I'm Home

(a reflection from the Parable of the Prodigal Son)

by: Chew Phui Yee

Before I left I could see it in your eyes

The sorrow the pain

When I said, “Let me go, let me go”

Look the riches is waiting for me

The glory the power the love

Just hearing is not enough

Let me see Let me enjoy it

And yes here I am

Having all that I’ve wanted

Lust became my lord and pride became my god

But little did I know

The alternatives that have robbed my soul

The substitutes that have killed my mind

From my ecstasy who can rescue me?

When I came to my senses I thought of you

Would you let me come back I don’t want to die

Make me all you want me to be because I’m sorry

So I made my way home and there’s no turning back

But while I was still a long way off

I saw you’ve been waiting for me

You ran and couldn’t wait to embrace me

How can I fathom your love

That I can be called your child

I was dead and is alive again

I was lost and am found

I was a stranger and now you’re my Father

God our Creator

Through the ages, people have been wondering and guessed how the earth and all that is in it began. In our century, modern science has suggested a few answers:

- Some scientists believe that everything started with a 'big bang' a huge explosion which started a long chain-reaction and at the end brought life to earth.

- Other scientists say that there's this thing called 'continuous creation' -no evidence of any dramatic beginning, so the universe must have been there.

However, the suggestions do not answer our biggest questions:

-If everything began with a bang, what caused the bang?

-If the universe has always been there, how and why does it exist?

There are some problems that science cannot answer because science is just based on what can be observed. If we want answer, we must look for other evidence.

"In the beginning..."

That's Christianity's answer. You can find this right at the beginnning of the bible (Genesis 1:1) It was God who started everything. Before God, there was nothing at all existed. God started everything with a word of command.

The way God make things and the way humans make things has a big difference. For example, if you design and construct a model, people may say,"Wow, that's really creative!" But you still need to find materials to make the model. God was creative in a completely different way. He started his creation with nothing.When we read further the book of Genesis, we learn another important thing about our Creator- he was pleased with everything he created. That's really unlike us, there was nothing he created that he disliked and wanted to throw away. When it was all finished, God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased. (Genesis 1:31)

If we believe in this kind of Creator, it makes a big difference to how we look at this world. Some religions teach that the material world is a hostile place. But Christianity takes a much more positive view. If God made the world and was pleased with it, we can enjoy it too.

Google images

Reference: Field, David, A Faith for Life. (Lion Publishing, 1985)

3 Agape

A little reflection on China's "One Child Policy"

I was angry and sad and disgusted after reading about the situation of forced and coerced abortion in China thesis written by Dr. Yap.

It's clear that abortion a sin because once a sperm and ovum is united a new being exists and that would be MURDER in God's eyes. No compromise.

But what happened was some of them, even pastors, free-willingly aborted their baby once they got pregnant unintentionally. Then they gave excuses saying that they had no other options, that there's no way out because of the overpopulated China and that they think abortion is not wrong because fetus is not life.

The Bible says that:

"As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything. " (Ecclesiastes 11:5)

I think these Chinese should really be educated. If they agree on one child policy, OK. Fine. So, instead of killing their babies or abandon baby girls or making fetus into fetus soup to be consumed by their men who want to increase their sex vigor (allegedly so), they should be educated and learn that God made the birth cycle in a woman in such a way where she can only become pregnant when she ovulates. God therefore gives us an example of birth control (she can only be pregnant at certain times of the month). Well this is just an example. But I pray that Christians in China would seek God more when they think that there is no way out.

Haha...

One day a stranger (chinaman) approached me and asked,

Chinaman : 你会说中文吗？(Do you know how to speak Chinese?)
Me : 我不会 (I don't know)
Chinaman : ....

Getting rid of pest

One day 3 pastors were having lunch together in a restaurant. The first one said, "You know, I've been having problem with mice that dwell in my church. I've tried everything; baits, poison, cats...but nothing is working."

The other one said, "Well, I've been having problem with cockroaches and lizards in my church. They are driving me crazy. I've also tried everything; Ridsect, roach baits...but they don't kill them all."

The third one said, "I once had problems with mice, cockroaches, lizards and termites in my church too. But I baptized all of them and made them members of the church. Since then, not one came back!"

It's holidays again

Today is the last day of first term of school. 1 week holidays starts tomorrow. But tomorrow I still have to go to school for teacher's training. Then at noon, I'll be heading for Boys' Brigade Boot Camp in Dusun Eco Resort, Pahang.

Heck, it's holidays! And my mind has never been freed from the images of the school and my students. I'm so tired and worn out. I'm so depressed because the new term will start a week later. Can't really handle the stress. Sometimes, the children are my easy target to vent my anger when they start bugging me with stupid questions. I suspect that I have a little problem with anger management now. Poor children!

"I don't want to go to school!!!"

I think I'm going to collapse soon. Sometimes I thought, "God, when are you going to take me?"

