Time To Say Goodbye

I have decided that now is time to say goodbye, time to close down this blog.

I feel that now is the right time since I no longer have to be the "voice of one calling out in the wilderness", shouting out the gospel of grace because the main messenger himself, Pastor Joseph Prince, now has his own international and online ministry to reach out to the masses directly.

In Nov 2008, when I first started starting writing this blog to share the gospel of grace which I heard from Pastor Prince, there was great controversy and misgivings over his teachings. Some people even labelled Pastor Prince's teachings as heresy; there was one guy who wrote an article on his blog entitled "Joseph Prince The Heretic".

During that time, there were many people writing on the internet criticizing Pastor Prince's teachings based on hearsay rather than listening to his messages for themselves. I felt I had to write my own blog to clarify these misconceptions as my rebuttals to these erroneous articles on their blogs were often drowned out by a sea of like-minded critics.

However, how things have changed since then. Pastor Prince now has his own TV programme in the US on TBN, the largest Christian TV network in the world, his own online presence through facebook, twitter and his own website. He has also published several best-selling books, such as "Destined To Reign" and "Unmerited Favour".

While it was not easy or convenient for people, even in Singapore, to have access to his materials then, they are now easily available online for people all over the world.

Pastor Prince's teachings have gone from being "heresy" into the mainstream. Many pastors all over the world have been positively impacted by his teachings, and some new churches have even started through the influence of his teachings (yes, Peter Sze, I am thinking about you ;-)). Last October, Pastor Prince preached in the largest church in the US, Pastor Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church. Average attendance in New Creation Church itself has grown from 12,900 in 2006 to 23,000 in 2011. The highest attendance ever was 32,500 on the first day of this year - 01/01/2012.

I don't need to clarify Pastor Prince's teachings anymore. Those who are interested can now easily listen to or watch his sermons for themselves, or read his books instead of relying on other people's second hand opinions, and make up their own minds for themselves.

It's time for me to exit the scene; so this blog will go offline at the end of the week.


Goodbye.

Ironman Daddy

In my May 27 post, I mentioned that I have taken over ironing duties from my wife, so nowadays every morning, the first thing I do is iron the family's clothes so that I can hang them on the window grille to catch as much morning sunlight as possible.

Ironing clothes is a chore to most people but someone in the family still needs to do it so that the whole family can look good when they go to school or work or just hang out with friends. I tell my sons that if they see a schoolmate whose uniform is always crumpled, it is a sign that he's facing some family problems.

I admit that sometimes I don't feel like ironing but strangely, once I start ironing, I do feel a certain satisfaction when I see the creases flatten out and disappear as the hot iron glides over the fabric.

A few days ago, as I was doing the ironing, the thought hit me that Daddy God enjoys ironing too. He also feels great satisfaction in ironing away the creases in the fabric of our lives, making it flat and smooth. I was reminded of this verse:

Isaiah 42:16
¹⁶And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known. I will make darkness into light before them and make uneven places into a plain. These things I have determined to do [for them]; and I will not leave them forsaken.

I'm glad that I have a heavenly father who enjoys ironing ... Ironman Daddy, that's my God ;-)

The Logical Christian - 3 Years On

When I published my first blog post on 15 Nov 2008, I wondered how long I could keep the blog going but in a blink of an eye, it seems, three years have flown by.

What got me started on my own blog was the frustration of being shouted down when I commented on other Christian blogs, sharing my views from the perspective of the grace gospel which I have been listening to in New Creation Church since October 2003.

I decided to start my own blog so that I could share the gospel without interference and hopefully what I share will benefit and touch others, just as I have benefited from and am touched by the sermons I heard in NCC.

Now three years on, I have realized that the one who benefited most from my blog is... me! I discovered that as the knowledge I learned in NCC flowed from my brain to my fingers, my mind gets clearer and clearer regarding the grace gospel with each tap of the keyboard. As the words flow from the keyboard to the computer screen, so too the revelations trickle down from my brain to my heart. The more I wrote about the Gospel, the more rooted in it I became.

My regular readers would have noticed that I have written very few posts this year. Well, this year I am not in sowing mode, rather, this year is the season of harvest for me. If you've read my earlier post, you should know by now that my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in February.

Naturally, when we first received the news, we were devastated and fearful. Thoughts of my wife's passing flashed through her and my mind and tears flowed from our eyes but after a few days, Selah... My wife and I turned from looking within ourselves and looked towards God. The goodness of Daddy God which I had written much of about for the past two years was brought to my remembrance. My heart was filled with hope because deep within, it remembered the faithfulness of Daddy God which I had shared through my blog.

Thank Daddy God that His Word which I have sown in my blog sustained my wife and me through this crisis. I pray that this blog sustains you too in your time of need.

Prime Time

Borrowed this pic from Malcolm Loh

For the past few years, Pastor Prince's sermons have been broadcast on US television screens on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) under the program name of "Destined To Reign".

