Advent

Unto us a Son is Given

Given, not lent,
And not wihdrawn - once sent,
This infant of mankind, this One,
Is still the little welcome Son.

New every year,
New born and newly dear,
He comes with tidings and a song,
The ages long, the ages long.

Even as the cold
Keen winter grows not old,
As childhood is so fresh, forseen,
And spring in the gfamiliar green.

Sudden as sweet
Come the expected feet.
All joy is young, and new all art,
And He, too, whom we have be heart.
-Alice Meynell (1847-1922)

O come, O come Emmanuel
and ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the son of God appear.

... Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Woke up to a white, snow-filled ground. It's been snowing the whole of last night and this morning. As we enter the season of Advent, I'm amazed as I ponder on His love, His initiative and His persistent love that will not let go. I am looking forward to Christmas - can't wait for exams to be over.

1st Dec is World AIDS Day. This year's theme is 'Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise'. I pray for His peace, comfort and healing for those who are suffering with this painful disease. Lord, have mercy and come to the millions who are in need of hope.

Christianity in China

This article is referring to a discovery made in around 2001.

A recent discovery - according to the local is 'old news' near the city of Sian, in Central China has dramatically changed the historical record of China and Asia.

Asia with China and Japan in particular are thought of as predominately Buddhist areas. The record of the Church is very limited throughout Asia with the exception of The Philippines and Korea.

As amazing as it may seem the oldest Christian site in Asia has been discovered dating back to 638 AD. The site which is near the ancient Chinese capital of Sian has shattered previous understanding of the role of Christianity in China, Japan and Asia.

The Nestorian Monument, a stone tablet in the city of Sian which was discovered in the 1600s was the only testimony to Christianity in China. What was always a puzzle was that it clearly stated that 'monasteries abound in a hundred cities'. This monument which is often called the 'Rosetta Stone' of Christianity in Asia was the only proof of this past.

Read more here:
Amazing Discovery of China
First-hand Discovery Account
English Translation of the Text

Christ in you, the hope of glory

I've lamented previously that the Sermon on the Mount seems like a whole long lists of 'should's, or if I may say so, even an impossible list. One important feature of Christian teaching on ethics and what it means to live well, is Jesus did not only describe to us what our lives should be like but came to show us by His own example what it should look like. He literally fleshed out what he taught. It is amazing. Thus my goal as a Christian indeed is "Christ in you, the hope of glory!"(Col 1:21) If I am not sure what wisdom means, I can study definitions and teachings from Scripture in passages like Proverbs and James. But what is more helpful is to look at the person of Christ and see embodiment of wisdom. How do you beat that? He did not only tell us to resist sin, but we can see how He did it in the desert.

Jesus is the perfect man - the Son of Man. However that does not mean He was superman. He was not 'happy-all-time', he was capable of feeling tired, hungry, frustrated with unbelief, angered by legalistic spirit, and seeing people held down by condemnation, sin or sickness. He needed to sleep. He had siblings and problems with them. He grieved at the lost of a dear friend. Because he is so human, that means even his positive attributes are human-ly achievable. What do I mean? He was compassionate when he saw the crowd lost without a shepherd. He was merciful to the woman caught in adultery. He helped the blind man who could not help himself, at the pool in Bethesda. All these are human-ly responses. Sometimes we think of the signs of weakness as revealing his humanity, but attribute his positive characteristics to his divinity. In that way, we give ourselves the excuse that if we fail to be like him in his positive attributes, it's because we are only human. If you've never read the book 'The Jesus I Never Knew' by Philip Yancey, I recommend it. I would like to reread it sometime.


Thus more than demonstrating the life of faith and obedience, He now lives in me and gives me the power to live this life. That is the good news. That is why I dare to proclaim something as bold as 'Christ in me, the hope of glory', knowing very well I do not always feel that way or that I'm living up to it. Nevertheless the Word remains true because it is not dependent on me or how I feel. Thankfully. I am beginning to learn that it is both a reality and work-in-progress. I need to continually yield myself to him as he works to form Christ in me. I'm only too grateful to recognise that I am saved by grace, I am being saved by grace and I will finally be saved by grace.

Remembrance Day

Today is Canada Remembrance Day.

History of the Poppy Campaign
Why was the poppy chosen as the symbol of remembrance for Canada's war dead? The poppy, an international symbol for those who died in war, also had international origins. A writer first made the connection between the poppy and battlefield deaths during the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century, remarking that fields that were barren before battle exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended.


In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

Thoughts on Ministry

I've been thinking about Christians who are troubled by the demands of ministry. These are some of my thoughts on this issue. They're not meant to be comprehensive nor claim to be an exhaustive exposition.

