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?

It's Christmas Time Again

Funny as it seems, the atmosphere of the commercial Christmas is rather muted this year. And we all know the reason - we are in the midst of a financial crisis that is creating turmoil and affecting the lives of everyone in the world. Singapore is the first to enter into a recession and a bleak outlook for 2009 is forecasted.

But it doesn't change the fact that this is a season to be jolly because at this time, 2000 years ago, our saviour, Jesus Christ, was born. So, be Happy and Rejoice!

In the midst of doom and gloom, we need to lighten up! Yes, spirituality and fun do go well together.

Scripture says : "A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken" (Prov. 15:13).

"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones" (Prov. 17:22).

Amazing how that proverb goes right to the heart of the problem. We're not talking about a person's face here as much as we are about the heart. Internal joy goes public. We can't hide it.

So, don't let the circumstances rob you of the joy that we have in Christ. A joyful heart brings healing to the emotions, healing to the soul.

Radiate that joy this Christmas season and be a blessing indeed to those we meet.

Have a Wonderful and Blessed Christmas.

A Small Victory

After blogging about the fight in the US with MacDonald on their "Gay" stand, I am glad to read that they have finally relented. Read about it here.

Sometime it pays to be a little more inquisitive when it comes to making choiced decisions.

Hmm...I heard Levi Straus is going the same path as MacDonald.....