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MALAYSIA AS I SEE IT AFTER 54 YEARS - JAMES GONZALES (MALAYSIAN INSIDER)

2011-08-17T15:47:00.004+08:00

Like everyone else, I grow older every year. I take it in my stride as advancing in age is an optionless game for all of us. It is not my age that gives me a sense of trepidation, but what is happening in our country as we celebrate 54 years of independence.

Why should I be concerned at my age? I am, after all, a senior citizen, and someone who has a reasonably comfortable life. The reason I worry is for the future of our children and grandchildren. As I ruminate over the events of the past one year, I see the country I live in as being ambiguous, reticent and bogged down in a self-made crisis, which should never have ever cropped-up in the first place.

The Malaya or Malaysia I grew-up in the 50s and 60s is today beyond recognition. When I was growing up, we, as children of all races — Malays, Chinese, Indians and Eurasians — used to go to school, play games and celebrate with merriment all festivals. I am proud to belong to such a generation.

Today, I see a very polarised society, where our children only mix and associate with their own kind; definitely a disturbing trend in our country. We allow racial polarisation to permeate to all levels in society. It seems to be a gradient moving with no one trying to halt its rise. The minority seems to be trampling over the majority with their myopic and chauvinist views under the guise of nationalistic, racial and religious agendas.

Tolerance, understanding and mutual respect for one and other seems to have gone out of fashion. It is Malaysia’s multiracial population who are responsible for the fruits of our country’s success, peace, progress and prosperity. Malaysians of all races and foreign soldiers fought side-by-side against a common enemy during the emergency from 1948-60.

Many made the ultimate sacrifice of giving their lives for their beloved country.
It was the unity and sacrifices of all our people which enabled us to defeat the enemy, and for us to live in peace and harmony today. We stood together again when faced with the confrontation with Indonesia in the 60s. It was a trying time then, especially when Soekarno was elucidating his rhetoric with his infamous slogan, “ganyang Malaysia”. Thankfully, we had our friends, the British, Australians, New Zealanders and Gurkhas, with us during our hour of need. And a friend in need is definitely a friend indeed.

Malaysia draws its strength as a nation from its multiracial mosaic. Diversity in any country, including Malaysia, is an invaluable asset, which should be capitalised upon. Our forefathers built this country on the premise that there are and will always be tangible solutions in our quest to solve the problems arising.They knew how to drive hard bargains and compromise on issues, without wounding their fellow Malaysians. Definitely the hallmark of mature and esteemed leaders. Compromising, after all, is a sign of strength in one’s character, not weakness.

Where is the Malaysia whose foundations were laid by noble men like Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak, Tun Dr Ismail, Tun Tan Siew Sin, Tun VT Sambanthan and Tan Sri Khir Johari? Definitely not even a shadow of what they envisioned it to be.

Today, no thanks to some of our “so-called” educators, a print media, political protagonists and “has-beens” and NGOs, the doctrine of fear and spiteful diatribes are continuously being churned out by these senseless characters. Not in the least bit concerned about hurting the feelings of their fellow Malaysians, even our schoolchildren. And they do it so blatantly!

What is baffling is that the silent majority of civilised and decent Malaysians seem to be turning a deaf ear to these propagators of disharmony. Even our democratic values such as the right to vote according to our conscience are being questioned, with castigation on a section of our citizenry just because they voted for a certain party. Is it not the constitutional right of every Malaysian to vote for any party as he or she wishes?

We seem to be more interested in the sexual escapades of politicians rather than focusing our attention and channelling our resources to more productive purposes.

Can we not have employment in the private and public sectors and student intakes in all educational institutions reflecting the racial composition of Peninsular and East Malaysia? The World Bank Report on the brain drain problem is indeed very disturbing, citing the one million Malaysians now working overseas. Isn’t it sad that our finest citizens are serving other countries, some making international waves, when they should be assets to the country? Why is this happening and what concrete measures are we doing to arrest this trend? Why have we allowed the present situation to deteriorate to such a level? Where are the good and gracious Malaysians who make-up the majority of our population? Why have they not voiced their concerns about the deterioration in race relations?

Former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah recently said that Petronas made a whopping pre-tax profit of RM90 billion last year, and yet the poorest states in Malaysia are the petroleum producing states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak.

Our poor rankings by Transparency International continue to worry me. We were ranked in a dismal 56th position last year. Is enough being done to eradicate or at least drastically reduce corruption? Escalating prices continue to be a cause of concern to the rakyat, hitting the middle class and lower income groups adversely. According to the Economic Intelligence Unit, prices in Kuala Lumpur have increased by 25 per cent over the last two years.

However, being an eternal optimist, I can also still see light at the end of the tunnel, and would I like to believe that better days are still ahead of us. Malaysia continues to offers its citizens a good quality of life. And the Asian Development Bank recently reported that Malaysia can be an economic powerhouse by 2050. We continue to be a nation blessed by the Almighty, having been spared from catastrophes like Japan and New Zealand. Even our neighbours have not been so fortunate.

We take pride in promoting tourism with the tagline, “Malaysia, Truly Asia”, showcasing our multiracial montage and cultures and our diverse cuisine, which is something we all can be proud of. And we also offer tourists some of the most affordable hotel rates in the world with a variety of scenic tourists’ spots all over the country, which can enchant any tourist.

Tell me, how many countries in the world have restaurants opened 24-hours a day? Very few! As a nation, besides our warmth and hospitality, we are noted for our friendliness. We were recently ranked by HSBC as the ninth friendliest nation in the world. Isn’t it a remarkable achievement and a tribute to our people? Then, why do we give space for a minority to tarnish our image internationally through their misdeeds.

Seldom do we realize it, that even the weather has been kind to us. And this is despite the high humidity and the heavy downpours which at times results in flash floods. A fact that is always highlighted to me by my friends who work in Europe, when they inform me how they have to endure the harsh winters there, where temperatures can fall to as low as -25C! My friends always draws parallels between Malaysia and many countries in Europe, and highlight to me the positive attributes of our country, particularly in many areas in the services sector, where some government agencies are opened seven days a week.

And to our credit, and for all our grumblings, no one is ever turned away for free medical treatment at any of our public hospitals or health centres throughout the country. We now even have 1 Malaysia clinics for our people, another virtue of our country. The prime minister’s call for acceptance rather than tolerance of 1 Malaysia is indeed timely, and will be welcomed by all decent, peace loving and harmonious Malaysians. But to realise this vision, we have to ensure that we go down hard on those trying to divide our society and create a chasm among our people.
As we march on towards the status of a developed and high income nation by 2020, let us begin a renewal to make our country akin to that of the 50s and 60s, in which I have had so many fond memories.

Let us with one voice say there is no place in our country for extremism, bigotry and intolerance. We can do it if there is a concerted will among our people and if we can cross the ethnic and religious divide. We must always appreciate the fact that we are fortunate enough to celebrate our differences while simultaneously valuing our oneness.

Just the other day, I looked out of my window and saw a big bird and a little bird eating.
Then, the big bird went towards the little bird and started feeding it. Initially, I wondered why, but later I realised it was not because the little bird could not eat, but because the big bird cared for the little bird.

Do we care enough for each other as Malaysians irrespective of our race and religion or are we only concerned with our own kind? God bless Malaysia and its people.

A MALAYSIAN NIGHTMARE IN LONDON

2011-08-10T13:30:00.007+08:00

When BBC showed the guy who was robbed while he was injured, I was in disbelief. They pretended to help him and then proceeded to rob him while he wriggled in pain and in confusion. I was more angry when I found out he was my countryman, a fellow Malaysian.

What is happening to the world? What was going on in these youngsters' (I should called some of them criminals) minds?

These are the reasons I came up with...

1. The absence of family values where either the young ones became independent too soon or they are coming from a dysfunctional family.

2. The absence of good churches for these young people to belong to. When they stay outside of the family circles, who is teaching them good morals? The media (mostly entertainment) and peers? The amusement (literally, amuse means without thinking) taught them laziness and peers taught them competition. I want to have what you have, if not I rob.

3. The absence of healthy youth centers or clubs for them except football and bars.

There is no justification for the crime that was done on my beloved Malaysian youth. Don't blame society or government or whatever. What is wrong is wrong and remains wrong no matter how you see or say it.

Let us pray that Christians in London and greater England will come back to the roots of John Wesley's faith. Apart from Christ centered life, everything will eventually fall apart!

I PRAYED FOR LADY GAGA YESTERDAY

2011-07-26T10:50:00.004+08:00

Although Amy Winehouse is not my kind of a singer but I felt for her when I heard the news that she passed away. Yesterday, something tugged in my heart that begged this question, "Did I pray for Amy Winehouse when she was in trouble?" That question troubled my soul. Immediately, I prayed for Lady Gaga that she would turn to God and become a great influence for young people everywhere to do what is in the will of God.

Sometimes, Christians (that includes me) can become armchair critics and condemned people like they are beyond God. I remembered my pastor said one time fifteen years ago in a camp of praying for Stevie Wonder as God impressed upon him. It was like out of the blue. Last year, I heard Stevie was very much involved in church and ministry. Perhaps he has been doing all these already I don't know. And I am not saying that prayer did something to him but maybe, just maybe!

So, I will continue to pray for Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, and Bruno Mars, not forgetting my 'beloved' Katy Perry and Taylor Swift.

WHAT IS SUCCESS IN THE EYES OF GOD?

2011-06-01T14:04:00.004+08:00

Looking back at all the things I have done (both good and bad) since I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, it dawned on me that I have not done much. Compare to what? Compare to who? Then I had a great discussion with God in my mind.

What is success to God? When we think of success, first thing that comes to mind would be "NUMBERS"! For me, Rick Warren is successful! From nothing to about 20,000 members in 15 years or more, correct me if I am wrong. Is it 'numbers'? Or does God view as success someone who who started off as a clerk and went on to become a CEO

I am at a disadvantage to argue against all these because I am writing as one 'not successful' to most people. So, what is success to God? Can Rick Warren or David Cho (former pastor of the world's largest church) consider success? I believe these mega church pastors or even Billy Graham who had preached to millions all over the world should hold on to the word, "success" loosely. What do I mean?

Take for instance, Rick Warren. Is he the only one that caused the church to grow exponentially? The answer is obviously 'no'! Yes, he worked hard and tried hard but it was thousands of Christians as a Body that made it "successful"! The same goes to David Cho of South Korea. It was the thousands of believers who prayed and toiled to see tremendous growth in his church. Billy Graham's crusade saw hundreds of volunteers worked their heart out to organise evangelistic events for him. Not forgetting thousands of them invited their friends to the crusade, worked with them and followed up on them when Billy Graham went back to his hotel room to rest. But we would say of these famous men oh how successful they are. But what about the thousands of unsung 'heroes' who toiled at the background out of the glare of publicity.

What about the person who led Billy Graham to Christ? What about the ones that led Rick Warren, David Livingstone, John Wesley, Hudson Taylor to Christ? Are they not 'succeesful'? I seriously think everyone should hold on to the word, 'success' loosely as all of us are being gracefully used by the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus Christ. People flock to hear famous men and women out because they are 'successful' and that's a fact we all have to accept. The same reason young people watch American Idol rather than TV3's Akademi Fantasia. They prefer Lady Gaga over Norah Jones

The main reason I am writing this piece is that all of us can be 'successful' for God as long as we are still breathing! We do not have to sulk just because we missed some things in life. Or feels like failure just because we do not have the numbers!

What then is success to God? He who...

1. Obeys God's Word on a daily basis.

2. Enters into doors of opportunities when God opens up for him.

3. Helps those in need when we meet them

4. Everyday, has a worship of God mind set.

Say this to yourself two or three times in succession, "I can be successful to God

OSAMA IS DEAD! LET'S NOT CELEBRATE!

2011-05-04T11:39:00.007+08:00

When President Obama announced that Osama had been killed, some people were confused. One young chap came back from school and told his aunt that Obama died. His aunt was shocked and asked who told him. He replied his teacher watched CNN and told him that. One Chinese newspaper had written the same mistake. Obama was killed!

There were some celebrations in the US when Osama died. Some people condemned those who celebrate as it was not appropriate as a human being died. Some people who lost their loved ones in Osama's terror activities felt justice had been served. And not surprisingly, some people mourned for Osama and condemned Obama for ordering to kill him.

Your perspective in life will determine how you react. Some feel that Osama did the right thing because he stood out to USA and Israel in bulllying Muslims people. In case you didn't know that the late terror kingpin killed more Muslims than any other groups of religious people. Is violence a right thing to do to right a wrong? Does doing another wrong justify the wrong being done? In fact, everyone would argue that he is right and others are wrong. No one knows what right or wrong anymore. We are super confused.

What a Christian should do here?

1. We do not celebrate when someone died as Osama is also a soul who is lost without Christ. When I think of Osama, I remember the terror-laden Saul in the New Testament. Thank God he repented and turned the Christ and became the greatest evangelist Paul.

(Prov 24:17-18) Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him.

2. We learn that justice will come when we do wrong. Either from men or from God. Osama or Obama, everyone has to come before the great judge, God Himself.

3. We cannot do wrong to right a wrong. Instead, revenge belongs to God. We are forgiven by God so gracefully and we should also forgiving those who sinned against us. It's hard but it's necessary! It's easy to say but hard to do but it's Christlike thing to do.

4. Let us turn to God and pray for everyone that God's will be done, in heaven and on earth!

MY HEART MATTER

2011-04-06T13:40:00.003+08:00

There was this song I used to sing along, "Do you know where you're going to?" by Diana Ross. What is happening to the world today and what am I really doing right now? Do the young fellas today still have a bright future? Can the highest technology save this world from crumbling apart? This past year or so, I am doing some soul searching myself!

I was scratching my head recently and asking that question, how come scientists had cracked every secret of human being and yet to find a cure for cancer after trying for decades? I even screamed, "Where are all your miracles of old, LORD?" and the echo came back almost instantly albeit differently, "Where are all your hearts?"

That's it, folks! The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart! Do we still have the heart of the disciples of old, both Old and New Testaments saints? Do we really have faith to believe that God still does miracles? Do we really want miracles to happen? Do we really believe that even though the world is falling apart that God is still in control?

So, I zoomed in on the heart matter. Have I lost the first love that I used to have with God? I remembered somewhere in August 1986, I looked up to the sky in repentance and Jesus came into my being, freed me from all shame and guilt! It was a touch I would never ever forget! I was so excited and thrilled. I was on top of the world and relationship with God was super close. However today, as I grew mature, I felt somehow lost that loving feeling. The Holy Spirit again lately prompted me to recover that first touch that would reignite the fire again. There is this voice (almost nagging me) that says, "Your later years would be the best years of your life!"

Today, God is shaking the world as He prepares Jesus to come again. We don't need a prophet to tell you today that the earth is reeling like a drunkard!

(Isa 24:20) The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls--never to rise again.

As the world is getting from bad to worse, I would want to build my house upon the ROCK! God is looking around for strong vessels in these last days to use for one last push of world evangelisation! Thousands upon thousands who call on the Name of the JESUS will be saved! Is your heart ready? Are you prepared for God's powerful move before Jesus comes again?

NOTE: The Bible also says that there will be a great fall away of many believers in Jesus! These are those who build their houses (lives) upon the sand and when the storm comes, "Banggg..." they fall!

WE WANT YOU OUT! NOW!

2011-03-04T11:38:00.003+08:00

Lately, the world is engulfed with the uprisings and revolutions against dictatorships and iron-fisted rulers who fine dined while the people are sidelined and suffered lack of dime to dine. These rulers had conveniently forgotten the masses where they supposed to serve. Governments are set up mainly for two things - 1. To implement good things and 2. To weed out the bad. And all these are done for the betterment of its citizens and the rights of human being created in the image of God.

Why now? Some say, it was because the young people today consider themselves global citizens thanks to the Internet and they want to be treated as equals and as participants. You ignore them, they fight you to the face!

As a pastor, I believe everything happens today especially big events is somehow tied in with the prophecies of the Bible. The uprisings today will not end with the Middle East and North Africa nations but it will happen all over the world. This will be the beginning of a ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT, a global system interconnected with all the nations of the world - where human rights and justice are common issues. The United Nations will assume full powers to persecute rogue leaders wherever they may be, any part of the globe.

Few years ago, Sudanese President was indicted for crime against humanity in Darfur, Sudan and still has not been persecuted yet. Therefore I believe soon, the ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT will devise a special force to deal with these perpetrators by capturing them for trial or imprisonment.

Today we have the Hague International Court of Justice where the head has warned Gaddhafi from Libya to watch out. This sends a signal to all leaders who are thinking of murdering oppositions who demonstrated against them.

In years to come, there will be people asking for this ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT to be set up so that it could monitor all lives that no one should be marginalised or killed by the leaders.

And after that the Anti-Christ will rise up to take control and desires to be worshipped as God. He would be given absolute power and absolute power corrupts absolutely! He would wage war against all those who hold on to Jesus and His gospel! Why? These people would not worshipped him.

The Bible says...

(2 Th 2:8-11) And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.

(Rev 13:5-9) The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. He who has an ear, let him hear.

Another event may happen too. After the uprisings are over, Israel would be hated even more for its stand on security and its Palestinian policy. And Ezekiel predicted that nations around them would one day gather together to try to destroy Israel. This would result in Armageddon where nuclear weapons would be used.

Then, Jesus Christ Himself would come again, this time not to save but to judge! To fight those who destroy what God stands for! And ultimately, to rule the earth He had created. To restore everything the Anti Christ had broken down.

The world will not be a better place until the King of kings rule! The young people today may ask for change but it may never satisfy them. Only Jesus Christ can fill all of mankind innate desires for well being! Nothing else can ever replace!

