of Human Robot relationship, where the robots can possibly be tailored made to suit the human needs, be it the weight, size, temperament, emotions and so on. To Levy, emotions, sacred though it is, can be programmed together with other functions of human, including reproduction functionality.

So, is love just limited to human to human? think again. In a recent exhibition in the US, one of the exhibit was a human robot which can talk, and walk, and listen and respond, with skins that feels like human skin. The robot is without the ability to do the house chores, but she can pretty much do anything else (italics intended).

Who you are is defined by whose you are. For a Christian, it maybe easy for us to say that the Cross is the embodiment of all the aspect of love from God to us. But how about those who are not Christians, and who have yet to experience the love of God?

Do you like pleasure? Is there any person who doesn't like pleasure? there are people who feels love when they have pleasure. There are people who needs power. There are people who needs possessions. But one thing to be sure off, all these are just temporal things that can satisfy us temporarily:
- The pleasure that we experienced will ask for more pleasures
- The power that we have will demand for more powers
- The possessions that we owned will shout for more possessions..
our hearts are constantly looking for ways to be satisfied. It is in fact looking for something that is permanent, that will keep us forever in a satisfactory state.

So, where can we find a love that is permanent that will keep us forever satisfied?

If we were to draw our lives and our achievements, what we have, what we experienced, how will our lives look like? Can it be any better than the description given in Ecclesiastes 2? The writer of that passage owned all the things we can ask for:
1. He is probably in the top 10 wisest person in the world, ever
2. He has power and dominion over a large kingdom
3. He has experienced all kinds of pleasures
4. He can have all sorts of women he wanted
5. His wealth is beyond measure
and yet, despite of all these, at the end of the chapter, he described his entire life as chasing after the wind. In short, all these are meaningless, his possession, wisdom, women, power, etc.

In Ecclesiastes 2, we learn that it does not really matter what we have. What matters most is whose we are. God loves us not because of who we are or what we have. He loves us inspite of who we are. God loves us with an everlasting love.

Now, that we have learnt where we can find love that eternally satisfying, what is preventing us from drawing near to Him? It is fear. Fear, sometimes, is a greater emotion than love, that prevents on from daring to approach God's love. That is why, "Fear not" is a common phrase that God, Jesus, and angels used when they started to talk to man. It is also the words that Jesus used many times to tell the disciples of the goodnews, of the gift of eternal life.

Talking about gift, a gift actually reflects more of the character of the giver than of the receiver. Jose gave an illustration of his first birthday present to his wife. He bought her a very expensive 12-string guitar, which even the price for the bag is worth two guitars. That is very kind of him, isn't it? Well, there is only one small problem. His wife does not play guitar. He does. :)

Who, among us, are willing to give what we have for our loved one? Is what we give something that is permanent that will totally satisfying to the loved one? If that something is costly, are we still willing to give it away?

God, because of His love for the world, has given his most precious and only Son, to us, the unworthy human, as something that will be permanent and totally satisfying for us. That reflects the character of God.

Are you seeking for a permanent love that will satisfy you forever? God has given you His Son. Will you accept it?

==== Q & A Session ====
Q: You have been married for almost 10 years. Have your love evolved from the time you were just married until now?
A: My marriage was a rather traditional type of wedding. I was Dubai. There was my friend in Canada, who asked how am I going to live like that (as a single). Then I received a mail from him again, saying he has found someone for me. I replied with a single "?", and he replied with a "!". Later, I received another mail from another friend in Chennai, a 2-page long email saying that the sister of his wife is available. Jose said, you know my parents, talk to them, if they are okay, I am okay. In short, because I am okay, my parents are okay, the girl's parents are okay, the girl is okay, so I flew to Chennai, on 18th August 2001, proposed to her while waiting for gas at the gas station, and on 29th August 2001, got married.

Although my experience is not the same as others, who might have gone through a period of courtship, get to know each other, and tying the knot before the altar, but believe me, the wife or husband that you love so much before the wedding, will be very different after wedding.

My love for her starts from there, and ever since has been growing. It is difficult. It is probably not going to be easier. But nevertheless, it will always be growing.

Q: How can a limited human being like us, able to experience the unlimited love from God, to receive eternal salvation or damnation?
A: We have to agree on two points. We are limited and have a beginning and an end. Assuming there is anything at all, this anything that has a beginning and an end, must come from something that is without a beginning or an end.

In order to be able to experience the unlimited or eternal thing, we must be able to first relate to the being that is already eternal. That is God. Our ability to receive eternal salvation and damnation, therefore, depends on our relationship with Him, whether we accept Him or we reject Him.

