Reflections of God

Trip to Brugge & Amsterdam

2011-05-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a 4 day trip to Brugge & Amsterdam, and here are some traveling budget tips for these places. As usual, go before you're 26 years old and if you're a student in the EU because you can get free entrance to some of the museums and many things can be cheaper!

--Try good flemish food!Recommend restaurant is: De Vlaamsche Pot (address: Helmstraat 3-5, 8000 Brugge) Tel:050 34 00 86. Key dish to try: Flemish beef stew (this is big enough for 2 people!).
--Biking is a fun way to explore the city

--Best time to go: roughly end of March to early May. Why? Because you can catch a glimpse of the sea of tulips at the Keukenhof Gardens! The garden is only open for a set number of days each spring so check before you go!
--local waffle like treat: stroopwafel (two wafer like biscuits with caramel in the middle)
--The 24 hour (costs 7 euros), 48 hour or 72 hour Tram/bus/Metro pass is worth it! This is called a GVB card and can be purchased at the GVB office opposite the Central Station. You'll be using it a lot to travel during your stay in Amsterdam and it is more worth it than paying 2.65 euros for a one way trip. I think if you're under a certain age, you can possibly get some kind of cheaper rate or student discount.
--Make sure you catch a 3 hour free walking tour from the tourism office at the Central Station! There are 2 walking tours a day: at 11am and 1pm. The company running this service is called Sandemans free tours (www.neweuropetours.eu). The guides appreciate a tip if you are able to give one at the end of the tour based on their service.
--To get to the airport Schipol, you can take a bus 197 from central Amsterdam city. It costs 4 euros one way and the GVB card cannot be used on this bus.

Love that awakens the heart to thee!

2006-08-29T23:35:00.000-07:00

How does one connect the deep longings of the heart with the knowledge of God?
(Related to the post on 'The Christian Romantic' )
-

Reflections on Beauty

2006-08-29T22:20:00.000-07:00

What is beauty? Is beauty merely in the eye of the beholder, or is there an objective sense to it? Can beauty be created or can it only be reflected? Is beauty substantive? Where can we find beauty and how is it ultimately related to God?

We all recognize beauty when we see it, but many find it hard to articulate what is it's essence. As i reflected on this topic, i became increasing convinced that beauty is like a window that allows the glory of God to shine through. Beauty per se does not nourish the soul, it is the eternal quality that shines through the window of beauty that nourishes us. Beauty per se is not substantive, it merely opens a window allowing certain substantive qualities to enter in.

That is why beauty is so elusive. In the film 'american beauty', the schoolkid (i cannot remember his name) was enthralled with a piece of trash (a plastic trash bag ) dancing in the wind. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. But on any other day if he were to see the same piece of trash it would hardly be considered beautiful. Only when the trash bag moves in a certain way, dance in a certain rythmn, sway to a certain beat, is the window of beauty open, allowing certain eternal qualities to shines through, awakening the hearts of anyone who witness it. But on other days when it is just a regular trash bag, the window shuts tight.

It is intrinsic in the nature of man to be drawn towards beauty. But often we mistaken the window for the source of beauty itself. The window of beauty takes many forms (a scenary, a face, a picture, a painting, etc) but there is only one source shining through all the windows, God. Man in his foolishness tries to capture beauty by keeping the window for himself. But it is not the window we desire, it is the qualities that comes through the window that we truly hunger for. And these qualites are nothing less than the glory of God himself.

Man cannot escape his desire for God, even his desire for sin is a reflection of his desire for God.

"One thing have i asked of the LORD, that will i seek after : that i may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple" Ps 27:4

My Trip to Yellowstone!

2006-08-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

Over the summer i took a 8 day trip to Yellowstone National Park. The place was absolutely breathtaking! In a sense beauty nourishes the soul and on this trip i had my fill. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, the friendship, the fun, the sun, the beauty, the laughter. In a way it reminded me about all the good things in life, the way life is supposed to be. C.S. Lewis commented (paraphased by me) that 'the closer we come into contact with legitimate pleasure, the closer we come into contact with God'. My soul is refreshed by the beauty and goodness of life and for that i am thankful. Indeed, earth is cramped with heaven!

2006-08-29T22:00:00.001-07:00

What is beauty?

2006-08-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

Picnic by the lake!

2006-08-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

Pika! One of the many friendly animals that greets us every morning

2006-08-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

If this Christain ministry thingy doesn't work out, i may consider going into modeling..

2006-08-29T21:55:00.000-07:00

From the left : Wai Ling, Me, Ivan, Simona, Chin Ai and Carrissa

2006-08-29T21:54:00.000-07:00

If only LA's scenary is anywhere near Yellowstone's..

2006-08-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

Our campsite! Well, not really.. This picture was taken outside a motel in Utah, we have forgotten to take a picture of our tent in Yellowstone so decided to take this 'make up' shot!