CAN SOMEONE HELP? I WANT TO DIE!

2011-02-10T09:09:00.006+08:00

Today, STAR paper reported about suicide cases in this country following some recent suicide happenings here. There are averagely 60 suicides per month last year. And this is only those reported cases. What about the thousands who contemplated suicide? And the most troubling thing is that the high risk group is from ages 16 - 25. These are from the prime of life and the greatest potential within them in society.

Christians, counselors and especially youth and Young Adult ministries, we are so relevant in today's pressure cooker's world. Everyone tries to push their way up and the temperature is rising! The youth are so vulnerable and many had fallen into deep pits of despair with no mechanism to come out. There must be more centres for counselling where young people feel accepted and free to share. And please, there shall be no condemnation by adults as already they are feeling the heat of broken life.

What can Christians or Church Ministries do?

1. Embrace the problematic young people with genuine love and open arms. This will open them up to talk.

2. Take them seriously and don't ever provide them with easy answers, such as, "Take it easy, no worries, small problems only"

3. Engage them in a long term - not just one off thing.

4. Have support teams to deal with broken relationships, maybe start one "Restoration program" for the youth in trouble.

5. Involve them in helping people, letting them see that their problems are not unique.

6. Strengthen them through dialogue with the Word of God, the double edged SWORD! Perhaps start an apologetic class, strengthening their faith in God.

7 BILLIONTH PERSON - IS THERE ANY PLACE LEFT?

2011-01-27T11:30:00.008+08:00

This year, 2011, the world will have its 7 billion people somewhere in October. Is the world capable of holding 7,000,000,000 people? Definitely! But would it be easy? Definitely not! In 2025, they estimated that more than 70% of world's population will be in cities all over the world. Which means, no one would be interested in the farms, tilling grounds and scraping crops. This means the world needs to develop genetic engineering of foods and do it fast

The experts believe that it wouldn't be a problem for 7 billion people or even 10 billion people living together but the real troubles start when everyone wants to consume more foods. The ideal thing to do is that the rich have to consume lesser food (I doubt they can) so that the poor can have enough, so to speak. Speaking of attitudes of human beings, I strongly do not think they will get better.

The Bible clearly says,

(2 Tim 3:1-4) But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God

So, the adage, "survival of the fittest" rages on! To each his own! The rat race will not stop until the final cheese gets wholly gobbled up.

And then there is this number 7 thingy. It speaks of completeness in God's Word and perhaps, 7 billion would be another sign of the soon coming of Christ!

What Christians ought to do....

1. Live simple lives. Don't go into heavy debts or at all.

2. Have that theme in life, eat to live and not live to eat.

3. Be the light and salt to your world!

4. Glue your eyes to Jesus as you serve Him!

5. Always be aware that you are not just a statistic in the 7-billion-people world but a significant individual God can use for His kingdom!

HEY! CAN YOU STOP THE RISE?

2011-01-14T09:18:00.005+08:00

As the world develops and its needs arise, so would be the prices of foods. Next generation, many people predicted that wars and figthing would be caused by expensive foods and scarcity of water. Moreover, floods and natural calamities have caused crops to fail and food prices to escalate.

Back to my own backyard in Malaysia, that one small bowl of Meatball noodles cost me RM6 (big bowl costs RM7) that drink of coffee with milk RM2. My breakfast that day, RM8. I am talking about a normal road side coffee shop! (That shop lah)

One brother in church was conversing with me about profiteering. He said when 1 kilo of sugar was raised 30 sen, the teh tarik and coffee a cup rose 10 sen respectively. Hey, do they know how to calculate or not??

I am concerned for the future of the next generation where everything becomes more expensive. In Chinese proverbial saying, 'finding two meals' simply means able to live without much problem. But I wonder the younger generation coming up to society able to "find three meals or more" or perhaps difficult even to find two meals.

Yes, water in Brisbane river and Brazil is rising and so does the food on earth!

Solution: Choose what and where to eat. Eat within your means. Most importantly, we eat to live and not live to eat.

HELLO TWENTY ELEVEN!

2011-01-04T10:13:00.004+08:00

Whew! What a year that was! It was crazy November and December months in 2010 that I thought I could even collapse and die! But God saw me through and His grace is super sufficient! All glory to God!

Things God enabled me to experience in 2010 ....

1. Youth Enrichment School (YES) 2010 - evangelism class

2. Started POWER SUNDAY for the youth

3. Dad's baptism - had to be the most memorable of them all!

4. Graduated to Masters in Ministry after 10 or more years!

5. Had a great Cambodia missions trip - it was the most memorable one that I could remember.

6. Had a wonderful Christmas service in church (most of my family members came)

7. Had a powerful Watchnight Camp with Rev. Ruth Ch'ng - highlight - baptism and some miraculous testimonies

8. Squeezed out four Vineyard quarterly magazines - the last one was the Team's most happiest to date.

9. Huge Camp ninth season was one of the best to date - God moved so powerfully in our midst!

10. The Christmas Shoebox Gift campaign - visited three children homes and was so touched by what I saw.

11. The Youth Leadership Summit (YLS) was a success - Encourage, Enable and Empower the youth were what I got most from all the teachings and preparations.

12. Had a Christmas open house for neighbours and some of my wife's collegues - great way to build relationships.

13. Reaching out to Uncle Yaw before he died and how God used Ps. Anne and myself to help his brother entered in Rumah Charis Old Folks Home.

There were some great moments and some not so great moments! But the Hand of God was all over my life! All glory to Him alone!

I envision a great twenty eleven!

TEAM POWER!

2010-12-02T08:50:00.006+08:00

As I led a team to Cambodia recently, we had such a great time together! First of all, definitely it was God! All glory to Him! But there was this element of a great team!

Some of the traits which associate with team power...

1. Humility - We know we needed God and each other to make it!

2. Communication - We were clear on our tasks and everyone connected

3. Unselfishness - We looked out for each other.

4. Positive vibes - No faults finding with each other. There was mutual encouragement.

5. Collaboration - We just fitted into our tasks!

6. Clarity - Everyone knew what to do and we just did it!

7. Emo control - Everyone controlled their emotion well.

With this kind of a team, God can do great things!

CAMBODIA - IT'S HARVEST TIME!

2010-11-16T10:20:00.005+08:00

Everywhere we went, we see paddy fields, ripe unto harvest! That's Cambodia at this moment! God is doing great and wonderful works there! The Son is shining brightly everywhere we went and even government and village heads were impressed with the works of the Christians! We went to a house of a certain village head and he gladly allowed Christians to operate English classes for the villagers!

We go there with the intention of blessing them, instead we are tremendously blessed by them. Happy faces welcomed all of us when we visited homes and there was no dusting off of our shoes! Children were simple and adoring and loved everything that we did (nothing extraordinary that we had done)!

I was told that a certain village we visited was initially rejected the Christians and the church. Things began to change when one young girl was set free from demon oppression!

Another leader who took charge of children's home told us about how street children were fewer today compared to years ago! This was because the children were helped and they now have the opportunity to live in a great environment!

I have been to Cambodia about 7 times but this time, I felt different! I felt like Jesus was embracing the Cambodians there in their own humble and simple ways in a greater measure!

God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble!

God bless Cambodia! May the latter rain pour and rain on the whole country with God's grace and power! Truly it's harvest time in Cambodia!

KATY PERRY - GOD STILL LOVES YOU!

2010-11-06T09:01:00.002+08:00

Few of us gathered in the cell last night. It was supposedly cancelled but we went ahead with prayer and worship. After watching a touching video, we quickly got into prayer, led by the Holy Spirit. I strongly felt the urge to pray for Katy Perry.

Katy Perry is the daughter of Keith and Mary Hudson, Assemblies of God pastors. She grew up in the church and her parents were very strict with her. The more she was pressed, the more she rebelled. And the rebellion overflowed when she became a pop star. But everything went wild recently when she married Russell Brand, an English comedian and actor. They got married in India in a Hindu ceremony. In other words, she either renounced Christ as her Saviour or she has not even received Christ in the first place.

I don't know why she purposely wanting to hurt her parents or to send them a message that, "I am free to do what I want and you will never able to stop me".

Katy Perry is just like so many young people today who are angry at adults in their strict and seemingly unwavering hold on them. Even in the early years, there were already signs of rebellion, like asking "Why can't I watch Smuff?" or "Why can't I dress like that" or "Why can't I kiss a girl even though I like it?"

To all these young people out there, God still loves you. You are never too screwed up for God to embrace you! His grace is simply overwhelming.

Yes, Katy Perry's parents are heartbroken to the core but Katy, it is not about your parents but about your life! Jesus Christ is the only answer to life's fulfilllment. Your fame will not satisfy you. Neither are your money, husband, marriage!

Come back to God while there is still time!

HAVE U GOT ENOUGH?

2010-11-02T14:24:00.003+08:00

13-16th DECEMBER! Yes! Those are the dates for HUGE Camp 2010!

Every year, almost, for the last seven years, HUGE has played a tremendous part in the growth of Christian young people in Malaysia. Some of them practically grew up in Youth Alive of Malaysia's various programmes. I remember the first time I (as a youth pastor) went to join as a participant in a program many years ago and have never turned away since. I eventually ended up joining them as a committee member.

As a result of the long haul commitment of the Committee, today we could see great improvements as far as youth Ministries are concerned. I often wonder what would be the next big thing up the sleeve of God for the next generation! I believe it is going to be huge! My vision for revival amongst the young people has never diminished even a little! Instead, my anticipation has grown!

If we have a puny God, we will have puny goal. But if we have a huge GOD, then we will have huge GOAL!

I always believe in long haul effort and not blow hot and cold. I have seen enough of young people who dropped out of God's best for them because they weren't committed enough. Just wouldn't stick long enough!

So, I will be anticipating HUGE 2010 to have huge impact to all the campers and also the YAM committee.

WANG LEE HOM - YOU'RE THE MAN!

2010-10-22T10:46:00.004+08:00

Wang Lee Hom, I am impressed! This guy earned a fortune but would not live luxuriously. I am thrilled when he said he helped the needy, working with World Vision! This is exactly what the Bible is saying about money! Nothing belongs to us and when we have loads, it must be used wisely and meaningfully for society.

But I am still grasping the way he lived, why he chose to live like an ordinary man - I feel for him but I am happy he looks beyond money.

Major Chinese dailies reported that Mandopop star Leehom Wang would not spend his hard earned money on material things.

“Buying sports car ... I think it’s meaningless. “There are many people who need our help. I work with World Vision and every year, I want to help the needy more.”Although Wang, who is also an actor and film director, has made a fortune, he has spent his money wisely.

The artiste is currently driving a second-hand car, worth NT$60,000 (RM6,075). It was a present he gave to himself on his 33rd birthday last year. Also, his house has only a bed, a computer and some music equipment. To save the environment, Wang had not bought any new clothes for the last 15 years. During the interview, he showed the pair of socks he was wearing and said it was a present from Jackie Chan.

Other superstars have a collection of cars in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Among them, Cantopop star Aaron Kwok has 13 luxury vehicles worth over RM100mil including five Ferraris, two Lamborghinis and a Mercedes Benz SL-class. Jay Chou’s collection included a Mercedes Benz SLR722 (about RM3.8mil) and some antiques.

(From Star Paper this morning)

ROY IS NO JOY!

2010-10-19T09:03:00.002+08:00

When I saw Liverpool this season, I was reminded of Leeds United. I started my love for football with Leeds United and how I adored them. Now they are languishing in third tier in English football league. I fear for Liverpool which I have supported for more than 30 years.

Before the premier league began, I was full of hope when Roy Hodgson came in as coach. I was overwhelmed with anticipation when he retained Torres. Now, I began actually to miss Benitez! Roy is no joy for Liverpool!

Some MU fans have started to give names to Liverpool - LiverBoo; Liver pool of tears; etc.

I think Liverpool needed a coach who can "kick" some buttocks! I know it sounds evil, we actually need a person like Alex Ferguson!

So, Roy, if you want Liverpool to be on top four, be tough!

LEE KUAN YEW AND KWA GEOK CHOO

2010-10-08T11:38:00.003+08:00

I have to be frank with everyone. I dislike politics for their twists and turns and politicians have to often side step their principles for public acceptance. Maybe I have seen and heard too much of bad politics here in Malaysia. But just across the causeway, a country almost birthed at the same time as us tells a different story. A story I came to admire. Of course I heard of many Singaporeans looking down on Malaysians and there will not always be perfection yet I salute these two Singaporean icons.

Just few days ago, the beautiful wife of Singapore founding leader Lee Kuan Yew passed away to the sadness of most Singaporeans and many Malaysians as well. I read many things said about her and I found nothing negative about this towering woman. Surely a life well lived!

I received an email from one of my church members, Peter Kuan and I liked what he said. Here it goes....

Hi everyone, For 1 leader to change the habits and behaviour of so many people, making professionals out of gangsters and hooligans all in a matter of a few decades is a miracle. Singapore went from being a backward society with almost zero natural resources to an advance society with per capita income comparable to the most advanced societies in the world, with almost 90% of its population owning their own house is no small feat. That 1 leader is Lee Kuan Yew whom I always admired and respect. My respect now extend to this man seen not only as a great leader but also as a wonderful and dedicated loving husband.Though LKY is not a Christian, but like Christian who swear before God in their marriage vow; LKY took his wife in sickness and in happiness and until death do they part.Personally I think I have learnt from LKY and I still have a lot more to learn from him.

Peter Kuan

I pray for you, Lee Kuan Yew, to soldier on not only for Singapore but for the good of the whole world.

PEACE AND WAR!

2010-09-29T15:51:00.005+08:00

Can these seemingly "heroes" achieve peace?

For the last few weeks, the world has again put its focus on the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Most people had already given up on these talks before even the negotiations began as both parties hold on strongly to their own interpretations of events.

Israel only willing to give in just few parcel of lands to the Palestinians while the Palestinians want the whole of East Jerusalem as their new capital. As far as the Prime Minister of Israel is concerned, Jerusalem is non negotiable.

There are few things that might come out of these talks...

1. Palestinians may be willing to just grab whatever Israel give to them and declare a new country called Palestine. After that, they will discuss further with them about other things.

2. I have written on this before that Israel may give up East Jerusalem as an international city and to be guarded and ruled by UN or an international Force (Suggested recently by an ex Prime Minister of Israel). East Jerusalem is very important to the Jews and the Palestinians because the Temple Mount and the Al Aksa Mosque are located there

3. The talks failed and Israel will be blamed for the impasse. They will be hated by more people of the world. Even US and Europe may wash their hands off Israel.

The third outcome could be in sync with what Revelation spoken of in the Bible. Israel will be hated more and more as years go by! Many nations which alligned themselves with Israel will one day fed up with them and even go against them. And the Bible in Ezekiel predicted of a gathering of nations to attack Israel. When you see these signs happening, Christians, be prepared to disappear to heaven in a flash!

The news about Israel is very fascinating to me (I don't think the world even bother) because it speaks of a faithful God who has spoken a few thousands years ago is so accurate to the dot in His Word. It is still coming together like one big jigsaw puzzle!

I AM A VOICE FOR MY GENERATION!

2010-09-22T12:04:00.005+08:00

Lady Gaga is not only a famous singer with millions of fans world wide but the pop singer is also an activist. She released a video Friday asking Senate (voting House) to overturn ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, which prevents gays, lesbians, and bisexuals from openly serving the military. Now it is like gays can serve, just don't tell that you are gay, that's all!

She said, “It is my belief that no one person is more valuable than another. Anyone qualified to serve this country should be allowed to do so.”

It is none of my business to see Lady Gaga fighting for rights of gay people and also none of my business when she invited four gay veterans discharged from the military as her dates to the MTV Music Video Awards.

But when she said she is "a voice for my generation" I felt uneasy straightaway. Almost two thousand years ago, John the Baptist described himself as a voice in the wilderness, saying, "Prepare Ye The Way of the LORD!"

Here is the contrast:- Lady Gaga uses her talented voice given by God to cry against God's Word while John the Baptist used nothing of his own to cry for people to turn toward God.

Lady, you are NOT a voice for your generation but a voice for some people. Some people just want everyone to agree with what they do. This generation needs God! This generation needs to turn back to the ways of God. This generation needs to be warned of the impending wrath of God coming and we are running out of time! God has waited with 'bated breath' to hear a voice that turns people back to God!

I have nothing against Lady Gaga! But I am saddened by the way she chose to use those words, "I am a voice for my generation". Generation??

BURNING QURAN - BURNING BRIDGES

2010-09-09T11:19:00.004+08:00

Terry Jones, pastor of the 50-member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida is going ahead of burning the Qurans on 11th September 2010. This has angered Muslims all over the world and got responses from governments across the globe.

First of all, I blame the media and all kinds of publicity for carrying out the news of a small group of people and making them famous all for the wrong reasons. And for me personally, I abhor the act of burning the Quran and letting the terrorists (who bent on extreme interpretations of the Quran or any religious books anyway) have another bullet in their twisted reasoning.

To me, why burning the Quran is totally unacceptable...

1. It will cause more misunderstanding between Muslims and Christians

2. It is a deliberate act of provoking anger to another faith.

3. This has nothing to do with love that Christ came to promote and lived by.

4. This will do no good in terms of reaching out to Muslims

5. Christians in Muslim majority countries may have to subject to some difficulties because of distrust created by this act.

If this Ps Terry Jones have still some sense of who God is, then please don't burn bridges to Muslims by burning their Qurans.

DON'T YOU "RACE" ME?

2010-08-20T13:29:00.004+08:00

The "Race" issue is starting to hot up in Malaysia with politicians, some racist leaders, few religious fanatics, one newspaper, one headmistress and many hidden ones! And few more days, we are celebrating 53rd Merdeka on August 31st! And the 1Malaysia that was initiated by our Prime Minister is slowly and surely tearing into many pieces.