Q: How is it possible to experience the Love of God? Isn't it something that is difficult?
A: This question is valid for any type of love, not just the love of God. When your loved one says that he or she loves you, how can you experience this love? it is as difficult as experiencing God's love. Is it by action? someone can act and do something that shows he or she loves you, but does the action really mean love? there are people who are able to act, but does not love. Is it by feeling? someone can love in a very mechanical manner, but does not mean that he or she does not love?

The only thing, that a person need to do in order to experience the love of someone or God, is to Trust. Only when you trust someone, that he or she truly loves you, then you will experience love. Same thing with the love of God. There is no way we can prove that God loves us, except to trust Him in what He has done for us as truly the act of love for us.
Q: If not all people are responding to God's love, how can they still be good people?
A: The ability to perform 'good' is something built in the nature of men. Genesis 1-2 tells that God created the animals, and after each creation, there is a short phrase "according to their kinds". It means, the lion will look like the lion, the bird will look like the bird, and so on. But for human beings, in Gen 1:26, God says: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Men are not made like monkeys or chimpanzees, but like God. Whether or not they respond to the Love of God, they are still capable to do good. The problem is, is the good, good enough to get them to be saved?

Petra Chorale @ Singapore Bible College 7 Feb 2010

I thank God for the opportunity to watch Petra Chorale performed again in Singapore.

Petra Chorale came to Singapore in 2001. At that time, Aris Sudibyo, an SBC alumni was their Conductor. They sang, performed and dance, just like MusicMin, and the difference is only that they do it 10 times better. Though I was never part of Petra, I felt like I was one of them.

Last night, 7 Feb 2010, Petra Chorale visited Singapore again. Under the new leadership of Rubin Lukito (one talented artist who taught me to sing once), another alumni of SBC, they performed at SBC Worship Hall. And Yes, it was such a fascinating performance, such a witness of God's gift of languages, such a display of the richness of ethnic cultures in Indonesia. I almost hope that I can be part of them.

They performed in two sessions. The first, some standard repertoires including popular anthems, hymns and classical pieces. The second, which is the real highlight, was when the team of 30+ people performed in a series of traditional songs, complete with folk dances, and full costumes! It was such a marvel, how each song were being performed seamlessly and non-stop, even though they need to change for each of the songs.

They basically swept through Chicken-Hunting song from Papua (Irian), Sik-Sik Sibatumanikam (Batak, North Sumatra), Monggo (Java), Janger (Bali) and Tokigong, and a few songs which I can't remember. The marvelled crowd readily gave applause after each songs for they were so awed by the richness of the costume, song, and dances combined together.

I left the worship hall, full of praise in my heart. The praise is for the great performance, and also for the greatness of God. My performance days, are over, at least the singing and dancing and performing in theatre. But there are other types of performances waiting for me and you.

Are we able to perform in such a way, that brings satisfaction to God, as much as to our heart, and at the same time, make people marvel at the mighty works of God? We are able to. Where? in our family, our working places, wherever we are, we are enabled to perform for God.

Remember, no matter what you do, God is always your faithful Audience.

A taste of pastoral visitation

Angie, that is the name of the girl I visited last friday.

She is only two years old, but contacted a strange disease that puzzled even all the doctors in Singapore. Her body is deteriorating, doctors said that 80% of the chance she cannot survive, and yet, they do not know what is the virus attacking her. They only know this: the virus is as deadly and contagious as AIDS.

They were staying in KK hospital since the previous friday. Every day, the cost of hospitalization is around 1000 SGD. Money, seems to be not a problem to the well-to-do family from Medan who now resides in Pekanbaru. But, money, cannot buy everything. He pleaded, he begged to the professors who visited, that money is not an issue; but against an unknown disease, the doctors are as helpless as he is.

They returned to Pekanbaru yesterday, awaiting the medical report. The report that may ban their entrance to Singapore again, because if proven that the disease is as deadly, it will bring harm to other people with her as well.

I visited Angie last friday, together with my fiancee. She looked lively, except for her lost of voice due to dehydration. She refused intake of food and drink. She enjoyed our company, and smiled a lot, but her expression changed immediately whenever a nurse came into the room. She feared another injection. She feared another bitter medication. Her tiny little arms are full of bruises.

I could sense that she was hungry and thirsty. We were holding a banana, and she wanted to peel it. And we were encouraging her to do it. Half playing, and coaxing, she peeled and put the banana in her mouth, and then her experience changed. She bit the banana, but immediately pull out the entire banana. The throat pain must be tremendous.

The family tried to feed her fruit juice. It was orange juice. She refused and revolted. The father has to hold her down, and used a syringe to slowly suck and pour out the juice in her mouth. she was in pain. but after two, three suckions, she relaxed and I can see the eagerness in her to suck in the juice. She must be really thirsty, but the pain is so strong that she hesitated to admit it. The first rounds of suction have lubricated her throat and ease the pain, and then she could finish the entire 50ml of drink. We are proud of her.