2006-08-29T21:48:00.001-07:00

Deer crossing the road!

2006-08-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

The ultimate Road Trip! The ride from LA to yellowstone takes around 2 days, had lots of fun in between

2006-08-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

Taken at a lake near our campsite

2006-08-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

As the deer pants for the waters, so my soul longs after thee...

2006-08-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

Pretty much any random photo shot in Yellowstone can be a postcard. This picture is taken at Mystic Falls. Breathtaking!

2006-08-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

One of the many scenic places in Yellowstone.

The Christian Romantic

2006-06-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

"How do you fit the stone in the shell?" This is the driving question behind much of C.S. Lewis' writing. The stone represents reason and rigorous thinking, the shell represents the deep longings of the heart. The entrance of sin resulted in us becoming divided people, the heart is isolated from the head. How then can we unite the passions of the heart with the hard thinking of the head? How can we reconcile romance with the intellect?

C.S. Lewis, arguably the most influential Christian Romantic of our time, suceeded marvelously where many had failed. Central to Lewis' writings is the idea of the "awakening of the longings of the heart", there are deep and undeniable existential longings intrinsic in every human heart. As we journey through life certain experiences trigger the awakening of these longings, leaving its indelible mark on us in the process. The longings may come thru many different channels, the sound of a tune, the arts (movies and dramas), beauty, etc. These longings differs significantly from other longings we are familiar with (e.g. food and shelter) in that the longing in itself is pleasant, even when the object of our longings is not met. That is why so many people indulge in nostalgia, which essentially is the pleasant sensation of longing (though we often are not sure exactly what do we long for).

Lewis remarks that the sure mark of an unliterary man is that he only read through great books once. Such a man is concerned primary about the plot and main points of the book but is unconcerned about entering into the world within the book. On the other hand, the literary romantic will read thru the same book ten or twenty times (e.g. Tolkien fans) , because the world within the book awakens their deep longings and they long to return to that world and be a part it. In the deepest recesses of our hearts lies a profound longing for another world, a world that all great stories points to.

The difference between a Romantic and a Christian Romantic is the object that his heart is tethered to. The longings of the heart is universal, but we often mistaken the channel the longing comes thru for the object of longing itself, as a result, we mistakening tether our hearts to something other than the true object of our desire, God. We long for God in the deepest recesses, we are created to run on him, that is our nature. But in our sin, we are out of touch with what we truely desire.

I am not a Christian Romantic, but i want to be one. Often when i examine my own Chrsitian life, much of my disappointments can be summed up in one phrase : Lack of Zeal. I lack Zeal because i lack passion for God, i lack passion for God because my knowledge of God has not connected with the deep longings of my own heart. I have not come to the point where all of my heart's desire is consummated in Christ. The stone did not fit in the shell.

John Stott commented that :

“The highest of missionary motives is neither obedience to the Great Commission (important as that is), nor love for sinners who are alienated and perishing (strong as that incentive is, especially when we contemplate the wrath of God…), but rather zeal – burning and passionate zeal – for the glory of Jesus Christ… Only one imperialism is Christian… and that is concern for His Imperial Majesty Jesus Christ, and for the glory of His empire.”

“We should be ‘jealous’… for the honor of His name- troubled when it remains unknown, hurt when it is ignored, indignant when it is blasphemed. And all the time anxious and determined that it shall be given the honor and glory which are due to it.”

Burning and passionate Zeal for the glory of Christ is what is ultimately lacking in my life. It is my prayer that God will continue to awaken my heart to Him, and may i find all the deep longings of my heart drawing me irresistablely to the One i was created for.

I'm back!

2006-06-16T08:48:00.000-07:00

Hi all, i'm back! It has been months since i last updated my blog, and that's largely due to my buzy work and exams. But its summer vacation now and i can finally catch my breath and update you guys.

The past semester was great, i've enjoyed my classes and learned much in the process. Perhaps the greatest highlight is my friendship with Robert Saucy. Saucy is the distinguished professor in Talbot and he's such an awesome guy. Saucy is easily one of the most influential profs in Talbot, yet he is completely down to earth, humble and approachable. Over the past semester i've managed to meet up with him personally on several occasions and just pick his brains and learn from him. Everytime we meet, i would bombard him with a whole list of questions, and he would patiently answer all of them with great sensitivity and respect (on retrospect, some questions are pretty stupid). I am greatly encouraged and edified by Saucy and i pray that he will not be retiring anytime soon. The good news is that i will be taking another class from him next semester, and i'm looking forward to it already.