History tells us that the main culprits of riots in whatever forms always started with influential leaders and extremist newspapers. The ones who were affected and killed were the common people who went about their lives, trying to make a living.

What can Christians do in these times of uncertainty in a country where God has put us in?

1. Pray for the nation.

You cannot love someone or a nation when you are always judging. But when you pray and let the love of God flow through you, then you are doing something far more important than those leaders who shout and rant! God can do something where no politicians can ever dream of.

2. Smile.

Always use your sweetest and gentlest smile whenever you meet someone, whether they are Malay, Chinese, Indian, Dusun, Iban or Kadazan. When someone is angry with you, reach out your hand with a smile and it will make an immediate difference. (I tried that before while driving).

3. Make friends from different races.

Do you have a friend from other race? Can you go football with him? Can you both watch a movie together and then go Mamak? Can a friend from different race find comfort in you and then he/she goes home to tell his/her family about it, thus creating a truly harmonious 1 Malaysia on the ground? (I tend to be very friendly to all, especially the Malays, because they are more Malays in Malaysia)

4. Do something good to those who is not the same as you.

Have you visited any friend not from your own race when he/she is sick? Did you buy any present on their birthdays? Perhaps go to visit a Malay orphanage or old folks home and cheer them up?

Let us all not fall into the tricks of racist leaders and get all riled up. Let us do little things on the grounds and if each Malaysian start to do this, this nation will have a better future!

I REJOICE GREATLY AT YOUR GENEROSITY

2010-08-05T15:54:00.003+08:00

40 US billionaires pledge half wealth to charity

NEW YORK (AFP) - Bill Gates and Warren Buffett think fellow US billionaires should donate most of their vast fortunes to charity -- and they revealed Wednesday that 40 are set to do just that.

"Forty of the wealthiest families and individuals in the United States have committed to returning the majority of their wealth to charitable causes," said a statement released by www.givingpledge.org.

The Giving Pledge, announced just six weeks ago, is the brainchild of Microsoft mogul Gates and investment guru Buffett who want to convince the richest people in the country to give 50 percent or more of their fortune to charity.

As of Wednesday, the group includes CNN founder Ted Turner, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Hollywood director George Lucas, as well as Buffett and Gates.

Buffett said they simply started working their way through Fortune magazine's list of 400 US billionaires, who between them have an estimated net worth of 1.2 trillion dollars. "We probably called somewhere between 70 and 80 people on the Forbes list. It was a very soft sell, but 40 signed up," the chief executive of investment firm Berkshire Hathaway told reporters in a conference call. "We've made a terrific start."

The idea is to squeeze morally-, not legally-binding pledges from the super wealthy.
There'll be no group decisions on how money is spent or when. Instead, club members are to set an example by funding philanthropic pet projects, such as health, education and arts -- and preferably sooner rather later.

"You don't have to wait to die to give it away," said Bloomberg, a media entrepreneur and major philanthropist whose worth is estimated by Forbes at 18 billion dollars. "It never made a lot of sense to me why you'd want to change the world for better and not be around to see it."

US billionaires have been out of favor with the public and politicians since the 2008 financial collapse. The pledge scheme might burnish their image. "Business people are pretty widely mistrusted and seen as overwhelmingly self-interested," conceded investment banker and newly signed-up pledge member Tom Steyer during the conference call.

"Warren and Bill Gates' point is an emphatically different one." Apart from good PR, the scheme raises the prospect of eye-popping amounts of money flowing to charity.

If Gates and Buffett secured pledges of half the wealth of the 400 richest in the country, that would total more than 600 billion dollars, according to Forbes magazine estimates.

Gates alone is the second richest man in the world according to Forbes, with some 53 billion dollars, which places him narrowly behind Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim, with 53.5 billion.

Buffett, the second richest American, already announced in 2006 that he wanted gradually to give away ALL of his fortune estimated by Forbes at 47 billion dollars.

Buffett said that many had not been called yet and that others were simply unavailable. He would not say who had refused. "I won't name any specific names," he said, adding that he expected the project to grow over the next year.
"You know, we don't give up on them. Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future."

This is a tremendous piece of news ever in this broken selfish world! Although Christians have given greatly all throughout its history, we can continue to give. I rejoice greatly at their generosity with these billionaires but I would rather give all glory to God Almighty. It was all His money in the first place and sharing is His idea!

HEY JHO! WHAT'S UP?

2010-07-30T10:21:00.009+08:00

Low Taek Jho, a Penang Kiah is now world famous, at least in the entertainment world!

Excerpt from Yahoo News....

His big-spending ways have made him the talk of New York’s night life scene. The operator of New York’s Pink Elephant Club told The New York Post that Mr. Low spent between S$69,000 and S$82,000 there a night. The baby-faced Malaysian also reportedly spent more than $218,000 on another night with his entourage at club Avenue this September during Fashion Week.

His current globe-trotting lifestyle covers places like Los Angeles, New York, London, Abu Dhabi, Kuala Lumpur and St Tropez. It was in St. Tropez where he and Paris Hilton reportedly chalked up a whopping S$3.8 million bill at the exclusive Byblos nightclub. The pair are rumoured to be dating after Paris was photographed topless on his luxury yacht in what the Hilton heiress has referred to as “heaven on water”.

In an interview with Malaysian paper The Star on Thursday, Low revealed the source of his wealth. At twenty years of age, he started an investment fund called The Wynton Group with US$25 million from his family and nine other investors made up of schoolmates from the Middle East.“As of today, Wynton’s investments stands at in excess of US$1 billion.

Despite his growing reputation as a party animal with deep pockets, the Arab-speaking multi-linguist claims reports about his big-spending party lifestyle are exagerrated. He insists it is his Arab childhood friends and investors who are the ones splashing out on the parties and not him.

Either way, with a bevy of models on his arm, an endless supply of his favourite Cristal champagne and a red sports car from Jamie Foxx as a birthday gift, you won’t find him complaining.

He is also close to Usher and Leonardo Di Carprio (Star of Titanic and Inception) and planning to do a Hollywood movie here in Malaysia. In his 28th birthday celebration, actress Megan Fox was flown in to join the party!

I think we need to ask two pertinent questions in regards to money as far as God is concern...

1. How do you get the money?

2. How do you use your money?

I don't know whether Jho is an inspiration or not but I know one very clear Scripture verse that speaks to me personally -

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:36)

I am not jealous or what because his enjoyment is none of my business but I challenge Christian young people to seek first the Kingdom of God which is the very reason why God puts us here!

THE FATHER OF I-THINGS!

2010-07-23T13:12:00.008+08:00

Steve Jobs - You are THE Man

GO GAGA GAGA

2010-07-20T10:23:00.005+08:00

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was voted Time List 100 most influential people in the world. Last month, she was voted 4th Most powerful and influential celebrities in the world and ranked 2nd most powerful musician in the world.

She loved singing and art and decided to be a singer. She was fond of the group Queen and the song, Radio Gaga. When she typed Radio Gaga onto her phone and it auto corrected to Lady Gaga and then the name stuck! "Don't ever call me Stefani anymore!" she said.

Last month too, she became the only living person today to have 10,000,000 friends on her FACEBOOK, slightly more than President Obama.

What is the reason teenagers and music lovers going GAGA over Lady GAGA? Is it her dressing? Is it her body? Is it her music? Perhaps the lyrics? Or simply the eccentricity of life she portrayed? People just hated routine nowadays! They want to see weird people doing weird things in wierd fashion (I am saying weird only as my own opinion because millions see it as cool)! Another singer, Adam Lambert with his own perculiar brand of singing has made it big too!

If Christians introduce JESUS to people today, what picture should we paint HIM to be? Can people at large connect with JESUS CHRIST? Should He be hip like those celebrities?

I think Jesus Christ would beat them all when we just introduce Him not as Fashion Icon but as God who goes GAGA over mankind! Where He gets dirty when needs arise. Where poor and troubled people get His touch of mercy. Where vulnerable, marginalise and powerless people get help coupled with a divine smile. Two thousand years ago, He did the same and He is the same yesterday, today and forever more!

PS: If Jesus set up Facebook account, He would easily surpass 100,000,000 followers who will DIE for Him just by a whisper from Him.

HOW CHRISTIANS USE FACEBOOK

2010-07-09T13:20:00.007+08:00

Facebook is a 21st Century phenomenon! The world has not only become a global village but super interconnected! And every Christian if it is possible, should have a Facebook account. There are few reasons...

1. We use Facebook to get connected with other Christians instantly and this has enabled us to encourage one another faster than before!

2. We use Facebook to be a light to those who have yet to embrace Christ. Share our testimony and instantly, thousands get the messaage! It is a powerful tool.

3. We use Facebook to inform of events, both privately and "churchly".

4. We use Facebook to enjoy clean fun of communication and destress by playing games!

Few things we need also to watch out for...

1. Don't simply share anything on Facebook. Some words can hurt, bite or even get us into trouble with the authority. Some may cause disunity.

2. If you know of a 'friend' who is vulgar, causing harm in any way, there is this icon called "BLOCK"! Just a click of that would block him or her forever out of your Facebook list of friends. (I have done this myself)

3. If you find a comment which seems to you as disturbing, there is this icon called "DELETE" and solve an immediate problem. Then, send this friend a personal email (or Facebook inbox) and give your friend a piece of your mind.

Do not give another comment out in the open and blow everything out of proportion! Christians need to deal with anger in the right way! It is a personal dispute and so should settle internally! Facebook is not a place to deal with personal issues!

All in all, I enjoyed Facebook a lot! I find it both useful and de-stressful!

THE OCTOPUS HAS SPOKEN

2010-07-07T10:17:00.004+08:00

The World Cup football is at the tail-end and according to FIFA president, Blatter, it was a success! I truly enjoyed the matches I watched but some matches I have to say were a little suspicious.

I believe the Bookies, those syndicate which dwell in football betting also say, "It's a success!" It is billion dollars business (Yes, with a big B) and they could even influence matches all over the world. Maybe the World Cup is hard but one may never know!

I think the most interesting thing about this World Cup is not Germany but the octopus. This creature had predicted accurately many matches by hanging on to the flags of the country. The latest one is the coming match between Germany and Spain where it clang on to Spain's flag.

How low can we go? To trust an ocean bottom creature in an octopus! I doubt the accuracy of the creature. Maybe, the Bookies own the octopus. They put some octopus food onto flags and obviously it will hang all its tentacles on it. You put on the table a delicious Bah Koot Teh when I am hungry, I will also put my hands and feet on the plates! Just joking!

Well, anyway! I just prayed that peoples in the world are as interested in the things of God as in this World Cup! 22 people chasing after a ball!

I AM CHEERING FOR GHANA

2010-07-01T11:01:00.003+08:00

The World Cup has not been won by an African or an Asian country before. This time, the standard is quite on par and sometimes even better than the Europeans and the South Americans.

I am truly impressed with the South Koreans this time. They were just fun to watch and they thrilled me to bits with their play. Where did they get the energy from? KIMCHI?

So, Ghana will be my team now! One more reason, (maybe the main reason) I rooted for Ghana is this below article from Christianity today...

Ghana: The Team That Prays Together

America's Saturday World Cup opponent is reportedly one in the Spirit.
Ted Olsen

The team America faces Saturday in its second round World Cup matchup is spiritually united, ESPN's Jeff Bradley reports. "We love to sing together, dance together, pray together," Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan told Bradley. "It brings joy to our hearts. This is our team."

Bradley says that spirit continues to the field. "What I've noticed, more than anything, about the Black Stars, is they are a team in every sense of the word," he wrote. "From their pregame (and postgame, and halftime, and pre-training and post-training) songs and prayers, to their disciplined adherence to Rajevac's rigid system that features a single striker, they are true believers that the whole can be greater than the sum of its individual pieces. ... It's 11 together with one goal."

Captain John Mensah (right) told the German news service DPA that prayer is no afterthought.

"We are Christians and we all know how important God is," he said. "We all respect God and we pray every time before the game and after the game. ... We praise God, what he has done for us. Then the next day is match-day, so we use that opportunity to give us strength and help us go on into the game."

The team isn't praying alone. The government and nation's churches have called for united prayers at home for the team.And now that Ghana is the only African team left in the World Cup, Cameroon players Alex Song and Samuel Eto’o both said, in separate interviews, "Everybody must pray for Ghana."

The country of Ghana is 83 percent Christian--mostly Protestant (71%) and Pentecostal (26%). 83 percent of Christians say they attend services at least weekly.

WOW! Ghana! Ghana! Ghana! Go! Go! Goal! Yeah!

SAVOUR THE MOMENTS OF MINISTRY

2010-06-29T13:23:00.005+08:00

My favourite time of ministry: Youth Camp 2010 - 13-15th June

Last Friday, I sent in my last papers for my last course of my Masters in Ministry program after a long 10 years of part time studies. Whew! The months of May and June are overwhelmed with programs and deadlines and gatherings and not forgetting the World Cup. Yesterday, I sat down and enjoyed a quiet time with my mind. A retreat I badly needed.

It is always good to take time to look back at whatever you have done, not to glory in them but to evaluate. Indeed, first of all, I thanked God for His grace in pulling me through. I am not a perfectionist but I certainly am no 'chin chai' (lacksadaisical) man. I just want to give my best if I am called to do something if I have the strength. With God's help, something extraordinary can happen.

I have noticed (not a good thing) that whenever I was busy with activities, I always think this thought, just get it over with. That was the thing of the past. Now, even though I am busy, I will always savour and enjoy the moments of my ministry. Through this, I have learned to expect great things out of what God can do through me. It also helps me to look forward for a great time before an event begins.

May and June 2010. O Thank you, LORD! I enjoyed it!

THE DEMONS ARE IN KYRGYZSTAN

2010-06-16T13:48:00.005+08:00

It happened again, race riots! Kyrgyz are on the rampage and attacked the Uzbeks, killing hundreds of Uzbeks people, wounded scores of others. What in the world is happening! Can't man ever learn from history?

Aren't we all from the human race? Are Uzbeks' blood green? I don't know all the details but live long enough to see the evil of many human beings! They are power crazy, paranoid and violent! The most sickening thing is that when some may not view life as dignified, they take other lives down as well! They just don't care!

What is this thing called race? Chinese, Malays, Indians, English, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Pakistani, Indons, and thousand of tribes and tongues, are created by One God for one purpose, to live together in harmony in glorifying the Creator God. But mankind has so fallen into sin that one must overpower the other just to get what he wants! Not in Kyrgyzstan but practically everywhere! If today, any race (if they are so proud fo themselves) could share food, resources with the poor, NO ONE will go hungry. But no, they choose to see who's the greatest, who's the fastest, who's the sazziest, who's the richest and who's the best!

The World Cup Soccer just started and the score is Kyrgyz 200+ Uzbeks ??. And the demons are cheering on the stadium of death!

PS: Those who killed others will be haunted with blood crying out from the grounds for years or even generations after that. Not only that, those whose families torn apart by this senseless violence will haunt them as well!

SOUTH AFRICA IS NOW THE CENTRE OF THE WORLD!

2010-06-12T15:08:00.003+08:00

The FIFA World Cup is officially on! More than half of the world is watching the first match between South Africa and Mexico. I watched and it was entertaining. Mexico is really good and South Africa is not bad at all! I think I have not watched such good international football for a long time.

In my opinion, I think in heaven football will still be played. I don't think God will abandon such a beautiful game! On earth I may not make a team but in heaven, who knows, I may play with Kaka.

Anyway, my favorite teams, Brazil or England will win the CUP! Or maybe North Korea! You may never know. In Chinese saying, the ball is round.

WHO'S PLUGGIN' THE HOLE!

2010-06-03T14:29:00.006+08:00

Last week, a storm created a big Sinkhole in the middle of a road in a town in Guatemala.

This is the world we are living in...a big HOLE! Someone's got to plug it and that person is none other than JESUS CHRIST! Jesus is the CORNERSTONE for everything! You can be successful in life but success without Jesus is no success at all. And I am not going to apologize for that!

There are several meanings to the usage of cornerstones…

1. A stone that forms a corner or angle in a structure in making sure that the building is evenly balanced and stable when completed.
2. A stone prominently situated near the base of a corner in a building as a foundation stone. Such a stone, often inscribed, laid at a ceremony marking the origin of a building.
3. A fundamental principle or underlying concept: base, basis, foundation, fundamental.
4. An indispensable and fundamental basis: the cornerstone of an argument.

(Mat 21:42-44) Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone (or cornerstone) ; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."

To make it plain and simple, rejecting Jesus means living a life which is unbalanced and meaningless. There is no foundation whatsoever to stand on, no past nor future to base on. These people just live for the present and the only treasure is the pleasure of this world. Without the CornerStone Jesus, eventually there will be nothing but brokenness and destruction.

With Jesus as our Cornerstone, we shall not only stand firm, we are ready for battles ahead in the kingdom of God!

Are you in deep hole right now? Try Jesus!

MOB VIOLENCE - BEWARE!

2010-05-26T09:33:00.006+08:00

I think you should know by now what happened to our neighbour country, Thailand. The present government was not elected by the people but was handed down to them after there was a takeover by the army. Many were not happy because their votes for the nation has become null and void. Everyone has their reasons for doing what they think is right! So, after many years of government that is not voted in by the people, one group called themselves, "Red Shirts" (made me think of Liverpool!!) demonstrated against the present government and caused a lost of lives and a lot of damage to properties, losing billions of dollars.

