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!"

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