Honoring God In Our Occupations

Listen to these voices:

"I am stuck in this boring job because I need the money."

"I am too exhausted at the end of a working day to pursue spiritual activities."

"I cannot see any spiritual connection between my faith and my job."

"Work is a necessary evil in a fallen world."


I acknowledge that there are marketplace Christians who are fully engaged and contributing in a God honouring way through their secular jobs. But, my guess is that they are few in number. The majority of us struggle hard in fleshing out our faith in the "real world". Many mornings, I start out the day with an intention of hallowing my work by making it a sacrifice to God. But more often than not, by mid morning, as I am swamped with e mails, phone calls and meetings, my spiritual desires quickly slipped away and I succumb to the tyranny of the urgent. How then can I honour God in my occupation?

I got a useful tip on practicing God's presence at the workplace while reading Phillip Yancey's Rumours of Another World. Yancey wrote:

"Martin Luther saw the potential calling in any kind of work. "Even dirty and unpleasant work, such as shoveling manure or washing diapers, is pure and holy work if it comes from a pure heart," he said. Luther urged ordinary folk - farmer, milkmaids, butchers and cobblers - to perform their work as if God himself was watching. Luther was, in effect, bringing two worlds together, reading God into everyday life."

Yancey helped me to see that the mundane tasks that comprise my day are significant parts of a meaningful pattern in God's view. And, while it is difficult to practice, he also helped me to see lasting value in each of my mundane tasks.

I reviewed my previous work week and asked myself certain questions. Did I perform my routine tasks like signing letters, drafting documents and doing legal research with an awareness that God was watching me? Did I treat my colleagues, my clients and my professional peers with the attention they deserve? What was my inner spirit like - stressed, anxious, irritable or peaceful, contented and joyful? Sharing a joke over lunch, contributing an idea in a meeting, visiting a colleague whose father passed away - were these acts done for Christ?


When I began to see the potential of honouring God in every working day, I realized afresh that marketplace Christians are placed in strategic positions to influence the world for Christ. There are people and organizations that God wants to reach through each one of us. The question we need to ask ourselves is whether we are willing to be faithful witnesses every single day in the marketplace?

Wong Fook Meng
GCF iCommentary

At Least Ask The Boss

"Emigration continues to be a hot topic among Christians in Malaysia and Singapore. Many will cite reasons as to why things have gotten worse in their country and that it is time to think about going to a better place (Australia? America? Canada?) so that they can continue to enjoy a certain quality of life, and to ensure a certain quality of life for their children.

Since I minister mostly to English-speaking faith communities, many of the people I come into contact with are educated middle/upper-middle class folks. I cannot help but be struck by the ironies. The folks who talk most about emigration are those who have the know how and the resources to live a good life where they are. Those who are really hurting in the system, the poor and marginalised, do not talk about emigration because they do not have the capacity to do so.

The folks who talk most about emigration are also people who have been blessed greatly by the Lord. The bible says that to whom much is given much is expected. It would seem to be biblical to expect that folks who have been blessed so much would live life with a deep sense of gratitude, looking out for how they now can be a blessing to others. Instead many seem to be more concerned with protecting their blessings and defending their standard of living.

Many genuinely seek to emigrate for the sake of their children. They actually have a more comfortable lifestyle where they are (maids!) but undergo much discomfort for the sake of their children. I have four boys of my own and I want the best for them. I want them to have the freedom to develop into their full potential and to be physically and emotionally secure.But I also need to leave them a spiritual legacy.

By my choices I am teaching my children values, and what we do speaks more loudly than what we say. Is it for their good that I teach them that, when the going gets tough, and if you are rich enough, go to a more comfortable place? Is this the spirit of the Christ that calls us to carry our crosses if we want to follow Him (Luke :23-24)? At the very least we need to be clear as to what "good" means before we make decisions for our children's good.

As I have written elsewhere, I do not take a legalistic view on the matter of emigration. I know that God has different plans for each of us and I cannot use my own pilgrimage as a yardstick for the journeys for others. But when I hear people listing down their pros and cons as they decide whether to stay or to go, I just want to ask them one question: "Have you asked the Boss? What does He think? Have you inquired of the Lord? Does the Lord want you to stay or to go?"

A basic tenet of the Christian faith is that we are not our own. We were bought with a price (1Corinthians 6:19-20). And we now belong to Jesus. Paul reminds us that we are soldiers. We do not do what we want. We obey the orders given to us by our Commander (2Timothy 2:1-4)."

-- Soo Inn, Read On

Enthralled by God's Love

Have you ever been in a situation where you know something is wrong but did not do anything about it? One Sunday at worship service while singing the song "When I look into His holiness", the Holy Spirit convicted me.

"When I look into His holiness" is a song of worship with serious meaning, and it is often sung with a mistake in the lyrics, which I discovered some years back. Sometimes I would point out to a few students in the Christian fellowships when they make the mistake in their "praise and worship" time. However when they don't make the correction, I never did anything else. Most other times I just sang the correct version on my own.

The mistake is in the line "When my will becomes enthralled in Your Love" where "enthralled" is frequently but wrongly substituted with "enthroned".

My will becoming enthroned in God's love means my will is exalted by God's love, that God's love revolves around me, and therefore, I am more important. On the other hand, my will becoming enthralled means I am captivated by and submitted to God's Love, which is the correct meaning in the context of the song.

I wonder how the original writers feel if they know their song has been changed and, sometimes, massacred. There are many instances where lyrics and melodies of songs have been unintentionally taught wrongly and intentionally modified without acknowledging its writers and their original works. It is time we seriously consider our responsibility in handling the intellectual/creative property of others.

I wonder how we can sing the wrong lyrics (of the song discussed) so many times without suspecting that something is amiss. I confess that there are times that I sing without thinking, but my worship will be meaningless if that is all I ever do. We need to be more mindful when we sing in worship of what the song means and whether we mean what we sing.

I wonder how many of you are like me, knowing the error but not doing anything substantial. Here is what I learnt from this incident about doing something to right a wrong.

I need to work hard, researching for concrete facts (in other cases, to find evidence) to back up what I claim.

I need to communicate it appropriately (choosing the right words and approach) through the right channel (who can/will make the change)

I risk rejection or unpleasant repercussions

I am compelled to act (against the easier path of not rocking the boat) as I am enthralled by God's Love.

Evelyn Meng is a former Fellowship of Evangelical Students staffworker who is now on sabbatical. (2003)

Graduates' Christian Fellowship
20 B Jalan SS 21/35
Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: 03-77272962 Fax: 03-77267250
http://www.gcfmy.org

Asian Perspectives of Jesus

It was during his bible study course on Corinthians that we came upon the idea and the joys of learning together as a community. His life taught me much about dedication, passion for mission and the Word in the Malaysian context. Brother O, another friend of Agora, avid Bible student and Anglican evangelist/mentor has just decided to blog at Global South:

"because the center of Christianity is moving from the Western world, which is normally located in the Northern Hemisphere, to the Southern Hemisphere. Christianity is booming in the Global South (Latin America, Africa, and Asia), but declining rapidly in the West.

What would this mean for us, Asians in particular, who are believers in the Resurrected Savior? What are the long-term implications for the Asian churches?"

