"A country is not just what it does - it is also what it tolerates." - Kurt Tucholsky, German essayist of Jewish origin
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me."- Ps Martin Niemdler
Just returned from the land of Israel, where I spent two awesome weeks learning about the nation of Israel, and God's faithfulness to his covenantal people.
Whilst there, one of the places I visited was the Yad Veshem, the Holocaust museum. The Yad Veshem is really a very sobering place - and documents a very dark period in humanity. During the Holocaust, a staggering 6 million Jews died. Why? For no other reason than that they were Jews - God's prooftext. God has said He will preserve a remnant of Jews for Himself, and if they are annihilated as a people, God would be proven to be a liar. This is what the Evil One wants, and this spiritual dimension is behind the 52 genocides perpetuated against the Jewish people throughout history.
But while the Jewish slaughter is staggering, equally horrific is the small number of people who stood up as the voice of conscience during the Holocaust. And all this in Christianised Europe. While the killings were going on, the Church was largely silent. By its silence, it was complicit.
In the 1938 Évian Conference convened by then US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to discuss the issue of increasing numbers of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution, only one nation out of 32 committed to take refugees. That country: the Dominican Republic. What a sad state of affairs that the world was sympathetic, but chose to turn a blind eye. Faith without works is dead.
At the Yad Veshem, a tree is planted for every single individual who is considered the "Righteous Among the Nations" - these are non-Jews who risked their lives to save the persecuted Jews. If they just saved one Jew, they would have been honoured. How many in the entire world did so? Just a paltry 18,000 (among them, Oskar Schindler and Corrie Ten Boom).
Why so few? The reasons boil down to the following: (1) Prevailing anti-semitic feeling (2) Apathy (3) Atmosphere of fear in Nazi Europe (4) Conformism.
The Gentiles who risked their lives to save the Jews did so even though there was a very real threat they would die doing so. They risked the constant fear of betrayal from their fellowmen; in Western Europe, they would have been sent to the death camps; and in Eastern Europe, they were in danger of execution.
When I reflect upon that, I dare not say that I too would be brave. That is why as the days get darker, one of my prayers is for God to give me a holy fear of Him. Fear of God, not fear of men.
"They overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." (Rev 12:11)
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Amazing Grace - the life of William Wilberforce
I picked up a copy of the DVD "Amazing Grace" at a Gramaphone bazaar sale on Friday, and what an excellent movie it is! I am so glad I got it!
The 2006 movie is about William Wilberforce, who in his 20s, had a renewed conversion experience and came to know God. Awakened to God, he was torn between living a life as a man of God (in the Church), and staying in politics as a Parliamentarian. In politics, he would be able to champion the abolition of the slave-trade through legislation. It would be a battle that would require grand vision, moral fortitude, courage and bulldog tenacity ... In the end, Wilberforce was all of the above, and more.
This film is just soooooo inspiring, and having watched it, now ranks as one of my favourites. In one scene of the movie, Wilberforce, still unsure about his calling, is persuaded that he can be a man of God and be in the world (though not of the world). In the end, I can see how God used him greatly in politics to make the world a much better place.
God's people are called wherever they are - in church, in the marketplace, in government, in the arts, in education, in media, etc - to be the force that changes the world. Wilberforce proved just that.
Top-notch movie. Go get the DVD and watch it if you haven't!
The 2006 movie is about William Wilberforce, who in his 20s, had a renewed conversion experience and came to know God. Awakened to God, he was torn between living a life as a man of God (in the Church), and staying in politics as a Parliamentarian. In politics, he would be able to champion the abolition of the slave-trade through legislation. It would be a battle that would require grand vision, moral fortitude, courage and bulldog tenacity ... In the end, Wilberforce was all of the above, and more.
This film is just soooooo inspiring, and having watched it, now ranks as one of my favourites. In one scene of the movie, Wilberforce, still unsure about his calling, is persuaded that he can be a man of God and be in the world (though not of the world). In the end, I can see how God used him greatly in politics to make the world a much better place.
God's people are called wherever they are - in church, in the marketplace, in government, in the arts, in education, in media, etc - to be the force that changes the world. Wilberforce proved just that.
Top-notch movie. Go get the DVD and watch it if you haven't!
Knowing the intimate whisper of God
Today, I attended the 1st anniversary celebration of Covenant Vision Church. What a joyous time it was! But what struck me deeply was Ps Bruce Allen's message on what God is looking for in a people/ church of the Last Days. Preaching from the life of Samuel and Leviticus, the conclusion is that, ultimately, what God wants is a people who listen and obey the voice of God.
What is God looking for in a people/ church of the Last Days?
1. A people wholly given over to Him. Hannah, when she prayed for the baby Samuel, vowed to God that if she had a son, "then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head" (1 Samuel 1:11)
2. A people who can hear His voice. If we are to usher in the Lord of Hosts, to usher in a new move of the Spirit, we must know His heartbeat.
