Five (5) Lessons That I Learned from Dr. Thomas Chung Kim Sun a.k.a. Tommy (16 August 1942 - 28 April 2023)

The late Dr. Thomas Chung Kim Sun (80 years old, 16 August 1942–28 April 2023) is widely known as Dr. Thomas Chung and, for those who are close to him, as Tommy. I think I'm close to him, not in the sense of the frequency of meetings but in the sense of emotional and spiritual intimacy. You see, Dr. Tommy has the ability to make us — those who have known him long enough - feel special. I feel like I'm his favourite staff in FES, but I know that that is NOT entirely true. I've observed his casual interactions with Timberland Hospital staff when he was a laboratory chief there. He would speak professionally at times and then turn into a father figure, asking about their well-being, interests, and family members. I've witnessed how people in the church were so comfortable sharing their lives with him and thanking him for the spoken word he preached. He would suddenly burst into laughter, then cry, then sing, then encourage, then end with prayer. The whole thing was fascinating for me to see. Some people might think it's an old man's behaviour, no doubt, but more than that, he is a man "who had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13). He loves all of us genuinely (although not equally; he was just a man), just like the Master he serves.

Before I share further, I would like to first share his weaknesses and shortcomings, just to demythologize some ideas about him. Here are some: He was not a good Monopoly game player, he was easily distracted, perhaps not the best driver in town, and some jokes were not funny but delivered with confidence (that's funny!), forgetfulness (where are the books that you promised to give me?), overcommitting, over-giving, being physically weak, keeping most of his struggles to himself, impatient, having self-doubt at times, his Bahasa is bad, a bit secretive, and more. These are what make me identify with him. If we were the same age, maybe we could be best friends forever (BFF). Except I'm the dumbest one. Now, here are five (5) lessons that I learned from Dr. Tommy:

1. Loving God and His Word. He was a biochemist, a gemmologist, and a doctor. But first and foremost, he was a preacher, expositor, and teacher of the Word. He was a man of God on the pulpit as well as in the workplace. There were a couple of times when I visited him in the laboratory office, and once I asked if I could take a look at his personal Bible. It was a very worn-out Bible, and it reminds me of Charles H. Spurgeon's quote, "A Bible that's falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't." Full of notes and quotes. He would read some and ask, "What do you think of this, Richard?" I said a few words, and then he immediately launched into a mini-sermon. Once I told him about my doubts about the existence of God, he would just listen, ask questions, and then proceed to encourage me through the Word and personal stories based on his experience with God. There are many things that I don't know about his personal life, but I know that he knows God not just intellectually but also emotionally and personally. He speaks from the depths of his heart. "Knowing God," writes J.I. Packer, "is a relationship calculated to thrill a man's heart."
   
   
2. 
   Passion to Preach the Gospel. It was in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, during the FES 5th National Conference in 2010, my first year as a staff, he was the main Bible expositor and speaker. Honestly, I don't remember much about the conference except for the fun I had in the swimming pool during leisure time and the burning within me when Dr. Tommy preached the Scripture from 2nd Timothy. As if he were Paul talking to me, Timothy, urging me to "preach the word!" (2 Timothy 4:2 has become my life verse and also for LEGASI.tv ministry). Out of the pulpit, he was like a lamb, but in the pulpit, he was a lion. "Light yourself on fire with passion," said John Wesley, "and people will come from miles away to watch you burn." Literally, I heard testimonies, some people came from miles away to hear him preach — and burn. I'm confident that others can also testify to the same thing about his passion for Christ. The power doesn't lie in his rhetorical skills or the wisdom of man, but in the Gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit.
   
   
3. A Man of Prayer and Tears. His opening prayer is like his closing prayer, and his closing prayer is like an open conversation with God. He cannot do what he does—fierce preaching and teaching many times a week—unless he is also disciplined in prayer on a daily basis. His favourite words to me are, "Bathed in prayer"; "Soaked in prayer"; "Love and prayers always"; "With you in prayer"; "Pray for His blessing and enabling." I believe they are not only words of comfort. They were his genuine prayers. He was a spiritual giant and a man of intellect, but he was also an emotional, sensitive, and compassionate man. He was man enough to weep for the lost and the brokenhearted.
   
   
4. Always Read Books, especially the Classics. I've figured there is only so much that can trigger Dr. Thomas's interests: God, the Bible, the Church, preaching, Bario Revival or Revival stories, classical music and hymns, gems and beads, our concerns and prayer requests, and books (or lately, YouTube videos!). "What book are you reading now, Richard?" he would ask. "John Stott's Between Two Worlds," and then he talked about his relationship with John Stott back in London. "Martyn Lloyd-Jones's Preaching and Preachers," and then he recalled his memories of sitting under the Biblical preaching of Dr. Jones. "David Pawson's Unlocking the Bible," and then he reminisced about the day Mr. Pawson invited him to dinner during the student's day. There were times when I would just mention names such as Calvin, Tyndale, Spurgeon, John Sung, J.I. Packer, A.W. Tozer, Michael Green, and William Barclay and sit back to listen to his takes on them. This was his WhatsApp message to me back in 2019: "The Lord continues to bless all you do to promote the reading of spiritual classics as well as books that inform and broaden the sphere of thinking of young people in the work of FES." One of the last times I met him, he said to me that he was reading the Christian mystics. I didn't get to know how it was going, and I'm curious about his book recommendations.
   
