Illuminate the world

Spiritual Shortcuts (Part 2)

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:48:15 GMT

SD: Indeed. The Serpent’s second suggestion was for the Lamb to save the world through a spectacular stunt – without having to go through the dreadful cross. Another brilliant short cut, but alas, the Lamb did not buy it. This is obviously a stronger temptation – one you can use on those who don’t buy the other short cut. Earthlings don’t like the cross and suffering. Use it to our advantage. We have tricked many of the Kingdom’s evangelists to preach short-cut gospels that promise salvation without suffering, grace without pain, a crown without the cross. We support them by giving them success in terms of numbers and wealth. It is easy to multiply such preachers for they want easy success.

JD: And what about the third short cut?

SD: That is the most sinister and subtle, the last trick in the bag, so to speak. The Serpent offered all that could be seen. He dressed it up with glitter and gold. He appealed to human pride and greed, but there was none in the Lamb. But earthlings are different – they readily believe their eyes. You offer them the world and they will offer their souls as payment. The fact is that they worship themselves, and that is the most subtle short cut there is. Even the best of them can fall for this short cut. So you should sharpen your skills in this area. By the way, notice that the Serpent started with physical hunger and moved to spiritual hunger. He reversed the order of priority. He failed with the Lamb because the Lamb had already begun with the spiritual and had worked out the implications in the social and physical realms. The earthlings, however, begin with the physical and therefore are easy prey. At the Garden, the first short cut was enough to trip them up. Be therefore encouraged. It is usually easy. But be careful of those who are close to the Lamb, for they are more resilient. They are more careful about buying our short cuts to happiness, comfort, salvation and glory.

JD: Thank you sir. I must chew on what you have said.

TAKE TIME TO BE HOLY

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

Hymm written by William Dunn Longstaff, 1874
music by George Coles Stebbins,1890
Can be found in Hymns of United Worship, song 229

Weifeng

Spiritual Shortcuts

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 09:05:33 GMT

Like to share with all of you an interesting article written by our Bishop, Dr Robert Solomon:

The following is a conversation between a senior demon (SD) and a junior one (JD). The conversation is imaginary but the lessons are real.

JD: SIR, thank you for seeing me at such short notice. I have been trying my best to learn as quickly as I can in my new assignment. The Department of Shortcuts is a busy place; there’s a lot to learn and I am on a steep learning curve.

SD: Well, I am glad we can meet JD. What have you been reading lately?

JD: There’s quite a lot to read. I am trying to understand earthlings and their ways by reading the stuff they produce – in fact, I am overwhelmed and inundated by the massive amount of information. How does one get through the flood of information in which earthlings seem to be drowning?

SD: That’s the genius of the Serpent Empire. It has been our policy to overwhelm the earthlings’ world with lots of useless information so that they will fail to notice what is important. Get in touch with Section K586C – they will tell you how to easily identify the trash information that they pump daily into the earthling system so that you can focus on the real facts. Now, what is it you really wanted to talk about?

JD: I have been thinking about the work of my department and trying to understand spiritual short cuts and how to use them to frustrate the efforts of the Kingdom. Can you give me a quick tutorial on spiritual short cuts?

SD: So you want a short-cut approach to short cuts? Well, that is funny, but seriously, this is fundamental stuff. The Serpent himself is a master at this and has been using this for a long time. It is a time-tested method. You see, in the Kingdom (as in the real world), real growth takes time. The King has all the time in the world and He takes delight in seeing things grow and mature in the right season. All this is inbuilt in the world He has created. The same principles apply in the realm of the earthlings. The King has promised to save them and has been working at it, bringing them to maturity and perfection through His own process of nurture. It takes years of training (including suffering) for them to look like the King’s Son. That is the King’s ultimate purpose. Our job is to thwart that purpose. That is the one single obsession of the Serpent Empire.

JD: How do spiritual short cuts feature in this scheme of things?

SD: I like your impatience; you have the perfect temperament to work in your department. I must remember to congratulate the chaps in Staff Assignments. Coming back to the matter at hand, you must read up what happened at the first Garden. The Serpent tricked the first earthlings with a spiritual short cut. He urged them to disobey the King by eating the forbidden fruit, promising them that they will be like the King if they did. Of course, he was lying, but the stupid earthlings fell for it, hook, line and sinker.

JD: You make it sound like it is a piece of cake. I mean it sounds so easy.

SD: Well, it is quite easy. Since the First Trick I just described, we have been having a field day. Earthlings seem to have a built-in foolishness and a craving for short cuts. You can offer short cuts to them and they will eat them out of your hand. But the most important kind is the spiritual short cut for it short-circuits the King’s plans.

JD: In what ways, sir?

SD: You must also read up on the Great Temptation – it was an epic encounter between the Serpent and the Lamb (the King’s Son). We all held our breath when it happened. The other side also watched with great interest. The Serpent used all his skills to sell three short cuts to the Lamb. The sad part of the story is that he failed miserably. That is why we don’t talk about it here very much; the Serpent hates to hear about it. But for your job, you need to read about it and learn valuable lessons.

JD: I am listening sir. You have all my attention for this is very interesting indeed.

SD: The first short cut the Serpent offered was to turn stones into bread. The Lamb was hungry from fasting and it must have been a great temptation. But He rejected the diabolical suggestion, quoting from the Book that man does not live by bread alone but by every word from the King’s mouth. Fortunately, earthlings are different and are easy prey to such suggestions. Many of them are driven by their appetites and they have no control over them. Any short cut that promises instant gratification will be readily grabbed by them. You will have a field day twisting their lives around their quest for material comfort and pleasures. Even those who belong to the Kingdom have problems with their appetites. Like the rest, their miserable bodies are their gods. Walk around their markets and watch their media, and notice that we have already infiltrated almost every corner. The Serpent’s sales pitch can be heard everywhere. It is short-cut galore. Only a few who follow the Lamb are more keenly aware of this and prove to be more resistant than we expect.

JD: I guess it is these we must work on more deliberately.

To be continued ..........

Weifeng

Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:29:10 GMT

Dahlia was a beautiful woman with a wonderful husband and two adorable children. A family to die for. A family now dead. She had been out that fateful night. Teaching English to a group of neighbourhood kids. When she returned home, she found her husband and children tied up and gagged, dying in a pool of their own blood. Victims of a senseless and violent robbery.

Dahlia's name is borrowed, but her story is true. There are many Dahlias in this world. The details may differ, but the deep sense of unfairness, the anguished questions of "Why?", the aching loneliness and despair - all these are felt by people all over the world. Is this how Dahlia's tragic story will end?

