The Most Anti-Christian Thing

“What’s the most anti-Christian thing you ever did?” My debate trainer asked me. He knows I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t curse, I don’t sleep around, and I don’t try to get fresh with girls. He just had to ask. I didn’t answer his question.

Let me rephrase the question. “What’s the most anti-Christian thing you would do, if you had the chance?” Now, that will be more interesting. I like hypothetical questions.

I think I have an answer to that one.



































I will go out with this girl…

Yeah. I’d ask her to the prom. And create the biggest scandal that will follow me for the rest of my life!

Don’t get me wrong. I won’t do bad things. I’d just take her to the prom, that’s all.

It’s actually quite plausible. To see how it’s done, let’s go back a few hundred years to when I was in Form 6.

School swimmer, Swimming Club President, Hargreaves House captain turned Student Advisor. In Student Administration, Deputy Head Warden. And most of all, 6th Form Society President.

Orientation Ball. One of the highlights of Form 6 life. The ball comes around just some time after the lower sixers come in. There’s always a lot of hype about who’s going with who. Guys love the opportunity to ask the lower six chicks out. As tradition seems to hold it, the 6th Form President will take his girlfriend to the ball.

I still remember how it was like. My committee and I would be busy planning the ball. Hotel booking, check. Theme, check. Program and emcee, check. Senior polls, check. Invitations to VIPs, check. Decorations, check. Girl to bring… No check. I almost wanted to form an ad-hoc committee to help me out with that.

Avril is not a lower sixer. She will be in my same batch, different class. Can’t have her around in the same class. Surely I can’t get anything done. I wanna be absorbed in my work during class. I’d be sitting right at the back, cracking my math questions, oblivious to whatever the teacher is doing in the class. My friends will come look for me when they’re stuck with their math. And I’d take that as a welcome break.

I’d prefer not to have Avril in my class. From the next class, she will think I’m some kinda A-star model student. But not exactly. Because I’ve got quite an attitude. I walk in the class and walk out anytime I want, using my responsibilities in holding multiple posts as my pass. I go out early for recess. I come in late after recess. I sleep in class when I’m too groggy after a heavy recess. And when I’m not doing any of those, I’ll either be too absorbed in math, or out doing my own thing.

I’ll keep Avril at just the right distance. Not too close, to let the mystery disappear. But not too far, to let her get out of sight.

Every once in a while, in between periods or when the teacher is not in class, I’ll walk over to her class, and pretend to see some other guy in the class. While making small talk with him, I’d throw a few glances at her, smiling slightly maybe, but I won’t say a word to her. She’ll have to guess if the slight smile was purposely thrown at her, or if the smile just came out from my conversation with the other guy and I so happened to look her way.

I will pass her by the corridor every once in a while. I’ll acknowledge her, say a quick hi or something, and smile a little more intentionally at her. I’ll strike up a little conversation with her, or just make a passing remark.

At other times, when I’m seeing no light in my math problems, I’d go and pay “the other guy” in Avril’s class a visit again. I’d crack jokes with him, laugh until our faces turn red and our eyes become wet, providing some entertainment to those who sit nearby as well. Avril will be secretly listening a few desks away, quietly smiling to herself at my humor.

You may be wondering how come I get to go from one class to another so easily. If you know the school I come from, you’d understand that it’s no rare occurrence. In Penang Free School, it happens :)

Avril would probably be hanging out by the field after school with her classmates. I’d be doing my Hargreaves Student Advisor thing in the field, yelling out orders, training the athletes, whipping up the softies to turn them into real boys.

I’d be doing the hurdles. Arranging the hurdles fussily at their positions, I’d limber up, make a run-up towards the hurdles, leap over the hurdle, land and take 3 more strides, leap over the 2nd hurdle, keep running, letting out a puff whenever I clear a hurdle with near-skin precision, all the time keeping my eyes straight ahead at the next hurdle ahead of me. After I clear the last one, I’d slow down to a jog, turn, walk back, and do it all over again. “More power. Need more firepower in my legs,” I’d be thinking to myself as I walk back to the start, staring at the ground, my hands on my waist, a slight frown on my face, fixed with a look mixed with tiredness from exertion and dissatisfaction with my pace.

In one of the runs, after clearing the last hurdle, I’ll take an extra long walk towards where Avril is hanging out with her friends. As I pass her by, I’d do a little strut that is obvious enough to let her know that it’s specially designed for her, but not too conspicuous to make it look like a showy attempt to catch her attention. She’d notice, smile, then look away. She’d be looking at me again a few seconds later. But I won’t be looking back, because I’ll be heading back to where the hurdles are, staying focused, muscles glistening with sweat under the sun.

As the Orientation Ball creeps closer, I’ll hear news about how all the other guys are making their moves for her. I’ll hear the guys saying that she’s turning all of them down, and that she’ll going with her girl-friends. I won’t be anxious or get all insecure. I’ll think of a way to drop my line. Should I do it without making it look too obvious? Should I do it like a casual thing, so that it won’t look as though I’ve come totally out of the way to ask her, and come across as awkward? Should I ask her right after I’m done with something, or just when she happened to be passing by? Should I go over to her one day in the field, all hot and sweaty, and ask her out to the prom?

Ah, I think I won’t be like that. I’d go direct.

One day, while the teacher is still in Avril’s class, I’d go and interrupt her class. I’ll make sure that she is in. She is probably bored, drawing doodles in her notebook. I’ll knock on the door, and go straight to the teacher. I’ll ask permission to see a student, just as I’m always familiar of doing.

“Sir, may I see Avril for a minute please?”

“Ok,” the teacher will say, without taking his eyes off the blackboard. He won’t even ask why, because I’ve always been known for going around on “official business”.

“Avril!” I’ll call out. She’ll look surprised, pause a while, put her pencil down, and stand up from her desk. I’ll turn and wait for her at the corridor outside the class.

“What’s up?” She’d ask, when she is standing face to face with me.

I’ll look right into her eyes, with a slight smile that she has seen many times before, and say:

“Hey, will you go to the prom with me? It will be really great if I could take you out as my date.”

I’ll just continue looking at her as she mentally replays what I just asked her. I’ll say nothing else, and wait coolly for her to respond. After a short while, a smile breaks across her face, and she says, just barely above a whisper…

“Yes.”

Then, I’ll go, “Cool! I guess I’ll be seeing you next Saturday then.”

“Yeah. You’ll pick me up at 7?”

“Err, no… That will be a bit too late. I got to make sure that things are up and running at the hotel, so we can’t afford to be fashionably late. Pick you up at 6:30 then?

“Ok, that will be nice.”

“Alright. I’d better go back to class.” Then I’ll just turn and walk to my class, without looking back.

As my friend Christine Siew once said, I miss the times when we come to school and look forward to seeing someone we have a crush on. You’d feel happy whenever that person is around. You’d feel sad if that person is absent from school. You’d wonder what that person is doing when that person is not around. Your heart beats a little faster when you see that person walking by. And you get nervous for no reason.

You may be surprised when you’ve read all this. You’ll ask, “Joshua, will you really do such a thing in reality?”

Hmmm… That’s quite another thing to think about. Here’s what I’ll do.

During Avril’s free time, she may have stumbled across my blog and read this entry. She will email me, and we’ll probably correspond a little. One day, Avril may be doing a gig in PISA. She will be arriving at the Penang International Airport. She asks me if I can pick her up from the airport, and take her around when she’s done practicing with her band, and spend some time with her.

I’d say, “Sorry Avril, but I can’t do that.” And I won’t give any explanation. I’ll just leave her wondering. Maybe she won’t wanna correspond with me anymore after that. But it will be ok.

Because... She’s just NOT the one I’ve been waiting for :)

Note to younger readers: I am in no way propagating unequally-yoked relationships. I do not believe in dating non Christian girls. And I do not have Avril Lavigne in my head 24/7. This entry is based on my hypothetical answer to a hypothetical question of the most “anti-Christian” thing I would have done if I had the chance to do it. Contextual reading is required for a full understanding.

If I can add a few more words: NEVER think that there’s anything more to a crush. You know what a crush is? A crush is an emotional hallucination of a person you fancy. Not rooted in reality, a crush is a figment of your imagination about someone (as exemplified by this post). In other words, it’s your own invention of a fictional personality to fit your own desires – that person may be real, but the character is what you made it up to be.

So, don’t get crushed by a crush. But if you do, then go drown your sorrows in an Orange Crush.

If you’re still in school and you wanna borrow some ideas from what I could’ve done a few hundred years ago, then be my guest. Results not guaranteed, though!

Will Your Works Follow You?

Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” (Revelation 14:13)

As the end-time tribulations increase in intensity, it gets harder for tribulation saints to endure the hardships that come upon them. The time will come when everyone “both small and great, rich and poor, free or slave” will have to “receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,” without which “no one may buy or sell.” (Rev 13:16-17).

In order to survive, people will have to wear that mark. If one wears that mark, one may live a little longer in the world, but an impending eternal judgment awaits them. For anyone who “worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God” (Rev 14:9-10).

What choice does one have? Don’t wear the mark, and you’ll die slowly from the deprivation of basic necessities. Wear the mark, and you’ll die from the wrath of God.

