Sign of Jonah

A beloved brother spoke about Jonah on the pulpit this morning - how the prophet of God turned from Resistance to Remembrance, then from Repentance to Relevance. He jokingly (though rightly) points out how we often run away from God, resisting His will for our lives - especially when He calls us to difficult endeavours, for example, witnessing to ISIS.

As a newsman, he'd have done his homework, but the depth of his passing remark might have been missed by many.

The fact is that ISIS has now taken Mosul as its capital. Mosul was Nineveh, and Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire. Tradition holds it that Jonah was buried in Nineveh - and when ISIS took over Mosul, they destroyed his tomb. The Assyrians were pioneers of terrorism. Burning people alive, beheading, impaling bodies and displaying them publicly - oh sounds so familiar! Did you really think there was anything new under the sun? I hope that makes it clear why Jonah ran away. It was not a matter of wilfulness. It was fear!

Jonah feared for his life! Why would God ask any man to go speak with some of the most violent and merciless men in the world? People whose hearts have been hardened by warfare and blood - of what use is it to speak with such men? So you must imagine Jonah's shock, revulsion and despondency to have received such an impossible mission - it is in every sense, a suicide.

More than 150 years after Jonah's preaching had turned around Nineveh, the people of Nineveh returned to their wicked ways - so then a dog returns to its vomit. By the time of the prophet Nahum, it was again a "city of bloodshed".

So then, when the Lord Jesus says, "an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah" - it comes extremely loaded. Jesus explains the literal meaning in the subsequent verses - how he, like Jonah, will be in the belly for 3 days and 3 nights, and rise again. Like Jonah who was sent to men of violence, so was Jesus sent to men of violence. Jonah preached to hardened hearts, and people came to repentance - so likewise, Jesus came and preached to hardened hearts, and people came to repentance. But that's where it stops. God delivered a sulking Jonah from the hands of violent men and revealed to Jonah His heart of mercy even unto those who were undeserving; but when it came to His own Son, who came willingly for the undeserving - God did not spare him.

Jonah's name means "dove". When Jesus said, no sign but "the sign of the prophet Jonah" - did He also mean the sign of the dove? Did not the Holy Spirit descend like a dove on Him when He was baptised? Was not a sign already given and no one believed?

In our generation, the sign of Jonah (the Holy Spirit) was given, and I can only pray this generation receives it before the day that must come, when the Son of Man returns on this earth, and all these will be suddenly clear, all hearts will believe, all knees will bow and all tongues will confess, He is Lord.

Passing of an era

I awoke in a fluster on Monday morning, 4.30AM. It was pitch dark and raining lightly outside. My breathing was heavy and I was disoriented. It took me a while to focus and get back to bed. However, my sleep was disturbed and as dawn approached, I gingerly got off the bed, unable to bear the inexplicable sense of heaviness.

Then as I began reading the flurry of messages off my phone, I realized Mr Lee Kuan Yew had passed on. For the next several minutes, I knelt by myself in the living room in the tranquility of the morning, praying and trying to sort out what it was that I felt. My eyes teared as I lifted my prayer. 

Like many Singaporeans, my family and I joined the queue to pay or final respect to Mr Lee at the Parliament House. No queue was too long, no sun was too hot, no rain was too heavy, no wait was too inconvenient for the man who dedicated more than 60 years of his life to build this country we call home.

As the week of mourning went on, I was pensive - taking in all the eulogies that poured forth from near and far, from friends and strangers; observing the groundswell of emotion from supporters and detractors alike. It was heartrending in many ways, and I was struggling to put to words the depth of emotion that was stirring inside.

I saw the Singapore spirit revived - the camaraderie that galvanized the nation when it was birthed in the 60s. I saw a people who cared, and thought beyond themselves. I saw the determination that made Singapore great.

I also saw Mr Lee's unfinished work - the unsightly trail of empty bottles and packaging when the trash bin is not far away. I saw people joining the priority queue who were neither old nor handicapped. 

But what worried me most, was the unthankfulness I saw. In mild cases, it was a casting of doubt on the nature of Mr Lee's achievements and motivations, not so much a denial of Mr Lee's contributions. In other cases, it was beyond contempt and disdain - as exemplified by the incredibly haughty Amos Yee - which brings to mind Apostle Paul's warning that in the end times, we will find people who will be lovers of themselves, boastful, proud, blasphemers, ungrateful, slanderers, without self-control, reckless, and swollen with self-conceit. Yet there are many Amos Yees, just less vitriolic.

Make no mistake about it - many young people, who have barely lived life and known suffering, do what they do, and say what they say, because their parents have either imbued this hatred or simply failed to guide them. While some pity Amos Yee's parents for having an offspring as him, I do not pity them as much as I pity him - for he is a product of his environment.

As Mr Lee's wake comes to a close, I begin to realize that what saddens me, is the ending of an era - an era where men lived for a cause. In that era, men were greater because of the vision they carried. 

