Its been some time since I sat down to 'pen' down my thoughts. Its the holidays for me now but ironically,I find myself blogging more when I'm busier. In fact, with so many happening happenings these days, I would not have a lack of things to reflect and blog on. But I succumbed to laziness. Period. Well this pretty much sums up my training progress for the Adidas Sundown Marathon on the 30th May! All the best to me. Hopefully it will not be a repeat telecast of the crampful SCM last year.
Was browsing through some of my friends' bloggies and so it kinda motivated me to also put down into words what have been going through my mind these days. Furthermore, with the cool breeze blowing into my room, the ambience is almost perfect (of course ignoring the messy state of my room!).
Let's start with the macro stuff:
1. Swine / Influenza A (H1N1) Virus
Once again, the world is brought to its knees. 6 years ago, SARS; 6 years later, Swine flu. What next? Vegetable or fruit flu??? Seems ridiculous & lame but in this bizzare world, bizzare things can happen.
When I first saw the news regarding the outbreak of the flu in Mexico, my 1st thought was : "Ok ...Jesus is coming back!" I know such things are bound to happen in the last days and I should not be unduly alarmed when it happens but instinctively, I will panic. Will it hit Singapore? Will my family members contract the virus? Will it.....me, me, me???
Until God reminded me of how Asia was shaken to its core with the SARS outbreak in 2003. Asia is never the same since then. Lives changed, governments changed, social systems & organizations changed. The lesson SARS taught us was never to be complacent and take the little things for granted.
With the H1N1 virus making its way round the globe, the world is literally fighting an invisible enemy. Its amazing how a tiny microbe can bring about such frightening consequences and leaving us mortals to fear its very existence. We are indeed humbled. But this time, the other part of the world got it bad with the Americas & European countries bearing the brunt of it. As I kept up with the latest developments, God said : " I'm doing a new thing amongst My people in Europe & America." It doesn't mean that He's done with Asia but for so long, the church in Europe/America has been stagnant, if not, gone downhill and its time for a revival. Sometimes I wonder if all these viruses are the modern day plagues God sent upon His people during the OT days, just so to teach His people. If so, what is He saying? And are we hearing Him correctly and doing accordingly?
Still pretty much amazed at the impact a tiny microorganism can cause, I cannot help but remember this 1-liner : See the small in the great, and the great in the small. Doesn't it sum up this phenomenon the world is experiencing?
2. AWARE Saga
Honestly, I feel the hooha surrounding AWARE was rather ridiculous. Maybe I'm naive or simple-minded but I was perplexed at how the issue got blown up to become a church vs secular debate. In the first place, what triggered the saga wasn't homosexuality or religion, at least overtly it didn't appear to be so. But as the events unfold, more was unearthed and naturally, things got blown out of proportion. The focus was no longer on AWARE but on the church and christians. It was saddening to just see/read what went on.
I'm not on either side and I don't see the need to take sides. Not that I'm not making a stand, rather I believe in exercising discretion & wisdom when making my voice heard. I salute the New Guard (Josie & gang) for wanting to champion the need for healthy families and making their stand against homosexuality known. For this, I'm with them. However, I wondered if they could have gone round doing it differently, where they could have shown more credibility and accountability in their actions. I'm not saying truth must be watered down to suit the taste of the masses. It should not be. I'm reminded of Jason Wong (founder of Yellow Ribbon campaign). He's a Christian & he doesn't hide it. He speaks the truth and more importantly he walks it. People see, hear and eventually went over to his side. I'm a firm believer of 'actions speak louder than words'.
The saga may have concluded with the Old Guard being reinstated and Josie's ex-co stepping down but the impact it has on the church & christians remains latent. How will people view christianity and christians now? As it is, we are already labelled to be 'anti-homosexuals' and for the record, CHRISTIANS DO NOT HATE HOMOSEXUALS! We just do not believe in the act because God never designed man to be 1 with man, woman to be 1 with woman. Homosexuals or not, we are not superior to another in any way. The only commonality is that we are created by God in His image and each of us will account for our lives to Him one fine day.
I reckon the misconceptions that people have of christians will be further deepened through this saga and it may be a good problem, albeit a tough one to tackle!
Naturally, this topic will be addressed in churches and Pastor did so on Sunday. Rather aptly, the sermon by Pastor Ed was on the church that God wanted in Acts and there was this model presented. PENTECOST-POWER-PERSECUTION-PRAYER. Pastor concluded by using AWARE saga as a case in point, where we (christians) must be prepared for persecutions whenever we make our stand known. She said much more but this point stuck with me. I left thinking whether Josie and gang was really being persecuted or were they just reaping the consequences of their actions/moves that seemed rather rash to me.
