Fathers and Children Camp @ Kota Tinggi Rainforest Resort

My elder daughter and I just returned from a rainforest adventure camp organized by Royal Rangers from 27 to 29 Nov 2011 at Kota Tinggi Rainforest Resort. We had alot of fun and private time for father-child bonding, and getting to know other fathers and their children.

We went for a spectacular firefly river cruise, mess tin cooking, tin foil cooking, team building activities, telematches, camp fire, waterbomb toss and water bomb games. All fathers were game enough to present skits to all the children at the camp fire.

Pastor Patrick Chew spoke on the need for fathers to spend time with our children, for "LOVE" is spelt "T-I-M-E"! Our children do not wish for our presents but our presence. Indeed, in the end times, God will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children back to the fathers.

I lay claim to Psalm 46:1 that "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble". No matter how our current situations may be, we can overcome them with our eyes fixed upon Christ, the creator and author of our lives.

King Herod --- the visionary builder of the world's first major artificial harbour

King Herod (73 BC - 4 BC), remembered for his brutal slaughter of innocent children in the Bible, was lesser known for his ingenious and visionary masterplan for the ancient city of Judea. It was recorded that he masterminded the building of the great artificial harbour at the ancient city of Caesarea on Israel's north coast (Discovery Channel Magazine, "Herod's Triumph", February/March, Volume 2/2009, pp 74-81). The artist's impressions of the great habour during that era are simply spectacular.

This was an ambitious man born and lived among famous characters such as Mark Anthony, Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. I was intrigued by his engineering feat of such an artificial harbour which at that time, served well in anchoring his control over sea lanes and ultimately securing wealth, power and prosperity during his reign in the kingdom. How brillant and visionary was King Herod! He could have easily won the ancient world's equivalent of the Nobel Prize in Economics!

The Bible also recorded three separate Temples of Jerusalem --- the First Temple built by King Solomon (circa 957 BC), the Second Temple built after the return from exile (515 BC) and Herod's Temple in Jerusalem (26 AD). Herod's Temple was burnt down by the Roman army in 70 AD, as prophesized by Ezekiel (Ez 21:18-19). Interestingly, the destruction of Herod's Temple happened on the exact same day as the destruction of Solomon's Temple by the Babylonians 657 years earlier.

No matter how great King Herod excuted his masterplan for his city, his jealousy drove him in committing murder to any one threatening his reign. This included the murdering of innocent children in the quest to kill Jesus Christ, upon hearing that Jesus would "displace" him as the king of Judea. Tragically, King Herod died with depression and a slew of illnesses.

Perhaps the summary of Herod's life is mirrored in Proverbs 22:1-4, "A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all. The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life."

Happy 400th birthday, King James Version (KJV)

I was browsing through the magazine section of the National Library yesterday and found this article dedicated to commemorate the quadricentennial of the King James Bible (Harper's Magazine, June 2011 Edition, pp. 33-40).

The author lamented that the King James Bible is no longer the popular version used by major Christian denominations as their primary scripture reference. How true? I have been a born-again Christian for more than 15 years and I have been faithfully using the New International Version (NIV) ever since it was introduced to me on day one from my church.

I came to notice that in recent years my pastors have been using what Harper's Magazine called the other "accessible" translations. A curious search on the Internet reviewed that the other translations used commonly in churches now are the New King James Version, New American Bible (NAB), New International Version (NIV) and New Living Translation (NLT) for adults and the New International Reader's Version (NIrV) for children.

Some argue that there is no one translation that is the best. Well, I know I will still be sticking to my NIV bible for a while longer.

"It is enough!" and "It is finished!"

It is enough!
Lord, if it pleases You
Unshackle me at last.
My Jesus comes;
I bid the world goodnight.
I travel to the heavenly home.
I surely travel there in peace,
My troubles left below.
It is enough! It is enough!

This is Alban Berg's expression of the death of 18-year-old Manon Gropius in his elegiac composition piece Violin Concerto in 1935. This concerto, dedicated to "the memory of an angel", was his last work at 50 years old.

Perhaps what fancinated me was Alban's resignation to death, when he anguished about death --- "It is enough!". Death is indeed, by no means, an end to life but the beginning of an everlasting life in heaven.

Alban's "It is enough!" augments Jesus' last words "It is finished!" as he died for us on the Cross at Calvary. In God's perspective, our earthly lives are but a race. We can never say "It is enough" until God deems "It is finished!".

Lord Jesus, it is a privilege to know You as our Lord and Saviour. More importantly, it is an honour to serve and co-work with You in accordance to Your will and purposes. Grant us an heavenly perspective and help us to finish the race well... until You deem "It is finished!".

To all mothers: Happy Mother's Day!

"Mother" is "em" in Hebrew, which literally means "the one who binds the family together". That's something new I learnt from a recent email article forwarded to me by a friend.

