The other Six Days

I've been busy at work this year. In fact, this year more than any other, I have been more aware of why and for what I work and how I act and behave at work.

There's nothing noble about being busy per se. But I've found something worthwhile in work that has been created since the time I was at university and has blossomed as I revisit Ecclesiastes, Proverbs and the NT Gospel that makes sense of this thing that God has made: work. That something is honouring and thanking God in work.

Personally, this two-pronged approach to work simplifies things and makes work fall within my worldview (a Christian one) neatly. So I can conscientiously say I have a Christian attitude when it comes to work.

Because the aims for work and the aims for life are one and the same, I don't have to forget God in the other Six Days of my week. These Six Days are not literal, but find themselves in all shapes and forms in the different lives that you lead. In my life, it means early mornings, or late nights, driving out west, up north, critical care or cruising to the sound of the anaesthetic machine, patient counselling or leaving them alone, working as a team or helping out a colleague. Honouring God, by working faithfully, diligently, excellently, honestly, efficiently and by being a friendly, trustworthy, cheerful and generous worker or colleague, this is most important for me and I hope it is the same for my Christian brothers and sisters.

The workplace is where most of us have the most time, effort, energy to exhibit godliness and attract others to the Good News that saves us; if we don't do it there, we miss a great opportunity to lead others to thanksgiving or praise for God. The LORD is Lord of all, all of the week and all of the heart, mind soul and strength of our beings. This is actually the key to fulfillment in our lives; you must live it out in the knowledge of the God of the NT in order to know what it feels like.

That's why I like mondays.

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I feel that this blog can be balanced by another one on our lives at home. Another related topic is Secular vs. Christian work: what is the difference, or is there a false dichotomy?

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This note was inspired by several facebook notes by a friend from whom I have been blocked (?) or at least I cannot access. Sorry I cannot link this to them, which would have added flavour to this entry.

How to relate to parents, Australian Asian Style | workshop @500, 5th Oct 2008

(image from stock.xchng: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/353243)

I thank God that more than 20 of us turned up to 500 - a fellowship at my church NDCCC - 2 wks ago for that special workshop on relating to [Chinese] parents. There were a couple of friends from other churches who wanted to think through Chinese cultural issues pertaining to serving, it was very nice to see them.

Andrew (our pastor) briefly explained how Confucianism affected and still pervades even our Australian Asian culture. Say... why is it that parents often make their ABC kids play an instrument? Well, this is an example of Confucius' emphasis on the imposition of harmony within a family or social unit. It was helpful to entrench in my mind the five key relationships within Confucian society: Father & Son, Elder & Junior, Husband & Wife, King & Subject and Friend & Friend.

We had an interesting panel, consisting of Aaron, Gabriel, Sarah H. & Priscillla (thanks for prompt replies guys). A spectrum of parent & child relationship was seen. I was quite thankful of some of the reasonable and open parenting styles in particular. It seems like God has blessed us with some pretty godly parents in our congregation.

A small highlight was of course prayer at the end. THere was a common resolve to "honour our parents", even though we had not defined or explored exactly how it happens. But it was clear that the Bible's inference, indeed God's character as the Father, is at stake in how we honour our own earthly parents. I prayed with Dan Wong, and it was clear that Andrew's recommendation had an impression on both of us: that we move from Conforming, Ignoring, Conflicting to Engaging with our parents.

To keep it simple and stupid: we grow from obeying our parents to honouring them as we mature as Christians. We must think hard on how we do that as young/old adults who take our God the Father seriously.

For those who missed it for one reason on another, simply get Andrew's notes or read his blog:

http://andrewhongnsw.spaces.live.com/Lists/cns!EEB36B88C6BA62C4!2454/

Fatherhood by Tony Payne | a review

I have never been a fan of guide books, instruction manuals and in particular self-help books. That is why I particularly loved this critical and practical Christian book on "Fatherhood". It had none of the superficiality, generalisation nor false optimism of many guide books. Tony Payne succinctly goes through the biblical basis of Fatherhood and relevant advice on major Fatherhood decisions of the Christian father. Like its subtitle, the book explains what fatherhood is and what it is intended for.

Firstly, what is Fatherhood?

We live in times that refuse definitions, as if somehow making things clearer or following some pattern is intrinsically dull. Dull is the person who ignores helpful patterns, let alone what the Bible puts forth as true and relevant patterns of fatherhood. I would suggest that even Christians suspend judgement before looking at what the Bible says about Fatherhood, for otherwise it would be prejudice.

I was reminded of how fatherhood consists of creation, provision and responsibility, and authority last of all. These are certain qualities to fatherhood that are littered in the literature of the Old Testament and we find common in many non-Semitic cultures. But they need emphasis, because even these qualities are under attack from ignorance or outright redefinition. For many of us, sex is separate from creation, even sex that results in pregnancy. Add to that, in a current of absenteeism and ridicule of failed fathers/males, the idea of Father as Creator is anathema, or at least trivial. The Biblical centre of family is not surprisingly countercultural, for it lies in the father, for he is the father of his 'seed'. Children, wife, family and household revolved around the father. It is a simple picture of ownership, commitment and personal pride, not the nasty, masterful, chauvinist and manipulative caveman.

Flowing from his "creation" of children, both biological and relational, the father can provide and nurture his children. This deeply offends the non-discriminatory fighter for blind equality, without regard for what provision and nurture actually mean in the biblical sense. Why do many fathers leave after the sex act? Why are abortion clinics usually only filled with females? Who usually makes the decision to keep a pregnancy/fetus/baby (however you want to call life)? Why are hospitals, social security services, schools, tending to presume that children have mothers, and that fathers may not be there? (I know this for a fact from experience, having gone through the process of childbirth in July and having friends in the Obstetrics business and in public education) Our world just does not correlate often times with the biblical picture of father as provider and nurturer. Hopefully from the negativity we know how important care, tenderness, physical support and commitment are for families. Fathers have to be at least a central part of that. And when fathers heed the examples and exhortations in the bible, we will know that when we work, weep, lose sleep, keep patience, that we are only doing our job. The biblical form of fatherhood comes from God the Father Himself, who is our own help, and more than qualified as our model. We can't really boast, that's what I mean to say, when we do our job. Much of the world has failed, it is no excuse for Christian men to follow suit.

Authority should then be self-explanatory. Again, I find myself having to eradicate firstly abusive, fickle, violent and weak images of failed worldly fathers from our minds, before I can promote the loving, persevering, thoughtful ideal of fatherhood as the decision maker and respectable figure of authority. We all know abuses of authority and the damage they cause. But authority can be really, very good and that is the purpose of the biblical pattern: power to protect, provide and nurture. A lot of this may remind us of how fathers need the forgiveness and grace of God: that is the help of God as our own Father, who is our Creator, Provider, Carer and Lord and He has the power to give good gifts to His children who ask.

Secondly, what is fatherhood for?