And yet, at the same time, I feel pain within me. Angie is not exactly a polite kid. But she is still a kid. Why should she suffer such a pain, a pain that caused her fear to even eat and drink? and what kind of disease she is having? I am not sure. I can only commit all these to the Lord. I prayed for Angie, together with the famiy in mandarin. The Buddhist family willingly accepted my prayer.

I left the hospital. If this is what it will look like to be a Pastor. I pray that God will grant me wisdom and strength, sensitivity to be able to react and feel, as the patients, people whom I should care for.

Please continue to pray for Angie (not her real name), I pray that her report will be favorable and that her illness will subside. The doctors do not know what it is, but our God is all-knowing, and He is able to save. Life may have all sorts of problem, but we only need to come to God and let Him know about it.

Have you talked to God lately?

Christian's view on Casino in Singapore?

In the leadership class that I was in today, the lecturer mentioned about Casino in Singapore.

Casino, he said, as a Christian, is a bad, bad thing.
but what if we are politician? are we able to simply put it as a bad thing?
he then continued to state that Casino maybe is the way to feed the people.

I could not help but disagree with such a statement. In the first place, Singapore as a country is not lacking in terms of income or food. Yes, Singapore is not growing food, but it definitely have enough money to buy food and other resources from other countries who needed the money from Singapore.

To me, the underlying issue is not to meet the needs of Singaporean, but rather, the government wants to remain competitive. It is not merely about survival, it is about the ambition to become the top or the best.

As I were to become a politician, and a good Christian at the same time, facing the two options laid ahead of me: a good and advanced country with no casino, or a top country with casino, but with many society issue arises from Casino, my decision will be simple and straight forward: no casino.

One thought that tickles me: If Singapore needs Casino to remain competitive, why it does not follow the example of, say: South Korea, whereby the Casino is only for foreigners, tourists and not for the citizen?

The answer is simple, many Singaporeans like to gamble. They have gambled in the cruise, in Batam, at Genting, and who knows where. If they are not allowed to gamble here, the Singapore dollars will flow out. And so, in order to retain the outflowing SGD, the Casino is thus opened for locals.

Well, one may argues, that if they want to gamble, they will gamble anyway. True. But it is one thing to travel out to gamble to Genting/Batam, but it is another thing to have the convenience to gamble near your door step. Who knows how many new gambling addicts will come out every year because of this convenience. Yes, on one hand, the government may be able to help retain more SGD in the country. But at what cost?

Book: Eaters of the Dead (Michael Crichton)

I bought this book quite sometimes ago, from either a flea market last year or from brasbasah complex. This is the third Michael Crichton's book that I read, after the State of Fear and the Sphere. Precisely, I took about 10 hours to read this 200+ pages novel, and finished them on 28th January.

The introduction of the book is quite interesting, or maybe to some people, boring. It is not exactly a novel out of the imagination of Crichton. It is just a re-write of the manuscript by Ibn Fadhlan, an Arab who travelled all the way to the land of the Northmen in the 10th century. It is fascinating, because it discussed about how the original manuscript is lost, how the manuscript is being translated to many languages, how they are being copied and recopied, and some contains more description than the others, how scholars argued about which is the correct interpretation stated in the original arabic texts (which is lost), and so on. Isn't it similar to the Bible? :)

Passing through the introduction, as I began to read the first chapters, I started to feel that I have known the story before. Yes, this book of 1970s was actually put on show by Holliwood in a movie: The 13th Warrior, featuring Antonio Banderas as Ibn Fadhlan as the Arab.

The story started with the Arab having a carnal relationship with a rich merchant's beautiful, and as a result was sent by the Caliph to the North for Mission (to propagate Islam religion, for it was booming then in the 10th century). Along the way, he met the Northmen or the Vikings.

Incidentally, there was a disaster in the lands of the Vikings, and a messenger was sent to ask for this group of Viking warriors to go back to eliminate the evils called Wendols. A team of 13 people was selected, 12 warriors + the Arab, who knew not their tongues and cannot really communicate with them, and very much displeased with their food and how they treated their slavewomen so liberally and openly.

The cut the long story short, the Arab was able to communicate to them afterall, because one of the warriors knew a common language. They arrived in the troubled kingdom, saw headless corpses everywhere. People partying everynight and get themselves drunken, for they dare not face the evil lurks by night who killed people and carried off their heads.

It appears, that the evils, or Wendols as they are called are quite humanlike. They have bigger head, shorter posture, but stronger arms and legs. They liked to feast on human brains and thus the attacks on the Viking villages whenever the mists are there to cover their trails.