The most surprising class i had was 'Normative System of Ethics', with a course title like that, i wasn't really expecting much from it. Moreover as Christians, we have a pretty good idea of what is ethical and whats not, do i really need to take a whole class to teach me what is right and wrong? How wrong i was, this class opened up a whole new world for me, the world of Augustine, Aquinas and Aristole. Growing up as a Christian, i was always given the impression that greek philosophy is really screwed up, it is the fountainhead of heresy and perversity. In sermons, greek philosophy is always tied to gnosticism, Platonic Dualism, paganism and everything unbiblical. Naturally, as a Christian i was very anti greek philosophy, the only problem is i had never read any classical greek philosophy. When i finally had the chance to read Aristole for the first time, i was blown away. Aristole's view of ethics was both profound and insightful, i've came to understand why both Augustine and Aquinas have such respect for this pagan philosopher. No doubt, there are errors in Aristole, but there is also a great deal of good. Aristole's vision of the ethical life had great influence on Aquinas, Augustine, C.S. Lewis and more recently John Piper. Piper's teaching on desiring God is partially the Aristotilian vision of the good life. In summary, this class has been life changing for me, it caused in me a paradigm shift regarding Christian living and flourishing. It confronts me with the question, 'What kind of man do i want to be?'

Christ and the lonely heart

2006-03-09T12:09:00.000-08:00

So why are we so lonely even when we have Christ? I want to thank my buddy for his thoughts on this matter. I think he made a good point that there is an inbuilt human desire to enter into an intense human relationship that transcends mere friendship. In the creation order, such an intense human to human relationship is only possible between husband and wife ( Sorry Brokeback Mountain fans ). Hence loneliness in this sense is the inability to fulfill the desire for that kind of relationship.

It is equally crucial to highlight the fact that although Christ does not replace the desire for a Soulmate ( at least not in this life time ), He is the very basis for a Soulmate. Because in a fallen world, such an intense human to human relationship is not possible. Only in Christ can the effects of sin be reversed and make possible such a relationship.

Another important point is that Christ is actually present instrumentally through our Soulmate. When i am interacting with my Soulmate, there is a sense that i am also interacting with Christ, since my Soulmate is both created in the image of God and indwelled by the Spirit of Christ. This point cannot be emphasized enough. The reason why we are drawn to our Soulmate is precisely because God is present instrumentally thru her ( This is true even for non-believers ). If our Soulmate does not bear the image of God, we would not have this intense desire for them in the first place. The desire for a Soulmate reflects our desire for God, because our Soulmate bears the reflection of Christ ( However marred it may be ). Obviously Christ and our Soulmate are two different entities, but in a way Christ himself is present in our Soulmate and we are drawn to the beauty of Christ reflected through our Soulmates. We intensely desire to enter into that deep relationship with her because of that divine beauty.

It is also worth noting that the glory and beauty of God is reflected not only when there is godly character, but also when there is aesthic beauty. A pretty face, a charming smile, a slender figure all reflects the glory of God in a similar way that a majestic mountian speaks of the greatness of God. It only becomes problematic when we are too fixated on aesthic beauty and neglect the more important and fundamental glory of Christ-likeness in our lives.

One might raise the question, so why do i need a Soulmate, when i have the real thing, Christ himself. That is a good question and to answer that we have to keep in mind two things. Firstly Christ himself is infinite, subsequently, no one can fully experience every aspect of him, but we can experience different aspects of his glory and beauty through different channels. God in his divine wisdom has place an important and fundamental aspect of His glory in marriages, hence there is a particular aspect of his glory that can only be experienced in Marriages and no where else. Secondly, we need to remember that this is a fallen world. No matter how spiritual we are, we only see the Lord Jesus dimly through veiled eyes. And because in this age we only get to experience the veiled glory of Christ, there are times where His glory is more vivid in our Soulmate than in our prayers. However, the Scriptures declares that there will come a time where we shall see him face to face, there will dawn a new age where the glory of the Messiah will fill all the earths. So vivid and radiant his glory will be that there's no need for the sun, his glory will light the world! Hence with the coming of the new Jerusalem there will no longer be marriages, for all will be married to Christ and behold him as he truely is.

From this i think a few practical application follows :

There is no real dichotomy between the desire for a Soulmate and the desire for God. Our deepest desire is God and His glory. However, in this present age, there are aspects of that glory that can only be experienced through a Soulmate and Marriage. Hence even as Christians we still long for that particular aspect of God's glory and beauty which is experienced only in Marriages ( Such as sexual union, child rearing, unreserved intimacy, etc.). However it is also possible to desire God without knowing that we desire Him, as a result, in our sin we fail to acknowledge God as God. That is idolatry. As Christians we must have a right orientation to our lives in regards to a Soulmate.
For those who choose to be single, does it mean that the desire for a Soulmate will always be there? In a way Yes. But the good news is that with the first coming of our Messiah, there are aspects of the glory of Marriage that can be experienced in the church (although not all of it). It is possible to have a substitute family in the church that comes close to a Marriage.

A sad day for humanity

2006-03-07T20:15:00.000-08:00

Today is a low day for humanity...
Evil have triumphed, darkness prevails...
Wicked men cheering the fall of truth...
Beauty, Justice, Goodness all trampled upon...
We should just go to bed early tonight, the world has changed...