You might think hasn't Tony already said it? Is there anymore? That is because we often live with a non-Christian worldview. The best advice, along with other few practical situations in family living, is that our end goal for our family is the same as our own end goal: our knowledge, growth and relationship as Jesus' disciples. So, a father who does all things but not lead others alongside himself toward Jesus Christ the Lord, in a sense fails. That is not to say that if our children turn actively away from Jesus that it is our crime. God is the Sovereign one who calls, regenerates, justifies, sanctifies and glorifies the forgiven sinner. We live alongside, teach, feed, befriend and pray for our children and spouse. But this purpose does change our priorities, plans and lifestyles. Tony then gives some short advice on just how fathers can do that, some important examples I remember are:

Remember our own daily walk, that includes our faithfulness to our wives.

Be responsible by making decisions and not leave things to someone else... such as your wife.

It takes courage.

Maintain a healthy personal life.

It really was a great encouragement, this book. I read it as my wife was in labour on July 4th, and I could not put it down. It certainly has helped prepare me and I hope to encourage the fellow guys at church to have a squeeze at it, whether they've been veterans or novices like myself.

4.5 out of 5 for me.

(image sourced from The Good Book company: http://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/Fatherhood-f_1037/largeimage)

Emmanuelle and ... the series begins

Blogging on the arrival of Emmanuelle Hillary Ng has been long overdue. The reason for my delay is that there have been many thoughts, incidences and challenges in these two short months. I could easily write a book on these collected thoughts alone.

I will begin by saying that God has both a sense of humour and a penache for perfect timing. Remember that lovely refrain from Ecclesiastes? There is a time for everything, a time for peace and time for war... The lesson is that God makes everything beautiful in its time. The arrival of Emmanuelle - or Emmie - just goes to demonstrate His lovely timing.

Emmie was 3 wks premature, due to intrauterine growth retardation, or in other words, her belly wasn't growing fast enough and so the obstetrician decided to induce labour 3wks early, whilst things were still within normal ranges. We found out this by "chance" on some timely growth scans. So, a shocked Danielle packed her bags, and rang me in haste on the Wednesday (2nd) at 4pm and told me: "I have got to have this baby tomorrow." I finished what I was doing (reviewing some patient), and quickly asked my boss for some leave. All things were done at just the right time, I got my leave, talked with other registrars, filled my roster and got pay done with admin, all from 4:30 to 5:00pm, not a second wasted.

Then, my mother and sister had accidentally planned to arrive on the morn of the Thursday (3rd), 3wks prior to the due date. Wow, what timing. Another two pairs of hands to help me purchase some last minute stuff as we made the Mater Delivery Suite our new abode for the day. There was so much delay in the Suite, that we got the "prostin" (the induction gel) only by late afternoon. The night went by, the contractions hadn't gained strength, so we got some broken sleep. Emmanuelle was not meant to arrive until the next day.

Now it was the Friday (4th). My father had also accidentally planned to arrive that morning; his intention was only to see my brother off, who was leaving for London/Chicago for a whole year's worth of studies on the Saturday (5th). Would Emmanuelle come at the right time? She did. Dad was only scheduled to come in later that afternoon, Jimmy was to leave early the next morning. All up there was a window of say... twelve hours, in which my whole family would be there to see Emmie for the first time, and for the last time in a year for my brother. According to plan, she arrived at 6:30pm that night, my family and Danielle's family could all gather, to enjoy this child's coming.

God must have been enjoying His precise work all this time. He knew He wanted Emmanuelle to come on the 4th July, Independence Day. Did He know that we had named Emmie after Hillary (the Clinton) as well? Of course He did. There is not even the falling of a hair from our heads that escapes His notice (Matthew 6 somewhere). For Him, to bring Emmanuelle Hillary Ng on Independence Day was no feat at all. We, creatures of mankind, can only witness and enjoy Him, the powerful Creator and Ruler, in His wonderful timing. He does the actual work and He moves all things by His will. He has wrought much greater events in human history, the birth and life of Christ for example, was one such event. Why does Jesus come 14 generations after Babylonian Exile (Matthew 1)? Why does He escape infanticide in Judea under Herod (Matthew 2)? Why does Jesus pick the Passover for His death (Matthew 26)? Why did the King of the Jews choose the height of the Roman Empire as the time to bring about His Kingdom? Why will the Christ delay in returning once again, not as Saviour but as Judge of the world? God does all these things with intention. His timing is simply superb in bringing about His purpose.

In this little way, He has taught me just how skilled He is in all events of history, whether big or small. So begins the series of amazing events around the coming of Emmanuelle.

iQuestion Night 28th August 2008

This is purely an invitation plug for iQuestion night.

It takes time to learn a craft, master a sport, settle in a new home. Guess what, getting to know someone is no different. But the important thing is talking and asking the right questions.

And iQuestion is just that: a night for food, thought and questions about why Christianity is relevant for this iGeneration in which we all live. We need to ask:

"What does Jesus say about 'i', how does He matter to our generation, why can Christians claim that He has the answer to the iGeneration's greatest need"

Where: Will n Dan's place in Wollstonecraft, Sydney

When: Thursday 28th August 2008, 6:30pm

Who: Bring a friend who has questions on Christianity

Reply: Li-Shia or myself by Wednesday 27th August

What: Dinner, Talk and Discussion.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to ask the right questions. Come to iQuestion.

hardwares to give away

I love giving things, especially when they will be used for good purposes.

If anyone is interested please ask me for these items, which I will give away for free. Priorities to Bible College students, ministers, students, etc, i.e. persons in need and who will make good use of these hardwares.

1) LaCie 320 Gb external hard drive, USB 2.0. Designed by R.A. Porsche. Though I could not find the website for this model (superseded by this one), they are pretty similar, except this one is grey. All wires, cables, adapters, software and original packaging are as good as new. It's Mac OS X and PC compatible.

2) Pentax Optio S4 (4 megapixel) digital camera. With 2x 256Mb SD cards, battery, charger and adapter included. I got this in 2003... it has since been superseded by a few, including the latest S12 (12 megapixel) model, but the design is pretty much the same.

3) Other things such as recordable mini-disc man by Aiwa (if you're into collectables), Sony recordable walkman, Nokia mobile phone (8810, 6030), 15-inch notebook case by STM, 1x blue-tooth head piece for mobiles, 1x digital picture key ring for PCs, 1x pair of 80Watt PC speakers...

Please just drop by, email or phone me first, and pick them up for your personal use (just joking about the "good purposes", once it's yours, it's yours), or even better give them to a friend who'll use these things.

 

WYD (6) : What did everyone gain from WYD?

It's been almost two weeks since the final event, the Papal Mass at Randwick on 20 Jul 2008, that saw almost 500,000 people gathered for the biggest Mass held on our continent. I am not surprised by the enthusiastic responses both during and after WYD from Catholic friends. Any public show of numbers is a physical sign of power, support and so rightfulness of the institution of Roman Catholic Church. Here are some of the comments on the Mass itself I have heard from practising mature Catholic friends:

"These Islanders [referring to those performing the Fujian dance in the Mass] they don't feel the cold, they're filled with the Holy Spirit that's why."

"This is the sign of the universality of the Catholic Church."

"Those people being confirmed by the Pope, aren't they lucky? How lucky are they, to be confirmed by the Pope!"

