Breaking the Univeral "Naked Came Naked Go" Law

"Naked came, and Naked shall we go" is the universal law for everyone irrespective of their races or cultures. However, there is a way to break this law! That is to invest into heaven now and collect it when we are in heaven according to Jesus in Matthew 6:19-21. 

Naked Came & Naked Go

This saying can be found everywhere. In the Bible OT, Ecclesiastes 5:15 Just as he came naked from his mother's womb, he will leave as naked as he came; he will receive no profit from his efforts--he cannot carry away even a handful.  

However, when Jesus came on the scene, he taught us a way to break this law.

Matthew 6:19-21 Treasures in Heaven
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

The wise command is obvious. Don't spend your life in creating earthly wealth. Earthy wealth is not secured. Consider the financial crisis of 2008-9, how much wealth was vaporized in a short period of time. The so-called big banks were shut-down or else have to be saved by the government. Instead, the best policy of life, is to create wealth in heaven where you have collect it after this life in heaven. You have the assurance from Jesus, your Savior and God, Himself. 

Consider the following verses from other parts of the Bible ....

1 Cor 3:12 So, whether someone builds on top of the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, or hay, 13 each one's work will be clearly shown. The day will make it clear, because it will be revealed with fire—the fire will test the quality of each one's work. 14 If anyone's work survives, they'll get a reward.

How to Store into Heaven? 

The key question is then how to we store into the heaven's treasury? What are gold, silver, precious stones that we should put there? What are the woods, grass and hays that we should avoid?

Let's see what the Bible teaches:

Mat 10:42  And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."

Mar_9:41  For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.

Luk 6:35  But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

Luk 6:22  "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!

Luk 6:23  Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. (Mat 5:11-12)

Heb 6:10  For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 

Mat_6:4  so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Mat_6:6  But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Col_3:24  knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 

Heb 11:26  He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 

Conclusion:
Storing treasures into heaven is just about living out the Christ within us. It is about knowing Jesus' will for our live and following His will. It could mean suffering for His cause, or be blessed with much and to give out as much as we receive in His name and not for our own reputation. It is about doing the most difficult thing like loving your enemy! Whatever you do or suffer in Jesus' Name as He leads you is investing into your heaven treasury account.

Lim Liat (c) 20 Sep 2013

Just ONE Advice for Success - Psalm 1 Live Righteously

There are many advice for you to be successful. Some of them are even conflicting. There is one that will ensure your success, and you must always stick to it no matter what. It is 'Live Righteously' and there is an Almighty God that will make sure you have the blessings in due seasons. 

The book of Psalms begins with 'live rightly and be blessed' in Ps 1and ends with 'praise the Lord' in Ps 150. There are many voices in the world that teach you to do or that to be successful in life. There is only one that you should listen and stick to no matter what. This is explained in Psalm 1 with the promised blessings for the righteous and the warning against the wicked. Here is the min-map:

1. Begins with Knowing and Internalising the Laws of Lord 
Only when our mind and heart are filled with the Laws of the Lord that we could stay away from evil and obey the leading of the Lord. It requires us to read the Bible and to meditate on it throughout our day and night. When there are choices to be made, we will need to check with the Lord. Someone suggested asking "What will Jesus do in this situation?".

2. Avoid and Stay Away from Evil Company
No one will tell you that he is up to doing evil or nasty thing. They will give you good reasons for doing such and such. It is usually how much benefits you will be getting or how much you will loose if you don't . You will be so silly to miss such great opportunity. Others are doing it and enjoying the 'blessing' so it is OK. Furthermore, you will be caught if ever. Under such tempting pressures and lures, how would you decide unless you have the mindset of Christ internalised. Remember to stick to the Bible teaching even though it sounds like you would be missing 'great' things.
.
3. Repent if Yielded to Sin
Even when we fall for it, remember to repent and get out of it quickly. Don't get stuck in sin. The arms of God is like the Prodigal Son's Father, forever opened to welcome back repentant sinners.

4. Fruits in Due Seasons
The blessings for doing the right things will come in due seasons. Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. The key word is season. The tree does not bear fruit all the time, but according to the seasons. There is a right time for the right thing. Be not worry or panicky, stay  on the righteous course and the good blessings will surely come. Note the assurance of 'he prospers in everything that he does!".

5. You are Healthy and Strong in the mean time.
While waiting for the fruit, the tree is blossoming with green leaves of vitality and life. The secret for such vitality is in the roots that draw water from the streams, the Word and the Holy Spirit. The greatest danger is to sneer at the Words or God. Always revere God and abide in His words and the blessings are ensured. May the grace of God keeps you in Him and be His wonderful testimonies to all.

As a bonus, here is Psalm 91 Protection for those who abide in Him:

Lim Liat (c) 16 Aug 2013

The Sequel to the Banquet Parable - Romans 11 The Last becomes First

In Romans 11, Paul emphasized that God has never forgotten nor rejected his fellow Jews. Salvation is based solely on faith and not on work, no matter Jews or Gentiles. The salvation of the Gentiles will awake the Jews. Christ will come again and will unit all people unto Him. In the Parable of the Banquet, the original invited guests did not come, and the invitations went to the others. In this sequel, the original guests was given another invitation, and they show up. The first becomes last and the last become first. It is not by work but by faith in the grace of God. 

Many successful and famous people have said that success is a poor teacher. It does not teach us much. It even leads us to have a distorted view of reality causing us to think so highly of ourselves and wrong attributed the gifts and contributions of others as our own ability. In the Bible record, God first revealed Himself to Abraham and later to Moses, God gave his Laws. The Jews were the first choice of God to show His love to others and to attract the Gentiles to come to know Him through them. But given so much revelations, they, as typical of all man, of Adam, think that they could achieve justification by themselves. They said to Moses, "Just tell us God's laws and we will obey them". Such confidence has led them reject God's grace. On the other hand, to those, the Gentiles, that have not heard of God Laws, gladly received the grace of salvation of Jesus Christ. It is so ironical that the first became last and the last become first. This was illustrated with the Parable of the Banquet and the story of the Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 20:16 and 19:30.

