The need for salvation goes back to man's removal from the Garden of Eden. - Gen. 3 - After the Fall, man's life was marked by strife and difficulty. Increasingly, corruption and violence dominated his earthly world.

God contemplated the earth: it was corrupt, for corrupt were the ways of all flesh on the earth. God said to Noah, 'The end has come for all things of flesh; I have decided this, because the earth is full of violence of man's making, and I will efface them from the earth.' - Gen. 6:11-13 -
 
Thus, salvation is deliverance from the power of sin. When God destroyed the earthly world with the Flood, He also performed the first act of salvation by saving Noah and his family. These eight people became the basis of another chance for mankind. The salvation of Noah and his family was viewed by the apostle Peter as a pattern of that full salvation which we receive in Christ Jesus.

The central Old Testament experience of salvation is the Exodus 12:40-14:31. But just as the Exodus symbolized their salvation, the Captivity of the Israelites in Babylon was a disastrous return to bondage. The people responded to this plight with expectations of a new and better Exodus in which God would forgive their sins and restore their hearts to faithfulness. - Is. 43:14-16; Jer. 31:31-34 -

Why, Christ himself, innocent though he was, had died once for sins, died for the guilty, to lead us to God. In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life, and in the spirit, he went to preach to the spirits in prison. Now it was long ago, when Noah was still building that ark which saved only a small group of eight people 'by water' and when God was still waiting patiently, that these spirits refused to believe. That water is a type of the baptism which saves you now, and which is not the washing off of physical dirt but a pledge made to God from a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has entered heaven and is at God's right hand, now that he has made the angels and Domination and Powers his subjects. - 1 Peter 3:18-22 -

You have been buried with him, when you were baptised; and by baptism, too, you have been raised up with him through your belief in the power of God who raised him from the dead. You were dead because you were sinners and had not been circumcised: he has brought you to life with him, he has forgiven us all our sins. - Col. 2:12-13 -

When he died, he died, once for all, to sin, so his life now is life with God; and in that way, you too must consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus. - Rom. 6:10-11 -

This news is about the Son of God who, according to the human nature he took, was a descendant of David: it is about Jesus our Lord who, in the order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that was in him, was proclaimed Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead. Through him we received grace and our apostolic mission to preach the obedience of faith to all pagan nations in honour of his name. - Rom. 1:3-6 -

So a new understanding arose: the full realization of God's purpose of salvation would involve the coming of a completely new age. This doctrine of salvation reached its fulfillment in the death of Christ on our behalf. Jesus' mission was to save the world from sin and the wrath of God.

Now I know, brothers, that neither you nor your leaders had any idea what you were really doing; this was the way God carried out what he had foretold, when he said through all his prophets that his Christ would suffer. Now you must repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, and so that the Lord may send the time of comfort. Then he will send you the Christ he has predestined, that is Jesus, whom heaven must keep till the universal restoration comes which God proclaimed, speaking through his holy prophets. Moses, for example, said: The Lord God will raise up a prophet like myself for you, from among your own brothers; you must listen to whatever he tells you. The man who does not listen to that prophet is to be cut off from the people. In fact, all the prophets that have ever spoken, from Samuel onward, have predicted these days. - Acts 3:17-24 -

So we have confirmation of what was said in prophecies; and you will be right to depend on prophecy and take it as a lamp for lighting a way through the dark until the dawn comes and the morning star rises in your minds. At the same times, we must be most careful to remember that the interpretation of scriptural prophecy is never a matter for the individual. Why? Because no prophecy ever came from man's initiative. When men spoke for God it was the Holy Spirit that moved them. - 2 Peter 1:19-21 -

This hope for a new salvation merged with expectation of a full realization of the rule of God. Since God was Lord and had shown Himself to be righteous and faithful. He must one day overpower His enemies and perfect the life of His people. This hope is expressed through the concept of the "Day of the Lord." Our experience of salvation will be complete when the Lord Jesus Christ returns and the kingdom of God is fully revealed.