I'd like to honour all the mothers who heeds God's calling to be the ones who binds their families together. Today, we see many broken families and many women seeing the role of a mother as a lesser option. We need to recognise the sacrifice that all mothers have made in keeping the families together. Lest we treat Mother's Day as just another profitable day for merchants, let's honour our mothers, our wives and our daughters with the Lord's blessings of abundance and self-fulfillment.

Pharaohs' role as "mediator" between the gods and men

Internal organs of the dead were dried and treated with ointments before being wrapped in linen and stored in Canopic jars

Relief fragment from Sharuna temple, Ptolemaic Period, 305-285 BCE

Ancient Egypt is to me, a land of mystic and intrigue. Judging from the long queues at the National Museum of Singapore last Tuesday during the Museum's open house day, it was apparent that many people were still captivated by the mysteries behind the Egyptian mummies and the "afterlife" world of the Egyptians.

I was told that ancient Egyptians believed in many gods and, among others, the religious concept of the creation of the universe. The universe was believed to work according to a strict eternal law called ma'at (balance). What astonished me was that the pharaohs were to fulfil the role of mediator between the gods and the people. Upon accession to the throne, the pharaoh became "a human in the role of a god", emboding a dual nature of both human and divine.

To the ancient Egyptians, death was regarded as a necessary transition to a new state of being. Thus the Egyptians' funerary preparations were treated with pomp, as in the case of mummification of dead bodies, the construction of tombs and delicate preservation of internal organs in funerary jars. All these were directed to enable the dead in achieving akh, the ideal state of immortality. There was even a manual for the afterlife called the Book of the Dead, which essentially was a collection of spells, passwords and images to be used by the dead in the underworld.

Mankind has been searching for immortality and an innate quest for a divine purpose in life. The ancient Egyptians believed in the supernatural, but missed out on the grand salvation plan that God has for mankind.

Dear Lord Jesus, the Creator of the universe and all mankind, thank You for being our mediator and sacrificial lamb by dying on the Cross for our sins. We no longer have to seek ways to attain immortality because of Your salvation plan for those who believe in You. The Book of Life has invalidated the curse of the Book of the Dead with the promise of eternal life. Hallelujah!

Global Warming Debate

The United Nations Climate Change Conference next week at Copenhagen has been a buzz in the local newspapers recently, with talks of a failure in the offing.

Interestingly, the papers ran a column of what Singapore would be like in the future in battling the effects of global warming --- dykes along its coasts and lush gardens within the city. That, was what occurred to me, a rather palliative touch.

Jim Daly, the President and CEO of Focus on the Family, wrote in his musings ("At Home with Jim Daly", Focus on the Family, 2009) of broken marriages and divorces popularised by law firms specialising in dissolving marriages. While lamenting that the younger generations have trivialised marriage, Jim highlighted a research study pointing to divorce being bad for the planet. Upswing in the divorce rates contributes directly to a sharp increase in the consumption of natural resources and the creation of household waste. This (arguably) contributes to global warming.

Recently, I read of an article talking about suggestions of staying single so as not to contribute to global warming! What's next --- staying married without procreation?

We need to stop blaming marriages and procreation as a contributing factor to global warming. Mankind has yet again, proven to be selfish and self-centred in our ways of denying total responsibility to what we have been entrusted to do.

Slow Fade

Joseph reminded me of this beautiful song by Casting Crowns, "Slow Fade" recently during one of our cell group meetings. The song was played in one of the church services when Senior Pastor was anatomising the book of Daniel as a grave reminder for Christians to walk in holiness and not let sin eat us away. Many sins that we committed are those that we either frivolously dispensed them as trivial or following the worldly lifestyle and belief system.

In Daniel 5, King Belshazzar was full of himself and did not acknowledge the Lord's presence even when the Lord gave a stern warning to him with the writings on the wall. Daniel interpreted the writings that King Belshazzar's days were numbered and that his kingdom would be given away to the Medes and Persians.

Senior Pastor's message for the day was for Christians to be conscious of the supposedly "trivial and little sins" that we sometimes disregard lest we cross the line of no return, just like King Belshazzar.

How befitting is the lyrics of the song "Slow Fade"! May the Lord guard our hearts, eyes, ears and feet, so that our hearts will not be hardened and to live a life after God's heart. More importantly, I pray for God's forgiveness in any thing that we do that is not pleasing to Him. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Slow Fade (Casting Crowns)

Be careful little eyes what you see
It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade

Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day

The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you're thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day

Oh be careful little eyes what see
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Oh be careful little eyes what you see

Arts Museum Open House (20 Sep 09)

We had a wonderful time at our cell group family outing yesterday afternoon at the Arts Museum. The kids had lots of fun trying out painting, origami and balloon sculpting. It's also a great time catching up with one another and for kids' interaction and play.