In such terrible times, it is indeed blessed for people to be dead rather than alive. It's more humane to be found dead in the Lord. Then, they can rest from their labors of enduring harsh persecution for their faith. And their works of patience in keeping the commandments of God will follow them – approving them to be worthy of the kingdom of God. What comfort will death bring! If indeed, they do have those works to follow them.

While it is amazingly true that our salvation comes by grace through faith alone, it is a striking warning to realize that when we finally rest from our labors in this world, our works follow us beyond the grave. Yes, our works do not save us. But if indeed our faith was genuine, our works will follow us as proof of our faith in God.

I’ve just come back from a church camp in Lumut. Typically ordinary as it may be, some things stuck with me after the camp. Mr. William Doraisamy spoke from the book of James. He mentioned, “Young people should attend funerals and listen to eulogies. Because only then you will get to hear good things about those people, and how great they have been in their service for the Lord. When they are alive, you only hear bad things about them.”

I remember laughing at that point. But as I pondered more about it, it became an uncomfortable thought. What if when you were alive, people say only bad things about you. When you are dead, people still cannot find anything good to say about you. Man, that would be really sad... Being dead will be as great a discomfort as being alive!

I’m not sure if it’s me being forgetful, or just paranoid. Every once in a while, people come up to me and talk to me as though they know me. And they ask if I remember them. It’s very awkward and embarrassing when I don’t, when they are acting as though they know me like a long-lost buddy! Or sometimes, a friend tells me that so-and-so sends his regards, and he says he knows me. But I have no idea who that person is.

I wonder what they remember me by. What is it I have said or done in the past, which they hold on to as fragments of their memory until today? How come I don’t have any recollection of them? Did they remember me for the good things? Or did they remember me for the bad things, but they’re still glad to see me because they have somehow graciously forgotten about the past and cherished the present moment of bumping into an old acquaintance?

My life has revolved around many circles. Sometimes I do wonder what people really think about me.

But that’s not as important as what whispers to us from another world…

When we meet with the Lord one day, when we finally find rest from our worldly labors, what will be the works that follow us? What will Jesus remember us by? Will our works follow us beyond the grave?

Because if they don’t, then we won’t really be finding our rest.

A, B, C, D, E, F, G...

I heard the news on Wednesday. Evangel’s having a sale on Friday! Up to 80% off, some books RM10 only! Excited by it, and really looking forward to go on the 1st day itself, I spread the good news to as many people as possible, so we could all go together!

Thursday morning. I tried to gather a gang to wipe Evangel clean. The results…

I asked Mr. A. He is not the type who likes books anyway, so he wasn’t interested.

Mr. B. He will be leaving to KL on Friday afternoon, so he cannot join us.

Mr. C sounded really keen on going. Great!

Mr. D. was game! He said he will be asking around to see if anyone else wants to go too. Then, when dusk approached, he said he forgot about having to help his juniors to shift their things into his house on Friday. So he can’t go too.

Miss E just finished exams on Thursday. But her friends from KL are coming over, so they’ll be going out, romping. That counted her out too.

Mr. F has an exam on Saturday, so he’s not coming. Understood la…

Mr. G has an exam on Friday. So no go…

Miss H has exams on Friday morning, then she’ll be meeting her friends in Gurney. She proposed we go at 4pm. Nah, I wanna go in the morning. So, nevermind.

Miss I is back in her hometown. But she will be in Penang on Friday. However, she won’t be able to join us. Surely must be too rushed to fly off to Evangel upon arrival.

Miss J didn’t reply my SMS when I asked her about Evangel. She replied around midnight, when I was already asleep, to ask me what time I was planning to go. When I woke up in the morning, I told her we’ll be going around 9-ish. She said she can’t join us too.

Mr. K said he will confirm later if he can go. No word came from him.

Mr. L asked me what time I’ll be going. I said I’ll be going at 9-ish in the morning. No reply came from him. Later, he SMSed and said that he will be going with Mr. K.

Miss M still has one more paper to go on Saturday, so no go.

That leaves just me and Mr. C. Still cool, thought that it would be a good time of catching up with him. Man talk and all. Better confirm with him. I asked him on Friday morning again to check if he’s still on. He said he discovered that something was wrong with his car just last night, so he has to call it off.

Sigh. I guess it’s gonna be a solo outing then.

Then I remembered Mr. N. He said ok when I asked him yesterday, but it lacked a more committal answer. I asked again on Friday morning. He said he is not feeling well, and he vomited last night. He said he will meet the gang at Evangel later if he can. I said nevermind la, because there will be no “gang”.

No la, I’m not taking it personally from them. Maybe it's just the timing, exams, other commitments, unforeseen circumstances, etc. But getting rejected for almost as many times as the alphabet kinda makes you think a bit, doesn’t it? I thought of asking more people like Miss O, Miss P, and so on. But I don’t wanna reach Z and confirm that every letter of the alphabet doesn’t like me…

All the more, I am convinced in my belief that I am meant to be a Rambo. John Rambo. Even my pen drive’s brand is called “Ram Bo.” Haha...

Also, as Pastor Mei Soon once said to me, “You are a man of destiny!!”

“Do thy friends despise, forsake thee
Take it to the Lord in prayer
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee
Thou wilt find a solace there”
-Some guy who got ditched a few centuries ago-

Diotrephes Defended

“I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.” (3 John 9-10)

The apostle John wrote to Gaius concerning a leader of a local church, called Diotrephes. Apparently, Diotrephes, in exerting his control over his church, prohibited representatives from other churches from ministering to his congregation. Not only that, he also does not allow anyone else to provide hospitality to those representatives. He will ex-communicate anyone who did, by “putting them out of the church.”

It was a practice of the early church to send itinerant ministers as messengers of the apostles to the churches. For example, Titus was sent as Paul representative to the churches in Corinth and Crete. Considering the limitations of that era, the apostles cannot possibly be physically present to minister to all the churches at the same time. Hence, the need to send out representatives on behalf of them. Therefore, rejecting the representatives would mean directly rejecting the apostles themselves, who were God’s direct and special messengers.

It was also the practice of the early church to provide assistance and comfort to the itinerant ministers, because they cannot possibly survive on their own without the support of Christians elsewhere. Loving one another, especially by supporting fellow believers in their ministry, is the most basic practice of every born-again believer. Therefore, believers who refuse to provide hospitality to itinerant ministers who are in need of food and shelter are clearly not abiding in love – even disobedient. Diotrephes was clearly wrong at this point, because not only was he passive in receiving the apostles’ representatives. He actively prevented anyone who would help them. Diotrephes was the bad guy.

Let’s paint the same scenario in today’s context.

Back then, churches were not separated by denominations yet. Today, the universal church consists of many denominations. Back then, the ministry of apostles was imminent. Today, the direct ministry of apostles has ended. We have an equivalent of modern-day evangelists and missionaries who travel around, ministering to people in various places. Back then, the unity of Christians from different local churches can be accepted with relative simplicity. Today, the simple acceptance of Christians from different local churches is clouded with denominational differences.

Given the new complications of the modern church era, will a Diotrephes of today still be a clear-cut example of disobedience, loveless-ness, and selfish control?

Let’s say Diotrephes was alive today, and he behaved exactly the same way. Let’s explore the possibilities that may have prompted him to act in the similar manner. I can think of 3 things that could have possibly been running in his head:

Firstly, maybe he does not believe those who claim to be apostles, or take upon themselves the title of apostleship. Therefore, he is protecting his church from false modern-day apostles.

Secondly, maybe he does not agree with the teaching of the traveling ministers. In accordance with his personal stand, of course he will not allow that traveling minister to take the pulpit in his church. Naturally, he will warn his church members about the false teachings that are rampant among some highly acclaimed speakers of today. And advise his congregation to avoid such ministers if necessary.

Thirdly, maybe he believes in the exclusivity of his local church, the independence of his assembly from other denominations, and his church’s accountability towards the lordship of Christ alone, and no one else. Hence, he will have reservations against a traveling minister who may come and tell his church something that is totally different from the assembly’s teachings. He is not obligated to accept the minister into his church because he is not accountable to him. Or, he does not want the minister to start telling his church what to do, and lead some to believe so, because of his international recognition elsewhere.

Is that true of certain churches today? If Diotrephes’ were to do the same thing today, will his actions still be clearly wrong? Or will the lines of right and wrong be blurred, if the similar action is taken in a modern context?

Question of application: Let’s say a traveling minister, who deals with healing ministries and all those signs and wonders thingies, comes to town. Diotrephes is a leader of a church in that town. Diotrephes does not agree or believe in his ministry. Should he receive him in his church? Should he offer, or provide hospitality to him while he is conducting his 3-day revival meetings at the stadium?

Will Diotrephes still be a bad guy if he refuses such a minister?

Maybe it does not have to be such an extreme example. Here’s another question of application: Let’s say a Christian from a different denomination comes to town. He is a minister from an Anglican background. He believes in infant baptism, and Diotrephes doesn’t. But the Anglican guy is an excellent bible teacher. He goes around organizing seminars. He travels everywhere teaching, proving, and convincing people about the reliability of Scriptures and New Testament documents. Should Diotrephes allow him to do that for his church? Should Diotrephes let his church members welcome the Anglican guy into their homes if he is seeking a place to stay?