"That must be the Bible [referring to the ornamented Bible presented to the Pope by the Fujian Catholics], it's so beautiful."

"Are they speaking in Spanish [referring to the Spanish Bible reading at Sydney]? I think they are speaking in Spanish." And later on. "I think now it's in French. [when the next reading was spoken in French]."

There were many other interesting vignettes I remember from watching others watching the Mass at work. My department has many Philippinos, and a few Maltese and Italians, who are also practising Catholics.

I think this closing remark from ABC 7:30 report sums up well the effect of WYD on Catholics:

"O'Neill [reporter]: For the Australian Catholics too it has been a show of strength that the church will be hoping to continue long after the World Youth Day celebrations are over.

Ilic [interviewee]: I'm so glad to be involved. It's increased my belief in my faith and I hope it will increase others in the future."

There are many little things I could comment on in each of these. But the best way to do so is by providing my personal take on this Mass (not Mass in general, that I will do in a review on Ray Galea's "Nothing in my Hand I bring" tomorrow).

As a Christian who has mainly biblical knowledge of all those ideas that have been raised by the above comments and attitudes, I felt a huge gap between the God of the Lord Jesus Christ that I know through His Word in the Bible, compared to the God reflected in the lives of Catholics and the practices at Mass and other Catholic ceremonies. Honestly, my knowledge and experience, which I am confident in by the Word of God, is miles away from what we see above. The language may appear the same, but the meaning, significance and heart of my Christianity and Catholicism have little overlap.

From Jesus' promises, the Prophets of the Old Testament and the Spirit's witness in Acts, I know that the Spirit's task is to make known to the world what is from Christ, and call and regenerate people, who were once dead and deaf to the Good News, so as to turn them around to trust in this Gospel of the Lord Jesus. He is not a mere feeling of God empowering. The Power that was read in Acts was shown in God's calling of nations, when people who didn't know Him before and were outside God's promises to Israel, turned and trusted in the Lord Jesus who was appointed by His resurrection to be the universal ruler of all. This turning around to trust in Jesus is the Work of the Spirit, amongst other things.

Jesus' church on earth, commonly called "The Church", is actually a group of believers who confess their trust and obedience to the Lord. Jesus repeatedly warns us to be wary of earthly powers and authorities. In His days it was the synagogue rulers, who for the sake of earthly displays of power and solidarity could actually deny God, His rule and His commands. His kingdom is not of this world, but a heavenly one. On earth Jesus was a suffering, sacrificial, frail "king". But in God's eyes, He'd accomplished the greatest task of dying for sinners and rescuing them from the coming Judgement by His sacrificial death. This was His path to kingship and glory of the Resurrection. But He never had any worldly power or standing. Physical signs of numbers, riches, and most importantly power and influence, is no reflection of God's rule and authority, His blessings or riches. I am glad when many are genuinely confessing their trust in Jesus, but having a mass of people who merely want to belong to a group and have confidence in being a part of a great earthly power brings me no joy. I take heed from the Lord's warning: wide is the gate that leads to destruction, and narrow is the gate that leads to eternal life. Only a few will ever be rejoicing in the Gospel, majority will reject its truth. I don't think Christians will ever be in the majority, though God is the Lord of all nations, and people from every nation will confess Him.

I did not see the honouring of either God's Son or His word in the celebrations of the Mass or in the reflections of my Catholic friends. I see more confidence in proclamation of the Catholic "Faith", certainly Ms. Ilic in her interview believes in Catholicism more than she once did. But is she a more fervent follower of Jesus as a result? Is she surer about her relationship with God won by Jesus than before? The highlight of this whole thing missed the Lord Jesus by a long shot. I don't know if Sydney in general understood more about who Jesus is, what He's come to do, how He shows us who our Father is in Heaven. I honestly did not hear any of this from my Catholic friends. I certainly didn't get the impression from reading from our press or talking with non-Christian friends.

To finish off I will use another vignette. The way the Gospel was read during the Mass is indicative of the blurring of the Good News of Jesus. The reading was from Luke, a fantastic one about how Jesus fulfills the prophecies and longings of Isaiah, an 8th century B.C. prophet: that He was be the One would brings the Good News of Salvation to the Nations. It was sung beautifully in some pentatonic chant, in long, drawn-out phrases. The 'priest' who sang was charming, well-dressed, and hit every note and beat properly. But if I had not known that passage by heart, I would have gained nothing. No other Catholic friend around me understood and or heard clearly the Words He sang, although they thoroughly enjoyed the show. The Good News is buried so far beneath the ceremony that it is muted, made nought and forgotten.

Sydney has not learned too much about Jesus from WYD week. They've encountered wonderful people, young and old, familiar and strange, English speaking and non-English speaking. We all probably had a lot of fun in the process. But my personal wish is that apart from knowing that there is a God, Catholics and others would know the Man who is God better and better. The best way is still by His Word in the Bible, which historically fleshes out the story of this God who became Man, to show mankind the goodness and justice of God, and by His death brings all people in reconciliation to the Father in Heaven, and by His Resurrection promises all people everywhere life under His Lordship, and by His Spirit makes this Word of Truth more beautiful and wonderfully life-changing to those who will simply say Yes to Christ Jesus. Following Jesus is that simple. Please, look further than WYD. Much of Sydney has seen a show of strength, but have gained nought and will soon forget. I hope that won't be you.

WYD (5) : Stations of the Cross and Jesus' Death and... Resurrection?

(image by Tracey Nearmy AAP)

It was a serious, intense and dramatic "reenactment" of the Passion - the last few moments of Jesus' life before the Crucifixion. According to ABC News Online, this was a common ritual practised in Jerusalem by Christians. It is certainly common now across the globe by many Catholics. What is the effect of this re-enactment? What is the crucial message? Is it helping spectators understand the Crucifixion?

It was very effective in drawing crowds in Sydney today. I'm sure in Jesus' time His real death did the same. That was because He was well known for His miracles, teachings and personality. (If anyone did catch a glimpse of the "stations", drop me a comment or email on what you learned about Jesus from it, I'd love to hear.) There was a certain Roman Centurion, who witnessed Jesus' death and he proclaimed something extraordinary: "surely this man was the Son of God." This came from a Roman Centurion as recorded in Mark 15:29. What made him say that?

I am sure not many would have said that just watching the drama today. May be they didn't hear the narration properly. The ABC's report was certainly neutral at best, and lacking in insight at worst. That's why we need the Bible to explain what exactly does His death mean.

