Jesus Encounter ANEW

I have to admit it. I was not looking forward to spending the weekend having someone run through your life and help you clean out any lingering issues that remains a stumbling block to being the person God intends you to be. I have not taken up my golf clubs for 2 months now and was looking forward to a relaxing time at the greens.

However, God has other plans. He even shifted my intended business trip so that I can be around for the weekend. And, truly what a weekend it turns out to be.

Jesus Encounter ( ANEW ) is a PLMC initiative to get members to spend some time looking inwards into their lives. The foundational teaching will prepare the hearts and minds of the participants as the Holy Spirit reveals areas where the participants need ministry or release and healing, in order to walk in freedom, unhindered. There will be one on one prayer counselling where he/she is sensitively and prayerfully led to encounter God in these areas of bondages or woundings. By allowing the Spirit to reveal and let God remove those hindrances that keep us from deepening our relationship with Him and with others, we prepare ourselves for the renewal of our minds and the revival of our spirits for greater spiritual growth - a desire we all have.


I was particularly drawn to the teaching on the Tripartite Man - We have a body, soul & spirit. Within the soul resides our mind, emotions and will. This is where the battle rages on. When we became a christian, our spirit man is aligned with God. However our mind has just begun to be renewed after all the ungodly soul ties we have accumulated. We need to cut all ties and prevent the devil from using these to again pull us back into sin. That is why the Bible teaches that we need to constantly renew our mind ( Rom 12:2 ) with what is good and godly so that we will be able to make godly decisions ( will ).

We had a 3 hr one to one session with a counsellor at the end of the program to basically go through our life experiences right from birth to draw out any hurts, wrongs, ungodly affiliations that may explain our current struggles and to cut away all these ungodly ties.

Truly a rewarding time spent.

A New Assignment

God works in mysterious ways. When you least expected it, something happens that leave you completely stunned and you can't help but marvel at God's providence and timing. I was handled an added responsibility at work. Looking at the task at hand, I can't imagine how I can fit into this role. I can only look up and trust Him to lead the way and I will follow (Proverbs 3:5,6). Depending not on my strength, but His alone ( Phil 4:13 ).

All glory be to Him.

God's Blessings

After a long absence, I am back! Not because I did not want to write, but rather could hardly find the time to pen down my thoughts...

In the span of 4 months, I have been away on business trips, sold and bought a new house; renovate and finally move into our new home. Imagine the hassle involved. But God is good. Everything moves like clockwork. I am indeed thankful.

This year has been an eventful year for me. I am grateful for His many blessings at work and in the family.

I will blog on some of the events soon...

Psalms 23

I was looking forward to WIN on Tuesday night..praying for the church camp as well as the opportunity to listen to Rev David Holdaway. What he shared that night left a deep impression on me.

The life of David is a classic example of how God deals with those he loves and truly he has earned the distinction of being "one after God's heart". Throughout his life, it has never been a bed of roses...even after he was anointed by Samuel as the next King of Israel, he has to go through the school of hard knocks before he ascended the throne. Even then, he has been brought low through sin in his life. The psalms that David wrote gave us a glimpse into the emotions and struggles he went through at each trial. Psalm 23 shows us the unique relationship David has with God, his Shepherd and his total trust and faith in Him in good times as well as trying times.

As Rev Holdaway shared on Psalms 23, one verse stands out to me " Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me ". It had never occurred to me why the rod and staff are mentioned separately as both are used interchangeably throughout the Bible.

The rod stands for correction, but even the chastening of our God is comforting. Chastening assures us that we are yet the subjects of our Shepherd's love. "For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." Heb. 12:6. "Now chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." Heb. 12:11. In view of the chastening process we can even "joy in tribulation."

The staff stands for support, or something to lean upon in the time of weariness. Our loving Shepherd shares His staff with us and supports us in times of sorrow or trial. This staff may well stand for the unfailing precious promises of the Bible. What a staff to lean upon! Men's promises may fail, but the promises of our Lord can never fail.

For those out there who are suffering trials right now, Psalm 23 is really a wonderful passage to meditate, ponder and claim on. Let it be to us what David had experienced....to know the Shepherd intimately so that we can echo truly from our hearts "The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want..."

