The merciful God that we know.

I received an email from an evangelist/teacher concerning Coronavirus. He said every time there is a pestilence, it is sent by God and the devil has nothing to do with it. He quoted dozens of Scriptures form the Bible to substantiate his teachings. I hope this preacher is in good health cos if ever he succumb to an illness, he may have to reflect on his own teachings.

There are always extremes in everything people do and believe. I hope not too many preachers have the same view as this evangelist. Maybe not to that extreme but there are too preachers who claim God is behind this Covid-29 to shake the church. Really? Was there a forewarning? Because every time before God allowed a pestilence or calamity, He forewarns.

Is God truly responsible for this virus? The earth, as we know, is sick and has been since the Fall at the beginning of time. Human abuse of the eco systems is yet another contributing factor of cause-and-effect. While we may not and will not know for certain what is and what is not regarding the origin of this virus, one thing I can be certain of, it will pass because of the mercies of God. Go back to the Word. Look at history past. God is always watching. Time and again He intervenes where human fails. Take a look at this:

Matt 24:22. “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened”.

When the Great Tribulation kicks in (as God had forewarned) the whole of humanity will be wiped off if not for the mercies of God who capped it at the 7th year. I don’t know how long this Covid 19 is going to last. It may ravage on, maybe even exponentially and wildly beyond our control. But there will come a time when God will say: “It is enough” and then He restore order just like previous pandemics. For now, He is watching over India, Italy, Spain, us and the whole world. It grieves him too how human disregard God and His creations. Yet He longs for humanity to turn to Him. Perhaps during this pandemic time, many will.

Just to wrap up.
1. Don’t blame God for things He did not do or suggest that He did.
2. Watch out for false prophets. They prowl over social media.
“At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time. (v.23)
3. Remember Y2K? It was “pandemic”. There was widespread panic that computers would be unable to operate when the date descended from "99" to "00". That would affect everything that’s computer related and bring about a catastrophe upon our planet. Financial markets would collapse. There were "panic buying" of software and programming to counteract the Y2K bug. At midnight 1999 when the clock struck 12pm (00), nothing happened. January 01, 2000 00:01am proved Y2K was “much ado about nothing”.

I am not implying this Coronova threat is non threatening. We have already seen its reality and impact. But maybe, just maybe, we could be a little less afraid? Our mental too is just as important. God is merciful. He had not abandoned humanity. He is watching over us - peoples and nations. Have a little faith.

Don't cry for me Malaysia.

I wrote this on Feb 28 on church FB. Thought I'd archive it here in my blog. The change of governance weighed heavily on the hearts of most people of Malaysia then.

OUR COUNTRY IS NOT FEELING WELL. I know we are praying for our nation. I know we are voicing our fears, frustrations and hopes in our prayer. I know of the things we are ASKING God to do on our behalf. But let's not forget how we ought to pray, i.e. "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". God wants us to know His will. So instead of asking God to do this or that, why not ask God what His will is? When we ASK, we ask out of frustrations, fears, confusion and we kinda tell God what He need to do for us as a people and a nation. I think at this pressing time, it's more important for God to do the asking. You see, when God asks, miracles happen. When Jesus asked the lame man at the pool of Bethesda, "Do you want to get well?" a miracle followed.

Proverbs 16:9 "We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps".

In history past, God used the good, the bad and the wicked to fulfill His will for His people.

Your will Lord, be done on earth as it is in heaven. Don't cry for me Malaysia. The truth is I still have faith in you.

Locked down but not locked out

“Go, my people, enter your room and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by.(Isaiah 26:20).

God was speaking to Israel, not us. Nevertheless, looking at the context of the writings, we can draw lessons from it, gain understanding and wisdom. What we do not want to do is to apply these Scriptures in prophecy and say this pandemic is the wrath of God. Who knows what is and what is not the act of God? Many times, only in hindsight can we know for sure. We best not take upon ourselves as God’s representatives and say: “Thus says the Lord”. These are times where false prophets will arise. Therefore, be watchful.