So it seems appropriate that I share the following GCF i-Commentary on:
Asian Perspectives of Jesus
By Tan Kang San

"Who do people say I am?... Who do you say I am?" (Mark 8:27, 29)

"For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread…" (1 Cor. 11:23)

The Problem of an Alien Jesus in Asia


Jesus came from Asia. Hypothetically, Jesus is more Asian than Western in outlook and cultural values. But Christianity was brought to Asia by Western missionaries. Did Western missionaries faithfully deliver the biblical, Jewish Jesus to the people in Asia or did they betray Jesus and his message by presenting a Western Christ? Today, Asian churches are actively sending out missionaries. How can missionaries, from Asia and the West, preach a faithful and biblical portrait of Jesus who is true to his Jewish roots and dynamically related to the hearts and minds of local peoples?

Missionaries seek to faithfully transmit the life and message of the historical Jesus found in the Bible. However, in the process of gospel transmission, there is always a danger of foreign cultural additions that Jesus became portrayed as an Englishman or Christianity is seen as a Western religion. Possibly a "betrayal" is
too strong a word because most missionaries came to Asia to bring the gospel with deep love for Christ. Asian Christians are grateful to God for the sacrifices of our Western Christians. However, whenever Western traditions and accretions are added, then inadvertently, the portrait of the original Jesus of the Bible was blurred. This critique of cultural additions to Christ is not a new issue, but one
made since the spread of Protestant missionary work. For example, Keshub Chunder Sen, an Indian religious reformer observed:

"It seems that the Christ that has come to us is an Englishman, with English manners and customs about him… Is not Christ's native land nearer to India than England? Are not Jesus and his apostles and his immediate followers more akin to Indian nationality than Englishmen?

Why should we then, travel to a distant country like England, in order to gather truths which are to be found much nearer our homes? Go to the rising sun of the East, not to the setting sun of the West, if you wish to see Christ, in the plenitude of his glory."

Keshub Chunder Sen (1838-1884)

Today, Christianity's image as a "foreign religion" may be perpetuated through missionaries from Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong or the Philippines. History repeats itself when these Asian missionaries imposed a Jesus alien to local cultures. Enthusiastic Asian churches are adopting national workers and sending short term
workers without adequate cultural understanding of local beliefs.

Leadership of these mission works tend to be in the hands of pastors of supporting churches rather than local missionaries living in the midst of non-Christian cultures. Because these mega-churches paid salaries of national workers, newly formed churches are perpetually dependent on foreign funding. With money and power, the identities of new mission stations are inseparably linked with foreign forms of
denominations, leadership styles, and church structures which project an alien Jesus to the non-Christian communities in Asia.

Potential Images of Jesus from Asia

Speaking of Western theologies, Andrew Walls observed that "Our (Western) existing theologies of church and state were carved out of the experience of Western Christendom, and were never meant to deal with anything as complicated as the networks of political and economic structures that will characterize the twenty first century" (Walls 2002: 113). Walls went on to argue that African and Asian
Christianity have more experiences than most developed countries in dealing with the issues of suffering, ethnic identities and rivalry, religious identities, problems of corruption, power struggles, principalities and spirit worship. If Asian churches are to mature into an agent of transformation in society, then Asian Christian thinkers need to understand and engage deeply with the real issues of
Asian societies. One positive hope for change must be the release of Jesus Christ from Western captivity and images. Missionaries do this by encouraging local Christians to see Christ related dynamically to local cultures. Those who are educated in the West need to be re-trained to see Christ through Japanese eyes, Chinese eyes, Filipino eyes and Indonesian eyes.

With the growth of Christianity in Asia, and the decline of Christianity in the West, Asian Christians stand at an interpretive cross road- whether to continue to rely on Western images of Jesus or to develop new ways of seeing the Asian face of Jesus found in the bible. All metaphors about Jesus must be rooted in the biblical
texts. However, our readings of the bible need to be dynamically related to the diverse contexts of Asia. Just as the early church needed four interpreters of Jesus stories in the gospels, so the Asian church need to see Jesus walking along the Indonesian villagers of Tsunami or the Jesus as a friend of the poor in the slums of Manila or Bangkok. Chinese societies need to be introduced to Jesus as the Tao of Wisdom and the Teacher greater than Confucius. To a great extent, Chinese Christians have not fully explored the different ways in which Jesus can be both "pioneer and perfecter of our faith" (Heb. 12:2).

In Search of an Asian Jesus

How can we facilitate the growth of an Asian face of Jesus? First, new missionaries need to be minimally self-critical of themselves and their own religious traditions. The discipline needed for self-critiques is particularly difficult if missionaries work within mono-cultural or mono-tradition groups. For example, if all the missionaries are Southern Baptist from Texas or Anglicans from Singapore, then these mission groups need to work very hard in discerning whether their forms of Christianity are appropriate in a new mission field. This may not be an easy task because most of us are not always conscious that our cherished religious heritages are culturally conditioned. Sometimes we forget our own prejudices and
are not aware of our ignorance of those positive elements in other cultures.

If the first task dealt with the missionary's own cultural blindness, the second task is to deal with non-Christian's contributions to the problem of an alien Jesus. Today, "Who do people say that I am?" is still a valid starting question for new missionaries. Whenever Christian workers enter into Muslim or Buddhist cultures, they are not preaching Jesus into empty minds. Instead, they will encounter existing portraits of Jesus commonly held by local peoples. Some of these portraits are cultural misunderstandings (Jesus is a Westerner), while others derived from non-Christian teachings or scriptures (Jesus as a mere prophet in the Quran). Jesus Christ of the Bible must take over these non-Christian beliefs and
misunderstandings. Therefore, missionaries need to learn how to address these socio-religious misunderstandings of who Jesus is.

The third task in the process of discovering an Asian Jesus is seeking cultural bridges that connect the relevance of Jesus Christ to existing indigenous beliefs.

For example, Gani Winoyo, developed a Javanese Face of Jesus based on a popular eschatological messianic Javanese figure of Ratu Adil (1999: 65-79). Winoyo researched and discovered deep seated beliefs within Javanese worldviews of "Ratu
Adil," who will be the deliverer, and "harmonizer" of society. He then appropriated the Jesus of the Bible as someone who is able to bring deliverance, Hope and reconciliation in Javanese society. To do this job well, missionaries must view their changed roles from a "Pearl Seller to Treasure Gatherer."

Vincent Donovan, in his work among the Masai people in Tanzania argued that "The task of the missionary is to present the gospel, the task of the people is to express the gospel and its meaning in their own language and thought forms….The field of culture is theirs and ours is the gospel." (Donovan, 1995)

Last but not least, these Asian perspectives of Jesus need to be subjected to the test of scriptures, and found not contradictory to historical images of Jesus accepted in other Christian communities. The Asian Jesus cannot be so inculturated to Asian soils that he is unrecognizable from the Jesus found in the Bible or apostolic Christology.

A Christological Question: Who do you say I am?