But there is one thing, my friends, that you must never forget: that with the Lord 'a day' can mean a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord is not being slow to carry out his promises, as anybody else might be called slow; but he is being patient with you all, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to change his ways. The Day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then with a roar the sky will vanish, the elements will catch fire and fall apart, the earth and all that it contain will be burnt up. - 2 Peter 3:8-10 -

Since men only die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, too, offers himself only once to take the faults of many on himself, and when he appears a second time, it will not to be to deal with sin but to reward with salvation those who are waiting for him. - Heb. 9:27-28 -

For us, our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the saviour we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with which he can subdue the whole universe. - Phil. 3:20-21 - 1 Tim. 6:14 - Matt. 13:41-43 -

                                                                     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 -

The Greek word translated as Gospel means "a reward for bringing Good News" or simply "Good News." Thus, the gospel is not only a new plan of salvation; it is the fulfillment of God's plan of salvation which was begun in Israel, was completed in Jesus Christ, and is made known by His Universal Church.

This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raised him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet, and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation. - Eph. 1:20-23 -

Jesus is more than a messenger of the gospel; He is the gospel. The 'Good News' of God was present in His life, passion, death, resurrection, teaching, and atoning death. Therefore, the gospel is both a historical event and a personal relationship. It is more than a biography intended to provide information about a historical character. It is the presentation of the life of Jesus Christ to show His saving significance for all peoples and to call them to faith in Him.

Saint Paul warned that the serpent, with his cunning, seduced Eve, and he was afraid that in the same way our ideas may get corrupted and turned away from simple devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. He vehemently warned in the letter which he wrote to the Christians of Galatia, and in it apostle Paul systematically arranges all his new ideas that had emerged from the argument, especially on those who had turned away from the one who called them and have decided to follow a different version of the Good News.

Because any newcomer has only to proclaim a new Jesus, different from the one that we preached, or you only receive a new spirit, different from the one you have already accepted - and you welcome it with open arms. - 2Cor. 11:4 -

I am astonished at the promptness with which you have turned away from the one called you and have decided to follow a different version of the Good News. Not that there can be more than one Good News; it is merely that some troublemakers among you want to change the Good News of Christ; and let me warn you that if anyone preaches a version of the Good News different from the one we have already preached to you, whether it be ourselves or an angel from heaven, he is to be condemned. I am only repeating what we told you before; if anyone preaches a version of the Good News different from the one you have already heard, he is to be condemned. So now whom am I trying to please - man or God? Would you say it is men approval I am looking for? If I still wanted that, I should not be what I am - a servant of Christ.

That fact is, brothers, and I want you to realize this, the Good News I preached is not human message that I was given by men, it is something I learnt only through a revelation of Jesus Christ. - Gal. 1:6-12 -

The 'four Gospels' ( Matthew, Mark, Luke, John ) at the beginning of the New Testament tell the saving work of God in His Son Jesus Christ. The gospels are not exactly biographies, because apart from certain events surrounding His birth - Matt. 1&2 - and one from His youth - Luke 2:41-52 - they record only the last three years of Jesus' life. Moreover, the material included is not written as an objective historical survey of Jesus' ministry. The gospels present Jesus in such a way that the reader realizes that God acted uniquely in Him. The gospels is written not only to communicate knowledge about Jesus as a person and and also to call us to commitment to Him as Lord.

The gospels produce four distinctive portraits of Jesus rather than an exact photographic likeness. Thus, there are four gospels of the one gospel. (the Good News of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ) Why, though, are there four versions of the same story? Why not one gospel? This question is as old as the Church itself.  Around A.D. 150, Tatian compiled a life of Christ , called the Diatessaron, by harmonizing the four gospels. His contemporary, Marcion, attempted to resolve the problem by choosing one gospel, Luke, and discounting the others.

The Church, however, resisted Tatian's artificial life of Jesus and Marcion's choice of one gospel to the exclusion of the other three. Prior to Tatian and Marcion, the Church had accepted each of the four gospels as a faithful and complementary witness to Jesus Christ, and the Church adopted symbols for the gospels - Matthew a lion, Mark an ox, Luke a man, John an eagle (or variations thereof) - from the fourfold witness to God in Sacred Scripture. - Ezek. 1:4-5; 10:12-14; Rev. 4:6-8 - At an early date the Church realized that the combined witness of the four gospels was required to declare the full significance of Christ Jesus.