Chelsea lost to Barca...

I'm coming home!

2006-03-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

I will be returning back to Singapore for my sister's wedding from the 17th - 24th of March. I would love to catch up with all you people. Leave me a note or email me if you want to meet up. Take Care friends!

Why are we so lonely even when we have God?

2006-03-06T19:44:00.000-08:00

St Augustine made the famous remark "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee". Many Christians will no doubt nod their head in agreement with the great man, but is this truly how we feel deep within us as those who profess to have found God, or more accurately, have been found by Him.

This post is sparked by the exchanges i have with one of my friend. One of the themes running through the exchange is the deeply felt but often denied existential struggle of loneliness as Christians. This struggle rears its head in different ways, sometimes thru the deep longing for a Soulmate, sometimes thru unexplanable bursts of insecurity and fear. Other times it takes the form of a fleeting moment of nostalgia, or an adulteress affair. Whatever form it takes, it leaves us longing, longing for union and wholeness.

Why as Christians do we still struggle so deeply with loneliness? This is not suppose to happen!! Christ has come into my heart, i am adopted by God the Father, the Spirit has made His dwelling within me. I am suppose to be able to agree with the palsmist and say "The Lord is my shepherd and i shall not be in want"! But when people in church are asked what spiritual gift do they desire, few will answer 'Celibacy, for the gospel!'. Why can't God satisfy the longings of my heart? Why are there quiet feelings of envy, bitterness and cold resentment when we attend another friend's wedding? What does it mean to find rest and satisfaction in Christ? Why is it so elusive? Am i too unspiritual? If i could climb higher up the spiriuality ladder will i find rest from my inner torments? Is St Augustine wrong??

I wish there were easy anwsers, but i suspect there are none. I would like to hear what do you think? How do you deal with the struggle (if there are any).

Marriage : Is it good for man to be alone??

2006-03-04T20:56:00.000-08:00

To marry or not to marry? Thats most probably one of the biggest question everyone has to face. At first glance, the bible's teaching on marriage does not seem to be coherent. In Genesis, God pronounce that it is not good for man to be alone, hence Eve was given to Adam in marriage. Eversince, marriage has been foundational in every civilzation. The bible too places a high value on good marriages, the writer of Song of Songs extols the goodness and the glory of marriage. However, when we come to the New Testament, Paul actually encourages the congregation in the Corinth church to remain single if possible and admonishes them with the words, "He who marries does good, but he who remains single for the Lord does better". So how does one reconcile the two teachings? Has God changed his mind that it is now good for man to be alone and remain single?

In my opinion, the way to make sense of these two passages is supercedence. It is true that it's not good for man to be alone and therefore should enter into marriages. It is also true that marriages are good and glorious (if both parties are committed to fearing God), but glorious as marriage is, it is but a fading glory. Jesus taught that the insitution of marriage will cease and in the after life people will neither marry nor be given to marriage. Earthly marriages are but a shadow reality of the real heavenly marriage of the church to Christ (Eph 5:32). Hence with the coming of Christ, earthly marriages has been partially superceeded by the heavenly one. We can now live in the new and deeper reality of marriage with Christ and begin to forgo the shadow realities. But since we are still living in the ‘already and the not yet’ (the partial fulfillment of the promised reality), not everyone in the church is able to do so without the entanglements of sin. Hence Paul in his letter to Corinth is encouraging those that are able, to embrace this new reality more deeply. What do you think? Please leave your comments...

The New Semester

2006-02-06T20:44:00.000-08:00

This semester is going to be tough, its only the first week but i 'm already spending extended hours in the library! However, on the bright side, its gonna be a real exciting semester! I'm taking 'Eschatology and the church' with Robert Saucy. There are only 2 prof with the title 'distinguished professor' in Talbot, Moreland and Saucy. And Saucy carries the title for a good reasons, he is one of the pioneers in the school of Progressive Dispensationalism. To give a little backdrop, there are two main schools of biblical interpretation in the evangelical circle, Covenantal and Dispensational. Being brought up in the Reformed tradition, i've embraced covenantal theology and my subsequent involvement with ARPC only serves to reinforce my unwaivering loyalty towards the covenatal camp. But from what i have heard about Saucy's class, he's so persuasive in his Scriptural arguments that he manages to convert many staunch covenantalist over to the progressive dispenstional camp. I'm not a dispensationalist yet, but after the first week of class, i'm already sympathetic towards dispensationalism. But whatever the outcome, i'm looking forward to be able to clearly articulate and defend why i believe the things i believe.

The other class i am taking is on Spiritual Warfare. This is really an unique class. Firstly you have 3 lecturers from different disciplines teaching it, giving us three different perspective on the issue of spiritual warfare. Clint Arnold tackles the issue as a NT Theologian, John Kelly deals with it as a Christian Psychologist and Haywood brings in his expertise as an Antropologist. The result is so outstanding that the class was featured on serveral popular magazines.