If you were Diotrepehes, what would you do for both occasions? That, my friend, is a better question.

Wanna Be A Walking Bible?

“Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.” (Psalms 119:11)

As of 5:15pm, on 26th April 2005, I finished my last exam in my student life! Officially liberated from having to study and memorize facts, formulas, definitions and theorems, all those data can now be deleted from my mental hard disk. Yay!

What now… What should I do with the extra memory space?

The youth group in my church, called the Sungai Ara Youth Hour, has been going through this book, Pursuit Of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. Having to teach the class, I read one of the chapters where I was challenged to commit Scriptures to memory in my personal pursuit for holiness.

I think it’s a really cool idea. I still remember the memory verses that I committed to memory when I was a little boy, just because I bothered to remember them! And I can still recall them whenever I want to, or whenever I feel I need to apply it in a certain situation in my life.

Those few verses that I did commit to memory came in very handy indeed. Imagine what good it can do if I memorized big chunks of bible verses!

Therefore, I took it upon myself as a personal mission to memorize bible verses daily, as though I’m preparing myself for an exam. Partly because it’s a good spiritual exercise. And also partly because... I am scared of getting senile before my age. (I think I may have Alzheimer’s. I seem to be forgetting things, or having trouble trying to remember stuff!) Maybe by keeping my mind actively absorbing things, it can be a good preventive measure. Hehehe...

Jerry Bridges mentioned the Navigators’ Topical Memory System, and I looked it up on the internet. I thought I could just download the bible references, and memorize them on my own without having to buy it. But… Of course Navigators are smarter than that! You have to buy the whole thing. And it costs quite a bundle!

I thought, “Ah, forget it. I can just choose bible verses on my own, and memorize them.” But then, how do I pick the verses? If I were to pick the verses on my own, I'll probably pick them discriminately. Then, I will end up memorizing only the easy stuff. If I were to pick the verses indiscriminately, how do I go about doing it in a balanced, strategic way? How do I make sure that I’m not committing random verses to memory, which may not be too useful for instant recall or application?

Ah, in the end, I think I’ll need some sort of a guide to help me. The Navigators’ Topical Memory System looks like a good one. But the problem is, I don’t know if I can acquire it in local bookstores. If I can’t do that, then I’ll have to buy it online, which costs quite a lot. Even if I were to buy it online, I don’t have a credit card to perform the transaction. Another option is, maybe there are other bible memory guides that are more easily attainable?

Got to check it out. I’ll find a way. I think it’s worth the investment and the effort. Not only because it will be useful to me intellectually. By hiding His word in my heart, it will help me in my battle against sin in my pursuit of personal holiness.

Good Milk, Bad Milk

“For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that it, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:13-14)

I am reminded of a lactose-intolerant friend, to whom I’m supposed to do Bible study with on the book of Hebrews. Until today, we still haven’t met up to do it. My attention is brought to the word “milk”. Consider this:

“Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” (1 Peter 2:1-2)

The former passage describes “milk” as a negative, whereas the latter passage describes “milk” as a positive. How can this be so? I am tempted to easily explain it away scientifically. Milk is good to those who are not lactose-intolerant, whereas milk is bad to those who are lactose-intolerant. Ok, lame humor. Bad for interpretation of Scriptures too.

“Milk”, in Hebrews, is an analogy compared to “solid food”. According to this comparative analogy, “milk” is bad, because being content with just milk goes not augur well for a person’s spiritual growth. We are called to progress on to “solid food”, and, through our habitual “reason of use”, develop a spiritual maturity that will enable us to “discern both good and evil.”

One good benchmark of spiritual maturity is to see how a person makes good judgment calls on issues concerning morality. Doing that requires a great depth of understanding of the word of God. How can we reason with a person that it is wrong to smoke, drink, or eat food offered to idols, if that person has not grasped the concept of sacrificial love, which behaves with the other brother in mind?

A deep level of maturity is also required to “discern both good and evil”, in the context of discerning correct doctrine from incorrect ones. How can we ever reason with a person that Christ is the fulfillment of the law, when that person has no idea of law, or worse still, no idea of who Christ really is in His deity and His purpose?

“Milk” is used as an analogy in 1 Peter, but with a different flavor. “Milk” is now used as a symbol of purity, in contrast to malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, which, if I may add, is a “corrupted” type of food. We are called to crave purity from the word of God, the same way a baby craves for pure milk. This is in line with the teaching: “in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature” (1 Corinthians14:20).

Scientifically, there is no such thing as good milk or bad milk. The culprit lies in the defective enzymes in lactose-intolerant poor things. Spiritually, milk can be good, and it can also be bad. It depends on how the word “milk” is used.

Why You So Gong Gong?

And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ (Matthew 14:29-30)

After giving 6 swimming lessons to two 5-year-old boys, Daniel and Timothy, I said to them, “Come, let’s take off your big float, and put on your arm floats. See if you can swim.”

“Dowan” Daniel retorted.

“Why you dowan? You scared izzit?” I asked. Daniel nodded.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you drown wan. You can surely float with your arm floats,” I coaxed. “I will be holding you. If you cannot float, then I’ll bring you up. I’m just over here,” I continued, giving assurance.

“But if I start to go down, will you take me up?” Daniel asked doubtfully.

“Of course la, I will take you up! You think I will let you sink meh, ayoooo…” I replied.

Then Timothy, Daniel’s younger and wilder twin brother, injected, “He dunno how to think wan! He gong gong…”

How I laughed at Timothy’s comment! We can say that Timothy is a model Christian. He lives with no fear of death. Because he has no concept of danger, drowning, or anything of the like! You have to look out for him, or he’ll be likely to jump into the watery grave while giggling at the same time.

When it was Timothy’s turn, I made him take off his big float and wear his arm floats.

“Koko Joshua…” He said.

“What?” I replied.

After a long pause, he said, “If I start to go down into the water, will you carry me up?”

"Hahahahahaha! You dunno how to think wan! You gong gong! Of course la, I will carry you up!” I chortled.

It was just a few minutes ago when he called his older brother foolish to ask a dumb question. When his turn came, he also asked the same dumb question.

How similar this situation is to our walk with God. For 6 lessons, I made sure I never took my eyes off Timothy and Daniel. For 6 lessons, I never made them do anything that they are scared of. For 6 lessons, I progressively taught them water skills, without letting them do what they are not ready to do. I thought the trust developed between us would be strong enough for them to let go of their big floats and progress to the next level. But they still asked a fundamental question of trust: “If I start to go down, will you carry me up?”

Very often, when we observe other people struggle in matters of faith, we tend to take ourselves out of the picture, look at it from an objective, external, judgmental point of view, and say “Why you dunno how to think wan? You gong gong ah?” We think it’s foolish for other people to ask such questions.

But when we ourselves are in the picture, we realize that we will also ask the same question that we thought was foolish.

“O you of little faith, why did you doubt,” Jesus said.

I'M GOING TO AUSTRALIA!

“Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalms 37:4)

Despite being a person who holds a stern view on life, today I’m convinced that God is not a party pooper. He throws in a few things here and there every once in a while to make mere mortals happy.

I woke up a few days ago, with my muscle aches all gone, flu healed, nasal blockage cleared, health finally restored, and most of all I realized… I’M GOING TO AUSTRALIA!

Geelong Lorne, Victoria, 4th – 20th February. Rescue 2006, Lifesaving Sports World Championships!

To fully express my present joy, I must deliberate on “the road to Australia”.

Ever since my freshman year in USM, I had my eye on kangarooland. Arafura Games, a bi-annual regional games. USM participates in the Arafura Games, and the varsity swimming & lifesaving team always had the intention of going there. The problem was, no money, so no funny. Hence, came the plan for fund raisers and sponsorship hunts.

Then, SARS struck. Arafura Games cancelled. End of story.

During my 3rd year, the Arafura fever came back. No way we’re going to get ourselves there by any ordinary fund-raiser project, I thought. We needed to do something bigger. Something more unthinkable. Something mad enough to make people fork out money to get 8 USMers to Australia.

Hence, Aquathon Challenge was born. A 50-hour, non-stop marathon relay swim. We swam 168.05 km, set a record in the Malaysia Book Of Records, appeared on numerous newspapers, got into a radio show, and all that jazz. In the end of the day, total profit collected – zilch. Just enough to cover costs of operation. Bye bye Australia, for the second time. But it was still heck of a kick anyway.

Now, in my 4th and final year, if I can ever get myself to Australia, it’s now or never! The Lifesaving Sports World Championships is my last ticket to Down Under. Miss it, and I’ll have to be content with the bottle of Australian sand, water, and air that a friend brought for me from kangarooland.

After this year’s National Lifesaving Competition, I was shortlisted for the World Championships in Australia. Being shortlisted to be in the national team is one thing. Surviving the internal selection process is another thing. It will surely be the pits if I get kicked out of the team in an internal selection, when I was officially the top ranked lifesaver in pool events for 2 consecutive years!

My weeks of centralized training and the final selection were plagued by out-of-form, slow times and illness. You can’t get into competition form in a matter of days. You'll need weeks, or even months of conditioning, which I didn’t have the luxury of! Suddenly, my ticket to Australia was in limbo, despite my credentials from past national competitions and my contributions to lifesaving.

