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Saturday, January 31, 2009

A Celebration of Life

The full-page orbituary attracted not just a look from me, but three looks. First, the deceased is foremost named as an "Elder", with no mention of the material titles that might be expected to be listed for such a celebrity businessman. Second, the orbituary is headlined as "A Celebration of Life", rather than the normal notification of death. Third, instead of the usual memorial services, "celebration services" will be held before the funeral. An extraordinary orbituary indeed.

The orbituary of Elder Tang Wee Cheng heartens me though I do not know him in any personal capacity nor have any acquaintance with him whatsoever. From the Christian perspective, his passing away is an occasion for joy and rejoicing, hence the call to a "celebration of life" and "celebration services", for eternal life with Jesus in heaven is the greatest gain we may expect. Here, I share the sentiments expressed by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippian church:

"21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!
23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;
24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body."
(Philippians 1 : 21 - 24)

And what is heaven like? The vision of the "new Jerusalem" given to the Apostle John when he was exiled on the island of Patmos provides a glimpse of what we might expect of heaven - no more pain, no more tears, no more death.

"1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
(Revelation 21 : 1 - 4)

In accordance with the Christian spirit, my friend held a posthumous celebration party on Christmas eve in remembrance of her husband who passed away just a month ago at the end of last Nov. Instead of mourning, there is rejoicing. Instead of tears, there is good cheer. Instead of death, there is life in Jesus Christ.

Coming back to the orbituary of Elder Tang Wee Cheng, I am much taken by the eulogy focussing foremost on his station in life as servant of God and his love for God:
"A LIFE OF LOVE AND SERVICE TO THE LORD
A faithful servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, and an exemplary role model who love the church like his own family.
A filial and obedient son, a lovng and dutiful brother.
A devoted husband of 48 years.
A dedicated father who taught his children by example, to walk with Jesus Christ.
A doting grandfather who kissed and hugged his grandchildren at every opportunity.
A servant-leader, endeared as "Mr Wee Cheng" at work.
A truly loyal and genuine friend."
(From the orbituary of Elder Tang Wee Cheng)

And so, may the good God help me to live the life that is pleasing to Him in every way, so that I may stand unashamed in front of the Lord Jesus when I join Him in heaven. And when the time comes for me to go home to Jesus, I would want to have a joyous celebration service too, instead of the usual memorial service. Brothers- and sisters-in-Christ and friends - take note!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Name Above All Names

The beating of drum, gong and cymbals drew me to join a small crowd at the side entrance of Robinsons on the 2nd day of the CNY. I had long associated Robinsons with the western culture and was surprised at the lion dance performance taking place there, in the company of a Chinese "god of fortune", just after the stroke of 12 at noon-time.

According to Chinese tradition, the lion dance is performed to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck and happiness. Chinese mythodology has a story of the lion fighting and frightening away the 'nian' (a fierce man-eating creature) one year and the villagers doing a dance in lion costume to keep evil away in subsequent years (http://home-1.tiscali.nl/~rlion/llniene.htm).

As a Christian, I was taught by a pastor to rebuke evil spirits in the name of Jesus. There was a period of time when I felt some spiritual disturbance at home. Being home alone, the sensation of such spiritual disturbance was terrifying to me.

It was not so easy to pronounce a rebuke aloud, for my fear of evil spirits then was strong. Somehow, mustering courage, I voiced the simple command in the name of Jesus for whatever spirit that was disturbing me to leave my house.

What happened then? Peace prevailed in my heart and mind. The name of Jesus is mighty, above all names, able to save all the time.

"8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
(Philippians 2 : 8 - 11)


While there is healing power in the name of Jesus, we need faith and prayer to receive healing and deliverance. How much faith do we need to have? Faith as small as a mustard seed.

"18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"
20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." "
(Matthew 17 : 18 - 20)

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Free Lunch?

Last week, I cooked dinner for a grand total of 13 persons, not counting 4 who were not able to make it. Quite an achievement for me considering I started learning to cook only since Aug last year and also have not cooked a full meal for such a large group before. Dinner was yam rice which was well-received by my cell group members. Their comment that my yam rice was "very fragant" was an encouragement after the earlier failure of my orkuih (wu tao ko or yam rice cake) which my sis said was "not fragant".

Preparing dinner for the large group took me a whole day, with a lot of cutting and dicing - pork belly, yam, dried mushrooms and shallots. I was blessed with the help of my sis who came back earlier in the late afternoon. My sis was so unused to dicing that her arms ached the next day! 1.5 kg of yam was a lot to dice.

In Jesus' time, dinner was "five loaves of bread and two fish" for a total of about 5,000 men, not counting women and children. Simple fare indeed, but what a multitude that Jesus fed miraculously! The abundance of Jesus' blessing was so great that the people had 12 basketfuls left over!

"17 "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.
18 "Bring them here to me," he said.
19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children."
(Matthew 14 : 17 - 21)


On another occasion, Jesus feb 4,000 persons, not counting women and children, with 7 loaves of bread and a few small fish; and 7 basketfuls were left over (Matthew 15 : 32 - 38).

Jesus provides more than bread and fish for sustenance of our physical bodies. He is the "true bread from heaven" (John 6: 32- 33) whom God the Father gives to all whose souls hunger for "food that endures to eternal life" (John 6 :27).

How much do we have to pay to receive this true bread? Nothing, because Jesus has paid it all at the cross and He gives freely to all who would seek and find Him. So, it is not true that there is "no such thing as free lunch". There is only free will, to receive what Jesus offers. This offer is unlimited, available 24/7 - at all times.

"35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.....
40 For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.""
(John 6 : 35 & 40)

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Record Number

The number 40 fascinates me. No, it's not my favourite number. Yet, it fills me with wonder as I keep encountering it in the Old Testament. Here are some biblical feats which surely surpass the Guiness world records.

Continuous rain at a stretch -
40 days and 40 nights
"12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.
13 So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth...."

(Genesis 6 : 12 - 13)
"12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights."
(Genesis 7 : 12)


God's provision of food for the Israelites in the wilderness -
40 years
"4 Then the Lord said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions....
13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.
14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat....
35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan."
(Exodus 16 : 4, 13 - 15, 35)


Going without food or drink -
40 days and 40 nights
"Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights."
(Exodus 24 : 18)
"Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant--the Ten Commandments."
(Exodus 34 : 28)


"1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry."
(Matthew 4 : 1 - 2)


Clothing that last -
40 years
"2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.....
4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years."
(Deuteronomy 8 : 2 & 4)


Prostrating before God -
40 days and 40 nights
"16 When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you.
17 So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes.
18 Then once again I fell prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the Lord's sight and so provoking him to anger.
19 I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the Lord listened to me."
(Deuteronomy 9 : 16 - 19)


Strength from divinely provided food -
40 days and 40 nights
"3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, Lord," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."

5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat."
6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you."
8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God."

(1 Kings 19 : 3 - 8)