TM Squared

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2006-03-26T07:31:00.000+08:00

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We have moved...

2006-03-19T14:33:00.000+08:00

We are now at Akouo.

Thanks for walking along with us thus far; hope to see you there!

Ben & Soo Tian

40

2005-10-09T00:55:00.000+08:00

One of my favourite U2 songs is "40" from their album War, which is based on Psalm 40 and concludes the tense, driving album on a note of peace and hope:

I waited patiently for the Lord.
He inclined and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit
Out of the miry clay.

I will sing, sing a new song.
I will sing, sing a new song.
How long to sing this song?
How long to sing this song?
How long, how long, how long
How long to sing this song?

You set my feet upon a rock
And made my footsteps firm.
Many will see, many will see and hear.

I will sing, sing a new song.
I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song.
I will sing, sing a new song
How long to sing this song?
How long to sing this song?
How long to sing this song?
How long to sing this song?.

Last year, while journeying through the Message, I was struck by something in Peterson's introduction to the book of Psalms:

"In English translation, the Psalms often sound smooth and polished, sonorous with Elizebethan rhythms and diction. As literature, they are beyond compare. But as prayer, as the utterances of men and women passionate for God in moments of anger and praise and lament, these translations miss something."

What I like most about "40" is its prayerful tone, suggesting that there really is no way around war or strife apart from running straight into the arms of God. The whole idea of patience, of 'waiting patiently' doesn't come easy to us, who'd rather take matters into our own hands and dictate our own lives.

In a sense, the Message translation stretches and stresses the first verse much more:

I waited and waited and waited for God.At last he looked; finally he listened.He lifted me out of the ditch,pulled me from deep mud.He stood me up on a solid rockto make sure I wouldn't slip.He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,a praise-song to our God.More and more people are seeing this:they enter the mystery,abandoning themselves to God.

It was written by David, but the sentiments are universal. As I look at the first two lines, I realise that those words were most probably uttered by Job as well. Not just Job and David, but every God-follower who has ever come face to face with God's wisdom -- a higher wisdom that expects no less than the laying down of our own wisdom, which is foolishness to the highest degree, to receive a 'foolishness' that knows no earthly parallel.

This is the prayer I have learned to sing in my moments of doubt, anxiety and darkness... and musically speaking, it's precisely the kind of prayer Bono's voice was made for. The Psalms still remain inaccessible to me at times, especially if I read them merely as poetry or 'wisdom.' But wisdom buried in obscurantism isn't wisdom at all. Jesus himself spoke in the lingo of the 'man on the street.'

Perhaps that is why I remember and appreciate better the Psalms that have been made into songs, simply because the composers manage to find that earnestness of expression that gives voice to these seemingly archaic texts. Tear the Psalms out of their frozen zone, and scream them out with the passion of the psalmists... unorthodox, but more real, perhaps?

But we would be wise to heed a word of caution. In chapter 16 of C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, Screwtape describes a vicar who preaches nothing out of his cycle of 15 favourite psalms and 20 favourite lessons.

The Psalms, being good literature, tends to breed favourites. I do admit I prefer some psalms to others, but this is my fault. Not that it's a bad thing to fall back more on some psalms than on the rest; surely that is why God gave us 150 of 'em all! But feeling at home in my 'comfort zone' also restricts me from exploring the vast riches of the many more psalms I have not read in detail, let alone prayed.

There is always room to 'sing a new song,' and the greatest danger is sticking to a treadmill of psalms, thus limiting our view of the immense landscapes that have yet to be discovered. Let us go into the books of wisdom with an open heart, a sound mind, and a desire to pray and cry out to God.

Blazing Fire

2005-07-24T19:50:00.000+08:00

evening
Originally uploaded by mincaye.

Hi Soo Tian,

Life is like a whirlwind. Sometimes, there is peace in the eye of the storm, and sometimes, everything just spins around us and we get thrown off centre... like the stuff I've been going through of late.

But I suppose it is instructive to remember that whirlwinds don't just whirl; they are blowing somewhere. By faith, we know that we're making some sort of progress, though God's purposes are truly as mysterious as the wind.

Peterson wrote, "You are quite right in not looking to me for answers, since I have a pretty low credit rating in that department. But it's just fine to want and expect companionship in the Way" (p. 54). Thanks to you, and the d'NAers, for being that kind of friend -- not a bunch of know-it-alls intent on dispensing advice at will.

He also hits the nail on the head in saying that "A lot of the Christian life develops 'underground' when we aren't looking" (p. 57). Even in the trials of the last 10-14 days, tumultous as they have been, I believe God was (and is) at work, developing something beyond comprehension.

Sometimes I wonder, does this Christian life also grow when it seems repulsive to others, when it seems as if we're straying away from the truth? Tien told me, not too long ago, that she believes that the initial falling away from God has something to do with the later falling into God.

"But this warning: you don't come to God by thinking but by praying" (p. 61). Maybe this is why our Father is breaking me lately. I have much abused my intellect prior to this, reading all sorts of complicated (by Michaelian standards, heheh) stuff and acting superior and all.

But I have not been praying. And I still find it hard. Yet these episodes of tearing me apart, also force me into silence. Perhaps some laying bare is required, to make it clear that what I have is, in the words of Eliot, what I don't have. Before I can be filled, I must be emptied.

Please pray that I will pray more. Which reminds, me: I have yet to read your Huggett book, Finding God in the Fast Lane.

On page 64, Peterson reminds us not to have any illusions concerning life and death: both are just as real. I suppose my MSN nickname (Mortalis) has in some ways embodied this, for it is what I often feel: not the 'happiness and blessings' sales pitches of our modern prosperity gospel, but the more sacrificial voice of a 'wounded healer,' to borrow a Nouwen term.

Speaking of which, Peterson also writes: "And... we... have the Eucharist by which we keep faith with both death and life." That reminds me, that the Nouwen book you have is about living an Eucharistic life. May it challenge and further encourage you along the way!

Especially in these wilderness times, I am even more grateful for the presence of all of you in my life. Peterson downplays the role of the so-called 'professional spiritual director' in favour of simply that of a friend.

You all are my mentors, my directors, the voices and lives through which God makes himself known in mine. Not because of your wisdom, but your folly. Not because of your strength, but your weakness. Not because of your adequacy, but your lack of it.

And in that tattered frame, God's wisdom is able to shine through, his strength able to uphold, and his grace made sufficient. Thanks for being vulnerable enough to share the journey with such a fallen one as I.

Our Master does have a sense of humour. To borrow a picture once painted by Max Lucado, indeed I think the heavenly hosts laugh at us d'NAers at first, and then laugh a whole lot more with us.

Will be busy with exams this week; thanks for keeping the site up. I shall join you soon. Au revoir!

(an apology is in order here)

2005-07-10T22:02:00.000+08:00

Hi Soo Tian.

I am very, very sorry for taking so long to put it my entry. It's been over a week, and I guess I just let many things get in the way; I should not have done that. Forgive me.

I went through part of Peterson's book, and below reproduce some excerpts I found inspiring, along with some of my thoughts:

'The church is... a super-natural community. And the super in that word does not mean that it exceeds your expectations; it is other than your expectations, and much of the other is invisible to you as yet.' (p. 27)

As I begin to understand d'NAers better, I realise that I am not in a community of super-Christians who are the epitome of Christlikeness. Instead, we are all imperfect beings with more flaws than beauty. Indeed, it has been a journey of discovering the 'otherness' of expectations.

'We have so little encouragement to cultivate emptiness, that when the weather does it for us, it strikes me as a gift. Without self-emptying, how can we be ready for Spirit-filling?' (p. 31)

Rain. Ever since a meeting I had with Sivin at BLC on 27 May 2005, it has always held for me a special significance.

'... the Holy Spirit grows the spiritual life in you, forms Christ's life in you, in the particular conditions in which you live...' (p. 33)

Yeah, I'm finding this truth very difficult. It is an extremely daunting thing to believe that the spiritual life is being woven into the fabric of mundaneness; so much easier to be impressed by visible stuff like big rallies.

'I had a friend years ago who always bought inexpensive Bibles; each morning he ripped out a fresh page, stuck it in his shirt pocket, and at odd times through the day pulled it out and read a few lines at a time.' (p. 38)

Do we sometimes 'respect' the Bible so much that we're content to let it remain on display, no more than a white elephant?

'Spirituality then becomes an elitist activity... No more mystery. And only as much of God as they think they need to legitimize their spiritual selfism.' (p. 43)

Yeah, when God can be explained away and boxed up... hang on, did I just say 'God'? No, he would cease to be God.

'For even though you weren't giving God much of your life those years, at least in a believing way, he was spending considerable time and effort on you the whole time. Now that you have your degree, let's see how he will use you.' (p. 44)

What kind of relentless God is this who still works on even those who shun him?

'The Christian life is not romantic. And it certainly doesn't assume the best in everyone -- particularly preachers. In some ways we assume the worst, but without despair, for it is because of this "worst" that we are in the salvation business, not out selling religious cosmetics.' (p. 48)

A relief, indeed. So much of religion is about cosmetics and looking good. And many don't have the chance to just be themselves without getting a lot of negative criticism.

'... a considerable number of people in North America wondered whether religion could be marketed as a consumer product for just such ninnies... Their basic strategy is to locate an area of dissatisfaction in modern life, and then promise God, or something that has to do with God, as the solution.' (p. 51)

As if Jesus is the answer. As if Jesus is something we bring into our lives. Nay, he says, "I am the way!" And it is we who enter into his life, into God's kind of life. God is NOT a consumer product. The disciplines are anything but easy; and certainly not the 'easiest solution' to present troubles.

How are things? Is the weariness lifting? I presently feel rather dry spiritually. Most of it can be read off my blog; it has indeed become an avenue for me to express myself -- my transparent self. Sometimes people tell me that it's hard to write their innermost feelings on their blogs, lest they offend readers. I don't seem to have that problem. Maybe because I know those who read my blog are aware that anything could appear up there. Thanks; you're one of these faithful readers ;-)

I am still struggling with being honest with myself. My identity has become fuzzier and fuzzier by the day, and sometimes I wonder where I'm headed. Hope, if there is any, seems faint. And I do not deserve to call myself a Christian.

Dear Soo Tian

2005-06-26T11:26:00.000+08:00

I do not have much time to write presently, but I would like to take these few minutes I have to put down a reflection or two on the Introduction.

Peterson writes that a letter, personally addressed, is the first piece of written material that gets read by him, i.e. Number One on the priority list.

Indeed, even I have had fallouts with my parents on the subject of priorities, and I must admit that most of the time, I am in the wrong. Sometimes I am so connected with the 'Christian' world I know, the blogosphere, etc, that I end up spending hours at the computer, or hours out of home, visiting someone or attending some event. They want me to spend more time resting, and I cannot disagree.

When I think about letters, I realise they are subversive in almost every way. Existing since the time of the Ancients, they stubbornly refuse to succumb to extinction in our modern, instant world. They can disappear into a folder, between sheets of paper, and suddenly pop up when you least expect them to. There is equal capacity to ignore them, and to ignore everything else but them.

In a world of e-mail, instant messengers, the telephone and SMS, letters are a novelty at best, and an antiquity at worst. But in the last few months, I have experienced writing and receiving letters like never before; they summon all of me, and cannot be read in passing. Letters demand full concentration, and somehow bring about a unity in communion between the writer and the recipient.

I wonder, why is it that the New Testament contains so many letters, but hardly any theological papers? Could it be that the letters we write to one another will have more value than the countless books published by theologians?

As far as I'm concerned, I believe it's because letters, more than anything else, arise out of real contexts; letters alone among others, cannot be produced in a vacuum of thought. Oh sure, isolate a theologian in a monastery, or an archaeologist at a fossil site, and they'll produce hundreds of pages of thought. But letters are too connected to people to be written with any less than 90% of thought devoted to the recipient.

They are more brutally honest and open than anything else, and can encourage as much as they can scar. In either case, there is neither idolisation nor disparagement of the other party; letters hold one another in greater esteem than even the most thoughtfully written books or carefully preached sermons. It is because of this colossal mutual respect, that letters are at equal liberty to pierce and praise.

Peterson's letters to Gunnar, as profound and candid as they may be, did not come close to moving me as much as those personal letters I'd received in the last few months. This illustrates, not the weakness of Peterson's writing, but the fact that letters can only serve their full purpose within the contexts in which writer and recipient find themselves, as we established earlier.

Indeed, the very phrase "Dear so-and-so" determines how much a letter affects someone. "Dear Gunnar" will never mean as much to me as "Dear Ben." And that is why, when I write to you, the greeting is phrased "Dear Soo Tian," not "Dear Eugene." (But of course, we all know that, heh)...

Still, there is much thought within the pages, and I will go through some of them prior to my next post. (Just a reminder here: we have until the middle of July to finish Peterson).

Ben

p.s. Pardon the seeming disconnectedness and lack of coherence in this letter. I am not in my usual frame of mind right now.

Dying this way

2005-06-19T03:48:00.000+08:00

Near the end of C.S. Lewis' The Last Battle, the character Emeth says: "Nevertheless, it is better to see the Lion and die than to be Tisroc of the world and live and not to have seen him."

Thing is, I sometimes want to die. I wish I could die, and rid myself of all the troubles of living. It appears many people are afraid of death, because their security is in this world, in the things of the world. But I have no faith in it. My life is a fucking mess, and my only hope is in Jesus Christ.

It is harder to live than to die. Somehow life seems like a living hell, what with the need to put up with all kinds of pains-in-the-arse, and have yourself to contend with at the end of the day!

'Peccavi' is the Latin for 'I have sinned'; it's probably the most apt description of the degenerate being writing this entry, and seems to sustain any and every act of piety or 'counter-sin.' Soo Tian was right: ascetism never works.

For awhile it was OK. My life wasn't such a mess. And then, I got chickenpox. No, the disease is not the mess, but my life has been made more vulnerable. So who do I blame? God? No! The blame is mine; who was I to leave myself wide open for the invasion of evil, the draining out of good?

And yet Peterson seems to say it is better to leave our lives open to the elements that are more likely to destroy, than to stay in a safe cabin. I've got to learn to let go. But letting God run the show is so difficult. It requires devotion and discipline. Focus and faith.... things I don't have.

If I were God, I'd have given up on my life. And right now, I'm actually willing to say, "God, take a good look at me. See if there's anything good left in this stupid shell. If there is, spare me and make something out of it. If not, I might as well burn in the fire."

Some say God is even better than we expect; to believe that means to stop thinking about just how good God is, because the moment we try to assign God to a level of 'goodness' (even if we use that magic word 'infinity'), we are locking him in our four walls of 'expectation.'

And they say God likes surprising us. Suddenly the storm hits. Do I run into it, embrace the power that God reveals through nature, or hide? It's the kind of moment when I might just say "Oh, what the hell--" and dash smack into the centre of the whirling winds and stinging rain, and bask in the presence of God.

In this moment of my depravity, I ask you, God, for this: your forgiveness. God, forgive me. How many promises have I made, and how many have I kept? The worlds biggest liars put together couldn't come close.

But I don't count on that alone. The only thing giving me any fucking hope, is that I hear people saying you're not done with us, and that means you're not done with me. So what if I'm this screwed-up tool lying about in the workshop, all rusty and useless? It appears the craftsman needs me for something, and my duty is yet undone.

I want to amount to something; I want to do great things for you, God. And if you can make anything out of this depraved life, out of this decadent soul, out of whatever fucking little is left after round and round of sin enjoyed rather than despised... especially if you want to... then who am I to stop you?

(Good night)

Order... order... order... chaos!!!

2005-06-15T15:35:00.000+08:00

In the foreword to the book "The Wisdom of Each Other", Eugene Peterson begins with the story of how John Muir, fearless explorer of the North American continent, when faced with a fierce, primal, lashing storm, did not retreat into a cabin, but climbed a Douglas fir at the top of the ridge and rode out the storm.

Spiriturality, Peterson says, has to do with life, and life is a crazy heck of the thing indeed. We would like to have it under our control, but it's not meant to be that way. The weather is a primal thing, after all, and life is full of the unexpected. Why else is the future something everyone wishes to peer into?

"Religion" on the other hand normally tries to piece together lots of things that seem spiritual, all the essences of "life", into a neat little bundle. Everything's figured out. We feel so nice and safe.

The question Peterson asks is what do we do then when a sudden storm of life blows our neat packaged life our of our hands, scattering it everywhere?

Will we run after and pick up the pieces, retreating into a safe haven to hide out from the elements? Or will we do a Muir and experience the Weather, "ready at the drop of a hat to lose my life to save it (Mark 8:35)?"

Somehow I feel like the "life" that seemed so ordered, peaceful and figured out to me has been blown apart.

And now what shall I do? Where shall I turn to?

Lord, I wish that you be my Douglas fir as I experience the full force of Life.

There's so much I have yet to know about.

Oh, that I would be teachable.

Perhaps that's the underlying reason for the storm after all?

A New Beginning

2005-06-15T00:34:00.000+08:00

Dear friends,

TM Squared (Phase 2) officially kicked-off on Monday, 13 June 2005. Our itinerary is something like this:

1) Eugene Peterson's The Wisdom of Each Other
- A series of 'ad lib' blogs, in which we're free to explore the book any way we want

2) Canonical Wisdom Books of the Old Testament
- A journey through Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon
- Reading a psalm a day to save time and preclude mundaneness

3) Apocryphal Wisdom Books of the period between the OT and NT
- Including books like Wisdom of Solomon and Ecclesiasticus

4) Wisdom of other cultures and religions
- May include Greek, Egyptian, Chinese, Indian and Persian sources

The deadline is the first day of d'NA Stage III, sometime in early December.

I'm presently down with chickenpox, so I'll have plenty of time to write the first few entries this week.

For those of you who joined us last year, welcome back and I hope this year won't be any less exciting. And we welcome those of you who are new, having been led here by either one of our blogs, or those of our friends.

Finally, in response to Soo Tian's previous entry, I did learn a lot, grasping more of Truth, and learning eventually (only a few weeks ago) that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," which is one thing to agree with, and another to truly internalise.

Perhaps that is what our adventure this time is about: connecting with our hearts, and having them beat in time with God's. Learning, as Soo Tian loves to say, to yield to the 'unforced rhythms of grace' (something from The Message). Being in some ways less analytical, and more eager to come to wisdom in humility, at the feet of Jesus.

We thank God for his grace that has brought us so far, and we look forward to the great days to come. I am sure it will be an experience made only more interesting by the fact that Soo Tian will be writing half of it from the other side of the world, when he goes to the USA to study.

Here's to Wisdom, and our (at most) meagre exploration of it,

Ben

Coming Soon

2004-12-19T23:02:00.000+08:00

Dear readers of TMsquared, it's been quite a year.

We won't be posting anything up for awhile, as Soo Tian is currently off on his National Service stint, and I'm likely to begin mine sometime in March next year.

But we'll be back, as what began as a project to finish reading the Bible (Message translation) by the d'Nous Academy camp this year, seems to be evolving into an ongoing effort in Bible study.

Tentatively, our project next year will be a detailed journey into the books of Wisdom and Poetry in the Old Testament. We found them extremely engaging this year, and found many starting points within their pages from which to launch more in-depth travels.

So do drop by from time to time; at least, don't forget that this site exists and will resume operations within a few months.

By the grace of Him who has given the Message, we find ourselves constantly drawn into further adventures, where the new worlds that open up are always larger than those before (to borrow an idea by C.S. Lewis).

It is our joy as much as it is our duty. Thank you.

The Beginning

2004-12-02T23:33:00.000+08:00

Revelation is at once the most disturbing, comforting, challenging, upsetting and contemplative book in the Bible. It stands, an open door, at the end of the 66 books of the Bible, as if opening up to a world we don't know yet in full.

So many approaches to it; so many have tried to decipher its meaning, and I've followed some of these efforts with much keenness. Too much, sometimes I feel, so much so that this time, I just thought of letting the images seep in graphically, without much thought as to what they exactly mean.

Which brings us back to the original intention of TMsquared. It was always meant to be a journey in which we'd allow the Bible to surround and penetrate us as a whole, rather than bits and pieces of it, to which we're so accustomed to subjecting the study of Scripture.

I suppose, in a way, that Revelation is meant to be less a book of exact prophecy, than one of graphic inspiration. In a sense, it signifies the future, in that it is mysterious, just as the future is mysterious. There are many unknowns, but we do know God and we do know his Christ. There are many dangers we do not yet foresee, but we do know the Father of Evil.

It's kind of like Star Wars, come to think of it; you can enjoy it on the surface, or dive deeper into hidden meanings -- either way the message gets across. That's the wonder of these multi-faceted works ;) As I read through the 22 final chapters of the all-time bestseller, these were some of my thoughts...

God is making all things new.

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."

But then of course, as we all know, man screwed it up with his choices generation after generation. So God sets about to redeem righteousness and restore the Creation. In revelation, it gets pushed a notch higher, in an amazing vision that depicts the new Creation as far surpassing the old.

T.S. Eliot wrote, in his poem East Coker, "In my beginning is my end." These words opened the poem. However, it all ended with the complete inversion of that phrase; "In my end is my beginning." The poem is indeed quite a microcosm of the human journey, the Biblical journey, from death to life.

All the words I write here can't match the stirring, blazing pictures captured by John in the last chapters of his Revelation. So in as few words as I can muster, I'd say the Bible ends with a promise that there will be a New Creation, and even more so, that the New Creation is NOW.

One could write it like this: "In the end, God began again." Revelation opens up into the world where there is no end, where all ends are merely beginnings of newer, deeper, wider, greater adventures. It's not just about heaven, not just about what happens at the end of the world. In fact, the world is ending everyday, and beginning everyday as well. Revelation tries to capture that, I think.

So here I am -- here we are -- left with a strange challenge; will we dare leave behind the so-called 'end' for a new beginning? Where the written Word ends, the living Word can begin. When messages of prophecy and assurance end, doubt, fear and uncertainty can begin. Do we dare? The promise is sealed, but still...

Yet, how can we live any other way, than to know that in all beginnings, there will be endings, and in all endings, there will be beginnings? (This is NOT related to David's theory of infinite tangents!) A world that's always fresh, always new, bright each day, bright even when it's dark, because the Light is there. Maybe that's heaven, or one man's opinion anyway.

Standing on this edge, not quite too sure what to do next, what to make of it all, I thank God for this great 172 day journey (including the 'prologue' and 'epilogue'!) that Soo Tian has so kindly shared with me, subjecting himself to certain pains and pressures. I only hope, my friend, that you have found this equally satisfying. Or equally unsatisfying, depending on how you see it ;)

But we all know that God works in strange, mysterious ways, and it's no use guessing what he'll do next, though I'm certain whatever adventures we jump into next, will be even more overwhelming than this. They will call for greater risks to be taken, pose greater difficulties, yield greater rewards, lead us further, deeper, higher.

Right now, I can think of little else apart from the six letters that await me tomorrow: d'NA and STM. And the three letters that sum up the past 11 years, begin to fade into yesterday: SPM. Considering the amazing things that have happened this year, the ups and downs, smiles, frowns and stoic looks... I know the next nine days will be nothing short of incredible!

So I lay down my pen... OK, admittedly, that's a nice way to put it, but technically it would be untrue. So I rest my fingers, and hereby end my entries on this blog. Now I await him who has dubbed himself my "sparring partner."

Amen.

Lest We Forget

2004-12-02T06:52:00.000+08:00

(I'd typed this yesterday, but because of Blogger problems, can only post it now)

Nearing the end of the Bible, we find several short letters, or rather, reminders, from church leaders and apostles. There is hardly anything theologically new here, but these few letters recapitulate much of what has gone on since Jesus, and in some ways pave the way for future generations of believers.

For some reason, I was attracted by a number of pictorial images and metaphors in these letters, and they will find their way into the following...

James

The leader of the Jerusalem church writes of faith and action, how as one synergical force (Yoshua!) they bring wisdom and confidence in life.

Peterson writes "what good is a truth if we don't know how to live it?"

"The desirable and beneficial gifts from heaven are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light." There is so much that God wants to give, more than we know or might even want to receive.

The ones who hear and don't do, are like "those who glance into the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like."

I guess that's James' message; when our lives don't resonate with both truth and the things we must do as God followers, we'll forget who we are -- who we are because of God. And if we forget who we are, how can we then allow God to make us what we're meant to be?

And this is where prayer comes in. Soo Tian told me recently that he finds himself more drawn to prayer than reading the Bible; for me it's the opposite. And he's right. What good is it that I'm here, several pages from the end of the Bible, yet I haven't made a real call to God in a long time?

Confidence in our stride, a bouncy gait -- they come from a real knowledge in every way, that God is the real-est part in everything we do.

Peter

I approached his letters from the point-of-view that this was one of Jesus' disciples. I was thinking along the lines of how he had changed, what things continued to influence him, and how far he'd progressed.

Obviously, he didn't regret a single part of the journey at all; "We have everything to live for." Each step was a step of growth; "Build on what you've been given... each dimension fitting into and developing the others."

There were several references to things Jesus said; about how angels would've given anything to be in on the Message, Jesus as the cornerstone, to respect the government, to live for heaven, to be content with who we are, judgement, and the transfiguration, which obviously never quite left him. The glory was still felt.

He doesn't quite worry about the troubles of the world, because "we'll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness."

Of course, the verse that caught my eye most was this: "With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years a day." How I wish SPM were a day and STM were a thousand years! (OK... maybe not, but still...)

He sees heaven as a place where "encores till the end of time" will resound, with applause from the saints and God himself. But there's one thing I couldn't shake throughout; the thought that this was an apostle who had such humble beginnings, and maybe even more humble endings.

But he'd become an Apprentice in the Great Adventure. Jesus said "come follow me" and he came. It's quite remarkable how Peter never gave up, and his letters exude a sense of heaven-ness that shows just how much he appreciates and would never give up the journey. Some of these are echoed in the letters of...

John

If anything could be said about John's three epistles, they're a reduced version of his gospel. In both his gospel and the epistles, his central themes are love, truth and light. John's writings were among the last to be made, and now this grand old man recalls the light that still shines, the truth that still stands and the love that still challenges.

There are many references in his letters to his gospel, but here he draws lessons from church life, and how the lofty teachings of Jesus are to become the very model and framework of living this life.

He regards the Master affectionately; "What marvellous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it -- we're called children of God!" and "God knwos more about us that we do ourselves." He would know, since Jesus gave him so many chances for change, that this Son of Thunder became the Loudspeaker of Love.

And now, probably near the door of death, having outlived all the other apostles, he writes "Anyone who gets so progressive in his thinking that he walks out on the teaching of Christ..." It happens that the more we know, the less we think there is left to know. How wrong!

Probably recalling Jesus' many teachings on rebirth and life from the Spirit, he also writes that commandments are not at all troublesome when they become part of the natural flow of a life in Christ.

John strikes me as someone who seems to have enjoyed personal contact and company, signing off his letters with words like "I hope to see you soon."

The disciple whom Jesus loved, now allowed this love to overflow to others and really, it became his theme. It was all that mattered to him, so much so that he proclaimed "God is love!"

Jude

There are many warnings from Jude against wordly corruption, and probably the entire letter can be summed up in the words of verse 8, "glory dragged in the mud."

Glory does NOT belong in the mud, but that was what was happening. People were trading the good and eternal for the evil and temporal. It's really like what C.S. Lewis wrote, "We are like an ignorant child who goes on making mud pies in the slum, because he does not know what is meant by a holiday at the beach."

Thing is, we do know. Jude addressed his letter to those who had lived by the sea, borne by the breeze, who now were returning to live in the slums.

How could they possibly give up "the unending life, the real life" for something so utterly useless? Come to think of it, how can we?

How apt that this message should come near the end of the Bible. After some 64 books, we've had a lot of glory around us, and God was walking each step with us. But after that? Will we allow ourselves to fall back into the mud, we who have been so changed by God?

The letters that form the rear guard, escorting the reader towards the end of the written Word, leave more question marks than any other book; not in the themes or theology, for the principles are relatively straightforward. But they all have this in common, that they pose the question, "What do you do with God?"

One more book to go; today's the last day, but what's more important than finishing is finishing together and finishing well. See you tomorrow, Soo Tian.

The Jesus Story: Take Two

2004-11-30T00:14:00.000+08:00

The Bible has virtually every sort of book; Esther doesn't mention God, Jonah speaks of a
prophet who is rather unprophet-like, Song of Solomon is about passionate love, Ruth is
about a foreigner, Job deals explicitly with suffering, Ecclesiastes vigorously argues the
purpose and meaning of life, and the Chronicles give us a mid-Bible history lesson.

Here we have a peculiar letter; the author is unknown (though the Author is), and the title
bears neither the name, the place nor the subject matter of the letter, unlike books like
Matthew, John, Ephesians, Romans, Acts and Revelation. Instead, it seems to be directed to a
group of people (in fact, Hebrews was at that time less frequently used, it would seem;
'Jews' was more common).

Yet it is here that some of the most profound messages in the New Testament are put across,
pertaining to Christ himself and our part in God's story. And it seems the title 'Hebrews'
may also serve to bring the reader(s) back to the time when they were known simply as the
Hebrews, that is, before the Egyptian slavery.

Hebrews

In a word, Hebrews is about Jesus and us.

With 13:8 as the glue that keeps things together ("For Jesus doesn't change"), the author
describes him as the master of all time.