There are two terrible injustices here. The first is the fact that, as far as we know, the murderers have not been caught and punished. Justice has not been done, and the pain is unresolved. But then there is the second and bigger problem. Even if these monsters were caught, their punishment will not bring back to life Dahlia's husband and children. She lives on with the ongoing pain of having lost them in such a violent way. Life isn't fair. It is often most cruel. That was the kind of world that I, Daniel, lived in. A world in which good people - saints, even - were often killed by swords or burnt in flames by cruel plunderers (see Daniel 11:33).

But let your imagination run free. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a fairy tale ending to Dahlia's story? A fairy tale ending in which the poisoned and dead sleeping beauty gets up from the dead and lives happily ever after? Wouldn't it be wonderful if Dahlia's family members are resurrected to life again, with new bodies and no scars whatsoever? And the thugs who did this cruel deed are caught and humbled, punished, shamed and repentant, whilst the woman is reunited with her loved ones and they all live happily ever after? What decent human being would not wish for such a wonderful happy ending for Dahlia?

In the brutal and cruel world that I lived in, God gave me the promise of just such an incredible fairy tale ending. Read Daniel 12:3. `Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.'

Thomas More put it this way: `Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.' The apostle Paul was convinced of this too. He spent most of his final years in a dark, damp prison cell. Five times he was sentenced to thirty-nine lashes of the cane. He was falsely accused, and his message of love terribly misunderstood. And in the end, he was executed because of it. His was a life of much suffering and little earthly joy. Yet this same man, whilst in a prison cell, wrote to others with these words, `Be of good cheer. The God of love and peace is with us. I consider the sufferings of this present world to be nothing compared to the glory that will be awaiting us.' (2 Corinthians 13:11; Romans 8:18)

Wouldn't it be wonderful if these hopes of a fairy tale ending - of an eternity of living happily ever after - wouldn't it be wonderful if they could actually come true?

The God of the book of Daniel says, `They can come true. I promise. Trust in me. Be faithful. Be patient. Walk on to the end.' (Daniel 12:13)

Do you know of someone who has been helped by the promise of heaven to endure bravely her suffering, illness or bereavement? Pray that God may give you the same kind of rugged faith.

End of seventeen blogs of "I,Daniel ..."

May the message and example of Daniel inspire us to remain Faithful to the End.

(PS "I,Daniel" is a tiny little booklet written by Dr Gordon Wong, lecturer of Trinity Theological College)

Is this my Father’s world?

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 07:53:14 GMT

Have you ever stopped to reflect on events in history? Have you ever felt the terror and suffering of civil war? If you have, then when you read my words in Daniel 11:9-13, you will appreciate the unrest and horror of living in such times. Sometimes a ray of hope seems to break into the gloom. Peace is enjoyed for a while as fighting ceases. A treaty is in place and we all rejoice. But then that peace treaty is shattered, and fighting breaks out again, worse than before (Daniel 11:6-8). Hopes are dashed, and despair sets in, deeper than before. That was the world I lived in. A world of suffering, violence and terror. And please don't think that those who believed in God were exempt from such suffering. Many devout and godly friends of mine suffered terribly, dying in flames; others were killed in the sword of battle (Daniel 11:33). Believing in God never saved us from terrible suffering on earth.

Why am I telling you this? Why is Daniel 11 so long and full of distressing descriptions of wars and terrors experienced by people in my ancient time? I am not trying to frighten you. I would be surprised if I had to. I am sure that your world is also full of war and terror. I would be surprised if you did not also understand the fear of unrest and uncertainty. None of us knows the future. But God does. And He asked me to write Daniel 11 to assure you of this. He wanted you to believe that the world is not out of His control. He knows that it often seems like that to us. All the bad and terrible things that happen - how can God be in control? Evil and anarchy, senseless fate and cruel destiny - these are the powers that seem to control our world today.

But God says, "No. I am in control. None of these evil things catch Me by surprise. I cannot explain to you right now why I allow such things to plague My world and your world (see reflection on Daniel 10). But I do want to assure you that this is still My world. And one day, at a time I will decide, I will put an end to the evil ones who rule this world. So don't give up your faith. Trust in Me. In this world you will face much tribulation, but take courage, for I am in control of this world (John 16:33)."

This is my Father's world

O let me never forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong

God is the Ruler yet.

(Words by Maltbie Babcock, 1858-1901)

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When God doesn’t answer.

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 08:14:35 GMT

Have you ever asked "Why, Lord?" I have. Lots of times. My name is Daniel, and I often struggled, asking God why He allowed such terrible suffering to fall upon us. Our capital city Jerusalem devastated. Our temple destroyed. Why?

In Daniel 10, I recall one such period of emotional struggle. I did not feel like eating or drinking. I was overcome with sorrow (Daniel 10:2-3). I prayed, and prayed, and prayed again. But no answer, no reply. God was silent, or at least I could not hear Him. I often felt like giving up. Why bother to pray when there is no answer? But I didn't stop praying. How would that be any better?

So I kept praying, and kept on crying.

And then it came to me. God spoke. Whether it was a vision, or an angel or a dream - I don't know. I only know that I sensed God speaking to my heart. Reassuring me, reminding me.

He reassured me that He knew what was happening. He saw all the suffering we were going through. His eyes were sharp and did not miss anything (Daniel 10:6).

He reminded me that He still loved me. He even said I was highly esteemed in His eyes (Daniel 10:11, 19). I didn't feel loved. I didn't feel highly esteemed. I felt abandoned and forsaken. I felt lost and helpless. But He said I was loved.

And then he shocked me. He told me that every single one of my prayers had been heard. It didn't feel like it. But He said the very instant I prayed, He responded (Daniel 10:12). How could that be? He said that there were some important struggles in heaven that had to be resolved first (Daniel 10:13). No details, no explanation. Just that an issue concerning Persia had to be dealt with first. I didn't understand. How could there be any struggles or issues to be resolved in heaven? I could not comprehend. I don't think I was meant to. He just wanted to remind me that He loved me. That even if it seemed as though he had not heard, the truth was that He had.

Have you ever seen a four-year-old child cry? It is heartrending. He does not want to be abandoned in pre-school. Why must he be taken away from home and Mummy and left in the arms of this stranger called "Teacher"? Why is his Mummy walking away? Why does she not hear his cries to take him home with her? I don't think this boy can comprehend the reasons his Mummy allows this to happen. What kind of Mummy allows this?