In the final analysis, it is not whether first or last, but rather, just be saved. God will not forget his covenant with the Jews but His basis of salvation changes not, by faith, no matter what races. Paul has addressed this at the start of Romans 2:29  "But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. " and in Col 2:11 to the Gentiles: " In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, "

Here is the summary of Romans 11 in mind-map form:

Lim Liat (c) 12 Aug 2013

Salvation is by Faith not Performance - Romans 10 Call Upon Jesus

Paul highlighted that his fellow Jews missed the mark by wanting to justify themselves through the performance of good work by Moses' Laws. The Laws were meant to lead them the need for a Savior through knowing that they were unable to fulfill the requirement of the Laws. Paul repeated three times in verses 9 to 11 that 'whosoever calls upon Jesus shall be saved".  There is the need to preach the Gospel and the encouragement put down our pride to receive Jesus when we hear it.

Chapters 9 to 11 of Romans relate to the salvation of the Jews or more precisely the lack of because they, being given the Laws through Moses, want to attain it by observing the them. Such a desire to perform and to achieve justification, though impossible in actual practice, is just the work of pride and self-confidence. Refusal to admit one's lack and rejection of help are just pride. Self-determination of right and wrong is precisely the sin of Adam.  See Knowledge Tree of Good and Evil,

Another key teaching of this chapter 10 is "whoever calls upon Jesus shall be saved". It was emphasized many times in 10:8-11.

Since salvation is so important and yet so simple, Paul encouraged all to preach it.

To the hearer of the gospel, Paul pleaded with them that they should response immediately. This is an echo of

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." Heb 3:15, 4:7.    
Here is the mind-map that summarizes the chapter:

Lim Liat (c) 6 Aug 2013

So Close and so Privileged yet Miss It - Romans 9 Paul's Lamentations

Paul lamented for his fellow Israelite in Romans 9. They were the privileged bunch with so much revelation from God and yet they miss the salvation of Christ. While many people are upset about God favoring some people, they miss the most important message of God. That is, with God, there is no difference and no favor, irrespective of races, honor or dishonor (in man's eyes). God loves and Christ died for all. The diversities are created by God and He has the right to put people into different groups.  But God is no respecter of persons, he chooses to accept the rejects of men. The Israelite may have so much revelation of God but yet they fail to know God and His Son Jesus Christ. Salvation is a grace of God offered to all and it to be accepted by faith and not according to any social background or standing or even works of the laws. Get the correct understanding of God's love and think not God is unfair in creating diversities.

There are many races in the world. Some people are born into the rich families whereas some are born into poor families. Unfairness is normally claimed by the ones in the 'unfortunate' states of poverty or sickness or rejected. Yet, we know that many that were born of the rich did not do well in life. Many just spent their lives away in wild livings, in drugs, in alcohol, in wild parities and suffer painful death in overdose or accidents. On the other hand, there are many successful, happy and rich people that started life as poor. So, is a good inheritance a blessings or a curse? The answer is obvious, it depends entirely on you. God has made sure of that. Everyone can, no one is excluded, from knowing and coming to receive God. Such is the message of Romans 9. The privileges of one race or status does not ensure one's salvation. The Israelite is a good example. They were so close to God and yet many miss His salvation through Jesus Christ.

While God has the right in Rom 9:18 to show mercy or harden, we need to see His character of love in Rom 9:22 patience for those deserving wrath, 9:25-26 calling those outcast His people.

How does God harden Pharaoh's heart? Not by creating Pharaoh's that way (because everyone is created in the Image of God and give free will) but by going against Pharaoh's selfish desire to keep his slaves.

Chapter 9 is in fact, a reinforcement of Chapter 8 God's love for you is much much more than any adversity or restrictions. We cannot use our race or culture or wealth or whatever as excuse to reject His love for us.

The full details are given in the mind-map below and I hope your mind may be enlightened and be willing to receive His love  for you:

Lim Liat (c) 21 July 2013

Living the New Christian Life - Romans 16 Real Lives Testimonies

The book of Romans ends with a fairly long list of real people and their work. Their testimonies are for our encouragement and examples. We are to 'salute' one another with 'a holy kiss' of respect and love. The one key message is the salvation through Jesus Christ by faith, the secret of life and of the universe now revealed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Living out this new Christian life together in a community requires us to watch out for three things. Firstly, the people who come in Jesus' name but are divisive, offensive and deceptive. We need to know the Bible well and abide in the Spirit to discern them and keep them out. Secondly, we are to be wise in doing the good things and be naive in doing the evil (but know their deceptive tricks as in the first point). Thirdly, we need to be obedient by putting what we learned into practice. Finally, we are assured of certain victory because Satan was defeated and shall be totally bruised under feet shortly --- the 2nd coming of Christ.

The Brothers and Sisters that are examples to Follow:
We have a long list of names and their work. May be we can't remember their names, but at least remember their works as our examples. We see the servant leaders, those who risked their necks for Paul, those who were fellow prisoners with Paul, those who open their houses for gatherings, the helpers, the approved, the beloved, the chosen, the saints all in the Lord. The key verse here for community living is Romans 16:16 " Salute one another with a holy kiss. Churches of Christ salute you." Respect and love are the key ingredients for intimate fellowship that glorify God.

Watch-Out for the Wolves in Sheep Clothing who Come to Destroy our Fellowship
Paul warn us to watch out for three things. 