3. A people who will respond to the voice of God in obedience. "The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground." (1 Samuel 3:19)
Ps Allen said there are 2 types of servants. The first type is a hireling - someone paid a wage for his labours, who is free to leave after his term of employment ends, who has possession of his family. Then, there is the second type of servant, a bondservant. Now, a bondservant voluntary chooses to surrender his freedom to his Master. He chooses to stay permanently with his master's household, to give up his rights to whom he will marry, and also his rights to pay. He does so out of love, and in turn, his master adopts him into his family and becomes his protector. We are all to be bondservants of the Lord.
What is interesting is that when the slave decides to be a bondservant to his master, according to Exodus 21, this is contractually sealed when the master 'bores his ear through with an awl". A gold earring is then placed in the ear of the slave.
Similarly, in Leviticus, when a person is pronounced free of leprosy, the priest ...
"shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot". (Lev 14)
Sequence of santification - ear, hand, foot. As bondservants, the first thing that needs to be sanctified is our hearing (ear), followed by our service (hand), then our walk (feet). We can have hands that work and feet that walk, but if these are not guided by God and His voice, a lot of our activity could actually be pointless. They might be a striving of the flesh, or contrary to what God wants.
Jesus only did what He saw the Father do. Ultimately, everything and everything comes down to our relationship with God.
May we all press in to know the very intimate whisper of God, because only then, will our walk and service be fruitful. Amen.
What is God looking for in a people/ church of the Last Days?
1. A people wholly given over to Him. Hannah, when she prayed for the baby Samuel, vowed to God that if she had a son, "then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head" (1 Samuel 1:11)
2. A people who can hear His voice. If we are to usher in the Lord of Hosts, to usher in a new move of the Spirit, we must know His heartbeat.
3. A people who will respond to the voice of God in obedience. "The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground." (1 Samuel 3:19)
Ps Allen said there are 2 types of servants. The first type is a hireling - someone paid a wage for his labours, who is free to leave after his term of employment ends, who has possession of his family. Then, there is the second type of servant, a bondservant. Now, a bondservant voluntary chooses to surrender his freedom to his Master. He chooses to stay permanently with his master's household, to give up his rights to whom he will marry, and also his rights to pay. He does so out of love, and in turn, his master adopts him into his family and becomes his protector. We are all to be bondservants of the Lord.
What is interesting is that when the slave decides to be a bondservant to his master, according to Exodus 21, this is contractually sealed when the master 'bores his ear through with an awl". A gold earring is then placed in the ear of the slave.
Similarly, in Leviticus, when a person is pronounced free of leprosy, the priest ...
"shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot". (Lev 14)
Sequence of santification - ear, hand, foot. As bondservants, the first thing that needs to be sanctified is our hearing (ear), followed by our service (hand), then our walk (feet). We can have hands that work and feet that walk, but if these are not guided by God and His voice, a lot of our activity could actually be pointless. They might be a striving of the flesh, or contrary to what God wants.
Jesus only did what He saw the Father do. Ultimately, everything and everything comes down to our relationship with God.
May we all press in to know the very intimate whisper of God, because only then, will our walk and service be fruitful. Amen.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The Aroma of Prayer
I never grew up thinking I would join the prayer ministry. Even today, bible studies/ teachings/ seminars are probably more popular than prayer meetings at most churches. A good friend I met for tea today said that many churches today are more focused on feeding the mind than the heart. Hmmm.
Anyway, in my 20s, when I had settled back in my homechurch after 5 years overseas, I drifted in and out of different ministries, trying to find my giftings and where God wanted me. In all, I probably tried 7-8 ministries over a number of years. Yet, none seemed to ignite true passion. None seemed to say, Yes, this is Home.
Then one day, I read Ps Jim Cymbala's "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire". Ps Cymbala is the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle; which is today home to the world-famous Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. His book is the story of how when he first pastored the church, it was a decrepit, motley crew of a handful of people; who were dregs of society. Even the ushers were stealing the Sunday offering. It left him at his wits' end. Then he sensed God saying that he was to make the prayer meeting more important than any other meeting in the church - even the Sunday service. That book so pierced my heart - and I saw how much sense this made - that I immediately enrolled myself in the Wesley prayer team. And when I did, that felt like Home! :) It was the best thing I did. And it has been the most exhilarating ride with God - to know that He speaks to us; He loves us; He bids us to come boldly to the throne of grace!
Last night, I re-listened to one of Ps Cymbala's sermons on Mp3 - "The Aroma of Prayer". He is still one of the best teachers on prayer, because he is a practitioner. His whole church is run on prayer. He doesn't teach from theory; he teaches from a life lived out believing wholeheartedly that prayer should be central to every church.
