The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible speaks of God who exists eternally as well as man who lives in a time-space framework. A key passage for the present time is in the Book of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 -

What does a man gain for the efforts that he makes? I contemplate the task that God gives mankind to labour at. All that he does is apt for its time; but though he has permitted man to consider time in its wholeness, man cannot comprehend the work of God from beginning to end. - Eccl. 3:9-10 -

Peoples are warned not to plan their time as if it belonged to them but to do what God wills in their life. God is working in our present time-space world; therefore, the present time is to be used for God's purpose and glory.

Here is the answer for those of you who talk like this: 'Today or tomorrow, we are off to this or that town; we are going to spend a year there, trading and make some money' You never know what will happen tomorrow: you are no more than a mist that is here for a little while and then disappears. The most you should ever say is: 'If it is the Lord will, we shall still be alive to do this or that'. But how proud and sure of yourselves you are now! Pride of this kind is always wicked. Everyone who knows what is the right thing to do and doesn't do it commits a sin. - James 4: 13-17 -

The fulfillment of time is an important concept because it shows God's sovereign control of time in order to bring His promises to pass. Only God knows the times and seasons for fulfillment. God's has indicated that what He promised long ago would be fulfilled. "Do you hear? Long ago I planned for it, from days of old I designed it, now I carry it out. - Isaiah 37:26 -

From Paul, servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ to bring those whom God has chosen to faith and to the knowledge of the truth that leads to true religion; and to give them the hope of the eternal life that was promised so long ago by God. He does not lie and so, at the appointed time, he revealed his decision and by the command of God our saviour, I have been commissioned to proclaim it. - Titus 1:1-3 -

In the New Testament, Jesus announced that the promised kingdom of God was at hand. Jesus continually stated that His time, had not yet come; it was to be fulfilled when He was crucified. In fact, when Jesus came into Jerusalem in His triumphal entry, He stated that Israel should have known the time of the visitation of the Messiah. Jesus' death was prophesied in the Old Testament and the fulfillment of this was seen in His death at the appointed time. - Matt. 4:17; John 2:4, 7:6-8; 8:20, 12:23, 13:1, 17:1; Luke 19:44; Rom. 5:6; Gal. 4:4; 1Tim. 2;6 -

The future and the end times are in God's control. Many references to future time are related to 'Judgment'. Daniel prophecy outlines the succession of world empires and this prophecy involved judgments. In fact, the Satan, demons and devils realize that they will face a time of torment in the future. However, the future will not be all doom, the faithful and believers of God will be exalted by God while the wicked, sinful peoples and unbelievers of God will face an eternity of punishment.

The future is in God's hands. This means the future is filled with fear and uncertainty for the wicked, sinful peoples and the unbelievers of God but with hope and certainty for the faithful and the believers of God. The faithful and the believers of God eagerly awaits for the time of the SECOND COMING.

After this present time the faithful and the believers of God will live eternally with God and His kingdom. Although man now lives within a time-space framework, he/she will live eternally. God who exists eternally will remove time and space, and man will relate to God in an eternal relationship.

                                                                     Page 1

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Why does Saint Paul use such strong language when speaking of the abuse of the Lord's Supper? Surely you have homes for eating and drinking? When we ask how the Lord's Supper should be meaningful to the Christian today? If God's willing and in order to understands explicitly; Firstly, let us go back to the Old Testament.

You must keep these rules as an ordinance for all time for you and your children. When you enter the land that Yahweh is giving you, as he promised, you must keep to this ritual. And when your children ask you, "What does this ritual mean?" you will tell them, "It is the sacrifice of the Passover in honour of Yahweh who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt and struck Egypt but spared our houses". And the people bowed down and worshipped. - Ex. 12:24-27 -

Do not then forget Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery: who guided you through this vast and dreadful wilderness, a land of fiery serpents, scorpions, thirst; who in this waterless place brought you water from the hardest rock; who in this wilderness fed you with manna that your fathers had not known, to humble you and test you and so make your future the happier. Beware of saying in your heart. "My own strength and the might of my own hand won this power for me". Remember Yahweh your God: it was he who gave you this strength and won you this power, thus keeping the covenant then, as today, that he swore to your fathers. - Deut. 8:14-18 -

See, the days are coming - it is Yahweh who speaks - when I will make new covenant with the House of Israel (and the House of Judah) but not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant of mine, so I had to show them who was master. - Jer. 31:31-32 -

Now, let us contemplate the above questions in the New Testament. Preparations for the supper and the institution of the Eucharist - The Lord's Supper; before Jesus crucifixion and after Jesus death and after Jesus Resurrection until TODAY that the bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Christ when it is consecrated by an ordained priest. Known as Transubstantiation. (This doctrine holds that while the physical properties [example: appearance and taste] of the bread and wine do not change, the inner reality of these elements [bread and wine] undergoes a spiritual change which is, the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ).