Our search for an Asian face of Jesus is ultimately an issue of the Lordship of Christ. The issue is not just what non-Christians think of Jesus- "who do people say I am"; but who is Jesus to Asian Christians- "who do you say I am?" This Christological question penetrates into the depth of Christian worship and discipleship where one's loyalty to Christ is not confined to safe religious boundaries. Contextually, our answers to the question of who Jesus is cannot be completely disconnected from the questions about Jesus commonly held by our Muslim and Buddhist neighbors. Likewise, the Christian portraits of Jesus should emerge from the sufferings and heart struggles of Asia rather than a Christology developed in 17th Century Medieval Cathedral. Radical discipleships must result in Christ penetrating every aspect of socio-economic and political world of Asia. The Apostle Paul has this multiple dimensions of Christ's Lordship when he proclaimed that "Jesus Christ is the first born of all creation; for in Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities- all things were created through Him and for Him" (Col. 1:15-16).

References Cited

Donovan, Vincent. 1995. Christianity Rediscovered. Maryknoll: Orbis Books.

Walls, Andrew F. 2002. The Cross Cultural Process in Christian History. Maryknoll: Orbis Books.

Winoyo, Gani. 1999. "Ratu Adil: a Javanese Face of Jesus." Journal of Asian Mission 1/pgs. 65-79.

Image credit to Asian Christian Art

Cinta Tuhan Demi Tuhan

Suatu penemuan paling mustahak yang pernah saya buat ialah kebenaran ini:

Sinar kemuliaan Tuhan paling gemilang dalam bahang kerinduan kita terhadapNya.

Itulah penjana yang mendorong pelayananku sebagai seorang pastor. Ia mempengaruhi setiap tindakan saya.

Sama ada saya makan atau minum atau berkhotbah atau apa saja, matlamat saya adalah untuk memuliakan Tuhan dengan cara saya melakukannya (1 Korintus 10:31). Ertinya, tujuan saya berbuat sesuatu adalah dengan corak yang akan mempamerkan bagaimana kemuliaan Tuhan memuaskan kerinduaan hatiku. Jika khotbah saya memberi tanggapan bahawa Tuhan tidak memenuhi keperluan diri saya sendiri, ianya kepalsuan. Jika Kristus bukan kerinduan hatiku, apakah orang lain akan percaya jika saya mengumumkan kata Yesus, "Akulah roti hidup; barangsiapa datang kepada-Ku, ia tidak akan lapar lagi, dan barangsiapa percaya kepada-Ku, ia tidak akan haus lagi”? (Yohanes 6:35)

“Roti” gemilang kerana ia memuaskan kelaparan. “Air hidup” megah kerana ia menghilangkan kehausan. (Yohanes 4:10) Bagaimana harus kita menghargai sumber air di atas gunung yang segar, tulen dan tidak terbatas curahannya? Perlukah kita mengheret baldi-baldi air dari kolam di kaki gunung demi memberi sumbangan kita sendiri kepadaNya? Bukan itu caranya. Kita memberi penghormatan kepada mata air apabila kita rasa dahaga, maka bertelut dan minum dengan penuh kenikmatan. Lepas itu, kita berseru, “Ahhhh!” (itulah penyembahan!), dan meneruskan perjalanan kita dengan kekuatan baru dari air pancut tersebut (itulah pelayanan!).

Air mata gunung paling dimuliakan apabila kita paling puas menikmati air curahannya. Malang sekali, ramai daripada kita diajar bahawa kewajipan, bukan kenikmatan, adalah cara untuk memuliakan Tuhan. Kita tidak mendapat didikan bahawa kegembiraan dalam Tuhan itulah kewajipan kita! Kerinduan dalam Tuhan bukan suatu pilihan ekstra yang tidak wajib dalam tanggungjawab sebenar seseorang Kristian. Malah, ia tuntutan paling asas sekali. “Bergembiralah kerana TUHAN” (Mazmur 37:4) bukanlah cadangan sahaja, tapi perintah. Begitu juga: "Beribadahlah kepada TUHAN dengan sukacita" (Mazmur 100:2) dan “Bersukacitalah sentiasa dalam Tuhan!” (Filipi 4:4).


Beban pelayananku agar semua sedar bahawa “kasih setia [Tuhan] lebih baik daripada hidup” (Mazmur 63:3). Sekiranya kasih setia Tuhan lebih unggul daripada hidup, ia juga menjangkau segala tawaran duniawi. Ertinya, kita tidak puas dengan kenikmatan hadiah pemberian Tuhan sahaja, tetapi dengan kemuliaan Tuhan sendiri – kasih sayangNya, kuasaNya, kearifan, kesucian, keadilan, kebaikan dan kebenaranNya.

Sebab itulah Asaph berseru, “Siapa gerangan ada padaku di syurga selain Engkau? Selain Engkau tidak ada yang kuingini di bumi. Sekalipun dagingku dan hatiku habis lenyap, gunung batuku dan bagianku tetaplah Allah selama-lamanya.” (Mazmur 73:25–26). Tiada apa-apa ciptaan sempurna Tuhan di atas muka bumi yang dapat memuaskan kerinduaan hati Asaph. Hanya Tuhan mencukupi. Inilah makna Daud yang berkata, “Engkaulah Tuhanku, tidak ada yang baik bagiku selain Engkau!" (Mazmur 16:2).

Daud dan Asaph mengajar kita keinginan berpusatkan Tuhan, yang tidak mungkin puas dengan pemberian harta, kekayaan dan kesihatan badan semata-mata. Hanya Tuhan memenuhi kerinduan kita.

Adalah salah jika kita tidak bersyukur di atas pemberian hadiah Tuhan (”Janganlah lupakan segala kebaikan-Nya!” [Mazmur 103:2]), tetapi ia boleh menjadi pemujaan berhala jika kita menganggap kegirangan daripada hadiah tersebut sebagai cinta untuk Tuhan sendiri. Apabila Daud berkata kepada Tuhan, “Di hadapan-Mu ada sukacita berlimpah-limpah, di tangan kanan-Mu ada nikmat sentiasa” (Mazmur 16:11), hasrat hatinya hanya ingin mendampingi Tuhan, satu-satunya kenikmatan paling memuaskan di alam semesta. Bukan anugerah Tuhan penghayatan hati Daud seperti seorang kekasih.




















“Seperti rusa yang merindukan sungai yang berair, demikianlah jiwaku merindukan Engkau, ya Allah. Jiwaku haus kepada Allah, kepada Allah yang hidup. Bilakah aku boleh datang melihat Allah?” (Mazmur 42:1-2) Daud hendak mengalami limpahan kasih dan kemuliaan Tuhan: “Ya Allah, Engkaulah Allahku, aku mencari Engkau, jiwaku haus kepada-Mu, tubuhku rindu kepada-Mu, seperti tanah yang kering dan tandus, tiada berair. Demikianlah aku memandang kepada-Mu di tempat kudus, sambil melihat kekuatan-Mu dan kemuliaan-Mu.” (Mazmur 63:1-2).

Hanya Allah memuaskan kerinduan Daud kerana dia jejaka yang mengikut kehendak hati Tuhan. Inilah matlamat kita dicipta – mengasihi Tuhan sendiri! Kasih kepada Tuhan bererti kita patuh kepada semua perintahNya, percaya WahyuNya, bersyukur atas segala anugerahNya; tetapi asasnya, mengasihi Tuhan adalah penghayatan diri Tuhan sendiri. Dengan menikmati rahmat Allah kita memuliakan keagunganNya dengan sepenuhnya, meskipun dunia sekitar jiwa kita terlerai. Kita sudah tahu kebenaran ini dari gerak hati dan Alkitab.

