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...