The day of Unleavened Bread came round, the day on which the passover had to be sacrificed and Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, 'Go and make the preparations for us to eat the passover'. - Luke 22:7-8 - Mark 14:12-13; Matt. 26:17 -

And as they were eating he took some bread and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to them. 'Take it,' he said 'this is my body.' Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them, and all drank from it and he said to them, 'This is my blood, the blood of the covenant which is to be poured out for many. I tell you solemnly, I shall not drink anymore wine until the day I drink the new wine in the kingdom of God.' - Mark 14:22-25 - Luke 22:14-18; Matt. 26:26-29 -

Gospel of Saint John, chapter 6 - Another Passover, The Bread Of Life. The miracle of the loaves. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. - John 6:11 -

Jesus walks on the waters and the discourse in the synagogue at Capernaum. 'Rabbi, when did you come here?' Jesus answered: 'I tell you most solemnly, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat. Do not work for food that cannot last but work for food that endures to eternal life, the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.' - John 6:26-27 -

Jesus answered: 'I tell you most solemnly, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven, the true bread; for the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.' - John 6:32-33 -

'Sir,' they said 'give us that bread always.' Jesus answered: 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst. - John 6:34-35 -

Meanwhile the Jews were complaining to each other about him because he had said, 'I am the bread that came down from heaven.' Jesus said in reply, 'Stop complaining to each other.' No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me and I will raise him up at the last day. - John 6:41,43-44 -

I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world. - John 6:48-51 -

Then the Jews started arguing with one another: 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' they said, Jesus replied: 'I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life and I shall raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. As I, who am sent by the living Father, so whoever eats me will draw life from me. This is the bread come down from heaven; not like the bread our ancestors ate: they are dead, but anyone who eats this bread will live forever.' - John 6:52-58 -

He taught this doctrine at Capernaum, in the synagogue. After hearing it, many of his followers said, 'This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it? Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, 'Does this upset you?' What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before? - John 6:59-62 -

After this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him. Then Jesus said to the Twelve, 'What about you, do you want to go away too?' Simon Peter answered, "Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God. - John 6:66-69 -

Now while Jesus was with them at the table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight. - Luke 24:30-31 -

After the Lord Jesus ascension, the early Christian community practices the breaking of bread. These remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. - Acts 2:42 -

The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ and the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ. The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf. - 1Cor. 10:16-17 - 1Cor. 5:6-8 -

For this is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, 'This is my body which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.' In the same way, he took the cup after supper, and said, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.' Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be behaving unworthily towards the body and blood of the Lord. - 1Cor. 11:23-27 -

Everyone is to recollect himself before eating this bread and drinking this cup; because a person who eats and drinks without recognising the Body is eating and drinking his own condemnation. In fact that is why many of you are weak and ill and some of you have died. If only we recollected ourselves, we should not be punished like that. But when the Lord does punish us like that, it is to correct us and stop us from being condemned with the world - 1Cor. 11:28-32 -

                                                                     Page 1

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

John was a forerunner of this mightier one, a herald of the messianic hope which would dawn in Jesus. Not until John's arrest did Jesus begin His preaching and proclamation of God.

From that moment Jesus began preaching with the message, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand." - Matt. 4:17 -

After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. 'The time has come' he said, 'and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News'. - Mark 1:14-15

And John's execution foreshadowed Jesus' similar fate. Imprisoned by Antipas in the fortress of Machaerus on the lonely hills east of the Dead Sea, John must have grown disillusioned by his own failure and the developing failure he sensed in Jesus' mission. He sent messengers to ask Jesus.

Now John in his prison had heard what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples to ask him, 'Are you the one who is to come or have we got to wait for someone else?' Jesus answered, 'Go back and tell John what you hear and see; the blind see again and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and deaf hear, and the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor; and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me'.

As the messenger were leaving, Jesus began to talk to the people about John: 'What did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? Oh no, those who wear fine clothes are to be found in palaces. Then what did you go out for? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you and much more than a prophet: he is the one of whom scripture says:

Look, I am going to send my messenger before you;
he will prepare your way before you.