Adakah kita rasa penghormatan tinggi daripada seseorang yang melayani kita bermotifkan tuntutan tanggungjawab atau kerelaan setia kawan? Isteri saya paling dihargai apabila saya berkata, “Saya sungguh gembira meluangkan masa denganmu”. Kegirangan saya adalah gema kecemerlangan peribadinya. Begitu juga dengan Tuhan. Sinar kemuliaan Tuhan paling gemilang apabila kita paling puas dalam kenikmatan diriNya. Kita tidak mungkin mencapai kerinduan dalam Tuhan yang sempurna. Saya sering bersedih kerana hatiku merungut apabila kehilangan keselesaan duniawi, tapi saya juga pernah merasai kebaikan Tuhan. Dengan rahmatNya, saya telah jumpa sumber air yang abadi kegiranganNya, dan saya ingin menghabiskan riwayat hidupku untuk memikat sesiapa sahaja datang berkongsi kegembiraan ini supaya mereka juga berkata, “Satu hal telah kuminta kepada TUHAN, itulah yang kuingini: diam di rumah TUHAN seumur hidupku, menyaksikan kemurahan TUHAN dan menikmati bait-Nya.” (Mazmur 27:4).

Karya John Piper
Terjemahan Hedonese

A Tribute To A Holistic Christian Life

A Tribute: Tan Sri Dr. Tan Chee Khoon
By Ong Kian Ming

"He that is without sin, let him cast the first stone".
"The beam that thou seest in thy neighbour's eye thou seest not in thine own".

Two familiar bible verses. Nothing extraordinary.

But what if I told you that these two verses were once uttered in the halls of our Dewan Rakyat?

The tongue-lashing was directed by a Tan Sri Tan Chee Khoon, at the Alliance party (the pre-cursor of today's Barisan Nasional) and the PAP (Singapore's current ruling party).

Both parties had accused the Socialist Front, which he belonged to, of being pro-Communist. He condemned the blanket generalisation.

One of the most respected opposition politicians of his day, Tan Sri Tan Chee Khoon is a man still admired for his guts, determination and integrity. In the Houses of Parliament, he was known as "a Christian in the Muslim dominated chamber" and was prone to "spice up" his speeches with Scripture verses.

Tan Sri Tan who?" some of you might ask. It is sad that not many Malaysians recognise this name today. We easily look West or into the distant past for heroic Christian figures, but we are sadly unaware of this local son – from our own time – who had lived a life of congruence, in faithful practice of his faith while emerging as an astute politician.

Tan Chee Khoon was born into a poor immigrant family and lived at 11th mile Cheras Road. From very humble beginnings, he grew up to be a successful doctor, a Member of Parliament for 3 terms, an opposition leader for 3 parties – winning, in the process, a host of accolades and achievements.

A brief look at his life would force us to abandon prejudices about politicians: "corrupt,self-serving, power-hungry, opportunistic", and force us to examine our own lives beyond the four walls of the offices we work in and the church building we worship in.

He reached out with his heart and soul to all layers of Malaysian society, first in his medical practice and, later, as a politician. As a general practitioner, he would see his patients late into the night, learning Tamil and Punjabi so that he could converse better with some of them. He also was the driving force behind the Sentosa Medical Center, which was set up to cater to the poor and needy who lived in the heart of old Kuala Lumpur, along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

As a politician, he tried to help all the 'rakyat' who came to him irrespective of race or religion, and if he could not help them directly, he would point them to someone else who could.

Tan Sri Tan worshipped at the KL Wesley Methodist church, serving actively and representing the church in large-scale gatherings of the Methodist churches of Singapore and Malaysia.

In one such conference, the issue of restrictions on non-Muslims proselytising among Muslims was brought up. He spoke against the restriction, and taunted the establishment for fearing the government. He reminded the elders of the Church that the first Christians were thrown to the lions and had no fear of death.

He was one of the few who directly confronted Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, when the latter first came into office, on a host of issues connected to freedom of religion and worship. He questioned the scarcity of Indonesian or Malay bibles, about the difficulties for non-Muslims to build places of worship, about freedom of religion as enshrined in the constitution.

While things did not change overnight, the fact that he stood up and asked is an encouragement to others - to keep questioning and to keep striving for religious rights. The Al-Kitab has certainly become, slowly, more widely available.

Tan Sri Tan was conferred with a Doctor of Laws from the University of Malaya for his long, unsalaried service on the university council. He was awarded the Panglima Setia Mahkota, which carried the title of Tan Sri, and the Darjah Paduka Mahkota Selangor by the Sultan of Selangor.

Remember, we're talking about an opposition politician here!

These are merely a few of his extensive areas of service, as well as awards, achievements and titles gathered in his lifetime.

It is an encouragement to know about a heroic fellow Malaysian Christian, and a political leader who strived to live a holistic life. Such people clearly demonstrate that serving God is to be pursued both within, and without, the walls of a church.

Let's pray for more local heroes to rise up to the task of serving Him like the late Tan Sri Tan Chee Khoon.

Let's pray for courage, for ourselves, to rise up like he did.


Questions for reflection

1) Are there any local Christian heroes whom I admire?

2) Do I admire my heroes because of their service to God in church, outside it, or both?

3) How can I try to look beyond the 4 walls of my church so that I can bless people outside the church as well as those inside it?

(Many of the quotations and facts for this article were taken from the late Tan Sri's autobiography, From Village Boy to Mr. Opposition. The author recommends that everyone on this list should try to get a copy of this book to read)

Menegakkan Keadilan Dan Kebenaran

GCF icommentary:

“Aku membenci, Aku menghinakan perayaanmu dan Aku tidak senang kepada perkumpulan rayamu. Sungguh, apabila kamu mempersembahkan kepada-Ku korban-korban bakaran dan korban-korban sajianmu, Aku tidak suka, dan korban keselamatanmu berupa ternak yang tambun, Aku tidak mau pandang. Jauhkanlah dari pada-Ku keramaian nyanyian-nyanyianmu, lagu gambusmu tidak mau Aku dengar. Tetapi biarlah keadilan bergulung-gulung seperti air dan kebenaran seperti sungai yang selalu mengalir." (Amos 5: 21 - 24)

Akhlak dalam masyarakat hari ini kian merosot. Peningkatan peristiwa jenayah ganas terhadap manusia lain sungguh menggerunkan. Kes-kes pencabulan, bunuh dan rompakan semakin lumrah meskipun liputan berita meluas dan kehilangan nyawa atau kecederaan pada mangsa jenayah cukup merisaukan kita! Tidakkah manusia masih berhati perut?

Begitu juga dengan amalan rasuah yang masih berleluasa dan nampaknya tidak reda-reda. Malah Tun Mahathir mendakwa amalan penyelewengan itu kelihatan makin diterima orang ramai, daripada kelakuan di “bawah meja” ke “atas meja”. Akan tetapi, umat Kristian di Malaysia nampaknya cepat berkembang dan bertumbuh dan jumlah ahlinya pun bertambah. Bangunan-bangunan gereja besar pesat dibina. Setiap cuti sekolah kini, tempat-tempat peranginan banyak dipenuhi oleh kem-kem gereja. Perkhemahan Kristian yang baru-baru saya sertai terpaksa “bersaing” dengan tiga gereja lain untuk kemudahan-kemudahan dalam hotel yang sama!