   
5. Last but not least, the Simplicity of Living. I'm not really sure exactly why he was so thin. Probably due to a health problem that I'm unaware of. But I sensed that he was practicing prayer and fasting continuously. Maybe, maybe not. Every time I would ask him about this, he would quickly change the subject (taking seriously Jesus' warning in Matthew 6:16–18?). Regardless, he was the embodiment of "godliness with contentment" (1 Timothy 6:6). He can be famous (he is!) but he doesn't want to; he could write books or compile all his sermons (someone should do this!) into books, but he didn't; he could just stay in London and pursue a high-income medicine career, but he returned home to Malaysia and became a humble itinerant preacher. In Christ, Dr. Tommy has two things that comprises inward simplicity (as Richard Foster puts it): the Divine Centre and Holy Obedience.

There are many things that I've learned from him. These five are the most impactful for me. I was shocked when I received the news about his sudden death, but somehow it didn't surprise me. Expected. I have no regrets or am sorry for any words that I said to him. Nothing but love, admiration, and respect. He was somewhat of a father figure, a grandpa, a mentor (actually, this year we planned to meet one-on-one every two months. So, we've met twice already), a teacher, a brother in Christ, and a friend to me. Like I said, he can make those who are close to him feel special. I feel special. But so do others - even more - who are closer to him. As for the living, I have words of wisdom from Dr. Tommy for all of us. In his slightly annoying British accent, the Queen's English says, "Press on, bebeh!" I think he was referring to Philippians 3:14, "I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." If you received it, type AMEN.

#ServeToLead #PreachTheWord #DrThomasChung #MyEulogy #FESMalaysia #HeroOfFaith #Preacher #ManOfGod #JesusIsLord #GodOfTheLivingAndTheDead #Goodbye

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Extreme Missionary (Irian Jaya: Stanley Albert Dale) #PersecutedChurch

One by one the arrows struck his flesh, and one by one Stanley Albert Dale pulled them out. The blood flowed from his many wounds and onto the riverbank. The screaming Yali warriors feared that the white man was immortal. When the missionary finally died, is he really dead? Are you heading to the same eternity with this faithful man? 

The story is taken from The Voice of the Martyrs Extreme Devotion Apps

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God Will Wipe Away Every Tear from Their Eyes

 "We say this is the land of the living! It is not. It is the land of the dying," said D.L. Moody in a sermon near the end of his life. "What is our life here but a vapor? ...But look at the other world. No death, no pain, no sorrow, no old age, no sickness, no bending forms, no dimmed eyes, no tears.

"But joy, peace, love, happiness. No grey hair. People all young. River of life for the healing of the nations, and everlasting life. Think about it! Life! Life without end!" 🌬🔥📖 #ServeToLead #ToLiveIsChrist #ToDieIsGain

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Death Is the Debt We Must All Pay

 

Odds that you will eventually die in a car crash: 1 in 25. Odds that you will develop a brain tumour: 1 in 25,000. Odds that you will die in a fire this year: 1 in 400,000. Odds that you will die due to plane crash: 1 in 11 million. And the odds that you will eventually die is 1 in 1. 100% sure!

Blaise Pascal, the 7th-century mathematician, philosopher, and author, wrote: "There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created things, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus." You're not ready to die if you're not really live. Jesus, the Son of God, declares: “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying" (John 11:25) ⚡📖💪 #ServeToLead #ToDieIsGain #ToLiveIsChrist

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Lord, Heal My Tongue: 6 Diseases of the Tongue (Part 5/9)

We have studied an example from the Old Testament that illustrates how "death and life are in the power of the tongue." We learned that the right use of the tongue will impart life, and, conversely, the wrong use will impart death. Now we will consider certain specific diseases that affect our tongues. These six (6) diseases that commonly infect our lives through the misuse of our tongues can, in some cases, be fatal if left unchecked.

[This is a reading from Derek Prince's Does Your Tongue Need Healing? (1986) by Derek Prince Ministries International. Published by Whitaker House] #ServeToLead #HealMyTongue

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R.I.P. Tracy... And F**k You Death!

"Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?"

(1 Corinthians 15:55, NIV)

"Do not be afraid. I [Jesus Christ] am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."

(Revelation 1:17-18, NIV)

We are not a close friend, Tracy and I (I need to put it up front in all honesty and integrity. I don't want to have that appearance of BFF with the deceased when in fact, I'm not). A bit higher than an acquaintance but slightly lower than a best friend. Although we were a good friend during secondary school, like most school friendship, after SPM everyone was doing their own things – continue form 6 or further studies to college or university (in her case, matriculation) or went straight to workplace. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you get to be with some of your old friends. Sometimes you just get updates from one another once in a while (this was before the social media boom). And sometimes you just follow the flow – let it be – leaving the friendship under the hands of time and event. Either way, we all need to move on with our lives, right?