Jesus was there from the beginning of time itself, and was indeed maker of both Old and New
Covenants. The references to Abraham and Melchizedek bring us back to the pre-law times, and show us that God was already working righteousness then.

In fact, the 'New Covenant' is really the 'Oldest Covenant', for it restores all of Creation
to the Creator's original dream -- just better, for God can only improve on a good thing.
"God put the old plan on the shelf. And there it stays, gathering dust."

He is also God of the present. "God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as
today." An angel, in C.S. Lewis' allegory The Great Divorce, confronts a man and his choices
with this proclamation, 'in this moment all moments are present.' As long as it is today, we
can do God's work.

At the end of all things, he is the God of the future; in the final judgement he will "[get]
rid of all the... junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered."
"We don't have a priest who is out of touch with reality," and yet we often put him on a
distant pedestal, as if God were only concerned with matters of church ritual and tradition
and eternity.

But Hebrews doesn't stop there. Much of the second half directs it focus and attention to
the people who have decided to follow Jesus.

In an exhortation to never stop praying, inspiring the bridge of Steven Curtis Chapman's
'Let Us Pray', we are to "[walk right up to God without hesitation], full of belief,
confident that we're presentable inside and out."

"Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding
worshipping together... but spurring each other on..." This verse from 10:24-25 has been the
driving force behind my 'zealousness' for the school's Christian Union. I've always
believed, and still do, that fellowship is one of the greatest and most important gifts we
have from God.

On a grander scale, the author dedicates chapter 11 to matters of faith. In fact, if Hebrews
is known for anything, it is this chapter. "This faith... makes life worth living. It's our
handle on what we can't see."

If life were limited to this world, it would be pointless, since clods of dirt don't amount
to anything. But the great heroes of faith inspire us because their hearts were with God in
a kingdom literally beyond this world. For that reason, they did crazy things, convinced God
could see things better than all humanity ever could. Sacrificing Isaac was one example.
"These pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on..."

But we know as they did, that living this life and walking this path is not easy at all; in
fact it may be the hardest thing we're ever called to do. So the author writes, almost
pleadingly, "Pray for us. We have no doubts about what we're doing or why, but it's hard
going and we need your prayers."

This journey hasn't been easy for us, and I can only expect it will get harder. But by God's
grace, and the support of the saints of all these years, many of whom continue to cheer us
on, fighting with us daily, we will make it.

Not much time left here; we're targeting to touchdown on Thursday, due to my desire to end
on the same day as Soo Tian, who is even now switching into Hyperdrive Mode. And then with
this behind us, d'NA should prove a most amazing experience.

Notes on Leadership and Community

2004-11-30T00:08:00.000+08:00

After the church epistles, the Bible makes room for what I call the 'people epistles', that
is, letters addressed to several people Paul knew and worked with, namely Timothy, Titus and
Philemon.

Timothy

I don't know if it's because of an overdose of d'NA-ic aspirations, but the thought that was
left ringing in me at the end of both letters to Timothy was this: Paul's theme was on
Servant Leadership.

It's authority without coercion, leading by example and carrying oneself responsibly, in
accordance with the grace given by God. Paul lays out numerous examples of this kind of
leadership, and it is especially encouraging to note that Timothy was young at the time. Of
course, 'young' could've been anything below 40, but it's too good to ignore the idea that
if anything, these are the letters that would speak most directly to a 17-year-old eager to
live his life for God.

The leader is one who has been proven trustworthy in his/her own affairs, who prays in every
way for everyone. He is patient and tactful, living in the light and encouraging others to
do so. "God's servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who
keeps cool."

"People caught up in a lot of talk can miss the whole point of faith"; it was while reading
this that I began to really think about Soo Tian's idea for a day of silence at d'NA. Last
year, we had a 'Malay' day, during which we were to speak absolutely in Malay for 24 hours.
A day of silence (with the exception of lecture sessions) really wouldn't be a bad idea, and
I'm sure we'll have lots to talk about the next day!

1 Timothy 4:12 has always been a great source of encouragement, and it hangs on my room's
doorknob: "...don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your
life."

Paul, knowing that Timothy has an immense future ahead of him, exhorts him in this way:
"So... throw yourself into this work for Christ", later ending "This is the only race worth
running."

If there's any reason to be involved as a servant of God and a leader of his people, those
two verses speak volumes.

Titus

In this letter, Paul follows up the message of Timothy with more on leading by example,
again also setting out guidelines for godly behaviour in the Christian community.
"...show them all this by doing it yourself... then anyone who is dead set against us, when
he finds nothing weird or misguided, might eventually come around."

He goes a step further by reminding us of who we are and where we stand, throwing things
back into perspective:

"We're being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a
God-filled, God-honouring life."

"Stay away from mindless, pointless quarrelling over genealogies and fine print in the law
code..."

It is especially tempting for leaders who have much experience (and Titus was one such
person, referred to again and again in Paul's other epistles), to fall to the trap of the
'lesser things', being caught up in petty disputes or earth-bound problems while the
heavenly matters await.

But then the leader who leads by example is the pace-setter who, having received the beat
from God, sets it out for others that they may all be attuned to the rhythm of the Kingdom
of the Heavens.

Philemon

Here, in the briefest of Paul's letters, he delves into the matter of Christian
relationships, and how an upheaval in one's beliefs changes everything else, indeed as
Peterson put it, "a ripple effect."

But the Philemon-Onesimus relationship is only an example; it is a face of the subject with
which Paul reveals the greater truth behind it all, in the least likely of verses:

"You owe your very life to me..."

In the body of believers, all our lives are interconnected, none separate from the other.
Nowhere are the words of John Donne more apt than in the Christian community; 'No man is an
island.'

We really do owe our lives to each other. The plainest way to see it, is that others shield
us from physical death by literally suffering for our sake. On another level, the life we
owe is the spiritually redeemed life, in that we are indebted to those who have shown us the
way of the Saviour and the Cross.

But I think there's more to that. Our lives refer not only to our physical existence here
nor our 'saved' souls in heaven someday, but also (and maybe even more so) to the very
quality of life we experience. Because of other believers, we are given meaning in what we
do, a purpose for looking forward to tomorrow. If not for other Christians, I daresay I'd
literally 'have no life.'

So here's where the 'Thank Yous' come in: Soo Tian, Sivin, Brian McLaren, all DNA-ers (young
and old!), family, the Christian Union, U2; without you I don't know where I'd be right now.
Certainly not here.

And so because we're caught up in this dynamic multi-faceted relationship with other
believers, in which we are called to serve and lead in different capacities, let us do so in
love, grace, humility and perseverance. And maybe then the Master can pick some fruit and
smile.

A New Kind of Life

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With the exception of Romans, the rest of Paul's church epistles were directed to the churches he planted during his missionary journeys, recorded in Acts. They are the letters to the Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians, although there is no mention (as far as I can recall) of the Colossian church in Acts.

All are full of thought-provoking messages and questions, and it's really something different to read them in their historical and human perspectives. Too often we quote from these great letters, without giving careful thought to the people addressed, the circumstances which brought the letters about, the context, and even Paul himself.

In a way, reading them this way did not bring about many theologically challenging discoveries nor any profound statements, but it was a candid experience, eavesdropping (what a convenient word; thanks Brian M!) along the way and getting a glimpse of life then. Indeed, I think it's the people (both the writer and the reader, and most of all the Author) who make them special, not so much the words. And it is from this angle that I'll offer my thoughts. Don't expect too much; it's more like "Ben's Casual Visit to the 1st Century Churches."

1 Corinthians

When Paul became a Christian, deciding to join Jesus Christ on the great mission to catalyse the Kingdom, he left behind many of his old ways (not all, or he would have ceased to become Paul), especially the ones that tied him down, preventing him from experiencing the new kind of life in Christ. Unfortunately, the Corinthians were still pretty stuck in that old rut.

He addressed many of these issues, and I think the one theme that threads throughout the entire letter, is that of love. The world-famous Chapter 13 is evidence enough.

Love is what God showed and shows us; God is love. And we must in turn live in love towards one another. I believe love is the most difficult of feelings to cultivate, and this is probably in part because it's an easy word to discuss, since there are so many facets to it, but one that isn't quite as easy in the living out.

It is by this love that we must be all things to all men, cherish purity, live with sinners, and show grace even as grace is continually shown to us. The precedent is that God has first loved us, and we are to allow the overflow to pour out into the lives of others. But we're selfish people, aren't we?

To be accepting of others, quick to forgive and constantly gracious are qualities that cannot exist on earth, and Paul begins his letter with a glimpse into what God is like. To man, God is foolish, and so we "follow God's own fool, for only the foolish can tell; believe the unbelievable, and come be a fool as well" as Michael Card wrote.

It means being the emissaries of something beyond us, exuding a God-like aura of the Kingdom to which we now belong. And all this will culminate in the resurrection -- not just life in heaven, but being made whole and what we were meant to be, bearing the image of God once again.

It struck me, as I was reading the resurrection chapters, that it might be a lie. What if there's no resurrection, no kingdom? I am reminded again and again of Puddleglum's statement in the Chronicles of Narnia, that "even if there's no sun, I would live my whole life looking for it, for it is much better than your [the queen's] world."

Can we live any other way that would not otherwise lead nowhere but to death?

2 Corinthians

One message resonates with me from this letter: treasures in jars of clay.

I can't quite remember the context in which Paul wrote this letter, but I do know that no other book in the New Testament, with the exception of Romans, has encouraged me as much as 2 Corinthians.

The fact that there is an indescribable treasure in the "unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives" brings meaning to each painful step in this world, the faith that the eternal makes itself known in the ordinary. These words bring to mind the lesson of Jeremiah, that God moulds us as a potter moulds clay. We're not much to look at, but God doesn't seem to think so.

Again Paul also mentions the new life, "the old life is gone; a new life burgeons!" It is in this direction that God is making something out of nothing, sons and daughters out of pieces of lifeless, broken clay.

Speaking of brokenness, my favourite verse from this book is 12:9, "My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness." Steven Curtis Chapman expressed it in these words,

His strength is perfect
When our strength is gone
He'll carry us when we can't carry on
Raised in his power
The weak become strong
His strength is perfect
His strength is perfect

When there is less of us, God can show more of himself. I struggle to live with this knowledge, even though I know full well that it's the only way to live. It makes me more welcoming of distress, because the stars are only visible in the darkness.

Galatians

The kind of freedom Paul proclaimed was a little too much for the conservative Jews, who tried to tie the people down with rule-keeping, blocking everyone to life in the Spirit. On his first missionary journey, Paul was stoned by these very Jewish leaders.

Rule-keeping was the problem, not the law, as many are inclined to think. Conrad Gempf illustrated it this way (I paraphrase): "the law says 'thou shalt not exceed the 70 mph limit.' The Pharisees are the ones who say 'we don't really know if we're exceeding it, or how fast we're going, in case we accidentally skid or exceed by 0.01 mph, so it is better to limit it at 65 mph.' So, in the end, anyone who exceeds their limit is deemed sinful, even if they might be only going at 70 mph."

The trouble here is that the rule becomes some sort of god. People start worrying about the rule itself, and their focus is no longer on God. That explains the difference between 'reckless believers' like David and the ever-so-cautious Pharisees.

To this end, Paul writes on the fruit of the spirit, and how life on the vine is the only kind of life that will sustain us. ('Life on the Vine' is the title of an excellent book on the Fruit of the Spirit, written by Philip D Kenneson. I borrowed it from Keat Lim). When we're reconnected with the source of life, we are free to obey the law, and fulfill Jesus' words "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."

Ephesians

Ephesus was a very commercial and cosmopolitan city, being somewhat the capital of Asia Minor and the heart of the goddess Artemis. It was here that Paul lectured daily in the lecture hall of Tyranus, until everyone in Asia Minor heard him, and here too that he later raised Eutychus from the dead.

(There are several opinions concerning his death; the most common is that the room was stuffy from the burning oil, but another is that Paul's sermon was boring and too long! OK... Lame one)
Paul's letter to the Ephesians expresses the immensity of life in Christ that is literally 'beyond life.' He writes, "here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head," and "God can do... far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!"

But we don't seem to live like that. The greatest Christians have always held a sense of awe where God was concerned. They made room for mystery, for the unknown, for sheer wonderment. Thanks to reductionism and the onslaught of discovery in recent centuries, the church has tried to understand and explain everything from the 'Christian point of view.'

We really could use a little silence at the 'overwhelmingness' of God. We need to go back to Job's stance and say "this is too much for me; I am silenced." Soo Tian suggested a full day of silence during d'NA this year. While that is unlikely, due to time constraints, it's an excellent idea, and I'm sure it would be no less instrumental in teaching us than a day of lectures and community service!

Paul ends with a passage on the 'armour of God', saying "this is... a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil," and it is probably for this reason that we are to maintain that sort of humility. Brian McLaren wrote of the connection between 'human', 'humour' and 'humility', and I daresay the forces of evil fear nothing more, save God himself.

The ability to truly laugh, taking things neither too seriously nor too loosely, makes us human, and being human means being supernatural and natural at once. Humility is probably the balance that keeps us sane, not some sombre-faced approach to life. It is in understanding that our knowledge is nothing compared to what's out there, and knowing that God is beyond us, that keeps us humble.

And maybe we could learn to laugh a bit at life, even a bit at faith and religion and this whole universe! Maybe we can let God run the world a bit more, and resign ourselves to standing open-mouthed at the immensity of God.

Philippians

In the introduction, Peterson writes "joy is life in excess, the overflow of what cannot be contained within any one person." Joy overflows, and anyone who has experienced it knows that laughter is contagious! Joy isn't really thematic in the letter, but it permeates every word.

Come to think of it, Paul didn't have many great experiences in Philippi. He was followed by a demon-possessed slave girl, whipped and thrown into prison. And... of all crazy things to do, he sang with Silas in jail. What did the guards think?

The sort of joy (not necessarily happiness) that accompanied Paul in Philippi is the same that flows through his letter to that city. To him, it's "life versus more life! I Can't lose." This joy flowed from God himself and sustained the apostle even in the darkest of experiences.

Singing when all else fails is no easy task. Don Moen wrote, "I will sing, I will praise, even in my darkest hour, through the sorrow and the pain..." in his song 'I will Sing,' inspired by Habakkuk's passage, 'I will rejoice even if the harvest fails' (or something to that extent; very last lines of Habakkuk).

The effect of this is obvious: "instead of being squelched, the Message has actually prospered." When holy joy radiates from believers, it becomes more contagious than the flu, and there are few, if any, who remain as they were after being overwhelmed by this joy.

Come to think of it, joy is very much like the flu. Just as the virus is able to mutate once a person is immune to a certain strain of it, so can joy; it constantly changes and evolves to once again surprise people who think they've outlaughed happiness. That's why heaven will be one continuous experience of joy and joy all over again!

This life that makes everything else pale in comparison, led Paul to "give up all that inferior stuff so he could know Christ personally." It's the same force that made the first disciples lay down their "nets at the water's edge" as Steven Curtis Chapman depicted in his song 'For the Sake of the Call.'

Colossians

Again, the themes of the new kind of life emanate from this letter. Paul draws centrality to Christ, how everything revolves around him.

"Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him", "from now on everyone is defined by Christ", and "quit studying the subject and start living it!"...

My favourite is this: "you don't need a telescope, microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fulness of Christ."

(I'm stuck. Really, suddenly now I have no idea what to write. Maybe it's in part because the TV is switched on behind me and my concentration isn't 100% here. But probably also because I couldn't write anything without it sounding either phony or over-idealistic or both)

So I'll end here with Colossians 3:3-4; "Christ... is your life."

There's really no other way around it. No other way to escape it. We're all equally clueless about life at times, and it's worse than an ant trying to appreciate van Gogh. But then there's a joy and holy mystery surrounding us in all this, one that holds on to us more stubbornly than anything else we'll ever encounter.

Thessalonians

Hi. This part is a new addition, since I inadvertently forgot the Thessalonian letters, leaving them out at first!

The topic of Christ's second coming has been the centre of much debate and discussion in recent times, what with wars and the 'state of the world', yielding everything from the Left Behind series and Nostradamus to recent sensationalist material as Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code.

Sometimes I wonder, Paul made the second coming seem so imminent, and yet some 2000 years have elapsed since, and still Christ has not come again. And so every generation comes up with its own myths and guesses, this one being no exception. We even have people from remote parts of the world claiming to be God incarnate!

Come to think of it, Abraham had to wait some 3000 years before the promised Messiah came. Jesus said "Before Abraham was, I am," and I can only imagine that he is saying to us now; "Once the world ends, I am."

Paul, having made clear that Christ is indeed coming again, draws our attention to the here and now, and rightly so. C.S. Lewis wrote in the Screwtape Letters, that the present is the only point in time where we have any power over anything. Since we cannot, by our greatest efforts, speed up or delay or anticipate God's coming, let's do what we can, what we must.

The exhortation is to keep fighting on, living a life that spells God's difference, to be faithful in the trust given us, to continue living justly, being gracious to one another, helping others grow in righteousness. Most of all, not to give up just because God doesn't seem to be around.

Again I remember Soo Tian's theory of 'human growth' (I'm not even sure the theory has a name), in which humanity is a developing process, each stage growing by different means, maturing at different rates, understanding God in different ways. The first, knew God as Creator. Then, he revealed himself as Father, then Son, and now Holy Spirit.

I once asked Soo Tian whether it might be possible that there's more than the Trinity; perhaps something this stage of humanity has not yet understood. Of course, many would say that the Bible doesn't say so, but then again, maybe it's the way we're looking at it. But that's besides the point; regardless, the main thing is that there is a God, and we're part of his plan.

We've thrown ourselves into an adventure that gets more and more exciting as it progresses; heaven won't be the end of our journeys, but the beginning of a new adventure, leading on from this one on Earth. In the last chapter of the Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis writes that in the New Creation, every world that opens up is larger than the first; it's something we cannot understand, limited as we are to a world whose physical concepts are determinate.

But Paul offers just the smallest glimpse of this so that we neither romanticise heaven, nor disregard it. Rather, the idea is so that we commit all of ourselves into the 'story we find ourselves in', making every moment count for God. He may return tomorrow, or in another few thousand years.

What difference does it make? Only this: that we stop worrying about dates or signs or wonders or things happening in the world, and start living for Him. To plant seeds patiently, neither hurrying for fear the Farmer will return this evening, nor too complacently as though he will never arrive.

Maybe what we need is a better balance between the two, being urgent in our work, yet planning everything out well. God is known to be patient, preferring the 'long way out', so that we might grow. Yet each step of this 'long way' demands our undivided attention, and I think that's where the urgency comes in.

Here's a very distant metaphor, but perhaps it's a bit like U2. Every album is complete in itself, and they pour themselves into each song, producing works of great quality (or maybe that's my bias!). Yet, the journey isn't over, since there is a sense of progression from album to album. Everything is taken seriously, yet not over-hurriedly as if the album will be their last work.

Perhaps then, we can focus on the Kingdom that begins here, and continues in the New Creation, rather than debate the events before and after Christ's return; a wise Teacher once said, "Who of you by worrying can add a single inch to his height?"

Grace

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If Romans can be summed up in a word, that word is probably Grace. Funny, though, how modern theology has done away with much of that word's meaning. Now Romans becomes the source of those big words like justification, sanctification, positional redemption, and probably
hundreds of other '-tions' I doubt would be worth a men-tion. Oops.

It's about the human condition. "The law becomes forbidden fruit"; St Augustine wrote of
such an experience. He recalled going with several friends to steal pears from a yard on the
other side of the fence. It wasn't the pears that tempted them, but the fence. They wanted
to see how far they could go without getting caught; likewise the law becomes some sort of
challenge or dare.

"I can will it, but I can't do it", says the apostle Paul. So many times my heart and mind
says one thing, and then my body does something else. It is in addressing this problem that
Paul writes the letter of Romans; there is a powerful tension between what we are and what
we know we are to be.

Trouble is, we "traded the glory of God", settling for the mundane instead. But the glory
never quite left, I daresay. Everything in the created world, plunged as it is into decay,
still bears the 'echoes of Eden' and will one day be absorbed into the new creation. And
because we are still his, God decided to do something about it, to restore, and even more
than that, resurrect a dying world.

Sometimes we forget that if everything still bears God's glory, then everything must still,
in some way, be holy. Holiness has become a foreign word of sorts, used to denote something
of mystical, perfect, pure quality. But if I'm not mistaken, it really means 'set apart' or
'consecrated'.

Paul wrote, "everything is holy, but we contaminate it." My friend Sudarshan once told me,
"religion is pure, but homosapiens shat on it." Only now do I realize the almost identical
nature of the two statements; and yet Suda has never read the Bible.

Indeed the heart of all men has a moral compass by natural design. God made us in his image,
and whether we like it (or know it) or not, our deepest yearnings are from him and for him.
It is this knowledge of righteousness that tells us not to "give sin a vote", though human
as we are, we tend to act otherwise.

But then God's call stretches beyond the level of sin; he deals with it not by drawing our
focus to a target that calls for extermination, but to a life that heads in the opposite
direction. "Take your everyday ordinary life... and place it before God as an offering." He
asks for our entire lives, even the most mundane parts, and commands that we turn to him, to
stop worrying about getting rid of what's bad, and start worrying about doing what's good.

Probably it is to this end that Jesus 'saves'. Salvation is simply not an act of rescuing us
from sin, and "getting our butts into heaven", as McLaren put it. Unfortunately, many of us
have missed out on the real life here and now, and this is what Romans addresses.

It calls us to be willing to live in the risk of faith, for indeed all faith is a risk
(though not all risks are acts of faith). We are called to throw away all the baggage we've
brought with us, to enter into God's freedom. Of course, we always carry some of these
burdens, never leaving all behind. But as we walk on, we find that they must be released,
one by one, until we are able to soar. Steven Curtis Chapman described this pictorially when
he wrote of the disciples' "empty nets lying there at the water's edge."

In dying for us while we were still sinners, God "regards us not as we are, but as we shall
be. And not as we shall be merely, but as we are becoming," someone once wrote (quoted in
Philip Yancey's Reaching for the Invisible God).

When we live in the freedom of God, we become what we're meant to be. It has been quoted
many times, but remains a classic: C.S. Lewis wrote that we're like an ignorant child that
wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because we can't understand what is meant by a
holiday by the sea. It's as though we're birds set free, but don't fly because we don't know
the meaning of freedom. Another headache for God.

But he is patient. "If it's God's promise, you can't break it." He "works everything into
good," and reminds us that "nothing can get in the way of his love." In awakening us to this
new (though it's in fact the oldest) reality, he grafts us into the vine, and we must "be
humbly mindful of the root" (sounds very Yoda-ish!).

This analogy is parallel to what Paul wrote, that "there is only one God... [who] sets right
all who welcome his action." Whether we believe it or not, all religions eventually point to
this God, for all come from God. Religion, after all, means 'reconnecting with God'. His
grace works beyond what even Christians dare to imagine, and he will judge all "by who you
are", each according to the grace given to him, and the measure of which he has allowed to
work a life-change in him.

In other words, we're all on equal footing here; not even Christians get some lee-way
advantage. So much for the 'if I accept Christ as my Lord and Saviour, I will never need to
worry about judgement' tagline.

Paul's closing chapters here deal with a problem very prevalent in our society, all over the
world it is the same: we don't know how to mind our own business. Paul's exhortation is to
"discover beauty in everyone" and "welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see
things the way you do."

The illustration of two believers fighting over eating meat was really humorous, in a way,
but then it strikes really close to home. Don't troubles like these pervade the church? Is
it OK to keep long hair? Listen to rock music? Tattoo? This is not the place to discuss
these, but sometimes we tend to make a big fuss over the petty issues, leaving the larger
ones to sit there and rot.

I really don't believe God will be half bothered about the food we eat, the clothes we wear,
the music we listen to, or the way we write; his interest is in what our lives have
produced. And on that basis alone will we be judged. A million 'Sinner's Prayers' said,
makes no difference if our lives do not reflect God.

Paul tells us to do whatever we choose to do "for God's sake" and to "give glory to God" in
our actions and choices. Michael William once spoke on doing God's will, citing Mary and
Martha as an example. Martha's problem was not in her action, but that she complained about
Mary. We live with our choices; all have equal potential for glorifying God, and for
bringing joy to him, to ourselves and to others.

"Do you have any business... interfering with God's welcome?" -- here Paul gets a little
confrontational. In its direct context, it seems to warns us against intolerance towards
other Christians. But I wonder, what if it may also apply to so-called non-Christians? What
if we see followers of other religions in heaven? What would we think? Honestly?

C.S. Lewis writes of an encounter between Christ (symbolized as Aslan) and a follower of the
'wrong' religion in The Last Battle, seventh book of the Chronicles of Narnia. This man's
heart was truly seeking goodness and righteousness, and what he sought, he found. I daresay
a 'pagan' with a preoccupation with doing good, has a better chance of gaining the heavenly
life than a 'Christian' who has allowed his or her life to be corrupted with bitterness and
other traits contrary to the Spirit.

Whatever the case, it is imperative that we stop worrying about inter-denominational and
inter-religious differences, and start worrying about where we're headed, individually, and
as a community. And we must bear in mind Jesus' illustration of the Good Samaritan. In
Dallas Willard's words, the only good Samaritan then, was a dead Samaritan. God is far more
tolerant and gracious to others than we are or likely ever will be. Think Jonah and Nineveh.

U2's song 'Grace' describes grace as "travelling outsite of karma". It defies possibility,
probability and expectation. It shakes the world, yet the world seems not to have moved. And
it remains the most surprising element of all that God has done and is doing.

As I was reading just now, I thought this would be a good time to enter my 'testimony'. Not
a biography, do not fear, but just an overview of what God's been doing in my life,
highlighting several milestones.

At the age of seven, I accepted Christ. I never understood what it meant though, except some
vague belief that I would be going to heaven etc. My Christian life was static, and at the
age of 10, I began to dread going to church (only for a while), though it was at this time
that I started saying grace before meals ;-)

It was when I was 13, and began taking quiet time seriously, that my life took a sudden
turn. Scriptural truths became clearer, and devotional guides became easier and easier to
understand; I renewed my commitment to God as a Christian at this time. A year later, I
undertook the daunting challenge to read the Bible in a year (it was a church programme) and
succeeded. I'd also successfully completed a course in evangelism at that time.

However, after this sudden spiritual peak, everything seemed to fall apart in my 15th year.
I fell into deeper sin that I ever had, in large part due to peer influence and the
computer, and God seemed a distant reality. Quiet time was gone.

Then last year, some things happened. I was elected president of the school Christian Union
(unofficial to this day), and attended the National SCF Leaders Camp in STM (whee!). Here I
reconnected with God again, or rather, he reconnected with me, and by his grace I shook off
the stranglehold of sin that had kept me in virtual slavery for a number of years. It was
freedom.

DNA fanned the flames that were lit during NSCF, and one of the results is this blog you are
now reading. My theology and faith have also undergone some dramatic 'renovations.' But then, over the last few months, my relationship with God seems to be getting rather shaky again. Satan, if there's anything that can be said about him, never gives up. But neither does God. It's been a year of tug-o-war, and I realize the reason God doesn't just yank me away, is that I may grow into his kind of person.

C.S. Lewis would call this year an 'undulatory' year, full of peaks and troughs. Some of
life's greatest lessons I've learnt this year, at the cost of some of my greatest mistakes.
I can only imagine DNA will hold even greater surprises this year, and I eagerly anticipate
all that lies ahead in this great adventure of life. God is leading, and that's all that
matters.

Revolution

2004-11-23T21:38:00.000+08:00

The Gospels and Acts have been most intriguing studies, especially since I read two whole commentaries (whew!) on Luke and Acts in preparation for the SPM Bible Knowledge paper. My personal favourite is John, and I have had very fruitful and thought-provoking forays into its pages in the past. As for the book of Matthew, its teachings on the Kingdom of Heaven form the core of Dallas Willard's 'The Divine Conspiracy', which I have yet to finish.

No doubt, to study and write on them in depth, would take at the very least, an entire year. So, just this evening, I thought of taking a lighter approach that seeks to express what I believe is the connecting factor that binds the Gospels and Acts together, since there are already so many dividing factors and points of departure between the four Gospels, and often, the Acts are rarely read in direct connection with the Gospels (except in studies on the person and works of Luke).

Inspired by Brian McLaren, I too believe the story of the New Testement is one of Revolution. And here's my candid version of the parts played by the four Gospels and Acts:

The What (Matthew)

So what's this revolution all about? God's kingdom; no more, no less. Suddenly everything is turned upside down when Jesus arrives on the scene: prostitutes are treated better than priests, tax collectors and not teachers of the law dine with the Messiah, and we're taught to let others slap both our cheeks. What?!

Eugene Peterson sums it up quite well with the word 'fulfilled'. There's a threefold application of the word here. It fulfills the words of the prophets (the many quotes from the Old Testament in this book gave me the impression that Matthew was more learned than even the teachers of the law!).

It also fulfills the law, and, in the words of C.S. Lewis, makes us creatures that are able to obey the command 'be ye perfect'. And third, it fulfills God's purpose for righteousness, the kingdom righteousness, where our goodness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees.

(OK, confession here: there was a lot of Dallas Willard in those lines above. Really, I can't shake the influence 'The Divine COnspiracy' has on my perceptions of the Kingdom!)