If we want to make the Crucifixion worth our time, we would best do what the Centurion of the narrative did: look at why and how Jesus died. Apart from explaining His death ahead of time to the disciples (see Mark 10:32-46, 9:30-35, 8:27-38), Jesus also uttered some amazing scriptural phrases at the Cross to help us spectators to really see. One of them goes like this:

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34, also a reference to Psalm 22)

Another is this:

"Jesus said, 'It is finished.' with that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit." (John 19:30)

These phrases remind us that Jesus' death is at the hand of God, whom you can't see physically and that His death satisfies God's judgement. What a spectator needs to see is themself in the place where Jesus died. It is hard to do so, but we must. For Jesus died for us. It is us who are meant to be dead in our rebellion against God, it is us who are meant to be forsaken or separated from God. Human lives by default reject God and, in effect, His goodness and relationship: to be forsaken is exactly what we ask from God in how we live. But the beauty, yes beauty - and not gory, sadness or pathos - the beauty of the Cross is that the death of Jesus deals with our forsakenness completely. "It is finished," means that our sin and death are finished with on the Cross. It took the Son of God, God's anointed and appointed Ruler aka "Christ", to die in our place to deal with all our sins, for all of us. All us guilty spectators. We are guilty not because Jesus was weak and defenseless, but because of where we stand by default with God, our Judge and Maker. Jesus' death finishes this deal and we are guilt free, and free from judgement.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It certainly is the case in how you look at the Cross. Look properly, look through God's narrative in the Scripture, to find beauty of Jesus' death on the Cross. Here is the Son of God, powerful, glorious and perfect, humbling Himself to death for sordid, common, human rebels, so that we could be forgiven and reconciled with a Holy God. It is God's own love for us in sacrificial service. The Gospel writer Mark saw this beauty. So did the Roman Centurion. See if you agree with them. See through their eyes as you read God's word. You'll do better than the above ABC reporter.

p.s. Why does the Passion or Station of the Cross end with Jesus' death? From what I know, Jesus is no longer dead on the Cross. He is a risen Lord seated in the highest throne of power and glory. That's why Christians call Jesus the "Lord", not the victim or loser. Perhaps it is hard to re-enact something so supernatural and not of this world. Then again, the Catholic Church has many such worldly vestiges, which leads to the next post-script...

p.p.s. Remember Jesus' words: His kingdom is not of this world. It is hard to illustrate Jesus' power at human hands or dramatists. But His power can indeed be seen at work by His Holy Spirit. You can refer to part of the Spirit's work in my talk from earlier this year, and also how the Spirit leads people to follow Jesus as Lord in WYD (2). Otherwise, have a good look at the major prophets and the New Testament to know how Jesus' power is seen today. And it certainly is not through earthly power structures, "churches", human cleverness, humanity or polity. May the Catholic Church and other earthly authorities take heed.

WYD (4) : Beauty of the Earth, Ugliness of Man

Pope Benedict had touched on many social, philosophical and environmental woes facing Australians and the world in his Barangaroo address on Thursday. They include:

1. Reconciliation with mistreated Aborigines

2. World Consumption (Greed) and effects on God's Earth

3. Promotion of violence and pornography on the Internet and other Media

4. Relativism and abandonment of (Absolute) Truths

The Pope is confident in the Youth present. And I think it is in this address, not the opening one I blogged on in WYD (2), that we find the heart of the "solution" that Benedict hinted at, quoting from the Herald:

'The Pope said that since it began in 1986, world Youth Day had given young pilgrims the chance to come together to "deepen their faith in Christ" and return home filled with hope [my italics] of building a "better world". "World Youth Day fills me with confidence for the future of the church and the future of the world," he said.'

Where is the solution? Is it in the Youth? Is it in Jesus? Or a combination: in the Youth who follow Jesus as the Christ (meaning as God-appointed Ruler)? I don't have much faith in most Youth, even if their behaviours exhibited so far are nicer than English Football Fans. There are exceptions, and thank God for them. I do agree that it is basically our selfishness/self-centredness, or sinfulness in rejection of God's rule, that is at the heart of all those issues. Everyone has this problem, and to begin addressing the effects of our sin, we need to deal with sin.

Hopefully, from the previous posting you have an idea on how God deals with sinful human beings through Jesus' death and resurrection. If there is a query please email me. I just hope that the Pope would get a chance to flesh out how Jesus fits in with our central problem. Yes, the centrality of Jesus is always lacking in people's worldview.

But that still leaves the "scars... on the surface of our earth". What do we do and how do we do it? Do we leave it because we believe that this world will pass and give way to a new heaven and new earth, which is promised in the Bible? Obviously not. I won't go into a detailed essay with goals and strategies. But I do wish to offer a general attitude to social and environmental injustices and abuses.

Firstly, Jesus' priority is still His kingdom. And His kingdom is not of this world, though it has effect on this world. His rulership (instead of using kingdom) is over a group of people whose hearts and minds are renewed and transformed by His Spirit. Their lives are progressively, not absolutely, victorious over self-centredness and selfishness.

Secondly, the priorities of Christians is still Jesus' kingdom, mentioned above. Ultimately this world, as beautiful as God has made it, will pass away. The preaching of the Good News concerning the death and resurrection of Jesus, leads all our actions, drives our programs or better, is the goal of our fights against injustices and abuses. God wants, therefore we want, to bring people's hearts, minds and souls back to Himself through the Gospel, or for them to be brought into His kingdom, under Jesus as Ruler or Christ.

Thirdly, the Gospel so transforms our lives as Christians, that there are good effects to be felt and experienced now, that our actions actually promote the real justice, love, beauty, provision - the glory of God's character - physically, socially, relationally, environmentally, etc in our earth. It is a shame that often we are not as "good", "conscious/aware", "active" as non-Christians who do not follow Jesus as Lord, or worse, we are greedier, more selfish and materialistic, wasteful, careless than them. May God forgive us, and warn us about whether we are really being transformed by His Spirit.

Fourthly, our efforts at best, will be temporary, piecemeal, and frustrated by our own sin and that of others. This present world still groans under the weight of sin and its destructive effects. But this does not take away our desire to promote the gospel and adorn it with our good behaviour and provision and care of the the world and its inhabitants. We work all the more harder and show more diligence so that we act as godly caretakers of the world, peacemakers and responsible citizens. This way, the world can testify to our spiritual difference and give GOd praise and perhaps, be moved to want to know the same Lord and Saviour Jesus, whom we profess.

Lastly then, the goal of all our efforts is still the same as God's own: the kingdom of the Lord Jesus. we want people everywhere to be brought under His rulership and 

provision, so that forever they will enjoy His goodness and glory. God's answer to our world's

problems and woes is spelt out: passing of this one and recreation of a new, perfect world without injustice. It will come. We need to wait patiently and work diligently, so that in the mean time, we may bring others in relationship with God through the Gospel, so that they will taste and enjoy the fulfillment of God's promises. In the end, these woes and problems will be satisfactorily and eternally overcome. For now and in the future ever more, we trust in God and His provision through the Lord Jesus.

WYD (3) : The Opening Mass, why didn't I go?

The opening Mass at WYD drew more than 140,000, more than any concert I can remember held in Sydney. What makes this party different to other parties? That it was free-admission, had 4,000 "priests", had as many nationalities as an Olympic event or had an array of popular musicians singing semi-religious sounding songs, or that there was an address by a Cardinal to exhort pilgrims to deny the "flesh"? But like other parties it had the usual elements of numbers, youth, enthusiasm, loud music, minus the usual "vices". Those who usually crave for euphoria and rave probably missed out on the biggest party ever held in Sydney. Undoubtedly, this gathering was a party and it was huge.