Occasionally, I met her at coffee shops and malls. Twice at the food fair. Since she used to work with my cousin, I get to hear some news about her. And because I met our mutual friend, John (who truly her best friend), more often than her, he will fill in the blank of what news that I might be left out. To cut the story short, we get to talk during John's wedding because we were on the same table and then to add to the festive mood, she gave me her coming-soon-wedding invitation card. I was surprised! Not just because she invited me [As I said, we were a good friend but over time, we are not a close friend] but primary because she was getting married! Do you know how HUGE is that? TRACY GETTING MARRIAGE, that's HUGE! Souness Peter, brother, if you read this, let me explain why you're VERY special to her:

Tracy was a lovely girl who became a beautiful woman. Back in secondary school, many boys like to flirt with her – you can't ignore a girl like her – but Tracy won't bother with most of them (There are some hilarious and memorable stories related to this which I won't mention here, only those who were close to us know about it). Besides all of her admirable qualities, gracious attitude and not-so-perfect characters, one exception which stands out for me is this: She often chooses the wrong guys (a**holes) as boyfriends. I told her so, she admitted it, and yet, she did it again (I know because it takes one to know one). So, you see, TRACY GETTING MARRIAGE is a HUGE thing. Was it possible for her to make a wrong decision again? Heartbroken, weaken trust, bad memories, try again? Most people won't be that quick to start all over again. Healing requires time, trust needs to be built, memories over layer the old ones. To open up again, he got to be bigger than all of this mess. "Beautiful Mess," as Jason Mraz puts it. And then you come into her life, Souness. I don't know much about you but I know this much about both of you: you and Tracy are meant to be with each other. As an outsider, I only can observe behaviors and find clues. She loves to travel, her family and cousins can witness this, but not as much as she explores places with you. You can imagine her sense of accomplishment when she conquered mountains and hills, but hiking is not as special as walking with you. Everybody say her smile is beautiful – it is – but not as bright as the day she married to you. That's when I (we, friends) knew that she was not making a mistake this time. She made the right decision, a decision that she should be proud of, a decision that she can say her own. That's HUGE. You are VERY special to her. You're the man!

And now, Death… let me ask you, how are you able to deal with the pain you cause so many of us? Days full of tears and an unbearable void that makes it hard to focus on our daily tasks. Days where the thoughts of our loved ones bring back the hurt and pain. Death, do you get tired of hearing the cries and shouts directed towards you? These few days we mourn for our beloved friend Tracy [most probably due to QT Syndrome. Google check it]. You take away her life at its prime. I can compromise when you take life when it's due or something caused by our own stupid mistakes and when you gave mercy to the suffering when they needed it the most. But why take it all of sudden? We are in shock! F**k you! She couldn't say proper goodbye or last eye contact. Empty words, just the sound of the cardiac monitor. F**k you Death! I don't hate you per se, I just don't like the way you work. You are created with a purpose, I respect that, but l can't stand "the mysterious way." Maybe we all should realize that you can come anytime – unexpected, unanticipated, and unwelcome. Maybe we all should take heed of the late Steve Jobs words, "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life." Or Avenged Sevenfold lyrics, "Seize the day or die regretting the time you lost." Or as the Bible says, "Making the most of every opportunity…"; "Making the most of your time…"; "Redeeming the time…" (Ephesians 5:16). We all must realize that life is short. I get it. But it is appropriate to say for now – as we grief and bereave, in pain and sorrow – F**k you, Death! (I've cursed you all the way from my place to Pusat Jantung Sarawak the early morning when I heard about the news about her). 

Tracy, do you remember when you asked me for book recommendations and I point to you John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life? Do you remember when you enquired me about why there are so many Christian denominations and I said it doesn't matter as long as you believe and have faith in Christ of the Scripture? Do you remember at the coffee shop during our ‘accidentally' lunch together you probed me to revealed the motive of I'm doing student's ministry and I answered you in the form of a quote, "Only one life 'twill soon be past; Only what's done for Christ will last"? I believe you're with our Lord Jesus Christ right now. You have passed from death to life. In Christ, we ask sarcastic questions to the death-face, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" Paul responded: "Death has been swallowed up in victory… [So] thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). I'm sad. The family, friends, and colleagues are also sad right now, but let me end this rumbling article with a hopeful note, a declaration from the One who "hold the keys of death and Hades" (Revelation 1:18), an eternal promise from the Son of God, Jesus Christ: "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life!" (John 5:24). Tracy, yes, you have passed from death to life, so Rest In Peace!

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Book Review: Manuscript Found in Accra (2013) by Paulo Coelho

Manuscript Found in Accra (2013) by Paulo Coelho

Since I first read The Alchemist, I've always loved Paulo Coelho's books. I think this book is the most spiritual of all. No doubt you can sense Catholic influence in all of his writings (he once attended Jesuit school); New Age mystical and philosophical ideas in every sentence; and obvious syncretistic* beliefs permeated in his narrations [*combining or blending all religious belief systems into a new system or doctrine]. With this awareness, as an evangelical Christian, I read this novel as frictional, fantasy and to some extend – inspirational. A solid Biblical (Christian) worldview is needed to filter some of these ‘unbiblical’ ideas and a gift of discernment should be applied when reading this book.

There are two things that I don’t like about this book. Let me tell you up front: 1) Some of the languages is too spiritual and mystical – too deep – that I couldn’t really comprehend what Coelho is really saying. I feel the same way when I read Henri Nouwen’s works. Sometimes I think I’m too worldly-minded and logical. And 2) Syncretistic belief is really confusing. I couldn’t pinpoint what Coelho really believes about God or god, Love, and Humanity. But these two reasons don’t stop me from liking this book. I love his concept of question-and-answer that he borrowed from the Greek method of learning. I appreciate his brieflessness and simplicity. I admire his ability to capture the imagination of his readers, his wisdom and story-telling power. Officially, Paulo Coelho is one of my favorite novelists together with James Rollins and Nicholas Sparks. Oh yeah!