Namun… angka pertumbuhan ini tidak memberi kesan yang selaras dalam masyarakat umumnya. Pengaruh gereja sebagai garam dan cahaya harapan dunia seperti tidak meninggalkan apa-apa tanda yang ketara ke atas situasi semasa Malaysia. KENAPA TIDAK?

Mungkinkah kita, sebagai umat Kristian dan wakil Kerajaan Tuhan di Malaysia, terlalu asyik mengejar ‘dunia akhirat’ sehingga kita mengabaikan tanggungjawab di ‘dunia sekarang‘?

Mungkinkah kita terlalu berfikiran sempit, kurang prihatin dengan hal ehwal semasa dan hanya mengambil berat kewarakan peribadi dan tatacara keagamaan?

Contohnya, kawan saya memberitahu tentang suatu khotbah jemaah di mana paderi menekankan perlunya kita meluangkan lebih masa berkumpul dengan saudara Kristian lain, dan menjauhi kawan-kawan yang bukan Kristian supaya tidak ‘dicemari’ mereka. Saya hairan. Bagaimanakah kita dapat menyahut seruan sebagai “garam dan cahaya” dunia jika kita enggan melibatkan diri dalam isu-isu dunia dan kehidupan harian insan-insan yang memerlukan “rawatan”? Yesus tidak suruh kita mencariNya di syurga untuk diselamatkan. Beliau sendiri datang memasuki dunia kita, berjalan bersama kita serta mencurahkan nyawaNya di antara kita supaya kita dapat Firman kehidupan.

Dalam kitab Amos, Tuhan menjelaskan apa yang lebih mustahak dalam hatinya. Ia bukan irama muzik indah dan sidang jemaah kita yang semakin berkelengkapan canggih, atau pun aktiviti keagamaan Kristian (seperti lebih banyak pelekat cermin kereta, poster dinding, risalah dan lambang ibadat yang lain).Ia berkenaan keadilan dan hidup muhsin yang Tuhan kehendaki tanpa mengorbankan yang lain-lain. Dengarlah kata-kata Yesus kepada orang Farisi dalam Matius 23:23

“Celakalah kamu, hai ahli-ahli Taurat dan orang-orang Farisi, hai kamu orang-orang munafik, sebab persepuluhan dari selasih, adas manis dan jintan kamu bayar, tetapi yang terpenting dalam hukum Taurat kamu abaikan, iaitu: keadilan dan belas kasihan dan kesetiaan. Yang satu harus dilakukan dan yang lain jangan diabaikan”.

Di manakah pendirian kita, saudara Kristian? Adakah kita mencetus suatu perubahan demi Tuhan di pelosok dunia masing-masing?

Adakah Malaysia akan menjadi lebih aman sentosa kerana kehadiran kita di sini? Saya ingin memberi penghargaan kepada mereka-mereka yang berani bangkit dan bertekad untuk mengharungi api rasuah dan kezaliman, dengan rahmat Tuhan, sebagai sinaran cahaya kepada dunia dan kita yang ketinggalan. Saya menghargai warganegara Malaysia seperti Chun Wai, Seng Kok, Ron Tan, Nehemiah Lee, Denison dan ramai lagi yang berani menghadapi cabaran duniawi demi kemuliaan Tuhan.


Lai Tak Ming
Presiden
Graduate Christian Fellowship

How to Choose Your Occupation

Charles Spurgeon offers timeless advice on faith, work and the choice of one's occupation. Whether you're a college student embarking on your career or a 45 year old executive in the midst of a midlife career change, these are truths worth remembering.

True faith in him who loved us, and gave himself for us, also seeks direction of the Lord as to the sphere of its action, and waits upon him to be guided by him in the choice of a calling. Some people are trying to do what they were never made for, ambitious beyond their line. This is a grievous evil. There should, therefore, be a seeking unto God for guidance and direction; and faith leads us to such seeking.


Spurgeon also speaks to the nature of the work suitable for a Christian.

In the choice of a calling faith helps a Christian to refuse that which is the most lucrative if it be attended with a questionable morality... Trades which are injurious to men's minds and hearts are not lawful callings before God. Dishonest gain is awful loss.


He warns not only of dishonest gain but also of the kind of motivation that places the pursuit of money as the primary aim of work and the center of one's ambition.

"Make money," said the worldling to his son; "make it honestly if you can, but, anyhow, make money." Faith abhors this precept of Mammon, and having God's providence for its inheritance, it scorns the devil's bribe.


Spurgeon's advice is practical in the sense that he understands that God creates each person with unique gifts and abilities. The discovery of one's call must take that into account.

Callings should be deliberately chosen with a view to our own suitableness for them. Faith watches the design of God, and desires to act according to his intent.


He advises that faith also takes into account the providence of God in placing us within the scope of a particular time, place and opportunity. The faith that seeks God for vocational guidance is markedly different from a purely analytical assessment of our circumstances. Instead, there is a leaning upon God as we assess our position in life; trusting in God's sovereign favor to lead us into what he intends for us.

We should also by faith desire such a calling as Providence evidently has arranged and intended for us. Some persons have never had a free choice of what vocation they would follow; for from their birth, position, surroundings, and connections they are set in a certain line of things, like carriages on the tram lines, and they must follow on the appointed track, or stand still. Faith expects to hear the voice behind it saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it." Trusting to our own judgment often means following our own whims; but faith seeks direction from infallible wisdom, and so it is loaf in a right way. God knows your capacity better than you do; entreat him to choose your inheritance for you.

If the flowers were to revolt against the gardener, and each one should select its own soil, most of them would pine and die through their unsuitable position; but he who has studied their nature knows that this dower needs shade and damp; and another needs sunlight and a light soil; and so he puts his plants where they are most likely to flourish. God doeth the same with us.


What I love about Spurgeon's perspective is that he never drifts far from the gospel. He reminds us that God may have either fortune or poverty for us but he remains faithful to work for our good and the praise of his own glory.

He hath made some to be kings, though few of those plants flourish much. He has made many to be poor, and the soil of poverty, though damp and cold, has produced many a glorious harvest for the great Reaper. The Lord has set some in places of peril, places from which they would gladly escape, but they are there preserved by his hand; he has planted many others in the quiet shade of obscurity, and they blossom to the praise of the great Husbandman.


These God centered perspectives from the 19th century may seem odd to us at times. Unfortunately, much of what passes as career advice today, even from Christians, will often emphasize the practical aspects of choosing a career but leave little room for the spiritual. It may espouse the view to "do what you love" but often without accounting for God's calling. It may assess career opportunities on the basis of pay or marketplace demand but not in terms of what brings honor to God or serves our neighbor.

Spurgeon exhorts us to think about our career choices rather differently.

_____________________________________________

For more advice from Spurgeon on integrating faith-work, read this post on Every Square Inch

CONSUMING OURSELVES TO DEATH

CONSUMING OURSELVES TO DEATH
iCommentary by Living Lee

I attended a technical talk by a world water and climate change expert from the University of Western Australia yesterday and was quite taken aback by what he told us about the state of our planet. Global warming is predicted to raise sea levels by about one meter in the next 50 years. What that means is many coastal areas where we live and grow our crops will be drowned and many places rendered uninhabitable.