If one sets the four gospels side by side, it becomes apparent that Matthew, Mark, and Luke have much in common. Each gospel arranges its material in a similar fashion, and each gospel casts the life of Jesus within the framework of a Galilean ministry that extended from Jesus' baptism to His Passion, Death, Resurrection, and with the emphasis of His final days in the flesh.

The first three gospels recount many of the same incidents or teachings, and often in the same or related wordings. The similarity of the gospel of Matthew, Mark and Luke also includes their content. For example, at the baptism of Jesus as related by Matthew 13:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; and Luke 3:21-22 will quickly demonstrate their agreement. Because of this similarity in agreement, content, and wording, the first three gospels are called synoptic Gospels (from the Greek synopsis, "a seeing together")

But the Gospel of John presents a more independent account of Jesus Christ. John's relationship to the first three gospels can be considered only after a thorough discussion of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The synoptic problem arises from the attempt to explain the general similarity of Matthew, Mark and Luke, while accounting for their individual differences. Two of the four gospel writers [Mark and Luke] were not eyewitnesses of the events they relate, and some question remains about the other two [Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of John] This means we cannot assume that the similarities and differences among the gospels come solely from their personal perspectives as interpreters of Jesus and His ministry. Other sources also probably contributed to the composition of the four gospels.

The important awareness that the early Church did not look upon Jesus merely as an historical figure of the past, but as the living God/Lord of the present. Since the early Church maintained its treasure of tradition of Jesus primarily through proclamation, preaching, and teaching. The contents of the gospels are shaped by the faith of the early Church. It is especially evident in the Gospel of John, which blends the remembrances called to mind by the Holy Spirit with the events of Jesus' life.

Judas - this was not Judas Iscariot - said to him, 'Lord, what is all this about? Do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?' Jesus replied:

If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him
and make our home with him.
Those who do not love me do not keep my words.
And my word is not my own:
it is the word of the one who sent me.
I have said these things to you
while still with you;
but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all I have said to you. - John 14:22-26 -

This is not to say the Good News were 'made up' by the early Church in order to preach about a Jesus who was a figment of someone's vivid imagination. It means, instead, that the early Church kept some memories about Jesus alive, while it did not continue others; and one of the reasons for this is that certain events and sayings were much more important in the early Church's eyes than others were.

Is it possible to know whether the early Church distorted or preserved the intent of the historical Jesus? Fortunately, the New Testament contains certain checks that provide reasonable certainty of careful handling on the part of the early Church.

We may be assured that eyewitnesses, including some of the apostles, were alive when the gospels appeared in writing. Such eyewitnesses would have encouraged historical accuracy and prevented distortion in the gospels. Another important fact is that rabbis of Jesus' day trained their disciples to commit their teachings to memory, in fact, to the point of perfect recitation of long passages. Therefore, we have no reason to assume that Jesus was less diligent about the transmission of His preaching and teaching than the rabbis were about theirs. We also may be assured that the early Church did not project upon the gospels any teachings or concerns foreign to Jesus. The synoptic gospels, for example, record more than 50 parables of Jesus, but not one parable is recorded in the remainder of the New Testament. This observation demonstrates that the Church was faithful to record them.

Expressed respect for the words of Jesus can also be found in the apostle Paul, who distinguishes between "commands of the Lord Jesus Christ" and his own opinion. In a similar vein, we have no instances where the words of apostle Paul, Peter, John, or any of the 'pillars' of the Church are placed in Jesus' mouth. Nor do we find the teachings of the apostles included in the gospels. Jesus commands centre stage, and He has no successors.

For the married I have something to say, and this is not from me but from the Lord: a wife must not leave her husband - or if she does leave him, she must either remain unmarried or else make it up with her husband - nor must a husband send his wife away. The rest is from me and not from the Lord. - 1Cor. 7:10-11 -

Furthermore, we know that the early Church faced a series of crises as it began to evangelize the Gentile world. One such crisis concerned the conditions of accepting Gentiles into the Church, and especially "Circumcision". But such questions are scarcely mentioned in the gospels. - Matt. 8:10 - Finally, inclusion in the gospels of confusing statements [such as the second coming] - Mark 9:1 - or matters unimportant to the early Church [little children] - Mark 10:13-16 - or even embarrassing remembrances [Peter's denial - Mark 14:66-68 - indicate that the early Church was more on preserving the tradition it received than on improving its own image.