About his book: In the year 1099, the people of Jerusalem awaits the invasion of the crusaders who have surrounded the city’s gates. There, inside the ancient city’s walls, men and women of every age, race and faith gathered together to hear the wise words of a mysterious man known only as the Copt. He has summoned the townspeople and the religious leaders around him and said: “None of us can know what tomorrow will hold, because each day has its good and its bad moments. So, when you ask your questions, forget about the troops outside and the fear inside. Our task is not to leave a record of what happened on this date for those who will inherit the Earth; history will take care of that. We will speak, therefore, about our daily lives, about the difficulties we have had to face…” With that, the people begin asking questions and the Copt answers them kindly and briefly.

There is no chapter division, so, I will divide this book into topics and include quotes that I underline throughout the pages of this book:

#1 Defeat. “Does a young man, rejected by his first love, declare that love does not exist? The young man says to himself: ‘I’ll find someone better able to understand what I feel. And then I will be happy for the rest of my days’… Ever since he fell in love for the first time and was rejected, he has known that this did not put an end to his ability to love. What is true in love is also true in war”; “Only he who gives up is defeated. Everyone else is victorious”; “Learn three important things: Wait patiently for the right moment to act. Do not let the next opportunity slip by you. Take pride in your scars”; “I here to tell you that there are people who have never been defeated. They are the ones who never fought”; “Woe to those who were never beaten! They will never be winners in this life.”

#2 Solitude. “If you are never alone, you cannot know yourself”; “In solitude, they will learn that saying ‘No’ does not always show a lack of generosity and that saying ‘Yes’ is not always a virtue”; “At life’s most significant moments we are always alone”; “Just as Love is the divine condition, so solitude is the human condition.”

#3 Usefulness. “Don’t try to be useful. Try to be yourself: that is enough, and that makes all the difference”; “A life is never useless. Each soul that came down to Earth is here for a reason”; “The people who really help others are not trying to be useful, but are simply leading a useful life. They rarely give advice, but serve as an example”; “Do one thing: live the life you always wanted to live.”

#4 Change. “It’s nice to dream… [But] dreaming carries no risks. The dangerous thing is trying to transform your dreams into reality”; “The angles say: ‘Now!’… Nature is telling us: ‘Change!’; “The Unwanted Visitor visits those who don’t change and those who do. But those who did change can say: ‘My life was an interesting one. I didn’t squander my blessing.’ And those who believe that adventures are dangerous I say, Try routine: that kills you far more quickly.”

#5 Beauty. “People always say: ‘It’s inner beauty that matters, not outer beauty.’ Well, that’s not true. If it were, why would flowers put so much energy into attracting bees?... Because nature longs for beauty, and is only satisfied when beauty can be exalted. Outer beauty is inner beauty made visible, and it manifests itself in the light that flows from our eyes”; “Beauty is present in all creation, but the dangerous fact is that… we allow ourselves to be influenced by what other people think”; “The world is what we imagine it to be”; “Beauty exists not in sameness but in difference.”

#6 Direction or Guidance. “Like the sun, life spreads its light in all directions… But, if we want to make a fire, we have to focus all the sun’s rays on one spot”; “He focuses not just on the goal to be reached, but on everything happening around him. He often has to stop because his strength fails him… Rest a little, but as soon as you can, get up and carry on. Because ever since your goal found out that you were travelling towards it, it has been running to meet you; “Only the person who accepts God’s plan with humility and courage knows that he is on the right road.”

#7 Love. “True Love, however, is the love that seduces and will never allow itself to be seduced”; “Love is an act of faith, not an exchange”; “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”; “Love is only a word, until we decide to let it possess us with all its force. Love is only a word, until someone arrives to give it meaning”; “Don’t give up. Remember, it’s always the last key on the key ring that opens the door.”

#8 Choice. “I am going to think of this day as the first day of my life”; “I will look at everything and everyone as if for the first time, especially the small things that I have grown used to, quite forgetting the magic surrounding them”; “For the first time, I will smile without feeling guilty, because joy is not a sin.”

#9 Sex. “Sex goes far beyond pleasure”; “For most people, generosity consists only in giving, and yet receiving is also an act of love. Allowing someone else to make us happy will make them happy too”; “See sex as a gift, a ritual of transformation”; “[In sex] time will cease to exist, because in the land of pleasure-born-of-true-love, everything is infinite.”

#10 Respect. “Respect those who grew up and learned alongside you. Respect those who taught you”; “You will only be loved and respected if you love and respect yourself. Never try to please everyone; if you do, you will be respected by no one.”

#11 Elegance. “Elegance lies not in the clothes we wear, but in the way we wear them”; “What is simplicity? It is the coming together of true values of life”; “Elegance transforms complex thoughts into something that everyone can understand.”