The point is that whatever way you dress it up, a Mass is a Mass. This makes it more than just a feel-good, energising and popular event. There is an unchanging element in Masses held by Catholics throughout centuries. The essential and unmissable moment - the climax - of any Mass is the taking of the bread and the cup, which Catholics believe to be Jesus' body and blood. People may have different understandings of and purposes in going to Mass, but essentially, there is an alleged supernatural [comm]union with the Lord Jesus Himself through Mass.

I love parties, but I don't participate in Masses. No matter how energising, uplifting, musical, popular, warming the atmosphere is, the achievement of Mass falls far short from the spiritual experience of [comm]union with the Lord Jesus, which is the alleged purpose of Mass. I could attend, sit in, stand to, listen in, eat, drink and digest all the parts of the Mass, but it won't bring me any closer to God. Because the surest way to have access to God, is by trusting in the finished work of Jesus by His death on the cross and His Resurrection from death, and after that, by following Jesus:

"Christ died for sins, once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." (1Peter 3:18) 

This verse is probably one of the best verses that encapsulates the fact that Jesus' death for pilgrims and non-pilgrims is effective to bring all to God. Understanding and participating in this sort of [comm]union with God, creates the euphoria, more than that, the joy that people grope, experiment and die to find. It is sublime to be able to know for sure that God forgives and loves us and that we will attend the ultimate reunion party held by the Creator, Ruler, Lord of all beauties, joys and good gifts. Jesus' Resurrection guarantees the same resurrected body and power for those in [comm]union with Him. The energy, creativity, passion and pure joy, that is afforded to those who will resurrect as Christ did, will be beyond any current experience that tries to imitate heaven.

Pilgrims, party goers, Jesus-trusting Christians all seek the same thing: participation and communion (I hope I can drop the brackets now) with the divine. I guarantee you, by the word of God, that the surest way to this experience, conviction and knowledge is found by admiring at Jesus' death on the Cross and His Resurrection for us. These two finished works of Christ, brings you forever in the company with the original and one and only awesome God. 

Skip the Mass, save your dollars, but grab your free-pass to a glorious party hosted by God, just mention the code word: "Jesus".

p.s. There are actually more to the Mass which slight the finished works of Christ. I hope to write on that a bit later. For now, I will only say that trusting in Jesus gets you closer to God than attending Mass.

WYD (2) : Pope's address and the Holy Spirit

The opening mass is impressive. So is the theme for WYD: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses" as Acts 1:8 records the words of the resurrected Jesus. This gathering is certainly a show of mass and so popular power. Is this then the sign of the power of the Holy Spirit? We'll come back to that, but first let's read what Benedict actually says in his opening address.

There are actually clear statements from the Pope himself on what he hopes the WYD event will do. Take for example:

"There are still many who have not heard the Good News of Jesus Christ, while many others, for whatever reason, have not recognised in this Good News the saving truth that alone can satisfy the deepest longings of their hearts."

Benedict is concerned with the yearning within many hearts of young and old and declares that the "Good News", or simply the Gospel, of Jesus is the answer to these longings. Indeed he goes on to express his desired outcome from WYD:

"It is my firm belief that young people are called to be instruments of that renewal, communicating to their peers the joy they have experienced through knowing and following Christ, and sharing with others the love that the Spirit pours into their hearts, so that they, too, will be filled with hope and with thanksgiving for all the good things they have received from our heavenly Father."

He longs for Catholics (obviously these are the addressees) to share the joy of knowing Jesus and the love given as a result of the Spirit in their hearts, so that others can have the same hope.

Benedict includes other global concerns such as the environment, poverty, justice and human conflict in his stack of problems and suggest this answer:

"Where can we look for answers?

The Spirit points us towards the way that leads to life, to love and to truth. The Spirit points us towards Jesus Christ. "

On these superficial snippets alone, I am in total agreement with the Pope. I can honestly say that the ultimate work of God's Spirit, is to point people toward Jesus, to submit to this resurrected Lord and trust in this perfect Saviour. If that is the Pope's prayer and understanding of the Spirit, my prayers will echo that.

Many things will come out of this WYD week. Sydney-siders face traffic, they will meet complete strangers and foreigners, they will smell incense if they are close enough, they will form relationships and friendships, and perhaps, some Sydney-siders will begin to ask questions about their own beliefs. We are a post-God, post-Christian city. Most of us acknowledge the big questions and problems in life, but our main answer and purpose is escape through wealth, fine-dine, fun, achievement and even meaningful relationships and friendships. In the end, people are still left to face the same big questions that have been temporarily hidden.

When 150,000 or more strangers, who profess at the least a belief in God, come into our midst, we should not just laugh it off. Most of the world, if they knew about our rejection of God, would probably laugh back at us. From my seat, I do not laugh about our rejection of God. I eagerly pray, that at least this WYD week will jolt slumbering Sydney-siders to think and ponder again at what life is like with God? More than that, is there a truth about Jesus that really satisifes? I think there is, and so does, it appears, Benedict. Look through the masses, the Mass, the bells and smells, as they are irrelevant at best or wrong at worst, and look at the historic biblical Jesus. His life, death and resurrection offers this:

"I have come that [you] may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10)

And when you find truth in this statement, you will have truly experienced the power of the Spirit. Then WYD would have been worth the while.

WYD (1) : World Youth Day begins. What begins?

Finally, it's here. World Youth Day begins in Sydney. But exactly what? From reading any odd newspaper article, such as the website front page this am on SMH, you cannot tell. There are a lot of Catholic pilgrims, some young, some not so young gathered around Sydney. Some of them are obviously passionate about the Pope. Some of them are proud of their nationality, such as the Chileans cited in the article. Some of them are passionate about a whole host of things: "faith in action", "displaying the Holy Spirit", "celebration" as I heard some interviewees say on the Sunrise show. But WHAT remains my question for WYD week.

From gleaning the photos, the interviews and the program, I think the highlight is obviously the Pope's arrival and for people to be able to meet him, or be physically within hundreds of feet of him. Pope Benedict XVI is a learned man, knowledgeable and has his opinion on celibacy, ordination and so on. We can find these from papal releases. So far, the press have actually got through to me that the Pope will specifically apologise for sexual abuse within the Catholic church. A very good thing. Still the question remains: is WYD week just about the coming of the Pope?

In contrast, the Gospel is good news about the coming, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. I say in contrast because the Gospel is clear, one can read it from the Bible and hear it from Bible-believing Christians and see it in action in their lives. I find any single message hard to glean from WYD or the Pope so far. In response to WYD week, I would sum up the person of Jesus from 1Timothy 2:5

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

So there is only one person, who can bring any pilgrim close to God: the man Jesus, who is God Himself. It is the crux of the Gospel. Yet, it makes no clear appearance in any WYD public announcement, pilgrim response or event. What could this mean? I leave that to you guys.