The other two classes i am taking deals with Ethical Philosophy. Being new in the field of Ethics, it was a real eye opener for me. I was surprise to realize just how much influence Ethical Philosophy has on political philosophy and the philosophy of Law. It's interesting to see how the philosophy behind modern governments goes all the way back to St Augustine, Aquinas, Plato and Aristole.

So in short, i am really looking forward to this semester theres so much to learn, but there's also so much to do :-( . The readings alone easily amounts to around 300 pages per week. On top of that, there are written assignments to hand in every week! Pray that God will sustain me... Have a great week ahead and remember to leave me a msg. Keep in touch

My Church in the US

2006-02-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

Cornerstone Bible church is an answered prayer. Since i've arrived here, i have been praying for a community of believers that i can serve and share my life with. For the first few months i attended Evangelical Free church of Fullerton, it's a solid church and the teaching is good. However, it was a predominantly white church and i found it difficult to connect at an intimate level with the community. Hence i began looking around for an asian american church. I went around visiting 3 to 4 churches and generally felt welcomed and comfortable with the people there. But i had difficultites aglining my theological and ministry convictions with the churches, and that bothered me. When i visited Cornerstone for the first time, i immediately knew that God has answered my prayers. This was the kind of church i was looking for. I thank God for providing a community of believers that shares my conviction and i pray that i can be meaningfully involved there for the next two years.

Visit Cornerstone's website : www.cbcbible.org

I'm Still alive!

2005-12-31T22:27:00.000-08:00

I'm still alive! I know its hard to tell, judging by the amount of updates on my blog. I've been busy with my school work and exams for the last 2 months, but it's winter break now and i've finally gotten time to update my blog.

My parents came over to visit me about 2 weeks ago, and we went travelling together around the US. We visited, Utah, Las Vegas and San Fransciso. It was lots of fun as we traveled with some of my other international students friends

2005-12-31T22:18:00.001-08:00

San Francisco, the city by the bay

2005-12-31T22:18:00.000-08:00

Eating at the roadside stalls in Fisherman Wharf @ San Francisco

2005-12-31T22:17:00.001-08:00

Sin City, Las Vegas... Apart from it's obvious flaws, Vegas is really quite an amazing city, the amount of creativity and human ingeuinity is breathtaking. This is the Belagio, one of the finest Casino Hotel in Vegas.

2005-12-31T22:17:00.000-08:00

The Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco

2005-12-31T22:12:00.000-08:00

My friends from Talbot, mum and Snowman. From the left it's Priska, Wailing, Ivan, Chin Ai, Myself and my Mum

2005-12-31T22:08:00.000-08:00

The beautiful mountains of Bryce

2005-12-31T22:05:00.000-08:00

My first snow man!

2005-12-31T22:04:00.001-08:00

A beautiful view of Bryce

2005-12-31T22:04:00.000-08:00

Having lunch out in the freezing cold at Bryce National Park (Crazy Singaporeans). Btw, Ivan and Chin Ai prepared Nasi Lemak for us!

2005-12-31T22:02:00.000-08:00

Bryce national park

2005-12-31T22:01:00.000-08:00

This picture is taken at Utah, right outside the inn we are staying in

2005-12-31T22:00:00.000-08:00

The great outdoors! The open land stretches to hundreds of miles..

2005-12-31T21:59:00.000-08:00

Another photo from Zion National Park

2005-12-31T21:56:00.000-08:00

Zion National Park, the mountain formations are amazing!

I've got a Car!

2005-12-31T21:55:00.000-08:00

I've finally gotten a car and thank God i won't have to cycle to school anymore! I have been cycling to and fro school since i got here, but as winter sets in, its becoming impossible to cycle in the freezing morning. Its not a fancy car, but it's sturdy, relaible and low maintaince.

2005-12-31T21:50:00.000-08:00

My new car. Its a 1999 Toyota Corolla, well maintained, 1.8L engine with good gas mileage!

IN and OUT

2005-10-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

IN and OUT is a fast food joint in California, and my friends were telling me, "eating at IN and OUT is THE initiation ceremony into California!" I tried IN and OUT on my first week here, and eversince, i'm hook on it.

It's menu is deceptively simple, there are just 3 kind of burgers, the hamburger, the cheese burger and the double cheese, fries are the only side dish available. But strangely, they are the most popular fastfood in California, the burgers look quite simple, nothing too special about it, but it taste so good! Currently i am visiting IN and OUT at least once every week, sometimes twice!

This experience just serves to strengthen my undying convinction that the senoir management of MacDonalds Singapore needs Jesus! How on earth do they think they can get away with selling crappy food like that! And as if to insult the intellect of everyone, they have the nerve to openly advertise their food as healthy and nutritious!!! Have they no fear for the fiery flames of hell? Have mercy!!

Ronald, it's time to repent, for the kingdom of God is near!