#12 Work. “A poet: I fell asleep and dreamed that life was only Happiness; I woke and discovered that life was Duty; I did my Duty and discovered that life was Happiness”; “There are two types of work… The first is the work we do because we have to… The second type of work we call the Offering… The person making the Offering is always rewarded. The more he shares out his affection, the more his affection grows”; “The Offering is a wordless prayer. And like all prayers, it requires discipline – not the discipline of slavery, but of free choice.”

#13 Success. “People who seek only success rarely find it, because success is not an end in itself, but a consequence”; “Real success means: enriching your life”; “What is success? It is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace.”

#14 Miracle. “Each time we see the humble exalted and the arrogant humbled, we are witnessing a miracle”; “Miracles do not go against the laws of nature; we only think that because we do not know nature’s laws”; “Give us this day, Lord, our daily miracle.”

#15 Anxiety. “Anxiety was born in the very same moment as mankind. And since we will never be able to master it, we will have to learn to live with it – just as we have learned to live with storms”; “Although anxiety is part of life, never let it control you.”

#16 Future. ‘Our soul is governed by four invincible forces: love, death, power and time”; “When you are going through difficult times, remember: you may have lost some major battles, but you survived and you’re still here”; “What the future holds for you depends entirely on your capacity for love”; “The greatest gift God gave us is the power to make decisions.”

#17 Royalty. “What was broken will never be the same again”; “Royalty can never be imposed by force, fear, insecurity or intimidation”; “Where there is loyalty, weapons are of no use”; “True here is not the man who was born for great deeds, but the one who has managed to build a shield of loyalty around him out of many small things”; “The most terrible of all weapons is the word, which can ruin a life without leaving a trace of blood, and whose wounds never heal.”

#18 Enemies. “We will always meet rivals in everything we do, but the most dangerous are those we believe to be our friends”; “Beware of anyone who tries to please you all the time”; “Only fight with a worthy opponent…”; “Your enemies are not the adversaries who were put there to test your courage. They are the cowards who were put there to test your weakness.”

There are more topics that Coelho (or ‘the Copt’, the main character) covered in this book. But these 18 topics are the most obvious ones. Do you like these quotes? If you do, don’t settle with my summary-review – buy the book!

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Good Faith: Being A Christian When Society Thinks You're Irrelevant and Extreme (2016) - Book Review

Good Faith: Being A Christian When Society Thinks You're Irrelevant and Extreme (2016)

by David Kinnaman & Gabe Lyons

The moment I saw the cover of this book – with Kinnaman and Lyons as its authors – I grabbed it (bought 3 copies) and proceed to the counter (BookXcess always have the lowest price). Why? Because I've read their previous remarkable book, unChristian (2007), and was greatly helped by their insights, interviews, research studies, and Biblical understandings. With this one, I'm not disappointed! "I love this book," recommend Francis Chan, "It is a timely reminder that Christians don't have to conform in order to survive. It encourages those of us with deep convictions not to cower but to boldly speak truth with wisdom and love. Radical followers of Jesus can be relevant." Oh yeah!

From the first chapter, this book aims to address these questions: "What does the future hold for people of faith when people perceive Christians as irrelevant and extreme? In what ways can faith be a force for good in society? How can people of faith contribute to a world that, more and more, believes religion is bad?" From the outset, Kinnaman and Lyons convincingly show that many people increasingly view religion—any religion—as "extreme" and "irrelevant." This forces "good faith" Christians to be more intentional and prepared in their interactions with the world. Although the future becomes more hostile, faith can be good in society through ongoing mercy-care and the Gospel proclamation. Both authors also say that Christians can contribute to this world by holding firm to their confession and convictions while striving to live peaceably with all. In essence, Good Faith = How Well We Love + What We Believe + How We Live.

The way forward, they suggest, centers on good (yet difficult) conversations around those areas that people identify as "extreme" and "irrelevant" characteristics of Christianity. The book focuses on four areas: (1) Neighborliness and intolerance in public life; (2) Relationships; (3) Sexual ethics; and (4) Church and religion. Each area has multiple chapters devoted to it and is spangled with personal anecdotes from Kinnaman and Lyons's life accompanied by the wealth of data they've acquired over the years. It makes for a compelling, easy and enjoyable read. There are a lot of commendable aspects of this book but I'll focus on only two of them:

Firstly, this book does not give readers with false hope. Kinnaman and Lyons are men of faith but also very realistic. They are not suggesting that if Christians could just be nicer and more winsome and more engaging the world would like us more and everything will turn out good. They know how the world treated Jesus, and what He said about the world treating His disciples. They write, "It's not enough to be nice… it's no longer sufficient for Christians to be winsome. Being winsome is not bad. It's good. But aiming for niceness as our ultimate goal can give us a false sense of making a difference… Nice doesn't overcome the perception that Christians are crazy." The world will hate us no matter how nice we are. That's not an excuse for us to be compromise or uncaring but it does call us to be winsome while remaining unwavering in our confession and convictions.

Secondly, this book appeal for Christians to admit our failures. This is by no means a major thrust of the book, but it is there... The church should be the leaders in the world to show the "good faith." After all, Jesus came into the world to save sinners. There are plenty of sins to confess. It's of no use to scream about the speck in someone else's eye without removing the plank from our own eyes first. Has the church always been a place of grace for those who have had abortions? Same-sex attractions? And those who suffered unspeakable racial injustice? Not as a whole. The church has, at times, been too slow to speak and act, and complicit in abuse and shame. Instead of saying, "yeah but" as justification for the Christian's sins of commission and omission, we should confess our sins and God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. "We must be the people of God who, rather than being defined only by what we are against, are also defined by what we are for."