To listen to Ps Jim Cymbala's sermons "The Aroma of Prayer", "My House Shall be Called A House of Prayer" and "Calling On the Name of the Lord", click here.
Anyway, in my 20s, when I had settled back in my homechurch after 5 years overseas, I drifted in and out of different ministries, trying to find my giftings and where God wanted me. In all, I probably tried 7-8 ministries over a number of years. Yet, none seemed to ignite true passion. None seemed to say, Yes, this is Home.
Then one day, I read Ps Jim Cymbala's "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire". Ps Cymbala is the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle; which is today home to the world-famous Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. His book is the story of how when he first pastored the church, it was a decrepit, motley crew of a handful of people; who were dregs of society. Even the ushers were stealing the Sunday offering. It left him at his wits' end. Then he sensed God saying that he was to make the prayer meeting more important than any other meeting in the church - even the Sunday service. That book so pierced my heart - and I saw how much sense this made - that I immediately enrolled myself in the Wesley prayer team. And when I did, that felt like Home! :) It was the best thing I did. And it has been the most exhilarating ride with God - to know that He speaks to us; He loves us; He bids us to come boldly to the throne of grace!
Last night, I re-listened to one of Ps Cymbala's sermons on Mp3 - "The Aroma of Prayer". He is still one of the best teachers on prayer, because he is a practitioner. His whole church is run on prayer. He doesn't teach from theory; he teaches from a life lived out believing wholeheartedly that prayer should be central to every church.
To listen to Ps Jim Cymbala's sermons "The Aroma of Prayer", "My House Shall be Called A House of Prayer" and "Calling On the Name of the Lord", click here.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Obedience: this, too, is love
Obedience.
Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
Obedience is something we do if we love God.
Today, as I was reading Watchman Nee's thoughts on spiritual authority, I suddenly saw why God wants us to obey.
I saw it from another perspective.
This is what Watchman Nee writes.
When the Son left the glory, He did not intend to return on the basis of His divine attributes; on the contrary, He desired to be exalted as a man. Jesus was exalted by God after He was obedient. In like manner, God wants to affirm this principle of obedience in us now, so that we also will be worthy to be exalted in that coming Day.
I always thought God wants us to obey Him because He is God. He is the ultimate authority. He is the Law. And there is nothing wrong with that.
But today, I saw things from another perspective. I realised that God wants us to obey Him so that He may be able to exalt us.
God wants us to obey Him because He LOVES us. He LOVES us. That caused a pang in my heart. He wants us to obey Him because it is good for us.
Obedience - this is a demonstration of love. Our love for God. His love for us.
Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
Obedience is something we do if we love God.
Today, as I was reading Watchman Nee's thoughts on spiritual authority, I suddenly saw why God wants us to obey.
I saw it from another perspective.
This is what Watchman Nee writes.
When the Son left the glory, He did not intend to return on the basis of His divine attributes; on the contrary, He desired to be exalted as a man. Jesus was exalted by God after He was obedient. In like manner, God wants to affirm this principle of obedience in us now, so that we also will be worthy to be exalted in that coming Day.
I always thought God wants us to obey Him because He is God. He is the ultimate authority. He is the Law. And there is nothing wrong with that.
But today, I saw things from another perspective. I realised that God wants us to obey Him so that He may be able to exalt us.
God wants us to obey Him because He LOVES us. He LOVES us. That caused a pang in my heart. He wants us to obey Him because it is good for us.
Obedience - this is a demonstration of love. Our love for God. His love for us.
Amazed - by Lincoln Brewster
Every morning, I have a short 5-minute walk down the road from my house to the main road, where I catch the transport to work. These days, in my busyness, sometimes those 5 minutes are all the private time I get to really spend alone with God (I really should do more, I know!). Anyway, these days, as I walk down that little road, have been plugging into Lincoln Brewster's song "Amazed" on my ipod. It never ceases to make me marvel at God's love, and to praise Him. It's such a favourite song of mine! :) Here are the lyrics:
You dance over me while I am unaware
You sing all around but I never hear the sound
(chorus)
Lord I'm amazed by You
Lord I'm amazed by You
Lord I'm amazed by You
And how You love me
(verse 2)
You paint the morning sky with miracles in mind
My hope will always stand
For You hold me in Your hand
(bridge)
How deep how wide
How great is Your love for me
You dance over me while I am unaware
You sing all around but I never hear the sound
(chorus)
Lord I'm amazed by You
Lord I'm amazed by You
Lord I'm amazed by You
And how You love me
(verse 2)
You paint the morning sky with miracles in mind
My hope will always stand
For You hold me in Your hand
(bridge)
How deep how wide
How great is Your love for me
Friday, October 2, 2009
The God I Know (City Harvest Church)
Heard this song last week - such a beautiful worship tune - which originated from Singapore!
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