Eight more days to go. May I suggest (like Moses days in the wilderness) two meals a day as in brunch and dinner? God fed the Israelite twice a day for 40 years. Keep well and stay well. We may be locked down but we are not locked out.

Such a time like this.

Esther 4:14 
14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Our context today is not the same as in the days of Queen Esther. Nevertheless, the phrase “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” caught my attention. That’s the question: who knows? For many things, only in hind sight can we see the big picture. Yet many claimed and proclaimed they know.

In times such as this false prophets will definitely be on the rise. You do well by listening from the word than from the mouths of "prophets". Who knows what is real and what is not. For whatever transpires, you can always look into the Bible for wisdom and understanding for there’s nothing new under the sun. What happens today happened before in Biblical days. There are lessons we can draw from it to help understand the happenings of today. ALWAYS go back to the Word. Unless the Biblical days where prophesies were delivered with the demonstration of the power of God, today's prophecies are subjective and carry an element of guess work. That’s why we are told to TEST all prophecies. In times such as this, don’t just listen to man. Read the Word! Who knows? You may yet find your comfort, wisdom and understanding in all this madness.

Psalms 119:105
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Read Revelation. Get a feel of the End-times.

It came to pass ...

"It came to pass". This phrase occurred quite a bit in the Old Testament. Things that were said, prophecies that were recorded … “It came to pass”. After 430 years, it came to pass the Israelite left Egypt. Took a long time but nevertheless it came to pass.

What does it mean “It came to pass?”. For one, it meant nothing surprises God. He knows the who, what, when, how and why and He is in control. With His finger, God gave the sea its boundaries so the waters will not overstep into land. The waves may buffet the shores minute after minute for millenniums yet it will not over step the land (Proverbs 8:29). God is in control. Secondly, it meant nothing last forever.

Psalm 30:5
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

THIS VIRUS THREAT WILL PASS. Be watchful. Be prayerful. Rely on your Bible, not your WhatApp messages. Be positive and encouraging. And above all, hang in there. Don’t lose your joy. Don't forget who you are.

AI

AI ... Artificial Intelligence. It's finally arrived! Not coming but it's here. Perhaps in its infancy stage but nevertheless it's here.  This is the unavoidable future trend. All nations will embrace AI and all peoples of the earth will be under its influence. In the very near future you will not be able to buy or sell without being "governed" by AI. Your going in and your going out will be under the watchful eyes of AI. Just this morning news, Thailand is looking into how AI can help ease its traffic congestion as current technology has proven insufficient. In Japan, an optical shop employs AI in helping customers select spectacles they would purchase. It's not just about the tech. It's about the ability of the tech to determine what's better for you. There will come a time when one will be talking to an AI robot or hologram just like in the futuristic movies.

I began by saying, "It's finally arrived". Meaning, there was a waiting period. When you purchase something online, for a fact it will arrive. It's a matter of when. Two thousand years ago, the appearance of AI (machine intelligence) was already recorded in the book of Revelation 13. At the island of Patmos where Apostle John was exiled, God gave him a glimpse into the future. There he saw a lifeless image (statue, robot, hologram) coming to life (robotic age). Two things John saw in the vision. For one, the whole world worshiped the image. Today you can see how people’s lives are so ingrained in technology that it has become inseparable. Literally people all over the world are glued to their cell phones and tablets. Secondly, John saw how the image (AI) controlled the lives of people worldwide. There is a new god in town. It’s called TECHNOLOGY.

15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name (Rev. 13).

The book of Revelation ought to be read at least once a year. Many have lost the fear of the Lord. We are now living in a time where what was written in Revelation is already happening and yet many are not aware of the warnings of Revelation. The world is getting “smaller” because of technology. The demands in life have increased with advancement in technology. Who are we worshiping today? Are we even aware of the fact that Jesus is coming soon? Do we even care about His return? What John saw blew his mind. I have the notion John saw into our present time. This is not the time to get distracted. Remember Jesus' caution: KEEP WATCH!

Mark 13:5-37

When I am afraid ...

