God's Love

It has been a long while that I posted my last entry (sound like every blog). I have already become a father! The journey was fun, exciting and tired because of the sleepless nights, but it is a joy to see my son growing each day. I began to understand the feeling,struggles and of course the joy that parents need to go through. What is more important also, I learnt so much about theology, or about God through parenting even from the beginning of my wife's pregnancy.

In light of Holy Week and coming Good Friday, one particular thought has been bugging in my mind - God's love toward this sinful world. In this post, I would like to share this thoughts about the co-relation of parental love to children (even to the unborn) and God's love to this is sinful world.

When my wife and myself were going through the pregnancy process, the doctor asked us if we would like to do a scan of the baby in the womb if the baby has the symptoms of down syndrome or any abnormal occurrences. But the doctor being a Christian shared to us that this scan would only cause uncertainty to the parents because if they really found something abnormal, abortion is not encouraged at least from ethics and faith perspective.

This has caused me to think, if as parents, we found out that the baby is abnormal and it will not affect the life of the mother, will we decide to keep the baby's life and bring the baby into the world? That is the real challenge. Of course it is easy to be said than to be done.

Somehow, our lives is likened to the abnormal baby that will cause a lot of problems, stresses and uneasiness to parents when the baby is born. I am saying this in the sense that we human beings are sinful and problematic people, abnormal in the sense that we have been deviated from the original plan of God - from God's normal plan. The real question is, "Has God given up on us? Has He 'aborted' us?" The answer is a CLEAR NO!

But we human often selfish as it is, will always think that if the abnormal baby is brought to the world, a lot of time, effort, energy and attention need to be given to the baby. In another words, it will be problematic for us and it causes a lot of inconveniences. And we would feel we lose our "face" because we don't have a normal cute baby. For these few reason, PERHAPS, we choose the convenient way. Often, the problem is not the baby but us! Abortion is just a temporarily solution with serious side effects. Forever you will be traumatize with the decision especially you do it consciously.

God knows we are problematic because of our sins. Yet He chose to sacrifice us and to "deliver" us so that we could be with Him. 

My personal testimony Part 1 - Dedicated and Rededicated

Received a call from a Presbyterian church youth pastor. He came to visit FCC 3 weeks ago and I have shared my testimony to his group that day. He called me to ask me whether he can share my testimony, and I can write it to him. I said okay because if he feels that it can help his youth and edify his youth to serve the Lord, why not? As I was writing the testimony, I kinda being refreshed of what the Lord has done in my life. Indeed, he is a faithful God.I decided to share it in my blog here. I will divide it into few parts (I do not know how many parts are they :D). Here is the first part:

I accepted Christ as my personal Lord and saviour personally in 1998 when I started to join youth meeting in St. Patrick Church, Tawau. My faith in Christ grew since then as I continued to experience God’s grace in my life.

However, I have backslidden, ran away from God in 2001. Even though I was still gone to church that time, but my heart was away from God. I could not figure why my heart was not with God anymore, all I know is that this life is getting bored because it seems like a routine for me to go to church and cell group without any purpose. Perhaps one of the reasons is, I got tempted with what the world offers to me that time – cybercafé life, hanging around with friends, and all that can fulfill the desire of my flesh. I ran further from God when I leave my family in 2003 for business foundation study in Kota Kinabalu . It was my first time leaving my family. I thought I got the freedom I wanted when I stayed away from my family, but it wasn’t true. I filled my life with alcohol and wasting time around – hanging around with friends. Thank God that my study was not affected. Before I went to Inti Nilai for my degree, I have started a relationship with my course mate. We went to Inti Nilai together. Our relationship did not work out well. It started to break before the semester itself.

I felt so miserable, and I was depressed because she was my first love. But through this broken relationship, I have come back to God. I was invited to an Alpha Course during my third or fourth week there in Nilai. In fact, this person, Nickson, a fulltime staff in the church that I am currently serving, has been calling me even before I came to Nilai. It was their Holy Spirit weekend. I joined it, and God ministered me. I told Nickson what happened to my relationship, and he prayed for me. When he prayed for me, I felt so guilty because I have run away from God who is faithfully loves me all the time. God loves can really never fail us! There, I re-dedicated my life to God in May 2004.

Isaac

North Korea 'executes Christians'

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8167644.stm

Human rights groups in South Korea say North Korea has stepped up executions of Christians, some of them in public.

The communist country, the world's most closed society, views religion as a major threat.

Only the founder of the country, Kim Il-sung, and his son, Kim Jong-il, may be worshipped, in mass public displays of fervour.

Despite the persecutions, it is thought up to 30,000 North Koreans may practise Christianity secretly in their homes.

A report by a number of South Korean groups highlights one particular case of a woman allegedly executed in public last month, in a northern town close to the Chinese border.

She was accused of distributing Bibles, spying for South Korea and the United States and helping to organise dissidents.

Her parents, husband, and children were sent to a prison camp.

Such reports are hard to verify, but North Korea is known to be intolerant of religion - it views any form of alternative social organisation as a competitor for its own, religion-like ideology.

The US government says just owning a Bible in North Korea may be a cause for torture and disappearance.

Pyongyang's position appears to have hardened on everything from human rights to defence policy and international relations in the last year or so.

It is thought this may be a way to shore up the government through Mr Kim's illness and the process of anointing his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, as North Korea's next leader.

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The pressure is coming