Firstly, the people who come in Jesus' name but are divisive, offensive and deceptive. We need to know the Bible well and abide in the Spirit to discern them and keep them out. Even so, Revelation 2:2-4 reminded us not loose our first love for Christ and love for one another. We need to have a good balance of truth and grace. Yet, we cannot be kinder than God. Avoiding and keeping the real wolves out from out of our community are the right and loving things to do. 

Secondly, we are to be wise in doing the good things and be naive in doing the evil (but know their deceptive tricks as in the first point). We have Mat 10:16 wise as serpents and harmless as doves to remind us. May be we can see here that Paul added ''unto good' to be wise. Doing good is great, but make sure that our 'good' does not cause our brothers to stumble as mentioned in Chapter 14 and to make sure that there be no fault can be found too (2 Cor 6:3). We can only do that when we acted wisely. Charitable work does not allow us to be wasteful nor be lacking in quality. 

Thirdly, we need to be obedient by putting what we learned into practice. Talking is easy. Telling and correcting others are easy. Some of us only hear good sermons for others to follow (Oh! I wish so and so could be here to hear it!). Our we obedient to the message that the Holy Spirit has revealed to us? Do we put them into action?

Finally, we are assured of certain victory because Satan was defeated and shall be totally bruised under feet shortly --- the 2nd coming of Christ.

The Final & Only One Key Message.

Paul ended the whole book of Romans with the final one key message ... Glory and Praise to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who is the source and the power for our salvation by faith in Him. It was a long long mystery of the world but now revealed first through the OT Bible but now in the Person of Jesus Christ - His death and resurrection. Believe in Him and be saved!

Here is the mind-map for Romans 16:

Lim Liat (c) 11 Jul 2013

Living the New Christian Life By Glorifying God in Harmony - Roman 15 Buildup One Another

Roman 15 is about glorifying God through our harmonious living and building up of one another. It is best summarized by  John 13:35  ► By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. 

Roman History recorded that the growth of the Christian community was due to their love one for another and also for those outside their community. Have we placed so much emphasis on preaching the gospel and not living out the gospel especially among our brothers and sisters? The ways we treat our fellow brothers and sisters, are they so attractive to cause them to want to join us?
We are to be united in the same purpose of glorifying God and share the same biblical values. We are to execute the mission by living in harmony with one another, starting with receiving one another first. We can do that by the power of Holy Spirit within us and studying and following of the Bible.

Here is the mind-map that captures the essence of Roman 15:

God's plan was to reach-out to the world through His blessings for the Jews. Christ had sat the example for us by coming in the form of servant to die for us to fulfill the covenant with the Jews.

Our joy, peace and hope comes from putting our faith in God and by the Holy Spirit.

Paul shared with us his calling to bring the gospel to the gentiles world. His purpose is to break new ground and not build on others' work. That was Paul's calling. It does not exclude that for most of us, we are called to reach out to those around us in our family, relatives, friends and colleagues that may or may not have the gospels shared with them. Paul's dedication to the calling and his accomplishments are examples for us to follow. We can also see the testimonies of the Christians in areas of Achaia and Macedonia, their generosity for brothers in Jerusalem.

Even Paul requested prayers for his work. There are 3 key areas mentioned for our united prayer:
1. deliverance from persecutions.
2. excellence in their service
3. opportunities for fellowships

Here is the mind-map that give the details:

Hope you are blessed in the reading of this sharing. Do you like the mind-map better than the usual paragraph format?

Lim Liat (c) 10 July 2013

Living the New Christian Life with Weaker Brothers - Rom 14 Liberty vs Rules

Perhaps "Familiarity breeds contempt" also happens in Christian community that brothers or sisters in Christ are most critical of one another. There is the tendency to compare and despise one another. Such work of pride and insecurity happen most in the grey areas where right and wrong are not clearly stated in the commandments. There will be much quarrels about who is right or wrong. Such one-up-man-ship behavior is discussed in this Roman Chapter 14 resulting in guidelines for us to follow. Key points are: Firstly, to make a correct judgement, one must discover the inner intention and conviction. Secondly, I will restrict my freedom so that I may not stumble others.

Difference between the Weak and Mature
Paul covered the differences between the weaker and more mature brothers. The weak in faith still goes but external behavior to differentiate right or wrong. The mature in faith goes by the principles and the truth. They enjoy greater liberty. All food is clean and every day is a good day given by God and we shall all rejoice in them. However, the weak is stained by his past experience of certain foods and days are separated out as good or bad and hence are restricted. Nevertheless, their intention to honor God is right and good even though they are restricted by erroneous thinking. Their abstinence is honorable.

Key is Despise Not One Another and Build One another Up
The key for behavior is then not to despise one another because of their practices (to eat or not to eat) but rather try to build one another up. Don't waste time in quarreling.

Judgement is According Christ and According to One's Conviction
Correct judgement is not about external behavior but the internal intention of the heart and the conviction of faith. What is the internal motivation or intention of not eating or observing certain day? Such internal intention is not easily observable from the external. One has to ask and probe to find out.

Cannot be Forced to Do or Not to Do
Even when one know the intention, we cannot insist that weaker adopt the conviction of the mature. If they are not fully convinced and then act on it, his conscience will pricked and it is a sin. Paul said that whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. Let the weaker in faith grow up in time.

Let Not the Freedom of the Mature become the stumbling block for the Weaker
Everything is clean but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it is unclean. So, let not the Freedom of the mature (everything is clean) cause the weak (some thing is unclean) to eat the thing that he thinks is unclean and thereby falls into sin. The mature must always watch out that their 'good' and 'ok' behavior may in fact stumbles others. Consider drinking alcohol. Drinking is not forbidden in the Bible but drunkenness is sin. If we have a friend that was a former alcoholic, it is very important that we don't drink in front of him. By drinking in front of him is actually a temptation for him to start drinking, a problem that he may not be able to handle, the very problem that he became an alcoholic before. So, because the need of our brother, we will forgo the right to drink.