In the midst of their mission, they encountered and sought helps from the Dwarfs (Apparently Dwarfs was real in the 10th century). They won the battle, though only 4 of them survived including the Arab. The Arab, having promised the Leader of the Warriors to write down the accounts, produced this manuscript.

As a Post Discussion, the questions were raised by Crichton, who are the Wendols? many of the things written by Ibn Fadhlan are proven true and correct based on archaelogical discoveries. Even the locations or towns, the cultures described, etc. By implication, the mention of dwarfs and wendols must be true as well. It is decidedly thought that Wendols are in fact the Neanderthal man, who were thought to be extinct, but in fact, actually continued to live, perhaps up to the 10th century.

Overall, not an overly fantastic book to read, not much new philosophy, but it gives some insights about cross cultural missions to a certain extent. Read this book if you have time :)

Visiting BodyWorlds @ Singapore Science Center

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made by God"

This is taken from Psalm 139:14 of the Bible. Indeed, how true is this sentence! As we look at the creations, we cannot help but to amaze at the details in the creations of God: the beautiful flower, the four seasons, the spider web. Sure, some may believe that all these are due to coincidental incidences that occurs over the spans of millions of years... but I will stand by my faith, that I was made by my God, who loves me and cares for me.

Last Saturday, me and Susan visited the BodyWorlds exhibition at Singapore Science Center. This is my second visit to the same exhibition, the first one was maybe 4-5 years ago in Singapore ExPo. Anyway, I do not think that I have blogged the previous one, so I had better put this down this time.

If you have not been to one, then it is good for you to grab the chance to visit, while the exhibition is still on, that is until early march. The exhibition featured preserved REAL human bodies, skeleton, faetus, that are so carefully treated to reveal the muscles, the arteries, even the nerve systems and internal organs, of mainly people, but including some animals as well. It may seem like a taboo for someone, but believe me, it is definitely very educational.

The first disappointments to all (including you) is that we were not allowed to take pictures inside the exhibition, so, there will be no posting of pictures here :).

Do you know that an embryo started to have a 'heart' at the age of 4 weeks, and at the end of 8 weeks, basically all the internal organs of an embryo is there already? It is both fun and fascinating to look at the tiny little figures and wonder how they were being woven inside the mother's womb. They are so small, but they are so real and already formed like human... how can some people just anyhow decides to kill them because of inconvenience? of their sins?

Following the small embryos, there were other fetus, from the age of 3-8 months, which are almost ready to be delivered. At this point, I wondered, what happened that may have caused the babies to be exhibited here? the mom was killed in a car accident? definitely not an abortion, for an abortion at the pregnancy of 8 months will certainly kill the mother.

There is an exhibition of "The Artist", a figure posing as an artist in the midst of drawing a picture. The figure is used to illustrate the function of the eyes in perceiving the lights and figuring out the imageries.

There is an exhibition of "The ChessPlayer", a figure posing a chessplayer in deep thought before a chessboard. The figure is used to illustrate the function of the brain and the nerves all over the body.

There is an exhibition of "The Dancer", a figure in the midst of a dancing sequence. Illustrating how the muscles reacted with one another.

Then we discovered a most upsetting truth. The truth behind the reasons why we never received Christmas presents for the past years :(( We found "Santa Claus", fully 'preserved' and presented by ways of his skeleton, muscles, and internal organs. He was accompanied by two of his beloved reindeers, which are, of course, preserved as well. The Fat Santa is used to illustrate the digestive systems, and how accumulating fat can be damaging and causing the arterries to thicken due to cholesterols.

There are still other figures presented, like a person holding his entire skin, which is the heaviest organ of a human body. Another person getting ready to take a shower. A gymnast in the midst of a routine with the Rings, two gymnasts in a balancing act (the female in horizontal position, balancing on the single palm of the male partner). and so on.

There are also displays of human organs in a more detailed fashion. Bones are presented from Head to toe. Brains, hearts, livers, kidneys, lungs, spleens, intestines, colons, duodenums, eyes, ears, are all displayed and explained in great details.

Last but not least, there are some animals presented as well. A huge horse, reindeers (belonging to the Fat Santa), a rabbit, a few chickens, a giraffe and a giant squid split into two, displaying all the sucking discs and insides.

Just a few more facts before I close this blog:
1. It took about 1500 man-hours to finish preparing a corpse and make it ready for exhibition
2. The human bodies presented in the exhibition are donated, mainly by the deceased before their deads, knowing well that bodies will be used for educational purpose.

Looking and gone through all these, it is quite hard to imagine how all these, all our internal organs, how the complex circuits of nerve, blood, digestive systems are woven, apart from a Great Architect, Designer, that is God. To trust all these happened because of cosmic accidents, is something, which I regard as illogical, even in scientific terms.