I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is. Since John the Baptist came, up to this present time, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and the violent are taking it by storm. Because it was towards John that all the prophecies of the prophets and of the Law were leading; and he, if you will believe me, is Elijah who was to return. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen! - Matt. 11:2-15 -

John was eventually killed by a functionary of a puppet king who allowed himself to be swayed by a scheming wife, a loose daughter-in-law and the people around him. Josephus records that Herod arrested and executed John the Baptist because he feared his popularity might lead to a revolt. The Gospels reveal it was because John spoke out against Herod's immoral marriage to Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. - Mark 6:14-29 -

John the Baptist influenced continued to live on after his death. When apostle Paul went to Ephesus nearly 30 years later, he found a group of John's disciples. Some of his disciples must have thought of John in messianic terms. This compelled the author of the Gospel of John, writing also from Ephesus some 60 years after John the Baptist death, to emphasize Jesus' superiority.

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul made his way overland as far as Ephesus, where he found a number of disciples. When he asked, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?' they answered, 'No, we were not even told there was such a thing as a Holy Spirit' 'Then how are you baptised?' he asked, 'With John's baptism' they replied. 'John's baptism' said Paul 'was a baptism of repentance; but he insisted that the people should believe in the one who was to come after him - in other words Jesus'. When they heard this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, and the moment Paul had laid hands on them the Holy Spirit came down on them and they began to speak with tongues and to prophesy. There were about twelve of these men.

He began by going to the synagogue where he spoke out boldly and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. He did this for three months, till the attitude of some of the congregation hardened into unbelief. As soon as they began attacking the Way in front of the others, he broke with them and took his disciples apart to hold daily discussion in the lecture room of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, with the result that people from all over Asia, both Jews and Greeks, were able to hear the word of the Lord.

So remarkable were the miracles worked by God at Paul's hands.......and the name of the Lord Jesus came to be held in great honour. Some believers, too, came forward to admit in detail how they had used spells and a number of them who had practiced magic collected their books and made a bonfire of them in public. The value of these was calculated to be fifty thousand silver pieces. In this impressive way the word of the Lord spread more widely and successfully. - Acts 19:1-20 -

This is how John appeared as a witness.......So John said, 'I am, as Isaiah prophesied: a voice that cries in the wilderness: Make a straight way for the Lord............Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God. - John 1:19-34 -

He must grow greater and I must grow smaller. - John 3:30 -

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

John the Baptist is a forerunner of Jesus; a prophet, moral reformer and preacher of messianic hope. According to - Luke 1:36 - Elizabeth and Mary, the mothers of John and Jesus, were either blood relatives or close kinswomen. Gospel of Luke adds that both John the Baptist and Jesus were announced, set apart and named by the angel Gabriel even before their birth.

As is true of Jesus, practically nothing is known of John's boyhood except that he 'grew and became strong in spirit' - Luke 1:80 - The silence of his early years, however, was broken by his thundering call to repentance some time around A.D. 28-29, shortly before Jesus began His ministry. Exactly where John preached is not clear. Gospel of Matthew reports the place as the wilderness of Judea - 3:1 - but it is more likely that the area was Perea east of the Jordan River. Perea, like Galilee, lay within the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas, under whom John was later arrested.

The four Gospels are unanimous in their report that John lived 'in the wilderness'. There he was raised and was called by God and there he preached until his execution. - Luke 1:80, 3:2; Mark 1:4 - The wilderness - a vast bad land of crags, wind and heat - was the place where God had dwelled with His people after the Exodus. Ever since, it had been the place of religious hope for Israel. John the Baptist called the people away from the comforts of their homes and cities and out into the wilderness where they might meet God.

The conviction that God was about to begin a new work among this unprepared people broke upon John with the force of a desert storm. He was called to put on the people's hairy mantle with the resolve and urgency of prophet Elijah himself. Not only did he dress like Elijah, in camel's hair and leather belt; he understood his mission to be one of reform and preparation, just as Elijah did. - 2Kin. 1:8; Mark 1:6; Luke 1:17 - In the popular belief of time, it was believed that Elijah would return from heaven to prepare the way for the Messiah. - Mal. 4:5-6 -

John reminded the people of Elijah because of his outfit and behaviour. John was no doubt as rugged as the desert itself. Nevertheless, his commanding righteousness drew large crowds to hear him. What they encountered from this "voice...crying in the wilderness" was a call to moral renewal baptism and a messianic hope.