In that era, it was not a fight for the material things of this world as much as it was a battle of ideology, a battle for the minds of men. It was about the organization of society - whether Marxism, Communism, Socialism, or Democracy. It was a fight for human equality - to advance irregardless of race, language or religion. It was a fight for truth - to see it materialized in society. 

In that era, it was romantic. It was a time of living dangerously. It was the era of Churchill, Hitler, Stalin, Gandhi, Nehru, Sukarno, Ho Chi Minh, Mao Tse Dong, Pol Pot, Mandela - all these people, even if history has judged them as villains, they lived with a cause. 

That era is passing and coming to a close. An era where men fought for what they held to be truth, where they fought for their values and vision. That era is now passing. What do we fight for today? What is the purpose of our labor? If our labor and our energies are directed to mere material gain, we would have lost it.

I am saddened by the departure of a great man, but perhaps more so, I am saddened that an era is passing and coming to a close - an era where men could be greater because they fought not for greater wealth but for higher truths, hard as they may be.

May we continue to fight for truth, to strive for righteousness, with the same tenacity and passion as Mr Lee's.

  

What is "God's glory"?

No man can fully describe the glory of God. Yet for those who know it, it is only in part, darkly through a glass, and we desire the day we shall see the King of Glory face to face, knowing Him even as we are known.

Explaining the glory of God is a near impossible task, for His glory is not only multi-faceted, it is infinite in its manifestations. It is in all creation, both visible and invisible. 

Scripture tells of God's visible glory being revealed to Moses, of His glory accompanying the children of Israel as they traversed the wilderness.  

We can also see His glory as we gaze upon the stars -- their multitude (and yet He knows them by name), their scale (and yet He is greater) and their majesty (and yet it is only a pale reflection of His own majesty). For indeed, the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows forth his handiwork. 

Not only in the heavens, but the whole earth is full of His glory. There are the visible aspects of His glory - the beauty which we can behold. There are also the invisible aspects of His glory - the intelligence that weaves together everything - from the most minute particle to the greatest inter-stellar formations; the wisdom that sets all things in harmony. While the perfection in the unseen design of Creation is not perceived by the eye, it is perceived by the mind. 

There are also many other aspects of the created order which are His glory. The prophet Isaiah cries out, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory". His Holiness is also an aspect of His glory. For He is set apart - He is unlike any other - He is in a class of His own. 

Man is created to reflect the glory of God - for we are designed in His image. In ourselves is the glory of God. Every human being reflects the glory of God - even in his fallen state. We have been made "a little lower than the angels" and yet God has crowned us "with glory and honour", and been set over the works of His hands. 

Man is unique in all of God's creation because he has a spirit. While all creation reflects the glory of God, only man can emanate a different kind of glory. When man obeys and is in a relationship with the living God, he multiplies the glory of God, like nothing else can.

Man is made for glory -- His glory. We glorify God by our will and action. When we are saved, and confess the Lord Jesus, there is glory. When we choose to walk in obedience, there is glory. When our children love God, there is glory. When we love one another, there is glory. When we suffer for righteousness' sake, there is glory.

As we behold the glory of God, let us also be changed, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord.

Little Children

Elizabeth, my three year-old tot, came up beside me and patted me on the arm to get my attention. Then she made a preposterous request.

"Daddy, can I have 10 sweets?" she asked, raising all ten fingers. 

"No," I fired back.

She did not seem to hear me and continued to press on like a good telemarketer, "Can I have 10 sweets, please!"

"No," I said again, not losing my patience, but a little amused how she thought she could get away with 10 sweets when I usually deny her even two.

"But I really want", she went on - and soon, it graduated to "But I really really want", and ending with a crescendo of "But I really really want it NOW".

Elizabeth eventually settled for two, and she went away with great joy, having got what she wanted.

Here is an example of childish and childlike faith at work. Childish because she was not asking for things of the father, but her own. Things which gave her pleasure, but may or may not have been good for her. Childlike because she is comfortable approaching the father to ask for anything she wants, and even when denied, continues to press on until it is given to her.

Many believers of Jesus Christ remain little children. They remain both childish and childlike.

Childish because they ask not for things of the father, but their own. A Ferrari, Bentley, Jaguar or perhaps a more modest BMW. A GCB along Dempsey, a penthouse on Grange Road, or perhaps a more modest condominium along East Coast. Becoming an MD, CEO or SVP, or perhaps a more modest GM. For their children to top the nation, school, or class, or perhaps more modestly, just to pass. Things which give them pleasure, but may or may not have been good for them.

They do not ask first for the wisdom that is worth more than silver, bringing more profit than gold, that is more precious than rubies and nothing can equal it. They do not seek this wisdom, which God has promised to give liberally to all who should ask, but instead seek their own things which they do not know if God would even answer. 

Childlike because they are comfortable approaching the throne of grace with all boldness to ask for anything they want. Even if the Father has said "no", they do not seem to hear it and continue to press on like a good telemarketer. They will ask for it again and again tirelessly, and with greater intensity until it becomes almost heartbreaking.