TBN is the largest Christian broadcasting network in the world and, as Pastor Prince himself admitted, it is only by God's grace that he was able to get a broadcast slot on the network.

The regular broadcast schedule of "Destined To Reign" is daily from Monday to Friday at 4am ... 4am! Not exactly prime time, is it? In fact, most people would call it an unearthly hour ;-)

However, by the grace of God, 4am is exactly prime time for Pastor Prince's ministry! We have heard in church quite a number of testimonies from appreciative Christians in the US of how they were touched and transformed by Pastor Prince's TV program, and one common thread of these testimonies is that these people happened to catch "Destined To Reign" because for some reason or other (some were too burdened by worries, suffering from depression, etc), they were unable to sleep and switched on the TV to help pass the time. These troubled people are the very ones God wants to reach, and God knows exactly when the prime time is to reach them.

Yesterday, I watched Pastor Prince preach live three times in the US via webcast. Pastor Prince was the guest speaker at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church (see pic) which is the largest church in the US. Pastor Prince preached to 16,000 people in Lakewood Church's auditorium and thousands more via webcast on a Saturday night and Sunday morning in the US.  Now, that is truly prime time by normal standards, isn't it?

However, whether it's 4am on a weekday or 8.30am on a Sunday, it's always prime time when it's God's anointed time. Whenever we flow with God, and listen to his prompting to do his bidding at a particular time, that is Prime Time.

Ecclesiastes 9:11

New Living Translation (NLT)

 ¹¹ I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

The Naked Phone

There are so many iPhone owners in Singapore; I step into the MRT train or bus, I will see at least one person playing with his/her iPhone.


I am not a fan of the iPhone but one thing I do envy iPhone owners for is the massive choices of accessories that they have to personalize and protect their precious iPhones.

For the past year, I must have seen hundreds of iPhones being used but I can't remember ever seeing a naked iPhone i.e. an iPhone without a cover and screen protector. 

The iPhone4(S), at 9.3mm thin, is one of the slimmest mobile phone in the market today. However, when you attach a cover to the iPhone, it will bump up the thickness by 10 to 20 percent depending on the brand/model of phone cover. 

Most people don't mind the extra thickness for the sake of protecting their precious iPhones from scratches but do you know that the designers of the iPhone4 took this concern into consideration and covered the front and rear of the iPhone4 with scratch-resistant glass?

Thus, as most iPhone4 owners attach the covers and screen protectors to their phones, the iPhone4 is seldom used in the pure form created by the iPhone4 designers. The owners have wasted the sleek, minimalist, super slim and scratch-resistant design of the designers.

Similarly, when I think about the the redemption plan designed by the grace of God, it is seldom preached today in its pure form. Many preachers have wasted the perfect design of God's grace by attaching their own "protective" covers in their misguided efforts to protect God's grace from abuse.

For example, The Christian Post (Singapore Edition) reported on a lecture by Professor Roland Chia of Trinity Theological College in which he claimed that salvation is contingent on an ongoing relationship with God, and thus Christians can lose or forfeit their salvation.

Preachers like Professor Chia cannot trust the divine grace of God to save us once and for all, through no effort or sacrifice of our own but, through only the once and for all sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and after that the same divine grace will transform us from glory to glory. 

These preachers cannot believe that the unconditional grace of God will work in the way which God Himself personally designed it, and tag on their own terms and conditions to "protect" this grace, thus lowering this divine grace to a human grace ... nay, it is not grace at all, in fact it is a DISGRACE.

Salvation is NOT contingent on an ongoing relationship with God. Salvation gives us the privilege and blessing of an ongoing relationship with God, and that is the naked truth.

Don't Wait While You Are Waiting

Last month, I switched from a Nokia 5800XM to a Samsung Galaxy SL, and man, do I love this phone ... it's got a 4-inch Super LCD, runs the android OS and I was able to install useful stuff like the bible,  document reader/editor, etc; fun stuff like the "angry birds" games and also my favourite videos.

Anyway, why am I gushing about my phone here? Because it is very handy and a really great tool to keep me occupied while I am waiting -  I can read the bible or an ebook, or play a game or watch a video.

A few weeks ago, on a Saturday morning, I went to Burger King to buy breakfast for my family (5 of us). There was already a bit of a queue there because BK had given out discount coupons in my neighbourhood and obviously there were many others like me who also wanted to make use of the coupons.

I joined the queue, and then whipped out my SGSL and started watching a video (DongYi, a korean drama about a slave girl whose son would later become the 21st king of the Joseon Dynasty). My turn eventually came and I placed my order and stepped aside to the next counter to wait for my order to be filled. It took quite a while as my order was for 5 persons but I just carried on watching my video which I had paused earlier when I had to place my order.

I was getting anxious for the slave girl as she was hit by a flying dagger thrown by an assassin when I heard this voice: "Your order is ready, sir." I was a tad disappointed as the plot was getting more exciting but I paused the video and walked home with my BK breakfasts.