On Wednesday night, looks like things finally went my way, for a change. In a 6-man, 6-woman team, I was the 6th man to be named! Thank God! This is a lesson on humility, and also on God’s graciousness! My Australian dream is finally coming true!

Then, comes the question of whether or not I choose to go. It’s still a long road towards Rescue 2006. The amount of commitment I have to put into training may be too much to bear. I’m in my final year now. Spending more than 2 weeks in Australia will also mean forfeiting almost an entire quarter of my final semester of studenthood. As much as I dream of Australia, I also want to finish well. There are people that I may never get to see in such proximity ever again, after varsity days are over. In order for me to say yes to Australia, and to finish my varsity days well… I have to be no less than bionic.

Unfathomable Providence

“Two things I request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):
Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches –
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.” (Proverbs 30:7-9)

The pursuit of personal happiness frequently proves to be the main cause of human despair. It is the inward selfishness of man that drives us towards wealth, fame, and power; and the fear of the unknown makes us insulate ourselves from all possible kinds of suffering.

Agur the son of Jakeh, a man of wisdom in the bible, uttered two requests from the Lord. Firstly, to be kept away from the sin of deceit. Secondly, to receive what the Lord intends to give him.

It takes a huge measure of faith to ask for such things, especially Agur’s second request. How likely it is for us to truthfully mean it when we ask God to “give me neither poverty nor riches”? Is it easy for us to honestly ask for that, for the sole reason of not wanting to fall into a snare of forgetting the Lord in our prosperity, or of bringing shame to the name of the Lord in our poverty? Certainly not.

Sometimes, it may be easy to utter prayers God, especially the ones that sound benevolent and noble. But yet, it is exactly those kind of prayers that are most likely to be lacking in honesty. Perhaps this is precisely why Agur, before making a request that requires a great deal of honesty from him, made another prior request: “Remove falsehood and lies far from me”!

The mystery of God’s providence is unfathomable. Sometimes, it can be true that God brings prosperity and comfort as a form of reward, and poverty and suffering as a form of punishment. But the bible points out that God’s providence actually holds no pattern. He blesses indiscriminately, as much as He curses indiscriminately. “For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mathhew 5:45)

It will drive us insane to try and figure out the cause of God’s providence or His allowance of suffering. It will be wiser to focus less on causal answers, and focus more on our response towards such situations. It takes great faith to grapple with things we do not understand, while believing that God intends for our good, even in things that seem evil. For God’s unfathomable providence has a role of conforming our will towards acceptance of His sovereignty, in the putting of every aspect of our lives at His disposal. The step of faith to follow God no matter what, with the little that we know, is not an easy step to take.

“I ask You neither for health nor for sickness, for life nor for death; but that You may dispose of my health and my sickness, my life and my death, for your glory… You alone know what is expedient for me; You are the Sovereign Master; do with me according to Your will. Give to me, or take away from me, only conform my will to Yours. I know but one thing, Lord, that it is good to follow You, and bad to offend You. Apart from that, I know not what is good or bad in anything. I know not which is most profitable to me, health or sickness, wealth or poverty, nor anything else in the world. That discernment is beyond the power of men or angels, and is hidden among the secrets of your Providence, which I adore, but do not seek to fathom” - Blaise Pascal

Confessions Of Non-St Joshuastine

A flyer landed in my letterbox today, and it sparked me off into writing this confessional.

“You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3)

The sin of idolatry is my weak point. Being a naturally ambitious person, I struggle for superiority. Not to the extent of challenging the deity and Lordship of the one and only Living God. More of like, giving myself or my own interests a higher priority than God.

“You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13)

No, I have not killed anyone. But if it is true that murder begins in the heart, and that “whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matthew 5:22), then I am a professional assassin. No need to go to the level of turning the other cheek. If given a choice between fight or flight – I choose fight. Win or lose, never mind. But I must get my fight.

“You shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17)

I do not specifically long for a particular neighbor’s possessions for myself. But I generally feel the luring pull of the world to want more things for myself. Through my observations of the general world order, I am tempted to make it big time, the way I’d like to define big time in my own terms.

So, what has the flyer got to do with all this.

“C.S. Wong Mathematics Class. Maths & Add Maths Tuition (PMR & SPM)”

There’s this guy, a USM Bachelor Degree holder in Mechanical Engineering, who is going full time into the tuition business! He teaches Mathematics from Form 1 to Form 5, for both Maths and Add Maths! He establishes his empire all over Penang in 4 tuition centers: Gottlieb Road, New Lane, Paya Terubong, and PISA! He’s handling classes everyday, around the clock, from Monday to Sunday!

A smart move, I should say. Engineering may not be an ideal job for every engineer, because considering the competitiveness in the world of engineering, you must either be a really excellent engineer to make it big, or just be a mediocre engineer who’s married to your job for a pay packet that may be far from luxurious. And there’s a lot of money in the tuition business, especially if you’re good and you’re willing to invest your time in it.

So, why does this strike a chord within me? Because I, too, am planning to go into the tuition business, starting January! I’ll be teaching just one small class. Add Maths, Form 4, on Monday evenings as a start.

Just as I’m finishing my question bank, here comes this guy, with an impressive looking advertisement on my doorstep. Not only that, he is also from USM, my university. And he’s also building his tuition empire in Penang, my home state. And he’s teaching Mathematics, my major. And he is conquering both kinds of Maths, from Form 1 to Form 5!

The worst part is… He even stole my pen name! I gave myself a brand name “C.S. Hooi Tutorial Center”. And this guy calls himself C.S. Wong Mathematics Class! Wah piang eh... As the say in Hokkien, really “bey song”.

Nevertheless, I’m sure his C.S. is not the same as my C.S. His C.S. probably means Chee Seng or Cheng Soon, or something like that. I, for one, know that my C.S. is unique. There can only be one Chee Shing!

As I’ve said earlier… Great is my sin of idolatry.

As for now, maybe I’ll find out his home address and toilet paper his house :)

Pursuit Of Immortality

“Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12)

Humanity may not be as shallow as we deem it to be. For deep in the heart of every man lies the desire for immortality. It is only the degree of that desire that differs. The extent of immortality that is sought is what distinguishes one man from another.

It is not a rare occurrence for people to turn to facials to reduce wrinkles. Some resort to botox injections to immortalize their youthful complexion – killing some cells permanently in return for a facade of youthfulness. Cryogenic technology is researched in the hope of bringing the dead back to life, if the secret of rekindling life were ever to be discovered. Instead of pine caskets, some people spend a fortune to be “buried” in a cryogenic tube in the hope of an eventual resurrection into the old world. The human genome is mapped, also with the hope of reversing the process of death, if death could be linked with a genetic code.

Even if man cannot immortalize themselves physically, man still tries to paint eternity for themselves in ways where they can be remembered for time immemorial. Some may not have set out to do it deliberately, but some characters have set out to attain such immortality in the memory of the world in passionate deliberation. Man sets out to accomplish great feats – To be the first to climb the highest peak; the greatest war hero; the first to sail around the world; the pioneer to discover a new continent; the first person to find a cure for a disease; the man who sets world records in sports; the man who changes the course of history, either by fear, by force, or peaceful revolution – in order to immortalize his existence on this planet. What crowning glory it is, for those who are remembered for their great exploits!

Some people are curious on why I choose to afflict myself with physical pain in pursuit of excellence in sports. Why do I continually set my face towards enduring such discipline and painful displeasure for crowns that do not last?

It is not the crowns that drive me. It is the anticipation of an incredible, indescribable feeling that motivates me. This feeling comes only at the end of all the painful hardships of training, just before the race. The painful regime of breaking down and building up, tearing and healing, panting and resting, will amount to a plateau of strength at the correct time. A plateau of strength that you have never reached before. The kind of feeling you feel, just at the starting block...

It is a like feeling of temporary immortality.

In our spiritual pursuit of immortality, we are not spared from all kinds of trials and tribulations. The goal of mortal strife, which is a blessing that is far superior to any notion of earthly immortality, awaits those who have been approved by the Lord. A prize awaits those who remain in Him until the very end – “The crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him”.

We thank Thee for the crown
Of glory and of life
‘Tis no poor withering wreath of earth
Man’s prize in mortal strife
‘Tis incorruptible as is the throne
The kingdom of our God
And His Incarnate Son

Time Of Affliction

“Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 23:27-28)

This was how the children of Israel prepared themselves for one of the most important Jewish festivals – the Day of Atonement. It was a time to afflict their souls. Or may I add, for emphasis, deliberately afflict their souls. And those who does not afflict their souls “shall be cut off from his people” (Leviticus 23:29). This was how seriously the Jews pursued their spirituality, old school style.

Old school style, yes. But still, it was an important discipline to point towards a very important concept in salvation. The Day of Atonement is a shadow of the total and complete atonement that came in Christ. A time of affliction of the soul was crucial to make the children of Israel face the reality of sin in their lives. The seriousness of sin has to be realized before the significance of the Day of Atonement can be fully understood and appreciated. Without a period of afflicting the soul, the weightiness of sin will not be realized, and the Day of Atonement will not mean a thing. Much worse, Christ’s atonement for our sins would be too foreign a concept to be accepted, if it was not introduced in progressive revelation.