The above and other points are covered in the mind-map below:

The Principles to Follow :

The conclusions: 

It is best summed up in by Paul in his other letters:

1 Cor 10:23 Everything is permitted but everything isn't beneficial and does not build one another up. Let the mature not used their freedom to cause the weaker brothers to fall.


1Cor 10:23 CEB   Everything is permitted, but everything isn't beneficial. Everything is permitted, but everything doesn't build others up.

Lim Liat (c) 1 July 2013

Living the New Christian Life in the Society - Mind map on Rom 13

Romans 12 covers living the New life within the Christian community. This Roman 13 covers living the new life in the secular world. We are to obey the authorities that God had appointed for our benefits  for good behavior and good testimonies. For those people in the society, we are to love them as loving others fulfills the commandments. Lastly, we are let the light of Christ that is in us to shine out through our conduct by being different from them, staying away from wild parties, sexual immorality, quarreling and jealousy. We are to seize this time while we still have the day light because the night shall come soon.

 The mind-map that captures the essence of Romans Chapter 13 is:

How do we let our light shine out in this world? 
It is seen in the ways we handle

1. those in authorities and 
2. those that are of equal or lower standing that us in the society. 
3. how we behave in general.

Worldly wisdom encouraged people to take advantages of the systems and exploits the loopholes in the systems. The smart people are those who exploit the systems to the maximum without being caught. R.ich people are encouraged to hire tax consultants to minimize paying taxes to the government. They have registered business in tax havens to by pass paying taxes to their own nations. That's not the teaching of Paul here. We are to obey the authorities and pay whatever is dues to them. There are four things we should pay to those in authorities, taxes, revenues(fair prices or wages for goods and services rendered to us rather than using our strengths or connections to exploit them), respect and honor. Paul is talking more than money when he mentioned respect and honor. Do we treat our boss with respect and honor at all time. Some people said bad things and gossip behind their bosses. Such gossips about our bosses with our colleagues only show our bad testimonies. Even when our bosses make mistakes, we are still to give honor and respect, not because of anything else but because they are our bosses that God has put them over us for our good. We should not disrespect our bosses because we are smarter or older than them. We just trust and obey God's commandments.

For those that are our equal or lower than us, we are just to love them as God as love us and commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Loving them are expressed not just in words but also in deeds. Are we concern about them? What have we done for them? We must do these things just because God say so. We don't do those things with ulterior motive, even the motive to get them to come to church.  We even overheard them saying that when Christians invite you for lunch or dinner, they actually 'cheated' you because the lunch or dinner comes with a preaching session as the motive. We destroy their trust when do things with hidden ulterior motive.

While the people go for wild parties of drinking and sexual misconduct, we stay away from them. When people fight for promotion, gossip, or sabotage one another out of jealousy, we don't. We even help others to perform better than us when we can. We rejoice with those that get promoted, even promoted to be our boss. How can do such very different from them kinds of things? Because we have Christ in us and we know finally that it is God who promotes and take care of us.

Lim Liat (c) 30-6-13

Living the New Christian Life - A Mind-Map for Romans 12

How to live the New Christian Life? Romans 12-16 tell and show us how. The overview is first given in Romans 12. It begins with our commitment to worship God with our present life as a living sacrifice,  followed by a transformed mind, and acknowledgement of our roles in the community of Christ's body, discovering and using our gifts to serve the community, and a set 'best practices' for living harmoniously with others. These are all captured in a mind-map for ease of understanding and remembrance.

Living the New Christian Life - Starting from Self and extending to the Community of Christ:

The Five-Steps:

1. Commit to Worship God with our Life as a Living (not dead) Sacrifice.
2. Transformed Mindset to Know God's Will and His Standards (not the world's standards).
3. Knowing the we are all members of the Same Body of Christ. So we need to find out your role and God's calling of our lives. Our calling is related to our gifts.
4. Discover and Use our God's given gifts/talents to serve the community. Serve with passion and consistency.
5. Living well with others in the community - Overcome Evil with Good. 
1. The Objective is Harmony and Peace with all.
2. By Love, Goodness, Respect, Generosity, Hospitality, Sharing & Being with them in joy or in sorrow.
3. The Principle of Overcoming Evil with Good. Converting any enemy to a friend with goodness and love towards them.

Lim Liat(c) 26-6-13

Updated mindmap 18-7-19

The Ten Greatest Things in Life

I went to buy lunch from a Chicken Rice Shop today. The following calligraphy was displayed on the wall. It was about the ten greatest in life. Here are details with translation into English.

• 人生最大財富是健康. Greatest wealth is health
• 人生最大罪惡是不孝. Greatest sin is dishonoring parents
• 人生最大禮物是寬恕. Greatest Gift is Forgiveness
•  人生最大快樂是助人. Greatest Joy is helping others
•  人生最大錯誤是賭博. Greatest Error is Gambling
•  人生最大破產是絕望. Greatest Bankrupt is Hopelessness
•  人生最大失敗是自大. Greatest Failure is Boastfulness/Pride
•  人生最大佩服是上進. Greatest Respect is Progressiveness
•  人生最大卑劣是欺人. Greatest depictable thing is Cheating
•  人生最大笨蛋是吸毒. Greatest Stupidity is be a Drug Addicted

I was thinking that if those are the ten most important things in life, then there must be Bible verses that reflect that. So I also included the Bible verses and they are shown below in the mind map:

Hope you like it.