I am not talking politics here in this entry but about mob violence. The Red Shirts started out in a peaceful manner, gaining a lot of attention, as they demand for elections again. The government talked with them, negotiated, trying to solve the impasse. I thought it would be over when the government decided to hold elections in September this year. Instead of agreeing with it, they rejected it. Everyone wants to get things done and they want it NOW! But anyway, there are reasons for rejecting it that I don't understand.

But what saddened me was the violence both sides created on the streets in Bangkok! Lives lost senselessly! Many people had warned that when a large group gather to protest, it can be dangerous. An angry mob can kill and destroy without realising what they were doing. It was like a herd mentality. A single person may not be so bold but when he/she joins a large group being angry at the same thing, that person can explode!

Recently in Lebanon, a mob had beaten to death and hanged a convicted rapist on a pole without having him go on trial. They actually ripped him from the hands of policemen (they beat up the policeman when he tried to stop them) and did the killing. If a single person, he might not be so barbarious! If they take law into their own hands, one day, they may get killed too for doing wrong.

When I was young, I witnessed a snatch thief being caught and in this group, one person I knew (not so violence one) beat him up. Others join in and before he was handed to the police, he was already blue black. From that day on, I knew the danger of a mob.

So, young people, be careful when you join an angry crowd. Something may happen to you and you don't even know why. Then it may be too late!

CONGRATULATIONS, JUSTIN AND SHER-MAYNE

2010-05-20T11:43:00.009+08:00

This day is a joyful day as this is our first ex-V2 youth committee President to give birth to baby! It was 8.22 AM this morning and a beautiful baby girl came bouncing into the world! The earth is flickering with another light of a Christian baby and pray that she will grow up shining for Jesus and giving the parents, Sher-Mayne and Justin joy abundant!

Congratulations to both of you! And welcome for now, lil' baby girl (Alyssa Kye-Li Yap)! Congrats also to Ps. Leslie and Ps. Jackie for being grandparents.

PS: Another ex-V2 president is 'very' pregnant and she will deliver in June 2010! (Any takers for V2 President!)

HUGGING OUT MAY 13

2010-05-13T13:34:00.004+08:00

Hugging out May 13 - is an article by Praba Ganesan.

This is so well written that I shed a tear or two as I read it. This is the first time I entered two articles on the same day. This can apply to our Christian faith as peace makers as Jesus calls us to become.

Welcome to May 13 Day. We never fail to observe the day — we just can’t say we do since it is taboo.

Odd since this taboo is about an episode told to us in the oral tradition — arrived at through first-person recountings filtered by embellishments, respective one-sidedness and prejudice.

The only thing we are officially allowed to know is that post-election violence in 1969 led to the deaths of many.

Which is why you can empathise with those who want to use it as a pride day, even if the parade has been called off.

How can you fault anyone for interpreting it anyhow they feel like when everything about it is a state secret? You can only misinterpret when there is a sane way to interpret it, and you can only sanely interpret anything if you have the facts of the case. In this case we never had. At this juncture, the quip “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” comes to mind.

But let’s work on what we can establish, and build from that. Those who died on the evening of May 13 and the following days of violence were in the majority from the working class, the poor. Tall, short, funny, boring, with an attractive haircut or not.

The day would have started plain and simple for everyone, and by the time the violence self-perpetuated enough, no one could tell a transgressor from a victim anymore. Which is why I feel deep disgust when politicians tell us in the aisles that that violence reinforces the need to support their politics. Otherwise you never know.
That is not a rejection of violence; that is a threat.

No one wants to be hiding in a corner while many feet shuffle in the dark, with hate in their hearts and arms in their hands. The fear grips you, the anxiety grows and you feel all alone. The sense of abandonment is almost complete.

Of course it is not a desirable situation.

That is why political leaders need to reject violence, not dangle it as a trump-card.
My first experience with group death was when my uncle died in the 70s. Three boys — friends — died in a construction mishap. They drowned in a body of dirt and mud.
I was too young to capture the details, but the large congregation was quieter than most Indian funerals. It was as if they were trying to make sense of the young they had lost. Tragic events need to be recognised and remember, but they cannot be the source of hate. As Theodore Roosevelt put it, “Death under all circumstances has to be a tragedy, if not life itself has become one.”

The Burmese Death Railway, the fields of Normandy or Gallipoli are memorials to sacrifice and unnecessary deaths. Visits and events there are not about celebrating the violence of either side. We go there to remember the dead.

Remembering the cost of violence does not mean you celebrate the violence. We can’t forget the violence of the past because it is painful. It is exactly for that reason we remember it. We can’t consign the victims as unfortunate data from a time we are all better off not talking about.

So what should we do with our May 13 Day?

Since there is a May 13 we regret, why not use today and future May 13s to do things we won’t regret?

That can be a start. List three persons you loathe for their political/ideological beliefs and call them. Say “Hi”, and ask how they are doing. Ask them about what they are up to, and give them a quick rundown of what you are up to. Then politely end the phone call. Your adversaries are not going to change their minds about you, but they are going to find you less detestable. Less detestable is a long way from book club buddy, but it is something.

For my part I offer to hug it out with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. I’ve always had misgivings about the man, but since it is May 13 Day I should try to reduce the animosity.

To the rest of you, go find your own Perkasa member to hug it out with. Happy May 13 Day!

GOD IS A MIRACLE WORKING GOD!

2010-05-13T09:18:00.004+08:00

Hooray, I am taking my last course for my Master in Ministry program and am graduating this year God willing. And this course is so different from all the courses I took previously because the lecturer, Dr. Peter Prosser who is involved in healing and deliverance ministry has shared with us amazing stories about God's miracles.

I want to share a few here in this blog...

Years ago, when Dr. Prosser was in Rome, Italy with his wife, they were taking a bus ride going somewhere. It was 3pm in the afternoon and in the bus, it was filled with passengers. Due to the hot weather there, the people inside were oozing out strange smell of body odour. They wanted to get down from the bus as soon as possible. When my lecturer was seated in the bus, he saw an old lady standing and let her take his seat. And then the Holy Spirit told him to pray for that lady. He sought permission from her and she allowed him to pray. Right after prayer, she stood out and shouted, "I am healed!" People in the bus were suprised and one by one asked Dr. Peter to pray for them. They were lining up to be prayed for and this happened right on the bus itself. One by one fell down under the power of God. Soon, the upper deck people came down to be prayed for.

It was such a commotion that the bus driver was annoyed, parked the car at the side to see what had happened. He knew that this was a religious thing and said to Dr. Peter, "I don;t believe in all these." And Dr. Peter turned around and just said, "Anyway, God bless you!" And as soon as he finished saying that, the bus driver fell under the power of God. He fell out of the bus through the doors onto the street.

Soon, everyone came out of the bus and into a restaurant where the revival continued there. People in the restaurant also came to be prayed for. God moved so powerfully that day, from praying for one lady to ministering to many more. All right there in the public places.

They supposed to come down from the bus because of the smell and at 3pm in the afternoon but they left the restaurant at 3am the next morning!

God is very alive and still does miracles today!

MAY GOD BLESS BENITEZ!

2010-05-04T15:26:00.005+08:00

Liverpool lost (or given away) to Chelsea two days ago has made the latter club the firm favourite for the EPL Title this season. And my beloved Liverpool FC has surely and slowly slipped to become a normal EPL club in the likes of Sunderland and West Ham. But I am still happy that Liverpool "gave away" those three points because if Manchester United takes the Title, they will be lept over Liverpool, to have 18 League titles, one more than Liverpool. So, Liverpool FC is still the Champion of English football - for now! (Unless Chelsea lose to or draw with Wigan which is highly unlikely - and provided Man U wins their last game)

The Reds are still the most successful football Club in the history of English football winning more trophies than any other English club. Liverpool has won a joint-record eighteen league titles, seven FA cups, seven League Cups, three UEFA Cups and five Europeans Cups, an English record.

Looking forward for next season - Liverpool just need to do some equation, add few more powerful players and subtract Benitez!

May God bless Benitez to a better club somewhere - Juventus or Inter Milan.

No matter what, YOU WILL NEVER WALK ALONE (and I am talking about Liverpool)

ET, DON'T PHONE EARTH!

2010-04-27T13:43:00.005+08:00

Stephen Hawkings, unarguably the greatest scientist alive at this moment, spoke something so interesting the other day. He was doing his part for Discovery Channel documentary series to be shown soon.

Hawking warns earthlings not to make contact with aliens right now as they may want to take over our planet's resources before zooming off to their next destination. He said with billions of galaxies, there are bound to be one with living beings..."ET calling! Please contact us....ET... out!"

He's rational and brilliant. Also very Hollywoody for those who loves Sci Fi movies!

As a pastor and a Bible lover, there is One that is coming who may be mistakenly taken as an Alien or deliberately explained away as an Alien! The Anti Christ will try to lie through his nose but God is the One that will blind those wicked ones!

(2 Th 2:9-11) The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.

The Bible tells us that Jesus will come with hosts of faithful believers to wage the last war with those who reject Him and all that He stands for!

(Rev 17:14) They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings--and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."

Who wins at the end?

(Rev 11:15) The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever."

Could it be that Stephen Hawkings know something about the Bible? Or maybe he is 'prophesying' something that is coming?

Well, to me, these are exciting days as well as dangerous times! All the more we seek the Lord as the ROCK of our salvation!

WHERE CAN YOU HIDE?

2010-04-22T10:29:00.003+08:00

When I was in Methodist Boys' School (MBS - Malaysia's Best School), I attended chapel every Wednesday. I still thank God occasionally for those days as it gave me a glimpse of God's love through Christ. One song that stood out during those times was "O Sinner Man".

O sinner-man , where are you going to run to?

O sinner-man, where are you going to run to?

O sinner-man, where are you going to run to

All on that Day?

Run to the stars: O stars, won't you hide me? (3x)

All on that Day?

The Lord said : O sinner-man, the stars'll be a-falling

Run to the sea: O sea, won't you hide me? (3x)

All on that Day?

The Lord said : O sinner-man, the sea'll be a-sinking

Run to the rocks: O rocks, won't you hide me? (3x)

All on that Day?

The Lord said : O sinner-man, the rocks'll be a-rolling.

I read with interest in Star Newspaper the other day that an underground shelther has been prepared somewhere in California USA under the group called Vivos, a company started by Robert Vicino. This bunker (and he wants to set more bunkers in the future) is set up for those who want to escape coming calamity, predicted by Mayan Calender on 2012 and all sorts of eventualities. It is like the modern Noah's Ark but more sophiscated and comfortable, with sufficient food, water and other stuffs. A gourmet foods shop, an urgent medical and dental care center, and a large wardrobe inventory will be among some of the amenities.

More importantly, each unit is allegedly made to withstand temperatures reaching 1,250 Fahrenheit (for 10 days), a force 10 magnitude earthquake, or 450 MPH winds. But it is going to cost a bomb! Even the creator of Vivos said he couldn't afford it!

Can these modern days Noah's Ark withstand God's wrath in the Great Tribulation? History tells us that many kings had devised many walls and fortresses in order to withstand enemies attacks but failed miserably. I don't know but I wish them all the best!

I would rather believe in Jesus Christ, the ROCK of my salvation and my Refuge! The Bible tells about a time of Catching away of believers of Christ much like prophet Elijah's disappearing act. It is widely known as the Rapture! That would be much safer bet than bunkers, no matter how solid it may be.

O Sinner Man - where are you going to run to? All on that Day!

THE SKIES ARE MESSAGING US!

2010-04-16T09:23:00.006+08:00

Latest: CNN - Massive fireball reported across Midwestern sky (latest update). See http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/04/15/midwest.fireball/index.html

A cloud of ash from a volcano in Iceland swept toward mainland Europe on Thursday, forcing up to 6,000 flight cancellations across the continent, according to the intergovernmental body that manages European air travel - CNN

The ash in the clouds can cause airplane engines to shutoff and so, it's no go! Many airports in Europe have been closed completely or partially which affect almost the whole world. Those who have planned travel are frustrated for the disruption. Those who are holidaying or doing business in Europe may have to stay longer there and that will cost them. Even the Prime Minister of Norway is stranded in the US and has to run the country through IPad (thanks, Apple)!

Remember the dust that clouded China a while ago and the freak storm that hit Perth? And now this! Are the skies sending a message to us? Then 2010, so many major earthquakes happened so close to each other, almost like two every week!

Who would have thought Iceland, a small island nation far far away could have caused so much trouble to the world? I was telling someone and have been telling people..."Nowadays, any thing can happen to the world."

As I attended a funeral this week and heard of four deaths close to home these two weeks, I am thinking about my existence here on earth. "Have I given my best to God and lived my best to what I am called to do?"

Testimony: One of the church members' sister died few days ago and before she passed on, she shouted Jesus' name many times and also cried, "Mom! mom!" (who died few years ago). Obviously she saw something so wonderful on the other side.

She has moved on and finished her race. What about our race? How are you running?

WHICH COMES FIRST?

2010-04-09T10:43:00.004+08:00

Our deputy Prime Minister was pressured to answer a vital question whether he is a Malaysian first or a Malay first and he said Malay first then only Malaysian. That's all the opposition wanted to hear from him because by confessing that, the 1Malaysia motto which stated very clearly being Malaysian first then only comes ethnic background, is in limbo, at least for Muhyddin.

I am not dicussing politics here but was thinking about first things first. What Christians suppose to say when one asks, "Are you Christian first or Malaysian first?" Or "Is God first, then ministry second and family third?"

I learned a long time ago about taking things in order, what comes first then second so on and so forth. This is my stand.

I don't want to state which comes first until some decisions I need to make. If I put which comes first, then I am bound by it. It will be like a horserace where everything you do, you would have to constantly adjust back and forth.

In my head right now, God is not first in my life, He is everything in my life! If I am schedule to preach in a church and I saw an emergency which is far more important, I would choose to attend to the emergency. I don't need to play up the popularity issue where the politicians have to everytime!

What if I have to break a law to save a life (I mean an innocent life?) I will save a life! What if I see a Chinese and a Malay in need at the same time which I can only help one? I will see who is in greater need and help him. If I say Chinese first, then Malaysian, then I would help the Chinese fella, instead of the Malay.

(I am not perfect so sometimes I do jumble up some things)

SITIAWAN - A TOWN WHERE I WAS BORN

2010-04-06T13:02:00.003+08:00

(I don't know whether it is a crime to take wholesale this article from Malaysian Insider but when I read it, my heart just keep beating really fast! I know it is a long article but it is quite interesting - especially about the church which started it all; reminds me of renown evangelist from China John Sung who came to lowly Sitiawan town.)

Sitiawan forges ahead into the future
By Sheridan Mahavera

SITIAWAN, April 5 — It really is hard to imagine that Perak’s most booming town was once just a handful of pre-war wooden shops huddled together at a four-way junction.
That is how Stephen Francis Fernandez recalls Sitiawan, back in the early 80s when he just moved here from Parit Buntar.

The way he describes the town centre, it is as if the man-made structures banded together at this crossroad, between Lumut to the west and Ipoh to the east, against the miles upon miles of dark oil plantations that carpeted this part of Perak.

“Now look at it,” he waves his arm around at the estates of houses and shops that stretch out in all directions from Simpang Empat — the ancient nexus that’s now just another traffic-light junction among many other junctions.

That in itself is testament to the town’s growth from remote settlement to near centre-of-the-state status. There are now junctions and bypass roads going to Teluk Intan and on to Selangor and Kuala Lumpur in the south and another one going north to Pantai Remis and Penang.

It may not have a swanky mall yet but Sitiawan has a four-screen cineplex, a Giant grocery store and a Tesco that’s coming up down the road from it. Of the 18 banks and financial institutions, there are exotic foreign ones such as the Royal Bank of Scotland. The rubber and oil palm trees that used to line Jalan Lumut, which bisects the town, have been replaced by shops that sell high-end car stereos, slimming treatments and imported furniture.

The wooden Chinese village house is a fast-disappearing exception to the brick and mortar terrace lots of Taman Samudera and Desa Manjung Raya or the “Venice of Perak”. It is a town where the old Chinaman stereotypes still exist: that of the grizzled old “uncle” in faded shorts or the weather beaten “auntie”, with pockets of hard cash.

Yet Sitiawan is a monument to those ancient archetypes. It was they who cut out a patch of land to call home from the unforgiving wilderness on the banks of Sungai Sitiawan more than 100 years ago and who continue to fuel Sitiawan’s growth.

No play, all work.

Sitiawan’s success is often traced to the incredible Foo Chow work ethic and how they are supposedly a “different breed of Chinese”. It sounds like communal preening, as if something special ran in their blood but the reason may be more environmental than genetic.

It started in 1903, when boats loaded with over 360 Chinese from eastern Fujian in China landed on the banks of Sungai Sitiawan/ Sungai Dinding to carve out a new settlement. According to information at the Sitiawan Settlement Museum, these Foo Chows were Methodist Christians led by three pastors. They had left their homes for this remote part of Perak in the hopes of finding a better future.

The heart of the settlement was the old Methodist Pioneer church (which now houses the museum) whose clergy and missionaries provided welfare, education and leadership. The museum’s guide says that no one was allocated a specific plot of land so the size of a settler’s land was basically determined by “how much jungle he can clear”.

This freedom for each settler to gain as much property was instrumental in creating Sitiawan’s nascent economy that in turn fuelled the boom that it sees now. The settlers planted cash crops such as rubber and oil palm in 100- to 200-acre plots.

Long-time resident and property developer Sam Tuck Wah explains that these holdings were passed on from generation to generation and is an important source of disposable income which is then funnelled into education or invested.

The community’s Christian roots also helped instil a certain moral discipline in the pioneers which they then passed on. “They work long hours and there is no time for nonsense,” Sam, executive director of DKLS Industries Berhad says.
What he means is that in Sitiawan, there is no official entertainment district. There are bars but they are lonely outposts of dim neon lights filled with sad-looking men in the back alleys of the new shop lots.

Carousing, says Sam, is extremely frowned upon by the pious community.
“This is a place where you can concentrate,” he says, either as a student on her studies or as a businessman, planter or amateur investor on making money.

Surrounded by money

By local estimates, Sitiawan’s transformation was a gradual, steady climb that took place over the past 20 years. It was greatly helped by several important mega projects: the Lumut Royal Malaysian Navy base, the JanaManjung and Segari power plants and the Lumut Port. The town is also at the centre of one of Malaysia’s most thriving prawn farming areas. It is also the first and one of the more successful regions for harvesting swiflet nests.

Praise must also be given to the Manjung district council, says Lumut MP Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, as the authority worked to ensure the area’s infrastructure is first-class. In fact it would not be wrong to say that property developers like DKLS Berhad depend on the hundreds of local and foreign professionals brought in by the port’s heavy industries and the two power plants.

High-end homes are also being snapped up by Sitiawan’s many successful farmers and planters.

The port handles mostly bulk cargo and what is termed the “dirty stuff” such as coal, sulphur and clinkers. The air at its neighbouring industrial estate is metallic and smooty as fabrication yards owned by Kenchana HL and IMPSA churn out oil rigs and towering container cranes.

Across the Sungai Sitiawan from Kenchana HL’s wharf, the Universiti Kuala Lumpur has set up its own maritime engineering school. Not far away is the famous Malayan Flour Mills “Ayam Dindings” chicken processing factory. A massive oil palm refinery, a few bio-diesel plants and some shipyards round out Perak’s bustling port.

Retired navy officer Poon Wee Ching explains that the Selat Dinding area is very strategic and was mapped out by the British navy in 1902. Lumut Port and its maritime industries along Sungai Sitiawan are protected from storms and the river is deep enough to handle cargo carriers and huge ships.

Though the professionals and skilled labourers provide a big and steady customer base for the properties and services of Sitiawan, their numbers are matched by the retirees from the RMN base.

“A good 40 per cent of navy personnel will settle in Lumut after they retire. After all, it’s a nice, quiet place,” says Poon. Sam of DKLS Industries Berhad goes so far as to claim that Sitiawan’s population growth is helped by these retirees.

“It’s not like bases in other parts of the country where you retire and you return to your home town. These ex-Navy like the environment, so they stay, they don’t go back. “When a new batch comes into the base, another one leaves. So every year our population goes up,” says Sam.

A reason to stay

The thing about those old uncles and aunties coming to invest their loads of hard cash is that it’s not just their money. A bank officer explains that many of these folks would take out a loan once their children go to study or work in Singapore. The loan would be used to buy real estate, property or financial instruments. A portion of what their child makes would then service the loan.

“Which is why house prices in Sitiawan are higher than Ipoh,” says the banker with years of experience in the district. It’s not just the money that’s being reinvested into the town. According to DKLS’s Sam, the heavy industries are attracting many locals with skilled shipyard experience in Singapore back home.

“They leave for Singapore as bachelors and when they return, they start families here. Which is why even with so many schools, enrolment and class sizes keep going up every year.”

That seems to be a crucial trait for any town or district which spurs development, stops people from leaving and prevents decay. Besides the well-maintained roads, the industries, the hard-working locals, there is a collective sense that it is worth putting money back into Sitiawan and that it is worth staying.

That kind of pride of place is seen in how the locals gush at how Sitiawan is going to be “City A One”.

UNCHRISTIAN WARRIORS!

2010-03-31T11:31:00.008+08:00

In the United States, nine 'Christians' wanted to do something extraordinary for 'God' but 'praise be to God', they were nabbed before they could carry it out. These are the members of the Hutaree, and according to the group's website, consider themselves "Christian warriors." They were preparing for armed conflict with the police in anticipating for the arrival of the Antichrist.

According to FBI, the suspects had been plotting to kill a local law enforcement officer, and then attack with homemade bombs the officers who came to the funeral. They believe in the nearness of the Second Coming of Jesus and before that could happen, they must stop the one world government.

The neighbours did not suspect anything as they trained themselves in the forest near to where they stay.

Whew! I have always believe in one thing, "What you believe today will determine what action you will take tomorrow!" Yes, it is a good thing to believe in the Second Coming of Jesus and I believe He is coming soon too. But we are not (I repeat 'NOT') fighting against flesh and blood but against evil powers in this world (Ephesian 6).

It is not using our own strength to fight them either because our weapons or fire power are not the weapons of the world (2 Cor. 10:4) but DIVINE powers! Therefore, it is through prayer and living out our godly lives that we demolish any power that sets itself up against God!

What you did, Hutaree is contrary to the very words of God!! For God so loved the world (for everyone is precious to Him) that He sent Jesus (John 3:16). The police that you wanted to kill is precious to God whom you serve and would die for! He or she has also a family like yours and have a story to tell!

Christians are representing Christ and that's why everything Christians do or say can reflect Him, either good or bad! The eyes of the world are watching!

Just as we are celebrating Good Friday this week, let us remind ourselves again that Jesus came to earth to do one thing, save the world. Before he comes again to set the kingdom of heaven on earth, he asks us to do one thing, to serve, even to give our lives for others if need be.

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:36).

THE EARTH IS IN PAIN!

2010-03-24T10:35:00.007+08:00

The eerie and terrifying storm in Perth came like a horror movie to many who were caught by surprise. Suddenly, without any warning, hail stones the size of golfballs rained down from the sky. It reminds me of Sodom and Gomorrah! That was brimstones and fire then!

Then I heard of a sudden smog and dust that covered China, a sand storm that brought many parts of China to a standstill!

The Bible describes to us about the skies in the last days...

(Heb 12:26-27) At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken--that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

The earth is groaning in pain like a woman in labour, Paul wrote in Romans! "She" is manifesting cracks that could only get bigger and stronger! The roar of its depth can only be calmed by one Person! The coming of the King of all kings, JESUS!

Are you ready?

PS: When the death angels sent to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah asked Lot to tell all his loved ones to escape God's wrath, he went to warn his sons in laws. The Bible tells us that they thought Lot was joking! The coming wrath is no joke!

THE HEAVIEST FOOL!

2010-03-18T15:09:00.005+08:00

In the United States, one woman named Donna Simpson has a goal in life like most people. But her goal is outrageous and downright dangerous! She wants to become the fattest woman in the world!

She is now weighing 600lbs or 270kg and to reach her goal, she eats 12,000 calories a day and spending USD 750 a week on food, mostly junk food! She stands as the 43rd heaviest woman on record and to win the title as heaviest, she needs to be a whopping 1000lbs or about 450kg. She has to wear at this moment dress size XXXXXXXL!

The worst thing is that she said people are not only paying to see her in all her largeness, they send her cakes and McDonald's gift certificates to help her reach her goal. What?!

Let us make sense out of all these....

1. Why in the world she risks her life to get the title?

2. What is her motivation?

3. Who is really pushing and egging her on?

4. Where did she get the idea?

5. Does she know that she may not even walk with 1000lbs?

I believe she is either being manipulated by someone close to her or she is being blinded by fame and money. People close to her who really love and care for her (family members) MUST tell her to abandon this stupid goal! If they had not said anything at all, then they are as guilty as her if anything bad happens!

May God have mercy on her!

PS: Currently she is the world's fattest mother. The fattest woman to give birth!

SIGNS OF LIFE!

2010-03-11T15:12:00.004+08:00

I chanced upon these church signs on CNN and had a good lift on my spirit. Hope it does to you too!

LIFE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PERFECT TO BE WONDERFUL - First United Methodist Church

DON'T BLOW UP, GROW UP! - First Baptist Church

FAST FOOD SEXUALITY - Westminster Presbyterian Church

COME HEAR OUR PASTOR. HE'S NOT VERY GOOD BUT HE'S SHORT! - Clay Christian Church

FORGIVE YOUR ENEMIES -- IT MESSES WITH THEIR HEADS! - Donelson View Baptist Church

HANG OUT WITH JESUS. HE HUNG OUT FOR YOU! - 4th Avenue Baptist Church

DON'T LET WORRY KILL YOU. LET THE CHURCH HELP! - Church of the Cross

STAYING IN BED SHOUTING, 'OH GOD!' DOES NOT CONSTITUTE GOING TO CHURCH - Northside Church of God

WHEN YOU CEASE TO CONTRIBUTE, YOU BEGIN TO DIE - Midway United Methodist Church

ASPIRE TO INSPIRE BEFORE YOU EXPIRE - Immaculate Conception Church

GOOGLE CANNOT ANSWER EVERYTHING - Victoria Truth Center

SUCK IT UP AND GET OVER IT - Cape Shore Assembly of God

GOD IS NOT MY CO-PILOT. HE DRIVES ME! - Chestnut Street United Methodist

SYDNEY BARES ALL

2010-03-02T13:21:00.004+08:00

Two days ago, some 5,200 Australians posed naked in front of the Sydney Opera House on Monday for a photo shoot by New York-based artist Spencer Tunick.

The mass nude photo shoot in a very cold day was titled “Mardi Gras: The Base” and meant to celebrate Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras last weekend.

As the sun rose, Tunick instructed participants to do a number of poses, from standing up, lying down, and even embracing cheek to cheek, for over an hour.

“I want all couples to embrace and kiss, all friends to kiss and all strangers to do whatever they want,” Tunick said as he directed the crowd.

He said that his work is not about exhibitionism or eroticism but instead reveals the vulnerability of life in a rough city landscape.

Huh? What nakedness got to do with vulnerability? Millions are fully clothed and conspicuously show signs of vulnerability. I think it is a blatant act of defiance against everything normal and good.

When I grew up in one part of Malaysia and I believe in many parts of the world, skimpily dressed humans are considered taboo! And it got shorter and 'skimpier' as years went by. And today, although nudity is not normal, it is acceptable. Today, more young people have already seen pornography on the Internet and just being naked it is like "Okay, so what?"

I believe in the last days, there will be many challenges being thrown towards normalcy and decency.

The questions we must ask are...

1. What they promote, is it glorifying God or God's original intention?

2. Is what they do add good to society?

3. Can their acts be applauded and received by most people in the Universe?

4. Deep inside you, can you be proud of what you are doing and proudly tell it to your family and friends?

Is Sydney and the Opera House stand proud for this act? You judge!

ELTON JOHN AND HOMOSEXUALITY

2010-02-23T15:37:00.007+08:00

"I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent GAY MAN who understood human problems," he told the publication. "On the cross, he forgave the people who crucified him. Jesus wanted us to be loving and forgiving. I don't know what makes people so cruel. Try being a gay woman in the Middle East - you're as good as dead."

The above words are spoken by world renown singer Elton John in an interview with a magazine. Elton John is openly homosexual and is currently married to David Furnish.

When we sinned against God, deep inside of us as Christians, we feel bad. We know we need to confess, ask God for forgiveness and build up enough resistance to avoid the same sin. The danger in sinning against God is when we begin to justify why we sin.

"I abuse because I was abused!"

"He made me so angry!"

"She said evil things against me!"

The devil made me do it!"

The most problematic ones are those who...

1. Do not accept practising homosexuality is sin.

2. Twist the Word of God to justify their action.

3. Slam others who disagree with them to make them look normal

4. Use their talent and fame given by God to promote homosexuality.

5. Use charity as a platform to make themselves look good in the eyes of the world.

The church should...

1. Look to homosexuals as human beings created by the same loving God.

2. Not condone practising homosexuality but realise that there is such thing as homosexual tendency

3. Let God do the judging while we do the loving and forgiving.

4. Dare to speak out against anyone who twist the Word for their own gain.

5. Provide a platform for those who are willing to change their orientation and homosexual identity.

PS: I do give Elton John the credit however for saying the other things right about Jesus except that GAY MAN thing.

LITTLE BIG SOLDIER - JACKIE CHAN

2010-02-18T15:11:00.003+08:00

I went to a movie on Chinese New Year with my wife and her family members - almost 15 of us. It was a Jackie Chan's movie which I used to enjoy when I was young. I was fascinated with his daring acrobatic skills and his funny action scenes. And my wife and I did not know the movie was in Mandarin and we have no synopsis whatsoever.

When I came out of the movie, I was deeply impressed! Normally I see Jackie Chan's movie only for the action scenes but this show, it is for its content. The story is about two warring states, the Liang and the Wei, fighting each other during China's darkest days. It ended out in one fight that all was killed except a Liang foot soldier (JC) and a Wei's general. The general (Wang Lee Hom) was hurt and the little soldier helped himself to being the victor, capturing the prize possesion, the general.

The determination of this little foot soldier in maintaining his stand that war was never a solution won the heart and mind of this general. This little soldier did not even want to become a soldier but was enlisted by force.

To cut the long story short, when he arrived to his homeland, he decided to let the general (who would become king of Wei later) go. The last scene was dramatic that when he stepped onto his land once again, he found out that his state was taken over by another army in China called the Qin. He refused to give up Liang's flag he brought back and was shot to death.

History tells us (if it's true) that when Qin's state tried to conquer Wei where the general had ascended as king, the former general did not want to fight, simply surrendering to Qin state, thus uniting China. There was peace in the land where once the little soldier held so dear. Never had he imagined that as a little soldier, he was involved in the peace process of the whole land of China by convincing the general about the ugly truths of war.

When we do God's work, thinking it could be insignificant, we will never know how God can use it for greater things. Paul never knew Mark would one day write the Gospel when he took back little young Mark as his co-worker. Philemon never knew slave Onesimus could become a Bishop of Ephesus when he chose to forgive him. Someone could have influenced young Billy Graham, David Livingstone or Mother Theresa and thought they could be insignificant but what they did change the world!

The point: Don't despise small things!

JOHN TERRY, RISE UP!

2010-02-10T15:49:00.004+08:00

John Terry, the Chelsea star and England Football Team captain was caught commiting adultery recently with Vanessa Perroncel. John's wife found out about it and brought her two children to Dubai to think things over. Vanessa was formerly the live-in girlfriend of Wayne Bridge, another former Chelsea football player who had a child through her. Ironically, John Terry was voted as the best dad the year previously and all that ended when the sex scandal broke out.

The first game after the news, Chelsea against Hull, the fans began jeering him. They were shouting, "Terry! Terry! Where's your wife?" and when one of his teammates came on as a substitute called Ashley, another famous football star, the crowd was shouting, 'Ashley! Ashley! Watch your wife!" I believe that has devastated him! Thank God his club manager and the teammates are really supportive of him. The club released him to go to Dubai to secure forgiveness from his wife and perhaps heal the marriage.

The last home game that Chelsea played Arsenal, John found out that his fans at Chelsea remained loyal to him. They gave him a standing ovation after the game! It was something that John would cherish for the rest of his life. Friends in need are friends indeed.

"On a personal note I'd like to thank every single fan today, it's a really emotional day for myself and the way the fans have been with me for the last two weeks, honestly it's incredible, I didn't expect that today,' he told the club's official channel.

Things we can learn...

1. Sin has its consequences! It brings pleasure for a short moment but pain that could last a long time, even a life time!

2. When someone is down and out, please refrain from jeering him/her because you will never know when will be your turn. Point one finger at others, four are pointing back at you!

3. We need supporting friends around us when we are down and out! Let us learn to spur one another on and render help to your friends who are hurting.

4. Being famous and rich come great temptations!

John Terry, do not let your wife, children, club, fans and most of all, God, down again!

PS: I am a Liverpool fan and even though I may not like Chelsea but I love people!

THEY SEE LOVE, HAITI SEE KIDNAP!

2010-02-02T16:14:00.011+08:00

They came to rescue the children from suffering hunger, violence and preventing child trafficking from kidnappers for prostitution! But the group of 10 Christians (from Baptist churches) who came from Idaho, United States were caught by the Haitian authorities for taking the children without permission to a neigbouring country. They did it in order to bring the children to orphanage homes in a safer neighbouring country. Their dedication for God and the love for children are supposed to be praised but somehow was perceived as child trafficking and kidnappings.

What went wrong?

1. They thought the authorities didn't mind as the country was plunged into chaos after the terrifying earthquakes. They were lots of uncertainties everywhere in the country and only the right minded people would save the children first.

2. They felt it is urgent to save as many children as possibly so did not check with the authorities first. Those who know the will of God shall not make haste. They were hasty but they have good hearts.

3. The Haiti president was angry because he thought the Christians came with evil intent to kidnap those children for adoptions. And all they did was to love the children who are affected by the earthquake. They already prepared homes for orphanges in a neighbouring country which could be safer for the children at the time being.

4. And then there was a Haitian pastor who helped them and that another reason their confidence was strengthened further.

Let us pray for our ten brothers and sisters who for the love of God and love for the children got caught in a times of confusion. Let us pray that they would be released to their families, clearing their names that they came without any evil intention at all.

May the Lord God grant them and their families grace and peace in this time of uncertainty! The Lord sees your commitment and sacrifice of love!

PAPA, I HATE YOU!

2010-01-27T13:08:00.005+08:00

The below entry is quite disturbing. Readers, especially teenagers, please read with caution.

A teenager in Italy was playing PlayStation II FIFA 2009 that day. And as claimed in a news report, the father always gave him instructions and tactics in order to win. On that day, as usual, the father chipped in and advised the son. The young man was upset at this and scolded the father with some annoying words. This made his daddy angry and he decided to do something he might have regretted for the rest of his life. He switched off the console in anger. The boy jumped up and shouted some really bad words at his dad.

