A friend I really admire recently shared the following medley of object lessons with me. I was very blessed by the beautiful imagery of Christ being involved in every single step of our spiritual growth and journey until the very end. I’d like to share it with you so that you may also be blessed!
My friend wanted to test out the Tinder app so he created a profile. He was surprised by how many outspoken and entitled people are out there. Many of them listed requirements that ranged from fairly reasonable to outrageous. One of the ladies listed “no poly” as a requirement. My friend was taken aback as he is Polynesian but he later found out that it actually meant polyamorous.
My childhood friend, Thian, who I knew since elementary school in Bangkok, visited me from Canberra recently. We had some good catching up to do and spent much of our time in our usual light-hearted talks. It is such a blessing to have genuine friends who you can catch up with after a long period and still feel like you’ve never spent years apart.
I play for a futsal team regularly on Tuesday nights. Apart from being my favourite type of cardio, it is also a great way to build good friendships with teammates that are outside of the church circle. Everyone in the team is courteous and most of the time show excellent sportsmanship. Most of the other teams we play against show a similar attitude.
But there is always bound to be a team that does not adhere to the shared code of sportsmanship. And our league has one such team. The players have very limited skills and try to make up for it by playing dirty and rough. It gets even worse when they are trailing on the scoreboard. They resort to elbowing, kicking of legs more than kicking of the ball, and constantly complain to the referee.
During my current visit to Thailand with brother Tshepo, we’ve had the chance to have brief devotionals together each morning. The topic of Naaman, commander of the Syrian king’s army, found in 2 Kings 5 came up one morning. We were discussing how he had to really humble himself and dip into the not-so-appealing Jordan River seven times to receive healing. We reflected on how hard it would have been for a person with such high position to tame their pride and go through with the instructions he received.
I then remembered a sermon I had heard previously which focused on how a lowly Jewish servant girl played quite a role in directing Naaman to the prophet of God, Elisha. Not much was said about this young girl apart from the fact that she was a captive and served Naaman’s wife. When she made her suggestion, her words were not taken lightly; her master took her seriously. It shows what sort of character and integrity the girl was known for in that household.
Throughout the Bible, it is evident that the way God’s people lived their lives and interacted with others really ministered to those who had limited knowledge of the living God. From Joseph in Egypt to Daniel in Babylon, their lifestyle and integrity made it possible to reach those who would have been very hard to get through to.
Christ also showed us through His life how to reach out to others in whichever sphere of influence we are placed. “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, “Follow Me.”” (Ministry of Healing, p 143).
May we, like the young Israelite girl, fulfil our purpose even when we are placed in unfavorable situations in our life and bring glory to God above.
I began to learn about NEWSTART since I was much younger. NEWSTART is an acronym well recognised in the Adventist circle. Each letter represents the basics to obtaining or maintaining a wholesome lifestyle and good health.
In this post, I’ll just be talking about the first letter, N, which stands for Nutrition. We are admonished in 1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” I’m not going to lie; for the majority of my life I was eating for myself and what I felt like eating. Even this current vegan stint that I am on had selfish motives as well. But I would like to share the journey so far.
My workmate, James, joined my gym about a year ago after he consistently walked with me on my lunch time strolls. He mentioned during one of our workouts that we should go vegan for three months. I was very surprised that this came from an Islander who is a big fan of chicken, goat curry and eggs! I was also humbled; the plant-based diet should be what I consume on a regular basis considering all the health benefits, sustainability and the health principles that I already know as an Adventist. It wasn’t a hard decision; I agreed to give it a go.
This is my 8th week on this diet and these are some things I have noticed: I haven’t lost any strength at the gym. In fact, James and I have hit quite a few personal bests during this diet. We have both lost body fat while maintaining muscle mass. Mentally, I have experienced clarity of thought and calmness in my daily interactions.
So overall, it has been a very positive two months. Being in harmony with God’s health principles has been a real blessing, similar to the experience Daniel and co had in Babylon. Both James and I plan to continue the plant-based diet after these three months are over (travels and festive seasons will be the most challenging but that’s another struggle for another time).
I hope you can also take advantage of the benefits of a plant-based diet. This experience is much more enjoyable because we did some prior research on having a variety of delicious dishes and getting all the necessary nutrients. Meal preparation is crucial to succeed here and having an accountable friend/group really helps. Let me know if you’re keen to give it a go, I will be happy to share any knowledge I may have or direct you to a good source.
I recently spent about a week in the South Island of New Zealand. The epic display of natural beauty left me breathless throughout our roadtrip from Nelson to Queenstown then back to Nelson. I remember seeing Lake Pukaki for the first time and it was so unreal! It literally looked like someone had Photoshopped and enhanced the place.
There were many other “wow moments” throughout the trip but one stood out for me: the bridge jump at the Blue Pools. I had packed some swimwear for that day just in case I felt like swimming but jumping off the bridge was definitely not on the agenda. The sun was not out so it was on the chillier side of the scale. Due to these lighting conditions the “Blue Pools” appeared greenish – still super gorgeous. I had a quick feel of the water with my feet and it was freezing cold so, in my mind, swimming was highly unlikely. My good friend went ahead and jumped without much drama. Then I saw some kids jumping as well. It looked so fun and the thought that I might not be back at this beautiful place for a while helped me make the decision to give it a go.