Little Kevin

Kevin (not his real name) is a dyslexic child in one of my classes. He is very weak in languages. He can't read and write even a simple word and his teachers are very concerned about him. Any teacher would say, "We really can't do much."

In all the B.M. spellings I gave him, he would write :

1. hfrjikh
2. fhieoid
3. fflmnn
4. trmbgf
5. fllgdmc

He can't sit still, he is a restless child who would go around disturbing his classmates and speaks unintelligibly. Most of his classmates would bully, tease, beat and despise him because of his weakness. I could see him feeling helpless and hopeless, but I've never seen him cried. Many times, I would try my best to protect and comfort Kevin whenever he was bullied and teased. But of course, I would still punish him whenever he's naughty.

I kept encouraging him to study for his spellings, at least. He would nod his head but showed no confident.

One day, I was touched by this little boy as he gave me a sheet of stickers to express his appreciation. Despite his disabilities, I believe God can do amazing things in him, because God can use anything, no matter what circumstances or condition, and he does everything for His glory!

"...The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised."

Job 1:21

Why?

by Michael Card



Video source: www.youtube.com

Why did it have to be a friend
Who chose to betray the Lord?
Why did he use a kiss to show them?
That's not what a kiss is for.

Only a friend can betray a friend,
A stranger has nothing to gain.
And only a friend comes close enough
To ever cause so much pain.

And why did there have to be
a thorny Crown pressed upon His head?
It should have been a royal one
Made of jewels and gold instead.
It had to be a crown of thorns
Because in this life that we live
For all who would seek to love,
A thorn is all the world has to give.

And why did there have to be
A heavy cross He was made to bear?
And why did they nail His feet and hands?
When his love would have held Him there.
It was a cross for on a cross
A thief was supposed to pay.
And Jesus had come into the world
To steal every heart away.

Yes, Jesus had come into the world
To steal every heart away.

by Michael Card

A Teacher's Pain

I joined Sekolah S.S. since last year September. This new year I'm a class teacher of some of the naughtiest students of the school.

I have to admit that from the beginning, I haven't been too strict with them. Or is it because of my outlook? They might think I'm like one of them because many say I look like a kid.

Actually I only have problems with a few boys. The rest are OK, some are too quiet and some are good academically.

Everyday, I come out of the class exhausted, painful and have aches all over my body because I really don't know how to control the class. I actually fall sick like every 1 or 2 months, except holidays of course! It's not that I didn't enforce punishment. I have used almost every kind of punishment a teacher could think of, like "Face the Wall", "Hug the Wall", "Hold Your Friend's Ear", "Grounded for Recess/Lunch/P.E./Art/Computer", relocated their seats, point deduction, blow a whistle and etc...but all failed.

These boys could literally sing aloud, "Jesus loves me this I know..." They would walk around to their friends' seats playing and doing all kinds of things they could think of: "Paper Planes/Origami", "Eraser/Sharpener/Lead Container Carom", "Verbal War", "Martial Arts" and etc. when I'm teaching and giving instructions!

I can understand that BM lessons can get quite boring especially for the weaker ones, or even for the super smart ones. That's why I've been doing my best to make the lessons interesting, relevant, applicable and practical. But I think it takes time because some of these students come from broken families or they just simply couldn't express themselves anywhere other than in school. I can see some just want to seek attention and love.

I haven't really heard any class worse than mine from other teachers. Not even from the new teachers. But the surprise is that other teachers don't really have problems with this class!Maybe it's really my problem. That's why I'm going to have a further discussion with the GB after CNY to solve the problem.

But I realised something yesterday (last day of school before CNY break). After being reprimanded by a few teachers, the boys actually have shown a little effort to change. No, they are still very noisy during my lessons. But they tried to respond a little bit during the discussion. I think even if they give me the wrong answers, I'm happy enough, as long as they are willing to show some effort. Nevertheless, despite having the worst students, I still love these boys. Because the Lord has loved me even I'm in my worst.

Go and Tell

Long ago there was a man who lived among the tombs
A suffering man being someone he was not
He was living in the darkness
Struggling within his mind
The people had to bind him with chains

Though he could tear the chains apart
He could not break the chains bound by the enemy
Day and night among the tombs and in the hills
He would cry out and cut himself with stones
In agony there was simply no way for freedom

From a distance he saw Jesus
He ran and knelt in front of the Lord
For he knew he could come to Him
Just as he was he came to the Saviour
The living God the source of hope

Now free at last his mind restored
He wanted to follow the Lord who heals
But Jesus told him to tell and share
How much the Lord had done for him
How much the Lord had done for him

The Bible- Mark 5:1-20

This generation

Today, Dr. Yap, YS and I were discussing about how young people nowadays are getting strange. We can see that they are really different from us, I mean between people born of the 70's or 80's and people born of the 90's. We discussed about the changing trend between UTAR pioneer batch (2002-2004) and the later batch (2005-now). At first we really didn't know how to describe the difference but later a simple analysis tells us that the younger generation:

1. Not wanting to take interest in what life is about or its purpose.
2. Don't care attitude (i.e. who's the prime minister, what do they want to believe, what to learn or what to do in the future)
3. No hobbies (according to YS, most of them pick sleeping as hobby)
4. Their life is empty
5. Their thought is empty
6. Lost (don't even know what they actually want)

Mmm...sounds scary.