There a lot more you can learn about our ever-changing culture that may affect you and me as Christians in the world today as presented in this book. No matter where you are (although the context and research studies of this book are mainly from America), Good Faith is a great place to start. The book is helpful and insightful on the cultural front. You may disagree with some of their antidotes, you may experience differently, you may dislike their approach – but you'll be encouraged to "led by love, grounded in biblical belief, and ready to live as counterculture for the common good, we trust that our good faith will be used by God to renew the world." 

This book is divided into 3 parts:

Part 1: Understanding Our Times

Chapter 1: Bad Faith, Good Faith

Chapter 2: Irrelevant

Chapter 3: Extreme

Chapter 4: The Tension We Feel and Why

Part 2: Living Good Faith

Chapter 5: Love, Believe, Live

Chapter 6: The Right Questions

Chapter 7: Who Will Lead?

Chapter 8: Assimilate or Accommodate

Chapter 9: After the Revolution

Chapter 10: Marriage, Family, and Friendships

Chapter 11: Life, Death, and Disability

Chapter 12: Race and Prejudice

Chapter 13: The Gay Conversation

Chapter 14: We Can't Live without Intimacy

Chapter 15: Five Ways to Be Faithful

Part 3: The Church and Our Future

Chapter 16: Firm Center, Soft Edges

Chapter 17: Church in a New World

Chapter 18: Faithful in Exile

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Young Men and Women, Consider the Preciousness of Jesus

“Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious…”
(1 Peter 2:7, NKJV)

In his youth of 16-year-old, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, my hero and celebrated preacher, preached his first sermon from this verse. Could he have chosen a verse more wonderful and limitless to a lover of Christ?

Jesus was precious to the Father. “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy,” was the Father’s testimony at Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:17). He was inexpressibly dear to His Father. Oswald Sanders writes, “Everything in His walk from Bethlehem to Calvary gave Him infinite delight.” Wow!

Since this is so, it is little wonder that Jesus is precious to the believer. It should be noted that here the word “precious” in New King James Version is a noun, not an adjective. It could be better rendered: “To you who believe, He is the preciousness,” that is, preciousness itself. An adjective can be increase or decrease, but a noun constant. To the believer He is the essence of all preciousness.

All the most precious things are hid in Him – in Him “lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3); and “all the fullness of God in a human body” (Colossians 2:9 or in him dwells all the completeness of the Godhead bodily). We may lose any of earth’s precious things, but we can never lose Jesus, our priceless treasure. Even death serves only to bring Him nearer. He is a jewel of which neither Satan nor Death can rob us. Heat can destroy even a diamond, but the fiercest heat of trial cannot separate the believer from Jesus! He shares our sorrows, lightens our loads, and doubles our joys.

Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith (1 Peter 2:4). He is precious as Saviour. He not only saves us from our sin but shares His own life with us. Should this not make Him inexpressibly precious to us? It is when we are in deepest need that we most appreciate His preciousness. He is the complement to our every need. Charles H. Spurgeon speaks about Jesus’ preciousness in a hymn:

What the hand is to the lute,

What the breath is to the flute,

What is fragrance to the smell,

What the spring is to the well,

What the flower is to the bee,

That is Jesus Christ to me.

What the mother to the child,

What the guide in pathless wild,

What is oil to troubled wave,

What is ransom to the slave,

What is water to the sea,

That is Jesus Christ to me.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Where Is God When It Hurts? (1977, 1990) by Phillip Yancey

Where Is God When It Hurts? (1977, 1990) by Phillip Yancey

When my friend, Aderus Helen, died on 28th February 2018 due to lung cancer, I was devastated. I know him since he was a student and were there with him in and out of the hospital. The night after he died, I wrote this on my Facebook post [now already deactivated]:

"Knowing him first at TCS CF, I'm a staff and he was a student. Naturally, he was a quiet person, but when we became a friend I considered him as talkative. To shut him down, sometimes I challenged him with hard questions. During studies and after, he was very active in the ministry. Sometimes he joined me and Peter to camps and trips. And then, to cut the story short, he was diagnosed with bone cancer. It ended up with painful chemo and imputation of his right leg. I was there when he received his artificial leg. We who know him will no doubt recognize his amazing faith, this is his obvious gift (1 Corinthians 13:9). He was a simple preacher, ordinary, in fact, but an amazing encourager and motivator. His stories and experiences inspired his hearers... Growth!

"...Years later, he has to be admitted again. Cancer cells recurrence again. On hospital bed again. Lung cancer. Fluid-filled his lungs. He still can smile, talk and have a set of wish-list-after-discharged (he wanted badly to watch Black Panther!). His faith never wavers. When I and Steven came to visit, our topic was not about mortality but Monopoly.  But once in a while, he inserted faith-statement: ‘I'm ready to be with my Father.' He doesn't want to bring his laptop because he said, ‘I want to read the Bible' during his time in the hospital. Once I asked him, had he thought about getting married, he replied, ‘There is one girl who takes an interest in me... But I have to reject her, for her own good, because I don't want her to feel sad after I'm gone.' Wise but sad.