The bite of John's moral challenge is hard for us to appreciate today. His command to share clothing and food was a painful jab at a society that was hungry to acquire material wealth. When he warned the tax collectors not to take more money than they had coming to them, he exposed the greed that had drawn persons to such positions in the first place. And the authority whom he told to be content with their wages, must have winced at the thought of not using their power to take advantage of the common people. - Luke 3:12-14 -

John's baptism in water, was a repentance of sin and it is also a moral regeneration, administered to each person only once. He criticized the people for presuming to be righteous and secure with God because they were children of Abraham. John laid an axe to the root of this presumption. He warned that they, the Jews would be purged and rejected unless they demonstrated fruits of repentance and be baptise by him. - Matt. 3:7-12 -

John the Baptist effort at moral reform through baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, was the way of preparing peoples to meet God. He began his preaching with the words "Prepare a way for the Lord, make His paths straight" He had a burning awareness of one who was to come after him who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. In the course of his preaching he said, "Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptized you with water but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." - Mark 1:7-8 -

John was a forerunner of.......

                                                                    Page 1

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

As an acorn grows into an oak, so the intellectual and spiritual life of a man is meant to expand into an all embracing love of fellowman. Three stages are to be observed in this growth.

The first stage which is that of the infant, is characterized by the almost incessant use of the word "me" - "Give me", "Me no like", "My ball", "You took it away from me". Notice how often an infant has its little fist closed, as a kind of physical symbol of this identification of everything with its little me". Reasons begin to unfold and emotional infantilism is abandoned to some extent but not entirely. The pronoun "Me" is changed to "I"; the physical becomes mental or intellectual; possessiveness turns into pride. Out of it comes boastfulness, egoitsm, aggressiveness, jealousy and pride; "I did this" or "I did that"; "I won the popularity contest at college"; "I am elected the one most likely to succeed"; "I could beat him at bridge". The "I's" come very close together as they do in all intellectual narrowness.

This egotism can be very cleverly disguised, sometimes by boasting of self, sometimes by making oneself appear underrating oneself. "I flung off that book in two weeks," being interpreted this means: "Think of what it would have been if I had worked on it fifteen days." This egotism eventually reaches a point where it inflicts pain on others through its snobbery. Franz Werfel, in a remarkable autobiographical passage says: "I have experienced many varieties of arrogance, in myself and in others. But since I myself shared these varieties for a time in my youth, I must confess from personal experience that there is no more consuming, more insolent, more sneering, more diabolical arrogance, than that of the artistic advance guard and radical intellectuals who are bursting with a vain mania to be deep and dark and subtle and to inflict pain. Amid the amused and indignant laughter of hell of a few Philistines, we were the indignant strokers who preheated the hell in which mankind is now roasting".

The third stage which is growth into maturity and represents escape from egotism is attained when one mounts from the "me" and the "I" to the "Thou" or the love of neighbour. The "Thou" is understood as a person of inviolable worth, bearing within himself the Divine image, the bearer of those ineradicable rights which are the foundation of all democracy and endowed with aspirations which make him either a real or potential child of God. The neighbour is not necessarily the one close to me. Conceivably he could be next door and be an enemy, and yet he would still be a neighbour. What does "next door" mean anyhow? Horizontally or vertically? Horizontally, the neighbour could mean the man who throws his grass over my back fence after he mows his lawn. But vertically, it could mean the man in China, for if I go in a straight line through my land, I may turn up a Chinese or a Tibetan.

The neighbour is the mysterious undistinguishable person who happens to cross my path at any moment either in a friendly or unfriendly fashion. The neighbour is the one who steps on my toes in the subway or who grabs the dress out of your hands at a bargain counter when you want it or who asks to use your home projector and then inflicts homemade movies on you for an evening. The neighbour is not someone you like; he could just as well be someone you do not like and yet one you are under the commandment to love: "You shall love your neighbour as yourself"

Spiritual maturity is reached when we love each "thou" that we meet with something of the same love we bear ourselves; pardoning when they do wrong, praising when they do right, finding excuses in the same way we excuse ourselves. It is not of great moment to be constantly asking ourselves if we love our neighbour. What is important is to act out that love. We learn to walk by walking, to play by playing and to love by loving. If we do anybody whom we hate a good turn, we discover that we hate him more. Doing kind acts to people makes us find all people lovable. And if love is not there, we put it there and then everyone becomes lovable.

BY ARCHBISHOP FULTON J. SHEEN ( 1895 to 1979 )

                                                                     Page 1

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

On the death of Ishbosheth, David was elected king over all the people of Israel. He immediately began work to establish a United Kingdom. One of his first acts as king was to attack the fortified city of Jebus. Although the inhabitants thought it was safe from capture, king David and his army took it by storm. He then made it the capital city of his kingdom and erected his palace there. Also known as JERUSALEM, the new capital stood on the border of the southern tribe of Judah and the other tribal territories to the north. This location tended to calm the jealousies between the north and the south, contributing greatly to the unity of the kingdom.