In addition to that large areas like the Amazon will be destroyed by water deficiency while other areas will suffer flooding. Many people will be displaced and have to migrate to other places in order to survive. The scientists have also taken much of the guesswork out of predicting changing climatic patterns by very sophisticated real-time monitoring systems that are already in place all over the world.

The thing that struck me most during the talk was not the technical aspects but the human aspect of the problem that the speaker highlighted. How did we end up messing up the self-healing feedback systems that has kept the water, carbon and other cycles in balance for most of our planet's history? He attributed it to humans having developed a psychological reliance on technology.

We have adopted demand management and created a consumer culture gone mad. People, especially in the developed world, are buying and accumulating like there is no tomorrow without realising that they are using up tomorrow's resources today and making future generations pay for our greed.

Where did all this madness come from? He listed down three sources of social stress that bring about the dissatisfaction that make us consume.

They are:
(1) relative poverty: you are happy with earning a dollar a day if you have a job and everyone else around you earns about the same but you'd feel deprived in an affluent society;

(2) if you feel you have no control over your future;

(3) if you don't feel needed and are disconnected from others in your community.The interesting thing was how the above is connected to the loss of the spiritual when it was replaced by the physical. Man indeed cannot just live by bread alone (Matthew 4:4). He will remain dissatisfied and continue to try to fill that emptiness in his being
by stuffing it with things until he finds God.

What should we do as Christians?

(1) Continue to preach the gospel and invite the lost to taste and see that the Lord is good. Only God can satisfy and meet all our needs.

(2) Turn away from following the crowd in how we live and utilise the resources of this earth. We are to be responsible stewards not mindless consumers going for the bigger house or more powerful car just because we can afford it (or can borrow enough to pay for it) and not because we need it.

(3) We must establish credible communities in our churches and other social structures to meet the loneliness in man where he is valued for who he is rather than what he owns. Everyone is welcome and needed in our communities. Be counterculture and may we be found faithful when Jesus returns.

Christ Followers in KiasuLand

Have you met any "kiasus" ( Hokkien word to describe someone who is afraid of losing) recently? It's really easy to spot one. Some characteristics of "kiasus" are:

Their favourite words are "Me", "Myself", "Mine" and "I" in big bold capital letters.

They make choices solely on the basis of what benefits them the most.

They are resistant to the fact that anyone can be better than them.

They want to win at all cost, even willing to sacrifice integrity, relationships and health at the altar of success.

If you have problems finding a "kiasu", let me tell you a place where you can likely find one. Look at the mirror! Jab! Jab! Ouch! That's painful, isn't it? But it is so terribly true. Let's admit it. We live in a "me" era. However, many of us are sophisticated enough to mask our "kiasuism" with subtle packaging. Our pride is called ambition. Our greed is named "hunger for growth". Our seeking for fame and popularity is hidden under the veneer of "marketing our talents and skills".

Don't get me wrong. I am not anti – growth or anti- competition.

Godly stewardship of our marketplace position entails a strong focus on productivity, growth and profitability. However, my concern is that we may focus entirely on self interested motivations and on winning at all cost that we end up being another "kiasu" in kiasuland. Surely, our calling as marketplace Christians should compel us to see beyond salaries, profitability and increasing of
market share.

Laura Nash in her book "Believers in Business", noted a covenantal approach among some evangelicals to the competitive drive in business. In a covenantal approach, the first question asked is not, How much money did we make? but How is the customer faring? In other words, the primary purpose of Christians in the marketplace is the creation of value for others. In Philippians 2 v 4, the Bible said, "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." That seems to be a value creating call to me. And, it is also a warning against "kiasuism".

I'll end with some questions on how we can create value for others:

In your workplace, what does it mean to be more of a giver than a taker when it comes to adding value to your organization?

Is your organization a better place to work because you are on the payroll?

If Christ were to have your job, how would He create value for your bosses, peers, subordinates, clients and society at large?

As Christ followers, let's focus on creating value for others. It's the antidote to being a self seeking "kiasu".

Wong Fook Meng
Graduate Christian Fellow i-Commentary

Bermimpi Atau Impian?

The Dream and Dreamer

(A Poem of CS Lewis on Prayer, published in Letters to Malcolm)

Master, they say that when I seem
To be in speech with You,
Since you make no replies, it's all a dream
- One talker aping two.

They are half right, but not as they
Imagine; rather, I
Seek in myself the things I meant to say,
And lo! the wells are dry.



Then, seeing me empty, you forsake
The Listener's role, and through
My dead lips breathe and into utterance wake
The thoughts I never knew.

And thus You neither need reply
Nor can; thus, while we seem
Two talking, thou are One forever, and I
No dreamer, but Thy dream.

Bermimpi atau Impian?

Tuan, mereka panggilku Mat Jenin,
S'bab kita sering berbicara
Walhal Kau tak jawab, khayalan batin
- Cakap seorang tapi mirip dua

Mereka betul separuh, tapi tidak seperti
Dijangka; Kerana bila aku mau
Selami hasrat di telaga hati
Ianya kering kontang, bagaikan kemarau

Melihat kekosonganku, Kau tinggalkan
Peranan Pendengar, dan bernafas
Melalui bibir pucatku dan bangkitlah ungkapan
Nurani hati baru yang dilafaz

Jadi Kau tak perlu bersapa
Bila kami semacam cakap berdua
Engkau Seorang selamanya,
Dan aku bukan pengkhayal, hanya lamunan yang Kau cipta

Jesus of the Scars

“Jesus of the Scars” – Edward Schiltoff

(Imagery taken from Thomas’s request to see the wounds of Jesus in John 20)

If when the doors are shut Thou drawest near,
only reveal Thy hand, those wounds of Thine.
We know today what wounds are, never fear.
Show us Thy wounds, we know the countersign.
The other gods were strong. But Thou wast weak.
They rode, but Thou didst stumble to Thy throne.
And to our wounds, only God's wounds can speak,
and not a god has wounds but Thou alone.

Yesus BerParut
(Puisi berdasarkan permintaan Thomas untuk melihat luka/parut Yesus dalam Yohanes 20)

Bila pintu ditutup Kau menghampiri,
Hanya dedahkan tanganMu, cedera milikMu,
Kini kita faham makna parut, Usah sangsi.
Tunjuklah lukaMu, Tanda bertentangan kami tahu,
Dewa lain mereka kuat. Tapi Kau lemah.
Mereka dijulang, tapi ke atas Takhta Kau tersandung.
Hanya luka Tuhan mampu mendalami luka kita yang parah,
Tiada tuhan lain berparut melainkan Kau seorang.

Gospel To The Poor

Gospel To The Poor: Orang asli church building was demolished on June 4 2007.

"We pleaded with all the OA brethren to leave the case to the court and not to speculate. They were told to forgive all those who wanted the church building destroyed."

"They all prayed that God will forgive all those who took part in the demolition of His church building for they did not know who our Lord Jesus is. They also prayed that God will bless them with the true knowledge of Him, the Creator of this universe and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Our OA brethren, though sad and in grieve, had forgiven this incidence. To God be the glory.)"

We hope that all should pray for our beloved Agung, the Prime Minister and his cabinet, Sultans and all state authorities to uphold the federal constitution so that Malaysia will always be a peaceful nation.

If you are interested to get involved in OA ministry, please contact hedonese at yahoo dot com.