The pursuit of spirituality was never an easy task. Doing it old school teaches us the best spiritual lessons. The same parallel can be drawn in the pursuit of physical perfection. Doing it old school brings out the best results.

I just came back from National Conference and my CF’s Exco Planning & Retreat, back to back. After more than 2 weeks of physical inactivity, I suddenly learnt that the final selection for the Rescue 2006 World Championships will be on the 17th and 18th this month! That is just 8 days away! How in the world am I going to get into top condition in such a short span of time? There's only one way to do that. Old school style.

I was ranked Malaysia’s no. 1 in pool events in national level competitions. For 2 consecutive years, I was the gold medalist for 2 events. Also, as a Seiko Award Winner in my contributions in lifesaving to the country, I should already be given a place in the national team bound for Australia for Rescue 2006. Being top-ranked in national competitions but getting kicked out in an internal selection process would be the pits!

For 4 long years, I have been trying to set foot on the land down under. Year after year, it didn’t work out. Rescue 2006 will be my last chance to get there. I thought my place was secured, based on the results of my performances. But now, my ticket to kangaroo land is in limbo.

This is a time to be sober. This is a time to afflict my flesh. Old school style. Lest I get cut off from my people.

Work First, Eat Later

For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12).

Yes, I’ve been afforded with a lot of free time these days. With no exams at hand, I’ve been on holiday since 30th September, until 27th December. This kind of privilege can only be enjoyed by students pursuing a degree in Education, upon completion of their 10-week teaching practice!

Even though I’m not tied down by academic obligations, my time still ends up being filled, in one way or another. So, am I very free nowadays? My answer is, yes and no.

I’ve been working on my preparations to teach tuition at a tuition center. The work of writing notes and compiling a question bank requires more commitment than I anticipated. But as the Malay saying goes, “berakit-rakit ke hulu, berenang-renang ke tepian; bersakit-sakit dahulu, bersenang-senang kemudian.” The work of preparing the material is tedious indeed. But after I’m done with preparations, everything will be smooth sailing when tuition classes start in December. With the transition of Science and Mathematics into the English medium of instruction, there’s no better time to make a start into the tuition business than now. Besides the long-term benefits it may bring in the future, I can really do with an immediate source of income. Need it for the autonomy.

I’ve found myself a small group of kids to teach swimming as well. It’s quite a lucrative job, this “business” of teaching. Not only is it lucrative financially. It’s an enjoyable thing to do, especially when you find satisfaction in teaching people skills and imparting knowledge that can benefit them for life.

While I’m enjoying the idea of the prospects that are before me, I am reminded about Paul’s words to the Thessalonian church about work. It’s so true that being jobless and not having any academic pursuit at the same time may give you too much free time for your own good. With nothing better to do, it’s so easy to become “busybodies”, minding other people’s business not for their betterment, and neither for our own. But when there is work for us to do with our own hands, we won’t have time to behave in a “disorderly manner”. How true! With something to do, I find that I don’t really have time to clown around these days! Rightfully said for everyone’s own good, Paul exhorts that we should “work in quietness”, mind our own business, and “eat (our) own bread” when we reap the rewards of our work.

However, minding our own business does not mean we mind only our own business, without giving any room for the Lord’s business. Taken to one extreme, minding our own business may give rise to a lifestyle where we live only for ourselves, without anyone else or anything else in the picture.

However, the recipients of Paul’s epistle were living in the other extreme. Some people did not see the point of working at all, since they were being expectant of the Lord’s second coming, using a form of spirituality to hide a lifestyle of irresponsibility. Therefore, Paul instructed them to work and keep busy while waiting for the Lord’s return, and not just coast around.

We live in a point in time where we struggle between the possibility of Christ’s immediate return, and the impossibility of predicting that moment. It’s not easy to live out the time that we have between our current existence until the Lord comes again. In the midst of the enjoyments and disparities of life, a good way to dispense the time that we have is to live with an end in mind – that we our appointment with Christ is yet to be due.

Paul The Mother, Paul The Father

But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children (1 Thessalonians 2:7).

Surprise, surprise! Paul has a motherly side! As a mother would care for his children, such was Paul’s care for the Thessalonian church. Paul “affectionately longs” (1 Thessalonians 2:8) for the church. Paul exhibited a mother’s nurturing character by bringing up the church in the gospel. He showed a tinge of a mother’s personal touch by sharing not only the gospel, but also his own personal life intimately because the church “had become dear” (1 Thessalonians 2:8) to him. Also, he showed a mother’s sacrificial attitude when he would rather labor “night and day” (1 Thessalonians 2:9), so he would not be a financial burden to the church.

Not only did Paul exhibit a motherly nature. He also had a fatherly side to him.

As you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children (1 Thessalonians 2:11).

Typical of a father’s role, Paul behaved “devoutly and justly and blamelessly” (1 Thessaolonians 2:10) as an exemplary and respectable father figure to the Thessalonian church. He also dished out fatherly discipline by exhorting, comforting, and charging the church as his own children to “walk worthy of God who calls (them) into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:12). Just as any father would want his children to walk worthily so that they would bring pride and honor to the family name, not shame and contempt, Paul longed for the very same thing for the children of God in relation to God the Father.

Indeed, Paul had proven himself to be one of the “apostles of Christ” (1 Thessalonians 2:6) who “have been approved by God” (1 Thessalonians 2:4). He played both sides of parenting for the church – the maternal role, and the paternal role as well. Not only did Paul strike a good balance in the way he took care of the church. He also painted for us a good model for parenting in our own households.

If only Paul also played the role of the grandfather and the grandmother. Oh, how he would have pampered us!

“The role of grandparents is to pamper the grandchildren. The rest is the parents’ job” – A grandparent of two toddlers.

Nothing Is Free

Then King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.” (1 Chronicles 21:24)

Jerusalem suffered intensely under the plague as a result of David’s sin of acquiring a census. When David “saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem” (1 Chronicles 21:16), he prayed to God for mercy. Therefore, the angel of the Lord told David to “erect and altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite (1 Chronicles 21:18), so that “the plague may be withdrawn from the people” (1 Chronicles 21:22).

In view of the national disaster that was sweeping the land, Ornan offered to give David the place of his threshing floor, along with oxen for burnt offerings, threshing implements for wood, and wheat for the grain offering. Ornan wanted relief form the plague as much as David did.

David could have just taken Ornan up at his offer. What’s wrong with accepting a free gift, if that gift would mean the end of the plague that was destroying Jerusalem? Ornan did not give away his threshing floor under compulsion. He wanted to give it away willingly, because he wanted the plague to end before his own life was consumed by it – just as any other Israelite would.

In fact, even if Ornan did not offer his threshing floor freely, David could use his authority to seize Ornan’s property, or just take it away from him. Who could deny a king of his wishes?

However, David would not hear of Ornan’s offer. David insisted on paying Ornan the full price for his threshing floor, and he “gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place” (1 Chronicles 21:25). David understood the meaning of making an offering to the Lord. He knew that an offering would be meaningless if it costed him nothing. He took the right course of action. God accepted his offering and “answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering” (1 Chronicles 21:26).

When David had a choice to choose his punishment, he chose the easiest way. But when David had a choice to make an offering to atone for his sins, he chose the proper way – even if it was the harder way.

One may reason that the price that David paid for Ornan’s threshing floor is only miniscule compared to the vast wealth of his treasuries. Paying 600 shekels of gold is nothing big for a king!

However, the point here is not so much about the ratio of the offering to the amount that David is able to offer. David’s offering pleased the Lord because it was done in a proper way. David’s attitude of offering a sacrifice at his own cost made it acceptable unto the Lord.

An offering is considered a sacrifice, only if it came at a cost of the offerer. Our sincerity in our service and in our giving to the Lord is reflected in the way it costs us. If it costs us nothing, it means nothing to God.

The Punisher

“Thus says the Lord: ‘Choose for yourself, either three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the Lord – the plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel’…” (1 Chronicles 21:11-12)

Gad, David’s seer, brought God’s word of punishment to David for his sin of acquiring a census. David must have considered all the 3 options given to him, so he could choose the punishment that he deemed as the lightest.

1st option: 3 years of famine. A great agricultural disaster will come upon the land. People will go hungry. The land will be in an economical crisis when the produce of the land is crippled. Poverty will drive people to desperation. Crime rate will increase, and this will cause a rise of social problems.

2nd option: 3 months of military defeat. Israel will face 3 months of solid onslaught from its enemies. And in every battle, Israel will face defeat. Countless lives of valiant men will be lost. Families will become destitute with the loss of their husbands and sons. A family line may be totally cut off with a sudden death of its males. Israel’s military might will suddenly be as vulnerable as a chick without its mother hen. David’s pride as a legendary man of war will be badly damaged.

3rd option: 3 days of plague in the land. A disaster will be brought upon Jerusalem by “the sword of the Lord.” 72 hours of intense destruction will be carried out swiftly by “the angel of the Lord.” People will die tragically and indiscriminately by the hand of an unstoppable, unexplainable, divine power.