After establishing his new political capital. David proceeded to re-establish and strengthen the worship of God. He moved the ARK OF THE COVENANT from Kirjath Jearim and placed it within a tabernacle which he pitched in Jerusalem. - Josh. 15:9 - Next, he organized worship on a magnificient scale and began plans to build a house of worship. But God brought a halt to his plans, informing David that the building of the Temple would be entrusted to his successor.

Although David was a righteous king, he was subject to sin, just like other human beings. On one occasion when his army went to battle, David stayed home. This led to his great sin with Bathsheba. While Uriah, the Hittite, Bathsheba's husband, was away in battle, David committed adultery with her. Then in an effort to cover his sin, he finally had Uriah killed in battle. David was confronted by the prophet Nathan, who courageously exposed his wrongdoing. Faced with his sin. David repented and asked for God's forgiveness. His prayer of forgiveness is recorded in the Book of Psalm-chapter 51.

Although God forgave David of this act of adultery, the consequences of the sin continued to plague him. The child born to David and Bathsheba died. The example he set as a father was a bad influence on his sons. One son, Amnon, raped and humiliated his half-sister. Another son, Absalom, rebelled against David and tried to take away his kingdom by force.

One of king David desires was to build a temple in Jerusalem. But he was prevented from doing so. The prophet Nathan informed David that he should not build the temple because he had been a warrior. David did not build the temple but hr did gather material for the temple to be built later. It was king Solomon, David's son and successor who finally erected the first temple in Jerusalem.

David died when he was 71 years old, having been king for a total of over 40 years, including both his reign in Hebron and his kingship over the United Kingdom. Although king David committed deep sin, he still was known as a man who sought God's will. Certainly he was not perfect but he was willing to repent of his sins and wrongdoing and to follow God's leadership. A capable musician, David unquestionably gave great encouragement to this fine art in the life of his people. As warrior and military man, he was resourceful and courageous. As a king, he was without equal in the life of his nation. As a religious leader, he was exceptional.

Early in his life, David distinguished himself as the sweet psalmist. - 2Sam. 23:1 - Many of the psalms in the Book of Psalms are attributed to him. His writings will continue to be the favourite devotional literature for honest souls who seek a closer walk with God.

In the New Testament, David was recorded as Ancestor to Jesus Christ. Jesus was referred to as the Son of David. The genealogy of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. It traced Jesus back through the ancestry of David. God promised David a kingdom that would have no end. This prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus who came to establish the Kingdom of God. Jesus was born in Bethlehem because this was the "city of David", David's birthplace and childhood home.

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

I know there is no happiness for man except in pleasure and enjoyment while he lives. And when man eats and drinks and finds happiness in his work, this is a gift from God. - Eccl. 3:12-13 -

God is the giver of every good and perfect gift including eternal life, salvation, the grace, the necessities of life, the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts or spiritual abilities and above all His indescribable gift, His Son, Jesus Christ. All gifts come from God and it is free. The Christians gifts to God should not be bribes to obtain His favour but grateful responses to what he had done in our lives. We are to give, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back. - Luke 6:38 -

Do not forget: thin sowing means thin reaping; the more you sow, the more you reap. Each one should give what he has decided in his own mind, not grudgingly or because he is made to, for God loves a cheerful giver. - 2Cor. 9:6-7 -

The purpose of a gift may be to honour - 2Sam. 8:2 - or to simply bestow favour and help - Esth. 9:22 - or to celebrate - Rev. 11:10 - The variety and the unity of gifts bestowed by the Holy Spirit upon Christians, are for the purpose of building up the Church.

There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose. One may have the gift of preaching with wisdom given him by the Spirit; another may have the gift of preaching instruction given him by the same Spirit; and another the gift of faith given by the same Spirit; another again the gift of healing through this one Spirit; one, the power of miracle; another, prophecy; another recognising spirits; another the gift of tongues and another the ability to interpret them. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit who distributes different gifts to different people just as he chooses. - 1Cor. 12:4-11 -

Each of us, however, has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted it. It was said that he would: When he ascended to the height, he captured prisoners, he gave gifts to men. And to some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. - Eph. 4:7-8, 11-12 -

In light of the grace I have received I want to urge each one among you not to exaggerate his real importance. Each of you must judge himself soberly by the standard of the faith God has given him. - Rom. 12:3 -

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

In the New Testament, imputation refers to charging or reckoning something to a person's account. A good example, occurs in - Philemon 18 - where Saint Paul says that any wrong or debt caused by the runaway slave, Onesimus, should be 'put on my account' or 'let me pay for it'. There are three distinct theological truths in the Sacred Scripture/ Holy Bible are directly related to the concept on imputation:

(1) - Romans 5:12-19 - declares that God imputes the guilt of Adam's sin to all other members of the human race: 'By one man's disobedience many were made sinners'. ' Through one's man's offense "judgement" came to all men, resulting in condemnation'. 'By the one man's offense death reigned through the one'. This concept is also called "original sin" is touch on as well as in 1Corinthians 15:20-24 - But Christ has in fact raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. Death came through one man and in the same way the resurrection of the dead has come through one man. Just as all men die in Adam, so all men will be brought to life in Christ; but all of them in their proper order: Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the coming of Christ, those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, having done away with every sovereignty, authority and power.

(2) - In addition to guilt imputed from Adam's sin, each individual is also charged with guilt for his personal sin. The Lord Jesus Christ whose supernatural conception and birth freed Him from guilt from Adam's sin and who committed no personal sin, had no sin counted against Him. But when He died as our substitute, God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that He bore our sins in His own body on the cross. - 1Peter 2:24 -

In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men faults against them and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us and the appeal that we make in Christ's name is: be reconciled. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God. - 2Cor. 19-21 -

This is made explicit in the Book of Isaiah where the prophet says of the Lord Jesus. We had all gone astray like sheep, each taking his own way and Yahweh burdened him with the sins of all of us . - Is. 53:6 -

(3) - "The blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness" is the theme of the fourth chapter of Romans, also 1Cor. 1:30; 2Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:9 - Jesus became the Holy and Just One through His perfect obedience to God's Law. These qualities are imputed in turn to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. Because of this the believer will appear before God "faultless". We can stand in God's presence because Jesus has imputed His righteousness and holiness to us through His sacrificial death on the Cross.

Scripture however does not refer only to him but to us as well when it says that his faith was thus 'considered'; our faith too will be considered if we believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Jesus who was put to death for our sins and raised to life to justify us. - Rom. 4:23-25 -

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Abstinence refers to the voluntary, self-imposed and deliberate denial of certain pleasures, such as, food, drink, sex. A total abstinence involving an absolute renunciation of a forbidden thing and a temporary abstinence as, for example, the mutual consent of husband and wife to give up sexual relations for a time, in order to give themselves 'to fasting and prayer'.

The Israelites were commanded to abstain from eating flesh that contained blood. - Gen. 9:4 - They were a total abstinence from eating certain animals, birds, all living creatures that move in water and every creature that crawls on the ground. - Lev. 11:1-47 -

The apostle Paul taught that Christian lives by the laws of love and freedom and that he and she should voluntarily abstain from clean food that offered or sacrificed to idols, lest it cause a weaker brother or sister in Christ to stumble.

If a person faith is not strong enough, welcome him all the same without starting an argument. People range from those who believe they may eat any sort of meat to those whose faith is so weak they dare not eat anything except vegetables. Meat-eaters must not despise the scrupulous. On the other hand, the scrupulous must not condemn those who feel free to eat anything they choose since God has welcomed them. It is not for you to condemned someone else's servant: whether he stands or falls it is his own master's business; he will stand, you may be sure because the Lord has power to make him stand. If one man keeps certain days as holier than others and another considers all days to be equally holy, each must be left free to hold his own opinion. The one who observes special days does so in honour of the Lord. The one who eats meat also does so that too in honour of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God: but then the man who abstains does that too in honour of the Lord and so he also gives God thanks.

The life and death of each of us, has its influence on others; if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord. This explains why Christ both died and came to life, it was so that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. This is also why you should never pass judgement on a brother or treat him with contempt, as some of you have done. We shall all have to stand before the judgement seat of God; as scripture says: By my life - it is the Lord who speaks - every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall praise God, therefore, that each of us must give an account of himself.

Far from passing judgement on each other, therefore, you should make up your mind never to be the cause of your brother tripping or failing. Now I am perfectly well aware, of course, and I speak for the Lord Jesus, that no food is unclean in itself; however, if someone thinks that a particular food is unclean, then it is unclean for him. And indeed, if your attitude to food is upsetting your brother, then you are hardly being guided by charity. You are certainly not free to eat what you like if that means the downfall of someone for whom Christ died.

In short, you must not compromise your privilege because the kingdom of God does not mean eating or drinking this or that, it means righteousness and peace and joy brought by the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ in this way you will please God and be respected by men. So let us adopt any custom that leads to peace and our mutual improvement; do not wreck God work over a question of food. Of course all food is clean but it becomes evil if by eating it you make somebody else fall away. In such cases the best course is to abstain from meat and wine and anything else that would make your brother trip or fall or weaken in anyway.