Perhaps the boy cannot understand, but the answer is clear. The Mummy who allows this is one who loves him very, very much. And though he does not understand why she is "abandoning" him to school, she hopes that he will still know that she loves him. "Why, Lord?" I still ask that question, every now and again. Whenever terror attacks my life, I cry out to God. I often receive no explanation, no answers. But I do receive His reassurance and His reminder. He reassures me that He sees what is happening, and He knows what must be done. He reminds me that He loves me and hopes that I will "take courage and press on with His strength and peace" (Daniel 10:19). And one day, He will take me home from the school of life's sufferings. Amen.

Can you think of occasions in which you prayed for something, did not receive the answer hoped for, but nevertheless found strength to survive and press on?

Sharing from Weieng

Answered Prayer

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 03:49:36 GMT

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
       The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.
       After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing.
       Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.
        Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island.
       The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered. As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"
      "My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them", the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything."
      "You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."
       "Tell me", the first man asked the voice, "What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"
      "He prayed that all your prayers be answered."
      For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.

                                                                                                                                                                   Author unknown

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Prayer and Suffering

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 03:23:10 GMT

LORD, is the worst is yet to come? That's what you told me through the visions in Daniel 8. (Editor's note: see previous blog.) I still feel weak and helpless (Daniel 8:27). I can't understand it. Why do you allow such terrible disasters and crises in our lives? It doesn't seem right or fair. Or maybe it is. I know I am not free from sin. I know I am part of a society that has not always been fair and kind. I know we often ignore your wise instructions. I know that the current crisis is largely a result of reaping what we ourselves have sown. It's perfectly natural. If we sow seeds of coldness and cruelty, then we can hardly be surprised that we are reaping a harvest of cruelty today. Forgive us, Lord. Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned (Daniel 9:1-8).

But it is still hard to accept, Lord. I know we have sinned, but it is still hard to endure the pain of punishment. How long must this continue?

You are a God of justice and truth, but You are also a God of infinite compassion and You long to forgive. So please, Lord, how long more must we endure this hardship?

Last week, the cousin of Hananiah was raped. The classmate of Mishael's seven year old son died from a horrible disease. O Lord, why must we endure this horror? When will we experience your favour again? Please do not delay in forgiving and restoring us (Daniel 9:19).

How long? Did you say "seventy sevens" (Daniel 9:24)? Sigh! I understand. Seven is symbolic for completeness, and seventy sevens is Your way of saying "in My perfect time". It will last not one moment longer nor one moment shorter than You intend.

I understand, Lord. I understand that You are telling me that my part is to press on faithfully through the pain and struggle of life.

I understand that You are telling me that I do not need to know when or how long before those struggles end. I need only to believe that the time is not controlled by Evil. It is controlled by You.

I understand this, Lord, but it is still not easy to accept. Not easy to understand. Not easy to press on.

Lord, have mercy on us. Give us grace to face the struggles of life in this often cold and cruel world. Come to us. Save us, in Your time. Help us to believe that You will make all things beautiful - in Your good and perfect time. Amen.

Jesus warned that "in this world you will have many troubles" (John 16:33). Do you know someone who is suffering at this time? Pray that they may find strength and courage.

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我爸爸已经生气

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 03:41:20 GMT

有一天，农夫看到一辆运草的大车翻倒在路边，一个小孩站在一边哭。

农夫就上前安慰小孩：“别急，你先到我家喝口水，吃点饭，然后我帮你把车拉起来。”

小孩说：“不行，我爸爸会不高兴的。”

“不要紧，他会原谅你的。”

小孩只好到农夫的家。吃完饭后，小孩又担心起来：“我想，我爸爸已经生气了。”

农夫说：“别害怕。你告诉我，你爸爸在那里？”

小孩小声说：“他还压在车底下呢”

我们能从这笑话中吸取什么功课呢？

愿你们有个喜乐的一周！

伟峰

The worst is yet to be.

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 07:57:15 GMT

"l, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days. l was appalled by the vision" (Daniel 8:27).

I remember it well. The vision was most sobering. Perhaps it was too sobering! I fell sick for several days after receiving it. But God knows best, and God would not have given me the vision if it wasn't necessary.

What was the vision? Let me recap it here for you. (Read Daniel 8 for details.) In essence, God wanted to warn me that days of suffering would come, and they would get progressively worse. The vision was of a ram which was "great" at making life difficult for others (verse 4). Did things get better after that ram was destroyed? How I wish! Instead, he was replaced by a goat that was "very great", making life even more difficult (verses 6-8). Finally, another goat comes along. It is described as being so arrogant that it dared to challenge God Himself (verse 11). The progression from "great" rams to "very great" goats is clear. Things do not always get better. They often get worse.

And they may even get so bad that good people will be unfairly persecuted and killed (verses 24-25)! Now do you understand why I was appalled? God was warning us that our earthly safety was not guaranteed! Earthly deliverance from the cruel monsters that inflict suffering in our lives is not guaranteed. I didn't want to hear that. I prefer to hear that God will deliver me from all my earthly worries while I am still alive on earth. I want to be assured that I will be protected from the lions, like I was in the past (see Daniel 6). God helped me beat the lions. Why must God now warn me to expect death at the hands of cruel goats?

So I fell sick. This was too sobering for me. It does not surprise me to hear that some modern Christian writers also find this too sobering to accept. They say that the suffering and pain in my vision will not afflict Christians. It will only afflict those who are not Christians. The true Christians will be raptured away before any of this suffering described in Daniel 8 occurs. And so they say, "Don't worry. If you are truly a Christian, you will be saved from all this tribulation. Trust God and you will be alright."

I wish they were right. But that is not how I understood it. Nor is it how I have experienced it. Again and again, I have seen these warnings fulfilled. I have seen things get from bad to worse. I have seen good and godly people die. The vision I received warns us: "Do not be naive. The world we live in will produce monsters who will sometimes ruin and destroy us. Be prepared to face the worst."

May the sobering warning of Daniel 8, not shake our faith, but strengthen it. May it give us courage and inspiration to face our pain and persecution, both present and future, in the name of Him who was not saved from crucifixion and death, Jesus our risen Lord. Amen.

Can you think of any situation in which not being prepared for the worst can be a bad thing?

¤ How can we be prepared for the worst without being pessimistic or morbid?

¤ Is being prepared for the worst an indication of negative thinking and lack of faith?

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Many Leaders, One Lord.

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 09:11:39 GMT

I've served under many different leaders in my time. I mention some of them in my book: Nebuchdanezzar (chaps 1-4) and Belshazzar (chapters 5 & 7) were Babylonian leaders, Cyrus (chapter 10) and Darius (chapters 6 & 9) were Persian. Then when I was much younger, Jehoiakim was the king of Judah (chapter 1) and I also had training instructors (I was preparing for the office of priesthood). I'm sure that you could list many different leaders that you have served under in your life. Some good, many bad, but most of them a mixture of both.