Matthew was a collaborator with the Romans (a la Zacchaeus) before following Jesus. But he threw himself into a new kind of life, and that's what his Gospel is about: the kingdom of the heavens, something 'beyond this world, above this world', in the words of McLaren. Another phrase came to my mind (though it was originally used to describe God), and it's from the song 'God is God' by Steven Curtis Chapman: "before all that has been, beyond all that will pass."

The When (Mark)

Anyone who reads Mark will know that it's the shortest of the four Gospels (no 80-verse chapters here!), and by far, the most readable when one is pressed for time, or is preparing notes for a sermon whose audience has the patience of a fly.

The very brevity of this possibly 'first' Gospel (since it is believed Matthew and Luke drew material from Mark) seems to support C.S. Lewis' statement that the Gospels were written to edify believers, not make them. If the first Gospel is so short and has so little detail, surely it was not written for in-depth Bible study groups. I suppose it was more like a reminder of who Jesus was and the recent events that had taken place.

It's the kind of book that snaps you out of a lull, as though saying, "Hey, wake up! Look around you, the Kingdom is here and now, and you've finished the 16th chapter already! Get to it!" The frequent usage of the word 'immediately' stresses Mark's urgency, that the Good News of the Kingdom is not something we can sit around and procrastinate; instead, it's the ultimate reality here and NOW.

The more reading material we have, the more excuses we create for not doing God's work. "Oh wait, let me finish McLaren's 7th book first", "I need time to write a paper on C.S. Lewis", "Allow me to compare Ezekiel, Jeremiah and New Testament fulfillment of their prophecy before I go out and feed the hungry." And the list goes on. Mark was indeed brilliant to write a short account, just enough to spur the believers on, then bring them back to the reality of the moment.

Mark's Gospel stresses action; we see Jesus doing things, not just sitting about. One after another, Mark bombards us with the (almost) sheer hyperactivity of Jesus. Of course, it is but a condensed account of the 3-year-long ministry of Jesus, but the point is clear: he wants us to remember that the time to act is, truly, NOW.

The Who (Luke)

Michael Wilcock wrote that Luke's theme is 'The Saviour of the World', and there can be no denying that it is Luke who shows us the diversity of the people to whom Jesus ministered. He spares no one, be it Roman, leper, Pharisee, Jew, collaborator, prostitute, fisherman, or child. And the lengths to which he goes in describing the people is pretty amazing in comparison with the other Gospels.

He chronicles more varied encounters with the priests and religious leaders than the other writers, ranging from Sabbath healings to the final battles on the temple grounds. He also shows Jesus in action, healing (in every way) all sorts of outcast minority groups, such as women, Samaritans (it is, after all, Luke who includes the parable of the Good Samaritan), lepers, the blind, deaf and lame, and other kinds of 'junk'. In doing so, he displays the heart of heaven for what it truly stands for: love.

Even the opening chapters highlight various types of people, from the VIP-like town-based Zechariah, to the shy, country-grounded Mary. Luke goes through certain pains to protray Jesus as the human God, mentioning the various occasions during which he prayed. Indeed I believe it was his intention to show that the heart of heaven beats for man, so much so that it assumed the shell of a man in which to beat.

It comes across as no surprise, actually, since Luke himself was a Gentile. The kind of grace he experienced, he attempted to depict within his 24 chapters of the longest book in the New Testament. His message? People are priceless. They are of infinite worth to God, no matter who they are, or where they're from. (This sounds good on print, but in practice it's far less common than we'd like to think).

The Why (John)

Three words (OK, actually one phrase and two words) get lodged in the mind when you read through John's Gospel: 'I am', 'truth', and 'light'.

To me, they represent the reasons for the Kingdom. John, being the most philosophical, draws lessons from the other 'synoptic' Gospels (they'd been written by then), and, carefully selecting certain details (most unique to his Gospel) from the life of Christ, belabours points on the Kingdom basics that have escaped the pens of the other writers. For example, the relationship between Jesus and 'open' Pharisees, John sets out at length in his retelling of Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus.

Sometimes I find John's Gospel the least believable, since the faith with which he assumes things to be true, is almost suspicious. For instance, he writes, "they knew it was the Messiah". These 'taken-for-granted' assumptions would immediately raise many skeptical questions, and yet, his Gospel remains my favourite, probably because it reflects the entire story of the Bible so far.

Someone once wrote that the Bible makes no point to prove the existence of God, and C.S. Lewis himself wrote of the pointlessness of such efforts, "as if God had nothing better to do than simply exist!" From the very first verse, the Bible takes God for granted, and focuses on what he did (and does) rather than laying out evidences that the atheists may believe. These very thoughts and currents flow through the Gospel of John (probably why he begins his Gospel with a reference to the beginning of Scripture).

So, what's the purpose of the revolution? First, 'I AM'. Because God is, he has never forgotten his plan and his creation. He is a jealous God, the only God, and rightly so, for he truly owns all of us. It is partly because of his very nature that he cannot bear to see the universe --his universe-- disintegrate just like that. (A smirking Satan isn't the happiest of thoughts).

And so we find that John records the many occasions on which Jesus called himself, albeit indirectly, the I AM, and shows us that it is into his very likeness that God will restore us someday.

Secondly, truth. So important was this point that John even recorded Pilate's question, "What is truth?" His yearning reflects the deepest cry of the human heart -- the quest for truth, for something real. Nothing hurts as much as lies (and I have been guilty of a great number of them), and anything else that distorts truth and reality, giving us a false reality that never satisfies.

That's why Jesus said, "This is real life" and that's why the most famous verse of the Bible reads "...that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life". Indeed, it feels so empty when people take 'eternal life' to mean merely 'life in heaven' or 'salvation from hell' etc. The true life is God's kind of life, here and now, living for what really counts.

Finally, light. If the book of John were made into a painting, it would make Monet's most sublimely lighted works seem pale in comparison. Here, he depicts the Messiah as the 'sun that overwhelms the candle's light', in the words of a writer. We're living in the darkness of our stubbornness and ignorance, and God barges in with a proclamation: there's light here for all!

The longest miracle recorded here is the one in which a man born blind is healed, and it serves as the best example of different types of blindness: the man had physical blindness, the disciples were blind to what God could do, the Pharisees were blind to what God had done. The light that John writes of, is one that pierces the darkness and reveals us; it is the purest form of judgement, to which we are all subject.

It all ends on a touching note, as the entire narrative explicitly returns to John's perspective. It's almost as though he's saying, "this is my take on the Jesus story". Although it is the 'deepest' of the four, it is also the most personal and candid.

The How (Acts)

Finally, now that the Gospels have shown us what the Kingdom is about, when it is to come, whom it is for and why it was planted, the narrative shifts to the burning question that remains: how is it to come?

Acts, noted for its famous 'hanging' ending, points the finger at the person(s) across the page. "Jesus Christ wants you!" is the theme of this recruitment book. Luke records the exploits of the early church: the ministry, the mission, the masses, the methods and the mistakes. (Quite an alliteration of M's!) And, of course, all of them culminate in the proclamation of the message of the Kingdom.

There were healing ministries, prayer ministries, teaching ministries and even feeding ministries! If it's something we need to be reminded of, it is that in conducting ministry, people matter most. McLaren may have a point when he says that the phrase 'entering the ministry', especially used by people training to become pastors or church leaders, makes no sense. After all, we are, each of us, involved in the ministry of God's people, for God's people (and that means everyone in the world). We must never allow the work of ministering, blind us to the recipients of, and fellow-workers in, our labours.

Then there was the mission. I suppose we would call it evangelism now, though back then it would seem the most natural thing to tell others about Christ and the Kingdom. Paul embodied this aspect most of all, but there was also Peter and Philip, notably, who brought the Gospel to the Gentiles, Samaritans, and a Jewish proselyte (what the Ethiopian Eunuch probably was).

The mission wasn't a war in which people were to be conquered. Again, McLaren is right in pointing out the 'violent' nature of our mission today: crusades, winning nations, conquering hearts, etc. Instead, it was (and should be) a radical movement that calls for a change of heart and attitude (and believe me, sometimes Christians need this more than others).

Now the masses are probably what makes Acts such an interesting study. Soo Tian wonders about the position of the Jews under the New Covenant, and that is only one of a myriad of population demographics represented in this book. Greeks, Romans, Zeus-worshippers, Zeno-followers, Jews, proselytes, Arabs, Persians -- you name it, Acts has got it. After all, during the incident of the outpouring of the Spirit, it is recorded that people from every corner of the then known world, were there.

The message that is sent across to us, is that the Kingdom is for all. Yes, ALL. They were prejudiced by national and racial boundaries then. Nowadays, globalization has eradicated quite a bit of that, but we still have personality boundaries. Many of us are still anti-women (read what Moby wrote of the evangelist Jerry Falwell), anti-homosexual, anti-Muslim; in short, we would be anti-Christ, for Christ was never anti- anybody, though he did lash out at those who made following God a chore and a matter of ritual not faith.

As for the methods used, many have sought to replicate the practices of the early church in our modern day settings, with varying degrees of success. Thankfully, so far none have sent their representatives to Cenchrea to get their hair cut after taking a vow. Still, many are inclined to follow the practices, such as those laid out in the letter from James to the Antiochians. We must remember that those were cultural conditions then; we must be relevant to today. Our language is different.

Finally, and this one means a lot to me, Acts is about the mistakes they made. I can't think of too many offhand, but there was that fight between Peter and Paul (not the two dicky birds, of course), the 'zealousness' of the circumcision Jews, and the stupidly miscalculated sailing off Crete that ended up in a shipwreck. We learn that it is OK to make mistakes because, not only do we learn from them, but God is also able to work with and through them.

After all, if mistakes were fatal, none of us would be here today. The church has quite a notorious history of human foibles, from the Crusades to the Inquisitions to the Witch Hunts to the support of slavery, and the list goes on. But just as God prevailed through centuries of weak people and various opposition, the Messiah did come; just read the first chapter of Matthew for proof -- God used every kind of people from faithful governors and evil kings to foreigners and prostitutes and swindlers.

And so, in the same way, God refines his church through the errors we make, and we are made stronger with each 'resurrection', for indeed we die each time, and are raised anew. Satan, so far, has been unable to catch up, and is foiled time and again. So what does the new millennium hold for us? It's quite a mystery, but from what I see of history, the future proves to be an adventure worth risking everything we've held on to.

A new beginning... and our final 'lap'

2004-11-23T21:33:00.000+08:00

Here we are, some 9 days before our expected touchdown on December 1. It is now that the journey seems hardest (even though we're 'free-er' than ever, with the SPM drawing to a close as well).

I find I have to contend with three forms of temptation when it comes to TMsquared. The first, and most direct, is the temptation to give up. The second, far subtler, is that of writing 'insightfully.' I guess it happens when we take ourselves too seriously, and probably that's why writers need breaks to laugh at themselves and their work a little. I hope the entries on the remaining books continue to reinforce the fact that we're wide-eyed adventurers on a journey beyond us, rather than make us look like seminary professors. The third is that of not writing at all, for fear that we write something untoward.

Anyway, this is it:

The New Testament

I really appreciate what Eugene Peterson wrote in the Intro to the New Testament. He refers to the sort of language the writers used in the Gospels, letters, etc. and calls it "the language that catches men...when God is the furthest thing from our minds." Indeed I still find it somewhat humorous at times, to think of a God who relentlessly pursues us, even when we're so intent on chasing after our fantasies. But it's true, and so far, I'm not doing very well at escaping him at all ;)

We begin with the Gospels, and one of the first (and only) thoughts than came to me this time around, was about the discrepancies between the four accounts. Many have approached this, each giving his or her own opinions, to explain the different resurrection appearances, the different encounters with the Centurion, the exact events on Good Friday, the early ministry of Christ, the events of the Last Supper, and so on.

But just now, just as I finished reading John, it kind of occured to me that these are primarily eyewitness opinions. It may be a fault of mine, but I really don't think much of the discrepancies. To me, how many times the cock crowed is irrelevant; how many women actually went to the tomb is irrelevant; whether the centurion went in person or sent a bunch of friends... is also irrelevant.

Their aim was not to document history (it's a silly invention of the 20th Century that history should be full of 'accurate' facts). Instead, it appears the Gospel writers simply painted caricatures of Christ (hey.. not a bad title for the Gospels: Caricatures of the Christ!), not intended to furnish readers with an 'Authoritative Guide to the Life and Times of Jesus Christ', but to show them what sort of person he was, and how he continues to influence people everywhere.

With that in mind, I just treat it as a ride and adventure of sorts -- seeing something from different angles, each exaggerating some points, and hiding others. It's like Romeo and Juliet; Tchaikovsky, Berlioz and Prokofiev each wrote music to depict the story. Whose is accurate? Can we reconcile all three? Or would it be better to get swept with the flow and allow the passion of the young lovers' romance to engulf us in its flood?

As I write on the Gospels, these are my reflections, my opinions, how I feel they have changed my life. I do not seek to be doctrinally correct, and I may not even make sense at some points, for it is as much as I can manage with this myopic vision of mine. God makes things clearer with each review of the same stuff, and I would probably laugh at TMsquared several years from now, even as I'm led off into greater adventures after this.

But for now, we are pilgrims on a 170-day journey, 161 days of it having elapsed (Wow!). It's about the final lap, and I pray it'll be the finest too. To all of you who have followed us on this amazing expedition, our appreciation for your patience and support knows no bounds. We are indebted and honoured that you have sown hope in us. And here, where it matters most, we will finish, by God's grace, what has been begun by that same grace. Amen.

Last page of the OT... and a Guy and a Fish

2004-11-15T22:30:00.000+08:00

Thus ends the journey through the Old Testament! It's been quite an amazing trip, and now it's time to fast-forward almost half a millennium to the birth of Christ.

I thank God for his grace, and his wisdom in helping me understand bits of his Word, leaving the rest as mysterious spaces I hope to return to sometime later. Indeed God is keeping us on a good course to finish the Bible by DNA, and I believe we indeed can.

There's just one little thought before I turn over the last page of the Old Testament: I did not write on Jonah. So here's my reflection:

Jonah: The Anti-Prophet

I had deliberately left Jonah out earlier, as I'd wanted to write about him separately. Of all the prophets, he is my favourite, the one with whom I most identify. (NOT because of the fish!)

Jonah is indeed, as Peterson wrote, a companion and friend who walks with us even through our stumbles. He is an 'anti-Prophet' if you may. Not that he hates prophets, but he acts in many ways contrary to the other prophets. Something like The Punisher, who is considered an 'anti-hero' because he does his crime-fighting like a mafiosi.

First of all, he ditches God's plans. Then, he gets swallowed up by a fish. In it, he calls for help, God saves him and he carries out God's command. The Ninevites repent, and he gets mad. So God gives him shade, but tears it down, and he end up bickering with God.

There are four lessons I draw from Jonah:

God can use any circumstance

In his effort to escape God, Jonah inadvertently opened the eyes of the sailors to God, and they turned to him in repentance. God can use even disobedience to the benefit of his plans, not that we are to be deliberately disobedient, of course!

We must repent humbly

This is the area I find hardest to deal with. In the depths of death, Jonah knew who he truly was, and who God truly is. Sometimes I feel my repentance lacks the honesty and nakedness of Jonah's. He was strong in rebellion, but also profound in repentance.

Don't underestimate God

It is said that the Ninevites repented because of Jonah's episode with the fish. According to their legend, there was this prophecy of a man with a fish-head coming to tell them something great. True enough, when Jonah showed up on their doorstep and told them of his experience with the fish, they must've immediately paid him attention!

Possibly, this was what Jonah found hardest to swallow: that God would have mercy on the despised Assyrians, whom Nahum had earlier dissed. Indeed, Nahum spoke of the point of no return; through Jonah, God seems to be drawing out the path back to him, from (i)beyond the point of no return!

God is merciful

These three words are indeed short, but meaningful, for they reflect the truth about God that Jonah, it would seem, finally learned.

4:2 records Jonah's apprehension and knowledge of God's truth; he knows God to be a forgiving God, slow to anger and abounding in love. His knowledge was enough for him to pass seminary with a first-class degree, to use an analogy. Yet he harboured a certain hatred for this people; he did not want God to forgive them, and so he got mad.

And God sprung into action. He gave Jonah what he did not deserve nor in any way earn, and he took it away from him. That little token was taken so seriously by this impatient prophet (who, one would recall, recently cried out to God in a prayer of repentance).

God drew the simple lesson: if you can get so worked up over something of such temporal value, am I not, therefore, infinitely more concerned about the condition of this nation I have created, whose people I have designed?

He leaves it at that. It is the only prophetic book that ends without any sort of resolution. Jonah demands that we answer that question, for God still asks it of us, time after time. We are no less prone to disobedience and bitterness than Jonah. And God is no less merciful.

Very Last Thoughts on the Prophets (for now)

This is a late addition; today I recalled something I'd asked Soo Tian a few days ago.

I asked him, what do you think we'd do if we were alive during the time of the prophets?

He answered, maybe we would have stoned them as well.

I think about it, and realize that the prophets have become plush toys in our version of Christianity. And how different they were to the people then!

The (not so) Minor Ones

2004-11-15T22:26:00.000+08:00

The minor prophets, despite their 'title,' offered very major themes, continuing in the tradition of the major ones. I will, therefore, not write on each separately, as it will probably be too laborious a task time-wise and also maybe somewhat daunting for the blog-reader! I had made notes, and what follows is a summary of what I'd experienced in this journey through the prophets.

It is obvious that prophecies of the Messiah thread through all the prophetic messages, and I will refer to them from time to time.

Hosea: God is Love

The very idea of marrying a prostitute must have been repugnant to Hosea, who, as a prophet, was to exemplify a lifestyle characteristic of a holy man. However, God's lesson through him was to show true love, that it cares for mercy and forgiveness.

Hosea, in a way, was a mirror of Christ. With this in mind, it must seem strange that the Pharisees (who professed to believe the prophets) were horrified that Jesus should mix with prostitutes and other sinners.

Indeed, the prophets, beginning with Hosea, set forth a pattern that the Messiah would later fulfill; they made prophecies that came true through him, and they set forth practices that would find their ultimate meaning in him.

Joel: God's Renewal

Apart from the locusts, undeniably the most stirring thing about this book, the next most groundbreaking message was the prophecy of God pouring out his Spirit on all.

Peter, in the book of Acts, quoted the passage from Joel, now popularised in the words of the song "Great Awakening", in which God tells of young men seeing visions and old men dreaming dreams.

The age of the Spirit is a new age, in which God gives us fresh opportunities to reorient our lives according to his pattern.

Amos: True Judgement

In Peterson's introduction, he warns us to be wary of those who use God's name as a sanction for the outrageous things they do. A thought came to me: What about the prophets? Did they not make great claims in the name of God? The answer, I found several lines later in the intro: The prophets rigorously tested all against what they knew, and vice versa. They were more 'wise men' than 'divine mystics.'

Amos tries to portray judgement as it truly is: not something to be feared, but to be embraced. It is like a door that kills everything that goes through it. But God raises them up. Those who actually die, are those who are forced in, still clinging on to life 'status quo.'

In The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis wrote (and I paraphrase), "It is better to die than live this way," referring to an 'undead life' -- neither fully damned nor fully alive.

It is somewhat difficult to understand, I think, but unless we are willing to die to self (how this command has been truncated by our 'packageable' Christianity!), we cannot live in Christ. The church's teaching has given us the general perception that judgement is to be feared, and Christ provides a 'way out.'

Instead, I think Christ has rather prepared a 'way in'! Unless we allow the fire to kill us, we shall never be raised incorruptible, purified as gold.

Obadiah: You Too

His message is an attack on all who have perverted justice by standing by and applauding injustice and the suffering of others. (Bono would have loved Obadiah!)

Verse 21, the final and probably most stirring verse, shifts the focus of God's kingdom off the narrowness of Judah and Edom, and onto the new creation, too big for the old to fit it. It sends an invitation to all peoples everywhere: you too, will be judged, and you too, can partake in the Kingdom.

Being only one chapter in length, I think it is symbolic of the 'shortness' and insignificance of the two brothers' squabbling.

Micah: Justice and Mercy

He writes, in 4:10, "what you lost in Jerusalem will be found in Babylon" -- a paradox if ever there were one. Maybe, the life we lose when we squander the fertile land, God will redeem and restore in the ashes and dust of repentance. After all, he goes on to write, "God will give you new life again."

Verse 6:8 is my favourite: "Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God." Now that wasn't quoted from the Message, yet it is the version that I remember best, for Steven Curtis Chapman sang it in his song "The Walk". The Message translates 'walk humbly' as 'don't take yourself too seriously'. Truly, to be humble is to place the spotlight and emphasis on Him who really matters.

Nahum: The Point of No Return

"God is good, a hiding place in tough times" is the exhortation of 1:7. For this reason (and maybe this reason alone), it is imperative that we seek God and no other. It is sheer stupidity to place our lives in the hands of something or someone who is not good, who will not care (indeed, who will not 'give a d--n') about our very lives.

Chapter 2 is an all-out attack on the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, and the rest of the book chronicles the outcome of those who find themselves at the point of no return, where their fate is sealed and they have not turned to God. It closes with a prophecy of dooom unto the Assyrian King.

Habakkuk: The Prophet who Questioned, Waited and Saw

"God, your age old reputation
Silences me, humbles me.
Do as you did in the days of old.
Bring judgement, as it is inevitable,
But don't forget mercy."

The verses above, 3:1-2, resonated with me most. It is the recognition of God as Sovereign (Greek translates 'Sovereign' as 'despotes'; God is not a despot but has far greater power and authority than one), and willingly accepts his judgement, yet clings faithfully to the promise of mercy.

In the Intro, Peterson writes, "only there did he realize that the steady trusting-in-God life, is the only real life." These are God's words in 2:4 (paraphrased: "You're really alive if you stand right, and steadily and loyally in God"), and Habakkuk learns that it is not for him to question God's methods, but to trust no matter what.

This faith-stance forms the attitude and context for his closing words, which I again paraphrase: "Though the world should fall, yet will I praise the Lord." And the against-all-odds prayer of praise inspired Don Moen's song "I Will Sing".

Habakkuk really caught my attention; here was a prophet who was different. Indeed, as Peterson wrote, while the others brought God's messages to us, he brought our messages to God. He lays before us a model which we must follow: to question God when necessary, but most of all to wait and listen. Far too many question, and leave it at that, thinking God will never speak, and when he does, they are surprised.

Zephaniah: Judgement Day

His cry is against a people who no longer care about God or their fellow men. Zephaniah (not to be confused with Zechariah, who sandwiches Haggai on the other side!) draws his focus onto Judgement Day (not to be confused with the Terminator movie), the point, as Peterson writes, at which all the consequences of our actions (or lack thereof) meet. He is like a convex lens that focuses the rays of light onto a focal point (oops, too much Physics lately!)

He calls us to seek God, and I believe this refers to a seeking of the true God, in the words of C.S. Lewis, "not as we think he is, but as he knows himself to be." Not to make too many smart guesses about God, but to stand in reverent awe before him whom we will never fully comprehend.

He also calls us to interconnectedness with other people, not just Christians or 'believers'. All our actions have consequences (oops, too much Physics again. No, this is not Newton's 3rd Law!), not referring to karma-like effects, but that indeed we will be judged by what we do (or fail to do). This is probably the failure of the 'personal gospel'; too many people 'accept Christ as personal Lord and Saviour', and so it truncates the vastness of the community, since Christ is, after all, merely personal.

3:12 points out the kind of people ready for blessing: those who are poor in spirit. Jesus would later use this concept in his Sermon on the Mount. Dallas Willard writes that it doesn't mean 'humble' so much as 'empty'. Those who are poor, really poor, are those who are empty enough to be filled, as is echoed in the Jars of Clay song, "Faith Enough".

Haggai: The Temple

Peterson's Intro goes: "In God's economy it is perhaps unwise to rank our assigned work as either more or less spiritual." Michael William, in a talk on God's will, pointed out that Martha's mistake was not that she was busy working, but that she poked into Mary's business and complained about it. We are each to do our assigned portion as faithful servants of the King.

I see the temple of Haggai, as a metaphor of the spiritual temple Christ would establish among his people; indeed, his people would actually be that temple. At the end of the rebuilding, I get the impression that the temple's beauty would never compare to the change in the very hearts and lives of the people, for God was truly working in them. The physical rebuilding was merely a reflection of internal, spiritual change.

Zechariah: H-impossible

Before I continue, this is a little something for Soo Tian: Zechariah's fourth vision of Joshua's New Clothes, kind of brought to my mind your word, 'cleansation.' And no, it still doesn't exist ;)

In his many visions and prophecies, Zechariah makes one thing plain: God is steadily setting in motion a new creation, a new Kingdom of real holiness where all things are made new. Though the images are nowhere near as powerful and otherworldly as Daniel's or Ezekiel's, somehow Zechariah seems to connote a greater sense of impossibility.

Yet, God 'counter-attacks' this notion that his plans will not come to pass. As Selwyn Hughes wrote, God breathed into Abram's and Sarai's names; they became Abraham and Sarah. The new names require breath to be pronounced, for one actually has to breathe out when saying the 'ham' and 'ah'. So God makes the impossible, h-impossible, or rather Him-possible!

4:10 goes: "Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings?" God is the master of making little things big, of turning small, timid steps into bold strides. I am thankful for this journey through which God has brought me and Soo Tian into. Truly, the words of this verse could have been said at our beginning, and look where we are: on steady course into the New Testament already. God is gracious.

Malachi: Holiness

I see the message of Malachi in three main verses (to me, that is) and one passage.

1:10 "Empty worship". This is something whose extent in our lives we may not even be aware of. Are we really connecting with God, or just going through the motions?

2:10 "Don't we all come from one Father?" This is a scathing comment, that throws a light on divisions within the church. If the church itself can't stand together, can we expect the world to?

3:9-11 "Test me in this" Not that we are to 'test' God as a scientist performs a litmus test, but to live God's way and see if it doesn't remarkably change our lives -- again, not to 'follow the motions', but truly live.

[Lame one here: I just noticed that all the above verses cover the 10th verse of each chapter]

The part on testing God, Malachi specifically attaches to the practice of tithing. I have been faithfully doing my part in this area, and sometimes, I can see the fruit of it, for I am often blessed beyond my expectations. Yet sometimes, I wonder if it's all coincidence, since at other times God seems far away.

But the point of it all, is not whether God blesses or not, but how we conduct our lives. Tithing has become natural for me, it is now, in Conrad Gempf's words, the 'default' setting in my life. I think the real change is not in my bank account, but my life.

3:1-4 is the passage that foretells the coming of John the Baptist and the Messiah. John would model holiness, preparing the hearts of many for the coming of the King, who would then inaugurate the new righteousness, what Dallas Willard calls the 'Kingdom dikaiosune'. (Dikaiosune is Greek for righteousness)

Being the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi sets the stage for tension, demanding some sort of resolution. The ending of the Old Testament is unrest. This great expectation is fulfilled some 400 years or so later, in the Temple, and a small Galilean village.

Final Note on the Prophets

Conrad Gempf wrote that in the Jewish language, the words matter even more than the point made. He cites the example of Abraham haggling with God over the lives of those living in Sodom and Gomorrah, namely Lot. He points out that we tend to say, of Abraham's actions, "How strage!" while a Jew would say "How typical!"

The Prophets have long been dissected for their 'message', for the 'gist' if you may. And so all manner of Bible scholars, pastors and theologians try to unravel the mystery of the prophets by explaining all their prophecies, by guessing at what they meant by their words. Yet it is their very mystery that makes them special.

Who were these 'Jedi', who stood out and pointed out the way to God's way of life? Until we can appreciate the prophets, not for the so-called 'clear-cut messages' we have been made to learn, instead for the awe they bring, and the way in which they call us to God, we cannot claim to have understood the first thing about them.

In a Foreign Land

2004-11-07T21:49:00.000+08:00

I've always had a fond affection for the book of Daniel; it was one of those stories most Christians would've carried with them from their childhood, along with such famous tales as those of Adam, Eve, Moses, David and Jonah.

Subsequent readings have yielded newer perspectives, showing the book to be more than 'Daniel in the Lions' Den.' I'd learnt about the prophecies, and the other adventures of his friends -- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

But this time around, I must admit I was challenged to take a different view to everything: it is what I would call the 'exile' perspective. I suppose this probably came about because of the previous books on the exile, and so they naturally lead to this.

I wonder, what was it like to live in a foreign land, having been deported by unscrupulous leaders to a new world? To be exposed to bizarre customs and maybe even climate? What is it like to bring with you knowledge of your true home, and spend your life away from it? Allow me to digress first.

Kings and the Kingdom

The first half of Daniel tells the story of four Jews and three foreign kings.

Nebuchadnezzar: The Kingdom

There are three accounts here: the dream, the furnace and the humbling.

Nebuchadnezzar seems to exhibit varying attitudes throughout, and it begins with his honouring the God of heaven, later forgetting about it and declaring himself God, and finally being humbled to exalt God once again.

I quote a few sayings from the three accounts that struck a chord in me as I read:

"God of heaven..." - spoken by Daniel, it departs from the usual Old Testament address of God, either Sovereign LORD or GOD or something of the sort. But here, Daniel acknowledges something about God that is especially apt in his circumstances; all the other wise men were merely men of earth, but Daniel appealed to the force from beyond. Only the seeing can lead the blind.