Hold on to your own belief, as between yourself and God - and consider the man fortunate who can make his decision without going against his conscience. But anybody who eats in a state of doubt is condemned because he is not in good faith; and every act done in bad faith is a sin. - Rom. 14:1-23 -

Now about food sacrificed to idols. 'We all have knowledge'; yes, that is so, but knowledge gives self-importance - it is love that makes the building grow. A man may imagine he understands something but still not understand anything in the way that he ought to. But any man who loves God is known by him. Well the, about eating food sacrificed to idols: we know that idols do not really exist in the world and that there is no god but the One. And even if there were things called gods, either in the sky or on earth - where there certainly seem to be 'gods' and 'lords' in plenty - still for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we exist; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we exist.

Some people, however, do not have this knowledge. There are some who have been so long used to idols that they eat this food as though it really had been sacrificed to the idol and their conscience, being weak, is defiled by it. Food, of course, cannot bring us in touch with God: we lose nothing if we refuse to eat, we gain nothing if we eat. Only be careful that you do not make use of this freedom in a way that proves a pitfall for the weak. Suppose someone sees you, a man who understands, eating in some temple of an idol; his own conscience, even if it is weak, may encourage him to eat food which has been offered to idols. In this way your knowledge could become the ruin of someone weak, of a brother for whom Christ died. By sinning in this way against your brothers and injuring their weak consciences, it would be Christ against whom you sinned. That is why, since food can be the occasion of my brother's downfall, I shall never eat meat again in case I am the cause of a brother's downfall. - 1Cor. 8:1-13 -

Apostle Paul also exhorted the believers to 'abstain from sexual immorality' and they were to 'abstain from every form of evil' too. The Christian is called to live a life of unselfish and sacrificial love. Abstinence should always seek to glorify God and to build up fellow believers.

What God wants is for you all to be holy. He wants you to keep away from fornication and each one of you to know how to use the body that belongs to him in a way that is holy and honourable, not giving way to selfish lust like the pagans who do not know God. - 1Thess. 4:3-5 -

Never try to suppress the Spirit or treat the gift of prophesy with contempt; think before you do anything - hold on to what is good and avoid every form of evil. - 1Thess. 5:19-22 -

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Many in heaven once were alcoholics, adulterers, thieves, racketeers but there is no one in heaven who did not become humble.

But the mere mention of humility conjures up, in many minds, the idea that humility means allowing other people to walk all over you or a self-abasement or that it turns one into that perfect example of mock humility - Uriah Heep. Because the poet Keats understood it as such, he said: "I hate humility".

Humility is not self-contempt but the truth about ourselves coupled with a reverence for others; it is self-surrender to the highest goal. A man who is six feet four is not humble when he says: "Oh, no, really I am only four feet four" - because that is not the truth; neither is an opera singer humble when she says: "Oh, I really am nothing in the singing profession; neither is a beautiful person humble when she says: "I am really ugly". Such protestations against the truth are marks of pride rather than of humility. Humility in such cases consists in the acknowledgment of the truth that we have received the gifts for which we are praised: "What have you that you did not receive and why do you glory, as if you had not received?" The humble person is embarrassed with praise because he knows that his voice, his talents or his power come to him from God. In his heart of hearts, he passes the thanks on to God when the lips of men exalt him. He takes praise as a window receives light, never to possess it and hoard it unto himself but to pass it through with thanksgiving to God who so endowed him.

All good things that men possess are in constant peril of running into exaggeration, once it is forgotten that they are gifts. A man on the strong side may become self-willed and push his weight around; one who has intellectual power may look down on the ignorant, forgetful that they have moral gifts which far surpass his mental powers; the self-reliant may become corrupted into self-conceit; and those who have self-confidence may be so sure of themselves as to fall into the pit because of a refusal to listen to the counsel of others. Those who can watch often despise those who cannot watch and who sleep; the strong may try to force the weak to walk at their pace and become angry with them because they cannot. Life has to be toned down with that moral quality which recognizes that wealth, health, wisdom and above all, faith and love are gifts of God which grow and intensify with a spirit of thanksgiving.

We strive for what is best but "the best gifts of life are free" or bestowed. Spring is a gift; music is a gift; a rose is a gift; air is a gift; grass is a gift; the silver stream, the blazing horizon, the purple of the dawn are all gifts. As the poet Lowell put it in "The Vision of Sir Launfal":

At the devil's booth all things are sold
Each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold;
For a cap and bells our lives we pay,
Bubbles we buy with a whole soul's tasking:
This heaven alone that is given away,
This only God may be had for the asking;
No price is set on the lavish summer:
June may be had by the poorest corner.