Leaders are unavoidable in life. But I learnt a lesson about leaders. God taught it to me in a dream. Read about it in Daniel 7. But let me summarize here. In the dream, I saw four kinds of human leaders. The first (verse 4) was as powerful and proud as a lion. But then he had a humbling experience (if I may change the metaphor, his wings were clipped). This made him a much less arrogant and much more humane ruler. The second was as hungry as a bear (verse 5). He had an insatiable appetite. He always demanded more from us. He was never satisfied with our output. You might say he was "driven", and never knew when or how to stop. Then there was Mr. High Flyer (verse 6). His rise to success and power was faster than a leopard - it was more like a flying leopard! You know the kind - they somehow have the knack of knowing everything - it's like they have four heads instead of only one!

Then there was leader number four. Unfortunately, this kind of leader is not confined to dreams. When he appears, it is a living nightmare. The first 3 leaders aren't angels, but the 4th kind of leader is a real monster. He is very much worse, very "different" from the others (verses 7, 19). He is as horrible as ABC: Arrogant (verse 11), Blasphemous (verse 25) and Cruel (verse 19). You know the kind - the Hitlers, Pol Pots and Idi Amins of this world.

But what was the lesson on leaders that God taught me? He taught me three things.

Firstly, though leaders may be different, there is one thing they have in common. Their leadership, whether tolerable or tyrannical, is temporary (verses 12, 26). Their reign on earth will not be everlasting, although God knows it often feels like it is! There is only one leader whose reign is everlasting, and that was lesson number two. The true leader, whose reign will never end, is the Lord God Himself (verse 14). Learn to trust in Him, no matter what kind of human leadership you may be suffering under at the moment. The human reign of terror is temporary. The reign of the Lord is permanent. And not only that, He gives us a promise. Lesson number three: all who trust in God will be given a share in leadership positions in the everlasting kingdom of God (verse 27).

Are you suffering under the tyrannical hand of some human despot? Even if it is nowhere as terrible as life under a Hitler or a Pol Pot, it can feel as bad when you and your family are being bullied and exploited by cruel employers and leaders. The dream in Daniel 7 offers no promises of immediate relief from the terrible trials of tyrannical terrorists. But it offers us the reassurance that these leaders will not last forever, and that one day, as we trust in the one true Leader and Lord, we will be given leadership and the opportunity to rule with justice, kindness and compassion. This is my dream, but it isn't just a dream. It is reality, because it is the word of God. Trust in it.

Can you think of situations in which people today are suffering unfairly? How can the promise of judgement and heaven give hope and courage to such people?

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Real Lions have teeth!

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 01:53:51 GMT

Lions in our world have real teeth!" People often protest that the story of my deliverance from the lion's den is unrealistic and naive. They complain that Christians were eaten by the Roman lions and were not delivered. They also say that they know many Christians who (like me) prayed three times a day but were (unlike me) devoured by cruel lions in their workplace. Sigh! They say my story recorded in Daniel 6 is naive. The truth is that their understanding is naive. The lions in my day also had real teeth. I knew many godly people in my day who were killed and devoured by the cruel beasts who ruled the world. (I'll tell you more about this in Daniel 7-11.)

Our Saviour Jesus (Hallowed be His name) walked on this cruel world of ours for thirty-three years and was crucified on the cross. That was a terrible thing that happened to the most holy and most "good" person that ever walked on earth. But then He rose again on the third day. Hallelujah!

But do you think that this teaches us to expect that believers who die prematurely at thirty-three years of age are guaranteed a physical resurrection on the third day?! Don't be naive. The resurrection story tells us what God once did and what God is easily capable of doing again. But it does not promise us that God will always do it that way in every circumstance for every person.

When Ananias and Sapphira told the church leaders a lie, God exposed their deceit immediately and they both dropped down dead (see Acts 5:1-10). Does this story teach us that it is impossible to deceive a church leader because God will immediately expose you and you will immediately die of a heart attack?! Don't be naive. The story tells us what God once did and what God is easily capable of doing again. But it does not promise us that God will always do it that way in every circumstance for every person.

Yes, I was saved in the lion's den today, but that does not mean I cannot be mauled by them tomorrow. Christians who were thrown to (and killed by) the lions in Rome understood this. Despite witnessing many Christian deaths in the lion's arena, they did not reject my story as meaningless. On the contrary, my story gave them courage to face the lions and their own impending death. My story assured them that it was not their cruel or careless emperors who controlled their ultimate destinies. It was God who ultimately controlled their eternal destinies.

Like them, we live in a world where, more often than not, cruel and unjust people succeed in tearing us to shreds. This can make us think that our destinies are at the mercy of unreliable bosses, jealous colleagues and cruel twists of fate. But my story in Daniel 6 says "No!" Our destiny is not controlled by how powerful or clever our competitors and colleagues are. Our destiny is not controlled by the boss who can decide whether to hire or fire us tomorrow. "Don't you know that I have the power to decide whether you live or die?" Pilate said to Jesus (see John 19:10-11). Jesus replied: "No. You don't. You think you do, and it may seem like you do. But any apparent power you possess has been granted to you by the One who in reality holds my destiny in His hands." God, and God alone, has the power to control the destiny of our lives. And only a fool would forsake his relationship with God, for to do so, would be to forsake the one who alone decides the happiness or otherwise of our eternal destiny.

That was the problem with Darius' decree (Daniel 6:7-8). By demanding that people bring their requests and petitions for help only to the king, and by forbidding any requests and prayers to be directed to any God, was to imply, without much subtlety, that the human king controlled the destiny of all his subjects. In their foolish arrogance, employers sometimes think they control the destiny and fate of their employees. And in our fearful ignorance, we sometimes believe them.

But No! Daniel 6 reminds us that cunning colleagues and careless bosses do not control our ultimate destinies. God alone does that, and it is God we must trust. It is God we must remain faithful to. For to turn away from God is to turn away from the glorious and secure destiny He has planned for us.

Have you sought to live honestly and diligently, but find yourself exploited and left behind as others surge ahead in today's world? Don't give up. Take comfort from my story and remain true to the God who holds the destiny of you and your loved ones in His hands.

How would you define "success"? Jesus said: What use is it if a person should gain the whole world but lose his soul? (Mark 8:36) Do you agree?

Describe one or two symptoms of someone who has placed earthly success before eternal destiny.