Related to message confusion is the general veneration of a very good, knowledgeable person. The photo insert shows an image of the Pope on the Harbour Bridge. And I'm sure pilgrims are ecstatic about his coming. I feel strangely uncomfortable to see a man, who is not a mediator between men and God, elevated to such superhero status. But more on this in the next post.

the essence of family: book

I don't think we need to convince people that "family" is worth reading and thinking about. Or that in our world many families are broken, torn and unstable. Kirsten Birkett places the family under a biblical worldview, in the flavour of the "essence" series. The concept of family needs particular defence in a place such as Australia. Our government in the past 10 years or so have seen the need to study, review and recommend policies on families, see for example the AIFS website. The Australian family or family groups are under strain, despite wealth and post-Christian "freedoms".

Just why does the world and history at large have used the traditional family as a structure for social organisation? Is it mere coincidence? Is it an evolutionary advantage? Is it mere social construction from an aeon of male-sexist domination? Does the idea of family exist or is it undefinable? These are seemingly fair questions. But, as Birkett argues, the big problem has been the refusal to use the historic, cross-cultural pattern of families (father, mother, children) as the model of comparison in our post-Christian age. As Christians, we know that this pattern is a God-given: it has existed from the act of Creation in Genesis. Yes, Judeo-Christian families have often strayed away from the monogamous type of family, but these were not ideal, or of God's preference. The New Testament pattern of family has a monogamous Husband-Wife structure, and some of us know the significance of this relationship in reflecting the faithful relationship between Christ and the Church. 

Birkett surveys how the refusal to accept a definition of family not only results in policy-making problems (how to support, fund, recognise families) but also in real, physico-social consequences (the effect on children, the hardship of broken or single-parent families). There are some historical myths, or plain lies, on perceptions of the pre- & post-industrial family life. Some of these fall in the realm of Feminist protestations against the role of women as wives, or as a non-wage-earning parent, and what women actually achieved in these families. There is also an interesting section on the homosexual lobby, who despite being a minority even in Asutralia, have been able to sway the debate of family definitions and parenting rights toward an acceptance or championing of same-sex parenting. Some reasonable doubts against the benefit of this type of "family" are the statistics on instability of same-sex relationships (especially male), its impact on children and also the developmental advantage children have from having male and female parents in a stable relationship. Other important discussions include the chapter on IVF and the legal and social complications it has created and the importance of biology in forming relationship, and which is being dismissed too easily today.

Just why has the world throughout its history formed such similar social structures as the family and why has it worked for so long? Could it be that the biblical pattern of monogamous parents leading the household of dependent biological or adopted children be actually a built-in norm? Can our current society reject this by simply labelling this family as "old", "outdated", "bigotted" or "socially constructed"? What are the effects of refusing to see this as a norm? In particular, how are children doing in our society as a result of the loss of this once-recognised social pattern? What are the reciprocal effects of IVF on children and the biological parents? Are women happier and better off as single parents, or full-time careerist parents? Is same-sex parenting a beneficial thing for children?

It might just be that our continual rejection of a God-giving pattern is just that: a rejection of a good pattern. Our social projects, experiments and (re)definitions have not provided us with a safer, happier and more stable society. Is it the pattern at fault? Or is it a hardness to face facts? Our future will be telling. I sincerely recommend the perusal of the first chapter of this book, which describes a workable picture of family. Ultimately, family reflects the personality of a relational God: God the Father and God the Son. The Father loves the Son and the Son His Father. The Father cares for the Son and the Son obeys and honours the Father. And God brings man into His family: the Church is the Bride that the Husband (Christ) cares for and nurtures. Our worldly pattern of families are helpful guides letting us see an eternal pattern, of God the Trinity and mankind, whom He rescues and adopts as His own children. This heavenly Family, owes its being to the Family within God Himself.

But for now, stick with Dad & Mum and the kids in a home where they can turn to and depend on.

Sending One of Us

It's not as sad as sending soldiers off to war, but there is something similar. On Sunday, our church NDCCCS sent our brother Jon Cheung off to South Africa to work with Working Hands, a Christian organisation that offers a wide range of community projects to meet the needs there. Something that Danny said made me think. He mentioned that it was because Jon had been with us so long that he was part of us, and when he goes, all of us are kind of going with him. Jon is leaving for 6months, may God be with him.

But I wondered what we would say if we sent someone who hadn't been with our church for long? Or if we had sent someone who is not from our church originally but have been offered assistance from our church, for example, one of the missionaries our church supports along with other churches in Sydney. What are our emotions, hopes and attitudes in that sort of sending?

I'd hope that our sending of any brother or sister, regardless of our personal friendship or relationship with them, would be filled with generosity, care, concern, prayerfulness and giving. For the gospel called all of us into one big mission: to promote the good news in whatever shape or form. And the gospel has brought about gospel communities (local churches), which are the bodies that send members out to do what these bodies desire. The member and body, ideally, have the one Spirit, compassion, mission and goal (c.c. Philippians 2:1). I haven't known Jon for long, but his being part of my local church, means that my prayers go with him, and so on. What primarily motivates us is the good news: it brings the unity that we feel, it encourages the diversity of ways in which we promote it, here and overseas. This surpasses even long friendships and comraderie from being in the same association, school or [local] "church". The good news thus creates the most sincere and warmest affections in other members of the body who do the sending.

I certainly felt this when attending the commissioning service of Charissa Mak (another friend from another church), who had left for Taiwan recently. There were not only church members present, but also members from her previous churches (including myself), college partners, mission society workers, other missionaries, etc. The common goal was the bringing of good news to the working people of Taiwan. Charissa was one of us and we were sending her. I haven't seen her for a while, let alone attended the same church, but the goal was mine. She is doing in Taiwan, what we here at home wish to do. Though we are not there physically, we are there in Spirit. I do not doubt that Paul had this in mind in Philippians 2:1.

This is how I understand and practise sending. I hope that you would join me in this.

Philippians 2:1-2

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose."

1Corinthians 13 - A Praise of Love [snippets of talk]

"The 1Corinthians 13 passage is the nice passage we hear in weddings, funerals and poetry recitals. But it has been butchered and torn to bits because we often don't look at the context of Paul's words on love. We must ask: Why does Paul tell the Corinthians about love? Why does he do it here? What has been said before and after? The reason why Paul tells the Corinthians about love here is that Paul wants them to be serving each other at church in love. Yes, the reason of love is serving and the target of love is other brothers and sisters at church..."

"So we have to ask what does love look like? If we are to pursue life in the most excellent way we must know what love is and what it looks like. I would suggest that from the profile of love in verses 4-7, love is essentially other-person-seeking. Verse 5 gives me a summary: love is not self-seeking. The object of love is the good of others. If we start from that we can work out a beautiful portrait of love as all other features of love fit under this..."