Love itself is a gift; forced love is rape; forced patriotism is tyranny. What is true of the love of man and woman is true of the love of God; it is free on His side and first; it is free on our side and a response. "If any man hear My voice and open the door to Me, I will come in and sup with him and he with Me".

Because we are the recipients of gifts, the humble man is reverent and thankful to God. Daniel Webster was once asked what the greatest thought was that ever entered his mind; his answer was: "Personal accountability to God for His gifts" President Garfield, in a similar vein, once said: "It is above all things necessary that in every action I should have a good opinion of James Garfield, for to eat and drink and sleep and wake up with one you despise - though that one be yourself - is an intolerable thought, and what must it be as a life experience?

"THE PROUD MAN COUNTS HIS NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS - THE HUMBLE MAN HIS BLESSINGS!"

BY ARCHBISHOP FULTON J. SHEEN ( 1895 to 1979 )

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Woman or a female adult. However, the word woman is sometimes used in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible to refer to a weak and helpless. - Isaiah 3:12, 19:16 -

In order to understand the Old Testament view of woman, one must turn to Book of Genesis. When God created mankind, He created both "male and female". Both were created in God's image and both were given the responsibility of exercising authority over God's creation. The man was created before the woman because the man needed companionship and a helper, God caused the man to sleep. From him He created a woman, 'a helper comparable to him' - Yahweh God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate'... And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. Yahweh God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. The man exclaimed:

'This at last is bone from my bones,
and flesh from my flesh!
This is to be called woman,
for this was taken from man.'
This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife and become one body. - Gen. 2:18-24 -

Man is incomplete without woman. Because she is called a 'helper' does not imply that she is inferior to man. The same Hebrew word translated as helper is used of God in His relationship to Israel. - Ps. 33:20, 70:5 -

The culture that developed around the Israelites in ancient times did not always have this perspective of woman. Certain Old Testament passages tend to reflect an attitude that woman was little more than a thing and that a woman should be entirely subordinate to man. This tendency became pronounced before the coming of Christ.

In the New Testament, Jesus lived and taught the way of love. He allowed women to accompany Him and His disciples on their journeys. - Luke 8:1-3 - He talked with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well and led her to a conversion of heart experience. - John 4 - Jesus did not think it strange that Mary sat at His feet, assuming the role of a disciple; in fact, He suggested to Martha that she should do likewise. Although the Jews segregated the women in both Temple and synagogue, the early Church did not separate the congregation by sex.

In the course of their journey he came to a village and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary who sat down at the Lord's feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha who was distracted with all the serving said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me'. But the Lord answered: 'Martha, Martha,' he said 'you worry and fret about so many things and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.' - Luke 10:28-42 -

You have done well in remembering me so constantly and in maintaining the traditions just as I passed them to you. However I want you to understand is that Christ is the head of every man, man is the head of woman and God is the head of Christ....... However, though woman cannot do without man neither can man do without woman, in the Lord; woman may come from man but man is born of woman - both come from God... To anyone who might to argue; it is not the custom with us, nor in the churches of God. - 1Cor. 11:2-16 -

The apostle wrote, 'There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ. - Gal. 3:27-29 - Within the writings of Saint Paul, however, other statements restrict women from participating in Church leadership as freely as men. - 1Cor. 14:34-35; 1Tim. 2:11-12 -

How does one reconcile these two seemingly opposing views? In Galatians apostle Paul was stating a general principle that men and women were equal, just as the slave is equal to his master in the sight of God. However, Paul did not require or teach that the slaveholder had to release his slaves. In the same manner, Paul requested the women to be submissive to their husbands - to preserve order within the Church and to be witness to unbelievers.

Some of the finest leaders in Israel were women, in spite of the fact that the culture was male-dominated. Military victories were sometimes won because of the courage of one woman. - Judg. 4-5, 9:54; Esth. 4:16 - On top of that, God revealed His Word through Prophetesses. - Judg. 4:4; Luke 2:36; Acts 21:9 - God also used Priscilla and her husband Aquila to explain 'the way of God more accurately' to Apollos, the preacher. - Acts 18:26 - Sarah, Rahab the harlot and many more.

It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to conceive because she believed that he who had made the promise would be faithful to it. - Heb. 11:11 -

It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies and so was not killed with the unbelievers. - Heb. 11:31 -

                                                                     Page 1

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -