Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September, 2022. She was the longest serving monarch in British history. She is loved and deeply respected by many. There was a tidal wave of outpouring of grief; with flower tributes, notes, cards, Paddington bears and marmalade sandwiches. There were queues of people coming from all over the globe, […]
Elizabeth, Lazarus, Jesus and millilitres? Read More »
Ever heard anyone say it’s easy to be a Christian? I have. Many times, in the 40 plus years I’ve tried “to follow Christ.” I’ve never found it easy. What makes a Christ-follower (“disciple”) different from non-disciples? If your answer is “a disciple is confident her sins are forgiven and she’ll go to heaven when
Why did Jesus praise a crook? Read More »
LOL! Laugh out loud. We laugh at jokes, comedies. We laugh when we are happy. We also laugh to bond with the people around us. Laughing out loud with another person or in a crowd makes us feel good. What about laughing to oneself, a secret laugh? No one knows but the person laughing. Is
Laughing to oneself – is no laughing matter. Read More »
The government of Malaysia spends billions to build mosques. And hundreds of millions to train, deploy and support Muslim clerics and officials. The chief organ for such work is JAKIM, the Department for Development (“promotion” may be more accurate) of Islam, with a budget of RM1.4 billion in 2021. JAKIM is at the Federal level.
The Friday sermon and the Sunday sermon Read More »
Recently a top politician said “There is even an expression that there are three types of truth. Your truth, my truth and the truth. Truth is God’s Word.” When I read that statement, my heart sank to the depths of despair. Are there really three types of truth? Have we as a nation sunk so
Truth and the wish “Selamat hari Merdeka!” Read More »
Five years on… It has been 5 long years since Pastor Raymond Koh was suddenly taken away in February 2017, yet it seems like just yesterday. So much has happened since. We now know Pr. Raymond was abducted by the Special Branch of the Malaysian police, just like the Shiite activist Amri Che Mat, in
Ripples of Raymond Koh Read More »
The lectionary readings for Sunday include Hebrews 12:18-29. Chapter 12 is the second to last chapter. In these verses, the writer, a pastor, offers the basis for the command he issued in verse 14: Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. The goal of life
Between Sinai and Zion in Kuala Lumpur Read More »
The lectionary readings for Sunday include Hebrews 11:29 to 12:2. Verse 29 is striking. It recounts not the faith of individual persons, but of “people,” of the Hebrews, the Israelites. They are commended for exercising faith. For crossing the Red Sea, “as on dry land.” Their crossing of the Red Sea as the waters parted
They conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises Read More »
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us… This is the part of the Lord’s prayer that I struggle with most. What exactly is forgiveness? I am not talking about God’s forgiveness towards man. That is Divine. I am talking about forgiveness on a human level, between people, specifically, friend to
Lectionary readings for Sunday (tomorrow). Nogalski on Hosea 11:1-11 The images in Hosea 11:1-8 depict YHWH as a tender, loving father in a way unlike any other biblical text. The passage’s form comes close to that of a soliloquy, providing the reader the ability to hear YHWH’s internal struggle over whether to punish his wayward
God as conflicted father and the church as recalcitrant teenager Read More »