Of the 3 options given to David, he chose the 3rd option. But why did he choose that option? Wouldn’t it be the most terrifying and painful thing to accept punishment from an immortal, all-powerful God? Surely His anger will be impossible to bear. Wouldn’t it be easier to accept punishment that would be dished out from the hands of mortal men? Surely David still had his head screwed on his shoulder while making this informed decision!

But David knew what he was doing. He said “Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man”(1 Chronicles 21:13).

Of course, David made the most logical choice when he chose what he deemed to be the easiest punishment to endure. Such great faith that David had in the Lord, that he believed in the mercies of God, even in the pronouncement of certain judgment! David knew that even in His wrath, there is a side of God who “is ever merciful” (Psalms 37:26). He entrusted his own life and the welfare of his nation to the mercies of God, rather than to the hands of man.

Imagine if you had done something terribly wrong, and you were actually offered a choice to choose your own punishment. Who would you choose as your punisher?

Bad Call

So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.” And Joab answered, “May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?” (1 Chronicles 21:2-3)

Why was it wrong for David to call for a census? How come Joab advised David against it, saying that it would cause him to be “a cause of guilt in Israel?”

The act of having a census was not wrong in itself. We saw how God Himself had commanded the Israelites to be counted during an earlier time of Israel’s history, when He said “Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel…” (Numbers 1:2).

However, David’s motive behind the act of calling for a census had caused him to sin against God. His attitude and the purpose behind the census was the cause of wrong. David wanted to know how many Israelites he had who were able to draw the sword, so he could glory in the extent of his reign. All the while, God has been behind all of David’s victories in battle. But now, David’s pride has moved him to rely on something more “tangible” – a statistic of his military strength. He may have intended to use the number of his standing army in a rhetoric manner to amplify or exaggerate his military prowess, forgetting that the battle had always belonged to the Lord.

Israel was a theocratic nation. Instead of relying on God’s protective care and His divine providence, David has shifted his trust towards his own military strength. Having a census may have been David’s first step to prepare for a military draft. It seemed that God’s plan for Israel was to have a citizen army, rather than a large standing army, so that Israel would trust in the Lord for His deliverance in their battles.

Joab has proved himself to be more prudent than David during this instance. However, “the king’s word prevailed against Joab” (1 Chronicles 21:4), although “the king’s word was abominable to Joab” (1 Chronicles 21:6).

This story comes as an important reminder to us. Sometimes, our subordinate may be wiser in advising us against our follies. It takes a humble attitude to listen and take heed to a person who may be younger, newer, or of a lower status. If only David had listened to Joab, he would not have sinned or brought great affliction to his people. The Israelites were greatly punished because of the king’s misdeed.

Who Did It?

Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel (1 Chronicles 21:1).

When David called for a census of Israel and Judah, “God was displeased with this thing” (1 Chronicles 21:7). And Israel was greatly punished because of this. A cross reference on a parallel passage revealed something weird:

Again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah” (2 Samuel 24:1).

So who moved David to number Israel and Judah? Satan or God? Why is there such a stark contradiction?

The apparent contradiction can be resolved by recognizing that though Satan is the author of all evil, he cannot exercise his evil intentions apart from the permission of God. Moreover, God could use Satan to accomplish His own purposes of judgment or discipline. Like it or not, even though Satan is God’s biggest adversary, and as much as he wants to rebel against God, he still ends up as a “servant of God” in a way.

A few examples of how Satan was used a God’s agent for judgment. In His judgment, God purposed to punish Ahab unto death. And He carried out His judgment through an evil spirit:

Micaiah said ‘I saw the Lord sitting on His throne… And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’… Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will persuade him… I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ (1 Kings 22:19-22)

In God's judgment against Ahab, He carried out His judgment through an evil spirit. True enough, Ahab was deceived by the false prophets and he was killed at Ramoth Gilead. Isn’t it strange? It’s as though God used an evil spirit to lie to Ahab, because God Himself is incapable of lying. How come God could be so “democratic” with the fallen angels, to the extent that they could have discussions together about how best to carry out His judgment? Check out this other example where God had a counsel meeting with His fallen subjects:

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From walking to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it” (Job 1:6-7)

And from there, the subject of Job was brought up. We’re all familiar about how God allowed Satan to test Job through intense inflicting suffering on him. Isn’t it strange, how Satan could have access to stand before a holy God? And isn’t it also equally weird how God could have such cordial conversations with Satan, asking him where he has been?

Satan is still featured as God’s agent of punishment, even in the New Testament. In carrying out church discipline against a sexually immoral brother, Paul writes: “Deliver such a one to Satan for destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Corinthians 5:5).

As mysterious as it sounds, in the end of the day, God still accomplishes His purposes in His sovereignty. On our part, we should be wary not to find ourselves in the path of God’s wrath. For God is so powerful, it is unimaginable what He is capable of doing.

Bible Writers Don't Know Math

All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword (1 Chronicles 21:5).

David called for a census to number Israel, much to the dismay of Joab. Nevertheless, the job was done, and the result: 1,100,000 men in Israel, and 470,000 men in Judah. Coming across as a shock to our belief in the inerrancy of Scriptures is the discrepancy of these numbers, cross-referenced in 2 Samuel:

And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men (2 Samuel 24:9).

According to 2 Samuel, Israel had 800,000 men – 300,000 men less than what was recorded by the chronicler! Also, 2 Samuel records that Judah had 500,000 men – 30,000 men more than the chronicler’s head count! How can this be? An error as big as the thousands does not augur well for the Bible’s much acclaimed reputation for its accuracy.

In fact, this is just one instance in the bible where the numbers don’t add up. There are many more discrepancies of this nature that occur many places elsewhere. There has got to be an answer to this puzzle. What exactly is the problem with numbers?

There are a few ways of interpreting these large numbers without denying the authority and accuracy of Scriptures. There are 3 ways of looking at numbers in the bible:

Firstly, the numbers can be taken as exact. This way of interpreting numbers stands in a majority of bible passages, where the amount is neither challenged nor fluctuated in parallel passages. But this explanation does not answer the chronicler’s inconsistency.

Secondly, the fluctuations can be attributed to a scribal error. There could be an early misunderstanding of the Hebrew word that is usually translated into thousands. Unfortunately, this point of view does not hold much water, because the original text with its exact arithmetic does not show any evidence of scribal errors.

Thirdly, the most plausible way to interpret those numbers is to accept the fact that there is more than 1 way to use numbers. With this understanding, numbers can be seen in 3 different ways:

1) The numbers can be precise, such as “three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour” (Numbers 15:9).

2) The numbers can be approximated, such as “about a day’s journey” (Numbers 11:31).

3) The numbers can be used in a rhetorical manner, where deliberate exaggeration is intentional for effect, such as “If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold” (Genesis 4:24). Moses clearly used the rhetoric manner when he proclaimed: “The Lord your God has multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude. May the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you as He has promised you!” (Deuteronomy 1:10-11).

Therefore, large numbers in the bible may have its origins from a combination of those 3 uses. The numbers may have started off as a precise statistic. Then, the numbers may have been approximated by rounding them to the nearest hundred. Then, the numbers may have been inflated (by a factor of 10, perhaps) in a rhetorical manner to evoke praise to God, just as Moses did.

As for Joab’s count of “men who drew the sword” in 1 Chronicles and “valiant men who drew the sword” in 2 Samuel, probably the numbers were not used in a rhetorical manner. The numbers were very unlikely to be inflated because the statistics were for the purpose of governance.

It is likely that the men in 1 Chronicles and 2 Samuel were numbered according to different standards. It may be speculated that different criteria were used to consider a man as able-bodied enough to be counted as military quality. At this point, the numbers started off as precise.

After that, the numbers in both cases were obviously approximated, as they are clearly rounded numbers. They must have been rounded off to the nearest hundred. Or to the nearest thousand, whichever seemed fit to the scribes.

In the conclusion of the matter, the “inconsistency” of numbers in the bible does not degrade its authority or reliability as the divine and inspired Word of God. The statistics in the bible are subject to the weakness of human interpretation. Nevertheless, the message content of the bible stands infallible.

Times Of War And Peace

Is not the Lord your God with you? And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God (1 Chronicles 22:18-19).

Those were the words that David spoke to the leaders of Israel to help his son, Solomon to build the temple. God’s people were enjoying a time of peace from their enemies, for He has “given (them) rest on every side.” During those times when they were free from the fear and aggression of war, David exhorted his people: “Set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God,” and “arise to build the sanctuary of the Lord God” (1 Chronicles 22:19).
David did not have a chance to build the Lord’s temple during his reign, because his kingship was an era of war and conquest. There was neither time nor opportunity for the temple of the Lord to be built, while the land was still in the midst of tumultuous wars and the unsettling expansions. And when David’s kingdom finally found rest, it was about time for Solomon to take over his throne. Hence, David advised his son to build the Lord’s sanctuary while the timing is ripe with opportunity.

Now that my practical training at Methodist Boys’ School has ended, my semester is spared from exams this time around. While my other friends are slogging during the study week, and bogged down by the pressures and anxieties of exams that looms precariously over them, I have a lot of time and autonomy in my hands to do what I want to do and go where I want to go.

