The reflecting theologian

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. - Exodus 34:29 In the bible, people have been able to know which person has spent time with God, or which one has deep relations with God. This occurs with Micaiah, Elisha, or even Jesus. The key here is that people will know if we have spent devotional time with God, just like what happened to Moses. Because he has spent his time in the presence of God, his face became radiant and people could tell. Something for us to think about.

The gospel is often condensed into a story that affirms the basics of our faith: God loves us and has a wonderful plan for us. But we have sinned and are therefore separated from Him. Jesus Christ on the Cross is the answer to our predicament, and if we will accept him as our personal savior, we will have eternal life. Though accurate in what it highlights, such a simplified presentation can wrongly convey the idea that the gospel is primarily about individual fulfillment and satisfaction. "God loves YOU and has a wonderful plan for YOU." "Live your best life now!" Such a shortened story seems to place Christians in the center of the message and not Jesus. On the contrary, the heart of both the Old and New Testaments is the fulfillment of God's plan. The story of our redemption is God's complete and multifaceted movement among history and people and nations. It cannot be reduced to mere highlights without compromising the story. What about the r...

Quick: What’s the worst moment in a lot of church services? Too often it’s when God’s Word is read aloud. I fully agree with that, although equally irritating is when the Word of God is being misused on stage, with verses taken out of context. After reading Uncle Yeo's blog post on this, I fully agree that many a times, people are simply not reading the Word of God with the same enthusiasm that they give to the preacher or the praise and worship. This happens especially also in our UniYA services. It is so obvious that NOT everyone reads out loud when the preacher invites us to read the passage and verses together. It makes me wonder sometimes why is it so... I mean dun we all from young learn how to read in unison together in class? Why can't we do the same in service, where we are able to read the Word of God, something which Abraham, Issac and Jacob didn't get to enjoy? This is one point to consider.

Now I seriously think that God allows me to start work on 1 Dec so that the people in NUS are able to benefit from my free time....

"Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." - Exodus 3:5 It just dawned upon me as I was reading Exodus 3 something about holy ground. Mount Sinai was not holy by its own sake, but it was holy because of God's presence. I was just teaching the other day to another brother that in Christianity, there is no such thing as a holy ground. Jerusalem, for all its worth, is only a piece of land where action has taken place but by no means it is a holy land. Our church building is by no means a holy land just because we use it for service. It is the same thing for holy communion. I have mentioned it once in this blog but I still wanna talk about it because it continues to annoy me. The holy communion elements are not holy by its own sake, so I can decide to dispose the elements in whatever ways I desire. I still can remember the face of the brother who told me that it's THE HOLY COMMUNION... dia...

I completed my round of volunteering for APEC last Friday. For those who are unaware, I volunteered as an APEC ambassador to be stationed at the airport to receive the delegates who were coming for the summit. It was quite an interesting experience. I met a lot of people and made a lot of friends with the volunteers. It was fun as I was able to get access into areas which we normally won't unless we are in transit. I enjoyed the experience thoroughly and I think I will look out for more of such opportunities in the future. While I was inside the airport, I was just looking at the people in transit and the people who arrived in the airport. I looked at the luggage and the passengers. It sort of reminded me of a vision by my church, that we want to make the Changi Airport our airport, that we will see church planters and missionaries going and coming back everyday every hour. I wonder if Jesus will come back before this happens, but that's not the point. The spiritual significa...

Can God create a rock that He can't move Himself? This is an interesting question. I wonder what people will think if I give a straight 'no' with a straight face. Previously, me and another brother were discussing about this question, but I would like to give this question a try, after reading answers given by different people. First of all, look at what the question is asking about. This question inherently question on the issue of omnipotency. The assumption behind this question is that an omnipotent God can do everything. The question breaks down upon knowing this assumption. How? The most obvious flaw in the logic is in the word 'everything'. I was chatting with a christian friend last night and she was like quoting me that with God, everything is possible. Being the historian that I am, I saw that this verse can be easily misunderstood or abused without proper context. But can God really do everything? We have to bear in mind that the bible never mention th...

This is an interesting song. Can tell that the song is something of a cover of Amazing Grace but not quite. I bet the one who wrote the lyrics and the song is a Christian, though God is not explicitly mentioned in the song, it has something like a Christian meaning. Interesting.

I have posted the video in a previous post. This is the lyrics: 禱告 因為我渺小 禱告 因為我知道我需要 明瞭 你心意對我重要 禱告 已假裝不了 禱告 因為你的愛我需要 你關懷 我走過的你都明白 有些事我只想要對你說 因你比任何人都愛我 痛苦從眼中流下 我知道你為我擦 在早晨我也要來對你說 主耶穌今天我為你活 所需要的力量你天天賜給我 你恩典夠我用 你恩典夠我用 It's really a simple song and the chords is canon, though I have yet to figure out the actual key. Quite a lot of thoughts after listening to the song. Feel like everything is linking together and everything is making sense to me, as in what God is trying to tell me over the past few months. I hope that one day our service will have someone singing the song live on stage.

Finally here comes the time that I can write this post. I have been waiting since 29 April that I can write this post. Actually, if things happen a bit faster, I wouldn't be writing this post but well... It is difficult for me to specify where to start. Maybe it has to start in the beginning when God created the heaven and the earth. Maybe a bit later, when He flooded the world. Or maybe a bit later when He gave us different languages. Or a little bit further into the future when I was born. Maybe fast forward a little bit, and maybe I will start on the day I finished my last paper as a NUS undergrad on 29 April. (yes, I know that is one big chunk of crap) The search wasn't that easy, at least after a while it seems that it was not going to be easy. It's all about my job search. Till date, a rough estimate of the number of applications stand at: Number of VOG applications: 50 Number of gov related applications outside of VOG: 1xEDB + 1xSPRING + 1xIE Singapore + 1xCPF + 1xMA...

Testimony 1of2 - The best video clips are here

Even before I arrived in Singapore I had heard about the legendary Singapore Girl. I knew that she had perfectly coiffed hair and used just the right amount of makeup. I knew of her warm and inviting smile. The Singapore Airlines stewardesses (no need to call them 'flight attendants' here) are the best in the world. The Singapore Girl is an icon in aviation circles. They are the most polished, courteous, and solicitous women ever to push a beverage cart. I have been told that there are 500 applicants for every position. Their uniform, called the sarong kebaya, is derived from a traditional Malay costume, and is only part of their heavily regimented appearance. No detail is overlooked. The result is nirvana for the weary traveler. These ladies are beautiful, refined, and sexy (in a wholesome, sophisticated way, of course). By the time I arrived at Changi Airport I was exhausted from my thirty-hour journey. The Singapore Girl was of no help to me -- I didn’t fly Singapore Airline...