The True Gospels of Blessings including Prosperity using 5WH2

The Prosperity Gospels is distortion of a partial truth of the Gospels. Taking a more comprehensive view of the Gospels with the help of the 5W2H thinking framework will give a clearer picture. Proverbs 3 speaks much on prosperity and long life. It can be a Biblical reference for our understanding. We conclude that blessings is much more than money and good health. More importantly, it is harmony and peace with God and men. The blessing also includes a discipline from our Father God who loves us much to train us up so that we can enjoy and handle more blessings that He has in store for us. Prosperity Gospels  preachers just claim the blessings without the needed wisdom and maturity. They are treating God like the Chinese Prosperity God or the Genie to answer to our wishes.

The Prosperity Gospels message has come to much attention with the Court Case of Kong Hee and leaders from City Harvest Church for alleged criminal breach of trust and falsifying accounts.  See
Prosperity Gospel - Learning from GLCC Dr Paul Choo's Sermon and Reflections from CHC Kong Hee Alleged Misuse of Funds.

A foreigner friend shared that she found it strange that the church messages she encountered in Singapore spoke much about prosperity and not about virtues and charities. It is not strange for us as Chinese because Chinese customs and festivals are filled with worship of the Prosperity God. The most common Chinese New Year Wish is that you may 发财 - make lots and lots of money.

The Bible indeed has much to say about wealth. It talks about how to get wealth and how to use wealth. Warning us not to be enslaved by money but be master over money. Using money to create impact for good and invest in the eternal Kingdom of God. Money is a terrible master but a very good servant.

Nevertheless, the real and true Gospel is much much more than money or wealth. There are more important issue than money which is our relationship with God and then with men. Jesus came to die for our sin and was resurrected to give us new life in Him. We are rebirth in Jesus and become children of God, with Jesus' righteousness and all the blessings of the standings as sons of God.

Since God changes not, His teaching in the Old Testament is still valid, though we are in the New Testament time. Proverb 3 cover much about the blessings of God and how to receive the blessings. This is a good passage for us to examine this issue of the blessings of God. Is prosperity the will of God for us? What else are in the blessings of God? How do we get the blessings? Do we get it just like that immediately? Answer can be found by studying Proverb 3.

One of the best way to think about a issue is to use the 5W2H thinking framework. See The Basic Thinking Framework 5W1H. Applying the framework to Proverb 3, I get the following summary shown in a mind-map form:

 How do I reach the above summary, here are the additional mind-maps showing the 5W2H clearly:

The Details of the How's:

Does knowing the How's and doing the How's means that we are getting the blessings by our own effort? The answer is No and Yes.  It is by God's grace that He adopted us and laid the foundation, the energy source behind the working of His Laws, so that when we listen and obey, we can get the outcomes of His promises. It one way, it looks like we are working to gain it, but the actual fact is that we are only responding to what God has already done and prepared for us.  If we are lazy and are disobedience, then we shall receive not His good blessings but His curses. We can of course be lazy and live off from those who have received the blessings. But that was because of the love that others extend to us. God's love and their love for us is that we may be changed to live rightly that we may be truly joyful and mature, a contributor rather than a parasite.

The key error of the Prosperity Gospel preacher is making giving to God as the only means (even lazy means) of getting rich and making God as our slave to make us rich. In many cases, the giving went into the pocket of the preachers and closed community to benefit their luxury livings. Whereas, prosperity should be the by products of living a righteous and Godly life with and before God.

Conclusion:
The summary is given earlier in the summary map. But just to stress point 3 "The Blessings come from Us Knowing and Living Out God's Wisdom". We are to Love and Obey God. It is not our achievement but the actualization of His grace from inside to external visibility.

Lim Liat (c) 30 May 2013

Prayer is about Changing God or Us?

Many people think that prayer is to get God to do things for us. It is not. It is about changing us to trust and do God's good will for us, especially in times that we don't fully understand.

In Matthew 7, Jesus assured us that our Heavenly Father is a loving Father that will give good things to those who ask of Him. If we ask for bread, He will not give us a stone instead. However, if we ask for cigarettes to smoke, will He give to us? Will you as a father? So in reality, God will not give you things that are not good for you. Or God will only give you things that is within His will for you and within His character.

So, prayer then is not about changing God but about changing us, our mindset and will towards God's way of thinking. Prayer changes our perception of things. It gets us to see things God's way. Prayer actually changes us.... giving us greater clarity of God's will and the peace and will to do His will.

So, sometimes, God gives us the strength to go through the challenges rather than removing the challenges that we may grow up to greater maturity.

In Rom 8:29, we are to conform to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. If we don't think and live like Jesus, we are not His disciples and we are not God's son. It is through prayer, the communication and communion with God, through His words, through His Holy Spirit, and through His grace of empowerment, that we can think and live out the lives that reflect Jesus.

What about our worries and anxieties? It comes from either we don't see God's will or we don't trust His will. The solution is simple as in Philippians 4:6-7 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

It is just to talk to God about it. Thanksgiving is show the trust that we have in God. Let's God guide and assure us of His good will for us. Even Jesus in Gethsemane did that, a night of aggravating pains and the peace to suffer it all through the cross.

Through prayer, we get to be fully convinced of God's good will for our lives. Through this time with God, we also receive the peace and confidence to face the world, no matter what, knowing that we are in good hands. We shall leave with a thankful heart.

Lim Liat (c) 25 May 2013

Meditation on Everlasting - Without Purpose Everlasting is Meaningfess

Everlasting itself is without Meaning.
Everlasting, Forever, Eternal has no meaning unless there is a purpose. 

That was what the Author of Ecclesiastes concluded after observing the endless cycles of life and death. See The Meaning of Life from the Wisest, Richest and Most Powerful King
 
Purpose is the Key
What then is the purpose ? Why do we exist? Where are we going? The answer lies not in the created beings but with the creator. 

How can we judge something as good or evil? It is also with Purpose. Does it uphold or deviate from the original purpose.
Everlasting Contains Change - Making Life Interesting and Engaging.
Everlasting also does not mean unchanging. That is called death or nothingness. It means ever changing with an unchanging pattern of purpose. 

