It’s About Time

Today we sent WeiChee and family off to the field of Irian (West Papua). It is a joyful/sad occasion. Sad because our friends are leaving us for the Lord’s work; joyful because they are obeying God’s leading for their lives and we as a church were part of that journey; that process. We were obedient in sending them off to the Lord’s field.

Many of us arrived at the Budget Terminal about 2hrs prior to departure time. It was a casual and light occasion at that time. Kids ran around oblivious to the heavyheartedness of adults. Still it was fun watching them expend energy in the departure hall. Adults meanwhile, ‘loiter’ around in small groups having chit-chats. Some regular visitors turned up: MeiLeng, Angelia, as well as Jeff and Patricia. Stephanie came too.

When 16:00 hrs came, I asked Daniel to gather the folks for group picture. It was quite a breeze since the folks knew what they were supposed to do. Then came the difficult moment – to pray for the missionary family on behalf of the church. Difficult only because one can sense the sadness around.

Tears flowed as I prayed for the Lam family prior to their moving off to Departure gate. It was understandable. Inevitable I might add. The people of NTBC love them dearly. That is wonderful. I do wonder if it’s our turn, will they likewise?

As a side note, I was pleasantly surprised to see TzeCheh (aka Tracy) and Jasmine. Both are married with kids in tow. Both whom I have not seen since 1993 when we left SBBC. Frankly I missed them much though not expressed. I missed their ever positive outlook. The life of the party so to speak, in a positive manner. I missed their fervor. Sadly they are not attending church since the fiasco in ’93. only thing to do is to pray that the Lord will prompt their hearts to yearn for worship and communion with God and His saints.

Last Friday, Amanda wrote this to me, which i thought it was sweet.

Amanda's handwritten note

Then yesterday, after her phonics class, while at the supermarket, she told her mother that she wanted to give me a “treat.”  When asked why Papa deserves a treat, Amanda answered it’s because Papa takes care of her, and bought her books (I did last week).  My wife took opportunity to commend her on her sense of appreciation and thoughtfulness.  Told her that “you want to show Papa your appreciation” rather than “treat.”

It was heartwarming to hear this when my wife related it to me.  We’ve been trying to inculcate in her a sense of “gratitude-attitude” so it’s heartening to note of such things.

Romans 16:25-27 ^“Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, ²⁶ but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; ²⁷ to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.”

W.H. Griffith-Thomas, in commenting on Romans 16:25-27, sums up the importance of being established in the faith:

In every age, under all circumstances, the Christian life should be one of spiritual consistency, for if there is firmness in the inner life there will be steadfastness in the outer conduct. A strong Christian is one who is saved, sanctified, and satisfied in Christ. His position as an established believer makes him at once happy, holy, and helpful. Weakness is perilous to the believer’s own soul, and prejudicial to anything he endeavors to do for His Master. Strength, on the other hand, will give the heart and life confidence, comfort, and courage, and prove the means of usefulness on every hand. Let us, therefore, never fail to recall this last word of this important Epistle, the absolute necessity of strength and steadfastness in Christian living.”

(Epistles to the Romans, p. 441)

Good food for thought.

A week or so ago, got an email from Curt Lamansky, likely to be group-mass mailing thingy, informing that major changes has taken place at Northland, my alma mater.  I gathered that this announcement was made during the Missions Conference.  Northland Baptist Bible College will now be under the umbrella of Northland International University.

It turns out to be an expansion of Northland’s vision and purpose to serve a larger community of believers.  A quick visit to Northland’s new website reveals major expansion plans.  One particular page shows video interviews of Dr Les Ollila, Dr Mat Olson and Dr Sam Horn, with each man explaining the purpose and direction in which Northland is heading in the coming days ahead.

With many things happening in my own church and personal lives (illness), I have yet to fully comprehend (actually digest is a more accurate word!) the implication and though some questions are floating in my mind, I am sure in coming days I’ll get some answers and understand things better.

Undoubtedly, certain segments of community will be apprehensive seeing what directions Cedarville and Grand Rapids had become over the years with the change of names.  Will post additional thoughts later.

Today, while driving to Jismyl’s school to fetch her home, Amanda asked while we’re at the traffic light (cross-junction), “where is Jesus?”  To which I replied, “Jesus is in heaven.”  “Where is heaven?” she followed up. “Well, heaven is above but more importantly, it is where Jesus and God is.”

“I want to go to heaven.” Amanda said on her own accord.  “How do you get to heaven?” I asked, wondering if she knew the answer. She said, “Believe in Jesus.”  I said, “Yes, you need to believe in Jesus in order to get to heaven.”

“Well, the Bible says that we must believe in Him, and importantly, we must know that we are sinners, and need Him to forgive us of our sins, and believe that He died for our sins. Believe that if we trust in Jesus, He will save us.” I explained.  ”Do you want to do that?”  After pausing for awhile (the traffic light turns green in our favor and I drove on).

“Yes” she said. So I led her to pray the modified version of sinners’ prayer and she did. After which I told her about John 3:16; 14:3 (both verses she knew).

The background that led to this conversation is that she attends Shalom BP kindergarten which is 10 minutes drive from our home.  Since last year she was exposed to the Gospel presentation during their chapel sessions.  In fact, she asked several times, “why did Jesus die on the cross?”  We answered her duly but no further we weren’t sure if she was trying to impress us with facts that she gained or what.  Furthermore we didn’t want to rush just to extract a “conversion” since she was almost 4 years of age then.  However, we were sure she is thinking about the subject and periodic coverage of the Gospel continually either in kindergarten or our church’s Sunday school.

Today, at chapel (Friday afternoon is chapel time where a pastoral staff will teach the children); I suppose the teacher/preacher covered the topic of heaven, thus the question that she raised to me.  And the rest was that she prayed after me.

As we reach Jismyl’s school gate, I told Amanda that perhaps she would like to tell her mommy that she has believed in Jesus.  She said, “Mommy would say, ‘wow!’”  True enough, that’s what came out of Jismyl’s mouth.

Of course, we can only ascertain later on in her life for evidence of salvation.  Right now, we’re glad that she understands much more than she did earlier – that Jesus died for her sins; heaven is for those who have trusted Jesus Christ as Savior.

One of the most famous poems of the Western world is “the Hound of Heaven,” by the 19th century English poet Francis Thompson:

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways of my own mind. . . .

So begins the poet who describe God’s never-ceasing pursuit of God’s love for him until he hears the invitation, “Rise, clasp My hand, and come!” Thompson lived a destitute life of opium addiction until rescued, made well, and returned to the Catholic faith of his fathers, in which he died. “The Hound of Heaven” was written in the years following his recovery, when he recognized how God had not let him get away.

The Irish poet Brendan Behan once quipped,

There is no such thing as bad publicity except your obituary. 

Some atheists evidently disagree, and they want to help atheism get over a rather significant public relations problem.

read on. . . http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=2768

Quote taken from Dr Matt Olson’s article, God’s Good Work, as food for thought:

“I see at least two great “works” of God in the making when we face a trial. First, God is conforming us to His image – cultivating greater levels of maturity and God-dependence in our lives. . . . Second, when we face a trial, God is increasing our capacity to minister.”

Martin Luther:

“Music and notes, which are wonderful gifts and creations of God, do help a better understanding of the test. . . . We have put this music to the living and holy Word of God in order to sing, praise and honor it.  We want the beautiful art of music to be properly used to serve her dear Creator and his Christians.  He is thereby praised and honored and we are made better and stronger in faith when his holy Word is impressed on our hearts by sweet music.”

Colossians 3:16-17

“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.” ~ Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784)