"When it was just both of us, we played chess. I never pretended to be a looser, I tried hard to defeat him, but he was so good with chess that he wins every time! After a week, he transferred to Radiotherapy building. It was hot there, so I bought him a fan. One night his nose was bleeding. Then the next day his back hurt, so he couldn't really sit properly. The next day he was in a very painful state. His stomach hurt, probably gastric. A few days later, he was using oxygen cylinder by his side. The night before he couldn't breathe properly. Many times, I told him to tell others that he is in the hospital, but he refused. Sad faces, unnecessary words and healing prayers (in front of him) are not helpful. He did tell his pastor, some other Christian leaders, and friends. Basically, he wanted to be unnoticed. We respect that. But the immediate implication of that is loneliness (his mother only came after he changed wad).

"One day he texted me, ‘When are coming to visit me in this filthy place?' Jokingly, I replied, ‘Tonight, this filthy man will visit his site!' There was this moment when I and Steven came, and about to open Monopoly games cards, he said, ‘Tonight I can't, maybe tomorrow after I'm getting better.' After few days, he was not getting better. He speaks less, he kept himself awake but once in awhile his eyes will close, and I saw his sad face. Before I went to KL, my last meeting with him was on Monday morning with Ibi. ‘Next week I come back,' I said, ‘we go watch Black Panther.' He knew that I knew that it was impossible. ‘I'm going back to Sibu tomorrow if the doctor allows me,' was his last words. We went back, he sleeps.

"This morning, I (and some others who frequently visited him) received a painful news. Everyone shocked. I'm speechless... From beginning to his end... I suspect his faith waver a little bit, but I know, sure as I'm alive today, that his hope was unshakeable. Here is a man who faced death once, used all his energy and passion to preached Jesus his Saviour until he faced another battle, facing death again, but now forever alive in the Saviour! As for all of us, we are alive, but are we really living? Don't waste your life! Aderus is our example of faith, hope, and love. I'm sad, but at the same time - rejoices!"

So you know, I asked God the exact question: Where is God when it hurts? This book (and my other meetings with colleagues) helped me during those dark moments. I underlined and meditate on this book, struggle with every statement, rejoice with every pearl of wisdom, and checked all the Scripture quotes which slowly restored my faith. Although most of my questions are remain unanswered, I gain trust in the goodness of God. "Everyone will face a crisis of doubt in his entire Christian life," Bishop Hwa Yung once told me. Yancey words resonate with me when he wrote at the conclusion of this book: "My anger about pain has melted mostly for one reason: I have come to know God. He has given me joy and love and happiness and goodness. They have come in unexpected flashes, in the midst of my confused, imperfect world, but they have been enough to convince me that my God is worthy of trust. Knowing him is worth all enduring."

[P.s: This is not a book review after all. I just want to say that this book helped me in my struggles. I recommend this book wholeheartedly.]

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Young Men, Consider the Ascended Jesus

“[Jesus] left them and was taken up into heaven”

(Luke 24:51, NIV)

The ascension of our Lord directs attention to the fact that He is not only risen, but enthroned. It is that event in which the risen Christ finally and visibly withdrew from His disciples and passed into the heavens – a fitting climax to His life of perfect obedience on earth. His glorious ascension was the necessary and appropriate complement to His resurrection, and the manner in which it took place was consistent with His miraculous life and achievements.

He did not vanish out of sight as He did at Emmaus (Luke 24:31) leaving a question as to whether there might be yet further appearances. He walked away from them, and then He was carried up into heaven, there to sit at the right hand of God. It took place as they were looking on, in broad daylight (Acts 1:9). There was no possibility of mistake. He was really and finally gone.

He ascended bodily, and carried His glorified human body into heaven. He left the disciples, with His hands outstretched in blessing. As soon as His nail-pierced feet left the earth, He commenced His ministry as their Advocate and Intercessor. They exchanged His physical presence for His spiritual omnipresence.

The ascension was an important part of the Lord’s ministry on our behalf. It imparted the assurance that His death was effective and that all God’s claims against sinful men had been met. It evidenced the fact that the problem created by man’s sin had been finally solved. It enabled His disciples to give a satisfying account of the disappearance of Christ’ body from the tomb.

Further, it was the necessary prelude to the coming of the Holy Spirit as promised by the Lord. As the Scriptures says, “the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (John 7:39). Now the way was open for the Pentecostal effusion. By the ascension, the local Christ became the universal Christ whose personal presence was mediated by the Holy Spirit.

To Christ, it was the reward of His obedience unto death. “Therefore God exalted Him…” (Philippians 2:9). The ascension reversed man’s verdict on the Son of God. Had the Saviour not ascended, we would be without a representative in heaven, and without the Comforter to lead and guide us on earth. His presence in heaven makes heaven a blessed reality to us. Amen.

[Edited, modified and modernized from Consider Him (1976) by J. Oswald Sanders]

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Young Men, Consider the Risen Jesus

“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…”
(1 Corinthians 15:3-4, NIV).

These verses enshrine the essence of the Christian faith. They contain the essential message of Easter, the most important even in the church year. Three great truths are emphasized. On Friday Jesus died on the cross. On Saturday He lay in Joseph’s tomb. On Sunday He rose from the dead. Deny these fundamental facts and you negate Christianity.