All of us are afraid of stuff. Some rational but mostly irrational stuff. Life itself is stressful and fear seems to be one huge contributing factor. So this morning, I want to write about this in my very own layman, non professional understanding on this subject. Some subjects are best left to the experts. But being pastor, I have to deal with just about ... everything! Literally from A to Z. The scary thing is, pastors don't always know lots of stuff. Pastors will do well if they keep to the teaching and preaching of the Word for the simple fact that God's word not only provide the insight and wisdom that we need, it also connect us to God from whence our help comes. But of course the pastor has to be relevant to changing times. That's why constant self learning /teaching/ reading/upgrading  is a very important aspect of a pastor's daily life. Once a teenager asked me what I do daily as a pastor. See, lots of folks think pastors work only on weekends. Rest of week they are "free". That is so far from truth. In response to the teen's question, I spoke briefly of an athlete's life. A golfer for example, don't just work on weekends (tournaments are always held over weekends). If a golfer is not in tournament, the rest of the week is spent in necessary routines which is going to the gym, hitting balls at the driving range, keeping abreast on the latest happenings in the golfing world, etc. for the sake of self improvement and keeping sharp and ready for tournament. So this is what I do apart for the actual work load of managing a church. Enough of digression.

Fear: " ... is a emotion induced by perceived danger or threat, which causes physiological changes, such as fleeing, hiding, or freezing from perceived traumatic events".  That's from Wikipedia. When I taught the teens on this subject two weeks ago, this is what I said about fear.

A.There are two kinds of fear. Founded and unfounded fear. If a tiger suddenly appears in front of you, that is real fear. Unfounded fear on the other hand is something you are afraid of which is of the future. It may or may not happen and often times, it's imaginary, irrational and unfounded. So I met a tiger a year ago and I encountered real fear. A year later, I am still afraid to pass through the same path for fear I may cross path with the tiger yet again. Fact is, it's been a year. The tiger have moved on or died. It hasn't been spotted for a year. It's very unlikely I will have a second encounter with it yet I am afraid. This unfounded fear is but imaginary and irrational. That's how it is with fear. Most of what we are afraid of are unfounded and very likely will not even materialize, yet we are afraid it may happen. It's no wonder Jesus enlightened us to not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will take care of itself. Meaning, our fears are mostly unfounded so don't dwell on it (Read Matthew 6:25-34).

B. How do you response to fear? From the incident of David and Goliath, I told the teens there's two way to respond to fear. Fight or flight. Goliath was a real threat. On a one-on-one fight, none of the Israelite will be able to survive Goliath. So Israel took flight and Goliath taunted them every day for forty days until the shepherd boy David took the challenge to fight Goliath. The rest is history. Some things just won't go away until you fight it. 

C. How do you overcome fear? Shield and sword. In the olden days when battles were fought, a soldier will need a shield and a sword. Without a shield to protect against the arrows and blows of the sword and spear, a soldier may not survive in battle. Not only will the shield provide protection, it helps the soldier to strategically wield his sword to eliminate the threat. When David encountered Goliath that fateful day, instead of having a physical shield, God was his shield. He wasn't afraid of Goliath. Instead of a sword where he will have to get up close to Goliath, he used a sling shot. At a safe distance, he fired the shot and Goliath felled. David was skilled with the sling shot. Skill is something we can acquire if we apply ourselves to it. Together with God as our shield (Psalms 28:7), we have the resource to fight instead of flight. But of course there are times one will have to take flight as a temporary but immediate action but the only way to overcome is still to fight the enemy.

We had a good time in class. We talked about school bullies.I have always enjoyed teaching teens and teaching in small groups. God's word is like a hidden treasure. It's a delight to be able to not just read, but to be able to study and uncover its hidden treasures. God's word is amazing and enlightening. God's word is not meant to be read but to be studied. If you are in the habit of just reading chapters a day, things can get pretty boring and mundane. But when you study it, like food, you will want more. Keep this 2x2x2 lesson in mind. Someday, it may come in handy. God bless.