"But we must not idolise love at this point and turn love into an idea we worship. Neither should we look inwardly at our hearts or around us to our loved ones to find what true love is. Paul and many other Apostles, such as John and Peter, have already given a definition of love. Love is what God has shown us in Jesus. We often call this story of love the gospel. If anyone asks me what is the greatest act of love I have experienced or known of, I would say what John said, that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Or something like... Love is when our creator God pursues us like a Father who's lost His precious Son. Love is when God comes to be with us in our dirt, shame, sin, bondage, disease, sickness, suffering and death in the person of Jesus. Love is when God gave us all of Himself in Jesus in sacrifice, to people who have rejected Him and spat on Him and swore at Him. Love is when Jesus willingly laid down His life for you and me so that we could be free from the guilt and punishment of our rebellious lives. Love is when God paid freely and completely for our debt in sin. Love is when God reconciles the whole world to Himself through Jesus even when we weren't willing to lift a finger to say sorry. Love is when God promises us the hope of new life from this crass and fallen world through Jesus' Resurrection. Love is when God by his Spirit grants us all that we need for living now under His rule as we wait for His return. Love will be when we children of God get to meet Him, the Creator, Judge, Saviour, Friend and Father, face to face forever in His glorious light. Do you wonder why John calls God love and that love and mercy is the character of God to Moses? Brothers and sisters, if you still are not moved by this love, pray that you do, or else you cannot taste the sweetness of Paul's words on living life in love. Our love depends on God's love for us, it starts and ends with Him. And His love seeks our good at His cost..."

"The greatest thing that separates love from other spiritual gifts and characteristics is that love never 'fails' according verse 8, or love never ends. Paul is speaking of the end times here. Love exists love as God has shown us, and the way of love will continue to exist when He returns, and when we live in eternity with Him. The excellent of way does not disappear but reappears and lasts for ever, even beyond this lifetime. Nothing else does, not any of our spiritual gifts. Love, however, does not end. God does not cease to be loving in Heaven, He displays greater and even more love in other ways, just you wait. We've tasted His love on the Cross, we'll feast on His love at the Resurrection, and in eternity we continue to celebrate and experience His love when we see him face to face. This is how we understand 'love never fails' in verse 8..."

"But love never fails, love never ends. It is the only thing that does not cease. Bible studies cease, tongues cease, teaching ceases, talks cease. But God's love and His way of other-person-seeking love, does not end. What we participate now is a part of God's eternal nature. As we seek the good of others now, we experience what God will eternally grant to us in heaven. You want a taste of heaven, love your brother or sister now. This experience I guarantee you from God's word, is a taste of eternity and all its joys. That is why even faith and hope give way to love as spiritual characteristics. As Christians we hope for the coming of perfection, but when perfection comes, we no longer need to hope but we celebrate the consummation of all our hopes. As Christians, we trust and depend on God's promises through faith. But when God's promises are fulfilled, our trust is made complete and we celebrate God's gift of trust to us. But as we love one another because we have tasted God's love, we begin an eternal work, experience and enterprise that never ends. Will God stop showing us His love in heaven, certainly not! Will we stop delighting in the loves shown to us by other children of God, never! You cannot get enough of this love. Will there be less opportunities to seek the good of others in the future, never. You will have all the time, energy, creativity to pour out your love for others and for God. We will find it easier to love, boast in each other, give thanks for each other, serve one another, even as God has served us. Love does not end but continues in eternity as the most excellent way to live with each other to praise of God."

These are some snippets of the talk, click the opening sentence for the link to a google doc. There were quite a few youth at Clay.NSCCCS today. I was again impressed by the presentation of the songs: there were background pictures to every song, not just a coloured page. Roberta even wrote one herself.

BTW I think we are in dire need of confessional songs or songs about repentance and turning back. Anyone interested in writing one with me?

Newsletters for non-full-time ministers or missionaries?

I love reading news and newsletters, especially from friends and family. They make perfect materials for prayer, and are means by which we can care for brothers and sisters, friends and colleagues.

Many of my christian friends move onto full-time ministry, training and missionary work in different countries. And all of them write and report back how they have been, what they have been doing and how we can support them. They often share personal reflections and needs, to a close group of praying friends as they march on in their work. This made me think, why don't lay (full-time secular workers and students) christians publish newsletters or prayer requests as frequently and personally as such friends?

I don't see a good reason. Every christian has been called to be an active servant, through the saving work of Jesus, the Servant King, who by His sacrificial service made us all fit for serving God and His people. And every christian needs the prayers of their close ones. Although I don't want us to spend less time praying for people on the "frontline" of churches, mission fields, bible colleges, training and christian enterprises, I do wish that we could pray with equal fervour for fellow lay christians in ministries and struggles on the "backbench" of homes, offices, hobby groups, departments and so on.

Perhaps I will add a sister blog to bachnwill's randoms: bachnwillndan - serving our home and church in sydney, dedicated to updating our faithful family and friends on how we are, what we are doing and how they can support us. Of course, blogging or writing emails is not required when we just talk and hang out with friends and partners, unlike our christian friends overseas; blogging is just another way of talking.

Comments appreciated : )

p.s. a definite expansion of this blog is promised, titled bachnwillnmedia, where I'll put down my responses to books, movies, websites and other media.

Don't waste your life

It's not very often that I have the moment to reflect, and even change. It's probably the same for most of us. We've got entertainment, work, travels, gatherings and washings; only in between the flickering snapshots are moments for reflection.

I think I got one whilst flicking through John Piper's book, in between a virus, essays, night shifts, antenatal classes, I was flabbergasted once again, by God' glory, our purpose, our lives and His mission.

Piper re-emphasises the point of knowing God's goodness in Jesus and desire for His greatness, name and character are to be magnified by His own will and our lives, as we taste and see that goodness in Christ. But he asks again and again, what kind of life magnifies the goodness of God? The point is the beginning of someone turning toward God and true relationship with Him, but it is also the perennial point of return for the veteran christian. How can I not waste my life by living it for the joy in and magnification of God's kindness and love to us in Jesus?

The faces of wasted lives are easy to recognise: the picking of seashells, collection of motor yachts, the letters suffixed on a business card, the returns from board memberships: all for me, ourselves, all for this life, for a short time. There is nothing that lasts, beyond our temporary moments on this earth, even if exhilarating in its brief allure. I still hear the voice of the man: "I've wasted it, I've wasted it," loudly and clearly from chapter one. So what type of attitude flows from the life that conforms to God's own cause and plans and for our joy and treasure from this life, through much suffering, into the next?

It's probably best for you to read the book. But the chapters on money (how we spend it), on risks that are worth taking, and on missions (mercy to our world in our work, sharing Jesus with the unreached, using our lives as adornment to the good news of Jesus), are all straight forward reads and are the essential application chapters in the book of "Don't waste your life". Click the title for a link to his online version. I definitely think the ideas are worth reflecting about, even for a brief moment.

Without going through the personal events related to the reading of this book, some of my personal reflections on money and missions include:

Why not take risks in giving? God provides, He does not promise that the sparrows will grow fat (Matt 6:26), but He promises enough. And even if not enough, we know Him who gave up His riches and even His life to die for our sins, so that we may become rich through HIs poverty. This knowledge frees us to give what we have, so that others can share in the riches that we have in Jesus. Jesus spent a lot of his conversations on topics related to money, and our spending shows where our heart is. How is my church, my family, my friends or my country going in christian giving? There is much to be learned from the greats, like C.S. Lewis, even Warren Buffet, who both live(d) frugally, because they were satisfied. Lewis was satisfied in God, so can we who have hope.