The last time I wrote for the blog, I reviewed the documentary “Is Genesis History?” which solidified my faith in Genesis’ account of creation through various scientific evidences. This time round, I would like to recommend another documentary that looks at the next book of the Bible, Exodus, from an archaeological point of view.
I came across “Patterns of Evidence: Exodus” on RightNow Media, thanks to the Melbourne City Adventist Church for providing access to this excellent website which has such abundance of good Christian material. My friend Shaun dubs it the “Christian Netflix” and I must agree with the comparison.
The director, Tim Mahoney, shares how he grew up learning about the Bible stories including the amazing account of the Israelites’ escape from Egypt. Almost every aspect of the Exodus seemed extraordinary so he wanted to see if there are any evidences to back up the whole account. The journey takes him different places across the world to interview many archaeology and Egyptology experts. Tim came across both discouraging and reassuring interviews and evidences in his journey. But ultimately, it was astounding to see that items dug up from thousands of years ago could reveal so many mysteries and be in such sync with the Biblical accounts.
God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). I find this text very true spiritually, morally, and other areas in my own life. But the Word of God is also used as a trustworthy history book for even self-proclaimed agnostic David Rohl, who is extensively interviewed during this documentary. New evidences continue to reinforce the Bible’s accuracy and reliability.
I hope that you will have some time to check this excellent documentary out. You will definitely be blessed from viewing it just like I was. If you do get a chance to watch it, let me know what you think about it and which part had the biggest impact on you.
Thank you, Ben, for bringing up the subject of creation for last week’s blog. While we are on the topic, I would like to briefly recommend a documentary I recently watched called “Is Genesis History?” by Thomas Purifoy.
Without too many spoilers, let me walk you through my impression of the film. To start off, I have to mention that it was visually very easy on the eye. The flow was great and the graphics were not overdone like some of the other documentaries I have previously watched.
More important than the visual appeal is the value and substance the film offered. It challenged the popular Darwinian paradigm regarding the origin of species that is widely accepted today. It also showed how the biblical account of earth’s early history made so much sense in many aspects. Leading experts in various fields ranging from geology to palaeontology present their evidences that fit together neatly like a jigsaw puzzle.
The highlight for me was when the complexity of the DNA was discussed. As someone who works in IT, it is easy to understand that complex coding is required for a sophisticated program to run. And how DNAs are designed blows my mind. The intelligence found in them is just phenomenal.
The documentary establishes some very solid points to challenge the conventional worldview of how we came about but there will be those that readily dismiss the idea of our Creator and that Genesis is factual. It reminds me of Isaiah 29:16 (NLT):
How foolish can you be? He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay! Should the created thing say of the one who made it, “He didn’t make me”? Does a jar ever say, “The potter who made me is stupid”?
It is also an exhortation for those of us who think we are wiser than our Creator. I struggle at times and try to do things my own way. It is a great reminder for me to submit to the Master Designer and the Potter.
So, is Genesis history? You will have to get your hands on this fabulous film and conclude for yourself. You will not be disappointed. I will also be very happy to lend you my copy of the DVD.
As I was browsing the news headlines recently, I came across the story of Steve Stephens, a man who streamed live Facebook footage of him randomly shooting an elderly gentleman in Cleveland, Ohio. Steve walked up to the gentleman and said “Found me somebody to kill… this guy right here.” He proceeded to shoot the man in the head, killing him instantly.
The son of the murder victim gave an interview to a television network about how his dad was a good man who would not hesitate to give someone else the shirt off his back. During the same interview, the man’s sister was hugging him while resting her head on his chest. She managed to squeeze out a few words, saying, “I feel like my heart is gonna stop…” That was all she could repeat.
My heart broke seeing the elderly gentleman helplessly raise his hand to shield himself from the gunshot. It broke again when I saw the grief his family was going through. My eyes started to get teary and, before I knew it, I began to sob like a baby (I haven’t cried like that in years). How disgraceful it is that we have diverted so far from the original plan of the Creator. How far humanity has fallen.
This Easter season, we commemorate the sacrifice of Jesus through His death on the cross. We know He didn’t have to die. We know that as sinners, the human race could have been left to the doom we collectively chose. But through the physical anguish and crushing weight of all our sins, He proceeded to give His life for us all. He must have had the elderly gentleman who was shot in cold blood in mind when He made the choice to submit to the cross and eradicate sin once and for all. He must have had the Syrian children who were gassed in mind. He must have had victims of genocide, victims of slavery… victims of all sin in mind as He executed the plan of salvation despite feeling so separated from His Father to the extent that He cried out “Why have You forsaken Me?”
Later in the day, I came across a clip one of my friends shared on Facebook. It was a video of a group of youth singing in front of Jesus’ empty tomb. The words go “Hallelujah! You have won the victory. Death could not hold you down. You are the risen King. Seated in majesty. You are the risen King.” I began sobbing like a baby again. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can all confidently look forward to the resurrection day when we’ll be able to say, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthian 15:55 NLT). When we see the King enthroned in majesty, we’ll finally witness the realisation of that great and comforting prophecy which reads, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (Revelation 21:4 NLT)
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