But not Random Changes but Change that befits a Purpose of Love
Life is full of changes, of struggles, of disappointments, of successes, of sadness, of whatever. But if you are anchored on everlasting love of God, then you can have peace and even joy in the midst of all these challenges and no matter what.  

Creation of man is result of the Love of God. Men are created out of the love of God and to enjoy the love God forever.

Everlasting Love Produces Peace and Joy. There is No Fear in Love.
So we can resonance with Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Depressed and Miserable with Your Present?
Taking the verses in reverse, if I can't rejoice in this present circumstances, perhaps I have forgotten it is God's will for me. What does in Christ Jesus mean here? It is through Christ's death that we are redeemed. It is a reminder of how much is the Love of God for me - more than the cost of a His son. 

If we still can't get it, we should 'pray', or talk to God one on one. Speak to him of your worry, of anger, of don't get it ... He can take all we can throw at Him for He loves us.

After our verbose and emotional screams or plead, be careful to wait and listen for His answer and comforting touch. Heb 4:16 may helps ... in time of need, boldly comes to His throne of mercy to find the grace and power that we need.

Leave with the Peace of God
Don't leave the conversation with God until we get our peace. 

Lim Liat (c) 22 May 2013

To Judge or Not to Judge people? That's Irrelevant.

Life is about making choices, making friends and working with and through people. It is irrelevant to discuss about whether we should or should not judge people, but rather it is how we can judge rightly and how we should respond to the judgments of others. We are even further encouraged to discipline with love and rightly(hard or soft according to their attitudes) those that God has put under our charge. 1 Corinthians 4 gives us the teaching.

I was surprised to hear from one of Don Carson's sermons that the most famous verse now of the Bible is not John 3:16 but rather Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged". The present day view is "Everything is relative. Right or wrong depends on the situations. What is good and right to you may not be for others. Hence, judge not." There is some partial truth in it and that is why it is a powerful thing as of all misleading ideas. The church has been deceived in the misunderstanding of this verse that everyone should not judge and everyone should just live happily and peacefully with one another. That leads to many unresolved animosity within the church, spreading of sins, and at times leading to misuses and abuses that may incur the wrath of the Government. (e.g. Reflections from CHC Kong Hee Alleged Misuse of Funds)

Life is about making choices, and making choices is about making judgments, especially of people. Do I want to befriend this person? Can I trust my colleagues to hand him the important task? How can I help others without making judgment? So the question is not about to judge or not, but rather how to judge rightly. 1 Corinthians 4 gives many good guidance on how to judge rightly and to implement the evaluation and corrective actions. Here are the mind-maps that summarize the details:

Judging Rightly and the Process

The Corinth Church as Case Study

The Summary:
Understanding how to judge rightly and the process enables us to hold one another accountable to our unique callings from God, for those under and above our charge, that the body of Christ will be united under Christ to show forth His glory. Here the summary map:

See also:

•  Judging Rightly
• Judge Not yet Correcting
• The True Church Community - Learning from Tim Keller

Lim Liat (c) 18 May 2013

The Theology of Work - The Blessing of Stress Free & Meaningful Hard Work

A good understanding of work and our salvation will enables to work with great joy, energy and creativity to produce excellent work to show forth God's glory through the empowering of the new inner in Christ. This is how you can enjoy the working in the process and the fruits of your work.

Not sure when our Singapore society has become "we work for money" rather than "we work for meaning and fun". The "敬业乐业" Professionalism and the Joy of Work philosophy that I learned in my high school days were somehow lost in this great pursuit of money and high salary policy. “They don't work because they were not paid” was believe hold by many.

Even in the Christians circle that should at the very least, be some conscience of the society, has the ultra-grace and prosperity gospel people singing "Because we are deeply loved, highly blessed, greatly favored, hence we don't have to work. Some even said that work is of the flesh! It is better to let go and let God!".

Actually, we all want to hear what we want to hear ... just give me the blessings without the hard work; the shortcut to riches without the efforts and challenges.

It may be a good time to look at the theology of work and the blessings of hard but joyful work.

1. The Theology of Work:

• Work is Fun. Hard work is even greater fun.
  We need to differentiate 
1. the use of energy in working, 
2. from the emotion work stress and worry in work, and 
3. the output and outcome of the work.
4. the environment where in the work take place (the 6M).
   
   I used to share that I am so blessed that my company pays me a lot to enjoy myself. It is in fact that I enjoy my work that I am able to work hard and long and produces productive and good work that I was rewarded for.
   
• Work is Worship.
  In Hebrew, work and worship come from the same root word - Avodah meaning to work or to serve. Our good work reflects and shows forth the glory of God. God is glorified in our good work. 
• Work is Meaningful
  Our unique calling as in Eph 2:10 gives us meaning to work (Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.) See  You are a Masterpiece Created in Christ
• Work comes before Adam's sin.
  God asked Adam in Gen 1:28 to manage the world, to tend the garden(Gen 2:15 ...put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it) , name the animals(Gen 2:19)  before Adam sinned in Gen 3 and the curse on the ground that follows (Gen 3:17b the ground shall be cursed because of you; you shall eat of it in sorrow all the days of your life.). It is sinning that brings the curse of stress into work. Salvation brings the stress out of work but does not eliminate the work. Eph 2:10, we are saved for good work.

2. Matthew 6 Does not teach us not to work but Not to Worry.
It does not teach us not to plan (Jesus told us to count the costs) but not to worry. While the birds don't plant, they have to hunt for food. There are hunters and farmers in the ancient world. Now we have farmers, manufacturers, business and other kinds of services providers.