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People never learn

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 07:51:24 GMT

"We learn from experience that men never learn from experience. "

(George Bernard Shaw)

I know what he means ... and it is so sad. Do you remember me? I'm Daniel, and I told you earlier about my first boss in Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar. He was a great man, but too arrogant for his own good. But all credit to him. He learnt his lesson. When he offended and ridiculed the religious convictions of us Jews, God put him through some humbling experiences. But as I said, all credit to King Nebu. He learnt his lesson, and he started to show respect to the God of the Jews. [In case you've forgotten, you can read all this in Daniel 1-4.]

But someone else did not learn. His name was Belshazzar, and his sad story is found in Daniel 5. A story of a man who should have known better. A man who should have learnt from his life experiences. Nebuchadnezzar, through much hardship, learnt the importance of showing respect to the God of the Jews. Belshazzar saw this, but did not learn from it (Daniel 5:22 "though you knew all this"). Instead, he did what? He showed blatant disrespect. He took the religious bowls and chalices of the Jerusalem temple and he used them as wine glasses for his drunken orgy (Daniel 5:2-4). This would have offended any Jew. It was as an act of blasphemy and sacrilege. It showed disrespect for Jewish religion and belief. Imagine someone taking the Koran and tearing out its pages in order to make paper aeroplanes! Imagine someone laughing at you because you pause to give thanks before a meal.

All these actions share one thing in common. They reveal a lack of sensitivity and respect for another person's religious beliefs and practices. To be sure, many of our insensitive acts are done in ignorance, like a tourist who enters a mosque wearing shorts and sandals. Did Belshazzar know how offensive and disrespectful his actions were? When he used those cups which were holy vessels for the Jew, was he doing it deliberately to offend, or was he just plain ignorant and stupid? It is difficult to be certain . But what Daniel 5 does make certain is that he had no excuse. If he was ignorant, he should not have been. He saw what happened to Nebuchadnezzar. He should have learnt from it. But he didn't.

His mistake is common.

A reckless motorist almost has a terrible accident. Instead of learning to drive more carefully, he continues his reckless motoring style until he finally kills someone.

A young boy hates the way his father shouts at and even beats his mother. But he grows up and does the same to his wife and children.

A young woman resents the way her mother treats her like a little girl. But when she becomes a mother, she creates in her daughter the same feelings of resentment.

A Christian feels hurt and offended when people make furl of his God, but he thinks nothing of putting down other religions."

We learn from experience that men never learn from experience." This was true of Belshazzar, and true of many. Lord, please do not let it be true of me.

How can we show more sensitivity to people of other faiths without compromising our own convictions?

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How much more before I learn?

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 02:59:04 GMT

I told you previously about my boss, King Nebuchadnezzar. What a tremendous testimony he gave of God's power at work in his life. But it took a long time. And it took many different episodes in his life before he got the point.

God had been working in his life for a long time and in many different ways. There was the gentle influence which God brought through Nebuchadnezzar's association with me and my three friends. We became his court counsellors, and he liked us (Daniel 1:19-20). Then he had the troubling dream which God enabled me to discover and interpret (Daniel 2). Nebuchadnezzar began to respect our God a bit more (Daniel 2:47). But he still hadn't learnt his lesson, and God had more to do in his life. An office crisis developed when some colleagues of ours plotted to make my three friends look really bad in front of the boss (Dan 3). During the crisis, Nebuchadnezzar was very impressed with the way Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego conducted themselves. In the end, he went so far as to make a decree that granted us freedom of worship and protection against religious persecution (Daniel 3:29). But God wasn't finished. Nebuchadnezzar still hadn't learnt the lesson of humility which his troubled dream was meant to teach. So God gave him yet another dream - the one which he described in his personal testimony (see Daniel 4:4-18). God was trying to warn Nebuchadnezzar of his pride and failure to acknowledge the true power behind his earthly success. He was warned that unless he turned from his arrogant ways, he would end up being humiliated.

Pride was leading Nebuchadnezzar towards a fall. I told him all this, and I thought he took it to heart (Daniel 4:19-27). But if he did, he soon forgot. Twelve months later (Daniel 4:29), his pride came tumbling down, and he lost control of all his senses, acting and eating like a wolf. Maybe it was what psychologists call lycanthropy. I don't know. I do know that it was most painful to see my dear master so helpless and humiliated. But after this affliction, Nebuchadnezzar finally came around, and from his testimony, it sounds as if he has learnt his lesson well this time. I certainly hope so. I certainly hope that God doesn't have to let him undergo even more drastic problems in order to teach him humility and kindness towards others. And I hope that God won't have to use too many humbling incidents in my life before I learn the same.

The gentle influence of his people around him, a couple of troubling dreams, an office crisis, a humbling sickness. These are some of the ways in which God had been working in Nebuchadnezzar's life. I know he is working in your life and my life too. How much more will I have to endure in my life before I learn to humbly acknowledge him and show kindness to my fellow human beings?

Can you think of one or two recent things that have happened in your life or the life of people close to you that may contain valuable lessons for you? Do you think it is possible that God is trying to teach you important things through these different events?

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If he can change there must be Hope!

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:46:46 GMT

He was the most powerful man on earth. His empire was enormous. He was also very rich. He spent millions constructing one of the seven wonders of the ancient world -the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Powerful and rich. Self-sufficient. Self-satisfied.

Do you know anyone like that? A good job, a good family, a rich income. Satisfied and secure. Happy and prosperous. No need for religion. No need for God. No need for anything.

Nebuchadnezzar was like that. I never dreamed he could be humble enough to admit his need of God. It was so unlikely. It was hard to believe that such a powerful ruler would ever acknowledge our God. But now I know better. God reminds me that even the rich and famous need God. They may not realise it yet. But at some point, even rich and powerful people are confronted by their inadequacies. And some of them are humble enough to admit it. Nebuchadnezzar did. Read his testimony in Daniel 4.

He was the last person I would have expected to stand up and give a testimony of his conversion. But there it is. And his testimony serves as an encouragement to those of us who are concerned about friends or loved ones who do not now care for God. They seem happy and secure, and apparently without need of religion or God. A brilliant classmate, a kind boss, a loving husband. Don't give up. Expand your faith and your prayers to the amazing grace of God that can reach even the Nebuchadnezzars of this world. Don't despair. Keep caring. Keep praying.

It's hardly surprising that not everyone was pleased to read Nebuchadnezzar's testimony. Some were even angry! They could not believe he was truly converted. They did not want to believe. He was a pagan king, and his armies had destroyed the city of God. He also destroyed the Holy Temple of God in Jerusalem. Many Israelites were killed in battle. Others, like myself, were taken away as slaves to Babylon. So it is not surprising that many of my fellow believers did not believe that such a man could have been converted.