Bukan Hanya Bayangan, Gema Dan Sisa

Kita bukan Tuhan. Jika dibandingkan dengan Realiti Tuhan yang maha unggul, kita amatlah kerdil. Kewujudan kita bergantung kepada kewujudan mutlakNya. Allah adalah satu-satunya keabadian dalam alam semesta. Kita berpunca daripadaNya. Allah sentiasa wujud dan tiada pendahuluanNya. Jadi, Dia tidak dicipta daripada yang lain. Kita pula makhluk ciptaanNya. Dia tetap berkekalan. Tapi kita berubah. NamaNya "AKU ADALAH AKU." (Keluaran 3:14).



Namun, kerana Tuhan telah mencipta manusia untuk matlamat tertinggi di dunia – iaitu menikmati dan memaparkan kemuliaan Pencipta – kita mungkin memperoleh hidup yang kekal selamanya. Inilah sebab kita dikurniakan hidup (“Segala sesuatu diciptakan oleh Dia dan untuk Dia,” Kolose 1:16). Inilah sebab anugerah seks diselamatkan (“Jauhkanlah dirimu dari percabulan!…Sebab kamu telah dibeli dan harganya telah lunas dibayar: Oleh itu muliakanlah Allah dengan tubuhmu!” 1 Korintus 6:18-20)

Inilah sebab kita makan dan minum (“Jika engkau makan atau jika engkau minum, atau jika engkau melakukan sesuatu yang lain, lakukanlah semuanya itu untuk kemuliaan Allah.” (1 Korintus 10:31). Inilah sebab kita berdoa (‘Apa juga yang kamu minta dalam nama-Ku, Aku akan melakukannya, supaya Bapa dipermuliakan di dalam Anak,” Yohanes 14:13) Inilah sebab kita berbuat baik (“Demikianlah hendaknya terangmu bercahaya di depan orang, supaya mereka melihat perbuatanmu yang baik dan memuliakan Bapamu yang di syurga," Matius 5:16)

Inilah sebab kita wujud – untuk mempamerkan kemuliaan Tuhan. Riwayat hidup manusia segalanya demi Tuhan. Itulah erti hidup seseorang insan’. Sifat dasar kita sebagai makhluk ciptaan suatu kerinduan untuk mengagungkan Tuhan. Kemuliaan manusia bersandarkan penyembahan Tuhan yang mulia.

Apabila kita menunaikan makna hidup manusia ini, kita mempunyai sesuatu yang kukuh dan penting. Hayat kita dipenuhi makna dan nilai abadi. Apabila kita kenali, nikmati dan (dari itu) memaparkan kemuliaan Tuhan, kita mengambil bahagian dalam kemuliaan Tuhan sendiri. Bukan beerti kita akan jadi seperti Tuhan. Tapi kebesaran dan keindahanNya menyelubungi hidup kita apabila kita menyedari matlamat kewujudan alam semesta – bagi menonjolkan keunggulanNya. Itulah penghargaan berat bagi realiti kita.

Jika tidak ditunaikan matlamat hidup ini, kewujudan manusia hanyalah bayangan daripada tubuh asal yang dicipta Tuhan. Jika tidak menghargai Tuhan di atas segalanya, kita seakan gema ekoran bunyi muzik karanganNya. Kewujudan ini hanyalah sisa kesan daripada ciptaan yang asli.

Suatu tragedi yang amat menyedihkan. Manusia tidak dikurniakan hanya sebagai
bayangan dan gemaan dan sisa peninggalan sahaja. Kita dicipta untuk menonjolkan imej Tuhan sendiri, menghasilkan muzik yang tulen dan memberi kesan mendalam sepertiNya. Inilah maknanya untuk dicipta dalam gambaran Tuhan (Kejadian 1:27). Tapi apabila manusia membelakangi Pencipta dan lebih menghargai benda lain, mereka akan menjadi seperti apa yang disembah itu – remeh, ringan, susut nilai, lemah dan memperkecilkan Tuhan.

Dengarlah kata Pemazmur ini, “Berhala bangsa-bangsa adalah perak dan emas, buatan tangan manusia, mempunyai mulut, tetapi tidak dapat berkata-kata, mempunyai mata, tetapi tidak dapat melihat, mempunyai telinga, tetapi tidak dapat mendengar, juga nafas tidak ada dalam mulut mereka. Seperti itulah jadinya orang-orang yang membuatnya, semua orang yang percaya kepadanya.” (Mazmur 135:15-18).

Fikirkanlah dengan rasa gementar. Anda menjadi seperti barang ciptaan manusia yang anda percayai: tidak boleh bercakap, melihat ataupun mendengar. Ini kewujudan bayangan. Ini gema bunyian dan sisa peninggalan daripada matlamat asal anda. Ia seakan wayang kosong di atas pentas sejarah yang hanya penuh kesibukan tapi akhirnya, langsung tidak bermakna.


Wahai, umat Kristen, jangan jadi bayangan dan gema bunyian dan sisa. Bebaskan diri daripada wabak zaman ini yang berpusat kepada manusia sahaja. Teguhkan tugu imanmu seperti gunung batu agar mengamati, mengenali, menikmati dan beramal dalam terang kasih Tuhan. “Hai kaum keturunan Yakub, mari kita berjalan di dalam terang TUHAN!” (Yesaya 2:5)

Dalam cahaya, anda dapat melihat Tuhan dan segalanya yang lain dengan jelas sekali. Anda akan bangun dari mimpi kewujudan di dunia bayangan. Anda rindu dan temui apa yang benar dan anggun. Hidup anda seakan lagu indah karya Tuhan. Ajal hanya akan mengirim anda ke syurga. Apa yang anda tinggalkan itu bukanlah sisa riwayat yang terbengkalai, tapi suatu penghormatan yang termaktub di syurga bagi kegemilangan kasih karunia Tuhan.

Menghindari bayangan dengan anda,
John Piper
Artikel Asal O Be Not Mere Shadows, Echoes and Residue
Terjemahan Hedonese

Now Everyone Can Be Masters Of Theology!

Kar Yong's Homilia is heating up with Lexicons for biblical studies, openings for Templeton Award and news about Karen Armstrong's public lecture!

But closer to home, he wrote a thought-provoking (tongue-in-cheek) piece on Now Everyone Can BE Masters of Theology!

AirAsia pioneered low cost travel in this region, and with their low airfare (well, not exactly low after taking into account the taxes, fuel surcharges and administrative fees that are added to the airfare), "now everyone can fly."

Well, what about theological studies? What if a rigorous post-graduate theological degree is made available with hardly any entrance requirements? Would you believe that one day it would come when we could finally say, "Now everyone can Master of Theology"?

By the way, have Masters of Divinity (M.Div) really achieved divinity status?? Join in the fray here

PUBLIC LECTURE BY KAREN ARMSTRONG ON “THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN THE 21ST CENTURY”
The Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR) together with International Movement for a Just World (JUST), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) are co-organizing the above lecture on Saturday 16 June 2007, 10.00 am at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur .

Admission is free.

If you and your friends are interested in attending the above lecture please contact Puan Shazatul (IDFR) – Tel: 21491018 / 21491000 Email: shazatul@idfr.gov.my.