Many people are thankful for the contracts won and consider those as blessings of God. But we must watch out and not any good start of blessings to turn into curses. Winning big contracts are good start. But we do know of many companies, big and small, make big losses on big contracts won. It takes hard work and smartness to deliver the big contracts won to make big profits. Only then, can we be confident that they are blessings. Otherwise, it could just as well be devil's traps to sink us!

3. Biblical teaching is about the blessings of diligence and curses of laziness. 

Paul has a strong teaching on this as in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.". 

Proverbs has many verses on diligence and laziness. See the mind-map below:

4. It is all about Stress-Free & Meaningful Hard Work to Glorify God through Us

In Gen 3:17b cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 

There are two parts: 

1. curse on the ground and 
2. the pain to get food from the ground.

In Romans 8:19-21  "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.  (20)  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope  (21)  that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.", we see that the curse on the ground is still on.

So what is remove must then be the pain of working the ground.

We must clearly see that our salvation from God has not be completed until the 2nd Coming of Christ and the creation of New Heaven and New Earth. Nevertheless, we are re-born as New Creation (2Cor5;17) from the inside, the inner man. The new inner man needs to grow up and overcome the old man as in Romans 12:1-2  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  (2)  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

So the stress, the worry, and the pains of hard work are removed by the Grace of God that we may find great joy, fun and the energy to work hard and long, the wisdom to work productively, producing excellent work for the glory of God through the inner man in Christ.

Hope to clarify and prevent misunderstanding ....

Lim Liat (c) 16 May 2013

Right or Wrong - The Moral Standard According to Ancient Chinese

For  Ancient Chinese, the moral standard of right or wrong is determined not by man but by God as revealed in the created order of heaven and earth. It can be seen in the ancient writings like i-Ching and more obviously in idiom, such as "天经地义" which is presented here.

For something that is fundamentally so right and obvious, the Chinese has an idiom "天经地义" (translated, God's or Heaven's Way and Earth's Rightness) to describe it. It is taken from a history book   左传 written around BC 350 The Warring Period, documenting the Chinese history of BC 722-468. It shows the source of Ancient Chinese Moral Standard.

Unlike Adam (who rebelled against God by taking the forbidden fruit to want to be his own god, see Knowledge Tree of Good and Evil ...), and modern and post-modern men who think right or wrong is situational and relative to be determined by man, the Ancient Chinese let God be the absolute moral standard and consider His laws as revealed in the creation order of heaven and earth as the commandments to be followed by all men.

If we look up a Chinese Dictionary for the idiom, we will get the following definition and explanation:


天经1地义2 （天經地義）

1. 经：规范，原则；Norms, Principles
2. 义：正理。correct principle or valid reason or plain truth

Explanation:
天地间历久不变的常道。
The unchanging principles or pathways within heaven and earth.
指绝对正确，不能改变的道理。
Referring to absolutely correct, cannot be changed principle or rationale.
也指理所当然的事。
Referring to a matter of course. i.e. it should be so.

Source: 《左传·昭公二十五年》：“夫礼，天之经也，地之义也，民之行也。”
The way to behave, the ritual, ( 礼) is from the principles of heaven and of earth, the ways that people should walk in.

Synonyms:
理所当然 - as the matter of course
千真万确 - absolutely true and correct.

Antonyms: 天理难容 - Heaven/God cannot tolerate it.
岂有此理 - Outrageous

Hence, we can see that Ancient Chinese were God fearing and God's laws abiding people. They also seems to have the concept of repentance and sacrifices to the God of Heaven as seen in their history and even many buildings and layouts that still exist today. For example see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Heaven. 

Meditations on Easter - Understand & Live Out What Jesus has done

God's love for us in action is the accomplishment of Jesus' death for our sins and His resurrection for our new life. Jesus' resurrection shows that death has been defeated and we all can have the new life in Him. Our response to such great love is not just merely saying we love Him but to truly understand and live out what Jesus has accomplished for us. That is to know that we are bought and we are His forever  that in living, we live to Him and in dying, we die unto Him. Our lives are no longer our own but to live to glorify God through good works empowered by Him.

On Good Friday, Jesus paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross for us. That was part 1 of God's love for us. If Jesus merely paid the debt for our sins, then His work was only half done. His payment for our sins could just be a license for us to continue in our sins without the fear of punishments. 

The total work of salvation is only completed on Easter Morning when Jesus was raised from the death to take on the new life that He gives to everyone who receive Him. With this new life of rebirth, we are then empowered to live the life that we should - the godly life that we are created for. Grace is not just forgiveness but also power of God to live out the new life. 

Here is the mind-map that summarized the meditations for Easter Morning - The Great News of Victory over Death and the New Life of and in Christ for every believers.

1. Our Response to God's Love is not simply to love God back but to fully understand His accomplishments for us and to Live Out the things that Christ has obtained for us.

2. To know that now we are truly His and we live and die unto Him. We should be able to say with Paul that for me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. There is no fear in our living because dying brings us to a better place.

3. We are no longer our own but we are bought with a price. Our purpose of life is no longer to serve man but to serve God, to glorify God in our body and spirit, through the good works of His empowerment.

4. The way to live is then best summarized by Paul in Gal 2:20....

     My old life is crucified with Christ on the cross;

     The life that I now live in the flesh is by faith and of the faith given by Christ.

5. I am confident of my future too in Christ as in:

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” ― Jim Elliot

May we live this life well and die well in the Lord and for the Lord.

Lim Liat (C) 31 March 2013

Chinese New Year Yu-Sheng and the Aaronic Blessings

The Yu-Sheng dish is a great opportunity for us to get together and proclaim blessings on one another. The process is called Lo Hei, mixing and bringing up the best wishes and blessings. Here is the list in the order of the serving and blessings. It matches well with the Aaronic Blessings and hence for believers, consider using the Aaronic Blessings as well when you next partake in this dish.