First of all what is ministry? It basically about serving God. Some may understand ministry in a narrow sense as serving in a certain capacity within the church. While it is that, I think it is much broader than that. Our primary ministry is worship. We are first called to minister to God. Another important ministry we are called to is our family. Many do not see this as ministry and tend to neglect it at the altar of 'ministry in church'. I do not believe it honours God when we neglect our duties and responsiblities to care for our family. In fact, the Bible says a leader in church must first be able to govern his household well. Next, for most people would be our jobs. We should first work unto the Lord and be able offer our work before God as part of our worship. Or else what business does a Christian has employing himself to the task of working for most of his waking hours if it cannot be consecrated unto the Lord? Is it just for the sake of pursuing our dreams and ambitions or worse still, merely for survival, so that it can support us to do the 'real' ministry? This is our primary vocation and thus we would do well by being applying ourself diligently in this area.

However having said that, I don't think work should be the only ministry that we are involved in. I believe there's a place for work but not in a way that it eats up every other area of life. I believe there's value in offering service which we are not renumerated financially for. It is about giving without receiving anything in return. Not on this side of heaven anyways.

Must ministry be restricted within the four walls of the church? I don't think so. Just like the body having parts which serve internally like organs, and those which serve externally, I believe there will be parts of the body which will serve primarily in a non-Christian context. Thus some would be led to serve and volunteer with non-Christian organisations or Christian organisations, although we don't usually have a probem relating the latter with Christian ministry. We should not judge a fellow Christian who is called to serving God outside the four walls of the church to be in a lesser ministry but should offer them the support they need in facing the challenges of their ministry. We are accountable first to God to be faithful to serve where He calls us to. This I believe will be confirmed with our spiritual gifts and burden or passion for certain needs. However this is not to say that those who do not have a ministry that is primarily outside the church, are excused from our responsiblity to go into the world and bring the good news to all men, by our testimony and our life.

With regards to those who are called to serve within the church, I believe we play an important role in maintaining the health of the body of Christ. Everyone who serves, again whether in a more visible capacity or less, has an important role. Whether you usher and greet people at the door, preach the Word, play the guitar in Children Church or handle the audio/video recording ... all must be committed to play their part. What happens when a white blood cell is too busy to fight and maintain our immune system or if the kidney is too tired and wants to take a break? It's chaos and the whole body suffers. Here, I will say that those who are serving outside of the church should maintain closely connected with the life of the church.

The truth is, just like the internal system in our body, which works very hard, it is often the most neglected and unappreciated (until something malfunctions) parts of our body. We don't always stop to think if we are keeping our uterus in good condtion or thank our digestive for doing such a great job. Likewise, we often fail to notice those who are serving in our midst and assume that they are healthy as long as they are serving. Meanwhile, serving in church sometimes feel like a very unappreciated affair. Instead of thanks, what we may get instead are complaints when we fail to meet people's expectations, betrayal by those we love and serve faithfully, stubbornness, conflicts, disappointments, etc. As long as we are dealing with other human beings, albeit forgiven sinners, there is always a risk that we will experience some of these.

I believe it's important to all who are serving to continue to be refreshed if we are to avoid a breakdown that requires major overhaul. We are first worshippers, then workers. Our ministry should flow out of our worship and offer our service to God as our worship. There's no surer formula for a crash-boom-bang in ministry than neglect of our spiritual life and walk with the Lord. It is so easy to assume that just because we're serving God faithfully, our walk with the Lord is in good condition. Our physical body needs nourishing food, regular exercise and sufficient rest to keep fit and healthy. In the same manner, we need to be constantly fed, nourished and refreshed spiritually if we intend to stay fit and functioning at optimum capacity for the long haul. Like a car requiring regular service and check, we would be wise to regularly evaluate how we're doing spiritually. How we actually do this will vary from one person to another. Find out what works for us. However our hearts are so deceptive. It will be helpful, no, it is extremely vital, to have someone hold us accountable on this and to do it with a spiritual friend.

One thing is sure, we do not serve alone but within the context of community. Just as body parts do not function on their own but serve together and each other to keep the body fit and healthy, likewise we must be careful not to 'isolate' ourselves. While ministry can sometimes be a very lonely place, it doesn't have to be nor is that the only way. It is the enemy's tactic to divide and conquer. He knows he has a better chance to deceive and defeat us if he can isolate us. This is especially true for shepherds.

All these seem pretty basic. Writing them down helps me crystallise my thoughts as I remind myself. Things that come to my mind at this time of the day ... sigh.