*+_Praise † Grace_+*

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” ...... And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.   John 6:60,65-66 If you think you are believing in a teaching that is nice and popular, probably you should think again. Today, I could probably talk you out of following Jesus. (Or maybe not.) Jesus wasn't exactly a very popular guy. Really. The things that He had said probably offended all the unbelievers churches today strife hard to attract. I mean look at Him: how do you think exactly the things He taught and said in John 6 would actually convince somebody to come to church? Instead, many of His followers, who followed Him from one place to another, turn away and left Him. And get this, they "no longer walked with him." Jesus isn't popular. Consider these: And he ...

I started doing something new for myself. I've been spending a lot of time on the Internet and Facebook. I would say that I'm terribly attached and addicted to Internet and Facebook. Now, to counter that, I made a promise to God and myself just few days ago: every time I would turn on the computer and check out Facebook, I would need to read a paragraph of Scripture. I did. In less than 5 days, I'm now on Chapter 6 of Leviticus. The Book of Leviticus deals mainly on Jewish rituals for atonement and sacrifice. With each paragraph, God would specifically tell the priests what to do and perform in order to atone for their sins. After reading so far, I can't help but notice this: God meant this for those who are convicted of their sins and guilts, who are willing to turn away and repent. Numerous times, the Scripture mentioned "and then he realises his guilt/sin". A lot of times, we do realise our sins and guilt, because the Holy Spirit convicts us of...

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.  Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “ The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire. ”  Nehemiah 1:1-3 Today, even as I read this word, I felt a great sadness in my heart. The Jews came back from exile, after spending years living in a land not their own, living a life of humiliation and disgrace. Finally it was the promised time for them to return home, and yet they still find themselves disgraced that their home nation is in ruin. Ancient nations aren't identified by black-and-white like nation in modern days do. They are often defined by city walls that m...

During my one week in Timor-Leste, I mentioned Shi Yang: A Singaporean who had a heart for Timor-Leste and worked for a Singapore investment company as intern. During his stay there, one of his job scope is to assess the current and future Timor-Leste economical potential. He had access to many information and latest condition of Timor-Leste economy. Shi Yang shared about one thing that stayed in my mind. He said besides all the challenges that Timor-Leste is facing, one of the reason that Timor-Leste is kept from moving is because of the Timorese's poverty mindset. This poverty mindset needs to be dealt with in order for Timor-Leste to progress significantly. Shi Yang went on to describe poverty mindset. Poverty mindset is a result of the centuries-long war and occupation. The local people had been living in poverty from generation to generation, hiding themselves from the war in the forest. Because of such lifestyle, they adhered to the mode of living one day to another....

Yesterday while I was waiting alone at PuMa Hall in campus, one Pak Guard happened to pay a brief visit, making sure things are going alright in the vicinity. We started talking, I take any opportunity to talk to any people anyway. To my surprise, this Pak Guard, whose name I forgot to ask, had been serving as a safety officer in USM for more than 35 years, that's even before I was born. To keep the conversation alive, I asked him about his family and found out that he came from Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. We somehow talked about politics. As I'm talking to a Muslim, I took the courage to ask his personal view on the "Allah" controversy. It was a risk to take, as many would regard this issue a sensitive one. I even had to use the word "Allah" to address the issue. But to my surprise, he wasn't at all the "majority" Muslim that Perkasa kept talking about. He spoke on behalf of the Christians and he spoke against the money politics that go on behind...

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  John 14:6 ESV  Most people don't like this verse, so much so that some of us actually denies that Jesus actually said such a word. Unbelievers don't like this because it makes Christianity exclusive. For a Christian to say that this is the truth makes everyone else a liar. That's not a politically correct thing to say. But the truth is, Jesus did make such politically improper statement. Now before any of you jump into any criticism, I make this clear that this article is not directed to unbelievers. There's no need for me to make any argument anyway: this is what Jesus said, the truth, take it or leave it. It will remain as it is even if I debate about it. But, like I implied, I direct this to encourage you, my brothers and sisters in Christ. Truth is, if we search within our hearts hard enough, we don't like this either. It leaves us no ch...

We are now living in a popular culture where our generation of people constantly seek short-term recognition and gratification of success. We want things fast, we put in effort to make something work, and we want results fast. Unfortunately more often than not, success often require us to wait. It takes time and persistance. Our generation of people often find this hard to accept, because we are pampered with products that give us instant results. We also demand tangible and visible result, often something that we can brag about, something that we can share with other and hoping they would give us the attention that somehow became a necessity for us to continue to exist. That is why our generation of people gives up easily, because we are impatient to see result and we can't persevere long enough to see success. Facebook grabbed hold of this hunger, and now the most popular online money-making machine for Mark Zuckerberg. Remember how we post up photos and status, and we keep ...