Whatever sources and traditions the writers may have inherited, redaction studies have revealed that the gospel writers were more than chroniclers or witless transmitters of the material they received. Each is an important link in the chain connecting us with Jesus. Each offers a unique and complementary portrait of Jesus, because each writes to a different audience and emphasizes different aspects of Jesus' life.

For Mark's, Jesus is the Suffering Servant who reveals His divine Sonship on the cross. Matthew's major concern is to present Jesus as a teacher who is greater than Moses and continually present with the disciples. For Luke's, Jesus is the keystone in the history of salvation, beginning with Israel, fulfilled in Jesus, and communicated by the Church. The Gospel of John penetrates the mystery of the incarnation [Jesus as God in human form] who brings life to the world.

In the beginning was the Word:
the Word was with God
and the Word was God. - John 1:1 -

The Word was made flesh,
he lived among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth. - John 1:14 -

All four gospels portray Jesus Christ through selected events in His life, climaxing in His Passion, Death and Resurrection. But John features an independent, unique presentation of Jesus. Thus, there are four gospels (accounts) of the one gospel (the Good News of Salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ)

                                                                    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 -

Anyone who blasphemes [speaks evil] against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation. Such slander of the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ implied, reveals a spiritual blindness, a warping and perversion of the moral nature, that puts one beyond hope of repentance and forgiveness. Those who call the Holy Spirit Satan reveal a spiritual cancer so advanced that they are beyond any hope of healing and forgiveness.

'I tell you solemnly, all men's sins will be forgiven, and all their blasphemies; but let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sins.' This was because they were saying, 'An unclean spirit is in him.' - Mark 3:28-30 - Matt. 12:22-32 - Luke 12:10 -

If, after we have been given knowledge of the truth, we should deliberately commit any sins, then there is no longer any sacrifice for them. There will be left only the dreadful prospect of judgment and of the raging fire that is to burn rebels. Anyone who disregards the Law of Moses is ruthlessly put to death on the word of two witnesses or three; and you may be sure that anyone who tramples on the Son of God, and who insults the Spirit of grace, will be condemned to a far severer punishment. We are all aware who it was that said: Vengeance is mine; I will repay. And again: The Lord will judge his people. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. - Heb. 10:26-31 -

Sin is a real and positive evil. Sin is more than unwise, inexpedient, calamitous attitude, behaviour that produces sadness, sorrow, grief and distress. It is rebellion against God. Sin is thus the faithless rebellion of the creature against the just authority of his Creator. Sin involves the denial of the living God from whom human beings draw life and existence - Acts 17:28 - the consequence of this revolt is death and the torment of hell. Death is the ultimate penalty imposed by God for sin. For this reason, sinning against God and breaking His commandments at any point involves transgression at every point.

Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven. - Matt. 5:19 - James 2:10 -

For the wage paid by sin is death; the present given by God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Rom. 6:23 -

Apart from Christ Jesus, all are 'dead in trespasses and sins.' But this does not mean that people who committed sins and behave as wickedly as they might, for God restrains the outworking of the sinful heart. God has provided through His Son, Jesus bears the penalty of sin in place of His people. "For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many." - Mark 10:45 - He also redeems us from sinfulness and lawlessness.

And you were dead, through the crimes and the sins in which you used to live when you were following the way of this world, obeying the ruler who governs the air, the spirit who is at work in the rebellious. We all were among them too in the past, living sensual lives, ruled entirely by our own physical desires and our own ideas; so that by nature we were as much under God's anger as the rest of the world. But God loved us with so much love that he was generous with his mercy: when we were dead through our sins, he brought us to life with Christ - it is through grace that you have been saved - and raised us up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus.

This was to show for all ages to come, through his goodness towards us in Christ Jesus, how infinitely rich he is in grace. Because it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith; not by anything of your own, but by a gift from God; not by anything that you have done, so that nobody can claim the credit. We are God's work of art, created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning he had meant us to live in. - Eph. 2:1-10 -

Grace is one of the key attributes of God. Therefore, grace is almost always associated with the spiritual gifts: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness, self-control, compassion and justice. The grace of God was supremely revealed and given in the person and work of  Jesus Christ. Jesus was not only the beneficiary of God's grace, but He was also its very embodiment, bringing it to mankind for salvation. By His passion, death and resurrection, Jesus restored the broken fellowship between God and His peoples. The only way of salvation for any person is 'through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.'