A Mother's Day Dedication

So many of us just take it for granted. We assume the things they do will be done because they always have been done. The house will be clean and tidy, the kids will be ready for schools on time, the meals will be on the table, etc. What basically needs to be done will be done. We take for granted that mothers will pay the price to be mothers. In fact, we assume it so much that we often don’t value it as we should.

So this year, a special dedication to my wife :

"Thank you for being there in the different stages of our lives.. Your love and dedication throughout the years has cement the foundation of our marriage and has made it stronger as we journey through this life together. Our 3 sons are a testimony to your dedication and upbringing and truly, I cannot imagine how well our sons were brought up. As I have promised you, "The Best is Yet To Be"..Enjoy the ride! I love you so much! I thank God for you and I recognise you as one of his greatest gifts to me! Happy Mother's Day."

"Give her the reward she has earned and let her good works bring her praise in the most public of places.” (Proverbs 31:30-31).

MOE's About Turn On AWARE's CSE Programme

MOE has done an about turn on their stand about AWARE's CSE Programme. They now feel that it does not conform to their guidelines and thus has pulled the plug on the programme.

I will not delve into the details but just to say that I thank God for what Josie and her team had done. They are willing to sacrifice their time and energy to right something which they saw was wrong in AWARE and the effect it has on our society, especially our children. I sincerely hope and pray that the old guard will see the error of their ways and change and embrace the help of some of the new members as well, to steer the ship back to its honourable goals.

A small victory nonetheless..Praise God indeed.

AWARE Saga Continues....

This is my third blog post concerning the AWARE saga. I am greatly disturbed, not by what had happened in the past few days, but rather by the subtle way that AWARE has been hijacked by what is commonly known as the GLBT ( Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender ) movement. Top on the list of course, is the Comprehensive Sexuality Education taught to school kids. I wonder what else is there that we have not uncovered. We will never know since the control is back to the old guard.



For those who wants to sign the petition to get MOE to review the CSE programme can do so here.



In the name of "Inclusiveness", GLBT movement has been gaining ground in many christian churches/denominations worldwide. We have the Anglican crisis that has caused the split of the episcopal church of US with its brethren worldwide. The Methodists has its own struggle from within. Now, the secular state of America has begun to legalise same sex marriages in some states. I dare not think what will happen to Singapore when Article 377A of the Penal code is successfully repealed.

Aware MUST get its act together and should go back to its original objectives of championing the rights of women. The noble thing to do is to seek a conciliatory path between the 2 camps as I believe that there are many women out there of the new blood that can contribute significantly to its causes.....unless of course...the old guard think that they are right all along..

The Plot Thickens....

The results are finally out....the old guard won a "non-confidence" vote against the new exco, and Josie Lau and her team have graciously step down from the leadership of AWARE. End of story....or is it?

The leadership tussle at AWARE has somehow unearthed a sinister plot that has gone undetected for some time which shows the old guard's slant towards accepting homosexuality as a way of life. They have promoted this through their "Comprehensive Sexuality Education" workshop that are now conducted in 11 schools.

I quote the following from an article in the christian post :

"the former Aware leadership had intended to spread a liberal, relativistic worldview through the CSE workshop, according to a website launched by the old guard.They justify the liberal programme by saying that students are taught to develop their own views in an environment where values are not challenged, but this is after the fundamental assumptions under girding a conservative worldview have been demolished, leaving a relativistic climate in which what is not objectionable to anyone is deemed right and acceptable."

Children are taught through the programme that homosexuality is ok and that anal sex is ok in spite of the state’s criminalisation of sodomy.

In the article, the media disclosed that the free workshop was funded by Chen Su Lan Trust, whose chairman Yap Kim Hao, a former Methodist bishop, is a pastoral advisor to Free Community Church, a pro-homosexuality congregation in Singapore. The Rev Yap affirmed that he was comfortable with the full contents of the programme.

So you see where all this leads to....a systematic programme to infiltrate the minds of the young ones to "experience" their sexuality in the hope to turn them to accept homosexuality as a way of life.

I thank God for people like Josie Lau & Thio Su Mien, among others who had seen the danger and decided to act to turn the tide in AWARE. Although the battle is lost with the old guard taking over the helm again, I believe that MOE will now wake up and act decisively on this matter. They owe it to all the concerned parents out there who are now well informed of the evil that is polluting the young minds of their children.

Aware of AWARE!

The saga continues unabated with claims and counterclaims from the opposing parties. The ministers are dragged in along with the Education ministry as well as the church. Of course the rumour mongers had their hands full churning out stories upon stories of hear say and half-truths that adds to the confusion. I was rather taken aback when I hear that one of my male relative will be going to the EGM to lend support to one of the party.


After sieving through articles upon articles on this matter, I realise that it has something to do with the Aware's stance of "inclusiveness" regards to homosexuality.


For the record, I affirm that homosexuality is sin. The approach is to hate the sin but love the sinner. Therefore the church will always open our doors to them so that they could be turned from their ways and embrace what is right.


However, muscling our way into a secular organisation to enforce our values, in my humble opinion, is a bit too high handed and does not bode well with the image that we are trying to project, now that the church has been pulled into the limelight.


What will we expect out of the EGM? The fight will continue if the old guard loses with accusations that AWARE will be turned into a christian organisation that will pursue christian values instead of its stance of religious "neutrality". If the new guard loses....will there be a graceful exit for them?...I feel that damage has already been done..regardless..


I applaud the new guard's boldness in trying to right something that is fundamentally wrong in AWARE. I just feel that it could have been done in a much better and transparent way.

Integrity in Adversity and Prosperity

The net is again abuzzed with the latest talk on the salary of New Creation Church's top man, Senior Pastor Joseph Prince. Judging from the hot discussion on both end of the continuum, one has to wonder whether this is doing a whole lot of good to our effort to promote christianity in Singapore.

If you are thinking that I am going to throw in my 2 cents worth of opinion into the debate....I am sorry to disappoint you.

Rather, I like to share something that I have learned in my devotion from Charles Swindol:

Psalm 78:70-72 (King James Version)

70 He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
71 From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
72 So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.

Both adversity and prosperity confront our equilibrium, but prosperity is perhaps the more challenging test. David was a nobody but God took him and make him King. God found in David the humility of a servant, the heart of a shepherd, and the hands of skill. At his fingertips were a vast treasury, unlimited privileges, and enormous power.


How did he handle this prosperity?


He shepherded the nation "according to the integrity of his heart." (Vs 72) In spite of his limitations and imperfections, he was one of the few who passed the test of prosperity.


When God prospers you, are you able to stand the integrity test? How do we stay in balance when we are up there, financially sound? Integrity means being trustworthy with what you said, morally pure in your relationships, no faking it because you are now a big shot or twisting the truth to make a point....

Every believer is accountable to God. It is when we are up there in the limelight that our every actions are under scrutiny by all. Your integrity will be the key to whether you pass the prosperity test or not....Let's pray that God will create in us a heart that is like David's....

Beef Noodle - Die Die Must Try

Came across this food stall at the Toa Payoh Lor 6 Market. Sell delicious and mouth watering Hainanese Beef Noodle. Must try the Dry Beef Noodle. The gravy is thick and very tasty. The beef balls have a very nice texture and taste. The taste lingers in your mouth, even long after your meal.

Judging from the queue, it must be good. I am one who hates queuing up. But for this, I am willing to endure the wait.

Like some food critic used to say "Die Die Must Try"...

Thinking Out Loud...

An article in the Beacon, the church newsletter has been making waves in some christian community. "Salvation Made Easy? A look into Antinomianism" was discussed at length by certain netizens and it is interesting to note that it gets personal at times.

I see a parallel here between Paul's admonition to the Corinthians church where there are open division between groups affiliating themselves to leaders of the church instead of to Christ. We can argue until the cows come home and we will not get closer in our theology. The only loser here is unity of the body of Christ.

Let's sit back for awhile and think through what we have been doing in blogosphere. We are openly attacking one another and smearing the good name of others in the process. We have gone to the extend of labeling churches in the conflict with no regard to the authenticity of the accusations levied on them. In some posts, you can actually see them wallowing gleefully in the misfortunes/mistakes of others.

We preach grace...but showed little of that grace in our behaviour.

James warned us about the tongue in James 3:9,10

"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be." (NIV)

I pray that we will blog responsibly with our heart in the right place...

A New Year...A New Beginning

Well...We are into 2009. It is a new beginning of sorts for me. After 2 weeks of rest...started with a new job role. It is again a leap of faith into the unknown. However I am comforted with the knowledge that God is with me throughout the journey. There will be new challenges, obstacles in the way but God assured me that victory comes from Him.

Proverbs 21:31

The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord ( NIV)

Who can be against you if God is for you?