"But even if he doesn't" - spoken by Daniel's friends, it demostrates an abiding faith on their part, that it is better to live in the supposed existence of God, than in the absence of him. I am reminded of secular humanism's efforts to deny the presence of God, and I am brought back time and again to this resolution: even if God does not exist, I will live my life as if he does.

"Leaders out of losers" - spoken by Nebuchadnezzar after the seven years of humbling. It reflects the great kingdom paradox, of the weak being made strong, and the poor blessed. Obviously, the kingdom was by now much clearer to the king who at first caught glimpses of it, but never took it seriously.

Belshazzar: Judgement

The words of judgement, Mene, Teqel and Peres, say it all. Belshazzar's sin was that he neither added up, nor weighed much. The verdict was "you have known and yet..."

This reminds me of Solomon, to whom much was given, but little given back in return. Both had little to show for the blessings that were endowed upon them.

Darius: Grace

There is a stark contrast between the attitudes of Nebuchadnezzar and Darius. While the former was furious at the disobedience of the Jewish trio towards his law, the latter was upset by the sheer stupidity of his rash actions. While the former mocked God, saying "who is the god who can save you?", the latter hoped that God would protect Daniel.

It is a story of grace upon Daniel and Darius. God protected Daniel because he trusted (and this was just one of many such messages he was to receive), while Darius was given a chance to start again. And what a great change came upon Darius, evidenced in his proclamation that God alone is to be worshipped!

Prophecies of the Future

The second half deals with some of the most vivid and mysterious prophecies of the Old Testament.

While many have sought to unravel the cryptic codes, I attempted to focus more on the messages accompanying the visions.

Vision 1: The four creatures

In the middle of the vision, Daniel sees "a son of man" -- Jesus is the only assurance we have that all is in his control.

Vision 2: Ram and goat

"The Prince of all princes" is again the sole assurance that all is in God's control. Daniel was upset and couldn't make sense. He lays a precedent, if you will, that it is OK not to know. There are some things that are best left in the hands of God.

Interlude: A prayer of repentance

Words of a great prayer: "act out of who you are, not out of what we are... our appeal is to your compassion."

Max Lucado wrote that a prayer is powerful, not because of the one who says it, but the one who hears it. But how often do we focus on ourselves! We are worried we mispronounce 'justification', fret if our usage of the word 'grace' was in the right context, make a checklist to say "thank you God" and end everything with "in Jesus' name Amen."

I realize that more often than not, my prayers are inward rather than outward. Indoctrination has led me to believe that God is in my heart, while it is all the more probable that I am in his heart. I am way too self-conscious. We should all learn to make mistakes... no, wait... there can be no mistakes in prayer. Mistakes are when we do something wrong. Prayer is good, and as long as our attention is on God, there is absolutely no mistake we can make.

Ah, Satan, thy wiles defeat us not.

This prayer of repentance seems to be an indication that the exile has led, at least in part, to the fulfillment of God's intentions. His purpose was that the Israelites might turn to him in their despair and nothingness, and here, at least one man did.

Vision 3: Seventy Sevens

Whatever the numbers mean, we must remember that time is in God's hands. We would do well to operate on the grace of the moment, day by day.

Vision 4: Big war

God's purpose for suffering is that in his testing, he may "refine, cleanse and purify those who keep their heads on straight and stay true" to him.

At the end of the book, the angel says "relax". Daniel is told not to fret. The only other person in the Bible to be given such vivid prophecies of the future is the apostle John. Even at the end of his gospel, Jesus tells Peter to mind his own business.

The one reminder that accompanies all prophecy is this: don't worry about what it means or when it will come to pass. These matters are in God's hands. As for you, live in the continuing expectation of God's kingdom, and when you are resurrected to life, receive your reward.

Reflections

Back to those earlier questions. Daniel and his friends trusted God in Babylon. The prophetic messages have been interpreted in many ways, but probably their true purpose is not so much to give us clues by which to anticipate the future, but rather an assurance that we can know nothing about it (event-wise) for sure. After all, in the book of Acts, the angels ask the apostles, "Men of Galilee, why do you stare at the sky?"

We are to trust God even as we are led into the unknown, just as they trusted God in a foreign land. Sometimes this kind of thought makes people think, "Oh, I'm supposed to trust God when adverse circumstances strike, such as if I'm sent to prison or my house is burnt down or I'm involved in an accident."

But wait, isn't this world a foreign land? Are we not, in actuality, children of the kingdom? I believe Daniel is really a story about us, for the earth is really Babylon, and 'home' is the heavenly kingdom of God. No, not a land of clouds and gold castles and pearly gates, but a land of truth and hope and reality so beyond this, that earth is a shadow compared to it.

After the Leaders' Camp last year, I suggested doing a series on end-time prophecies during Christian Union meetings in school. They never happened, and I am relieved that this is so. I once thought that people these days are interested in the fantastic, or else the scientific debates about God. I held on to books like Revelation and Genesis as being of greatest interest to the people of today.

How wrong I was. God showed me, through a variety of books, people and experiences, that in our culture today, especially that of the postmoderns, many have declared that no one really knows anything for sure.

What they do believe, they believe on simple evidence, e.g. God exists because there's gotta be something out there; he's my friend, and there's no particular reason why. While it makes them more gullible, they are also less cynical.

Hence, scientists get the cold shoulder from such as them, for they (scientists) take things too seriously. And end-time 'prophets' who are keen to get them 'saved', may find them more interested in the fantastic, only for the sake of hearing a little here and there. They will move on to other things, for this culture is seeking joy that will last, and they will not remain stagnant.

A Final Note

Just as I reached the end of Chapter One, I received a phone call from someone who offered me a part-time 'job' in writing. She asked if we could meet up one of these days to discuss what it's really all about, and I was thinking, "Sure, but I wonder what my parents will say, this being exam period and all"... though for the next two weeks (after this Tuesday), there'll be a short Deepavali and Hari Raya break.

She first called during my trial exam, and I'd intended to re-establish contact on Wednesday. But the call today was unexpected. I'd prayed this morning for God to make his will in my life clearer, so I would know where to head for my tertiary education, and I wonder if this is one of the signposts along the road.

It was also raining when she called, quite a storm actually. As I have written before, rain has become something of a significant sign to me; Sivin and I discussed mentoring in the rain, and during storms, I am reminded of my sin, of God's grace, of the carpenter who stands up in torrents, saying to the wind and the waves, "Be still!"

Perhaps this is going to open up a new phase in my life... perhaps not. As with Daniel, I am reminded that whatever may develop, my trust must be in the one who knows all things. And so I commit myself to God.

God Is

2004-11-03T19:57:00.000+08:00

Dear all, the SPM has begun, and we both sat for our first paper today: Bible Knowledge; although Soo Tian would probably agree with me that we need to make room for the big questions and more space to explore the Word, rather than merely memorize passages with minimal understanding.

Anyway, the book of Ezekiel is one I was hardly familiar with, recalling nothing about it at all (even the famous Valley of Dry Bones, I did not remember until I came across it while reading this time around). So far, it is the most pictorial of the prophets, and I can only imagine what it would be like if made into a movie!

Same themes all over basically: judgement, hope, restoration, Messiah etc.
But I made more notes on the character of God, than the judgement/hope ones... Anyway, since I have to go soon, I'll outline this briefly:

Judgement

There are two attitudes that bring God's judgement upon us, generally speaking, and they are:

1. Rebellion - This is when we deliberately disobey God's commands. They are sins of action, and Ezekiel directed his messages of judgement on Israel mainly because of this.

2. Responsibility - The far subtler sin, however, is that of shirked responsibilities. I use the word 'responsibility' in a broad sense, referring to duties we're supposed to do, but don't do for one reason or another. The warning against these sins came to Ezekiel from God himself, for the prophet might have held back the message for fear of his life.

Most people think of sin as acts of rebellion, hence we don't murder, or lie, or cheat or steal etc. But the higher one progresses in the kingdom of God, and the further one walks in life, the dangers of Type 2 become more imminent. We are all the more at risk of not loving as we should, not doing good when we can, finding substitutes for prayer and Scripture, etc.

Hope

The messages of hope in Ezekiel find their expression in the prophecies of the new kingdom of God -- especially in the closing chapters when God lays out his plan for a new people who will worship in spirit and in truth. (Of course, the staggering nature of the closing prophecies also came with the bane of having to slug through meticulous temple measurements!)

We find there are two aspects of this new kingdom;

1. Righteousness - It is a kingdom in which people are truly good, never stagnant, always growing. It is a kingdom of LIFE. Here, the people care nothing about rules; their lives reflect the law in all its perfection. They are creatures whom God has made able to live the perfect life. On this side of heaven, these people are the ones who attempt to live differently for the sake of what is good.

2. Restoration - Hope springs eternal. The world that will be created, that is even now being created, is not a new world. It is Creation as Creation was meant to be. It is the fulfillment of the dream of God -- a perfect world in every sense.

Somehow I think that's the best definition of the new kingdom: perfect. It is NOT, however, perfect in the sense of nothing but halos, harps and goody-two-shoes glittering angels fluttering to and fro.

I really do believe there'll be questionable characters there, even scars we will continue to bear. But it is perfect in that evil can no longer reign; God has overcome. It is perfect in the sense that we have overcome all that is not good. Scars may still exist; but pain will not. People will still exist, but bad attitudes will not. It is a restored kingdom!

And now, the section I've been waiting for:

GOD

I have to go for dinner in a moment, and will subsequently subject myself to add maths work, so I'll make this quick.

God is:

-Really serious about judgement
-Sure of what he is doing
-The giver of life who takes no pleasure in death
-The Master who gives purpose to chance
-Jealous (but he has every right to it, since he owns everything anyway)
-Not 'pigeon-hole-able'
-The Ruler of all nations
-The great I AM

Those are only some of the many glimpses of God found in Ezekiel. But you could delete the last 8 lines or so and still be left with the deepest meaning of God: that he IS. He doesn't change like shifting shadows. Even the writer of Hebrews said Jesus Christ "is the same yesterday and today and forever more."

Of all finales, Ezekiel probably takes the cake, ending his 48 chapters with this declaration:

YAHWEH-SHAMMAH

God is there. Now the question is: what about us?...

This Day

2004-10-27T00:29:00.000+08:00

This is a book of silver linings in storm clouds.

The first verse that caught my eye was 2:4

"Like an enemy, he aimed his bow, bared his sword, and killed our young men, our pride and joy. His anger, like fire, burned down the homes in Zion."

This was the image of God. It must have been taken to be the image of the Messiah. One can just imagine the Jews reminding each other of this, and consoling themselves with the thought that the Messiah would do this to the Romans.

But a 'zealous' Messiah would not have gained the trust and surprise of Roman soldiers, nor would he have heard Pilate's yearning for the truth. It is simply amazing that God would choose to lead a silent revolution. But when I think about it, there was no other way.

3:22-24 was the inspiration for Steven Curtis Chapman's song 'This Day' and the hymn 'Great is Thy Faithfulness'. It is verse 24, however, that caught my attention this time: "I'm sticking with God... He's all I've got left."

Once, Soo Tian sent me this message, "He is my only hope... it's either I cling to him or I sink into nothing." It encouraged me then, it still does. Ben Moody of Evanescence wrote these words in the liner notes of the CD: "Jesus -- all the life left in me is you."

In suffering, we find that God is all there is in the end. But if we really believe that, we'll also find that God is enough. He is all we need to make it through the night.

"When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions: Wait for hope to appear" are the words of 3:28-29. They remind me of STM. Indeed, I can hardly wait to go there for DNA this year. There are times of refreshing that one cannot do without, and I'm sure Soo Tian will agree!

The element of cannibalism during the years of Jerusalem's attack and fall, I never noticed until I read Peterson's introduction. Sure enough, verses like 4:10 depict the moral depravity the people sank into. All these are merely symptoms of a life disconnected from God. The reason why there's so much evil around is because man has chosen his own will.

C.S. Lewis, in The Great Divorce, wrote (possibly quoting George MacDonald) "There are two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'Thy will be done.'"

But the verse that stirred me, most of all, was 5:21;

"Bring us back to you, God -- we're ready to come back. Give us a fresh start."

Earlier, I gave in to the temptation to do something I should not have done. It began to rain then, and then it stopped. When I read this verse, it began to rain again. I was reminded of my failure. But I was also reminded, on both occasions, that it was raining when I met up with Sivin to discuss mentoring. He used the rain as a metaphor of new beginnings, when the old is washed away, and the new is ushered in.

And so I pray for God's forgiveness, and his renewal. Amen.

Go down to the Potter's House

2004-10-27T00:26:00.000+08:00

In contrast with Isaiah, Jeremiah is somewhat more pensive. His messages of judgement come with less assurance of hope, probably because that judgement was already taking place during his time. It was by no means an easy book to read, and I found it less rewarding and more laborious a task. But that's probably because I'd never expected it at first. And it probably means there's much more in here that I believe will be revealed in subsequent readings in the future.

Some themes that threaded throughout the 52 chapters were righteousness; God's character; the law of undulation; and promises, not the least of which were those of the Messiah.

Righteousness

Here, as almost everywhere else where judgement is concerned, God reveals his take on righteousness. He exposes false religion for what it is: false religion. He longs for a people that will seek him face to face, that will do what is truly good, and not just follow the motions of religion. One gets the feeling that God would rather do away with the word 'religion' if he could.

50:20 made me think a little about sin. Much of what we consider sin, has been truncated to deeds we do or don't do, like murder or not praying. But then these are 'negative sins' or 'positive actions'. Yes, I wrote that correctly. They are either sins that have a notoriously evil connotation (murder, adultery, lying) and are positive actions in the sense that they are done. Conversely, a 'negative action' is something not done, e.g. not going to the cinema. At least in this sense.

But I think God's idea of sin is probably more towards a state of being rather than doing. That verse in Romans, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" probably emphasizes the falling short rather than the act of sin itself. When we look at it that way, sin is anything that isn't like God. And indeed that really widens the scope of what we call sin!

In Jeremiah, the sort of judgement God pronounces, seems to have one purpose in mind: to bring about a total change in the people, so that they will be unable to sin. For instance, if we are truly convinced of the sovereignty of God, we will find it impossible to stoop to the level of idols. Someone who has a real dog doesn't allow the cyberpet to take any more priority, and perhaps abandons it altogether.

C.S. Lewis wrote in The Great Divorce, that if we want heaven, we will not be able to keep the smallest souvenirs of hell. Indeed that is righteousness: being so much of God that evil can have no place at all.

Undulation

This is a word that I learnt from C.S. Lewis, in his book The Screwtape Letters. It refers to the state of alternating experiences, good and bad, peaks and troughs, joys and sorrows.

Jeremiah speaks of suffering, but he also speaks of hope. If there is another person in the Bible (with the exception of Jesus) who had much to say about suffering, it would have to be the apostle Paul. I recall the verse "Let me boast all the more about my sufferings."

A friend of mine, Sui-Jon, said recently, "The closer you are to danger, the further you are from harm." I doubt it makes much sense, but if taken to mean that we should face, rather than run from, danger, it's certainly worth considering. (NOT suggesting that the best place to hide from the discipline master is in his own office!)

The messages of hope in Jeremiah are few and far between. But when they do come, all the sufferings fade into oblivion. In the final chapters, when doom is pronounced on the nations, each nation's fate usually ends with the words, "There will come a day when God will make all things right." And that verse offsets all the doom and judgement that precedes it.

It is as though all the suffering leads/leans towards hope and redemption. It is like harmonic tension in music that calls for a resolution somewhere, somehow. Even when Paul wrote about suffering, he could say "His strength is made perfect in my weakness" and "We have these treasures in jars of clay." In the plain-ness of the ordinary, and the extremities of pain, one thing was constant: God.

The fact that he is always in control is expressed best in the Potter's House episode (which is my favourite in this book!). I remember the words in the Donut Man song of the same title, "Jeremiah go down to the potter's house, and the Lord will talk to you there"... It was almost as though God meant to surprise Jeremiah with a mystery of sorts!

In verses 5-10 of Chapter 18, God says, "In the same way this potter works his clay, I work on you... if they repent of their wicked lives, I will think twice and start over with them." If there's anything notable about clay, it is that the material is brittle. And so are we. I love the Ernest Hemingway quote, from his book 'A Farewell to Arms': "the world breaks every one, and afterward many are strong at the broken places."

I AM

I really don't know what to write about this phrase, this name of God. (Probably I couldn't write it even if there were something to write!) It just struck me each time I came across it in the book... Why does God settle for such a simple name?

Many have pointed out that it means that God never changes. And I suppose this is true. I've also noticed another thing about the name; it is something no-one and nothing else can say about themselves. To end it hanging without completing the clause (e.g. instead of something like 'I am strong' etc) is certainly weird. Why doesn't God even say "I AM GOD"? Why just "I AM"?

Maybe it's to draw such a great and awesome distinction between him and everything in existence, and a statement that he is beyond compare. Beyond all compare. This image of God, the incomparable, the all-powerful, the 'beyond all,' must have certainly been a stumbling block for those expecting the...

Messiah

For he was certainly comparable. One could say Jesus was taller than Peter, a little leaner than John... maybe less pimply than James. There was nothing special in appearance about Jesus. The one who overwhelmed Paul had nothing to overwhelm Herod. Or did he?

Jeremiah's promises of the Messiah are more subtle than Isaiah's. In retrospect, we see that. But it must have been difficult for the Jews then to understand that the Messiah would fulfill, not restore, convention. 17:27 speaks of the Sabbath. Jesus' teaching had the effect of something beyond the law: "Keep the Sabbath, not because you'd be punished for not doing so, but because all other alternatives would be downright stupid."

In 30:8, God says "I'll enter the darkness." Because of that, we can see the light; or rather, the light can see us. Jesus exposed men for who they were. There was something unsettling about this Galilean preacher, as though he weren't really from anywhere on earth. Centurions, fishermen, tax collectors, priests, prostitutes, farmers, kings and a governer, all knew this.

Elsewhere in The Great Divorce, Lewis writes that Jesus, because of his greatness, can descend further than anyone else -- even into the depths of hell. All who seek him, find him. There's no such thing as a godforsaken place, if at all a call to God arises out of it. This is the Messiah, according to Jeremiah.

Plans

And so we find that the great theme of Jeremiah can be summed up in the words of 29:11;
"I have... plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for."
God is still in charge. It must have been excruciatingly difficult for the people then to imagine that God still existed, as all traces of him seemed to have disappeared. It is Frederick Buechner who wrote, as quoted in Philip Yancey's 'Disappointment with God':

"To be commanded to love God at all, let alone in the wilderness, is like being commanded to be well when we are sick, to sing for joy when we are dying of thirst, to run when our legs are broken. But this is the first and great commandment nonetheless. Even in the wilderness -- especially in the wilderness -- you shall love him."

As Paul would say, it is like being commanded to sing even when whipped and locked in jail. But that's exactly what he and Silas did. And the Jews were in a great wilderness at that time. Yet they were called to seek God, no less. And because God comes to us even in the wilderness, we can find him. Even if he does not appear, can we settle for anything less that a life devoted to living as though God exists?

So what if all the evidence points away from God? I believe we can do no less, than live as if he does exist. Jeremiah believed in that. Paul believed in that. We know they never got their reward on earth, and all skeptics would not believe they ever got their rewards. But what does it matter? They were changed, and they changed others. They led revolutions of the impossible. And so God, through them, made the impossible happen.

A Symphony of Holiness

2004-10-18T14:04:00.000+08:00

Sometimes there are journeys in life, that we undertake without having a clue as to what's in store. Faith is one such journey, but that's rather broad. Tmsquared is a journey; even closer (or further!) from home, Isaiah is a journey.

Introduction to Isaiah

It has been written, in Peterson's introduction to the book, that Isaiah resembles a symphony, with the distinct 'movements' of judgement, comfort and hope. Being a classical music die-hard, I really liked this analogy, and, indeed it was so.

Another thing that struck me in the introduction, was the phrase "The Holy", which Peterson points out as Isaiah's title for God. He (Peterson) likens this overwhelming holiness to a revolution, not needlepoint. I'd begun my reading with this in mind, and several days later, I've learnt a few things about it.

First, holiness is not as straightforward as it might seem, and within it lies something of God's character, God's passion, God's will and God's plan. Secondly, holiness is not as easy as it might seem. I am anything but holy, and everytime I try to rise up out of the ashes of failure, I am sucked back in. There are far less (if any) glimpses of success than failure, in the pursuit of holiness.

Third, (and this is probably the great idea of holiness expressed in this book) holiness is unlimited. Actually, 'unlimited' fails to do it justice, for holiness is here described as something of God, that he wants to imbue every single atom in creation with. God wants to make everything holy!

It is said that holiness means 'set apart' or 'consecrated' for God's purposes. If this is so, then Isaiah depicts God as the Creator and Redeemer who made this world holy, and isn't going to rest until it's back that way.

Introduction to the Prophets

Rewinding for a moment, four statements in the Introduction to the Prophets caught my attention as they challenged the way I'm living and opened up new dimensions of faith to me.

1. The God of whom the prophets speak is far too large to fit into our lives. If we want anything to do with God, we have to fit into him.

2. [The prophets] don't explain God. If we insist on understanding them before we live into them, we will never get it.

3. If what seems like the worst turns out to be God's judgement, it can be embraced, not denied or avoided, for God is good and intends our salvation.

4. One of the bad habits that we pick up early in our lives is separating things and people into secular and sacred... Prophets will have none of this. They contend that everything, absolutely everything, takes place on sacred ground.

I'm sure these statements make sense. However, it seems that Christianity has been, for the most part, preaching the exact opposite lately!

Our version is this:

1. "If you want to go to heaven, you must accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour. Ask him into your heart."

What?! The God of this whole universe, into our heart? Sometimes I think making the decision for faith involves getting into God's heart, not calling him into ours, locking him in there, and throwing away the key until we need him.

2. With no offence to commentaries, we've been too particular about explaining God, hence the entire apologetics movement, to prove God in everything from science and archaeology to history and miracle testimonies. We try to break God down, dissect him, and claim we understand the Creator.

The answer, it seems, lies within seminary halls and the brains of theologians and pastors. And yet, C.S. Lewis, one of the greatest (if not the greatest) apologists of the 20th Century, was always one for mystery. His books delve more into exploration than explanation.

Maybe that's what we need now, a more generous kind of faith, that can open up, not obscure, wonder and amazement.

3. Almost without fail, whenever I read a book that touches on the subject of judgement (with the exception of C.S. Lewis and Brian McLaren), this line is almost always inevitably found within the pages: "Faith in Christ enables us to escape the final judgement"

Is judgement all that bad? What has happened to us, that makes us think of judgement as the condemnation and sentencing of mankind to hell? As McLaren put it, why can't judgement be seen as something more akin to quality assessment, like judging a painting or piece of music?

After all, God is the judge; our fear should not be of hell, but of his standards. I believe that God is less concerned with whether or not we 'escape' hell, than if we're heaven material. Oughtn't we live, not as blobs of clay worried about hell, but as saints on fire for heaven?

4. And finally, the sacred and the secular. The most clear-cut examples that I can think of at the moment (though there are plenty more), are Contemporary Christian Music and Friendship Evangelism.

There are some really great proclaimers to emerge out of Contemporary Christian Music, with Steven Curtis Chapman being at the forefront. But by and large, CCM as it is known, has become something of an attempt to 'secularize' the gospel by making it more acceptable and easily understood.

There was this recent project called "Hero: The Rock Opera" which sets the story of Christ's life against the backdrop of a futuristic world. While the attempt to make the gospel more accessible is to be applauded, the very label 'CCM' estranges many.

It is probably this that has caused bands like U2 and Evanescence to break loose from the chains of CCM. To them, the spiritual and material worlds can't be separated. Spiritual expression isn't something that merits the invention of a new genre; it is only natural (or supernatural!).

Truth be told, they are far more influential than CCM artistes, for they voice spirituality as something that arises out of this world, out of the supernatural creation, not something that's disconnected altogether. And they're no less Christian.

The other, Friendship Evangelism, can be considered something of an oxymoron. Shouldn't they both be as natural as breathing? Does this point to unhealthy conquest, as in 'making friends to win them to Christ'? Sometimes we fear that we make friends without preaching the gospel, so the term is coined. But if indeed we live lives of obsession with God, nothing can stop the gospel.

On the uglier side, sometimes for the sake of 'evangelism,' the friendship is discredited. We must learn to drop ulterior motives, and allow true spirituality to emerge out of the ashes of our complicated, Pharisaical religion -- for indeed, that's what it's become.

Indeed this has come about simply because of an erroneous assumption that there is a time for friendship, for evangelism, and for friendship evangelism. And what is this evangelism? The preaching of the 'Gospel of Getting Butts into Heaven'. If we live honest, contagious, righteous lives (really authentic, not oh-so-holy righteousness!), will not the kingdom spread naturally? It will be, in a word, inevitable. (Again this brings to mind the sacred vs secular problem)

Pages of Isaiah

It has been pointed out that the 66 chapters of Isaiah parallel the 66 books of the Bible, with the first 39 being messages of judgement (Old Testament) and the remaining 27, messages of comfort and hope (New Testament).

As I read through, I made notes on passages that stood out for one reason or another. As with the other reflections, I would have quoted them here if not for the very reason that they would take many more pages. There is too great a wealth and depth of thought in Isaiah, that I can only say this: If you haven't read it, read it. If you have, read it again!

Certainly there are themes, and a few I took note of, apart from judgement, hope and comfort, are prophecies of the Messiah, God's majesty, sin and repentance, and God's Kingdom. Holiness is the thread throughout them all.

I believe they are all intertwined: Because of who God is, he can stand for nothing less than perfection. As such, there is the need for judgement to wipe out sin, but only when we repent. God is incapable of forgiving until he has our permission. C.S. Lewis drew out an example of this in The Great Divorce, in which an angel asks the ghost of a man, time and again, whether he can slay the 'lust' sitting on the man's shoulder in the shape of a Lizard. God can do nothing until we ask him to.

And judgement (this is an idea from McLaren) is not the force that propels people to hell, but the fire that cleanses us from sin, that we may be free to live a righteous life. It is like a torch that shines in the dark, a power that detects, diagnoses and destroys evil.

The other theme of hope and comfort, is possible (indeed, inevitable) for the same reason -- because of who God is. He cannot tolerate life with us because of sin and corruption, he cannot bear life without us because we are his. And so Chapters 40-45 are all about who God is, because it is in his character that we draw comfort.

It is in God's Kingdom that the culmination of judgement, hope and comfort will take place. His Kingdom on earth as in heaven. And it is by his Messiah that he brings this to effect. And so we find that the prophecies of the Messiah all point to the very personification of God.

Call this a hunch, but I think the people who believed Jesus, believed because they saw something in him that was obsessed with God -- to the extent that he might actually be God. That Jesus is almost nonexistent today, sometimes I think even less among Christians. The Christ we know and preach is some disconnected entity who can be relied upon for healing, protection and guidance -- little else.

Can we blame the world for giving up on him? In response to allegations of what many call 'a thin ecclesiology,' Bono of U2 once said, "The Jesus I believe in used to turn over tables" and "God is much bigger than that" -- or something to that effect.

What more can I say?

Compared to my past entries, I daresay this is probably the most disoriented and messy. (Oops, that reminds me of Messy Christian!) I guess it's like trying to fit the Pacific into a jar or emulate the chorus of heaven with a church choir.

Isaiah is too overwhelming! This is not to say that I fell backwards and landed prostrate under a blinding light when I read it, but that it brought me to some places I never knew, and some places I'd always thought I knew, but now know differently. It was every bit as refreshing as it was piercing.

This is probably the greatest book of the Old Testament so far. Although the Wisdom books are my favourite, and provide much more food for thought, Isaiah has it all: prophecy, history, rhetoric, poetry and mystery. (That last sentence... I typed everything until poetry, and was kind of stuck thinking of one more element, then the most obvious word suggested itself!)

In a nutshell, I can only say one thing: Read it and see for yourself!!

Wisdom and Tension

2004-10-10T19:53:00.000+08:00

To me, that has been the challenge of the books of Wisdom. So much more can be said, and indeed I plan to spend next year focussing on this section of the Bible, devoting my days to the pursuit to Wisdom.

There appears to be brewing parental opposition to this project. My parents feel that this is taking up too much of my time -- time which they feel can be spent reinforcing whatever I study.

My presence here may lessen in the days to come, but be sure of one thing, Revelation Chapter 22 will set foot upon this blog by December 2.

Indeed, I have been told to reconsider TMsquared and maybe postpone it to next year. But by God's grace I am what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain (1 Cor 15:10). We've learnt so much these last few weeks, and made so much progress -- I just feel it's wrong to turn back now.

Can I turn back? Is it even possible? It's been so inspiring, encouraging and challenging... sometimes it makes the SPM seem as inconsequential as a dust speck in outer space. I daresay this will spur us on in all we do.

Whoever you are, reading this, thank you for your support all this while. Pray for us. Remember us.

We are, very truly, yours.

We are, evermore, God's.

Ultimately, this is for his glory. Amen.

On the reality of Love

2004-10-10T19:51:00.000+08:00

Song of Songs is by no means an easy book to write about. I've never quite been in love before, so I don't really understand it. Apart from the undeniable truth that love takes time and unfolds on its own accord (2:7), I found little else that really pierced me, except one thing:

Love vs Lust

This is a world that promotes sex without love. In defence, many have tried defending love by isolating it from sex (see Peterson's introduction).

