braingoboom

Thanks
I give thanks
Not only for
What I have
But also for
What I will
Soon come
To find.

I give thanks
For trials
And tribulations
That have to
Be overcome.

I give thanks
For the test
That must
Be passed.

I give thanks
For happiness
And pain.
No matter the
Emotion - I
Give thanks
Just the same.

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Sunday, September 13, 2009

Yes, it feels good to be let out of that black hole which is Sungei Gedong camp.

Yesterday we had Livewire again. It feels good to be back in the swing of things. I admit I did feel a little detached being away for 2 whole months due to NDP preparation. So now that I’m going back more regularly I do feel like I’m getting back in the ministry and finally starting to make myself useful again. Led worship for the first time yesterday! It was quite a harrowing experience. Thank God for Javan, who was very well-versed with the guitar, and helped to cover up some parts where I sort of screwed up. Nevertheless, I think I did okay, so Noah escapes another trial.

Today I went to Minori with the 3R people. Charissa is finally leaving Singapore next week and I really feel excited for her. When will it be my turn? Haiz.

Okay, since I don’t lead a very exciting life, I shall blog about what’s happening in the news. On Monday I opened the ST and read an article by a certain Jonathan Kwok about Christianity. In it, he talked about the Great Commission that Christians were expect to convert everyone they knew, that he believed that it was more important to love thy neighbor and accept them for who they are rather than try to convert them. What really got alarm bells ringing in my head was when he mentioned that even though he professed to be a Christian, he found ‘nothing wrong’ in dating a non-Christian girl. (I can imagine Ps. Kenny foaming now)

Now in defence of my faith, which dear Mr Kwok subscribes to as well, let’s look at where he’s wrong:

“Christians are expected to convert everyone, but I think we should just love our neighbours as they are”

19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." – Matt 28:19-20.

That is the Great Commission. Yes, we want to see our friends and family come into the faith. But I can’t stand the negative connotations of using the word ‘convert’. Christianity isn’t about forcing or compelling people to believe in Jesus. God doesn’t even need us to worship Him, He could call the stones to worship Him if He really wanted to. There is no grand conspiracy, no great scheme to turn the whole world into Christians. It is a personal choice, it is a relationship between an individual and God. No Christian is going to put a knife at a non-believer’s throat and tell him to say the sinner’s prayer or else. In fact, there are people out there dying for Jesus Christ, they have experienced guns pointed at them, people demanding that they renounce Christ.Who's doing the forcing now? Having said that, the writer seems to be practicing a selective faith, he embraces the Great Commandment to love thy neighbour, but seems to ignore the Great Commission. There is no middle ground in Christ. There is black and there is white. As a Christian, we cannot say we believe in this part of the Bible but disagree with another part. That is contradicting and ultimately undermines our faith.

“I see nothing wrong in dating or marrying a non-Christian girl”

oh I see a lot of wrong in that. “ 14Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” – 2 Cor 6:14

it’s plain for all to see. Paul tells us not to be yoked (joined, linked) to unbelievers. It is a simple religious and practical principle that Christians in most churches are expected to follow. If Jonathan does indeed fall in love with a non-Christian girl and marries her, that is certainly within his legal freedom to do so. However, it is practically difficult for a Christian to continue in his faith if he is in a relationship with a non-believer, since they share different values and commitments. How will he prioritise his time? Dates first or ministry first? How about when they get married? Will she be happy about him giving 10% of his income to the church if they really need it for that fabulous beach vacation? The point is simple: two people who share such different values will not be able to develop and sustain a healthy, fruitful relationship. Hence, it will be better that a Christian finds another Christian as his partner, since they have the same values and priorities. This is something I feel strongly about. Again, we are seeing selective faith here.

I can’t stand the anti-Christian rhetoric that is coming out from the newspapers recently. Since the PM talked about religious harmony in his NDP Rally Speech, the media has deemed fit to release a slew of articles about Christians imposing their values on others and challenging some key tenets of the faith, sometimes even using Biblical verses to question if Christians are veering away from what they believe. I hope someone says something about this. It is a subtle form of propaganda, how does SPH expect me to trust their publications?

In other news, I was really sad to read about the two boys who jumped to their deaths because one of them apparently managed to convince the other that they had to kill themselves to go to hell and become slayers to save the world from demons. I mean, the very thought that by dying they could save the world is preposterous to begin with, but it shows how vulnerable young minds are. As a youth leader, I’d feel devastated if any of my youth were to die, more so if they do so in such a fashion. I feel sad that they chose to dabble in such practices, and I feel a great sense of pity that two lives were extinguished in such an unworthy fashion so prematurely.

Got a medical appointment at CMPB early tomorrow, so I think I will sleep early tonight (at least, not at 1 or 2am)

this alabaster jar
is all i have of worth
i break it at your feet Lord
it's less than you deserve
you're far more beautiful
more precious than the oil
the sum of my desires
and the fullness of my joy

10:24 pm