Did they do the right thing? Was the manner in which they conducted themselves above reproach and of a positive testimony? Did they do it God's way? I don't have the answers and not that they are important now. All I know is from now on, christians will now be more closely scrutinized by the world and persecutions will come. Am I going to face them boldly
or will I cower to the pressures of this world? I choose the former and as long as I do it God's way, I will never be wrong. Great Power; Great Grace.
Was browsing through some of my friends' bloggies and so it kinda motivated me to also put down into words what have been going through my mind these days. Furthermore, with the cool breeze blowing into my room, the ambience is almost perfect (of course ignoring the messy state of my room!).
Let's start with the macro stuff:
1. Swine / Influenza A (H1N1) Virus
Once again, the world is brought to its knees. 6 years ago, SARS; 6 years later, Swine flu. What next? Vegetable or fruit flu??? Seems ridiculous & lame but in this bizzare world, bizzare things can happen.
When I first saw the news regarding the outbreak of the flu in Mexico, my 1st thought was : "Ok ...Jesus is coming back!" I know such things are bound to happen in the last days and I should not be unduly alarmed when it happens but instinctively, I will panic. Will it hit Singapore? Will my family members contract the virus? Will it.....me, me, me???
Until God reminded me of how Asia was shaken to its core with the SARS outbreak in 2003. Asia is never the same since then. Lives changed, governments changed, social systems & organizations changed. The lesson SARS taught us was never to be complacent and take the little things for granted.
With the H1N1 virus making its way round the globe, the world is literally fighting an invisible enemy. Its amazing how a tiny microbe can bring about such frightening consequences and leaving us mortals to fear its very existence. We are indeed humbled. But this time, the other part of the world got it bad with the Americas & European countries bearing the brunt of it. As I kept up with the latest developments, God said : " I'm doing a new thing amongst My people in Europe & America." It doesn't mean that He's done with Asia but for so long, the church in Europe/America has been stagnant, if not, gone downhill and its time for a revival. Sometimes I wonder if all these viruses are the modern day plagues God sent upon His people during the OT days, just so to teach His people. If so, what is He saying? And are we hearing Him correctly and doing accordingly?
Still pretty much amazed at the impact a tiny microorganism can cause, I cannot help but remember this 1-liner : See the small in the great, and the great in the small. Doesn't it sum up this phenomenon the world is experiencing?
2. AWARE Saga
Honestly, I feel the hooha surrounding AWARE was rather ridiculous. Maybe I'm naive or simple-minded but I was perplexed at how the issue got blown up to become a church vs secular debate. In the first place, what triggered the saga wasn't homosexuality or religion, at least overtly it didn't appear to be so. But as the events unfold, more was unearthed and naturally, things got blown out of proportion. The focus was no longer on AWARE but on the church and christians. It was saddening to just see/read what went on.
I'm not on either side and I don't see the need to take sides. Not that I'm not making a stand, rather I believe in exercising discretion & wisdom when making my voice heard. I salute the New Guard (Josie & gang) for wanting to champion the need for healthy families and making their stand against homosexuality known. For this, I'm with them. However, I wondered if they could have gone round doing it differently, where they could have shown more credibility and accountability in their actions. I'm not saying truth must be watered down to suit the taste of the masses. It should not be. I'm reminded of Jason Wong (founder of Yellow Ribbon campaign). He's a Christian & he doesn't hide it. He speaks the truth and more importantly he walks it. People see, hear and eventually went over to his side. I'm a firm believer of 'actions speak louder than words'.
The saga may have concluded with the Old Guard being reinstated and Josie's ex-co stepping down but the impact it has on the church & christians remains latent. How will people view christianity and christians now? As it is, we are already labelled to be 'anti-homosexuals' and for the record, CHRISTIANS DO NOT HATE HOMOSEXUALS! We just do not believe in the act because God never designed man to be 1 with man, woman to be 1 with woman. Homosexuals or not, we are not superior to another in any way. The only commonality is that we are created by God in His image and each of us will account for our lives to Him one fine day.
I reckon the misconceptions that people have of christians will be further deepened through this saga and it may be a good problem, albeit a tough one to tackle!
Naturally, this topic will be addressed in churches and Pastor did so on Sunday. Rather aptly, the sermon by Pastor Ed was on the church that God wanted in Acts and there was this model presented. PENTECOST-POWER-PERSECUTION-PRAYER. Pastor concluded by using AWARE saga as a case in point, where we (christians) must be prepared for persecutions whenever we make our stand known. She said much more but this point stuck with me. I left thinking whether Josie and gang was really being persecuted or were they just reaping the consequences of their actions/moves that seemed rather rash to me.
Did they do the right thing? Was the manner in which they conducted themselves above reproach and of a positive testimony? Did they do it God's way? I don't have the answers and not that they are important now. All I know is from now on, christians will now be more closely scrutinized by the world and persecutions will come. Am I going to face them boldly
or will I cower to the pressures of this world? I choose the former and as long as I do it God's way, I will never be wrong. Great Power; Great Grace.
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