P.S. Chelsea Trash Liverpool 4-1!!!! Sweet!

Disneyland!

2005-10-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

My first trip to disneyland! I went with some of my classmates and it was magical. Disneyland's tagline was "The happiest place on earth" and it sure lived up to it's name. The rides were very fun, there were lots of things to do and the night performace was simply breathtaking! The best part is, i got an annual pass, so i get to go disneyland anytime i want to for free!

Makes me kind of wonder what the american tourist must be thinking when they pay $20 for themeparks in Singapore like Volcano land!!! They must be cursing all the way!

2005-10-02T14:59:00.001-07:00

Nice!

2005-10-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

Fireworks with the disney castle backdrop, it was magical!

2005-10-02T14:58:00.000-07:00

The finale was a breathtaking display of fireworks. It makes the esplande fireworks looks cheapo!

2005-10-02T14:56:00.000-07:00

Fireworks by the lake

2005-10-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

My first time to Disneyland! And it happens to be thier 50th anniversary. It is the happiest place on earth!

Anxious about many things...

2005-09-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

Recently as i spent time in prayer and solitude before the Lord, I realized that there are many things that I am anxious about, and this anxiety is forming a powerful undercurrent just beneath the surface. I am anxious about the many uncertainties I am going through, namely, my future, my studies direction, my relationship with my girlfriend, finances, finding a good local church, my relationship with God and my family. I am afraid that I may have made the wrong decision or I will make a wrong decision. I am anxious because there are so many unanswered important questions in my life.

But as I continue to reflect upon my situation, I realized that often, these anxieties were really robbing me of my peace and joy in Christ Jesus, and the sense of anxiousness is often born out of a lack of faith and trust in God. A child, does not go around worrying all day if he will get fed, if the bills are paid, if the house will still be there the next day. He is able to do that because he knows that is not his responsibility and he lives in the security of being under the protection of his parents. He knows he is not alone, that at the end of the day, no matter how screwed up things may be, his parents will be there to take care of it. Indeed, if the child happens to lose his parents, then it will be natural for him to become responsible for his daily needs and start worrying about all the details of life, because now he is truly alone in this world, under no one’s protection. However, for a child to know that he is under the protection and provision of his parents and yet worry excessively is either an insult to the parent's competency or reflects deep insecurity about the parent-child relationship. If that is true for children of earthly parents, how much more for me as a child of God. My God who is all powerful and sovereign, who is able to bring about good in every hopeless situation. If God is willing and able to save me from my sins, how much more is He willing and able to bring me through life, and to think that my actions and choices can somehow overthrow God’s sovereign purpose and power in my life is sheer arrogance. This is of course not to negate my responsibility. However, as a child I am reponsible only for remaining under my parent's protection and provision, not for paying the bills and bringing food to the table.

It's good to know what you are responsible for in life, but it's even more liberating to know what you are not responsible for!

“He who started a good work in you, will bring it to completion in the day of Christ Jesus”. Lord, I want to belief, help my unbelief!

Happy Birthday to me!

2005-09-12T22:55:00.000-07:00

It's my Birthday soon (13th Sep), and just wanna say happy birthday to myself! Thank God for bringing me through 26 years of my life, and the grace and kindness he has shown me through the years.

My 3 Birthday prayers are :

For my Dad to know the Lord Jesus, and find truth, grace and love in Him
For wisdom and love in my relaionship with my girlfriend
For a healthy christian community here in the US, to grow and serve in

Thanks for taking the time to pray for me, on my birthday. Have a great week ahead!

Macs, Project Superstar and God

2005-09-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

The inspiration to write this entry came from a comment posted on the previous entry, and it goes like this " Wow! Thanks for enlightening me... in this case, God must also enjoy Project Super Star! Yoohoo! and not to mention Mac... they are beautiful things too. "

Though this comment is meant as a humorous take on the issue discussed, it sparked me thinking about the underlying cynicism that many people share but perhaps have not explicitly expressed. And the undercurrent is this, “God is really not interested and have no real opinion in the mundane and trivia things of life”. One tend to think that for the Christian, there are really two spheres, the spiritual and the unspiritual. God is only interested in the spiritual sphere, which includes, ‘Have I done my quiet time?’, ‘Are people being saved?’, ‘Is the church doing well?’, ‘Are people falling into sin or moving towards holiness’. Then there is the unspiritual or spiritually ‘neutral’ sphere which includes, ‘Who wins Project Superstar’, ‘Is Mac or PC better?’, ‘Will Chelsea buy Michael Essien?’, ‘Sly or Taufik?’. This is the sphere that God is not really meaningfully involved in as long as the issues here does not breach on Christian morality.

