The reflecting theologian

And so the U.S election ended on Wednesday with an unexpected victory for Donald Trump. There had been many analysis pieces that try to make sense of what happened in the United States, similar to the June Brexit. Some have even likened what happened this year to the times of Nazi Germany. And some took the opportunities to highlight some supposed prophecies by some self-proclaimed prophets who prophesised that God is going to make use of Trump to be His Trumpet... But I am not writing today to talk about why Trump won. Honestly speaking, I remained agnostic towards the results. Firstly, domestically, the internal ramifications of the results are too far away from Singapore for us to feel the impact, although the developments will undoubtedly affect the global economy as well as the global stances towards certain issues. Secondly, voting for both candidates are like choosing between Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin, it's between the lesser of two evils. But I want to take this op...

(Originally sent out as an article under Eagles' Simply Proclaim) I’m writing this at a pivotal time in history. By the time you read this, Americans will have chosen their 45th President—and the course their country will take for many years to come. We in Singapore are generally not Americans, but the United States’ role as a global power means that it  will  indeed affect us in some way. The Internet provides us with just as much ability to comment and be updated as they have. So what does this have to do with preachers here in Singapore? How can local preachers engage meaningfully with this important event? Preach Jesus, not politicians. It’s no secret that this is one of the most divided electoral climates in US history—perhaps even more so than Singapore’s. American society is sharply polarized, and even if you are not living in the US, you may be prone to take sides and harbor your own hopes for your preferred candidate. Whatever the case, we are to keep Jesus’ rule...

This is a series of reflections that I sent to my fiancee from my own Bible readings. I have posted them in this blog so that it is easier to keep track for future reflections.  4 “ ‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God. - Le 19:4 Idolatry, one of the ten commandments and it got repeated here in Leviticus. As I was reading this verse, the self-identification of God after the command struck me. We do not turn to idols or make metal gods for ourselves, He is the LORD our God Implicitly or explicitly, depending whether we catch the relationship, is that God established His relationship with the Israelites as their God and He even gave them His name so that they will not mistake or confuse Him with other gods. There is no excuse therefore for people who will be making metal gods or idols thinking that they are indeed worshiping Yahweh, the God who brought them out. It was similar to the incident of the golden calf. What does this teach u...

This is a series of reflections that I sent to my fiancee from my own Bible readings. I have posted them in this blog so that it is easier to keep track for future reflections.  5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.  Lk 11:5–8 There are two accounts of Jesus teaching the Lord's Prayer and one happens right before this parable in the book of Luke. Needless to say, the parable that follows right after the Lord's Prayer serves to elaborate on Jesus' point about p...

This is a series of reflections that I sent to my fiancee from my own Bible readings. I have posted them in this blog so that it is easier to keep track for future reflections.  The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually. 3 Outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the LORD from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 4 The lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the LORD must be tended continually.  Le 24:1–4 The work of the OT priests in Israel is a daily routine stuff. There were sacrifices being done on a daily basis. And based on this passage, the duty of a priest is to keep the lamp in the tabernacle burning. It is a continual job. In fact, because the lamp may burn out anytime, it is more than merely a 9-5 job, it is a job/d...

This is a series of reflections that I sent to my fiancee from my own Bible readings. I have posted them in this blog so that it is easier to keep track for future reflections.  34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.  Lk 14:34–35 This passage follows after two parables about counting cost. Before the parables, Jesus talked about carrying the cross while following Him. The parables of building the tower and going to war with another king demonstrates the seriousness of counting the cost when we choose to follow Jesus. The first parable of building the tower seems to imply that we need to count the cost so that we will be able to finish what we start out to do in the first place. The second parable of going to war with another king seems to mean that we need to count the cost so that we don't end up in failure. In the context of following Jesus, it is a cal...

This is a series of reflections that I sent to my fiancee from my own Bible readings. I have posted them in this blog so that it is easier to keep track for future reflections.  The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard and holding the banners of their family.” Nu 2:1–2 Today let's look at something more interesting. This passage talks about the encampment of the Israelites while they are in the wilderness. The arrangement of the tribes may not seem to have any significance, but this has to be seen visually: If one notices, the encampment of the Israelites revolves around the Tabernacle and at the end of Exodus, we know that God's presence descended down to the Tabernacle once it was built. This means that at any one point, any tribe of Israel will be facing the Tabernacle, or to be more specific, God's presence. As a nation, God's presence became the center ...