Next came the eerie part. He went into the kitchen and took a knife, went out into the living room and cut the throat of his father. He then cooly (YES, COOLY) washed the knife in the kitchen sink and put it back. The boy then went back to his room and slammed the door. All these he done in front of his mom who still did not realise what was going on. Until the bleeding husband staggered in with hands cupping his throat, blood flowing out profusely.

Thank God the man did not die and was hospitalised in critical condition. The police came and took the boy who did not resist arrest. The Play Station console was brought as gift for his birthday by his dad.

What went wrong? Series of questions need to be asked.

1. Where did he get the (evil) courage to hurt a person with a knife?

2. What makes him so violent?

3. When was the thought of hurting someone with a knife came to him?

4. Did he ever have any respect for his parents, especially the father?

5. Does Play Station II or FIFA 2009 have anything to do with the violence?

First of all I can only speculate on the issue because I do not know all the facts. Looking at the incident, I am shocked at the random violence of a teenager who was just playing a non-violent game. All I can say is that the anger that was bottled inside him was not properly dealt with for a long time. I cannot say that he didn't know what he was doing or losing control. Remember, he cooly walked back with the knife and even took time to clean the blood. If it was a spur of the moment, when he attacked his own father, he would have been frozen in fear after that. He didn't!

I also think he hated his father so much so that he didn't want him to be around. This means he had a bad relationship with his father or both parents. FIFA 2009 is completely okay but I also believe he played some violent games on it too. Perhaps he was exposed to some violent moments in his own life, either on the tube or real life.

We are living in troubling times with so many dysfunctional families all over the world. These families produce more trouble youth that fill our society to the brim. Their thinking is simply this, "If it's not cool anymore, I'm out!"

This makes the Gospel even more urgent in our society! The Bible tells us to turn the children's hearts back to the fathers and vice versa. The time is now! Or else....

NO JOKE!

2010-01-20T14:09:00.004+08:00

I love to laugh at good jokes and I love to tell jokes that make people laugh, I mean make people genuinely laugh. In this world of pain and stress, humor works like medicine. That's why when I preach, I always add humor to my sermon, not for the sake of telling people I know a lot of jokes but to offer genuine laughters to stress-filled people. I believe many people are not laughing enough to live a healthy life.

But there are jokes that are funny to many people but hurting to some whom the jokes were intended in the first place. David Letterman (Talk show host) and some DJs had cracked jokes that had offended others just to make some laugh.

And there are jokes which are dangerous to begin with. In Great Britain, a man was charged for a joke posted on his Twitter that he would blow up an airport sky high if his flight was delayed. You said, "Come on, get a life!" They say, "Get a lawyer!"

And in Malaysia, a youth was charged for inciting violence on a facebook. Maybe he was just joking, or maybe not, the case is in the court now.

Either in Facebook or Twitter, one can get a little bolder in what we express because we thought only my friends can view our comments. And it has become dangerous today. You can get jail for bold statements that border violence.

I remember once I was boarding a plane and jokingly said to a friend that I must dispose all my "weapons", I got a rude stare from a fellow passenger. There and then I found out it was a crime to joke about these things either on an airport or up on the air.

Young people, please be warned about the jokes you post on the Internet. You may find yourself in serious trouble and don't tell the authority, "Come on, get a life!" You may find them telling you, "Get a Lawyer!"

HAITI DEVASTATED!

2010-01-15T10:01:00.004+08:00

The earthquake in Haiti has caused untold suffering something that I could never imagine. The report I heard from there reminds me of HELL! Dead bodies everywhere, screaming of pain coming out everwhere on the streets and inside the collapse rubble. Just a few minutes of that terrible quake, everything crumbled. It speaks about the fragility of life itself. The Bible tells us...

(James 4:13-14) Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

I am lost of words when I saw CNN yesterday about a young girl who got caught in between the rubble screaming for help and in pain. Her brothers and some people desperately using bare hands to remove the debris in order to save her. When she was finally saved, CNN Anderson Cooper was there at the scene spoke with her. What astounded me was she said she was not afraid at all and she looked so calm. I was like, "OMG! What a girl!"

One positive thing to me that came out of this extreme human devastation was the compassionate nature of so many countries that got together to help. I was especially taken to heart of President Obama where he not only approved USD 100 million to Haiti but also to mobilise the biggest search rescue plan in the history of the USA.

I don't know why it happened to the country already amongst the poorest nation of the world but I know earthquakes are part and parcel of this fallen earth. It can happen anywhere!

I only could long for the return of Jesus to do the ultimate rescue of this world filled with tears. sorrows and pain!

PROM NIGHTS IN KUALA LUMPUR!

2010-01-07T16:19:00.005+08:00

I read an interesting article on Star the other day about prom nights. Prom nights start to get popular in Kuala Lumpur not so long ago but in the United States, it was like ancient! It is normally organised by students themselves usually involving colleges when their graduates get together for one last time. It has since caught on by secondary schools especially those who just completed fifth form.

Prom nights are usually held in expensive hotels for the ambience and the environment. The organising students get sponsors from people so that the attendees don't have to pay so much for the entrance fees. But I read some spend hundreds of dollars for their dresses and coats. Some rented sports cars to pick up their dates.

My Observation....

Few good things about prom nights...

1. It gives the students a last rara get together before they are thrusted into the working world.

2. New friends are made and particpants may get their potential girl or guy as their partner in life.

3. Participants learn social skills and the grooming thingy sometimes from their chic parents and older friends. (Bah...In my time, where got Prom nite?)

4. It gives participants a sense of pride of freedom, ushering in a new beginning.

Some not so good things about prom nights...

1. There is a lot of booze and some being challenged to drink to be considered cool.

2. Many rented rooms at hotel the next day and have sex!

3. Some couldn't afford to buy new dress or coat, ending up being discouraged.

4. Some don't have dates and simply pluck one from who knows where, ending up like a sore loser.

5. Some didn't get to go because they were shy, ending up with brokenness like a monkey on their backs in their life.

6. The secondary school students are simply too young indulge in this activity, usually styled exactly like clubbing.

7. Thank God in my time, we don't have Prom Nights, cause I would be ended up with problems of 3 and 4 and 5 - OMG!

Anyway, for Christians youth, please be careful that you will not fall into the trap of having a good time, without thinking of consequences!

BYE BYE TWO O O NINE!

2009-12-30T09:11:00.006+08:00

Another year whizzed past, in fact, another decade rolled by on this earth. It is fearful to think that I could have wasted my God-gifted life away if I do not sieze whatever God given opportunity for His glory!

Here are some of the highlights of the year 2009

MINISTRY

1. Teaching Youth Enrichment School (YES) evangelism - I love evangelism!
2. Vineyard Church Youth Camp - Enjoyed it throroughly.
3. Cambodia mission trip - Annual Affair, simply loved it.
4. Started afresh Youth Ministry with new core leaders, meeting every month.
5. Launched Young Adult Ministry
6. Asia Pacific Youth Alive Conference - Refreshing to the max!
7. Taking Teens to Old Folk's Home - simply awesome to see the young communicate with the not so young.
8. Christmas and Watchnight Retreat.

PERSONAL

1. Taken Pastoral Counselling Course, the penultimate before completing my Masters in ministry, probably next year.
2. Started PS BIBLE MINISTRY blog to keep a file on all my writings and also to bless others.
3. Travelling to Scotland and Ireland - awesome countries!

THE BEST MOMENTS

1. Seeing my dad accepted the Lord as His personal Lord and Saviour.
2. Seeing three soul saved in the Youth Camp.
3. Baptizing new members of the Church to greater commitment to the Lord.
4. Watching more youth serving God fervently.

THE NOT SO BEST MOMENTS

1. Procrastination and being idle.
2. Did not put much emphasis on prayer.

THE MOST INSPIRING PERSON/S I MET THIS YEAR

1. PASTOR JULIE KHOO, YOUTH PASTOR GTPJ
2. SHER-MAYNE

THE MOST INSPIRING PERSON I HAVEN'T MET THIS YEAR

JOHN MAXWELL

THE BEST MESSAGE

PASTOR LESLIE'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

THE MOST POWERFUL MESSAGE

PASTOR CLEMENT'S NIGHT SESSION AT APYAC

THE MOST AWESOME TURNAROUND

HATS OFF TO JARYL CHONG

THE MOST INSPIRING YOUTH

LIXUAN
KARLYN
JARYL ...and all who tirelessly and joyfully serve God!

All in all, it was a good year for me personally. It started slowly but ends with a BANG! I think it was the busiest December as far as I can remember! Last words (should be the first words) - I give God all glory for all the fruitful stuffs and not so fruitful stuffs, I ask the LORD for forgiveness!

Have a wonderful 2010, everyone! Sieze the opportunities to serve God!

THE BABY MUST BE BORN

2009-12-23T16:14:00.004+08:00

CHRISTMAS is just two days away and the shopping malls are being filled with Christmas decorations and shoppers, busy buying gifts for family and friends. Mostly last minute shopping. And the malls and most shoppers have one thing in common - they know not what Christmas means. Even Christians, planning parties, singing carollings just to add to the festive cheer and exchanging of gifts have also lost the true spirit of Christmas!

Celebrating Christmas is alright but losing the opportunity to tell the true story of the birth Jesus is losing the point of it all. In fact, 25th December is not really the actual birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. But when the world somehow adopts 25th December as the birth of Christ, we have a wonderful opportunity to share the truth of God's love to mankind.

Although the cross is the centre of Christianity, the virgin birth of Christ started it all. The devil knew a little of the plan of God of sending a Messiah and that's why he wanted to destroy the baby before the King could be born. But God protected Joseph and Mary until the birth of baby Jesus, fulfilling age old prophecy of Emmanuel in prophet Isaiah. Emmanuel means “God with us” says it all. At last, God became flesh, visited the earth He created. He needed to come, the baby Jesus must be born.

The world needs a Saviour not Superman or Obama. It’s absolutely out of pure love that God sends His only Son to the world. Sin separates God with mankind but His love reconciles sinners to Him. Love gives God no choice but to bridge the gap of brokenness between God and man by a great price. The cute baby Jesus was born to be that price. Would any mothers or fathers understand the feeling of knowing that their only baby born would only result in a terrible death? What a price God paid to set us free! And sometimes we take for granted the birth of Jesus on Christmas day!

It is NOT about parties, Christmas trees, gifts and even carolling for fun that God intends Christmas to be but to explain with passion, the virgin birth of Christ, a Saviour born to set mankind free.

Truly good tidings to you, wherever you are! Merry Christmas!

GOD IS AWESOME IN APYAC!

2009-12-15T10:06:00.006+08:00

Awesome God and awesome happenings at APYAC!

It was an awesome experience for me as I witnessed how God moved so powerfully in the conference. I was always at the back corner of the church during the sessions because of the bag(gage) I was carrying as I was the mobile central bank for YAM. It was a vantage point to see all the amazing things that were happening.

1. WORD OF GOD

The speakers were superb, especially Pastor Mike Pilavachi (although I heard the sermon before) and just like those participants, I wanted more of the Word of God! And there was our very own Youth Alive Director, Rev. Clement Wong who spoke Word of God boldly (sometimes aggresively) but it was timely! Nations need to hear and that's what the theme of this conference was all about, "Speak to the nations". The main anchor for the event, Rev. Julie Khoo was absolutely fantastic, hit all the right godly buttons everytime!

2. NATIONS

Twenty nine nations involved in APYAC and I dare say all came out of this conference touched and inspired! Although in the last days, where breakdown of religions were shown in each country and Christianity is often the minority, and much work needed to be done, there was a big HOPE that with our God, we are always the majority. Personally, I don't trust statistics because only God knows how many are truly His!

Different nationalities have come to me and said some great comments about the conference and I can see in their faces that they will be going back and do great things for their respective nation! One of the most memorable moments in APYAC was the unity shown in the Asia Pacific nations! With God, nothing is impossible!

3. WORKERS

The YAM committee have prepared this event for the last one year and on the last few weeks before the conference, it was a little bit messy with so many nations coming from everywhere, sometimes different flights and time. Furthermore, we have to arrange transportation and accomodations for some delegates as they just saved enough money for airfares and fees. Yes, YAM has prepared the groundwork but it was the GTPJ members (including parents support team) that implemented everything on the grounds during the conference. The huge responsibilities of actual running of this event were rested on their shoulders and they came out with top marks! Whenever I went around, I see smiling faces! I cannot describe what kind of people are you guys! I salute you all! (I also salute my church volunteers too who also serve with smiles on their faces and I am so proud of them)

4. THE HAPPENINGS!

The presentations from different nations were one of the highlights of APYAC to me. I see a glimpse of heaven where different tribes, tongues, nationality coming together for one purpose: to glorify the NAME ABOVE EVERY NAME - JESUS CHRIST! At the end of everything, Jesus deserves all praise and glory and honour!

The worship was fantastic! The bands from Indonesia and the Philippines were awesome! Brad, Rebecah and the team's songs were absolutely timely and somehow I believed God gave them inspiration for those songs to be written for such a conference as this! Last but not least, the YAM band, from various churches with some African flavour really brought out the best from the youth in worship! Especially the last night, it was simply magnificent just to sense the awesome presence of God!

The last night symbolic carrying of the cross across nations was something extraordinary! The cross of Jesus started it all! Then men and women who sacrificed their lives for the gospel, bringing it to nations not their own. And with their examples of sacrifices, so too, the next generation must dare take the challenge to step out and not only to take their nations for Jesus but also nations beyond their borders!

CONCLUSION

Until the whole world hears, we will serve and pray and give sacrificially!

See you at APYAC 2012

HERE I COME, APYAC!

2009-12-09T17:36:00.005+08:00

Tomorrow Youth Alive Malaysia (YAM) is hosting APYAC (Asia Pacific Youth Alive Conference)! All in all, more than 1400 young people have registered, coming from all over Asia Pacific including Africa and the UK! I am privileged and honoured to be involved, albeit a small part in this youth event of the year in Malaysia. All I can say today is, "Let's bring it on!"

The planning started last year and it got to a feverish phase especially last few days, with so many angles needed to be covered. I thank God for Glad Tidings PJ for their wonderful and able workers who literally work round the clock to make this event a success! They did an excellent preparatory work which helps tremendously when APYAC kicks off tomorrow!

What I expect from APYAC....

1. Jesus Christ will be magnified and glorified!

2. Youth will be challenged to stand for Jesus no matter what!

3. Leaders, missionaries will be raised up by God in this conference!

4. Youth will be set free from all kinds of distractions and bondages to serve God all the way!

5. All participants will be blessed by the ever-gracious God who will pour out His grace in abundance. Everyone will be touched in a personal and powerful way!

Hallelujah! Amen!

UNTIL THE WHOLE WORLD HEARS!

2009-12-04T10:13:00.003+08:00

I heard this song in U tube from a blog I frequented and I was fascinated by the lyrics. The song has some elements of the visions of our Youth Ministry. Anyway, this song is timely as the end draws near!

Song sung by a top Christian band, Casting Crowns - The band is at US #1 Christian chart right now and the song below, #2! Congratulations!

Lord I want to feel your heart
and see the world through your eyes
I want to be your hands and feet
I want to live a life that leadsChorus

Ready yourselves
Ready yourselves
Let us shine the light of Jesus in the darkest night
Ready yourselves
Ready yourselves
May the powers of darkness tremble as our praises rise

Until the whole world hears Lord we are calling out
Lifting up Your name for all to hear the sound
Like voices in the wilderness
we're crying outas the day draws near
We'll sing until the whole world hears

Lord let your sleeping giant arise
Catch the demons by surprise
Holy nation sanctified
Let this be our battle cry

Chorus

We'll sing until the whole world hears
We'll sing until the whole world hears
Want to be your hands and feet
Want to be a life that leads
To see you set the captive free
Until the whole world hears and
I pray that they will see more of you and less of me
Lord I want my life to be the song
You sing

Until the whole world hears
Lord we are calling out
Lifting up your name up for all to hear the sound
Like voices in the wilderness we're crying out
as the day draws near

We'll sing until the whole world hears
We'll sing until the whole world hears
We'll sing until the whole world hears
We'll sing until the whole world hears
We'll sing until the whole world hears
We'll sing until the whole world hears

CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: Efren Peñaflorida

2009-12-01T14:27:00.004+08:00

Last week, I chanced upon the CNN - Hero of the Year awards ceremony and I almost hit myself for not tuning in earlier. I have never cried so much while watching television as this one. It was so inspiring to watch men and women who unselfishly gave their all to serve others! If this is not what the world needed, I don't know what is! God must have been smiling!

There were ten recipients of the HERO award chosen all over the world and only one, the best of the best, would receive HERO of the Year. The HERO award got USD 25,000 each and the HERO of the Year got extra USD 100,000 to further help them to serve others.

The winner this year for the HERO of the year is Efren Peñaflorida from the Philippines. He started the "Kariton Klassroom" to bring education to poor children who are easily influenced or pressured by gangs who will recruit them.

As a child, Peñaflorida was beaten and bullied by gangsters but he chose education over gang life in Cavite City where he was born. He vowed to create a way for other children to make the same choice. He set a Dynamic Teen Company and with teenage co-workers brought books to children in slums and on the streets, and the Company's 10,000 volunteers have brought reading, writing and hygiene to 1,500 youngsters.

The group later launched the “Kariton Klassroom,” an innovative way of bringing the classroom to the children in the depressed areas. The pushcart classroom is now complete with teaching aids, blackboards and even folding tables and chairs to allow children to sit and read materials.

Peñaflorida recalled that he and other volunteers had to endure discrimination and even being branded as “trash collectors” with their pushcarts whenever they carry out their noble mission.

The public, however, took notice of Peñaflorida’s ingenious way of bring education to poor children by nominating him to the CNN’s list of heroes for this year.