Thus, I am taking this time to set my heart and my soul to seek the Lord my God. It is not every time when I get to be temporarily released from the necessary evils of life. I am taking this opportunity to read and write. To dwell more on God’s word, seek Him with my mind, and please him with my soul. I intend to harness this precious time that I have to grow in Him and be a blessing to others – something that I have not had the luxury of doing for a long time.

Hence, I’ve been coming to the library almost everyday, spending long hours there, just reading the bible and writing, while I see people around me struggling in their war with their books. I’m also taking the time to meet up with people, and spend more time with them.

It is indeed a pleasurable experience to set my heart and my soul to seek the Lord. During these times of peace, the I am now spared from waging tumultuous wars, and my plans for vigorous expansions are put on hold. With the grace of God, I hope that during these peaceful times, I will find a time of restoration, rebuilding, strengthening, and equipping. So that when it is time to wage war again, I will be ready.

The Lord is to be sought at all times, be it in war or peace. However, the Lord is gracious, and He knows our shortcomings when we fail to truly enthrone Him as Lord of our lives in the midst of war. Therefore, when the Lord puts His hedge of protection around you and grants you peace, don’t let that chance pass you by. For the Lord knows that we need a breather. He knows that we need Him.

Building My House

Furthermore I tell you that the Lord will build you a house. And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever (1 Chronicles 17:10-12)

David expressed his desire to build a house for the Lord. But God responded in a surprising manner. God said that He does not have an immediate need for a house to dwell in, because He never “dwelt in a house since the time that (He) brought up Israel” (1 Chronicles 17:5). In fact, God has never demanded or asked the judges of Israel “Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?” (1 Chronicles 17:6)

However, in return for David’s thoughtful gesture, God blessed David greatly by saying that he will build David a house. He promised David a continuation of his royal dynasty. God also promised that after David’s death, He will set up his son’s kingdom after him. That son will be Solomon. Solomon’s kingdom will be established forever. The eternal establishment of his kingdom will be made possible by the coming reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, who will come from David’s line. And Solomon will have the privilege of building a house for the Lord.

How great is the blessing that God has granted to David!

I’m sure we have given some thought about building our own “house.” How are we going to establish our own “kingdom”? We may have certain goals in our lives – to have our own “castle” firmly built by a certain age. Hopefully at not too late a time, so we can still have time to enjoy what we have built. I’m certain we’ve also wondered whether or not what we’ve set out to establish will have a good continuation from our own seed.

I just came back from a mountain-conquering expedition. Mount Kinabalu, the highest peak in South-east Asia. During the long and arduous climb, I had a lot of time to think about things. Things pertaining to life. Even after my descent from the mount, I still reflect a lot about it.

I realize I am a man of great ambition. I have an innate addiction for challenges. It may be a good thing, and it also may be a bad thing. As much as it is applaudable to thrive on challenges, the need to live on challenges may also sidetrack a person from what he is supposedly called to do.

I realize I may be wanting too much in life. Upon my descent from the mount, I’m already thinking of climbing every mountain in Asia. I’m already wishing that when I start working, I want to accumulate enough money to conquer all those peaks by age 30.

Besides the thrills and spills one can get in life, I also think about how I can build my own “castle” and establish my own “kingdom”. I’m considering all the options I can possibly take en route to securing my “house” while I still have breath. I also wish that my seed will continue what I have set up with my sweat and toil. There is so much that I plan to do. So much that I hope to achieve.

I may have a serious problem with the word “surrender”. I may not like the idea that certain things, like my own life, cannot be under my control.

In my drive home to Penang, someone asked me this question: “Are you ready to meet your Maker? Have you ever thought about it?” That question stuck with me for a long time. More often than not, I think my answer is no.

Being preoccupied with building our own kingdom can really throw us off course from what we are meant to do while we’re still on this earth. Why am I so caught up about my own kingdom? What about God’s kingdom?

David chose to build God’s house first. In return, God Himself built David’s house for him.

Jewish Boy Band

And these are the ones who ministered with their sons:... Heman the singer, the son of Joel… And his brother Asaph, who stood at his right hand, was Asaph the son of Berachiah… on the left hand, were Ethan the son of Kishi… (1 Chronicles 6:31-48)

David appointed men over the “service of song”, to minister “with music before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of meeting.” 3 names were mentioned as the main stars.

Introducing, the first of its kind... An internationally acclaimed boy band who hails from the Middle-east... Who puts British boy bands like 911 to shame… Give it up, for... The greatest Jewish boy band ever... 777!!

Let me introduce to you the members of this band. The lead singer is Heman. This is not Heman, Master Of The Universe. This is Heman, son of Joel. (Billy Joel, perhaps?) He must be an outstanding singer to be called “Heman the singer.” His amazing vocals must have been given to him by God’s special gifting... Hopefully not by the powers of Greyskull!

In his service of song, Heman is accompanied by 2 more men – Asaph and Ethan. Heman, Asaph and Ethan always stand in a customized formation for every performance before the tabernacle. Heman stands in the center, flanked by Asaph on his right, and Ethan on his left… Much to the disdain of She-Ra, who was hoping so much to be included into their video clip!

Later in 1 Chronicles 15, when the Ark was brought to Jerusalem, the 3 superstars were called up again for their services. This time, they were allowed to include background musicians to help them in their music-making exploits. Also, “Chenaniah, leader of the Levites,” was appointed as “instructor in charge of the music, because he was skillful” (1 Chronicles 15:22). With Chenaniah as the boy band’s new producer, 777’s records must have reached Platinum by Passover!

You must be wondering what kind of instruments they played. 777 makes their music to the accompaniment of stringed instruments, harps, trumpets, and horns. As for Heman, Asaph and Ethan, they played the cymbals. Back then, cymbals were used to lead musicians, instead of the modern drum set or electric guitars.

777 shot to fame because they were the first band to incorporate a special element into their music. Because of the ingenuity of that special element, 777 became a widely influential band, taking the music industry to new heights, crossing boundaries of time and space by storm! Although 777 began making its debut before the Gregorian calendar existed, 777’s special element has inspired the birth of new, controversial genres in the late 20th century. Those genres are known today as alternative and heavy metal!

This special element is called “raising the voice” (1 Chronicles 15:16) and “shouting” (1 Chronicles 15:28). Of course, most alternative and heavy metal bands did not quite get the “shouting” part right. After many generations, the “raising the voice” has evolved to “screaming at the top of your lungs”.

Today’s entry is mixed with cartoon humour and rock history. Meant to be taken lightly, after many heavy postings in the last few entries.

A Displaced Genealogy

Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel – he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that the genealogy is not listed according to the birthright (1 Chronicles 5:1).

Interestingly, the chronicler did not list the genealogy of Jacob’s sons according to its chronological order. By right, the firstborn son should have his genealogy mentioned first, before all his brothers. Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn son. But he had his genealogy listed after Judah and Simeon’s genealogies. Why did the chronicler mention Judah’s genealogy first before all the other sons of Jacob, but not Reuben’s? There are probably for 2 reasons for that:

Firstly, it is because of the purpose of 1 Chronicles. 1 Chronicles was written to emphasize the Israelite’s continuity with their past when they returned from captivity. In order to remind the Israelites of their great heritage, the Israelites were encouraged by the thought that God would establish His reign upon the earth through David’s royal line. Therefore, 1 Chronicles focuses on the glories of David’s reign. And David came from the line of Judah. The chronicler emphasized Judah’s lineage by mentioning that “Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came a ruler” (1 Chronicles 5:2). Consistent with that statement, the chronicler listed Judah’s genealogy before the rest.

Secondly, Reuben’s sin against his father was underscored by the way the chronicler recorded Reuben’s genealogy. In an attempt to assert his right to be the principal heir to succeed his father, “Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine” (Genesis 35:22). Because Reuben “defiled his father’s bed”, his genealogy was “not listed according to the birthright”.

Not only did Reuben's genealogy get “dethroned” among the sons of Jacob. By his misdeed, he also forfeited his birthright that he so desired to have. Jacob gave the birthright to Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, instead of giving it to Reuben. Jacob laid his hands on Ephraim and Manasseh, and said “Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth” (Genesis 48:17).

So, what is the moral of the story? The moral of the story here is not to encourage an obsession about genealogies. The bible teaches us not to “give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith” (1 Timothy 1:4). Rather, the real point here is to point out the ramifications of being over-zealous, or wanting something too much. Reuben’s obsession of getting his birthright, which is probably fuelled by his own insecurities, has led him to commit a misdeed that not only made him lose the very thing that he wanted so much, but also the superiority of his genealogy in the way it was listed among the sons of Jacob.

Prayer Of Jabez

Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying “Because I bore him in pain.” And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested (1 Chronicles 4:9-10).

This particular prayer is famously known as the Prayer Of Jabez. Books have been written about this prayer. It has been endorsed by many people, taught in many places, and it has spread everywhere. But I personally feel that all the hype surrounding this prayer is uncalled for.