I am tempted, day after day, to seek life's pleasures hedonistically, without any care to God's original intentions for these human experiences -- all of them.

Yet I find that whenever I try to see God in life -- in my life -- he begins to take centre-stage. I am overwhelmed by his call, his challenge, his burden. It's like, suddenly everything I once thought important, fades in light of his plan, his will.

I give in to lust, only to find a God of love challenging me to love. I commit adultery, only to find the First Love calling me back to his 'Divine Conspiracy.' This is not a matter of forgiveness alone, but of renewal. Not merely repentance, but re-commissioning.

Truth be told, it's simply the difference between what's real and what's not. God looks at our 'games of love' and says something like, "You're enjoying what you're doing right? Let me show you the real side of it, for all that you've experienced so far is merely an imitation. Now you know in part; come and you shall know in full."

Eugene Peterson was right when he wrote in the introduction "It is a prism in which all the love of God in all the world, and all the responses of those who love and whom God loves, gathers and then separates into individual colours."

For we are called into the halls of the Heart of Love, to respond to all that is true, leaving illusions of 'love' behind. It's time for metamorphosis.

Evanescent Vapour

2004-10-10T19:47:00.000+08:00

In a nutshell, the book of Ecclesiastes is about the meaninglessness of life, which Eugene Peterson describes as "doggedly putting one flat foot in front of the other, wondering what the point of it all is."

What is odd, is that non-Christians seem to identify with this book more than Christians. Peterson writes of its appeal to all kinds of people, yet the questions and feelings expressed here, are more often voiced by my non-Christian friends, especially those who are more 'spiritual' (not necessarily more religious).

Soo Tian, you will know the above to be a description of Suda ;)

I would like to write my reflections on the book in the order of a journey from darkness to light (not that this book is about that, but I find it easier to organize my thoughts this way). So, we begin with the...

Depths of Darkness

The Quester (called the Teacher in other versions) screams of the futility of life, echoing Job in many ways, most notably in verses 4:3, 5:15 and 8:14.

Sometimes, he says, it is better not to be born at all. Why are the good and wicked not treated as they should be?

Shadowlands

2:11-26 says it all, under the heading of "I Hate Life." The culmination of this is probably in verse 14, "One fate for all -- and that's it."

Why do we bother living at all, let alone doing good? All of life ends the same way -- in death. Since we're all headed for the same place, why bother? As in 9:3, "Life leads to death. That's it."
6:10 says "you can't argue with fate." I've had several enlightening discussions with various friends about this. Is this statement true? Sometimes true? Are we all destined to certain things in life, or is life a blank canvas which we're free to paint as we like? Do we matter?

Emerging

Yet, in the middle of the futility of life, there are glimpses of meaning and purpose, and how to make the most of things.

4:9-10 is most encouraging; "It's better to have a partner than go it alone..." I certainly agree, since TMsquared would not be possible otherwise. I would not have made it this far without Soo Tian. However, 4:12 speaks of a three-stranded rope. Oops... maybe on the next project?
"God deals out joy in the present, the now. It's useless to brood over how long we might live," goes the proclamation of 5:19-20. This was a theme of Christ's teaching, that today's grace is for today.

7:10 follows it up with "Don't always be asking, 'Where are the good old days?'" C.S. Lewis, in The Screwtape Letters, wrote that it is Satan's scheme to keep us either in the past or the future, better the future because there is absolutely nothing real in it yet.

Yet God's design is that we should live in the present! This explains his teaching about the Kingdom, and books like Proverbs and the Psalms. The devils are no more pleased than when we seek to live, always anxious about the future, always fretting about tomorrow. Jesus was right, indeed we cannot grow an inch taller by worrying about tomorrow.

"Your death date tells more than your birth date" and "You learn more at a funeral than at a feast" are the lessons of 7:1-2. Max Lucado wrote that we should make important decisions in graveyards. Indeed, it has been said that life, when summarized, is little more than a dash between two years on a piece of stone. How will we spend that dash?

Money makes the world go around, and 10:19 agrees. This may seem materialistic, but let us not forget that even Jesus taught that money is important. The question is, to what ends and whose purposes will you subject it? Whom will you serve? (Here, we see glimpses of true choice, that we may actually have some purpose on this soil).

Interval

There is a passage in Ecclesiastes which seems to stand out on its own, which has probably been quoted more than any other in the 12 chapters here. It is 3:1-13.

No event and experience in life escapes the attention of the Quester in verses 2-8. There is a time for everything.

Part of verse 11 is not mentioned in the Message, but I believe it speaks volumes: "he has set eternity in the hearts of men." There seems to be something that our existence is needed to redeem, as was said by a quote in Philip Yancey's Disappointment with God.

And yet, thought all is made beautiful in its time, does it really make a difference? What is a butterfly? In all its beauty, it lives only a few weeks at most. It's as if the Quester does not deny the wonder of creation, but questions its end.

A Holy Mystery

We enter now into the few bursts of glory in these bleak pages.

Chapter 5 opens with a warning and an invitation, to enter God's house to learn, not to mindlessly offer sacrifices. How much of our religion has become pure ritual with no heart? How much seeking can be seen in non-Christians, putting us to shame?

In 5:9, we find that "the good earth doesn't cheat anyone -- even a bad king is honestly served by a field." This reminds me that God is faithful, even when we are not. Nature, his greatest witness, operates by the laws set in motion at the beginning of time, and the sun shines on all alike.

7:13 brings to mind Nokia's concept of 'no sharp corners' -- Creation is full of beautiful curves and angles, not straight lines. Why do we seek to reduce it to that? A verse later, the Quester writes that "God arranges for both [good and bad] days so that we won't take anything for granted."

Indeed, to get to another mountain, we must first descend the first mountain.

We find our call to service in 8:2-6. "Don't worryingly second-guess your orders or try to back out when the task is unpleasant. You're serving his pleasure, not yours." I pray that I will be able to say to my King, "your will be done," for indeed even the Christ wrestled with such anguish before being able to utter those words.

There is some hope for justice, and 8:12-13 show what really happens to the wicked. "No matter how many days he lives, they'll all be as flat and colourless as a shadow -- because he doesn't fear God." A good life is not measured by our standards, but God's, in his colour scheme.

"God takes pride in your pleasure!" shouts 9:7. Pleasure is not wrong at all; it is from God. But sin is when we seek to have pleasure outside God's context.

The words of 11:5 probably best describe God's work:

Just as you'll never understand
the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman,
So you'll never understand
the mystery at work in all that God does.

We are called to live by faith, and we will discuss this in the...

Epilogue

11:6 is full of symbolism; we must stick to working faithfully for we'll never know how our work will turn out in the end. It is not for us to watch the clock (indeed, guess the return of Christ, etc) but to act as faithful servants and stewards, ever vigilant.

I believe all teenagers will agree especially with 11:9;

You who are young, make the most of your youth.
Relish your youthful vigour.
Follow the impulses of your heart.
If something looks good to you, pursue it.
But know also that no just anything goes;
You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.

We are often reckless and want a taste of everything -- even trouble. But God remains our guide, for we know he has authority to judge. And so, we would be wise to "honour and enjoy [our] Creator while [we're] still young" (12:1).

In the end, God will judge everything (12:14). What is good, will be kept for the world to come; what's evil, will be destroyed, deleted, once and for all.

On the title of this entry, I find that the songs of Evanescence powerfully voice the sentiments and passion of the Questor. And what is life but an evanescent vapour? Something that's here one moment, and gone the next?

A bit of biblical symbolism might help. It is written that Christ will return in a cloud. Perhaps this cloud contains the vapours of our brief lives? Could it be that he returns surrounded by so unsubstantial a substance, as if to say "your life means a lot to me"?

It could be; whether or not, I have several more hours to make use of today.

Eternity in the here and now

2004-10-10T13:30:00.000+08:00

Many people think that what's written in the Bible has mostly to do with getting people into heaven -- getting right with God, saving their eternal souls. It does have to do with that, of course, but not mostly. It is equally concerned with living on this earth -- living well, living in robust sanity. In our Scriptures, heaven is not the primary concern, to which earth is a tag-along afterthought. "On earth as it is in heaven" is Jesus' prayer.

These words, written by Eugene Peterson, introduce us to the book of Proverbs. I cannot help but feel the piercing reality of such a statement. We have by and large distilled the Bible into "God's Good News for the World," or so we think. Hence, we try to fit all of Jesus' teachings into the framework of the atonement and heaven (probably without understanding either).

But Proverbs shows us God's glory in the ordinary. It shows us what life is like, at the daily level. If there's any book in the entire Bible that can elicit more nods of assent from its reader, this must be it, since the truths here are so close to home; too close, sometimes!

The book opens with a welcome message, and within the first 5 chapters makes clear that no one is too wise to stop learning. 19:3 shows that we really do have choices, which usually fork in two directions: wise and foolish. It must be understood that the Biblical sense of a 'fool' is not just a stupid person, but one who is reluctant to learn or change. It is better translated "incorrigible."

I'd like to draw attention to two passages before continuing here. I realize that Chapter 7 is probably where Cliff Richard got his inspiration for the song 'Devil Woman'. And there's a verse I don't understand some 20 chapters later; 27:14. Soo Tian?

My Life

If there's anything that time and time again stodd in judgement against me, it's the countless proverbs on discipline, focus, procrastination and laziness. Ouch! I really must change.
It struck me that 'discipline' and 'disciple' are probably inseparable, that all who dare call themselves disciples of the living God must submit to his discipline, and must discipline themselves to do his will, day by day.

18:24 speaks of true friends. I remember reading a quote that said something to this effect: To find one true friend in a lifetime is much. It works both ways, really, that while I seek friends, I must also be willing to offer my friendship to others. "Greater love has no man than this: that he be willing to lay his life down for another," as Jesus said.

In 27:21, I was reminded of dcTalk's song 'What if I Stumble'. Even as God refines me from time to time, I find many areas of my life that ought to be sent to hell. Yet his promise remains the same, and as C.S. Lewis wrote in the Great Divorce, whatever is good and true, will be as embers fanned to produce a fire. I pray that I will never tire of seeking righteousness.

Jesus' Life

There were several allusions in Proverbs to the life of Christ, that he identifies with the poor (15:25), the prodigal son (19:27), "he who has ears, let him hear" (20:12), "do not worry about tomorrow" (27:1), his ministry (28:8), and "God causes the sun to shine on good and evil alike" (29:13).

I doubt the book was meant to be prophetic; most likely Jesus used these very proverbs in his teaching. After all, Israel would be familiar with them, and such common sense would elude only the hardest of hearts. The 'great theme of Christ' is what we'll consider next.

The Kingdom

What's the Kingdom of God/heaven? Is it a future world that is open only to those who 'accept Christ as Lord and Saviour'? NOT!

It is a world in which only what is truly good will be preserved (2:20-22), where its inhabitants actually LIVE! (9:6), where people are content not to supplement God (10:22), where evil is but an unreal phantom (11:19), where Satan's best strategy, ie. "good-hearted" bad people don't exist, for good and evil are as opposite as can be (12:10), where who we are determines how we see (17:16), where generosity rules (21:26), and where we are not 'only natural' (24:29).

Where is this? Utopia? Nope! It's here and now. The Kingdom has come! There are those who say the Kingdom has come in part, and awaits its fulfillment at the second coming of Christ. C.S. Lewis understands it like this: He wrote, again in the Great Divorce, that for those who seek the Kingdom, and live by it, earth would have been part of heaven all along. And to those who don't, earth would have been but a domain in hell.

In other words, in light of this, our mission is not to lead people to believe in Christ that they may be 'saved' for heaven once earth is done with, but that they may begin to live heaven here! (I don't claim to understand much about the kingdom and stuff, but do read Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy).

We find, that in this Kingdom, there is one group of people who are specifically blessed. They are...

The Poor

We have an urgency to help them (3:28). 29:24 stares us in the face with the accusation of not doing what we can, when we can. Pilate's mistake is our mistake; not that we do wrong, but that we don't do good. Many Christians are content to read the Bible as a rulebook of things to avoid or practices to keep. But few dare read it as the challenge to live a life not of this world.

Bono of U2 is famous for his cry that helping the poor and suffering is "not a cause; it's an emergency!" True enough, how many Christians are there in the world? Some 1 billion, it is said. How many devote themselves to helping the poor?

This, more than anything, is what puts our message to shame. To the poor, Christians are this bunch of people who tell others than they are sinners and need to repent and be forgiven by Christ so that they can go to heaven when they die. But that wasn't how Jesus put it!

If you read the Gospels, the verse "he healed their sick and taught the multitudes" occurs infinitely more than "God has a wonderful plan for your life! Here's the four-step plan to God's eternal salvation." Dare we be to the poor as Christ was to them? There is nothing more difficult, for it demands suffering. Yet I believe that there is nothing more rewarding and joyful.

Epilogue

The book of Proverbs ends with the sayings of Agur, most notably the 'sets of four' in Chapter 30, and the hymn to a good wife in Chapter 31.

30:15-16 speaks of the 'insatiables' -- hell, a barren womb, a forest fire and a parched land. It seems that these reflect the spiritual condition of all humanity, and it reminds me of the Augustinian saying (was it Augustine?) "our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee."

30:18-19 lists four mysteries, and one of them (in the Message translation) is 'why adolescents act the way they do'... Soo Tian, I'm sure you agree!

Finally, 31:10 summarizes the rest of the chapter, "A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds" and it goes on to describe the woman who fears God. We're not married, but to all you husbands out there, remember!

The Message translation of this book, in my opinion, 'deviated' less from other versions compared to the preceding books. Probably because the element of common sense keeps it all together. They were the down-to-earth truths some 3000 years ago, and they still are.
Eugene Peterson, in his introduction, writes that

"Wisdom" is the biblical term for this on-earth-as-it-is-in-heaven everyday living... Proverbs distills [attention to the here and now] into riveting images and aphorisms that keep us connected in holy obedience to the ordinary.

It is easy to see God in nationwide revivals, the parting of oceans, the healing of the sick, the casting out of demons, and in miracles. But it is even more precious and profound to see God in everyday things. I once read this poem in Kinokuniya KLCC, and will try to reproduce it as best as I can recall:

To see the stars in a grain of sand
And heaven in a flower
To hold space in your hand
And eternity in an hour

Sand, flower, hand, eternity and hour are all correct, since they are the only guiding points that I can remember, but the rest is only a vague approximation. Generally, the poem describes the mundane-ness of life as laced with supernatural elements.

And this prompts the question, "Is what we see around us nature, or supernature?" (For the record, in STM, everything seems supernatural... I have this strange suspicion that those monkey bars will be transported to heaven someday!).

In closing, let us always remember the prayer of Proverbs 30:7-9;

"God, I'm asking for two things
before I die; don't refuse me--
Banish lies from my lips
and liars from my presence.
Give me enough food to live on,
neither too much nor too little.
If I'm too full, I might get independent,
saying, 'God? Who needs him?'
If I'm poor, I might steal
and dishonour the name of my God."

To those who will seek God

2004-10-06T21:49:00.000+08:00

After a relatively long absence, I'm back from my sojourn into the Psalms. This extremely rich book has left me puzzled, confused, startled, comforted, disturbed, humbled, encouraged and challenged at different times. Even these words are not enough to describe the emotions expressed by the psalmists, that travel from their hearts into mine. But as Max Lucado once wrote, "Can anyone capture your love? By no means. But what joy is found in the attempt."

I consider this an attempt to see life from the uninhibited, blatant, often rude perspective of the ones who sought God, and who found him and much more in the process.

It has been said that the Message sacrifices the poetic finesse of the Psalms (more so than any other aspect of Biblical poetry), and this has led to more Message-antagonists. But judging from Eugene Peterson's introduction to the book, that seems to be his purpose. His basis for translation is a firm conviction that the Psalms were real prayers to a real God by real people living in a real world.

"The Psalms often sound smooth and polished, sonorous with Elizabethan rhythms and diction. As literature, they are beyond compare. But as prayer, as the utterances of men and women passionate for God in moments of anger and praise and lament, these translations miss something... The Psalms in Hebrew are earthy and rough..."

And he is also "convinced that only as we develop raw honesty and detailed thoroughness in our praying do we become whole, truly human in Jesus Christ, who also prayed the Psalms."

Many have commented that Jesus never minced his words, using all sorts of pretty euphemisms to camouflage piercing messages; I doubt the psalmists did either. When we get to the core and bottom of things, when all that is left is God, there is open, exposed honesty that cares nothing for beauty of language, but frankness of heart.

I prayed this prayer at the beginning of the journey into Psalms,

"Lord, make this the starting point of a more real, honest, deeper and brighter relationship with you. May I learn from here, and use the psalms to change me as they did the writers."

I cannot say that I am able to pray as David did, but each step along the way, I am awakened to a greater realization of what prayer is about, who God is, and I must admit that the past two weeks or so, have been a great time of focussing more on God, and allowing him to change my priorities and obsessions. He is even now occupying more and more of my life, and I am learning what it means to put God at the centre of my life, even as he puts me in the centre of his.

For that I am most grateful.

There is too much to say about the Psalms here, so I will take this space to do only one main thing: write about the main character in the Psalms, or more correctly said, the main human character, for God is undoubtedly the heart of the Psalms. He is none other than David.

It happens that my sister is watching a cartoon about David right now, and I return for a moment to the days before his kingship. No doubt, while tending his flock, he would frequently talk to God amidst nature, communing with creation day by day. He would become corrupt in many different ways in the future, but one thing remains true until his death: he was a man after God's heart.

Probably the reason why he resonated so much with the heartbeat of heaven, was that he spent time -- lots of it -- with the Creator. I am looking forward to DNA camp this year, not so much because of what we will do or learn, but because of morning quiet time. There is no place in my experience quite like STM, where the monkey bars and garden make excellent places from which to seek God. There one can commune with nature, with the God of nature. There, nature borders on the supernatural, and God makes his presence truly felt.

I am sure these moments of solitude followed David all the days of his life, and his psalms echo a closeness to God that none of the other psalmists exhibit. While the others go on to praise God and stand in reverent awe (rightly so, it must be said), David is the only psalmist who spends most of his time being blatantly honest and open with God, speaking as with a friend, forgoing all formalities and syntax. Many can claim to be children of God, heirs of the kingdom, but I believe we have not understood the nature of the kingdom fully until we can call God our friend -- truly call God our friend.

Many of his psalms may scandalize us if we consider them properly, not as poetry to be studied and dissected, but thoughts to be felt and understood. Take, for instance,

"I hate all this silly religion, but you, God, I trust."

We are slow to discern the difference between religion and faith. Of course, they are not mutually exclusive, but David learnt to seek God above all, and this line seems to be an undercurrent that threads through all his psalms, for, as I have mentioned earlier, he forgoes all formalities to get to the heart of God. He is one who will not hesitate to say, "God!!! Are you listening?!! I'm here and I'm talking to you!!!" It may seem to border on the rude, but I believe he held deep reverence for God, which is evident in his repentance psalms.

I do not understand this very well. Sometimes I feel that when I'm honest, I utter things a pastor never would dare to in church. And when I'm polite and 'reverent', I find it doesn't do my feelings justice. The best I can do, is approach God as I would a friend, but with a sense of mystery that he is at once beside me, around me and yet everywhere and everytime at once. And that nothing I ever say can possibly do my thoughts and feelings justice, for only God knows them perfectly.

One of my favourite verses in the Psalms is 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" (NOT the Message translation!), which was made into a song by Michael W Smith and Amy Grant. It was our SCF leaders' camp theme song last year. It reminds me that God's word is so much more than a sacred text that is treated as though it were God himself by Bible scholars. God's word is not some authoritative, didactic, law-giving textbook that all Christians are supposed to refer to as a rulebook for life.

It is, instead, a lamp and a light, meant to be put to practical use. Dallas Willard said it well when he wrote in the preface to his excellent The Divine Conspiracy, and I paraphrase, "I believe the Bible was meant to be understood and applied by everyone, not just a bunch of 20th century scholars who can't even agree among themselves with regard to its interpretation." Somehow the psalmist understood this. God's word is alive! Jesus said, "Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man," and I believe the same can be said about the Bible. It certainly seems healthier this way!

I read Psalm 131 yesterday, and the closing verse, "Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope..." reminded me of T.S. Eliot's poem East Coker, as quoted in Philip Yancey's Disappointment with God.

"I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark
come upon you
Which shall be the darkness of God....
I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing;
wait without love
For love would be love of the wrong thing;
there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all
in the waiting."

What it really means, I still don't quite know, but I think it means that as we wait, faith and love and hope will be there waiting for us. It gives hope to those who will seek God, for although he promises to be found, it doesn't always seem that way.

For some reason, the phrase "flat on their faces" appears more times and more conspicuously than any other, except "Hallelujah," and is almost always used by David to describe the impending condition of his enemies. Something parallel caught my eye today, in Psalm 146:8,

"... he lifts up the fallen."

God cannot lift us up, unless we fall first. C.S. Lewis, many times over in his masterpiece The Great Divorce, which I had a great time reading recently, writes that we must die before we can be raised incorruptible, and the lion Aslan in his Chronicles of Narnia, who symbolizes Christ, also said that "few have not died. Even I have died." Indeed, I see this as a challenge to each and everyone of us to daily leave behind that which keeps God at bay, dying to self, and daring to fail and fall, that the dross may be distilled and we may be made more and more like God -- closer to his image day by day.

We may feel like praising, "All together now...!" (Psalm 124:1) or maybe we feel like dying, and in despair cry out, "Don't let me go under for good," (Psalm 69:14), but whatever the case, I think one phrase (69:13) summarizes what I believe is the heart and theme of the Psalms' exhortation:

"And me? I pray."

Day by day, may it be so. Amen.

Rumours of a Whirlwind

2004-09-19T18:20:00.000+08:00

Brian McLaren wrote of changing trends in the Christian faith: "I have often counselled others, in the end convincing myself that their questions are better than my answers" (my paraphrase).

So it is with the book of Job, where the question mark features more prominently than the full stop (not necessarily more often, just more prominently, like every other line). Anyway, I'm convinced that no one should ever approach the book of Job with this attitude, "Since Job also suffered, I want to follow his 7 Simple Rules for Persevering..."

An idea came to me earlier (probably somewhat influenced by the nature of the book Adventures in Missing the Point), that perhaps, for the wisdom books, I should try taking a completely different track, and maybe sometimes even disagreeing with Soo Tian. After all, here the possibilities are endless (unlike the other books which are more factual and allow less space for digressions).

For instance, I have somewhat different opinions of Job's friends, save that I also believe Eliphaz lost his head in Round 3, and that Bildad is all about rules. Whereas Soo Tian focussed on perseverance in suffering, and a comparative analysis of the speeches, I shall attempt to reflect on their (and our) character, and on God's answer (please bear with me here!)...

I see Eliphaz as the stereotypically 'pious' person, covering a wide range of spiritual truths and matching them accordingly (or so he thinks) to the situation at hand. Bildad, however, is more inclined to illustrate from nature's resources, and stick to formulaic rules. Zophar struck me as the most humorously hopeless 'friend'; he's the apocalyptic (as Soo Tian wrote) "repent or die!" guy. His second speech sounded like dialogue from The Terminator.

But, in comparison with the others, I see myself most clearly in the character of Elihu, the young gun (probably fresh out of seminary) with the whole world figured out, ready to answer anything and everything. He bears the traits of the others, minus all sense of compassion. In other words, he's a robot. A heartless, super-minded machine. The trouble with knowledge (especially among the young) is that we tend to become too cocksure and unrelenting, immune to rebuke and God's moulding. We understand everything, don't we?

In Job, we find someone who gives better proportion to Doomsday than Zophar, is armed with a better understanding of nature than Bildad (and also somewhat free from formula), and more practical than Eliphaz. And all his challenges bear something that Elihu has none of: they put the rubber to the road.

With that behind us, now for my reflections on God's speech (for lack of a better term)...

(Just a side comment, the word 'job' appears in 39:11 and 41:4 -- once in each of God's speeches, and never elsewhere as far as I can recall)

God answers Job in two sets, both of which draw their substance from nature, and which are directed to two of Job's greatest questions: "Where is God?" and "Why am I here?"

Set 1 is a random survey of various aspects of nature from the living to the inanimate, all of which give testimony to the greatness of the Creator. Job, in looking for a great tangible sign of God, missed out the most incriminating evidence yet, that God's fingerprints are all over the natural world. No one alive can possibly miss out on the joys of nature; we've all at one time or another been transfixed by the sheer beauty and majesty of the created world.

Of course, there are such sad cases of people coming so close to life, yet staying so far, like Francis Crick and James Watson who, having discovered the molecule of life, DNA, completely disregarded God. (A warning to us, who may be inclined to dig too deep into things, even the Bible, and fail to see that life is really around us, meant for the living). There are simple, pure, real joys around us. But we callous people always seem to want more complicated solutions...

Set 2, on the other hand, is an examination of two beasts, Behemoth and Leviathan, which were some of the most majestic creatures ever created. Some have even suggested that these beasts might have been some type of dinosaur. (Here, the NIV seems to trivialize the descriptions by saying they might refer to the hippopotamus and crocodile). God describes the greatness of each, and in a surprise statement, belabours the dissection of Leviathan with the words "But I've more to say about Leviathan..."

When it comes to knowing our purpose in life, we must first know that God created us special, even more unique and intricate than Behemoth and Leviathan. If God can do so much with animals, will he not do more for the ones made in his image? We are the crown of his creation, and the greatest wonder of the world.

God's theme is basically wrapped up (and Soo Tian has pointed this out indirectly) in the plea to "Let me ask the questions". This reminds me of what Jesus said, "Who of you can, by worrying, add a single hour to the day?" God alone runs the universe, and we would be wise to leave the questions and unknowns to him. As we learn more, we must constantly remember that he's in charge of the show, not us, or else we might fall into the trap of exploiting the world (and the universe after that) in proportion to our comprehension of it.

Finally, the most poignant line in the final chapter, is probably when God calls Job 'friend'. This word appeared twice earlier, when God described Job as his friend in Satan's presence. After the torrential whirlwind of questions and the barrage of the incredible, God remembers Job for who he always was -- a friend. One can only wonder what went on behind the scenes during the long discourse; what was God doing? What was he thinking?

At the end of it all, we must remember to have a heart, and be sensitive to others' needs and conditions before we pronounce judgement. (Anyway, how much do we know?) And Job teaches us the essentials of raw, fiery faith; we're not to give up on God, but seek him even if we shall never find him. The character Puddleglum, in the Chronicles of Narnia, once said (when he was being enchanted by the Queen of Underland) "Even if that world (Narnia) does not exist, I will seek it all my life." We are changed not by what we discover at the end, but what we learn along the way.

This reflection has been far from perfect, and the book of Job can practically constitute a year's worth (or more!) of Bible study. Some of my thoughts could not make it onto this page due to the nature of this reflection. Nevertheless, we make do with given circumstances, and I would like to end with the thoughts of three great people...

Eugene Peterson, 'writer' of The Message, wrote in the Introduction to Job, "And so Job's experience is confirmed and repeated once again in our suffering and our vulnerable humanity." We are vulnerable, broken people, shards of broken clay that God still wants to use. Ernest Hemingway, in A Farewell to Arms, wrote that "the world breaks every one, and afterward many are strong at the broken places."

C.S. Lewis, in The Screwtape Letters, described pain and pleasure as two strikingly real sensations, and these two, more than anything else, can snap us out of delusionary wanderings. So be it in the pain and suffering of life, or the joy and pure pleasure of such gifts as friends, nature, music and loved ones, let us always seek God.

Last but not the least, the lines written by my fellow soldier Soo Tian, in closing his thoughts on Job, reflect some of my recent thoughts too:

He writes that he "emerged with a little more insight", and that word 'emerge' is probably what Job felt once the storm was over. He'd emerged on the other side. Bono of U2 once wrote in the song 'With or Without You', "through the storm we reach the shore..."

We are constantly changing, morphing, emerging. And each transformation leaves us stronger, wiser, greater than before. It also makes us more vulnerable, and more likely to be a target for Satan (and others), but in light of how much progress we're making, step by step, does that matter?

I doubt Satan wants to waste another dime on yet another wager. But then again, he's not too wise, is he?

Giving Socrates a run for his money...

2004-09-11T19:21:00.000+08:00

I know there are some of you out there who are exclaiming, "Finally!"

Y'know, I am too.

thoughts on job

I must admit that this book is a little tedious to go through. Reading through it is fine, piecing together the arguments harder, but the greatest test of all is actually writing a reflection upon it.

Precisely why this entry is so late in coming.

All of us know the story of Job. Good and upright man, caught in the middle of the greatest wager of all time between God and Satan. The contingency which is being staked on? Whether or not Job will curse his Maker upon being deprived of his abudances and afflicted with disease.

The worst thing for Job is all his tragedy seems to have no explanation. After all, he was a righteous man, was he not?

Job doesn't waver from his faith. He can't explain his suffering, but refuses to blame God, even when goaded to do so from his wife (the only person whom Satan left with him, for obvious reasons).

Enter Job's three pals, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. Seeing his pain, they shut up and sit in silence with him for a week. I believe Philip Yancey was right in saying that that was the most helpful thing they did for Job throughout the whole book.

Because after that Job opens his mouth...