Nebuchadnezzar was not only rich and powerful. Many regarded him as bad. We find it hard to believe that rich, powerful and wicked people might change for the better. Sometimes we prefer to believe that they will not change. And maybe that is why God has allowed Nebuchadnezzar's testimony to become a part of Scripture. It stands as a challenge to our unspoken prejudice against certain people whom we regard as our enemies. It teaches us that even the worst of sinners, who deserve society's disgust, can sornetimes find themselves changed and transformed by the grace of God.

Nebuchadnezzar's testimony is included in Scripture to make us more willing to see our hated enemies touched and transformed by God's love. It is a way in which the Spirit of God tries to give us a less prejudiced way of looking at that loud-mouthed atheist who ridicules your Christian beliefs. It teaches us to pray for that business rival who has been destroying your profit margins. It reminds us that even the arrogant and obnoxious person who has a violent temper can, by the grace of God, learn her lesson, and change. Maybe we are that person. If someone like Nebuchadnezzar can change, then there must be hope for everyone. May God find us willing.

Think of someone you know whom you would consider the most unlikely ever to believe in God. Pray for the miracle of change and belief.

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Is God too BIG or too small?

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:27:47 GMT

For many people, God is just a nice idea. He's just like Santa Claus. He doesn't really do anything miraculous. When you get Christmas

presents, it isn't because of an old man whose snow-white beard never gets black despite coming down your chimney. For many, God is the same. He doesn't do anything special or miraculous. That's what Nebuchadnezzar thought too. If you are put into a blazing fire, there is no God who can save you from death (Daniel 3:15).

But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego believed otherwise. They replied, "You are wrong, Nebuchadnezzar. There is a God who can save us. There is a God who can deliver us from the flames of pain and poverty. There is a God who can do miracles." (Daniel 3:17)

That's what they said. That's what they believed.

But note also what they did not believe. Chapter 3 verse 18: Even though they believed that God was able to deliver them, they did not believe that he was certain to do so! They accepted the possibility that, in this instance, God might not deliver them from the furnace. But whether or not God chose to deliver them, they knew that their part was to remain true.

This balance is difficult to maintain. Some of us prefer verse 17: Our God is mighty and fully able to deliver. Our God is not too small. He is not limited to human possibilities. God can heal you. God can solve your problems.

But sometimes we emphasize this important truth in such a way that it sounds like we are saying, "God will heal you. God will solve this problem of yours. All you need is enough faith." Such statements neglect verse 18.

Others find believing in verse 18 easier: Even if God does not deliver on this occasion, even if He should choose not to heal you, trust in Him. Don't give up your faith in God.

But we can emphasize this teaching in a way which gives the impression that God never delivers, never heals, never solves our earthly problems in miraculous ways. We play down the testimony of verse 17.

Because of our different temperaments and experiences, each of us is sure to lean more easily to one side or the other. We prefer either verse 17 or verse 18. For those of us who champion verse 17, God is only God if He delivers and saves and heals. But we must beware the danger of having a picture of God which is "too big", too closely tied to what is miraculous that we fail to see the mighty hand of God in the small and ordinary ways of human life.

On the other hand, those of us who prefer verse 18 need to guard against making God "too small". We confine God to human possibilities only. We rule out hope in miraculous deliverance and healing.

But God is neither too big nor too small. He is just right. Perfect and divine. Let's hold verses 17 and 18 in balance, and always trust in Him.

Read the balanced faith of Daniel 3:17-18 agaln. How might the following persons complete their prayers if they had a steadfast faith that avoids presumption?

* a student facing exams: "Lord, I believe that you can help me pass my exams and make me fare better than I expect. But even if I should fail, help me to … …”

* a woman hoping for a relationship to blossom into marriage: "Lord, I believe and pray that

You can ...... But if You do not do this, help me still to ......”

* a husband praying for his child who is critically ill: "Lord, You are the God for Whom all things are possible. Please ...... But if not ... "

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Not everything is grey

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 04:48:33 GMT

It was Socrates who asked, "Why is it that men know what is good, but do what is bad?" I'm sure there is more than one answer. But let me tell you a common one. Three of my good friends know it well. Remember them? Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. Read their story in Daniel 3. They were asked to do something which was wrong. Clearly wrong. Not a grey issue. Jet black.

There are grey issues which we had to think about. I told you before about our struggle with accepting the Babylonian (pagan) names which the king gave us. The issue of whether it was wrong to accept without protest the position of personal advisors to a pagan king. These issues were not immediately clear to us. They were grey, not black or white.

But this time, it was clear. Clearly black. Every one of us knew it. It was wrong. They were trying to force my friends to worship a tall statue of gold. And the key word is "worship". It was not just a question of bowing respectfully like some tennis players at Wimbledon in front of a Queen. It was not just a matter of showing courtesy to the king, like a Christian who shows respect at a Chinese funeral in a Chinese way. Those kinds of things would certainly not be black. At most, a light grey, perhaps closer to white. But this was different. Not grey, but jet black.

The command was not just a matter of official protocol and courtesy. It was an explicit command to offer worship and to serve another god. This kind of command is clearly wrong. For the Jew or Christian to even contemplate worshipping another god is tantamount to renouncing his own faith. He cannot worship another god and remain true to his own faith. But the command was not only wrong for a Jew. It was wrong for everyone. No government, no king has the right to force another person to worship his own god. No one has that power. Some think they do. But they are wrong, jet black wrong. And my three friends knew it. So they did what was right. They refused to worship, and through their courageous stand, the pagan king realised his error. It took some doing, though, and I'll tell you more about that in my next blog. But for now, I wonder if you are ever faced with the same kind of black and white struggle that confronted my three friends.

There are many things in our world that are not clearly black or white. Issues which need careful thought before one can discern their primary colours. Issues like euthanasia, or white lies, or accepting donations from a gambling organisation. But if we're honest, there are many more issues that are clearly black or white. Things that we know to be right and good, things which we know to be wrong and bad. Murder, adultery, letting someone else suffer for the mistakes we made, losing our temper and then justifying it ... Our trouble is that even when we know what is good and right, we do not have the courage to do it. Or as Socrates put it, "Why is it that we know what is good, but do what is bad?"

Why do you think we find it hard to do what we know is good and right? What can we do to help each other do what we know is the right thing to do?

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Not a Timetable, but a Theology

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 03:06:35 GMT

"The message I received was clear, but your questions are beginning to confuse me. I know only what God told me. If there's more, you had better ask God yourself. Goodbye. "

Sorry. Daniel speaking. I was responding to some readers who were arguing with me over God's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream (see Daniel 2:30-45). I thought the explanation was clear enough, but some callers evidently disagree.