As I was walking home, it suddenly dawned on me that I had not been flustered or frustrated by all the waiting around just now as I usually do because I was enjoying myself watching an exciting drama on my phone.  Then I realized that I should also do the same when I am waiting for the answers to my prayer requests to manifest. Since I have "placed my order" with Daddy God and He is sure to deliver, then I shouldn't waste my time and energy being flustered and frustrated when I don't see any results yet. I should just enjoy myself while waiting for the manifestation.

In Daniel Chapter 10, Daniel asked God for an answer but the angel did not appear to Daniel until three weeks later with the answer, and Daniel mourned during these three weeks - "I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled." (v3).

However, the angel told Daniel that from "the first day" when Daniel made his request, God had already sent him to deliver the answer (v12) but he was delayed for twenty-one days because of resistance from the devil. Some people think that the angel finally overcame the devil because of Daniel's mourning but the passage doesn't say that! Daniel's mourning had no effect whatsoever; it was the arrival of arch-angel Michael who helped to defeat the "kings of Persia". Did Daniel send Michael? Of course not! Daniel did not even know what was going on!

Daniel had wasted his time and energy mourning because he did not believe. He did not believe that God had already sent him the answer. Instead of waiting and moping around, he should have rejoiced for those twenty-one days and done something useful.

Many of us are like Daniel. We think that we have to move God with our "sincerity" - some of us "fast and pray", or some of us will make an effort to read the bible more or give up watching tv or movies, etc.  We think God will be pleased with our efforts but how can He? All these just reflect our lack of faith in Him, in His goodness and faithfulness. How can God be pleased in our efforts to move Him when He has already moved ... on "the first day"?

Therefore, my friends, don't wait while you are waiting. Rejoice, do something enjoyable, relax, knowing that your answer has been given on "the first day" and will manifest soon. That's why Isaiah 54:1 says,

“Sing, O barren,You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, You who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate Than the children of the married woman,” says the LORD.   

Don't Feel Guilty About Not Doing Anything

Yesterday, my wife just had her very last radiotherapy session. I thank God that through it all, my wife suffered only minor discomfort. For those who are not in the know, they would not even realize that my wife is recovering from breast cancer when they see her. She looks strong and healthy, so healthy that she has even put on a little extra weight since her operation.

To relieve her of some housework, I have become the "Ironman" of the household; I have been ironing the family's clothes everyday for the last two months and will continue to do so. While doing the ironing in the kitchen every morning, I would be listening to NCC's sermons at the same time, at least initially, but for the past month, I have not been doing that. Then one day, about two weeks ago, as I was ironing, I suddenly caught myself and thought, "Am I being ungrateful by not listening to the sermons anymore now that my wife is recovering very well from breast cancer?" I suddenly felt guilty, as if I am neglecting God after I have made use of Him.

However, God is very kind and reassured me that it is exactly what He wants from me - to rest, to trust that He has completed His healing in my wife, to not do "spiritual" things like listening to sermons or praying as rituals to "please" Him in order to ensure that He continues to heal my wife.

A few days after I had that guilty thought, my wife and I attended Sunday service and Pastor Lawrence was the one preaching as Pastor Prince was enjoying his birthday that day. Pastor Lawrence shared his personal testimony on his wife's first two miscarriages, how he stopped watching TV, prayed every two hours and confessed God's Word constantly, all in an effort to move God to save his unborn child but alas, in vain. However, he later had the revelation that he need not have done all that to move God because God has already moved, at the Cross, and he just needs to rest.

Then last Sunday, Pastor Prince preached on what is earnest prayer from the passage in James 5 and 1 Kings 18 regarding Elijah's respective prayers for drought and rain. Contrary to ordinary thinking, Elijah's prayer for rain where he knelt down with his face between his knees and prayed seven times is not earnest prayer. Instead, Elijah's prayer of faith, a simple declaration that there would be no rain in Israel is called earnest prayer in James 5.

It seems that it is our natural inclination to want to earn our blessings instead of receiving them in grace. So for us Christians, in times of distress, we like to do a lot of "spiritual" things like listening to sermons, praying, declaring God's Word, taking Holy Communion, etc to move God to move for us.

Actually, there's really nothing wrong in doing all those things, if they are done with the right perspective. We do all those things not to move God's heart but rather to move our own hearts, to the place where we know that we know that we know that God's heart is always for us and that He has already moved His hand on our behalf.

Once we are at that place, we can stop doing all those "spiritual" things and just rest. Pastor Lawrence mentioned in his sermon that he counselled two families facing challenges to take a break and watch a movie together as a family, to just rest since they have already prayed and trusted God for deliverance. Thank God, He is faithful and He did deliver them out of their challenges.

So my friend, after you have prayed the prayer of faith, don't feel guilty about not doing anything. You are "doing" the right thing.