(and bear in mind we're only at Chapter 3)

...and there's where the great debate begins. It's quite interesting that only us, the readers know about the great bet that has caused all that has happened. Job and his three friends, oblivious to the truth, try to puzzle out the rationale behind Job's misfortunes.

I tried to make a semi-organized summary of the entire thing, but like all verbal disputes, Job and company often follow the Rules of Rhetoric®:

ONE: begin by insulting one another (with flowery language too)
TWO: twist, turn and twirl their words
THREE: respond by bringing up something else instead of directly countering/rebutting/answering the opposing side's arguments
FOUR: contradict themselves

So in the end, what was meant to help me see the the connection between the individual speeches ended up convincing me of the lack of connection between the discourses. Each participant seemed more concerned about putting forward their point of view than answering the objections of the other party. It reminded me of bad 'Parlimentary-style' debates I've witnessed whereby each debater would go forward and ridicule their opponents with great viciousness but offer little explanation on why they thought the opposing side's arguments were leaky. They would then promptly move on and spit out the points they had prepared, which most of the time were only mildly related to what had been brought up by their opponents.

It's interesting however to note the style and content of each participator of this dialectic. Job, who speaks the most, rants and whines, and understandly so! He longs for death, questions whether God cares if men sins or is holy, and wishes for God to appear and answer his queries. During the second round, he feels that God and the world is conspiring against him, asks for a representative in heaven (if only he had Jesus) then calls for God to come to his defense. Suddenly during the third round he goes back on his theory that God leaves the wicked to prosper and proclaims God's sovereignity, and ends with a long ramble comparing his old life to his suffering at present. Throughout the whole thing Job maintains his innocence, but bounces back and forth between semi-optimism that he will be redeemed and negativity.

Eliphaz speaks like a old sage confident that he has attained knowledge of how the world ticks, and claims that he received a vision reminding him of God's superiority over mortal men. He dismisses fate as a mere excuse, and urges Job to repent and thank God for correcting his wrongdoings. His next salvo is that it is proven and sound theology that evil people reap the crap they sow and that Job is a fool to try and go against concrete lidah pendeta. Eliphaz is initially amicable, but becomes increasingly infuriated when Job continues to defend himself. Finally he lashes out at Job, accusing him of exploting the needy and sitting there while others suffered before ending with cries akin to "Repent, repent, ye sinner!"

Next is Bildad, who is a firm believer that mankind is the reason when anything becomes screwed up. He first suggests that Job's children must have sinned, or Job must've become worldly and forgot about God. His second attack is simply repeating the tired, old 'rule' that God rewards the good and whacks the bad. By round 3, Bildad only manages to muster a few lines with the underlying message being, "God is great! Man is crap!"

Speaker number 3 is Zophar. Zophar insinuates that Job has been secretly sinning for a while, and that he should have seen the meltdown coming. Most commentaries on Job say that Zophar feels that Job is wrong to claim purity before God, but the fact is that Zophar brings nothing new to the table, with the sovereignity of God being a central point even (to an extent) in Job's speeches. Zophar probably realises this as well and shuts up after two shots at Job, choosing to remain silent in round three.

Lastly appears Elihu, a younger guy who has had enough of the faulty arguments of the three stooges. In three speeches he attempts to dismantle what Job and his friends have said, first insisting that God always answers, maintaining that God is behind everything and that God is silent when we're unhappy because we forget about him during good times.

Of course, after reading all that, you're probably very tired and confused. I am too (to a even greater degree) after typing all that. But the thing I want to bring up here is if you were to look back at the arguments presented by each person, you would find that during some time in our life, we have probably acted and spoken like one of these people whenever someone we know is undergoing tough times.

I know of a person who went through a tough time when his wife was diagnosed with cancer. Members of his cell group, instead of encouraging him to be strong, instead whispered around and mumbled that he must have sinned in some way for this tragedy to have happened. Like Job, he became very discouraged.

How often do we offer simple answers to people that are having problems?

"You must have sinned. Or maybe a family member."

"Are you really sure you've kept pure without secret sin?"

At the end, God finally appears. But unfortunately for those of us looking for the answer, God chooses to follow Rule of Rhetoric® No. 3. He instead asks Job a whole barrage of questions that Job is unable to answer. The three stooges meanwhile are blasted for talking presumptously. Job realises that God is still ultimately in control and everything happens for a reason. God restores Job, and blesses him with twofold of everything he had before!

And all of that happened without God even mentioning about the cosmic wager.

In the end, we never really find out about why suffering happens to good people, or why evil people are allowed to prosper, except we are reminded that God is always in control, and that suffering doesn't always stem from sin.

I guess that's all we have to do when life around us looks grim. Grit our teeth and hold on to the fact that God is in control. It could be a test. It could be for God's glory (John 9:1-3?). But that's not for us to know until it's over.

To tell you the truth, not all my questions about suffering have been answered.

But I've emerged with a little more insight at least... and anyway...

That's not for me to know until everything's over, isn't it?

Pressing On

2004-08-29T15:44:00.000+08:00

76 days ago, Soo Tian and I began our journey through the Bible. Now we're kind of at the Old Testament 'halfway mark', with the Law and History Books behind us, and the Books of Wisdom and the Prophets ahead.

Basically, there remain 94 days till this ends on November 30, just in time for d'Nous Academy.

We're using the latest version of The Message, called The Message:Remix, and its tagline is "Read. Think. Pray. Live". These are the four components that make up Lectio Divina or 'spiritual reading'.

I have a confession to make: I've been reading a lot, thinking quite a bit, praying very little, and hardly living. Now I'm challenged to rethink my whole approach to reading God's Word. Although the SPM is drawing near, and I need to discipline myself to study, I cannot neglect the Word, and certainly I cannot neglect the more important parts of Lectio, namely praying and living, that have been virtually untraceable in my life.

Pride manifests itself differently in different people, but it's mainly an obsession with self that sees little real need for God's spirit and presence in life. Soo Tian also pointed out that anything taken to any extreme, is legalism. We can only pray that these pitfalls may be avoided as we press on for the goal of being shaped by the Master.

I need to be more transparent before God and men, instead of hiding behind my famous elaborate explanations, built of nothing but words. Soo Tian commented once, that I have a knack for making sense. I do. But then I realize that sense is nothing. What the world considers 'making sense' usually means 'logical in theory'. Now, I believe I need to be more honest in these entries, and relate the Bible more to life than to thoughts.

The best thing about doing this together, is that Soo Tian is there to lift me when I fall, and spur me on. Without him, I would have given up by now. Thanks!

May this journey be one of many we shall embark on together -- National Service not being the least!

When History Ends

2004-08-29T15:31:00.000+08:00

Yes, in effect, the history of Israel has ended. We've travelled up to 500 B.C., and from about then until 4 B.C., no historical events are recorded in the Bible.

Thoughts on Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther

We find ourselves post-exile, when the Israelites (now known more as the Jews) return to their homeland, and find it in ruins. With all that time to reflect on God, they certainly see things differently. It brings back memories of the Exodus; a new generation entered the Promised Land because the old one did not believe. Likewise, the old generation had passed away by now, and these are Jews who were most likely born during the exile.

First, Ezra and Nehemiah. When the books are read together, their stories are really inseparable. Ezra was about the rebuilding of the Temple, while Nehemiah was all about the walls. The first thing that one notices in these books is the usage of the 'first person' point of view, and the many names listed within the pages. Obviously those who had a hand in rebuilding Jerusalem, were not to be forgotten. Nehemiah goes so far as to ask God to remember him at the end of his book.

Then, in Esther, we see the first distinct case of feminism, embodied in Queen Vashti, who probably led the 'Women's Lib' movement then...

Queen Esther was ravishingly beautiful, and she used that beauty (an earthly resource) to do God's work. Mordecai's words probably embody the thoughts and ideas of the book (and even the three books collectively):

"Who knows? Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this."

Nehemiah was cupbearer to the king. We all are where we are for a purpose.

We also see a treatment of that adage, "With great power comes great responsibility". Haman and Mordecai were both second in command (after the king) at different times. Haman exploited his position to vent out his personal vendettas, while Mordecai was responsible to ensure the well-being of all. It reminds me, that if I'm not responsible with what I'm given, it will be taken away and given to another. (Hey, Jesus' teachings are beginning to make sense here!).

Also, these three books chronicle certain changes in God's 'presence'... Working on the framework of Soo Tian's theory that human history is a continuous process of maturing, it is notable that God's presence is less and less evident as Israel's Old Testament history draws to a close, so much so that the book of Esther does not once mention the word 'God'.

For almost half a millennium after that, Israel doesn't even appear in the Bible, until God himself comes. Out of a deafening silence, the Christ brings God back to an even more stirring closeness to humanity, than any of the prophets ever experienced.

End of the Kings

2004-08-26T21:58:00.000+08:00

Finally! I must admit, there's a slight sense of relief to finish the central history books of the Old Testament... Now it's only Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther to go before the books of Wisdom.

2 Chronicles

There is little that's new in this book, though several passages did prove just as thought-provoking as ever.

These somewhat humorous words were written of King Ahaziah:

"he attended the sin school of Ahab, and graduated with a degree in doom."

I checked, and the NIV doesn't mention the hint of Ahab's sin school/college/university, nor does it talk about degrees/consequences. One great thing about the Message is that it doesn't mince its words, and slams the point home. What else can we expect when we enrol in the school of sin?

2 Chronicles 32:8 mentions 'steel in spines'... something I wish I had more of! I recall the words Ernest Hemingway wrote in his book A Farewell to Arms, "The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places." Not all of us have spines of steel; most of ours are made of bone that gets brittler everyday. And yet, God seems to be able to do something with us. It's often cliched to admit this truth, and sometimes it's comforting. But I wonder how much it really stuns us. Does it?

We read that Asa sought doctors and not God, and so he died. Another reminder not to take the Bible too literally. Certainly there's nothing wrong with seeking the counsel and help of other men, but we must first bring matters that concern us to God, and we can rest assured he will then work through human intervention. Once again, I'm reminded to "seek first the Kingdom of God" -- to seek it everyday.

Manasseh was an evil king who repented. Yet the legacy of evil he left behind never changed even after his 'U-turn'. All things have consequences. May we be wise to build not just ourselves, but others too. It seems that the responsibility of the Christian lies not so much in his/her own life (whatever we do is between us and God), but in setting an example for others. When we sin, it is not so much our sin that becomes a problem; rather, it is that others may follow our example, and thus multiply our initial wrong.

The Chronicles end with an irony of sorts: The Sabbath was a day to seek God. For all the Sabbaths they missed (not ritually, but of the heart), the Israelites now had a 70-year Sabbath to actually start looking for God. And indeed, in the books to follow, we find this happening.

It's quite interesting to note that 'silver was cheap' and 'like rocks' in Chapter 9. I guess that's what our present life is like when we live in the Kingdom. Somehow earth, in all its beauty, seems cheap compared to heaven. And the greatest thing is that, heaven isn't some fantastic reality or 'dream-come-true' in some other world or dimension. It is, in fact, this very world we live in, but remade and remixed and recreated according to the dream of God. It's not some sort of detached reality in which we play harps on white fluffy clouds. It is more real than real can be.

In Chapter 9:12, we find that the Queen of Sheba wasn't disappointed in what she saw of Solomon. She sought, found, and went home with more than she bargained for. Technically, this should be our experience when we encounter God. Yet it isn't always so. Everything seems normal--even dreary--most of the time, and often disappointment with God is closer to our hearts than most other experiences. Two thoughts I find comforting in these times:

-The hand that made the stars makes babies
-The hand that made the atoms made us

Perhaps we'll see things differently if we begin to realize that all things are really supernatural, for this world is saturated with the presence of God. It is his world.

Most of all, the verse that captures me most, is 2 Chronicles 6:18--

Can it be that God will actually move into our neighborhood? Why, the cosmos itself isn't large enough to give you breathing room, let alone this Temple I've built.

Can it be? We're quite familiar with the typical Christian answer, "God did so in the person of Jesus Christ". But can we learn to see this anew? God's everywhere within this universe, yet he's also everywhere outside the cosmos. And to think God would reduce himself to the Troposphere was lunacy. Though, I suppose what touches me most about the verse (come to think of it now), is that Solomon took God seriously...

I know, you're probably saying, "Doesn't the whole Bible?" Yet how many people (Christians especially!) really live in the full knowledge that God is truly the ultimate reality in heaven and on earth?! Do our lives reflect the overwhelming presence of the Creator? Do we remember all the time that we live in borrowed heaven? (Listening to the Corrs' latest album of that title now, actually...)

So at the end of the Kings, that's what life's kinda like. And yes, above all, God remains faithful. Wouldn't it be good if we took it more seriously? If we took God more seriously? If we took the world more seriously? Maybe there is hope, after all. ;)

TRAILER: Screw History, On With The Wisdom!

2004-08-26T12:16:00.000+08:00

Hey all.

Just a little glimpse of what's to come.

Both me and Ben are currently racing to finish Job by the end of this week, so pray that we'll be able to produce some Bildad-esque rhetoric content soon.

As for me, I don't think I will be getting my backlog of bloggings done anytime soon, so, as the caption of this preview hints, my first real post after a long hiatus will be on one of the Wisdom books (hopefully Job of course).

Thanks once again for supporting the both of us all this while on our journey. The terrain that we're trying to get past at the moment is swampy, but we'll emerge (hopefully) without too much slime on our faces. The salt flats of History are behind us. Onward into the marshes of Wisdom!

From Adam to Solomon

2004-08-14T07:36:00.000+08:00

This is what most students abhor the most: history. Worse still, genealogy. It's hard enough making sense of Nabi Muhammad's family tree, what more the whole line of Israel from Adam to Solomon!

That aside, the Message begins the chapter with an interesting sub-heading:

"Israel's Family Tree: The Trunk"

So here we are, looking at a very weird sort of tree. Rooted in God, and full of patches and disease here and there, we're looking at a tree that hasn't stopped growing since. And we're brought back to the trunk: where it all started.

I wonder, sometimes, what genealogies are for. Probably the most well-known genealogy is that which opens Matthew's Gospel (of all texts, a list of who begat who, to be chosen to herald the New Covenant!). It would be great to look at a book and see your name somewhere in it, but then again, all the people whose names were written were more or less six feet under...

Maybe (and only maybe, I'm not sure) it serves to trace God's faithfulness. David spoke of God choosing Judah, and singling out his family. Maybe it chronicles and attests to God keeping his promises to everyone from Abraham to David. And of course, it gives us a background to the sort of people who became known as "God's People".

Most of what is chronicled in 1 Chronicles has already been recorded before. So let's take a look at some of the stuff peculiar to this book...

When David begins the census, Joab resists him. And later on, Joab himself conducts a census. Both these events weren't mentioned in the earlier books. Somehow it becomes more and more evident that all Bible characters go through the 'full-circle' experience; no one is infallible. Many are at one time or another lauded as heroes, but God makes it a point to remind us that they are all human as well. In a sense, this gives us hope. (Remember Moses?)

We also find that David later became afraid of going to pray to God at the tabernacle; he feared the angel's sword. Yet I am sure he continued to seek God. I believe David was a man of pretty radical faith. He saw past the physical institutions, things like rules, procedure, altars, etc, to the heart of God. (This brings us back to "a man after God's own heart") More than anything, he sought God. And I truly believe he found God. C.S. Lewis wrote, in The Last Battle, "all find what they truly seek".

David did much housekeeping before he died. Worship leaders, musicians, security personnel, accountants/bookkeepers (not bookies!), soldiers, supply officers -- these were all taken care of.

And, chronicled here and never before, is the part about David actually planning the temple for Solomon. So that means that while Solomon was the one who actually built the temple, its design, planning and provision came from the one whose heart was set on it in the first place.

He was grateful to God, and having been blessed to such an extent, knew the meaning, and the nature, of giving:

Everything comes from you; all we're doing is giving back what we've been given from your generous hand.

I know, dear God, that you care nothing for the surface--you want us, our true selves--and so I have given from the heart, honestly and happily. And now see all these people doing the same, giving freely, willingly--what a joy!

He also prayed that Solomon may have an uncluttered heart, etc... but obviously, Solomon also followed where his father left off, in his sin. As I had written earlier, God gave Solomon much (in a way answering David's prayer), but Solomon had little to show for it.

We are also reminded again,

"And now I'm telling you this: GOD himself will build you a house!"

God is the centre here. We recall that it is God who is faithful, it is he who will accomplish his plan. (Somehow, at this very moment--that would be now, right now--it seems pretty strange and awkward that the One with whom I'm speaking, also spoke to David!). And the house God would build for David, would outlast all else but God himself.

ps. 11:20 should read "three", not "thirty" as the Message prints it. There was something else in Kings as well, some sort of typo. Need to check Soo Tian's SMS...

Kings

2004-08-11T16:45:00.000+08:00

That's what this book is about. 2 Kings is all about kings. The Kings of Israel and Judah.

One thing great about the Message is that it doesn't mince its words:

-as a final stroke he pulverized the ancient bronze serpent that Moses had made
-they'll be eating their own turds and drinking their own pee right along with you
-the king [josiah] smashed all the altars to smithereens
-They smashed the Baal altars and tore down the Baal temple. It's been a public toilet ever since.

As a matter of fact, the only word I didn't actually see, but which might have been appropriate, was 'obliterate'.

There are several similarities comparing Elisha and Elisha:

-both had experiences with chariots of fire
-both raised the dead
-both prevented food from running out

Didn't Jesus do these as well? And yet, he did them to much greater proportions, with greater ease... He was, after all, God. But the chariots of fire were invisible. I'm sure angels followed him everywhere. Yet not once did he announce them, except when saying that 12 legions of angels were at his disposal. It was a different sort of kingdom he was preaching, after all.

"Not on your life!" said Elisha. "You didn't lift a hand to capture them, and now you're going to kill them? No sir, make a feast for them and send them back to their master."

Evil that is repayed with mercy, dies. Perhaps this is what is meant by "Love your enemy."

So GOD provided a savior for Israel who brought them out from under Aram's oppression. The children of Israel were again able to live at peace in their own homes. But it didn't make any difference: They didn't change their lives

Had Jesus merely delivered Israel from the Romans, the same might have happened. His was a 'yeast' revolution, meant to change people from the inside out. Turning the tables on circumstance will not do any good unless one is prepared for the blessing.

Perhaps the importance of Israel's history is that it provides the background and context for Jesus' ministry. It is, after all, to this sad lot (no different from us!) that God himself comes with a challenge: live a different life! Truly live!

Oh, and that guild of prophets thingy reminds me of the Jedi. Star Wars overdose? Or over-eager anticipation of next year's Revenge of the Sith?

Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "If GOD says it, it must be good." But he was thinking to himself, "It won't happen during my lifetime--I'll enjoy peace and security as long as I live."

Things always work out more easily in theory. How often have we made commitments, very often at such events as camps, to change the way we're living, yet realize that everything reverts to the 'usual', once we're back in the real world? Hezekiah did not see the 'end' of Judah, but I do wonder what he might have felt if he did. Would he still be able to say the words, "it must be good"?

Josiah reigned for 31 years. I was born on the 31st. May my similarities with Josiah not end with that number. I find myself challenged to destroy the idols in my life, as Josiah destroyed those in his. Almost the entire account of Josiah is about his idol-busting exploits, which were definitely significant, as no other king before (or after) ever embarked on such an endeavour.

Idols come in many shapes and sizes. Heck, even an onion can be an idol if we're over-obsessed with it to the extent that it displaces God from our lives. And that's it -- anything that displaces God (apa-apa yang menyesarkan Tuhan) is an idol. Josiah brought the people back to God, back to the life they were meant to live. Back to the life that was true life. May we live with (I hesitate as I type this word) undivided devotion to God. Hard as it will be, it is this quality that set kings like David and Josiah apart from the rest.

Anyway, near the end, it was obvious that God was getting bored of the 'evil king' trend:

As far as GOD was concerned Zedekiah was just one more evil king, a carbon copy of Jehoiakim.

So he brought in Nebuchadnezzar (Nigel Rode was almost named that!) to kidnap the Israelites, and bring them to Babylon. I realize it was the only thing God could do. The only way to make a person 'wake up' from a slumber of complacency is to throw the person into a situation in which he will inevitably ask, "Hey, wasn't there someone called God? Didn't I once know him? Can I find him here?" And then things change. But that's a story for another time.

In closing, here's one more quote:

You bragged, "With my army of chariots I've climbed the highest mountains, snow-peaked alpine Lebanon mountains! I've cut down its giant cedars, chopped down its prize pine trees. I've traveled the world, visited the finest forest retreats. I've dug wells in faraway places and drunk their exotic waters; I've waded and splashed barefoot in the rivers of Egypt."

Did it never occur to you that I'm behind all this?

Dallas Willard, in 'The Divine Conspiracy' (I think I'm over-quoting. Probably balances the number of Soo Tian's Yancey quotes), writes:

"But he is simply one great inexhaustible and eternal experience of all that is good and true and beautiful and right. This is what we must think of when we hear theologians and philosophers speak of him as a perfect being. This is his life."

The king who bragged of 'seeing' the world, obviously never considered that God sees the world all the time, from more angles than he ever will. Whatever he'd experienced several times in his life, God experiences all the time. He'd travelled the world; God travels the universe all the time. Did God's presence never occur to him?

And the question God posed, ended in these words, "...that I'm behind all this?"

This thought lingers even at the end of the book and beyond. God was behind everything that happened to Israel, and it was all part of his sovereign plan to bring about redemption and inspiration to the multitudes (we'd never have many of the Old Testament books if that had never happened), and of course, ultimately pave the way for himself to enter the created world.

This is his life.

Wisdom and Wit

2004-08-04T12:50:00.000+08:00

For some strange reason, I typed somewhere into Solomon's life, when I think I accidentally erased it all by pressing Shift+click. I wanted to copy the text as back-up in case anything happened. And then it all disappeared.

Unfortunately, as all writers go, the inspiration dissipates as time passes. So I guess I'll skip some points on which I belaboured the first time, and get straight to the theme.

Eoin Colfer said of the enduring quality of classics, "It's the characters." Reading 1 Kings, I realize how true that is. And so, I find myself drawn to two outstanding characters, Solomon and Elijah. This post is about them.

Solomon

Solomon asked this question after the completion of the temple: "Can it be that God will actually move into our neighborhood? Why, the cosmos itself isn't large enough to give you breathing room, let alone this Temple I've built." And I wonder what God must've been thinking at that time...

The answer came in Jesus -- God of the neighbourhood. Solomon also gave 20 villages in Galilee to Hiram (king of Tyre). He was furious! Certainly, he'd never in his wildest dreams imagined that the God for whom the temple was built, would move into, and rise out of, that little backwater settlement.

Solomon is known for his wisdom, and his wives/concubines -- 1000 of them! And they represent two dimensions of Solomon. God honoured his request for wisdom, and gifted him to the extent that he wrote (or is accredited with the writing of) several books of wisdom included in the Bible. He was unparalleled, and even impressed the Queen of Sheba who assented to the rumours of his wisdom (which were not in any way exaggerated).

But we find that the old adage "With great power comes great responsibility" (immortalized, of course, by Spider-Man) rings true in this story. With great wisdom, came great accountability. And Solomon's responsibility was demonstrated with the four-digit number of his women. What great accountability! Not. And it is true of us, that whenever much is given, much is expected. When I realize this, I find that I am gifted in many ways, and yet, I have much more to do with these gifts. Somehow the gift-product ratio in my life is somewhat lacking.

Never can we boast that we have a certain ability or skill, unless we have used it to the fullest, and glorified God by so doing. And that is the tragedy of Solomon. He had much, but little to show for it.

Not so, with...

Elijah

The encounter with the widow from Zarephath yielded two interesting observations:

"The jar of meal didn't run out and the bottle of oil didn't become empty"
--I'm down with a cold, and over the last few days, I've been squeezing lemon juice (to mix with honey) from this lemon that never seems to run dry. It has been producing juice since I first used it last Friday or Saturday.

"I see it all now--you are a holy man. When you speak, GOD speaks--a true word!"
--Dallas Willard wrote of God acting with us, in The Divine Conspiracy. Such an instance is observed here, that when Elijah acted, so did God. Nowhere is the simultaneity (is there such a word?! -- oh wait, if 'cleansation' exists, this definitely does!) so striking is in the life of Jesus, when God himself acted.

"By noon, Elijah had started making fun of them, taunting, "Call a little louder--he is a god, after all. Maybe he's off meditating somewhere or other, or maybe he's gotten involved in a project, or maybe he's on vacation. You don't suppose he's overslept, do you, and needs to be waked up?" 28They prayed louder and louder, cutting themselves with swords and knives--a ritual common to them--until they were covered with blood."

The passage above still ranks as the most comical in the Bible, in my opinion ;)

"Ben-Hadad escaped into the city and hid in a closet."

And that's probably next in line as far as this book is concerned.

"He then put the altar back together for by now it was in ruins."

After the prophets of Baal reduced themselves--and the altar--into STM post-DNA (or so some of us hoped!), Elijah repaired the altar. It reminds me of the Jars of Clay song, Faith Enough, which I've written about on my blog -- Ernest Hemingway once wrote, "The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places." God is willing to use broken altars and broken people for his purposes. (With this in mind, I'm going to fix up my broken Saturday Night Fever souvenir mug which I inadvertently broke yesterday)...

And God showed himself to be the true God by sending fire that burned even the water. The prophets of Baal must have thought Elijah was crazy to drench the sacrifice and expect it to burn! Certainly, the flame that did come, convinced the Israelites. But God wants to make us like Elijah -- people who don't need glitzy miracles (or extensive formulae) to be convinced of God's existence. C.S. Lewis wrote in The Screwtape Letters (Soo Tian's favourite!), that the cause of evil is never in greater danger than when people are yet willing to obey God in a world from which all traces of him have disappeared.

We find evidence of such a faith in the 'whisper encounter'.

"A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before GOD, but GOD wasn't to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but GOD wasn't in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but GOD wasn't in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper."

It was at the whisper that Elijah wrapped his cloak around him. Looking at the other phenomena -- the hurricane, the earthquake and the fire -- it strikes me that these are the very signs that usually impress the Israelites. They are signs that leave little doubt. But they also extinguish faith. God cannot coerce, and so maybe that is why he seems to be disappearing lately. We ask why God no longer splits seas and speaks out of the wind, and we yearn for the days of Moses. We yearn for the days of Jesus, when water would become wine (think how rich we could be!)...

And this sort of reminds me of Soo Tian's theory that humanity is one long growing process. Maybe we're in the 'faith development' stage, which C.S. Lewis describes as the time when God removes his hand, that we may learn to walk. We can take inspiration from Elijah, who had such faith in a time when God was very 'evident'. I feel that if he were living among us today, he would lead us to wait for the whisper. And as far as I know, the whisper still exists. It's still audible today. To those who will listen, that is.

So we have wisdom and wit, failure and faith, in the First Book of the Kings. We still have it today. I pray that we may use whatever God has blessed us with, to produce results in proportion to the gift. And I pray that we may have the faith of a whisper. God considers little things impressive -- whispers, mustard seeds, two coins... the list goes on. Perhaps it is no wonder he would rather we find him in the unnoticeable, rather than be awestruck and dumbfounded by the magnificent that leaves us no room to speak. No room for faith.

After God's Own Heart

2004-08-01T19:40:00.000+08:00

That was the title given to King David. No other Old Testament king is explored in greater depth than David, and naturally, this post is about him. What was so special about David? I've decided to scrap the 'verse analysis' that has become characteristic of my last few posts; this time, I shall offer my overall perspective on

2 Samuel

Oh wait... there's one verse in particular I'd like to highlight:

(2 Sam 4:2)
Ish-Bosheth had two men who were captains of raiding bands--one was named Baanah, the other Recab. They were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, a Benjaminite. (The people of Beeroth had been assigned to Benjamin 3ever since they escaped to Gittaim. They still live there as resident aliens.)

The term 'resident alien' caught my attention. It's the URL of the blog owned by David Berry of Bangsar Lutheran Church (Sivin's church!)

Now for David's life. But before I begin, let's go back to something God said before making David king:

When he does wrong, I'll discipline him in the usual ways, the pitfalls and obstacles of this mortal life.

In my opinion, David's life is probably the most blatant example of mercy between Eden and Christ. He was not a man of vengeance. The killing of Ish-Bosheth angered him, and the opposite of David saw its personification in the form of Joab, who killed almost all who opposed David, contrary to the king's desires. At times, this trait of David was amplified to the extent of 'softness', as in his failure to discipline Amnon, which, as Dr Leong Tien Fock (Yasmin's dad!) pointed out, was part of a string of family fiascos that resulted from David's sin and disobedience.

He certainly adored God. He wanted to build God a house, only for God to say "I'll build you a house" (italics mine). Sometimes I wonder about the significance of that verse... perhaps it was that in building David a house (in the descendant-line sense), God's house would be built. The temple that David wanted to build was nothing compared to the temple God would build in the hearts of people everywhere. And for that to be accomplished, God had to first build David's house, into which he would later enter.

The God-David relationship was uncanny in many ways: the mercy, the punishment, the love, the devotion, the faith...

(14:14) But God does not take away life. He works out ways to get the exile back.
(22:26) You stick by people who stick with you

David was the sort of exile who stuck with God. Physically, he went into exile from Saul. Spiritually, he went into exile via a fling with Bathsheba (whom he watched bathing). And yet, somehow he still stuck with God. We're not there yet, but the Psalms offer the clearest picture of this.