Peter stood up and addressed them. 'My brothers,' he said, 'you know perfectly well that in the early days God made his choice among you: the pagans were to learn the Good News from me and so become believers. In fact God, who can read everyone's heart, showed his approval of them by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he had to us. God made no distinction between them and us, since he purified their hearts by faith. It would only provoke God's anger now, surely, if you imposed on the disciples the very burden that neither we nor our ancestors were strong enough to support? Remember, we believe that we are saved in the same way as they are: through the grace of the Lord Jesus. - Acts 15:7-11 -

The Holy Spirit is the One who binds Christ Jesus to all peoples so that they receive grace, forgiveness, and newness of life as well as the spiritual gifts. "Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, through all and within all. Each one of us, however, has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted. - Eph. 4:3-7 -

The theme of grace is especially prominent in the epistles of Saint Paul. He sets grace radically over against law and works of the law. Saint Paul makes it abundantly clear that salvation is not something that can be earned or merited; it can be received only as a gift of grace. Grace, however, must be accompanied by faith, hope and love.

In short, there are three things that last: Faith, Hope and Love; and the greatest of these is love. - 1Cor. 13:13 -

Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. Love does not come to an end. - 1Cor. 13:4-7 -

In the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, a person is accepted by the grace, mercy, or love of God through faith and repentance. When it is mentions individuals being accepted by God, offerings frequently are mentioned. In the Old Testament, offerings were acceptable to God when made as prescribed, but they were unacceptable when God's instructions were ignored. However, they were rejected when the attitude of one's heart was wayward and irreverent.

Time passed and Cain brought some of the produce of the soil as an offering for Yahweh, while Abel for his part brought first-born of his flock and some of their fat as well. Yahweh looked with favour on Abel and his offering. But he did not look with favour on Cain and his offering. - Gen. 4:3-4 - Lev. 1:1-17, 7:1-10, 19:7, 22:1-30 - Amos 5:21-23 - Jer. 14:10-16 - Mal. 1:6-14, 2:1-9 -

It was because of his faith that Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain, and for that he was declared to be righteous when God made acknowledgement of his offerings. Though he is dead, he still speaks by faith. It was because of his faith that Enoch was taken up and did not have to experience death: he was not to be found because God had taken him. This was because before his assumption it is attested that he had pleased God. Now it is impossible to please God without faith, since anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and rewards those who try to find him. - Heb. 11:4-6 -

In the primary New Testament passage of acceptance, Saint Paul explains that God has fully accepted believers through the merits of Christ Jesus. God will not reject them; He opens Himself to His own by welcoming them. Saint Paul speaks also of a teaching 'worthy of all acceptance' or deserving of universal. God accepts us fully in Jesus Christ because of His offering and receives what we return to Him.

Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.
Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ,
to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence,
determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ
for his own kind purposes,
to make us praise the glory of his grace,
his free gift to us in the Beloved,
in whom, through his blood, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.
Such is the richness of the grace
which he has showered on us
in all wisdom and insight.

He has let us know the mystery of his purpose,
the hidden plan he so kindly made in Christ from the beginning
to act upon when the times had run their course to the end:
that he would bring everything together under Christ, as head,
everything in the heavens and everything on earth.
And it is in him that we were claimed as God's own,
chosen from the beginning,
under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things
as he decides by his own will;
chosen to be,
for his greater glory,
the people who would put their hopes in Christ before he came.
Now you too, in him,
have heard the message of the truth and the good news of your salvation,
and have believed it;
and you too have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit of the Promise,
the plede of our inheritance
which brings freedom for those whom God has taken for his own,
to make his glory praised. - Eph. 1:3-14 -

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, and who judged me faithful enough to call me into his service even though I used to be a blasphemer and did all I could to injure and discredit the faith. Mercy, however, was shown me, because until I became a believer I had been acting in ignorance; and the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus. Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of them; and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life. - 1Tim. 1:12-16 -

Whether we are living in the body or exiled from it, we are intent on pleasing him. For all the truth about us will be brought out in the law court of Christ, and each of us will get what he deserves for the things he did in body, good or bad. - 2Cor. 5:9-10 -

                                                                    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 -