However, I feel that the result of such a dichotomy is very far reaching and unhealthy for the Christian. And this is why : Whether we like it or not, the ‘spiritually neutral’, the trivia and the mundane issues of existence occupies a very substantial part of our everyday lifes. We spend more time watching project superstar than listening to our pastors preach, much of our waking moments go into all the trivia and mundane things of life. And if the truth of the matter is that God is not meaningfully involved in these areas, then slowly but surely, God will gradually become more and more distant and irrelevant to us in our everyday routine. In that case, how can God be the most precious person to me, when He is effectively cut off in so many areas of my life? I can talk to a good friend about how ‘sucky’ that contestant in Project Superstar is and he can interact with me on my opinion. But if God has no real meaningful opinion and interest on Project Superstar, there can be no real interaction with Him on this issue. And when we multiply similar instances of such over a prolonged period of time, unconsciously, God is slowly being cut off from a substantial part of our life. The end result is that we feel distant from God without knowing why, and we find it difficult to experience what it means to say that “God is intimate, personal, Father and friend”

Of course, this does not mean all things are equally important to God. God is more concern about certain issues and that is definitely true. Those issues should be reflected in our piorities as well. But it does not follow that hence, God is indifferent and have nothing meaningful to say about the trivia and mundane.

At the end of the day, it boils down to our theology of entertainment, aesthetics and the mundane. It is an important matter, given that not much clear theological thinking has been given to an issue that is pervasive in our lifes. I am persuaded, due to the fact that many of us, myself included, do not have a strong and robust theology for this aspect of our life that contributes to the fragmentation and compartmentalization of our Christian living. Please feel free to give your comments.

Does God cares who wins the English Premier League?

2005-09-06T19:36:00.000-07:00

Hi folks, the EPL season is here again! And as usual, Chelsea is topping the league (Yawn.., when will there be some real competition??). I'm sure many of us out there are soccer fans and watches every single match availiable, much to the dismay of our significant other. But that aside, have any of us wondered does God really cares who wins the EPL? The Pope was once asked to pray for the Italian team in the world cup, but he refused and his reason was, "God has no favourites in soccer". But is God really indifferent to who wins the EPL? Are soccer fans, really just wasting their time, when there are souls out there to be saved! To phrase it differently, what is our theology of soccer?

Is there such thing as a theology of soccer? Sure there is. As long as it is part of our world, we need a theology for it, it's just a matter of good theology or bad theology. As a matter of fact, to engage in anything in life without thinking it through the lenses of scipture is dangerous.

So back to our question, does God cares who wins the EPL? And i think Richard Mouw (Dean of Fuller) was particularly illuminating on this. Mouw argued that God takes geniune delight when someone scores a brilliant goal, when creativity is exercised, when there is a genuine display of talent, when hard work and training is paid off and recognized in terms of winning a match. God takes genuine delight in all these simply because there is beauty in it. The person that scores that brilliant goal may well be a total jerk (cough.. rooney.. cough..), but for the mere reason that there is a genuine excercise of talent, God takes delight in that. Of course God's wrath is still on him for his sin, but God still takes pleasure in seeing him score a good goal. That was why Eric Liddell, in Chariots of Fire, was able to say "When i run, i feel the pleasure of God"

So, in conclusion, i think God does care about who wins the EPL. God is too great to be disinterested in anything. So the next time you watch an EPL match, remember to praise God for such talent and beauty. And for making Chelsea such a great team :-)

Please feel free to comment and give your feedback.

2005-09-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

My very own genuine Chelsea Jersey! Not Pasa Malam! Thanks, Violet, Gail, Mimi, Sharon su, Huan Yang, Desmond, Ron, Wei yan, Kris and Kat. You all made my dreams come true..

Christian Spirituality

2005-08-29T00:08:00.000-07:00

For one of my classes i had to read a paper entitled "The theology of intention Spiritual Formation". It's a really good paper and really got me thinking.

One particular point really stood out that made me felt I need to pray about it. It is the reminder that Christian spirituality is a outworking of that union that we already have in Christ, rather than a working towards that union. That is a powerful truth for me, because many times in my Christian life, I work at spiritual disciplines, prayer and ‘worship’ with an intention and desire to “connect with the divine” ( as in the medieval spirituality tradition ), but that only reflects my lack of understanding of what God had already accomplished in Christ.

Christian spirituality is not about trying to ‘connect with the divine’, but rather a realization that we are already united with Christ, and realigning our world to that new and powerful reality. It is about mediating on that new reality and union and that we already share and working hard at all it’s implications. It is about living a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is what sets Christian spirituality apart from the many other spiritual movements in our contemporary world, all other spiritual movements seeks to connect with the divine or god through their mediation, prayers, chanting, songs etc. But the Christian faith is unique in that it’s emphasis and key teaching is that we as believers are already in Christ, and we cannot possibly be any closer to God than we already are in Christ. It is not a working to be closer or more intimate with God, but rather a working to grasp more firmly the new and glorious reality that we already share in Jesus Christ, and to live a life that is worthy of this new reality.