Peñaflorida urged the crowd to “be the hero to the next one in need.” He also called on them to “serve well, serve others above yourself and be happy to serve.”

“As I always tell to my co-volunteers... you are the change that you dream as I am the change that I dream and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be,” Peñaflorida said.

Peñaflorida created a program that “My message to children of all races, please, to embrace learning and love it for it will embrace and love you back and enable you to change your world,” Peñaflorida said.

Efren Peñaflorida, I salute you as I salute the rest of the nine CNN heroes and many million unsung heroes all over the world who helped to make this world a better place!

PS: What is your dream of serving others? Unleash what God has put inside you and with God, nothing is impossible!

STOP HARASSING YOURSELF!

2009-11-24T10:30:00.004+08:00

Last week, twenty year old supermodel from South Korea was found hanged in a Paris apartment. Kim Daul had great potential to make it really big and was already pretty hot for leading fashion brand like Channel. People said the fashion glamorous world is full of hellish challenges and super competitive; some models even took drugs and some not eating at all just to keep slim!

20 years old, just a year after her teenage years and already being thrown into the troubled and chaotic world of GLAM! Where's her mom and dad?

According to report, South Korea ranked third in terms of suicides per head of population among the 30 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations in 2007, with 18.7 in every 100,000 people killing themselves.

Kim Daul before she committed suicide had written in her blog about how she harassed herself in order to be successful! In other words, she was overly harsh on herself! She might be smiling for the camera or being nice to her friends and audiences but could be hating herself to the point of killing herself!

Are you harsh on yourself today? Sometimes I admit I am! God may have forgiven all of us but sometimes we cannot forgive ourselves! We make a mistake and we jump! When we did not meet our expectations, we hit ourselves until blue black with our words! Worse, sometimes we even think of suicide..woooooa.....!

I think it's time you give yourself a break! I know we want to do our best but more often than not, it is for our ego! I want others to see my best and not my mistakes! Be real lah! Life is not fair and we make mistakes! Stop living in a make believe world and stop letting others dictate what you need to do! God knows you and He knows your name! Ask him to give you direction for your life! Don't depend too much on other people for your life!

When we moan and groan because we made a mistake because we felt we have let others down! Others again! You know what, others would have forgotten what you did and they have their own life to live and own problems to take care of!

Most importantly, God loves you and He knows your weaknesses! And God will never ever say, "Hey, how come you so stupid one!"

PS: Caution: Don't use your weakness as an excuse too (I don't care you like it or not, I am like that loh)

WE WERE WARNED, AND WARNED, AND WARNED, AGAIN!

2009-11-17T13:40:00.003+08:00

2012 - the movie that shot up to #1 spot when it was opened in the States! People love to see how the world is being destroyed but crossed their fingers that it won't happen in their life time.

The young ones said, "Hey, I am not married yet", "Wei, I don't want to die young", "Yo, I have not really enjoyed life just yet," and many other things in view of the coming disaster!

The idea of doomsday haS been in existence since who knows when! Thousands of years ago, a prophet by the name of Joel (from the Bible) predicted of the coming world disaster - which was then carried along into the New Testament where Jesus confirmed it. By then, there was no turning back, the world has been bombarded by doomsday prediction right until the present day. Hollywood added another dimension to it by coming out with various ways of earth's breaking apart.

The Bible has been most consistent when it come to earth's breaking apart. From the OT to the NT, it was saying the same thing without contradicting each other.

(Joel 3:14-15) Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.

(Isa 13:9-10) See, the day of the LORD is coming --a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger-- to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.

(Mat 24:29-30) "Immediately after the distress of those days "'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.

(Rev 9:1-2) The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.

There are some religious people who predicted dates that attached to doomsday. Jehovah Witnesses is the most frequent date predicters for Jesus' Second Coming and end of the world and every single time, they were wrong! And the recent 2012 would be another date to watch out for! Albert Einstein predicted (no one knows why) that when bees disappeared from the world, we would have 4 more years before the end! Strangely, by 2006, bees started to disappear in large areas of the world! Scary!

Jesus was asked about dates too whether at what time he would come again. Thank God Jesus did not tell us the date or else the world will shut down!

Because of the wrong predictions of dates leading to the end of the world, people today seem to relax and deep in their minds, they will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."

That saying above comes from a verse in the Bible (2 Peter 3:4).

If we will live beyond 2012 and I believe we will, then more people will get disillusioned.

Yes, we have to warn people of Doomsday but don't tell them dates. Just tell them be ready because it could be anytime! Maybe, even before 2012 - there I go again, dates!

(Mat 24:44) So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

(Mat 24:50) The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.

TATTOO ME, I AM DEPRESSED!

2009-11-10T09:31:00.007+08:00

I read from a newspaper the other day of a guy, about 30 years old, tattooed all over his body words like, "Hell", "Death", "Devil" and many other hellish words. The reason, his wife left him for another man. Psychologists said that this depressed man actually longed to die or perhaps didn't want to bother about life anymore. What a depressing story, worse than Liverpool's defeats. Some are now calling Liverpool, Loserpool, grrrrrrrrrr!

What makes this man so depressed that he couldn't live anymore?

1. He puts his whole hope and life on his wife.

I believe in romance and I loved my wife very dearly. But there is one more thing in life much more than my wife, that is my God! God is the reason why I exist and the reason I have my purpose in life, that includes loving my wife, a major part of my life. But if your only hope is your wife or gf or bf, then watch out, you may have to tattoo yourself too!

2. He doesn't take advice from anyone.

I believe many have talked, counselled, pleaded with him, take him to watch football matches, movies, comedy shows, introduced him pretty girls. I don't think he listened well. His heart has taken over his mind.

3. He wants to gain attention so that maybe to hurt his wife or to have her back.

People resort to all kinds of actions when they are depressed. Most people would drink out their sorrows. But there will be double pain the next morning, the heart plus the head. Some people go for rebounds, getting involved in relationships unnecessarily, hurting more people in the process. Some even plunge into homosexuality. But this guy chose tattoo to show the world he is hurt. "See, wife, this is what you have caused me!" or "Now come back to me and I will rub off these tattooes, no matter how hurting it would be."

But the more weird things you do, the further the wife would go! That's the reality!

Depression can hit anyone, including Christians and it is normal. So, don't go around and tell people not to grief, or cry or feel heartsick. But Christians have one avenue which many non Christians do not have and that is our Father in heaven. The grace of God can help us to forgive others and move on. It does take time to heal (how long depends on the person) but with good supporting Christian friends, we can pull through.

1. Put our trust in our heavenly Father

2. Listen to counsel and go to friends for help.

3. Don't do weird things. It'll get worse!

A FUNERAL FOR YOU WHILE ALIVE, ANYONE?

2009-11-03T10:38:00.004+08:00

David Tseng is 25 years old and terminally ill with genetic muscular disease. What's not normal for this suffering man is that he held his own funeral when he was still alive! That day, he was uplifted by eulogies and songs during this living funeral, witnessed by few hundred people including 100 doctors where he would donate his body for them for experiment.

"Live funeral" is not new concept. They were done before and strongly advocated by a Catholic priest who is suffering from lung cancer and launched a "goodbye tour" in late 2007 with a series of speeches to share his fight against lung cancer.

Living funeral. Is it a good idea?

I have mix feelings about it. As Christians, funerals are NOT about the dying person but more for the loved ones of the beloved who died. The services and eulogies are to encourage the living and not the dead. Let God take care of the dead and let humans love the living! (That doesn't mean we simply just get over with the dead person!)

However, one thing good about live funeral is that the dying person can speak his last message/s to all those who are not dying. Anyway, the dying person can speak lah, even not holding a funeral.

I am surprised to see a Taiwanese doing this because Chinese people are very superstitious. They will by all means avoid the word, 'Die!" Eeiyeh!

Last words, do not wait before you are about to die to do something for society and to glorify God. Do it NOW while you are still alive and kicking!

Is someone in the family needed your encouragement? Is a friend of yours wanted help? Is the church needed volunteers for a ministry?

HEY, LOOK! I AM NAKED!

2009-10-27T14:03:00.004+08:00

I think you should have read the now famous Singapore topless car washing service. Four topless ladies were employed to carwash for about 20 men who were selected through a website. The girls were paid, $1,400 Sing. Dollar for the work. One lady car washer from China was expelled from her college in Singapore just two months before graduation. One boy whose girlfriend was one of them was cool towards the whole thing. Is it cool? To have your dignity violated for less than two thou? I am not sure if I still want her to be my wife when she could expose herself publicly for some cheap cash!

To some, nudity may be cool but to me, it is a very private thing. I used to have one or two dreams of being naked on the street and woke up sweating profusely. Thank God it is not real! I would not do it for a million dollars! Anyway no one would give me a million for my nakedness!

Few things I observe in this constantly changing world,

1. People couldn't care less about what others think.

2. If I feel good, then I'll do it.

3. I want to be famous. Please talk about me! In the facebook, twitter!

4. Hey, you dare or not!

5. I just want to be entertained. Amusement derived from the root word, 'amuse', meaning 'No thinking'

PS: Recently it was uncovered in Hong Kong that teenagers as young as 14 served as call girl just to get enough money for branded stuffs!

WHAT LAH LIVERPOOL!

2009-10-21T13:13:00.003+08:00

Benitez: Shall I go or not!

I am heart broken by the latest strings of poor results of Liverpool matches. Losing to Chelsea was not so bad but to Florentina, Lyon and Sunderland (OMG). Liverpool has not lost to Sunderland since 1991 (28 years ago).

It has been 20 years since Liverpool last became champion in English football, yes, 20 long years and it looks like fans like Tom and Dick and Ronnie are tired of Liverpool being second best. Something needs to change. Does Benitez, the manager, need to be replaced? Yes, he has done some great work but not good enough. Maybe he needs to walk alone for a while and think about things or his future.

I have been a fan of Liverpool club for almost 40 years and we will not part ways until Jesus comes. But before He comes, come on, Liverpool, win the title lah.

Maybe the motto, "You'll never walk alone" should change to "Walk by faith!"

CHRISTIANS AND THE WORLD

2009-10-14T13:33:00.003+08:00

I came across a survey (couldn't verify whether it's true or not) that more people are becoming Christians today than ever before (great to hear) but more people are leaving church (oops!). What is happening here? Are we still relevant to the world today? During my time, when my mom asked me to sit still, I would sit still until further notice. Today, if someone asks a teenager to sit still, he/she will retort back with sharp questions like, "Why should I sit, why not stand?" or "Why should I sit here and not there?" or "Eish...why should I listen to you?"

DL Moody, the famous evangelist said, "If you meet a hundred people on the street and you will find that one would want to read the Bible to find the truths about God but 99 others read Christians."

Yes, they read Christians! They don't care what you say even though you have a PHD in Theology but when you live right, they notice you.

Today, many people are not living the way God wants them to live and these people are finding people to accept them and love them. Yes, they cherish people who agree with them.

What should a Christian do?

Yes, we must accept and love them like Jesus did.
No, we shouldn't agree with them BUT no need to yell out our views.

Christians should use our lives to reach out to seekers by,,,

1. Love and compassion
2. Living a godly life with joy
3. Accepting them into our lives if they want to become our friends but stay away from what they do (this is the most difficult part for most Christians).

I believe the seekers understand you if you do not want to be like them, but only when you already build a relationship with them.

This movie "Lord, save us from Your followers" had been shown in the US in September this year to great reviews! It tells us so much about how the world perceive the Christians...(although this is in US but whatever is in US will certainly come to Malaysia one day - maybe it's already here)

MONEY TALKS

2009-10-09T11:36:00.003+08:00

I seldom speak of money in this blog and I think this is the first time. This is because there is a recent survey that came out in the United States...

A Christian gives averagely only about 2.56% of their money to churches or any charitable organisations. Although it is still better than general population, who gives about 1.8%, there is nothing to shout about. The survey also said if Christians in US give 10% as inspired by the Bible, the churches would have USD 161 billion to use. That's about RM563 billion! And I am just talking about USA! And only 10%!

The saddest part of all this is that 7 million children under five died since the beginning of this year alone were caused by extreme poverty. Most of these children were from places that had never heard of the Name of Jesus before.

God in His infinite wisdom knew all along that the world has enough resources to feed everyone on earth. But due to our greed and inwardness, we have slackened far behind. I believe in two reasons for God inspiring tithes.

1. God uses tithes (10%) to test our faithfulness. I thank God that He didn't require firstfruits to be 90%. I have seen non-Christians flinched when they found out about tithing to church. If any Christian flinched like them, I wonder whether we are saved? Or really committed to the cause of Christ?

2. God uses tithes to do His work, to heal and feed the world. Sadly, we are still far behind that purpose.

Money is a sensitive issue. We work with our blood, sweat and tears so that we can get a salary to commensurate with the effort we put in. Which means money is part of my life I toil for! It is valuable!

But let us also consider where do we get our strength from in order for us to earn our living or money. From food of course! But where does food come from? Let's talk about bread. Bread was made from wheat and had to be planted by farmers. Wheat comes from God of course! Plants have to grow using water and sunlight also provided by God. So when we go to buy bread, we don't pay for bread itself. Huh? Yaah! We pay the farmers, transportation, baker and retailer! Bread comes from God!

What about our house? Bricks to build our house came from hills and mountains and points us back to God. Did we pay for our house? No! We pay people who collect stones and bricks, transportation, builders and government agencies for the land, also belongs to God!

From food to strength to work to money! It points us back to God! And God only requires 10% from us! As far as God is concerned, everything that we have belongs to God!

We are living in a world of selfishness. Let us Christians show the way of generosity! God blesses generous people! I have experienced that myself. When I was stingy, my pocket like got holes. But when I was generous, God blessed me in ways I could not imagine.

PS Don't expect money in return when you give to God. Sometimes God blesses us with good health and peace of mind and many other ways.

GARY CHAW AND JUSTIN LO

2009-10-06T10:24:00.002+08:00

I must admit I do not know who Gary Chaw is but I did hear of Justin Lo before. Later I found out that Gary is a Malaysian who made it big in Taiwan and Hong Kong. But what Gary did in full view of reporters and friends was something shameful. He kicked and punched Justin like a man gone wild. There are many theories about why he did what he did.

First of all, definitely there was the element of alcohol in the whole thing. Honestly, I was not a drinker but before I became a Christian, I did try drinking. When I took a lot (in my standard), I felt somehow I was able to boldly talk and to talk sarcastically. And many people pretend to be drunk so that they could do something they cannot do when they are sober like punching and kicking someone they dislike. I had seen fights many times after much drinking. I remember once my parents took me to a wedding dinner and suddenly chairs began to fly. We knew that fighting had broken out and we rushed out in the nick of time. There was also once in a restaurant where a table was overturned by a disgruntled person I believe was intoxicated.

Secondly, perhaps Gary Chaw has an anger problem. He couldn’t control himself when someone said something that he disliked. I heard this is not the first time he had gone wild in anger. Gary had everything that he wanted yet deep within him there is something that he has not come to terms with. A deep hurt only God can solve. Perhaps when he was a child, he had not dealt fully with discouragement or grief or unforgiveness. I have heard and even seen rich people living sad lives!

Last but not least, Gary and Justin may have something they needed to solve within them. Friends don’t kick friends like that. On the surface they might be friends, but I believe issues of the heart are not fully settled. Jealousy, hurtful words spoken, different opinions which they may have taken too seriously, just to name a few.

When I first became a Christian, God began to heal me of my hurts mostly from verbal abuse. Today I could say I was 80% healed (Praise the Lord) but there is always that 20% of insecurities that would blow up whenever someone said something hurtful.

Why do I still have that 20%? Seriously, I don’t know. Maybe it is there to keep me humble and to always be grateful for the healing that God performed on me.

PS: I drove past a signboard this morning with a picture of Gary Chaw smiling so handsomely. I hope he could take a look at himself in this picture and say, “Hey, I can be like that, happy and satisfied with my life”

YOU MEAN I AM CARRYING SOMEONE'S ELSE BABY IN MY WOMB?

2009-09-26T10:44:00.006+08:00

UPDATE: Carolyn has given birth to a healthy baby boy and given back to its rightful mother. Sean and Carolyn had even sent them heartiest congratulations! What a great story in a mess-up world!

Carolyn Savage and husband Sean were so happy to find out that Carolyn was pregnant with their child. Then came the "out of the world" phone call as if a ton of bricks came crashing on them. The fertility center said that she had carried someone else's baby. How did it happen? Or rather, how could it happen? They had put in the wrong embryo into Carolyn's womb which is like one in a multi-million chance!

Carrying for eight months, nurturing it with great expectation to cuddle the baby and then whoosh, all came to nought!

The real mother of the baby, Shannon Morell and her husband Paul have mixed feelings, on one hand, excited and the other hand, distraught at the suffering of Carolyn.

What makes this story so extraordinary was Sean and Carolyn did the right thing, they will hand the baby back to the rightful owner. To many, this issue would have gone to the courts to be fought bitterly! Some may even abort the baby!

Carolyn said it was the most difficult thing that had happened to her but the first thing she thought was to give back the baby! This is definitely the grace of God and I salute her and her husband. They did not even name the fertility clinic for fear of backlash. They knew it was a mistake and mistake happens! If only the world has more of you guys!

Shannon Morell was so grateful to her indeed! "How do you thank somebody for what they've done?" Shannon Morell said. "I could say thank you a million different ways." She felt so guilty although it was not her fault at all. She would let Carolyn get close to this special boy to be born, perhaps be his godma or something (this suggestion was by this blogger).

Children are gifts from God! They belong to God and parents have been given responsibility to care and nurture them until they become a blessing to the world for God's glory!

Together, Shannon and Carolyn, and your respective husbands, Sean and Paul, nurture this kid to become a testimony for Christ!