Karen Armstrong is one of the world’s leading commentators on religious affairs. She is a best-selling author, whose books have been translated into forty languages. Her early work focused on the monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, but she has since begun to explore the eastern religions. Her work is scholarly but written for the general reader, and has been appreciated not only by western audiences but also by Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus. She is a broadcaster, columnist, and is much sought after throughout the world as a public speaker. Her focus is not only on theology and spirituality but on the political implications of faith in the modern world.

Her books include: A History of God [1993], which became an international bestseller; Jerusalem, One City, Three Faiths [1996]; The Battle for God, A History of Fundamentalism [2000]; Islam, A Short History [2000]; Buddha (2001); The Spiral Staircase: A Memoir (2004); A Short History of Myth (2005).The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions (2006); and finally Muhammad: A Prophet for our Time (2006).

Since September 11, 2001, however, she has become chiefly known for her work on Islam and Fundamentalism, particularly in the United States.

Inconvenient Truth: Global Warming

Elder Kee Huat was the Director of Energy Efficiency & Innovation Unit, Suruhanjaya Tenaga which provided him a unique perspective into the issue of global warming and creation care. Last Sunday, he gave an informative and passionate plea for action to the Church. Listen to the audio sermon here

The Powerpoint slides would provide some research data he compiled, painting a grim picture of current situation that requires our response. Towards the end, he gave a Christian response similar to the Creation, Stewardship sections of the Lausanne Evangelical Commitment to Simple Lifestyle document.

He also draws resources from Richard Foster's Discipline of Simplicity for personal application:

"The inward reality of simplicity involves a life of joyful unconcern for possessions. Neither the greedy nor the miserly know this liberty.

If what we have we receive as a gift, and if what we have is cared for by God, and if what we have is available to others, then we will possess freedom from anxiety.

However, if what we have we believe we have got, and if what we have we believe we must hold onto, and if what we have is not available to others, then we will live in anxiety."

What are some outward expressions of Simplicity?

- Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status.
- Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you.
- Develop a habit of giving things away: de-accumulate
- Refuse to be duped by gadgetry: time saving devices almost never save time.
- Learn to enjoy things without owning them: beach, parks public libraries...
- Develop a deeper appreciation for creation. Walk whenever you can, smell the
flowers, watch birds.
- Develop plain simple talk.
- Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others.
- Shun anything that distracts you from seeking first the Kingdom of God.

Only the simple are free. All others are tyrannised by the ambitious self, the demand for recognition thru things, and preoccupation with the opinion of others.

Apa Yang Dapat Aku Untung?

Dari Cahaya Nusantara

Apa dapat yang aku untung,
dari melihat darah P'nylamat?
Mati Dia keranaku,
Untukku Dia sanggup mengorban,
Kasih ajaib sungguh takjub,
Ya Tuhanku mati untukku.

Mati Dia yang sungguh misteri,
Siapakah yang boleh memahami?
Sia-sia malaikat cuba,
Cerita agungnya kasih Tuhan,
Rahmat ini marilah kagumi,
Janganlah malaikat meneka lagi,

Dia tinggalkan takhta Bapa,
Sungguh percuma besar rahmat-Nya,
Mengosong Diri penuh kasih,
Tertumpah darah demi Adam,
Rahmat ini berlimpahan percuma,
Ya Tuhanku Aku dijumpai,

Lama telah jiwaku gelisah,
Dikurung dosa dan kegelapan,
Mataku buka melihat terang,
Ku bangun penjara diterangi,
Gari buka hati bebas,
Ku bangun mara dan ikut-Nya,

Suara kecil tetap ku dengar,
Bisikan mengampuni dosa,
Darah penebus telah hampir,
Memadami kemarahan Syurga,
Luka dia pemberi jiwa,
Ku me-rasa-i pe'nye-lamat

Tiada cemuhan yang menggerun,
Yesus segalanya bagi aku,
Hidup dengan-Nya pemimpin ku,
Dan diberikan kemuliaan-Nya,
Mara yakin ke Firdausi,
Dan men'rima Mahkota Kristus,

Simply Puisi

"Earth's crammed with Heaven,
And every bush aflame with God.
But only those who see take off their shoes,
The rest stand around and pick blackberries.”

Terjemahan puisi karya Elizabeth Barrett Browning berdasarkan wahyu Tuhan kepada Nabi Musa menerusi semak yang terbakar (Keluaran 3):

“Bumi dimuati Syurga,
Tiap belukar bersemarak dengan api Tuhan.
Tapi hanya mereka yang nampak tanggalkan selipar,
Yang lain selamba mengutip buah dan dahan".

Shocked!

It's always a challenge to comment on complex social issues in an accessible, fair and yet personal/compassionate manner... For me, this ecommentary is a classic of combining these elements and the 'kungfu' level I hope to attain.

Shocked
by Soo-Inn Tan, 16 Jan 2006
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I remember my mum hinting that my beloved Teochew nanny may have lost her daughter in very tragic circumstances. Sons were prized in China. Daughters were not. Apparently, when her daughter was born, they tore her from her mother's arms and threw the new born child into the river. That was a long time ago. Things have gotten much worse since. Here is part of an article from the January 9th 2006 issue of the Guardian Online.

The births of up to 10 million girls in India may have been prevented by selective abortion in the past 20 years, researchers say today. Half a million babies are aborted every year because they are girls, even though termination on the grounds of gender was outlawed in India in 1994, according to a study published online by the Lancet medical journal."

"If this practice has been common for most of the past two decades since access to ultrasound became widespread, then a figure of 10 million missing female births would not be unreasonable."

READ ON FOR THE FULL ARTICLE

Message Of Reconciliation

Tony Lim's message was delivered at the end of 2006, but never more current than now. Here are some excerpts:

Richard Lischer had this to say about Martin Luther King’s collected sermons:

“In these sermons King tells the truth about the sins of racism, idolatry, militarism and violence. As Desmond Tutu puts it, he is not afraid to look the beast in the eye. Yet he does so in a way that is remarkably generous towards his enemies. Where it is possible to ‘explain’ racism as a symptom of fear of some other psychological or cultural disorder, he does so. He often takes time to understand and articulate the White Southerner’s anxiety in the face of change. He makes his judgements on racism and war against the backdrop of God’s profound love for the world, a theological awareness which lends to his sermons a brooding sense of pathos. In re-reading them one is reminded that the emotions most characteristic of a the prophet is not anger but sorrow. He tells the truth but rarely in bitterness of spirit and never with contempt for the Other. His truth-telling is pervaded by a sense of tragedy…although embroiled in many local conflicts, King never took his eye of cosmos and the universal fact of reconciliation. The victory he promises will be big enough to include victims and victimisers, the segregated and the segregators, in the beloved community. King fought as hard as anyone in America for new laws, but his sermons palpably yearn for the new thing that rises just beyond the law’s guarantees. And for King that new thing was the peculiarly American expression of God’s reconciliation of the world through Jesus Christ. ( p 160, f)


"What tangible, concrete, realistic signs and gestures of reconciliation can we as a Christian community give to our country, our community, our church, our family?

1) Be realistic – look the beast in the eye. This is Malaysia – neither paradise nor is it hell.
2) Tell the truth about ourselves, about the Other
3) Confess our sins
4) Offer signs and meaningful gestures of reconciliation
5) Best we could do may lie in us just wanting to reach out toward reconciliation. Which in the end must mark all that we say, and do as a person, as a church, as a community."