Hence the prayer I uttered for myself is that of being able to grasp more firmly and concretely what it truly means to be in Christ and all the emotions and implications that flows out from this new life in Christ. And I pray that at the end of my study here at Talbot, I will be able to say, that indeed, in Christ lies all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

I got a place to stay

2005-08-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

I have finally found a place to stay. I will be renting a room in a house with 2 other Talbot students. The place is cosy and well maintained. But the greatest thing is that the landlord, Frank is a superb cook. Just had barberque chicken and pasta the other day.

Frank and the two other students are really friendly and helpful, within a few days i felt at home already. Oh, and Frank have a dog too, her name is maggie. She's really smart and friendly. Whatsmore, her obediance to frank sometimes makes us look bad in our obedience towards God. Think i will really enjoy staying here

2005-08-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

The back yard. With the BBQ machine

2005-08-27T10:49:00.001-07:00

The Kitchen. Big Kitchen

2005-08-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

The living room. Nice and cosy

2005-08-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

My room. Not much furniture

Life with Gary

2005-08-25T23:45:00.000-07:00

For the first few weeks, i stayed with a singaporean, Gary. He used to be academic dean of Singapore Bible College, doing his PHD here. Had a real good time talking with him and learning from his experience and wisdom. We had a good time talking about some of the SBC student's from ORPC. Hong Li, Hong Shun, Patrick and Bernice Loh!

Gary said that he will always remember Patrick and he is really one of the very special student he had taught. And he believes Patrick will go on to be a powerful minister for God! Well done Pat! Oh and he also add, he is very impressed by Bernice's heart for God as well. Gary teaches Bible exposition and Preaching

I taught William Craig something!

2005-08-24T23:53:00.000-07:00

Today was the get to know the faculty session. And i was sitting opposite William lane Craig. For those not familiar with Craig, he is currently one of the foremost Christian philosopher in the world. Getting to see him in person is like getting to see a movie star up close and personal. I kept thinking to myself, "Oh man, William Craig is having lunch opposite me!"

The best part is, William Craig wanted to learn some mandarin for the Philosophy conference he will be attending in Shanghai. And he asked me for some help. It was almost ironic that Craig had no problem understanding abstract philosophical concepts but having so much difficulty learning the 4 tones of mandarin. Well i guess the old saying was right after all, "We are all ignorant, only in different areas"

And the best part is i get to say, "I taught william Craig something!" Not many people get to say that, and i can! Now that i've made my mark in history, i can die a fulfiled man..

Ray has arrived in the US!

2005-08-22T23:36:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, just want to let you all know that i have arrived safely in the states but not without trama. In Singapore, the registration terminal crash and everyone had to be registered manuelly, and this caused the flight to be delayed abt 2 hrs. In the Hong Kong transit, the heavy storm again caused the flight to be delayed, that is a good thing for me, because had it not been delayed i would have certainly missed it. Thank God! But when i reached LA, i realized that my luggage was lost! And so i had to spend the next day without my luggage.

Thank God however, it did arrived later. So i am still looking for housing and please pray that i will find suitable housing around. Registration starts tommor and school will start on Weds, heard from my friends here that the course i enrolled in is the toughest M.A. course in Talbot, horror stories about the course abound and i am begining to sweat liaoz... :'(

Anyway, a big thank you to all that showed up at the airport, i was really not expecting so many people to come at such a early hour. I was truly touched and it reminded me what great Pals all of you have been. I will miss all of you and hope to see all of you soon again.

Going to the US

2005-08-16T22:39:00.000-07:00

Hi all, i just want to let all of you know i will be leaving for further studies for 2 years very soon. This decision is really a sudden one even for me.

I applied for further studies a year ago and got accepted in June, but back then i decided not to take up the offer, due to various reasons. However in the beginning of August, i attended the RZIM conference in Bali and met a couple who graduated from the very same school doing a similar course. They told me it was a very good course and how i should really make the most of it. So when i came back i talked to my loved ones about it and they were supportive of it too. However school starts on 23 Aug, and back then it was already the 5th of Aug, how in the world am i going to make it on time? Sending in the student deposit, waiting for the I-20 form to come, applying for student visa, extending my passport, getting accomodations, registering for classes, booking the flight and all!

But thank God, He opened all the closed doors one by one, i was amazed at how smoothly everything went and in less than 2 weeks everything was done! And so i will be flying off this sat and registration will start on mon! Needless to say, I am still reeling from the pace of everything and trying absorb in its implications.

The course i am studying is a Masters of Arts in "Philosophy of Religion and ethics". The school is Biola University (Talbot school of Theology) and it is situated in California (Near LA), near Disneyland! So remember to vist me when you are there.

Thank you all for being part of my life and I will miss you all!

God Bless,
Ray

Ray has a blog!

2005-08-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, this blog is started to keep all my friends and family updated about my life in the US and also my reflections on life. Feel free to comment on my entries and contact me. Keep in touch everyone!