What conflict is there between working in secular field and on the mission field? Nothing. No significant difference at all. God's purpose for whomever in Him in whatever vocation are one and the same: to promote the grandeur of Him in the good news of His Son Jesus, who has come to be the Saviour of the world. So those working within unreached people groups are doing our work and we are their senders. The unreached are ours, they are our concern. Who are our concern at work or at uni? Our friends, most of whom are not in relationship with God. Our work speaks of our relationship with God, and our lives speak twice as loudly. My diligence, honesty, humility, care (and doctors often don't), obedience, these can all speak well of the good news and adorn the belief we have. The goal is one and the same: magnifying the gospel's beauty. So our secular work is equally important, when we have this attitude, as non-secular work. Which is harder, neither of course. Which is more worthy, both are, if our purpose is for the one and the same gospel.

What conflict is there between spiritual needs and physical needs of the needy? Nothing of significance again. All their needs are our concern, we care for friends not only for their physical, emotional and personal needs, we also meet their need to have a satisfying and lasting relationship with God the Father, through His Son Jesus. There is no difference overseas either. Medical missions, aid, political structures, economic provisions must come alongside biblical teaching, godly living, family lifestyles under God, evangelism of the needy and rebellious. It is simple to pitch one against the other, whilst losing the purpose and blurring their complement natures. Perhaps, we do so for our wicked self-justification. Only God knows.

There were many more uplifting portions, others will gain more than I did. But I hope, that these moments of reflection take root, firstly in my, and also in all of your, lives. We have but one, let's not waste our gift and our opportunity.

p.s. Many other take issue to John Piper's arguments. So do go back to the Bible and flesh out the resounding ideas there.

Talk on John 14: The Holy Spirit

Just a link to a talk at NSCCCS (an australian-asian church in gordon) on the Holy Spirit.

http://docs.google.com/doc?id=df75wq87_25g6d958fk

I was most encouraged to see an old acquaintance who is now doing part time GP work and youth pastoring at this Church. Hopefully this is something I can do in the future. Life's getting on and the Bible keeps telling me that time is short, so I need  to make every opportunity to make Him known in every way.

Also, a promise to bring more photo images and interesting links to this blog.

My Favourite Treasurer

This is a typical non-reply from Wayne Swan during parliamentary sitting today. Seriously, he doesn't answer the questions, he can only get personal, and much of what he says makes no sense. May God help us, and help me to keep praying for such incompetent leaders, who can't admit their short-falls. Not everyone can understand economics, but when you don't, then you should not try to be a Treasurer, there are many other good ministries, such as Forestry, Health, Ageing, Sport, or if you like, even join a Union. Good leadership is service, knowing your strengths, and your weaknesses. It is also a generosity of heart to admit your limitation and let someone else do the job. I hope Mr Swan turns for the better, and not just become more embittered. But in the following speech, we can see that:

1) He does not understand that inflationary expectations and strong economy can cause inflation.

2) He keeps blaming INFLATION on the previous Liberal government, but claims Job Growth figures for Labour (how can a government of 2months cause that much job growth)

3) Does he think of international pressures on our economy?

4) When he has nothing to say, he gets personal. (Well I feel better for calling him names [deleted in hindsight]... How weird and wonderful our world is that select such leaders?)

5) Could we stop blaming the Liberals (check his webpage: http://www.swanmp.org/) and just get on with it?

This is part of the transcript from HANSARD, www.aph.gov.au:
NB Member for Wentworth=Mr Turnbull; Lilley=Mr Swan.

"Mr TURNBULL (2.19 pm)—My question is addressed
to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to the
statement of the Reserve Bank Governor, Glenn Stevens,
on 11 December last year when he said:
When people expect prices to rise rapidly, they bring forward
purchases, put up their own prices, demand higher wages and
so on. That helps to create the very inflation they expect.
Does the Treasurer accept that his statement the day
before the Reserve Bank met in February that ‘the inflation
genie is out of the bottle’ served to fuel inflationary
expectations? Does the Treasurer really understand
what he is doing to the Australian economy?
Mr SWAN—I thank the member for his question.
No, I do not accept that at all. I absolutely do not ac-
cept that. We have a plan to modernise this economy.
We have a plan to deal with the legacy that was left to
this government by the previous government—the
highest inflation in 16 years. Inflation just did not suddenly
commence at 9 am on 26 November, as the
member opposite would pretend. There is an inflationary
problem in this country and, when we see a problem,
we have to correctly identify that problem and we
have to deal with it, and that is what this government
has been doing. We have been dealing with the inflationary
problem left to us by those opposite by putting
in place our five-point plan, by reining in reckless expenditure.
We had the report from the Treasury the
other day which identified the fastest increase in
spending in any four years in the past 16 years. Of
course, the member for Wentworth, as usual, went into
denial. The member for Wentworth is in denial about
the inflation rate. He cannot agree with the ABS. He
cannot agree with the RBA.
...
Mr SWAN—The figures are good news, particularly
for those Australians who have good jobs. We all
celebrate that. We are the party of jobs. It goes to the
very core of our existence. We would never do what
those opposite do, which is put in place legislation like
Work Choices, which ripped away wages and working
conditions. We on this side of the House have some
core beliefs—unlike those on that side of the House,
who have no core beliefs anymore. So we celebrate.
We celebrate the jobs figures today. An extra 36,700
jobs were created in February—a very solid increase in
full-time employment and very good as well in the
states of New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.
We celebrate those outcomes.
...
Only yesterday we had the member for Wentworth
give a speech—a spectacular speech. There were 4,000
words in that speech but not one positive alternative
policy or solution—not one. There were 4,000 words in
that speech, but he could not come up with one positive
policy alternative—and we know why: he does not
have a plan to control inflation. He has not got his eye
on what is going on with inflation. He has not got his
eye on what is going on with productivity. He has not
got his eye on anything. He has one plan. It is a plan
for the Leader of the Opposition—a question of when.
Put him out of his misery and take him out."

Our blessed NSW government

I know that God tells us clearly from the new testament that Christians should obey our government. More than that, we are to serve them well, pray for their governance, administration of justice and regulation of society as they are representatives of God's government of our world.

When I travel on Epping Rd everyday, I find it really hard to give much thanks for our NSW government. Yes, the likes of Sartor, Iemma, previous transport ministers, previous Premiers, the whole Labour contingent. I have no problems obeying, of course I pray for them, that they would come clean, stop graft, do some frigging honest planning without rubbing each others' backs or filling in each others' pockets. I honestly hope they fear God, because every check they sign, every meal they have, every conversation within their party or privately with constructers, building companies, water desalination planters, every single corporate rep... every single thing they do will be brought to light on Judgment Day and they will have to give an account.

Why are our earthly masters often such smooth talkers, slick promoters and often greedy pretenders? Jesus and Paul warned us of these sorts, within the church, in our world and of course in our governments. I'm so thankful for any decent leader out there, because they make our jobs as godly conscientious citizens a joy.

Just to finish off on the injustice of Epping Rd. Our government is so dumb as to reduce 3 functional lanes to 1 in order to divert us into tolled-tunnels. We have a widened foot path on either side, on which not even bikes can go on (someone correct me on this)? What a crock.

I'll write something on the Royal North Shore Hospital head-rolling farce another night.