The dream was of a statue made of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay. The message was for Nebuchadnezzar, one of the most powerful kings on earth. His name was mentioned in the interpretation. He was the head of gold (Daniel 2:38). In the vision, the statue is broken by a little stone from heaven, not made by human hands (Daniel 2:34). The symbolism is clear: the stone symbolizes God's kingdom which replaces all human kingdoms, and God's kingdom alone lasts forever (Daniel 2:44). Isn't that interpretation both clear and challenging?

The point was obvious: you may be powerful now, but this will not last forever. No human kingdom lasts forever. Only God's kingdom does. So don't be arrogant. Don't be proud. And don't ignore God. Invest in His kingdom, so that long after your own human glory has passed on, you will still have a share in a kingdom more glorious than your own. An eternal one.

King Nebu needed to hear this. Pride is more common in human beings than in peacocks, and the rich and powerful are especially prone. Unfortunately, King Nebu quickly forgot. Read (in Daniel 4) how God had to take more drastic measures to keep him humble.

Do any of us need the same lesson? Maybe we all do. The vision was for Nebuchadnezzar, but also for us. The rest of the statue symbolises every human kingdom and power in history. The interpretation is not limited to four specific kingdoms. The mixture of iron and clay suggests a divided kingdom (Daniel 2:41), partly strong, partly weak. But this is a characteristic, not only of ancient Greece or Rome, but of all human kingdoms. (So please stop quarrelling over whether ancient Greece or Rome was more divided!) All of us, individuals and nations, must keep our glorious achievements in humble perspective. All our human kingdoms will fade away in the light of God's eternal kingdom. So don't be arrogant.

One caller asked, "But if the statue was meant to symbolise all human kingdoms generally, why was the interpretation specific in mentioning only four kingdoms?" I told him that "four" is a figure of speech. When people speak of the "four corners of the earth", they mean the whole earth generally. They aren't thinking of four literal corners, or even four specific countries. And neither was I. I understood God to mean all the kingdoms of this world. God was not giving Nebuchadnezzar a timetable of history. What King Nebu needed was, not a timetable, but a theology of history. All the glory of human history will not outlast the glory of God's kingdom. Invest your life more in the latter.

What are some of the human "kingdoms" or accomplishments that we may be in danger of placing too much pride and confidence in?

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Is your God too human

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:08:55 GMT

It was terrifying. Everyone was in a panic. We all felt so helpless. We were helpless. I don't mean to boast, but it doesn't happen very often. Most times, I humbly use the wisdom and talents and abilities which God has blessed me with, and I solve most problems. With patience, skill and hard work, I normally manage to overcome most obstacles in life. But this was different. I really felt helpless. All the skill and calm thinking, all my patience and hard work, all offered no solution. None of us knew the answer. All of us were afraid.

Our king had asked us to do the impossible. It was absurd and unfair. But most of all, it was terrifying. He threatened to kill us if we could not come up with the answer. But it was impossible - how could anyone on earth know the answer?

I learnt a vital lesson from that crisis.

As a believer, I knew that God works through the resourcefulness, diligence, compassion and genius of human beings. I believe in the God who works through my human hands. I believe in the God who works through human doctors and surgeons, human pastors and counsellors, human philanthropists and donors. I believe in the God who helps those who help themselves. And I am sure it is correct to believe this. But because I was able to accomplish so much through all these human resources, I was in danger of believing that God worked only through human abilities.

God had become too human in my belief. I needed to believe that He could work outside the bounds of human possibilities. I needed to believe, not only in a God who helps those who themselves, but also in the God who helps those who can 't help themselves.

This terrifying incident helped me learn this lesson. You can read the story of this impossible and absurd demand of the king which confronted us in Daniel 2. I am glad to say that God chose to do the impossible for us on that occasion. And I hope I never forget the lesson.

Are you facing any important task that might seem to overwhelm you? When Daniel was in trouble and faced with an impossible task, he prayed. Have you taken time to pray for the difficult tasks that you are confronted with this week?

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Not Diet but Dedication

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:59:20 GMT

In my previous blog, I told you that we decided it was alright to conform to certain Babylonian requirements which were placed on us. So we accepted the Babylonian names they gave us, and we even worked faithfully in the king's royal court. We decided that God didn't want us to be extreme in expressing our beliefs. So, for example, even though we knew that our God was the only one who was the King of kings, and to call any human being by that title would be technically wrong, we decided that it was not worth making a protest over. Everybody addressed the Babylonian king in those exalted and exaggerated terms - so we just followed (Daniel 2:37). We don't think God was unhappy with us. Similarly, I don't think God is unhappy with little Jim who calls his daddy "father", even though, strictly, God alone is the Father of all. And when lawyers address the human judge as "my lord" or "your honour", I don't think it's worth getting too upset over. So we just followed social conventions.

But we also felt God telling us to be different in some ways. Most importantly, we felt God telling us to be distinctive in the way we did our work. So that's what we did. We did our very best to be good and reliable employees. We sought to let our light shine so that our good works might bring glory to our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). And it worked! The Babylonian king noticed, and was impressed (Daniel 1:1920). This was the start of a very good relationship we had with the human king. In fact, he later became a worshipper of our Lord (see Daniel 4).

I think that this is how God wants our faithfulness to be demonstrated: not just when we are in church, but when we are not in church! When we are in our offices, or homes, or on the golf course and tennis court. He wants our character to be distinctive. In an office where people don't care about the quality of their work, we can be different in producing responsible work which God has made us capable of. In a society in which most people are cold and impatient, we can be different if we show warmth and politeness.

PS. Some of you have asked about our decision to refrain from eating the king's food and drinking his wine (Daniel 1:8). Yes, we were different there too, but I'm afraid I can't remember why we thought that the food then was defiled. I don't think it was because the meat had been offered to idols. After all, we ate the vegetables they gave us, and the vegetables had also been offered to the idols. Whatever our reason then, it was only a temporary one and specific to that period. I'm sorry I can't be more specific." But in any case, the way God used us to witness to the king was not through our diet. It was through our dedication. The king didn't even know about our restricted diet. So please don't fuss over the food and the wine. What is important is the need to shine out and be distinctive in your character. That's what will bring God the glory.

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Conforming is not always Compromise

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 03:14:28 GMT

Remember me? I'm Daniel, trapped in Babylon. That's right, the place with the Hanging Gardens. But there's more. Babylon is a place with gods and religious customs which we don't believe in. In Jerusalem, being a good Jew was easy. Everyone was a Jew, and everyone worshipped the Lord. But here in Babylon, life is very different. Our religion is only a minority religion. The majority here worship Babylonian gods. People don't understand why there are certain things I can't do. Many conflicts arise. I'll tell you about some in subsequent months. But for now, I'll tell you something I learnt early on. Conforming is not necessarily compromise.