When it came to punishment, it was the death of Bathsheba's child for the affair, and the epidemic for conducting the census. Now this is interesting. Obviously, adultery is a strict no-no with retribution of deathlike proportions. But counting people? Perhaps in this, a point is being made, that is, the sin doesn't matter as much as the heart. God doesn't care so much about rules as attitude. David's sin was that he failed to act on who he knew God, and himself, to be. (Are you still with me?)

As such, I believe that when Jesus is said to be sinless, rules are not being referred to. Jesus held something akin to contempt for Pharisaical laws, but lived out God's will to the letter. Jesus may have disobeyed many 'rules', but he never disobeyed God. He is God. Dallas Willard writes, in the first chapter of The Divine Conspiracy, that we were made to act in accordance with God, and that is what Jesus did. That is what David failed to do at certain times.

"But GOD was not at all pleased with what David had done." These words are found somewhere post-Bathsheba. When I read the words, the first thought that suggested itself to me was, "like duh...", until I realized this is our story. Just because I've never slept with anyone doesn't mean I've never sinned. Sometimes we tend to focus too much on the nature of the deed, and so give rise to debates like, "is it right to work on a Sunday?", "is it OK to lie to save a life?", "is euthanasia acceptable?" etc.

As DNA-ers will know, these are some of the questions that fuelled our night discussions, and they are no doubt important. But the deeds are not the main point. We can debate the 10 Commandments until the cows come home, and still contribute nothing to the kingdom of God. It is the relationship with God and with one another that counts. It is the heart that counts. David, I believe, was a man after God's own heart because he understood God to a degree many never had, nor ever will. The Psalms capture David's failures and successes, pride and humility, strength and weakness, wisdom and folly, and most of all, deliver a verdict on this king's character.

Somewhere in the last chapter, we find this exchange after the statistics incident:

"I have sinned badly in what I have just done. But now GOD forgive my guilt--I've been really stupid."
The slap-your-forehead picture.

"They're all terrible! But I'd rather be punished by GOD, whose mercy is great, than fall into human hands."
God, because of his mercy, never allows punishment to border into sadism. David trusted God to do what was right.

"Enough's enough! Pull back!"
And God was moved. The angel of death was hovering in the air (was this the same one who killed all of Egypt's firstborn?), and all of a sudden, God raises his hand and says, STOP!

"Please! I'm the one who sinned; I, the shepherd, did the wrong. But these sheep, what did they do wrong? Punish me and my family, not them."
How different this is from Christ. Very much the opposite:

"They're the ones who sinned; I, the Good Shepherd, did no wrong. But these sheep, they did everything wrong. Punish me, not them."

What's wrong with this picture? Only the last part. David admitted his failure and guilt. Jesus, the 'greater David', did more. So much more.

And so this ends with the Lion of Judah. What little was seen in David, reflected God to a certain extent. And so God chose to reflect himself through David's line. But first, something about a guy called Uzzah. He touched the ark, and died. Unclean hands touched the ark and brought death. In Jesus' time, we find unclean hands touching God, and souls were healed. Again, what's wrong with this picture? Jesus! Jesus is everything wrong with the 'right' picture. Yet, he's all that's really right!

David reminds me of myself. I guess that's the most that I can say. He failed in life, but never gave up on God. I can only pray that neither do I. He's the sort of person about whom God would say, "Hey, that's my kind of guy!" No wonder.

Let's say that the number of sins we've done is x...

2004-07-30T17:32:00.000+08:00

Hm. It's just nice that when I wish to type my first entry in a couple of weeks, blogger.com refuses to let me into the blog. Am currently using Notepad to prepare this... reflection of all sorts.

Hey, how's thing with everyone? I'm really sorry I haven't contributed anything for so long, was distracted by Gerak Gempur exams. Wasn't really taking it that seriously, but I was officially 'banned' from the computer, so... you get the idea. ('Banned' equals the monitor cable being locked up in a undisclosed area of the house)

I've missed this blog a lot. I haven't been visiting even during my short excursions online because I know I'll feel really bad seeing Ben updating it all alone. My apologies, comrade. I'll try and make it up to you by (hopefully) making a few entries today.

So without further digression (for the moment), here are my:

thoughts on numbers

While reading through this book, I was constantly confused by the usage of the number 12 for the tribes of Israel. For the most part of the book, references to the '12 tribes' do not include Levi. However, during the budding of Aaron's staff, only twelve staffs are labelled, one of them being of course Aaron's (representing Levi). It was when I read Joshua that I managed to find a logical answer to this quandary (at least it seemed like one to me). During the division of the land, one 'lot' of land drawn and divided among the tribes of Joseph, which are Ephraim and the half of Manasseh (the other half already having received part of Gilead east of the Jordan). My conclusion? Whenever Levi is not involved, Manasseh and Ephraim are counted as seperate, full 'tribes', while during situations where Levi is involved, the two tribes were combined as one tribe of 'Joseph'.

Before I go any further, I have to express some worries that my 'thoughts' are beginning to centre on my misgivings instead of the lessons I've learnt. I wonder, am I just writing to amuse my readership and forgetting what I should be doing in the first place? Maybe not. As I read through the Bible, I constantly am told of the 'textbook meanings' of each book or passage, whether by people or Study Bible notes or introductions slotted before the books. Some, like a few of the intros found in the Message and those found in Philip Yancey's 'The Bible Jesus Read', are refreshing. Others, such as Study Bible notes remind me of sermons I've heard before. Context is such a subjective thing. I guess I prefer to learn lessons myself rather than be simply told the messages others have agreed on for a passage. After all, prophecies about Christ (especially in the Psalms) were sometimes found places where the context appeared to be different.

The book begins with a census of the fighting men of Israel. These numbers actually are useful when compared to the figures of the census on the plains of Moab. Information on which tribes were most badly hit by the plagues and rebellions (or perhaps suffered from unfavourable birth to death rates) can be approximated. Simeon for example shrunk considerably during the years in the desert to slightly more than a third of the 59,300 men at the beginning of Numbers. Manasseh grew quite a bit, Asher and Issachar slightly less, while the rest remained about the same. My induction? Simeon must've had the most number of men involved in such atrocities such as the Shittim orgy... or maybe they just gave birth to a lot of girls.

The Message (yes, I've finally bought the book, no more relying on gospelcom.net!) calls Numbers the period of adolescence for the people of Israel in the Pentateuch. I would agree, because the book contains screw-ups aplenty by the Israelites. I think screwing up is one important part of life. Everyone needs to mess up and learn from it. Somehow humans just can't learn certain things without actually going through the pain of failure. And it is during our teenage years that we endure the experiences necessary for us to mature.

Situations such as struggles for priestly power were bound to happen sometime in the future. It was just as well that they did happen early on to set an example for those trying to override God's commands. Through the fates of Korah and his posse we can see how God punishes those trying to get glory for themselves and question the ones God have appointed. It's sometimes sad that these things still happen nowadays. Things such as court cases to challenge the validity of the appointment of leaders in Christian denominations simply have no reason to happen, other than human nature attempting to turn leadership of the church into yet another area for politics.

Moses' first recorded failure to follow God's commands in many years is also a grim reminder to us how even the greatest leaders are still susceptible to falling to our sinful human nature. Whenever we begin to forget that we are but the tools of God's divine purposes and start feeding our egos, sin will creep into us once again.

Balaam's experience with his donkey shows that whenever we're determined to do things our way and thinking about 'number one', we become blinder than our animals to what God is trying to tell us. It's like one of those over-the-top fables that embrace what we consider 'illogical' to hammer home a moral.

I struggle with listening to God myself. While I long to hear what He wishes to tell me, it's not often easy to tune in with all the other waves in the air and in my brain. Most of the time I find myself distracted by other thoughts and worries, if not signals from my five senses. Like the Israelites in the book of Numbers, I'm struggling through adolescence, trying to find God in my hectic everyday life. Like them, sometimes I feel like I'm just wandering in a circle that never ends.

I hope to get out of here way before 40 years.

Of Kings and Shepherds

2004-07-27T19:21:00.000+08:00

After 31 chapters, it feels as though the whole theme of 1 Samuel is about two kings: Saul and David.

In chapter 2:10, I encountered what is probably the most comic verse in the book

"GOD's enemies will be blasted out of the sky"

I still recall an early Donut Man song (remember him from Integrity Music?), Speak Lord, I'm Listening. And that verse brought me back about a decade!

Contrast Eli "He is GOD. Let him do whatever he thinks best" (3:18) and Saul. Both flopped. One realized that God is God. The other, for some reason, held on to his 'kingship' until his bloody end.

I wonder what the scene of Dagon's fall must've been like. I once had this picture Bible that tried to depict it... it wasn't bad at all, but I still wonder. Certainly not the first time a foreign God was humiliated. Remember Egypt? I wonder if Ra was fumbling about the light switches when the darkness fell upon Egypt ;) (Oops... that's getting ahead to some Elijah-esque humour)

There's some assurance in 12:22 "GOD, simply because of who he is, is not going to walk off and leave his people. GOD took delight in making you into his very own people." There are some things God will never do, because of who he is. I suppose that's why it's so important to know God, because who he really is defines all that he does. Reminds me of that question, can God lie?

Some 'circle of life' moments come up here and there. One of them is when Saul almost killed Jonathan because he ate honey. It was pretty stupid of Saul to make such a bold command as not to touch any food/honey till the battle was won on threat of death. Anyway, because Jonathan was spared, so was David. How would David live if not for Jonathan? Life begets life.

Back to Saul. What would you do if, when you were out hunting for missing donkeys, were told that you'd become king of a country?

1. "But Saul didn't breathe a word to his uncle of what Samuel said about the king business."
2. "Yes, he's right over there--hidden in that pile of baggage."

Hmmm...

In 11:13, Saul decides against revenge upon those who opposed him. The relatively good Saul would later be warped into a man crazy for David's head. What things pride and jealousy can do...

15:35 records something of God's remorse for making Saul king. This prompts the question, are there things God does not know? Why would God feel remorseful had he known it in the first place? Kinda makes the remorse plastic, in my opinion...

18:15 "Saul could see the handwriting on the wall"... For the life of me, I can't understand this. Only images I have are of Nebuchadnezzar (which, by the way, was what Nigel--Alissa's brother--was almost named!)

(Oh, the Message actually identifies David as 'the runt')

We find Michal lying to save David's life (that's like, the 3rd or 4th time or so that someone's lied to save another's life!)...

There are some things David said that seem to foreshadow Jesus:

24:19 "Why? When a man meets his enemy, does he send him down the road with a blessing?"
30:24 "The share of the one who stays with the gear is the share of the one who fights--equal shares. Share and share alike!"

Achish the Philistine thought that David had truly defected. Now I wonder, did David really defect, and if so, was it from Saul or from Israel?

Anyway, so much for some thoughts on random verses... Now for the 'reflection' part.

The battle between David and Goliath was rather abrupt. One can hardly imagine the faces on Saul's and Goliath's faces when David stepped up. I remember once, when my cousin from Singapore visited Israel with her Mum on a tour, they played the videos during their Chinese New Year visit here (a long, long time ago). On one occasion, my cousin dressed up in Israelite armour, and I recall laughing about it (she was small, and the thought of her fighting anything close to Goliath was akin to a joke). My aunt immediately told me not to underestimate her. And I have never forgotten since ;)

Some DNA moments were inevitable. First of all, the book's name. I wonder how Sam would look like, old and frail and prophet-like. Nabi Shamsul Johari. The Oreo Prophet.

Then of course, David himself. If David (son of Jesse) were anything like David (son of Tan), Goliath probably wouldn't have been killed by the stone. Mr Tan would have killed him off with theories of infinite circles, tangents and.... losing.... focus.... here.... must.... change..... to.... to... pic.

Back. Anyway, the IJC gang will recall the time when Sam faced-off with one of the boys there. Hehehehe... the contrast was startling. Remember when Sufian climbed onto Sam? Now that was one awkward moment!

Saul was a Benjamite. He stood head and shoulders taller. If only I were taller (not 'as tall', but taller!) than Yi Zheng ;)

What struck me most, I suppose, was the relationship between Saul and David. 1 Samuel chronicles the rise and fall of Saul, and the beginning of David's rise. 2 Samuel records a number of David's falls. What kept David from falling into Saul's path, was probably the title he would be remembered for: a man after God's own heart. David's scandals are probably the most completely 'reported' in the whole of the Bible, and yet, he was remembered as a good king. (More on this and Jon Hwa's views during the reflections on the Kings)...

Well that's a story for some other time. Meanwhile, a note of encouragement:

20:23 "Regarding all the things we've discussed, remember that GOD's in on this with us to the very end!"

These were Jonathan's words to David. It would do us (me and Soo Tian) good to remember that God's in on this with us to the very end, I believe.

Oh, and the best part of all: I made it past 1 Samuel, which was where YBCo died (in my case)!

"I will follow you, follow you wherever you may go..."

2004-07-20T23:35:00.000+08:00

Quite simply put, the theme that seems to stand out most in Ruth is faithfulness. (Incidentally, we had a discussion/debate/'sermon' on faithfulness during CF last Friday)...

Ruth 1:16-17
But Ruth said, "Don't force me to leave you; don't make me go home. Where you go, I go; and where you live, I'll live. Your people are my people, your God is my god; where you die, I'll die, and that's where I'll be buried, so help me GOD-not even death itself is going to come between us!"

To me, that has been the defining verse of the book. Reminiscent of a wedding, isn't it? And it also reminds me of Romans 8:38-39:

I'm absolutely convinced that nothing--nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable--absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

Ruth 2:20
Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "Why, GOD bless that man! GOD hasn't quite walked out on us after all! He still loves us, in bad times as well as good!"

When I read that, I felt like saying 'duh!' And yet, we often don't remember God's faithfulness as much as we should, let alone comprehend it...

Compare

Ruth 4:11
May GOD make you a pillar in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem!

with

Micah 5:2 (NIV)
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."

And we find that Ruth's faithfulness was rewarded. She became the ancestor of David, and much later on, of Jesus.

Faithfulness... I think I'll leave this to Soo Tian. So, Dr Ali, when you finally log on (someday in the not-too-distant future, hopefully), perhaps you can attend to this book first? Would love your opinion here more than any other ;)

We Were Heroes Once

2004-07-18T22:23:00.000+08:00

I couldn't resist the title, a spin-off the movie We Were Soldiers Once.

Judges 5:27 was rather startling, being very 'rapid-fire' in short phrases:

He slumped at her feet. He fell. He sprawled. He slumped at her feet. He fell. Slumped. Fallen. Dead.

There's also a warning against gluttony:

Ehud reached with his left hand and took his sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king's big belly.

And maybe even a link to an extinct bird:

Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo

Not to mention a verse that, if taken literally at face value, would have hurt me:

The people felt bad for Benjamin; GOD had left out Benjamin

Judges

Three Judges stood out as I read through the book.

Gideon

His clan was the weakest in Manasseh and he was the runt of the litter. Incidentally, 'runt' is also the word Jesse used to describe David (not in the Bible, but apparently the original Hebrew connotates a similar meaning). God is God of the little people.

After much success, he said "I will not rule over you, nor will my son." I suppose if it's one thing the judges understood, it was that there's only one guy behind the control panel of the universe. And it wasn't them, nor is it you or me.

Yet he wasn't invincible. We find him falling prey to idolatry in the closing passages on his life. Even great men fall. A reminder that we are all still human, no matter what.

Jephthah

The son of a whore. In other words, a bastard. God is God of the rejects.

As I read the account of Jephthah, one part really tug at me, and was most disturbing: the sacrifice. Because of his vow, his daughter had to die. I find that unsettling and tragic, and something I can't really understand. Was honour and obedience more important than life? Or perhaps devotion to God is more important than anything else. I don't quite know.

Samson

My favourite judge. Not because of all those Sunday school stories about him, but because I see more of me in him than any of the other judges. There is scarcely another judge as gifted as he, and yet scarcely another more stupid and weak-willed. In many ways, that's me.

Before Samson's birth, his mother said "If God wanted to kill us, he wouldn't have accepted our offerings and announced [Samson's] birth." Something in that tells me about God; we can trust God because of the things he's done for us. Perhaps the most poignant is something I try to remind myself constantly, that if God had intended to give up on me, he wouldn't have entered the system 2000 years ago to make a difference.

The NIV translation of the incident of the donkey's jawbone is my favourite:

With a donkey's jawbone,
I have made donkeys of them.
With a donkey's jawbone,
I have killed a thousand men.

Not to mention a riddle that still ranks among the best I've seen in the Bible:

Out of the eater came something to eat,
Out of the strong something sweet.

Anyway, perhaps the hardest thing to do, is pass a verdict on Samson. Was he good? Bad? Ruined? Distressed? It's very hard to write an epitaph for this man...

Perhaps one thing that can be said, is that God raised this guy, to do what the Israelites failed to do: eradicate the Philistines. He was this Terminator kind of fellow, who'd throw his weight everywhere he went. Sort of like, shoot first, ask questions later. In other words, God brought Clark Kent into the Israelite community.

There's little to admire about Samson. He was vain, blinded by testosterone (I think somewhat wrote this before, somewhere...), with big muscles but puny resolve, and couldn't quite contain his temper. He's a bit of an anti-hero, something like the Punisher.

But he gives me hope. Even when I fail many times over in life, God is patient. He has brought me here for a purpose, and has given me talents and abilities to accomplish his will. However it may end for me, is not my concern. I am only to trust God. Samson's great revenge (a la Return of the Jedi) was preceded by an increased faith and trust in God; the Spirit returned to him. Kind of reminds me of Beethoven, who composed the monumental 9th Symphony completely deaf. Some of life's greatest miracles require weakness -- they happen because of shortcomings.

The people of Israel were such a fickle-minded bunch. And an unfaithful one at that. The last line of the book, states that there was no king in those times. And yes, when the cat's away, the mice do play. But C.S. Lewis once wrote, in order that we can walk, God must remove his hand.

The cause of the enemy is in greatest danger when 'a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do [God's] will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.' I hope I will never forget those lines from The Screwtape Letters, how they ring true.

May our hearts and minds be set ;)

The Promised Land

2004-07-15T19:48:00.000+08:00

I had no idea what to title this entry.

1:2 says this: Moses is dead. Get going.

We often like living in the past, don't we? I'm sure the Israelites often (probably always) reminisced about the days of Moses, etc. Even for us, it's quite the same. We love bringing back the past, fond memories, etc. (DNA is one of them!) I suppose we really do have to 'get going' before we can possess any new land, or terra nova ;)

There are 2 events in which nature stops to give way to the Israelites: the stopping of the Jordan, and the halting of the sun and moon. Nature obeys its maker, eh?

31 kings were defeated. Not anything significant as far as I know, save the fact that's my birthday this month! (31 anywhere has always stood out to me, e.g. Baskin Robbins and my handphone number...)

In 24:10 I think I have found the answer to one of my earlier questions. "But I wouldn't listen to Balaam--he ended up blessing you over and over! I saved you from him." Perhaps Balaam was evil, only that God used the intended evil for good, as in the case of Joseph. I'm still not sure, and there are some loopholes here and there (in my mind I guess)...

It's interesting how Rahab was saved from the destruction of Jericho. She was a woman (minus 5), a Canaanite (minus 5), a harlot (ah, minus 10) and a liar (minus 10, but since it was for God's cause, add 5 to neutralize?)... I suppose it was because she joined God's side. Whatever the case, we know how she was rewarded: not just with life, but she became the ancestor of the Christ (see Matthew 1). Talk about more than you've ever bargained for.

Reading about the asylum cities reminded me of 4HIM's song 'City of Refuge', in which the chorus goes:

The city of refuge is open tonight
Come inside, come on inside
A fortress of healing where the weary can hide
Come inside, come on inside
Calling the hurting the broken and bruised
Jesus is waiting for you
In the city of refuge

I'm listening to dcTalk's album 'Jesus Freak' now. As I went through the conquest part just now, 'Day by Day' was playing, and my, was it an excellent accompaniment! It happens that the song was just about the build-up before the final chorus, and the impending climax threw the (bland) battle scenes into turbo.. heheh...

In the final chapter, we find this exchange:

Joshua: You can't do it. You're not able to worship God. He won't stand your sinning.
People: No! No! We worship God!
Joshua: You are witnesses.
People: We are witnesses.

Familiar? The sort of commitments we make, fully confident of ourselves... the same sort that hardly sees 50% completion. The sort that's far easier said than done. But God is good. He knows we're bound to fail the first time, that's why Max Lucado dubbed him the 'God of the Second Chance'.

Finally, this next scene is probably one of the more bizarre in the book:

And then this, while Joshua was there near Jericho: He looked up and saw right in front of him a man standing, holding his drawn sword. Joshua stepped up to him and said, "Whose side are you on--ours or our enemies'?"

He said, "Neither. I'm commander of GOD's army. I've just arrived." Joshua fell, face to the ground, and worshiped. He asked, "What orders does my Master have for his servant?"

GOD's army commander ordered Joshua, "Take your sandals off your feet. The place you are standing is holy."

Some have speculated that this commander is God himself. At least, it must be an angel that represents God. Whomever he is, he was certainly authoritative enough for Joshua to call him 'Master'. The sandals part certainly brings back some Mosaic memories!

But wait... that's not the point anyway. What struck me (and this for the first time) was Joshua's first question: "Friend of foe"? And the commander answers, "Neither". Now logically, if he's the commander of God's army, and God is on Joshua's side, then he must be on Joshua's side, no?

Apparently not. I dare not make any proclamation concerning this, for I don't quite understand either. But I do believe, that God does not take sides. That the whole idea of war and conquest was not just about God giving them the right to take over other lands. That there's another dimension to the battles etc. That at the end of everything, God is God, and all his creation matters to him.

Perhaps we should be mindful of that, lest we discriminate others (even without knowing it) and claim God for ourselves alone. That his answer is "neither".

Remember

2004-07-13T18:34:00.000+08:00

When I was out walking my dog just now, I had an idea (or inspiration, whatever you call it). And as I read through the second half of the book, I bore that idea in mind, and tried seeing things from that perspective. I won't say what the idea was, but the very nature of this entry shall be driven by it.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy was written to remind the Israelites. There's hardly anything new in it, but much recapped from the first four books. And so,

Remember idolatry (32:17)

Settling for something less than God was the sin, I believe. When God calls himself jealous, he is not envying the other 'gods', rather he calls us to worship the only one worth worshipping.

Remember truth (18:21)

The truth will stand up for itself. There is the tendency to think we've got it all figured out, especially spiritually, since we're Christians. And yet the truth is beyond us, way beyond us.

Remember mercy (21:18-21, 23:2, 25:3)

Three laws stood out: stoning a rebellious son, excommunicating a bastard and limiting lashings to 40. I realize once again, that I would be dead had I lived then.

Contrast this to the parable of the Prodigal Son, Christ's scandalous acceptance (to quote Brian McLaren again) and the whippings taken by the God who wrote these commands in stone.

If I recall, there is actually a law that limits the maximum strokes of the cane to about 39. As much as there is evil in man, there is also mercy, for the image still exists and calls us back to it.

Remember goodness (16:20, and another passage I forgot)

The passage I forgot, reminded me of the good Samaritan, how doing good means infinitely more than rules.

16:20 especially stood out. It warns against bribing, and I'm all to familiar with the bribing system practiced by driving examiners here. More often than not, they'll fail those who don't pay the extra bit. I remind myself again, and stand resolute that I shall sooner receive the F than allow him to receive the $.

(A bit of a testimony here: Tee Ming failed the first time, but passed second without the bribe. *applause!*)

Remember life (30:6)

God frees us to live, truly live. Sudarshan calls it a joke -- learn to laugh at it! Steven Curtis Chapman calls it an adventure -- dive into it! I doubt any of us really know what it means, 'cause there's so much more to life we have yet to experience. We're in this together!

Remember Moses

Moses was not allowed into the Promised Land. But this passage (32:51-33:1) stands out as somewhat peculiar:

"This is because you broke faith with me in the company of the People of Israel at the Waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin--you didn't honor my Holy Presence in the company of the People of Israel. You'll look at the land spread out before you but you won't enter it, this land that I am giving to the People of Israel." ... Moses, man of God, blessed the People of Israel with this blessing before his death...

God says Moses 'broke faith' with him. Yet two verses later, he is called 'man of God'. He may have missed the Promised Land, but he stood and talked with Jesus during the Transfiguration. Perhaps in saving a greater reward for Moses, God had him forgo the lesser blessing of an earthly paradise for a heavenly one.

A promised land whose inhabitants inherit it because of who they have become, rather than being rewarded or punished merely by what they have (or have not) done. Many call it heaven. And my, it ain't just a destination!

Remember Us (7:7-8, 8:14)

"Remember not to be too full of yourselves. You got here not on your own merit."

Let us remember our place as the crown of creation, special in every way. But let us not forget our Creator, lest we imagine the crown arrived without a forger and a jeweller. Which brings us to the last of the 'reminders'...

Remember God

-Seek God with all your heart and soul, and you shall find him
-And now look at you... like the stars in the night sky
-Hold on to him for dear life!
-He's the only God there is. He's it

The first reminds me of something Michael William wrote when he autographed my book during NSCF 2003. "May you continually seek and find the true God". I wonder if we really consider and realize that we haven't quite 'found' God yet. Even as we enter into a relationship with him, it's not that we've found him, but rather that he's found us and his calling us to know him more. To find him.

The second, is testament to the God who keeps his word. How and when are questions whose answers remain his. But God keeps his word.

"Hold on to Jesus" is one of my favourite Steven Curtis Chapman songs. Ben Moody of Evanescence wrote, "Jesus -- all the life left in me is you". There is something vulnerable in that line, and even the SCC song is one seemingly sung out of weakness. It's almost as if, when all is said and done, one name remains for the calling -- Jesus.

He's the only God. SC Chapman's song "God is God" boldly proclaims that. God is God, and I am not -- so goes a line from the chorus.

Moving On...

22:5 A woman must not wear a man's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing. This kind of thing is an abomination to GOD, your God. [Well, so much for dressing in drag ;)]

28:37 Among all the peoples where GOD will take you, you'll be treated as a lesson or a proverb--a horror! [Now, my children, hear the great fable of the Simian and the T-Rex; it was a long time ago when... horrors!]

What a journey it's been through the Pentateuch! And a final thought:

It's hard living a Christian life, especially in school. Temptation to conform is everywhere. It is as abundant as the air. Ross Parsley once said, "if you expect 'sinless' people to be on your [church] worship team each week, you're going to have a very small group"...

Sometimes I feel like a failure. Not just to God, but also to myself. The goals I set, with some of the best (or so I think) motives in mind, all end up down the drain.

But I'm reminded of two things in the Pentateuch: First, God has given me free-will and the gift of choice. I make choices, and so I must be prepared for the consequences. Second, God has made me in his image, and if it will take an eternity, that image will be restored. He's not finished.

It's too easy to give up. It's too easy not to bother. It's probably hardest to aim high and walk the talk. But then I realize, it's the only way that's worth it.

...and 123s!

2004-07-07T18:09:00.000+08:00

Now as we journey into the wilderness (whew! that was a narrow escape from the ironclaw of the 'law'!), Numbers brings us from the desert into the beginning of the Promised Land. Lots of drama along the way...

Numbers

The firstborn is consecrated by God. Well I guess that would mean me. And Soo Tian. Heheheh... I still wonder why the extra 273 firstborns more that the Levites had to be redeemed.

The Kohathites were assigned to carry the most holy objects. With great power comes great responsibility. Whenever we're given a great honour, there comes a great need to be humble. Yoshua and I chatted on this once; it's a neverending cycle -- once you're humble enough, more is given, and then greater humility is needed. The journey deeper (or higher!) and further doesn't really end (read the last chapter of C.S. Lewis' The Last Battle for an analogy).

Whenever the cloud moved, so did the people. Back then, signs were clear. I recall what Yancey wrote, that even though God was obvious, the people were none the better. And Brian McLaren commented that it is common error on our part to think 'those were the days', for in many ways, the best is yet to come! And so we don't give up in a grey world.

The complaints about "all the flocks and herds being butchered etc" not being enough for meat, reminded me of what Philip told Jesus at the feeding of the 5000. But what ensued was different. Numbers was a case study in death for doubt. But in John, one can imagine Jesus smiling and winking at the 12 basketfuls left over. Somehow when Jesus revolutionized things, he did the same for doubt too.

Young man: "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!"
Joshua: "Moses, master! Stop them!"
Moses: "Would that all were prophets"

Remember when the disciples asked Jesus to stop the other preacher/healer? "He that is not against you is for you," said the master. (Even so, I recall--vaguely--something in the Pentateuch that said 'he that is not for you is against you')...

God is slow to anger and abounding in love. Yet he punishes sin till the fourth generation. And then, many generations down, sin met its match in the very God in whom no sin could ever exist (or co-exist).

There are a few things I don't understand in this book as well... was there any good in Balaam, or was he an entirely evil force used by God for good? What about his determination to consult with God first? After all, did he not eventually stop the sorcery? (And did he, in one of his oracles, prophesy about the Christ?) The '20/20 vision' part was quite funny though ;)

And then, there was the man who was sentenced to death for gathering wood on the Sabbath. Why? I suppose it was because God wanted to make the point of the Sabbath crystal clear. Still, some of the extreme measures God seemed to take appear harsh. But hmmm... I think I know... (probably from Yancey as well) There was a price to pay and a risk to take, when God was 'visible'. They were literally in close proximity with God, and while that was a good thing in some ways (clarity), it probably also meant that rules were enforced to a far greater degree.