The Prayer Of Jabez probably seemed special because it is found in the middle of the geneology of the family of Judah. I believe people have assigned a lot of value to this prayer because of its simplicity, and also because of its location. The exhilaration of finding such a prayer in such an unlikely place has led people to put undue emphasis on it. Who wouldn’t be pleasantly surprised to find a breath of fresh air in the midst of a book which is as boring as 1 Chronicles? The effect of discovering such a portion of Scriptures is akin to unearthing a treasure chest in the midst of a desert.

However, the question is, as much as the Prayer Of Jabez looks like a special prayer that was recorded in an unexpected place, is the amount of attention given to it justifiable? Have we over-amplified the effect of stumbling upon a couple of verses in the bible, to the extent of misinterpreting the real context in which the prayer was said?

If the Prayer Of Jabez was anything that special, I can unearth many other prayers in the Bible that can be of greater value or significance.

The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). Isn’t that how Jesus taught us to pray? I’m sure this model prayer is superior to that of Jabez’s prayer. It is a good “mould” or “template” that can be used as a guide to help us to pray.

Check out Jesus’ prayer (John 17:6-26). Imagine the kind of good it will bring to all believers worldwide if everyone were to say this prayer on a daily basis. One may argue that only Jesus could say that prayer, because it was said by Him, and nobody can repeat His prayer and claim it as his own. If that is true, then the same goes for the Prayer Of Jabez, doesn’t it?

What about The Prayer Of Solomon? (1 Kings 3:6-9). At the utterance of that prayer, God gave Solomon a “wise and understanding heart”, and “both riches and honor”, which will be unparalleled by anyone that came before him or will come after him. Solomon was also granted long life. Who wouldn’t want to be blessed like that? Imagine the kinds of books that can be written about this prayer. “Prayer Of Solomon For Adults”. “Prayer Of Solomon For Teens”. “Prayer Of Solomon For Kids”.

Solomon’s father came out with outstanding prayers in the Psalms. David’s prayers have an additional poetic effect to it. His prayers can even be sung along to a tune, for easy memorization. Perhaps a music CD can be made to teach the Prayers Of David to the masses?

How can we overlook the Prayer Of Paul (Ephesians 1:16-19). If only we exemplified the exact prayer that Paul prayed regularly for all the saints. What a great blessing it will be for our brothers and sisters everywhere if we take Paul’s Prayer on par with the Prayer Of Jabez!

Let’s get back to what prayer really is. Prayer is about conversing directly with God, which is made possible by Jesus Christ our Mediator. Prayer is not supposed to be used as a mantra. Subscribing to the false belief that uttering certain prayers by using certain words or catch phrases in a certain order holds the secret of reaping spectacular benefits will make our faith no different from the paganistic understanding of prayer.

Polygamy In The Bible

Now these were the sons of David… The firstborn was Ammon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second, Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelitess; the third, Absalom the son of maacah, the daughter of Talmai… The fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah, by Abital; the sixth, Ithream, by his wife Eglah. (1 Chronicles 3:1-3).

David had 6 sons born to him by 6 different wives in Hebron. Not only that, he also had more sons born to him in Jerusalem by Bathsheba. Not to mention the sons of his concubines as well.

Doesn’t this raise a serious question about David’s personal life? How can “a man after God’s own heart” have 7 wives in 2 different places and numerous concubines? What does the bible have to say about polygamy?

The fact that David had so many sons by so many wives does not condone polygamy. David had fallen into the ancient custom among kings of marrying the daughters of neighboring kings to create allies.

Negative results followed such multiple marriages. David’s firstborn, Ammon, raped Tamar, his half sister. Ammon’s half brother, Absalom, killed Ammon to avenge for Tamar’s rape. David’s fourth son, Adonijah, tried to usurp the throne from Solomon, who was born to Solomon by Bathsheba. A lot of turbulence and division has resulted from David’s multiple marriages.

Polygamy was not something God has meant for His people, for “a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). God also gave a principle concerning kings to not “multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away” (Deuteronomy 17:17). Call it a shortcoming of David’s human nature. Even though polygamy was an accepted custom throughout the ancient Middle East and among the ancient Israelites, David’s family paid the price for his multiple marriages.

Nevertheless, God did give some level of provision that allowed polygamy to happen under certain conditions. In cases of a childless first marriage, which is known as a levirate marriage, it is permissible for the widow to take another husband. For “her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her” (Deuteronomy 25:5) in order to carry on the family line of the deceased husband. The Sadducees used the law of the levirate marriage to question Jesus regarding His teaching about the resurrection of the dead (Matthew 22:23-28).

It is said that men have a bigger tendency to be polygamous, or have intentions for polygamous relationships. The concern is not so much about whether or not this statement is politically correct or sexist. The more urgent concern is to heed the dangers and pitfalls of polygamous relationships, be it in married relationships or pre-marital relationships. For God has meant for us to be monogamous, as much as he has meant for marriages to reflect the relationship between Christ and His church – meant for one, and one alone.

I Cannot Be Bought!

For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s (1 Corinthians 6:20).

Yesterday, I got a call from the chairman of a prestigious swimming club in Penang. The Penang Inter-Club competition is 3 month’s away, and she’s already making plans. Her agenda is to beat a rival club to the championship cup. By roping in USM swimmers to swim for her club under the Open Category, she hopes that her club will turn up tops in the state.

Her club has been known for its attempts to entice swimmers with incentives. Being a rich club, it is able to employ foreign coaches to satisfy ambitious parents. It gives luxurious benefits to its swimmers, such as good facilities, free attire, cash incentives, and what nots. The club has also been known for causing riffs when swimmers changed clubs because of what the club is able to offer.

As for us, should we choose to swim for the club, they are offering to sponsor our entry fees. They will give us their attire, pay for the competition’s dinner function, and invited us to a celebration dinner if the club wins the title. Sounds like a very good deal, for them to extend such an invitation us and treat us so well if we will swim under their banner. I’m supposed to relay the message to the USM Swimming Division.

As for me, I personally feel that my allegiance is to my university. It may not be legally wrong to bite at a better offer, but I’ll not let my swimming go to another. I’ve been in Penang all my life, and I’ve never been associated with that club, or felt the need to join it in any way. Therefore, I don’t see why I should strike a connection with that club now, just because it is offering me incentives.

When I stand in my lane, and they call my name, I want it to be known to whom I really belong to. I am Joshua Hooi from USM. That club is a foreigner to me, and I cannot be identified as one of them. If I win, I will win it for USM for no incentive. If I lose, I will only lose the race. I won’t lose my honor or my integrity. I will not be bought over, or be labeled with a price tag.

Some things in this world cannot be bought with money. Things like honor and loyalty.

Being bought at a price brings many implications to the one that has been bought. When we are bought, we do not belong to ourselves anymore. We belong to the one who bought us. Our life and actions will either bring glory or shame to the one who has bought us.

Brothers and sisters, we have been bought with a price. God has set his seal of ownership over us. Our every word and action will either glorify our Father in heaven, or bring shame to His name. Do not trade your allegiance for another, regardless of the tempting bribes that the world may offer. Some things cannot be bought by perishable things such as silver or gold. Our sonship has been bought by the imperishable blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, let us “glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Let us compete in this race of life under no other banner, but Christ’s alone.

Stay Away From Ham

The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan… Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth… Canaan begot Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth; the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite (1 Chronicles 1:8-16).

Ham’s lineage does not look like a good one to inherit. The Hamites have suffered severely throughout history. Dispossession of land seemed to be a common occurrence to them.

Let’s look at Ham’s son, Canaan. Canaan was the father of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites… All of them were enemies of Israel. The Canaanites were driven out from their land during Joshua’s conquest (Joshua 3:10). It didn’t stop there. During the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, the Simeonites dispossessed the Hamites from Gedor and lived in their broad, quiet and peaceful land which had rich, good pasture for their flocks (1 Chronicles 4:39-41).

Not only did the Hamites suffered great persecution. Ham’s lineage also became a source of problems to God’s people.

Let’s look at Ham’s grandson, Nimrod. After Noah’s flood, Nimrod became “a mighty one on the earth” by becoming a source of great evil on the earth. He was the husband of a beautiful witch named Semiramis, who was the Queen of Babylon. Historically, he was called the husband of his mother. The both of them created a satanic cult so powerful that it spread around the world. Nimrod was called by many names, including Moloch. Babies were sacrificed in his honor. After Nimrod was put to death, Semiramis gave girth to another child and claimed that Nimrod had been reincarnated. The child was called Tammuz, and he became the sun god, Baal.

What did Ham do to deserve such an accursed lineage? A dig into his past proved to get even more interesting.

And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside… So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. Then he said: “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants he shall be to his brethren.” (Genesis 9:22-25)

Apparently, there was a time when Ham saw his father, Noah, lying naked and unconscious in his tent. He went outside to tell his brothers, Ham and Japheth. Ham probably made fun of his father, and described what he saw in a disrespectful way by making a spectacle out of it. Ham’s offense resulted in a curse that affected his lineage, and even world history. Some believed that the African peoples were allegedly descended from Canaan, and this justified their slavery.

This incident just goes to show that we should be careful of the things that we do or say, although they may seem funny at that time. We may not be aware of how our careless sins may have serious repercussions at a later point of time.

On a lighter note, probably this incident also inspired the food industry to name a certain meat product after that particular son of Noah. Stay healthy, and keep away from ham!