We ride our donkeys on the left hand side of the street in Jerusalem. Here in Babylon, they drive their chariots on the right hand side. I decided that I had better do as the Babylonians do and drive on the right! Conforming to that was easy. But other things weren't. Our names, for instance. Remember my friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah? Our Babylonian bosses either couldn't pronounce our Jewish names, or didn't like them. So they gave us Babylonian names. Hananiah was called Shadrach, Mishael was called Meshach, Azariah was called Abed-nego, and I was called Belteshazzar.

This troubled us. Would accepting such names anger our God who is the Lord? After all, our Jewish names declared our faith in the Lord. Hananiah, for example, means "The Lord is gracious". But what was even more worrying to us was that the Babylonian names said things about the Babylonian gods! Abed-nego means "the servant of Nego", and Nego, I think, is related to their Babylonian god Nebo. My friends and I wondered whether we should refuse to respond to such "pagan" names. We thought about protesting - a violation of our religious convictions. We weren't afraid - we would rather go to the lion's den or a fiery furnace than be unfaithful to the Lord. But after some prayerful discussion, we decided that conforming here was not compromise.

That was the lesson. Being a faithful witness in this "secular" Babylonian society with its secular gods would involve us having to conform to certain social demands and conventions. We accepted the Babylonian names without protest (Daniel 1:7). And we did not even object when they forced us into the Babylonian National Service. They made us serve the Babylonian king in his royal court (Daniel 1:19). We assimilated. We adapted. We became a part of the world in Babylon.

But that's only half the lesson. Even though we had to conform to some aspects of this pluralistic culture, God told us that we had to be different in some other aspects. Though we were in their world, we had to make sure that we were not of it (John 17:14-18). That was tough. I'll tell you about it in my next blog.

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a testimony from Xuezen!

Sat, 24 Nov 2007 16:45:09 GMT

Hey yall! Xuezen here!

Aka: su

Ok ... I have a sort of long testimony to share!! Actually two or three testimonies.... J

I just ended council camp! It was a three day two night thing. On the first day I had service learning for 9 HOURS you know, but nothing else really happened. So on the second day, the council went to IMH, which is the Woodbridge mental hospital, I did a practical service learning thing there.

SO I shall tell yall what was expected to learn from the time spent there:

1. Learn to understand the needs of the people that I am going serve

2. Dont judge a person although they are different

3. Understand that everyone has setbacks that made an impact in their lives.

I set these goals before leaving to IMH, and also prepared a performance for them. I prayed hard that the patients would not touch me and come near me, and also that I can reach my goals,...as becoming a leader you must require a proper mindset so that you can GROW.

Anyway when my group entered the ward, we performed and taught them to fold cranes and hearts...and also how to sing! Surprisingly, they turned out to be like old folks and only needed entertainment from people. They sang together with us and folded cranes, and they were also very gentle people! So instead of they touching me, I touched them!!!! J Thank You Almighty Father!

It was the best experience! So PRAISE GOD FOR HE UNDERSTANDS OUR NEEDS AND PROVIDED THE BEST FOR US! YAY! J

Now a second testimony.

After the IMH trip, council had a night walk in school and it was so BLACKY DARK! Two group members had to search for the rest of the members in the DARK DARK SCHOOL, and i was paced with a friend in a CLASSROOM that was pitch dark. I was super afraid and needed the washroom, so after the toilet, I sat on the table and felt fear. Realising that, if I never believed in GOD or known him, I would have always been in the dark and no one is there to rescue me from sin.

Thus, this night walk thing not only let me realise some leadership values but it also teaches me that believing in GOD is the only way that I can receive the ‘light’. So I like to thank God for providing the lessons I learnt in my daily life. !!!!!! J

Xuezen

No Church!

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 02:53:01 GMT

I never thought much about it. I just assumed it. It seemed to be what everyone believed. Maybe you believe it too. If you aren't serving in the church, then you aren't serving God. And the more you are serving in the church, the more you are serving God. I still believe this... I think. But I've got a problem. I'm in a place where there is no church. At least, I haven't found one. And my present job responsibilities don't allow me time off on Sundays. I'm trapped. No church. No God.

But that can't be right, can it? Is God confined to the church? Surely He is bigger than that. But if God is bigger than the church, then it must be possible for me to serve Him outside the church.

Whoa! This is new to me! I've never been in a country which did not have a church. I don't have any idea what serving God means when there is no church. I've always assumed it meant doing something in the church: being an usher, singing in the choir, sitting on a committee, giving money in the offering, faithfully attending Sunday worship. There are many different ways of serving God, but all of them are connected to the church.

So what do I do now? Here I am. Trapped in a country with no church. No worship services. No visible sign of my God. How can I still serve Him? How can I still be faithful?

This is exciting! If it really is possible to serve God outside the church, then that changes everything. When I was back home, I thought I served God a lot. Two nights and a Sunday morning every week. That's about nine hours a week - more than most "faithful" Christians put in. But nine hours is only a small fraction of a week that has one hundred and twelve waking hours (assuming a generous sleep of eight hours a day). If serving God takes place only in church, then only a fraction of our waking life is lived serving Him. This cannot be correct. So it is important for me to know how to serve God outside the church. For if I learn how to do that, then I can be serving him in many more places and many more times in my daily life.

So here I am. Trapped in a place with no church. Forced to think of what faithfulness to God truly involves. I'm sorry. Did I forget to tell you who I am? My name is Daniel, and you can read my story in the Bible. I am in Babylon, far away from the Jerusalem temple. There are no Christian churches here. But already I am beginning to believe that God will show me how I can serve him faithfully, not only in church, but wherever I am. What do you think? Do you know how to serve God when you aren't in church? I'll discuss this in my next blog.

Sharing from weifeng

sing a jubilant song

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:37:46 GMT

for those who missed Lumina's performance last week...haha. enjoy!

Upcoming Activity:

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 17:13:33 GMT

Outrageous TPYM Overnight Tour

when? 16 november(10pm)-17 november(7am)
where? around various parts of Singapore on a charted bus
how much? $7

meeting venue: Toa Payoh Methodist Church

For any enquiries, pls contact David@92994031

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:25:59 GMT

hey..

suddenly remembered a website where jasper once showed a cute korean clip..
a pity that i can't play it from here.. but do take a look at the link..just go look at the flash clips
really made me ponder on my walk with God... enjoy and hopefully u'll be touched just like i was..

http://www.donghaeng.net/english/main.htm

huggies,
suzie