Korah's line did not die out (26:11). Did they then become the psalmist(s) known as 'The Sons of Korah'?

Two mediatory incidents that stood out were the account of Aaron standing 'between the living and the dead' ('Won't You Lord' - one of Jon's favourite songs!) and Moses' bronze snake.

Perhaps the part that 'got to me' the most, was when Moses slammed the staff on the rock, instead of speaking to it (20:11). Don't forget, speaking to a rock would not seem insane at all to the guy who'd seen more miracles in his life than most anyone at that time. And yet, there seems to be some frustration in the anger that was so expressed. Moses was still human.

And we, as mature or 'with God' as may be, are still susceptible to failure. This, to me, is both comforting and cautionary; to be careful not to be proud of whatever we may have achieved or gained, and comforting in that God can still use flops (anyway, this is our 2nd attempt at a failed endeavour!)

All who doubted died. Those who feared the giants more than the God of the Giants, never saw the Promised Land. When I read this passage, I wondered what Abraham might have said. In some ways, I guess he would have laughed first of all. There is something in those who have seen the impossible, that rises to the occasion to fear nothing but the one who makes possible the impossible. I believe all of us have had 'impossible' experiences. Are we stoic in response, or do we laugh like Abraham?

And finally, Numbers 35:34; "Don't desecrate the land in which you live. I live here too--I, GOD, live in the same neighborhood with the People of Israel."

With this thought, I shall sign off for a week. I apologize if you read this expecting some humour; I'm really not good at jokes ;)

Anyway. The final reminder before the recapitulation of Deuteronomy, was that God lived in the midst of his people, just like a neighbour. Somehow that verse comes across to me as "Don't throw your garbage into the streets and pollute the neighbourhood. I live here too, y'know"...

There's a neighbourly, community-like undercurrent in that reminder. And I think that sums it up well; God reminds us that obedience and goodness counts because we are creatures in community -- what we do (or don't do) matters not only to God, but also to others. As Brian McLaren wrote, modern Christianity has stunted this view with 'personal Saviours', 'personal sins' and the like. It's about time to remember the call to community.

Leviticus was about standards, the ABCs of holiness. And Numbers was about being counted (not just as part of a community, but as part of God's people) and the responsibilities that come with such a high calling. It's not just about life then, but also life now.

And now, I shall await Soo Tian's entry on Numbers. (Back to the day-gap formula, I suppose)...

ABCs...

2004-07-07T17:26:00.000+08:00

Ah, Soo Tian has broken the trend. Here I am, a day later. (For some reason, his entry was dated Monday, but I didn't see it though I signed in yesterday-Tuesday) So here goes, some thoughts/observations/ramblings on Leviticus and Numbers. (By the way, were it not for the Yellowjackets and Nigel Kennedy, I would've been smothered by the law...)

And no, I decided not to read Soo Tian's entry for fear that my train of thought would be hijacked and driven off the rails (whether that is good or bad, it's up to you to decide... hehehe)

Leviticus

Just some stuff I recall from the Gospels, deja vu; there was something about bread without yeast, grain offerings with salt.

Probably much of what I noticed or thought worthy to be blogged about, were peculiarities and some contrasts with life as we know it. So here goes...

When a person touched something unclean, he'd become unclean too. But Christ touched unclean people, and they were healed! Probably because he was overwhelmingly clean to the point of incorruptibility (big words, simple meaning).

(Something about the fire being kept burning reminded my of the song "Give Me Oil in My Lamp"... ah, the days of childhood)

If a watered seed comes in contact with a carcass, it would be polluted. Quite a scientific principle, that bacteria etc can only thrive in damp conditions (hence the usage of salt to preserve food)...

Those with problems with their neighbour should bring it out into the open. Indeed, I suppose this is where the whole command to confess and forgive comes into action. Henri Nouwen (more on my blog later) wrote of its necessity.

When God said "I hated every minute of it" (referring to other nations), it brought some pictures of irritating neighbours trying to be Vanessa Mae with no knowledge of what a violin is, or imitating Mariah Carey with William Hung's vocal ability. (For the record, I don't live in such a neighbourhood)

An interesting idea/connection that has come to my attention (and to some extent, contemplation) lately is holy = set apart = distinguished = consecrated. Somehow this gives the term 'holiness' several dimensions. Not 'perfect' or 'flawless', but 'set aside for good purposes'.

Anyway that makes the law significant in that it is not a list of rules to follow to attain 'nirvana', but the outflow of an inherent righteousness, something it could not produce simply because true goodness is the result of righteousness, not vice versa.

A few things I have yet to understand. A priest can't marry a prostitute. But what if they love each other? There's a command not to tattoo. But what about P.O.D.?

Some of the laws remind me of gratefulness. Persons with defects could not approach the curtain. But the one who wrote this law in stone, annulled it in person by touching the worst of the defective. One was not to collect the gleanings. As a result, the story of Ruth could unfold the way it did, and David could be born, and much later, Jesus too.

And the law "a life for a life" -- this, more than anything, reminds me of the life given for mine (or rather, of Life given for me). I haven't quite fully grasped the meaning of that, but day by day I learn...

Perhaps the only mildly (darkly, actually) humorous verse was Lev 26:29 "eat sons in stews and daughters in barbecues". Shocking and sadistic, yes. Anyway, a hyperbole of the result of disobeying God.

The people asked what they'd eat in the 7th year if they didn't plant and harvest. It somehow didn't quite hit them (the same goes for us many times too) that God isn't bound by the laws of nature. Someone could also have reminded them (and us too!) that the whole world whose produce we live on/off, belongs to God after all.

'"I've lost two sons. Would God have been pleased if I ate the Absolution Offering today?" And Moses accepted the response'
I still don't quite understand this.

Lev 10:3 is a verse that kind of stands out. "Aaron was silent" after the deaths of Nadab and Abihu. I can still recall the Aaron who was Moses' mouth in Egypt... ah, the irony sometimes.

For some reason, the law had a lot of "don'ts". But it seems to me that Jesus was more for the positive commandment. I realize that if I were an Israelite ingrained in this very law, I would have been most appalled by Jesus' attitude. He seemed to make a mockery of the rules and regulations I'd learned (and strived to obey) all my life.

No wonder the priests were shocked at his claim to be God! Surely they felt the Nazarene's teachings seemed revolutionary and almost in contradiction with much of the law of the Almighty... but they missed the point that God's concern was righteousness, not petty debates about rules.

One of the commandments that caught my attention was that of burning up the peace offering on the third day. Jesus, when he rose on the third day, made all offerings obsolete.

To me, the key idea of Leviticus is expressed by the following two phrases:
"Be holy because I am holy" and "I am God, your God"

The mark is God. He reminds us that we were made in his image (and therefore the command to be holy 'as he is holy'). He also reminds us that he is our God. Not the God we can carry about with us and dispose of at will, but the God who is there for us, able to help and mould us into his image.

And the whole idea of holiness and forgiveness is what I feel to be the central theme of Leviticus. I have barely begun to understand either, but I know I've been called to the former, and experienced the latter more times than I deserve (heck, I never deserved the first). It feels good to be alive. It really does. Logically if we were living under the Old Covenant, DNA would never exist for lack of campers ;)

To be continued...

(untitled inane rambles of the second/third watch)

2004-07-05T22:57:00.000+08:00

WARNING: Semi-conscious tirade ahead. Thou hast been warn'd.

Leviticus. Hmm.

This is the very book that I stopped during my attempt to read the whole Bible in a year as part of Yoshua's Bible Company (YBCo), a commitment started by a group of teenagers from D'Nous Academy 2003. Previously, I have never attempted, much less completed such a task.

Climb into a time machine, set the clock to exactly a year before this date and pull the crank. *enter multi-coloured warp typical of bad sci-fi flicks* Meet me a year ago (who incidently does not look that different from myself now, plus and minus some facial and cranial hair). Mention reading the Bible in a year and you would behold a surprised face. Mention reading the Bible half a year as well as blogging about it each week and you would behold the countenance a very confuzzled person.

Confuzzled. I like that word. It's almost Tigger-ish.

Now, back to Leviticus...

My first attempt to digest the whole of Leviticus failed because... well, I never really got the whole chunk of it down my throat. After around twenty odd chapters of 'torn apart but not totally severed' birds, priests waving thighs and breasts, mildew-ridden houses and "Unclean! Unclean!", I just got too caught up with the rest of my life that I left the whole project alone for quite a while. Oh, and the fact that I couldn't really appreciate what I was reading played a part too. Of course, in 'typical evangelical fashion' (quoting Yancey again), I shall 'blame myself and not the Bible'. For, try as I may, I simply could not get myself to reboot the program. The Task Manager laughed at my futile attempts to end the task that had frozen my machine.

Fast forward a few months, and here I am, at the completion of the Tabernacle once again. I know what's in store for me beyond this page. Burnt Offerings, Fellowship offerings and Guilt Offerings. Regulations about mildew and infectious skin diseases. All I have to do, is make that one step. *cringes and steps forward*

soliloquy: Hm, well. Something's different.

knuxlee: What?

soliloquy: It says here Absolution Offering instead of Guilt Offering. Oh, and fungus
instead of mildew!

knuxlee: Har har.

But frankly, that was about all that was visibly different about the text this time around. It was still the same old long, detailed instructions not much different from what you would expect in any other religious handbook of rites (minus of course the totally gruesome rituals, but not totally bloodless either). Somewhere in the middle of it I just stopped and posed this question: Why am I bothering to study the details of a covenant that doesn't apply to me anymore (nor endears to my RSPCA-supportive nature)?

PAUSE: I don't think Audrey would have liked to live in those times. At least, I bet her tent would be the furthest away possible from the Tent of Meeting, to avoid having to see all the sacrifices.

My dad make a remark that probably explains everything in Leviticus. "The main point of the sacrifices was because they didn't have the complete sacrifice that was Jesus Christ." But I don't have to tell you that. You've probably been told that a million times over. But why exactly should you read Leviticus?

My answer is this: So that you can bore/confuse/shock yourself to the point that you can no longer take the New Covenant we have for granted anymore.

Yes, Jesus gave us new commandments on how to live that seemed and still seem crazy. But which would you rather have to do? Learn to love your enemies or sacrifice a lamb after having a child? Some (maybe even most) might say the latter, but I believe that there's far greater meaning in the former.

But I must be honest. Try as I may, I have yet to find answers that satisfy the sentences punctuated by question marks in my mind: Why the rigidity? Why such legalism?

I struggle with this question each time I read through the Old Testament. Perhaps as I implied in my thoughts on Genesis, it could have been another early design of Mankind. Maybe God tried to bring Man close to him through laws that would set clear boundaries and expectations for the relationship, like how ancient cultures drew clear lines for the relationship between a father and a son. Certain Eastern cultures for example emphasized the father's role as a provider and head of family, but not as one who comforted his child in times of trouble. Molly-coddling was a mother's job. The father was the strong one who showed little, if any emotion. It used to work. Well, sorta. But not anymore.

In this world we live in today, the father that fails to live up to the name 'dad' (which exuberates love and closeness) because he chooses to hold on to the old traditions will result in hatred or feelings of detachment in his children. Maybe a couple thousand years ago in Ancient China such a father could get away with it. After all, he brought home the dough. Whether he stunk of rice wine or was seen with a mistress in town made little difference. It was the way of life back then. But how times have changed. With the birth of psychology came the birth of research producing books on perfect parenting methods. Our image of the perfect father today definitely bears no resemblence to the traditional father figure of previous millennia.

Similiarly, our view on God should be and how the people of Leviticus thought God should be certainly shows how we've changed in four thousand years. Our love towards our own children doesn't change. Four years or forty, we still love them. What does change is how we treat them and try to solve their problems. We know that at some point we have to give them 'the talk', but we will not do it any earlier than the time we decide to be correct. In the same way I believe God did know that someday he'll have to send his son to die for mankind, but he would not so earlier than the time he felt was right. During the teenage years our children will no longer just bow to our rules and regulations. I believe so did God know that a new covenant was necessary for a 'teenage' generation of mankind.

A crazy thought. Is the entire human race like a child that is born, grows and matures?

It's too much for me to think that I believe I have to stop writing now. The signal from my muse, garbled as it was, is now reduced to pure static. I should re-read through what I've written to make it less of the mess it is now, but I'm far too... confuzzled. I'm sorry for jumping from one track to the next with no warnings. My plea is that you'll forgive me, then proceed to grill me, saute me with the flames of your komen and pendapats. Goodnight world.

"The ride's over. Did you enjoy yourself?"
--many sources, but it is my choice to quote the song "Leech" by Incubus, for no particular reason (I don't even like the song)

P.S. I think the Bible was reffering to albinism in Leviticus 13:12-13. What do you all think?

Hijrah: Renungan dan Iltizam

2004-07-02T11:46:00.000+08:00

Looks like I'm a day later than Ben, vunce again. :) While Ben, I'm not sure exactly how you could have forgotten your username (did you mean your password?), I'll try to do what I can to rectify the situation.

Unlike Ben, I've not been disconnected from the computer for a week. My only alibi for this delayed entry is my own indiscipline, vunce again (hm, maybe that can be my new catchphrase). But anyway, here I am, with some of my..

thoughts on exodus

Exodus begins with the story of Moses, which you can find quite an entertaining version of it in the pasar malams/VCD shops. However, I made a few interesting (or at least I thought they were!) observations.

When Moses was skeptical whether the Egyptians would take him seriously, God gave showed two miracles that he was to use to make them believe. The first is the one we all know, that is, the staff/snake switch. But the second, the 'now it's leprous, now it's not' hand, was never shown to Pharoah. Now the question is, why wasn't that miracle used to give Pharoah a scare? A couple of reasons came to my mind, but I think the one that made the most sense was that the miracle would have been too easily duplicated by the Egyptians magicians. If they could change their staffs into snakes, what would a simple illusionary trick be to them? David Blaine could probably pull this one off. I can imagine Aaron whispering to Moses, "Should we try the leprousy one?" and Moses muttering back, "Better not. Let's just get out of here."

In that case, did they lose heart and disregard God's instructions? I see little reason for that, given that Aaron's snake swallowed up the snakes of the other conjurers, who must have looked pretty stupid now without their ellaborate 'magical' staves, which had been defeated by a piece of wood that must've looked as unimpressive as the staff of Gandalf the Grey. But then again, given the stubborn nature of Pharoah, a few more miracles that might have been seen as merely sleight of hand wouldn't have worked at all.

Another thing was that instructions of how to conduct the miracle of turning water to blood changed when Moses and Aaron actually had to do it in Egypt. Or rather, what was originally intended as a sign to make Pharoah believe (by pouring water from the Nile onto dry land) was upgraded into a fully-fledged disaster upon Egypt. The lesson that I gather from this is that we shouldn't always take God's instructions as his final instructions. Let us not stick too vehemently to what we were sure was a calling by God to do something whenever fresh, new orders from our general are delivered to us.

Sometimes we skim through the pages of the plagues so fast that we fail to notice how Moses' faith progressed with each miracle God performed. During their first audience with Pharoah, Moses spoke everything through Aaron, as shown by the usage of the phrase 'they said'. By the time of the plague of the frogs, Moses was already answering without a mouthpiece to Pharoah. Philip Yancey wrote that the Egyptians must have been stunned when Moses finally spoke for himself, for 'out of his mouth flowed perfect, aristocratic Egyptian'. I totally agree with him. Moses must have realised that it was more effective for him to communicate to the Egyptians directly instead of being hampered by what Yancey called 'Aaron's rustic speech'.

PAUSE: Wasn't the end of that paragraph so like Ben, with his style of quoting writers of books he's read? :)

As for the miracles, initially it was always, "Tell Aaron to... his staff..." By 'Strike Seven: Hail (as The Message terms it)', Moses has become confident enough that God's orders are to "Stretch your hands to the skies. Signal the hail to fall all over Egypt on people and animals and crops exposed in the fields of Egypt." During our sessions studying the Old Testament conducted by Dr. Leong Thien Fook at DNA last year, he mentioned that everything Moses went through prior to returning to Egypt was a preparation for his job as the leader of Israel. Now I see that the plagues were God's way of building up Moses to have the faith required for his new post. By the time the Israelites leave Egypt, I almost forgot that he was a whining, stuttering coward at the beginning of his service to God.

I found Exodus also a book that I struggled with as I attempted to comprehend the way God works. The Egyptians to the end of the plagues suffered in what I would term 'buta-ly' because God had made Pharoah stubborn in order that the Israelites would be able to tell their children about how God 'toyed with the Egyptians like a cat with a mouse'. Maybe it was because God didn't want Pharaoh to later delude himself that he had been tricked by illusionists or phonies manipulating natural events to their own advantage, thus creating a flawed history of the Israelites leaving in Egyptian records. I was mildly comforted when I realised that the Egyptians that feared the God of the Israelites would have heeded the warnings and taken steps to minimize the suffering they would endure, especially in the plague of hail.

Oh, and I really like the way The Message phrased Exodus 14:14.
"GOD will fight the battle for you.
And you? You keep your mouths shut!"
Reminded me how I've got a God who fights for me, and how I shouldn't question him but instead 'keep my mouth shut'.

Meeting God nowadays is usually associated with a quiet, tranquil atmosphere in which we can relax and be comforted. I shudder at the way in which the Israelites experienced God's presence. Pyrotechnics, noise, and a downright scary aura. No wonder they told Moses, "You speak to us and we'll listen, but don't have God speak to us or we'll die." What a stark contrast to what we long and hope for, that is for God to speak to us in a personal manner. It made me wonder, are we really up to what we ask for? :)

I also noticed the laws of the old covenant that bigots gleefully jumped upon to condone their practice of slavery during colonial times. Here's an excerpt, "If a slave owner hits a slave, male or female, with a stick and the slave dies on the spot, the slave must be avenged. But if the slave survives a day or two, he's not to be avenged--the slave is the owner's property." Downright nasty! At first I thought the verse meant 'if the slave survives after a day or two', then felt unhappy when I realised the true meaning of it.

But I liked the way Moses negotiated with God. I guess we're always talking about submitting to God's will, but in Exodus we see Moses not simply bowing to God's decision of wiping out the Israelites and starting anew (vunce again!) with Moses, instead pleading tactfully for God to think twice. And we read that, "And GOD did think twice. He decided not to do the evil he had threatened against his people." What a privilege it is to have a God who cares about our feelings and will not simply force us to bend 'to his will'.

I guess that's all I have to write this time. Have to go for lunch now. Seeya all! :)

Out of Egypt, into the Exodus

2004-07-01T12:45:00.000+08:00

I have most conveniently forgotten my SimianD username. Of course, this can also be attributed to my possession of some 5 blog accounts (almost all of which have usernames that differ from the display name). Hence this entry using the shared TMSquared username (until Sufian can fix this embarrassing problem!)...

Having been somewhat disconnected from this computer for almost a week now (due to debate, which we lost), I have spent the last 100 minutes or so buried in Exodus, from the birth of Moses right through the completion of the Tabernacle. Some thoughts:

One question that emerged during the 10 Commandments discussion sessions during DNA last year, was whether it was justifiable to disobey the commandments given certain circumstances. We recalled Corrie ten Boom who lied to protect the Jews from the Nazis. At the beginning of Exodus, the Hebrew midwives lied to protect the boys who were born, and God was 'pleased with them'.

Lately, I have become increasingly convinced that God's highest priority is life, and any effort in the promotion, preservation and/or protection of life is, I believe, worthy of the highest praise. After all, God is life.

Just a passing thought from some deja vu; God saw and understood the plight of the Hebrews, and something similar happened in Sodom and Gomorrah, when God 'saw' the evil of the cities. But God never felt, at least, not until some 1500 years later. That's getting ahead of ourselves though...

The episode on manna illustrates an interesting point which Jesus again brought up about the lilies of the field. We ought to live each day in itself, leaving tomorrow's worries till tomorrow. And as for the Sabbath, if more words are dedicated to it in the list of 10 Commandments, we'd better listen!

The problem with humanity in the time of the Exodus, through the days of Christ, right up until now, is that we often take breaks at the wrong time, and get all worked up when we should rest. But the promise of rest (and the command to do so) resounds from the very days of Creation. Ex 31:17 "God stopped and took a long, deep breath."

Moses was assisted when lifting his hands, and when it came to judging. Point? You ain't gonna do it on your own. (Thanks Soo Tian!)

There is a story told of birds who remained in their cages even when set free; they had not learnt to appreciate freedom (or maybe, more likely, they did not understand it). Likewise, the Israelites, time and again, complained and pleaded to return to Egypt. They had grown up in that land, and never knew the other side into which God was leading them.

Paul was right when he wrote that the law only shows our failure in seeking righteousness. And the very people who would spend centuries making a mockery of the law said: "everything God said, we'll do. Yes, we'll obey"... Even us. How many times I have 'solemnly' promised God something, or made a certain commitment, only to fail to keep it.

In his car the other day, my debater-friend's mother (in response to something cheeky he said, I think) said "It's a good thing I love you so much" (the 'or else', though omitted, was understood). And it's a good (this word fails to do it justice) thing God loves us so much. I realize that, if not for God's agape and charistos (grace), I'd be dead by now. Probably struck by lightning some hundred times over...

Most of all, what struck me most (and most people, I suppose) about Exodus, was Moses. An excerpt from an episode that had a penchant for repeating itself:

Moses: I-I st-st-stut-ter!
God: I made the human mouth [etc]
Moses: Send someone else
[this is the part when God gets exasperated]

Perhaps a possible translation would read:

Moses: I cannot speak like Soo Tian lah...
God: If I can make Soo Tian speak with eloquence, I can do the same for you
Moses: Aiyah, dowan-lah! Ask Ben to go instead
[this is when God, Soo Tian and Ben get exasperated]

Of course, let us not forget that this is the prophet whom the Israelites most revered. Even the Pharisees and Sadducees honoured Moses as though he were second to God.

What inspires me, though, is not the fact that God can use anyone, or that God sent Moses into the desert to 'train' him for the wilderness wanderings to come; much has already been said about those.

Rather, it was the change in Moses that was captured so well in the lines exchanged between him and the people when being pursued by Pharaoh.

Israelites: Aaaaahhhhh!! Mampuslah kita!!
Moses: ...God will fight for you. Shut up!!

Ironic that this was the very person who couldn't shut up when it came to giving excuses. It was the words "keep your mouths shut" that stood out most in the last 40 chapters... it represented the need for trust in God, the no-need to fear the enemy, our inadequacy in desperate times, hope, courage, but most of all, change.

I guess that's what the Christian life is all about - being different people as a result of encountering the Christ. It may not be as dramatic as the burning bush, but it's an encounter nonetheless. So walk on. (And here, I'd better put on another coat; this desert sun is killing me!..... oh wait, this is Malaysia....)

SimianD

p.s. Soo Tian said something about my knack for making sense (actually, it's something of David's influence, and more being 'serious' than making sense!). Well, I can say the same of his perpetual tendency to turn something serious into a joke of equal proportions (NOT to be confused with Jon Hwa, who cripples anything -- and sometimes everything -- into unrecognizable mush)... At least there's some sort of balance here ;)

The Human Project: Trial Run?

2004-06-24T02:29:00.000+08:00

Hey all. It's amusing how Ben and I both pledged to do our weekly postings on Saturday, but somehow or other couldn't really fulfill our solemn vows to each other. So here I am, a day later than he signed in. Forgive me if I seem a little detached from sanity, it is 2.35 a.m.

I didn't read Ben's post below save the first few introductory lines. Was afraid his knack of making sense might scare me out of expressing the random smatterings of my mind. Don't be fooled. These seemingly neat and formatted paragraphs are but an illusion, an attempt to hide the disorder you're about to encounter... or so I think.

*deep breath*

thoughts on genesis

Genesis is supposed to be the great tale of how God created the world, man screwed it up, and the serpent (with sin in tow) ~~made an unwelcomed cameo appearance~~ claimed its throne as ruler over this temporary world.

That's true.

But looking back at what I read, Genesis seems more like the tale of a scientist whose creation kept going wrong. (Of course, God is much more than a mere scientist, but just bear with me for this post) After the initial success of the test runs, the prototype(s) never failed to start malfuctioning.

DESIGN VERSION 1: 'The Perfect World'
result: FAILED
cause: defenses crumbled in presence of 'bacterii' (ala 'The War of the Worlds') in which the prototype couldn't resist

DESIGN VERSION 2: 'Natural Selection'
result: FAILED
cause: dominant gene that causes sinfulness (intercourse between 'good' and 'bad' lineages results in 'corrupted' species)

DESIGN VERSION 3: 'One Man Selected'
result: FAILED
cause: 'One Language'

And what's confusing is what God does next...

DESIGN VERSION 4: 'One Man Selected (ver 2)'
result: FLAWED
causes: unbelief, immorality, selfishness, infighting, jealousy, etc.

After failing to reboot the Human Project by starting over again with Noah, God decides on some guy named Abram from Ur. And so begins a long narrative, starting with Abram's calling and ending with his great-grandson, Joseph's death.

But what struck me as interesting was how Abram and descendents weren't given much guidance in the form of laws apart from a covenent of circumcision. So in a way, most of the patriachs would have been stoned if they had been thrown into the future where the Law of Moses was in effect. It seemed as if God had just let them mess things up, to create the basis for some parts the Law (I daren't say all).

For example, Jacob (although he didn't want to) married two sisters who battled with each other daily, competed to bear children, and even once traded plants for a night with Jacob. The law that was passed as a result? Don't marry two sisters.

In Philip Yancey's 'The Bible Jesus Read' (which I'm struggling to get through at the moment), he talks about how often we ignore the Old Testament and concentrate on the New. He also made an interesting comment, the teachings in the NT tell us how the world is supposed to function, however the OT shows us how the world really functions. Wars, betrayal, cruelty. All these are things we see everyday. And where can we find lessons and examples of how to handle them in the Bible? The OT of course. And Genesis is a good book to learn about what not to do (Judges is a little too way out for us to easily find any relevance to our everyday lives). For example, don't practise favouritism when raising children, lest jealousy get out of hand.

Alright, it's been an hour since I started writing. Really sleepy now. If by the time you reach this line you're perpetually scratching your help and or maybe even suffering from a head-splitting migraine, forgive me. I should have written this in a more conscious state. Goodnight then. Remember, all C&C is welcomed. Please, reprimand me if I have said anything wrong. Adieu.

Mercy in Mesopotamia

2004-06-22T22:44:00.000+08:00

First week log-in. Technically, we're supposed to journal over the weekend, but today happens to mark exactly one week of my starting the journey. So there.

Lots of things happened this week, and I was whisked countless centuries from the Creation until this guy called Israel and his 12 sons and 1 daughter.

The way the story unfolds, God creates a world of perfection, but it is ruined by sin. And so, rolling up his sleeves with a prophecy in the Garden, God sets about the beginning of redemption. And the journey several generations down is one of mercy, so it seems.

From the clothes for Adam and Eve, to the mark of Cain; from Noah's ark, to Hagar's comfort; from Esau's forgiveness, to Joseph's safety in Egypt; and (now) providence for the house of Israel through Joseph -- God makes all things work for good. Bono of U2 once wrote "Grace makes beauty out of ugly things"

And yet, in all this, God finds time for humour, what with the visits to Abraham and Sarah. When God made the covenant with Abraham between the pieces of meat, Old Abe was sleeping (the nerve!) and yet it's as though God is enough, for he will keep his word. And who could possibly blame Abraham and Sarah for laughing? Indeed, it was impossible news, and as Michael Card wrote, "They called him laughter, cause no other name would do"

The tale of this family is also one of radical, persistent, crazy faith. Abraham believed and left home for a new land, and obeyed the command to sacrifice Isaac, and asked for God's mercy on Lot's family (in such a way that would put Malaysian bargaining to shame!). Jacob wrestled with the Angel and didn't let go until he was blessed. Glenn Lim calls this generation the 'Jacob Generation' for more and more people are seeking an authentic faith these days.

It's somewhat dizzying having so much unravel before me... And the journey has just begun! See you in Egypt next time!

And We're Off!

2004-06-18T00:27:00.000+08:00

Greetings.

This is a joint blog, owned by Sufian the Soliloquy and Laden the Simian.

It serves as a weekly journal for our journey through an ancient text known as the Bible, which consists of many things, such as law texts, love poems, blogs, letters, stories, event forecasts, battle logs and debates on the meaning of life.

We began the adventure on Tuesday, the 15th of June 2004, from Genesis 1, and expect to touchdown at the end of Revelation 22 on the 30th of November 2004.

Actually, we attempted the said journey at the beginning of the year, but tragically fell behind by many days. All is not lost, and with a renewed passion, vigour and hope, we now embark on this great journey through The Message translation of the Bible.

Our aim is to apprehend an overview and general understanding of the story of God's people, which is our story as well, and less an attempt to 'dig deep' and dissect the Word verse by verse. After all, the Bible is held together by and ultimately tells the story of the Christ. And we believe it was He who called us to this effort.

To the days ahead, which undoubtedly will be full of surprises, triumphs, failures, lessons learnt and certainly, fun and humour, without which we would certainly be six feet under by now.

And may the One who wrote the story and holds the final chapter guide our path. Amen.

-------
SimianD