Two other very important things about Christ emerge from these verses. First, He was truly man because He died. Death is characteristic of mankind. In this fact lay the necessity for the incarnation. He was also really God because He rose from the dead. Man cannot rise from the dead. Because Jesus was infinite, His death was of infinite value and made expiation for the sins of the whole world.

Exactly in the manner and for the purposes revealed in the Scriptures, He died for our sins. He was buried, not in a common grave, but in a new tomb. He rose again on the third day under the circumstances recorded on Scriptures. It was a bodily resurrection. When the women and Peter and John looked into the tomb, it was empty except for the grave clothes, still lying in the folds that had encased Him. The butterfly had flown, leaving an empty chrysalis (Muslims glory in a full coffin in Mecca. Christians glory in an empty tomb in Jerusalem. We have a living Christ; they have a dead prophet).

But how can the resurrection be explained? Christ’s body must have been removed either by human or by superhuman hands. If by human hands, it must have been by the hands of friends or foes. His foes would not, because that would look as if He really had risen. His friends could not remove the body for the tomb was sealed, and a guard of sixty soldiers watched to ensure that it was not rifled. The only alternative is that “God the Father… raised him from the dead” (Galatians 1:1).

If Christ did not rise from the dead as His disciples claimed, we cannot account for the complete transformation of these men who had been cowering behind closed doors for fear of the Jews. Their radiant joy and fearless witness is testimony of His transformation.

You ask me how I know He lives?

He lives within my heart.

(A.H. Ackley)

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Young Men, Consider the Crucified Jesus

“They crucified him” (John 19:18, NIV).

Jesus Christ was unique in His death as in His birth. In a perceptive and picturesque statement of a great truth, Martin Niemoller said, “The cradle and the cross of Christ were hewn from the same tree.” The incarnation was sole with a view of the crucifixion.

Our Lord’s death was unique in that it was the only death that fulfilled the millennia of prophecy. The sufferings and death of the Messiah were not only foreshadowed in meticulous detail in the Jewish sacrificial system, but they were foretold by the prophets. It has been stated that even in His tragic hours on the cross, thirty-three separate Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled.

He was the only person to whom death was not inevitable. “I lay down my life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:17-18). To Him, death was deliberately chosen. He “gave himself for us,” wrote Paul to Titus (2:14). He was not dragged to the cross but drawn by quenchless love.

To Him alone, death was not a result of sin. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23); but as He did no sin, He did not need to collect its wages. This left Him perfectly free to assume the burden and guilt of the world’s sin and to provide deliverance from its bondage.

His was the only death accompanied by miracles. It was appropriate that a life replete with miracles should conclude with a series of miracles. There was the mysterious darkness which was no eclipse since the moon was then at its farthest from the sun. And it lasted not for a few minutes but for three hours.

There was the miraculous rending of the curtain veil, sixty feet long and thirty feet wide, requiring three hundred men to handle it. “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51). A mighty earthquake accompanied His death. Rocks were split, and graves opened. “The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life… and appeared to many people” (27:52-53), conclusive evidence of His power over death.

Finally, His was the only death that made possible the forgiveness of sins – and experience to which myriads can testify.

When Thou didst hang upon the tree

The quaking earth acknowledged Thee

When Thou didst there yield up Thy breath

The world grew dark as shades of death

(Author unknown).

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Young Men, Consider the Suffering of Jesus

“Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps”

(2 Peter 2:21, NIV).

Our Lord Jesus Christ was the Prince of sufferers. Here, as in all else, He was preeminent (surpassing all others). We tend to conceive of His sufferings mainly in the realm of the physical, but so intense were His spiritual sufferings that physical pain could have been almost a relief.

He was a sinless Sufferer. Note the juxtaposition of the two thoughts: Christ “suffered for you… He committed no sin” (1 Peter 2:21-22). His sinlessness only added to the poignancy of His sufferings. Suffering can mean much or little according to the nature of the person. An unmusical person does not perceive a discord, but to the sensitive musician, it causes exquisite pain. Neglect is not keenly felt when love is lacking. In the human nature of the Master, passion had not done its ugly work, nor had His powers become atrophied through neglect. It is the holy person who feels sin most keenly.

He was a sensitive Sufferer. Jesus was the essence of refinement and sensitivity. He possessed all the gentler graces as well as all the innocence of manhood. He was by nature a sensitive person. How He must have suffered when denounced as a deceiver and a liar (see John 7:12); a blasphemer (Matthew 9:3); in league with the devil (see John 8:52); a glutton and a drunkard (Luke 7:34). Jesus was really human, and these charges occasioned Him intense suffering. His suffering was real, not a theatrical display; and these verbal accusations pierced more deeply than the crown of thorns.

He was a sacrificed Sufferer. The substitutionary element in Christ’s death is prominent in this paragraph. “Christ suffered from you… ‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:21, 24). He not only pardoned our sins but took them away. How amazing that the blood that stained the soldier’s spear was the sole remedy for the soldier’s sin! Whoever dreamed of the crime procuring salvation? And His death was not only vicarious but voluntary. He was led, not dragged to the cross.

He was a silent Sufferer. “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats” (1 Peter 2:23). He harbored no spirit of retaliation. Like an aromatic leaf, the crushing only released the fragrance. Not a word of complaint crossed His lips. Instead He “entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23).

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.