I've been reflecting on the influencing factors. One thing I realize is that the enemy has been using the seemingly never-ending evolution of technology to take away humanity, in the context of the quality and nature.

I started to reminisce what and how I learnt and played when I was a kid. In primary school, there was no computers, no Internet, so I learnt a lot from books (I miss Enid Blyton, Pak Pandir, Lebai Malang etc.) I used wooden pencils (and still love it), I loved writing essays and still love it, I searched for words from dictionaries, I wrote letters to my uncle who was in Singapore and posted them by mail, I cycled to school, played 'batu seremban', hide-and-seek, badminton and 'teng-teng'. I had a few close friends and we chatted, laughed, played, studied, fought, wrestled and we were friends again.

Technology, in a way, of course makes life a lot easier and effective. So much so that it has neccessarily be part of our life. Most kids have their own cell phone. They have their own computers and easily an Internet connection. Convenient access to unlimited information that help them to do their homework, project and get flying colours in exams. Convenient subscription to Astro so they can sit on their couch day and night enjoying the multi channels and programmes. We often see cars with the sticker that says "I would rather be enjoying Astro". They play computer games (what I often see is the very super brutal games; the last one I knew was CS and what not and now I really have no idea what they have come up with because I really don't want to know). They love to have friends they cannot see and communicate in physical. Through MSN, they can have hundreds of them, with whom they can easily flirt and disguise and be what they are not.

I can already see this happening. True enough, limitless information can be obtained effortlessly through the Internet but somehow their mind is empty. Many of them are straight A's students but have no thought, no reflection and they can't think. These young people don't even know what they are learning and why they learn something. More, they don't know how to apply what they learn.

In this sense, I can draw some hypothesis. Learning and reading from books arouse and stir the mind. Therefore by reading, we learn, perceive, reflect, think, imagine, picture, understand and apply. Playing simple games with friends help us to develop socially, relate with people and train the mind. Therefore this is how we know about people, develop values like responsibility, honesty, concern and care for one another and etc.

In the movie "Home Alone 2", McCaulay Culkin in a scene exclaimed, "TV is my life". People love to watch TV because it doesn't require much thinking and therefore it's less 'tiring'. I was once an example of TV addict that nearly handicapped my mind (a time approaching SPM exams) until dad made a big deal out of it. Uncle said, "Let you yourself contol the TV and do not let the TV controls you." Amazingly, I was awakened by the statement and changed. I believe I was bound by a 'chain' and God helped me to break the chain.

I believe at many times, humans learn by experience. That's why for example, some of my students who are poor in Maths (particularly in calculating the volume of 3D objects) are now able to understand better when I show them the real tangible object. I think learning should be active and stimulating.

Correct. The Web is borderless. But I really don't what kind of information young people are searching nowadays. While knowledge and information can be infinite, at the same time they can be manipulated, changed, abused and such. In the end, we don't know what is the thing that creeps into their minds.

I'm not against the technology. But I think without knowing God, it just leads to total emptiness.

Refuge

Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [a]
2 I will say [b] of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-
10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

Source: www.biblegateway.com

Joblessness, sickness, financial crises, broken relationship...Everything just does not seem right. Peace, prosperity, stability and what not are the things everybody wants. But somehow there will be some points in life that lead to darkness, crises, brokenness. It's like inevitable.

Often on the streets, I see some people wandering on the streets, hair grew untrimmed, dirty and babbling away in their insanity. I asked, "Why?"

But God has again and again revealed Himself as the source of hope and help. He is our shelter and refuge in the storms. All these while many with sickness, joblessness, broken relationship and other odd problems have come to the ministry. I think God wants us to know that He is using a hopeless situation or difficulty to draw people's attention to Him and seek Him. The amazing thing is, God never failed. I see God using His servants to pray for the sick, and they are healed. Some were jobless, one of them even to the point of not able to buy a meal. God's servants prayed and seeked Him, and now our sister's life is going to change because she's going to work next month! Just as it is written in the above Psalm 91:4 "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." God manifested His love and power through His servants who continually pray for many. This is how God reveals Himself.

I just want to thank God for allowing some difficulties and circumstances in order to grab our attention. He wants to teach us to humble ourselves because He knows that we often forget and ignore Him whenever life is comfortable. He often give us warning signs whenever we think that everything will be under control by our human strength, ability and knowledge. If we think everything that we have comes from our own effort, strength, ability and knowledge, I think God would want to remind us that health, opportunity and wisdom come from Him and none other. Everything we have are given by God. He just wants us to know Him, seek Him and come to Him just as we are, because he desires an intimate relationship from us and wants us to worship Him only, just like a father who desires his children just to spend some time to sit with him and chat about anything.