In this 2013 Chinese New Year period, most of us would have partaken at least four to five times in this recent invention of "Yu Sheng" 鱼生 Dish. It is a dish of blessings that we enjoy together with our family, in-laws, colleagues, friends, and business partners throughout these fifteen days. There are a particular order and protocols for serving this dish. As each ingredient is added, a word of blessing is pronounced and finally ends with everyone putting their chopsticks and mixing up and stirring up the ingredients as high as possible signifying the height of great blessings.

This reunion type of lunch or dinner reminds me of believers' holy communion as well. I have always tried to see if we can relate Chinese blessings to biblical blessings as well. The blessings are like the Benedictions of a Church Service. So most of the benedictions can be considered. I also try to search for the relevant biblical verses. Eventually, I found that the Aaronic Blessings of Numbers 6:22-24 shockingly matched the Chinese Blessings, 6 parts blessings to the 6 ingredients to be added to the main salad. Here is the mind map giving the details.

For the final blessing, I think it is good that we give thanks to the Lord God, our Heavenly Father, the source, and giver of all our blessings.

So, in your next Yu-Sheng together, besides the Chinese Blessings, maybe you can consider reciting the Aaronic Blessings as well, especially if you are with believers.

For this Chinese New Year,
  May the Lord 1 bless you and 2 keep you.
  May He 3 make His face shine upon you that you may know his great treasures for you,
                4 be gracious to you putting your life in order and beauty.
  May He 5 turn His face towards you and receive you fully
                6 and give you peace and wholeness of health, wealth, and relationships.
  May His Name and His Kingdom be exalted forever.

Lim Liat (c) 19 Feb 2013

《Updated 1 Feb 2016》
Here is the shortened version of Aaronic Blessings on Yu Sheng Preparation:

Yu Seng is the Aaronic Blessings. See http://christianity-rediscovered.blogspot.sg/2013/02/chinese-new-year-yu-sheng-and-aaronic.html

1 Squeeze Lime on the raw fish and say 大吉大利
The Lord bless you with great fortunes and profits - Num 6:24a

2 Put the fish on the main plate and say 年年有鱼
The Lord keeps you always with having fish to eat &
guard you with a hedge of protection - Num 6:24b

3 Put in the peanuts, and sesame seeds, and say 五福临门  (长寿, 富贵, 康宁, 好德, 善终)
The Lord makes His face shine upon you with blessings that come like the sands of the beaches and the stars of the sky. - Num 6:25a

4 Sprinkle the pepper & spies power & say 招财进宝
and bring in the wealth and precious treasures.
(Some versions use 鸿运当头 Great Fortunes are pouring down on your head.)

5 Pour in the oil and say 顺顺利利
The Lord be gracious to you making sure all goes well with you - Num 6:25b

6 Pour in the sweet sauce and say 甜甜蜜蜜
The Lord turns His face toward you to have intimate relationships with you and that all your relationships may be sweet - Num 6:26a

7 Spread the crackers and say 满地黄金
The Lord gives you shalom peace of abundance everywhere - Num 6:26b.

8 Everyone stirs up the ingredients resulting in 风生水起 (the wind blows and the water is stirred up meaning all things start to grow and make progress) and says 恭喜发财 "wishing all great joy and riches."
Praise the Lord. "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever" Mat 6:13
For you are our glory and joy. 1Th_2:20

The Essence of Christianity - Reflection in Chinese New Year 2013

Chinese New Year is an annual reminder for us to clean the house, pay our depths, close the past nicely and prepare to welcome the new. A key verse is 辞旧迎新 （ or 送旧迎新 or 弃旧迎新）translated as sending off the old and welcoming the new. The old badness is hopefully replaced by the new goodness. But with time, the new will decay to old and we repeat this cycle of life.  It will be great if the new will remain and we add newness yearly breaking free from this vicious circle to a greater height of newer life.  But the Spring of the new year is the abundant growth of new lives. The lifeless winter is replaced by the life of spring, hinting to us the possibility of new life. Giving New Life to remove the lifeless and badness is the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The essence of Christianity is best captured in the quote "Jesus did not come into this world to make bad people good. He came to make dead people live!" preached by many famous preachers. We will benefit much by meditating on it.

Here is a mind-map:

1. Not about Making Bad Men Good
This is the differentiating factor of Christianity from all other religions. Religions, in general, teach a set of codes for good conduct and men shall be saved by following the codes. Another form is a summation of good works minus the bad works to give a positive result that qualifies one to enter heaven. But Christianity is gutsy enough to face the fact that while men are created in the image of God with goodness and greatness within, men still suffer from this great sin of wanting to be his own God and wanting to define their own standard of right and wrong. When men could not be right, they legalize it to be right! e.g. abortion. It is in fact because of man's ability to be good that we over qualify ourselves thinking that we are not that bad after all. Paul recognized this righteousness from his flesh is nothing but dung. Philippians 3:8. 
Calvin said that men are so bad that they will not know to seek God. It is by the grace of God that we realize our badness to seek for God. The hope is then not on man to try to be good but to realize man's hopelessness to save himself. The goodness of man is a stumbling block of self-righteousness. The better we become, the more self-righteous and godlessness we become!

2 Making Dead Man Alive!
The solution to man's problem is a transformation of rebirth by the Holy Spirit, and to acknowledge and receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (John 3:16-18). Our decaying body is but a simple and sure proof that we are in fact dying and will one day be fully dead. Rom 8:19-22 tells us that the whole creation is 'groaneth and travaileth in pain' waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God.

The needed strengths for the new life comes from God through His Spirit and not of our flesh.

See Flesh vs Spirit - Flesh is Not Body by Mapping Rom 8.

May your Chinese New Year be filled with the truly New Life.

 See also Eat, Drink & Enjoy - A Reflection on Sunday's Chinese New Year ...