BIRTHPANGS GETTING STRONGER!

2009-09-24T10:20:00.005+08:00

SYDNEY ORANGEPERA HOUSE

FOREST BEHIND STEPHEN'S HOUSE (PS ANNE'S BROTHER)

Welcome to orange Sydney, a dust storm turning the beautiful city into an Armageddon liked scene.

Jesus spoke of birthpangs before His second coming or His return to earth. Like a woman in final stage of her pregnancy, the baby will kick harder and stronger. When earthquake happened during the 80's, there would be great commotion around the world. But today, earthquakes are just normal thing in the eyes of people. I think the small ones are considered as a minor traffic accident, only the big ones are reported widely. People of the world are being prepared for Armageddon. Hollywood continues unrelentlessly to show violent and disaster movies, latest being 2012, coming to cinemas on Nov 12th. 2012 speaks about the end of the world according to the ancient Mayan civilisation. Their calender ends in 21st Dec, 2012. Then there is the recent film about death, Final Destination II, which further numbs the minds of audience about death. It is like Hollywood is preparing people for the ultimate judgment that is coming - Armageddon!

No matter how much the world leaders talked about lowering nuclear weapons, the nuclear bombs that they had are enough to destroy the earth many times over.

Are you ready for the "baby"? Thanks be to God that He prepares a way for Christians to escape His wrath that is coming. Those who believe Jesus as their personal Saviour and Lord will be shielded by God through rapture, the biggest and most dramatic disapperance act ever in the history of mankind. Transporting millions to heaven in a single second!

PS: The sandstorm is like a manna sent from heaven to car washing companies, the only good news sandstorm brought to Sydney.

LOTUS VS PENANS

2009-09-18T09:39:00.003+08:00

I was actually disturbed recently to read about my own country's people actually starving. The Penans, a tribal (Bumiputera) people in Sarawak, were running short of food and some of the girls were raped by workers especially belonging to the logging companies as being reported. The shortage of food is recent but rapes have been going on for some time, without any action being taken from the authorities. I thank God now, their plight has been highlighted by the newspapers and everyone now knows about the Penans. This tribal group is mostly my brothers and sisters in Christ.

I want to thank God for Father Sylvester Ding (Two thumbs up for the Dings) for organising and delivering food for these people. Malaysia has boasted of sky scrapers, super highways, food haven and incredible numbers of rich people but starvation in our own backyard? What is happening, man??

Lately, the government is talking about getting into Formula One with Lotus (owned by Proton), a complete Malaysian outfit. Some people have estimated it would cost about RM1 billion to continuously manage the outfit in Formual One.

Formula One - RM1 billion

Penans - Starvation.

I think the government should rethink the decision. Unless we can get foreign sponsors for the Race in Formula One, please forget about getting famous!

FINALLY, LIVERPOOL DROP CARLSBERG!

2009-09-15T13:13:00.010+08:00

BYE BYE CARLSBERG!

WELCOME, STANDARD CHARTERED BANK

Finally, Liverpool changed its major sponsor! After 17 lo.....ng years, Carlsberg was dropped as the main sponsor thus the front portion of the famous Liverpool jersey. It will change to Standard Chartered Bank...BIG, STRONG, and FRIENDLY!

What a day for some fans like me, who do not like to "advertise" Carlsberg together with a glorious team like Liverpool. Please don't get me wrong, I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST CARLSBERG! They had served Liverpool well (money wise), sometimes get them drunk too. This is just a personal opinion and you don't have to agree with me.

With Standard Chartered, finally I will buy my Liverpool jersey! I told many people, my instant friends are those who came from Sitiawan (my hometown) and of course, Liverpool fans! Psss, I may even start a SC bank account!

Jesus loves you! Liverpool may fail you but Jesus never will!

INTERNET IS NOW 40 YEARS OLD!

2009-09-08T14:00:00.003+08:00

The Internet is 40 years old. 1969 was the year where the first e-mail was sent from one computer to another in a research done in the United States. Then Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn developed it and called it "Internet' in 1974. In 1988, Internet became commercial and later domain names using dot-com and others came into play.

Time travel back to around 1988. I was at Richard Chong's place and he was talking to me about Internet when we had our music practice in his home. During that time, I was excited of such advance technology but couldn't comprehend how it play out in the future.

In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee completes the original software for the World Wide Web (WWW) and since then, nothing and no one can stop its Tsunamic (if you have such a word) growth. The Internet was used by just a few when it first came out, and now, a whopping 1.5 to 2 billion people using the Internet! With wireless connection and I Phones getting extremely popular, there is no stopping its growth.

Only 40 years and the world is shrinking into a global kampung. Right now, everything is open before our eyes, including very early and unhealthy sex education (or should I say sex exploration)! Internet has become such a part of our lives that I don't know of anyone who has not got into Internet at all. It's like saying to that person, "Hey, get a life!"

By the way, Internet is not a surprise to our Mighty Creator God. Anyway, every raw material that mankind uses and every drop of wisdom used to create things comes from Him. There is in fact, nothing new under the sun. God sees Internet coming to serve His purpose. I believe when Jesus comes again, Internet will come in handy or should I say "sighty" where U Tube that features His return will have historic number of hits and downloads! Blogs, Facebook and Twitter will discuss nothing else except Jesus and His return.

PS: I wonder whether Jesus would set up Facebook or a Blog when He comes back to rule!

THE WORLD HAS GONE MAD!

2009-09-05T11:14:00.005+08:00

Former Miss California, Carrie Prejean is suing some people in the Beauty Pageant Organisers. The 22-year-old beauty queen lost her crown in June for what was claimed by officials a "breach of contract" and failure to attend scheduled appearances. But her lawyer insisted she was kicked out because of the comments she made during the Miss USA competition in April, when she said marriage should be between a man and a woman.

I heard that myself on TV and she said it was her own opinion. You mean, nowadays, I cannot even have my own opinions anymore! The world has indeed gone mad! And her opinion is the opinion of majority peoples in the universe and I can say, it also includes God's! When she said that, there was some boos in the crowd who obviously didn't like what she said. They were thinking what's wrong when a man married a man and a woman married a woman. Someone said this and I quote, God did not create Adam and Steve, but Adam and Eve. God did not create a Madam and Eve to consummate!!

There is going to be a great challenge to what Christians stand for. There were challenges throughout history and in these last days, there will be tremendous onslaught against what the Bible proclaims!

(Rom 1:18-19; 21, 24) The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them....For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.... Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.

Note this phrase, "God gave them over.." God allowed their futile and unrepentant

minds to carry on rebelling against God until judgment takes place.

(Rom 1:26 - 27) Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

Carrie Prejean, hang on to your stand! Don't even give away an inch on what you believe in!

DON'T MESS WITH ME, I AM A TEENAGER!

2009-09-01T11:00:00.004+08:00

I read with concern in The Malay Mail last week about a concert in Singapore of the famous Lady Gaga. She spoke to a 10,000-strong audience, using the F-word frequently and mostly teenagers in the crowd would respond with wild cheers! To my horror, there are some parents there who also cheered together with their children. And I heard about this “Drake” guy who had a song in the top of the charts, the chorus is absolutely vulgar. His U Tube video of this song garnered almost 20 million hits!

Even the Christian Miley Cyrus (her father is also a Christian) who is idolised by teenagers the world over, dressed and danced sexily in the recent Teens Choice Awards ceremony. She also said publicly that Britney Spears was her idol.

What is happening to teenagers today in our country? These are my views and opinions...

1. They are constantly looking for pleasures and hoping to get approval from parents, pastors and other adults (If someone disagrees, they may nod their heads but inside, “Who cares what you think?”)

2. They don’t like adults who guard their every move.

3. They think they have learned enough and are strong enough to face the world.

4. They think they can come back anytime if they fail or fall. (They often take consequences for granted)

5. They think that being cool (using F-words, scantily dressed, clubbing etc..) is the way of life. (Parents and adults are from the ‘older’ generation.) Certain mannerisms like greeting an elderly person or saying sorry are not cool.

6. They give up easily because they think there are lots of alternatives around.

7. They tend to rush and often miss what God is doing or saying, in the world filled with instant quick messaging services like MSN, SMS, FACEBOOK, TWITTER and etc....

NO CANE NO GAIN

2009-08-26T12:30:00.003+08:00

Seldom Malaysia becomes huge news in the world but when Kartika, a part-time model was caught drinking beer and punished with caning by Islamic Laws, it was on CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera and practically right around the globe.

Meanwhile in New Zealand the Government who has an anti-smacking Law was challenged by parents who think that smacking a child is a correct form of discipline. Although the Government came out with the Law, the enforcement part is difficult. But the parents are concerned about it as they fear being harassed by the Law when they discipline their children in their own home.

Thus the big question, “To smack or not to smack”?

I believe the most quoted biblical reference to discipline a child is in Proverbs 13:24

“He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.”

Some argue that you can’t take an ancient text and apply it today. And also Jesus did not smack the children.

First of all, I want to say this, caning or smacking a child in appropriate measure will not kill him/her. No one dies from caning unless it is done with intent to kill or injure. Pain is a good way to deter a child from going the wrong way.

Secondly, let us be realistic that caning will not solve every problem in a child. It must be mixed with tender care and love and lots of patience. If caning is the only discipline in a home, then a child may grow up thinking punishment is the only way to change.

Thirdly, children who are disciplined and understand its usage, they will grow up thanking their parents for guiding them. Fear of caning to a child means fear of consequences when he/she grows up. There are consequences in wrongdoing. In my 2-sen opinion, I object public caning as this would bring shame publicly. Disciplining a child should not bring shame to him publicly rather generating remorse inwardly.

The Bible is ancient but it is God’s fresh Word for all generations! It is like a old, old telephone directory, as long as it still gets through, it is useful. Jesus never smacked children because Jesus left them to responsible parents to do the job.

PS: Kartika is an adult and caning an adult especially a lady is humiliating. Anyway, she is a first time offender and already repented. Society must discipline hardcore offenders harshly as only God can change them (I have seen God changed hardcore criminals) but must rehabilitate first-time offenders!

ANOTHER PILLAR FALLEN!

2009-08-22T10:46:00.004+08:00

The Storm that some said was God's signal.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church today voted to allow individual congregations to bless same-sex marriage in the church. More than 60 over % voted "YES" to the issue. It has been quite a debate in the United States about gays and lesbians' rights to marriage and their adoptions of babies. Religious groups especially the CHURCH in the States are the last bastion of pillars homosexuals fight to bring down. Today they have torn down another strong pillar after the Anglicans were done with.

Homosexuality is a such a huge group in America today that they are almost seen as part of a culture there, perhaps it already is. It is not strange that Churches are grappling with issues like this one. Shunning them would be turning them away from Jesus, their only Saviour. Accepting them would be detrimental to the stand of the Holy Bible we hold so dear.

Leaders of the Lutheran denomination met in Minneapolis few days ago to allow married and committed homosexuals to become pastors of their churches. They said homosexuality was not "central to our faith". While they were meeting, a tornado swept through the place causing some damage and disrupted their meeting. Some said God disapproved the meeting and sent a storm but the leaders laughed it away.

What is my stand?

We should welcome homosexuals into the church and that God accepts them now as they are. When they become Christians, they have to build a relationship with God by doing what God said. One cannot ignore some parts of the Bible that says, homosexuality is sin. The church must teach that and as the same time, release the homosexual Christians to grapple with their own conviction. I am totally against same sex marriage in the church and taking them as leaders of the church. This is a dilution of God's Word of a healthy normal relationship between a man and a woman.

MY JOURNEY IS NOT A SPRINT!

2009-08-18T09:10:00.004+08:00

Usain Bolt from Jamaica dipped below 9.6 seconds for the first time in the world when he won the 100-metre race couple of days ago. To be exact, 9.58 seconds, which once was thought to be humanly impossible. But now, Bolt has bolted that record and some are wondering whether he could run even faster than that. Imagine running less than a second in 10 metres! 10 metres = 30 feet. It is absolutely flying! Super human so to speak!

Yes, Usain Bolt finished his race in record time and got his glory. Medals, fame and money (& lots of "honey" too) all come with his great athletic skills. This is a worldly glory and to God, He would not be there to cheer him on even though Bolt may dip below 9 seconds one day. God would cheer those whose journey is not a sprint.

A sprint is like a star who shines so bright in a day and Ka BOOM, explodes the next. God cheers those who choose to run on and on for His glory admists distractions and disturbances. Troubles and trials for these "marathon" runners are just temporarily glitches towards the high-calling race God marks out for them. They will not be turned on by the bright lights of the world but will keep running towards the finished line where Jesus Christ stands waiting. A cheer from Jesus Christ from heaven is better than the roar of millions in this world.

Jesus is the author and the perfecter of our faith (Hebrew 12:2). Jesus holds our hand from the starting line to the finish line. The journey may fill with treacherous roads but as we fix our eyes upon Him, it is going to be an adventurous run.

Today, there are countless people who give up their journey, their torches snuffed out, signifying nothing. The one who runs to the end will make the difference. Their journey are filled with life-touching stories and testimonies. At the end of their journey, not only their own family members are saved and transformed, there will be fresh crop of young people rising up to run as well!

(Heb 12:1) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

PS: My dad was saved a week ago. He had a communist ideology and also believe in anihilation of soul once we died. I thank God that in my marathon race, I could see him being on the side of Jesus Christ, his Saviour and Lord!

STATISTICS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

2009-08-11T11:46:00.003+08:00

Last night I went to a dinner hosted by GMT (Global Ministry Teams) for their graduating students. The ministry is founded by none other than Ps. Irvin Rutherford. These students from all over the world would come and do short-term missions training for 3 months. Although it is short term, but when I witnessed their passion, they are going to be missionaries for a long time to come.

I sat next to an Indian graduand Ajay James and we instantly felt a connection. He told me about how Christians in India in certain places are being persecuted. But the thrilling part of the story is the more they are persecuted, the more people accepted the Lord. Hallelujah! The speaker who spoke that night confirmed in my spirit that souls are coming to the Lord in their thousands because of God's servants who lived and died for the sake of the gospel.

I was blessed to see passionate servants of God who stand ready to fulfill the Great Commission. Most of them left the comfort of their homes and families to serve God. Are we willing? Or rather, am I willing?

I read this in their newsletter....it says, statistics that changed my life...

27 Million : - Number of people who are bound by modern day slavery.

80% of which are women and children.

50% of those women and children are forced into prostitution.

4,400 : - Number of languages that are currently without Scripture portions available.

World : - 1/3 well fed - 1/3 underfed - 1/3 starving.

1 Billion : - Number of people who cannot read or write their own name, much less read the Bible if it is available in their language.

1% : - Percetage of missionaries that work among people who live in un-reached people-groups and they comprise 40% of the world's population.

40,000 : - Number of people who starve to death every single day in a silent tsunami.

Words to ponder....

(Jonah 4:11) But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"

DATUK DR. DENISON, RIGHT ON!

2009-08-07T13:18:00.003+08:00

When I read Datuk Dr. Denison's response to PAS' banning of alcohol sales in Star opinion column, my heart gives several thumbs up for him. This is exactly what every Christian should respond. Thanks Datuk! (I had the privilege to sit in his class for a course of social studies at BCM. He has such genuine concern for people and the country)

PUT LIVES BEFORE PROFIT - by DATUK DR DENISON JAYASOORIA,
Principle Research Fellow, Institute of Ethnic Studies,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

THE move by PAS to implement a blanket ban on the sale of alcohol in all Muslim-majority areas has now given us an opportunity to draw up guidelines on the sale of alcohol.

While PAS’ call for a ban might seem drastic, this view should not be seen from a high moral ground or only from an Islamic perspective, but an opportunity to recognise the problems associated with alcohol abuse which is recognised by all major religions of the world.

PAS was speaking for the Muslim community, but many of the social issues and abuses are among non-Muslim communities.

Society has already accepted that certain types of human behaviour can affect oneself and others.

In the case of smoking, the Health Ministry and other authorities have undertaken many measures to restrict where one can smoke in public places, and on sponsorships and advertisements by cigarette companies.

These initiatives have been taken in the interest of the common good of society.
Although the proposal for a total ban that called for abstinence was not effective in the past, there is still an urgent need for Malaysian society to discuss this issue further from the negative and abusive aspects of unrestricted sale and availability of alcohol in our society.

Some restrictions on the places and locations where alcohol is sold are necessary. For example, not permitting the sale of alcohol in or near residential areas and schools might be necessary. This will therefore include all kinds of residential areas.

Designated places where sales and consumption can take place should be regulated by the local authorities. For example, it might be healthy not to consume alcohol in a public park or even during a football game.

While the suggestion is being advocated by PAS, my interest is from the viewpoint of a sociologist who does a lot of social work. I am also a Christian by conviction and belief. Therefore, let us not discuss social issues and concerns from a perspective that divides us but let us find alliances and collaboration across religions.

There are so many silent sufferers. Especially women and children who are victims of alcoholics and husbands who have a behavior problem as a result of consuming alcohol.

Alcohol producers, promoters and retail people have not taken action in educating the general public on the potential substance addiction. The Government has not done enough to address the abusive behaviour and health-related problems.

Currently, there are hardly any counselling programmes, and the ones they do have are inadequate. There are also no rehabilitation services like rehabilitation for drug addiction.

I strongly advocate that alcohol producers and the industry pay a levy from their annual sales for public education on alcohol abuse and addiction. At the same time, they should take greater responsibility for rehabilitation of alcoholics.

Some systematic intervention programmes are necessary to assist women and children who face abuse and violence. Federal and state agencies must address these concerns.

Maybe the Selangor government could take the lead in providing the guidelines necessary for healthy living and ensure that all responsible will put human lives before profit.