While God is pleased with childlike faith, He will enjoy it more when His children are asking for things on His heart. He is probably amused at some of the things His children ask for, and hopes that they will grow up one day. Children hear only what they want. They do not hear "the love of money is the root of all evil", "godliness with contentment is great gain", but they do hear "God wants to bless you". 

Let us walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, and examine the contents of our prayers. Do we pray and ask for our things or His?

Under-rested

There are many genuinely overworked people, but most people are not so much over-worked as they are under-rested.

I have heard many a gung-ho manager dismiss the idea of work-life balance, and I can empathize with the disdain to some extent. For some, it is an amorphous idea spawned by lazy smart alecks who have a disproportionate sense of entitlement - bummers who want to get away with minimal work and yet enjoy all the benefits made possible by those who toil. For others, it is a ploy of the devil - after all, it is "unbiblical" - God rested only one day on Sabbath. Nowhere in Scripture do we see the call for 5 days of work, or 4 days of work. Working less than 6 days is already a form of "concession". 

There is a fundamental misrecognition of work. "Work" - as in work that generates income - has become so large a part of modern life, it has become the protagonist of modern living. We live in a fundamentally work-centric society - so much so that we perceive of our lives as between "work" in the marketplace and "life" in the private spheres, and that they are anti-thetical to each other. We think as if none of "life" constitutes work.

When we pay a bill, buy our groceries, send our kids for class - it is work, not rest.

Do you wonder why you are tired on a Saturday off-day? Notwithstanding the lack of sleep and rest, Singaporeans actually work a lot on Saturdays and Sundays - catching up on personal and family matters that they have postponed during the weekdays. We end up fighting the crowds for a parking lot, queueing for our hair cut, navigating an overloaded shopping cart through the supermarket maze, chasing our kids to finish homework. All these are work, not rest - the form and purpose of such work is different, but that does not change its very nature. It is a mere change of location and goal, but it is work. We work on our finances, our children, our parents, and our house. 

So, are we really resting? Rest is ceasing from work - and that includes work for personal and family matters. When God calls us to Sabbath, we are to do no work - not even lighting a fire! If we bear this standard in mind, it is not difficult to see how even a 4-day work week does not necessarily help us become rested if we do not purpose ourselves to rest. Let's be honest - how often do you take a holiday and are not rested (especially if you travel with children). 

Most people work seven days and do not know it, and wonder why they are tired. Are you under-rested?

The Red Heifer

Two weeks ago, the Temple Institute publicly confirmed for the first time with video footage that they have found (and taken) a red heifer.

It was "a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke" - all in accordance to Numbers 19. To many, it was a nondescript event; but to those waiting for the re-building of the Third Temple and prophecy watchers, it is perhaps one of the most exciting confirmation where we are on God's timeline. After all, Israel hasn't had a red heifer for almost two thousand years and a pure red heifer is a rare anomaly. 

The red heifer is a picture of Christ - perfect and without blemish - who was slain "outside the camp", and through his death (ashes) comes the "purification for sin". So important was this ritual, God said "it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever".

Without the red heifer, there is no purification of sin - and Temple Service cannot re-commence. The Temple Institute has re-created virtually all that is necessary for Temple Service - the priestly garments, the Menorah, the incense and even the blue-print for the Temple; Levites are being trained to serve in the coming temple. Even now, they have "enough people" to man the temple. 

More than 800 years ago, while the Jews were yet scattered, Maimonides (a revered Jewish rabbi) taught that the coming (tenth) red heifer "will be accomplished by the King, the Messiah". The Jews are excited, because it is confirming that God is dealing with Israel again. The dry bones have come alive, many have been gathered from the four winds, the desert is blooming, the former and latter rains have returned, and now, the heifer is come - only the re-building of the Temple is left. God is preparing His people - and they are about to cry out, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord", and great is their desire.

Let's pray along for Israel and Jerusalem. Exciting things will be unfolding this year and next, and we, of all generations, have a front-row view as prophecy unfolds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byAoFbA6cr8

Barbs

Struthof was the only concentration camp the Nazis operated on French soil and remains a solemn reminder of the Holocaust and its brutal insanity. 

As we walked the camp, I could not help noticing the trees lining the paths. These were trees of old - I could tell because the bark has formed over the rusty barbed wire that ran through them. Almost immediately, I was caught by the power of this haunting image. 

We are like trees, and the barbed wires are the hurts inflicted on us over time. From time to time, some barbs hurt us really deep, and eat into us. They not only leave their mark, but literally become part of us.

Often, we gloss over these barbs, rationalizing that "it's no big deal", and as time passes, we begin to heal, and get over these unpleasant moments of our lives. The wounds, the pain, the rust, the unforgiveness are all swept under. We appear to have healed - new bark has grown over where the puncture was. On the surface, everything looks fine - but the reality is that, the barb is now inside us. 

Should anyone tug the barbed wire (whether intentionally or unintentionally), they pull at the barb within us, and the pain becomes excruciating. If any one attempts to pull the wire out, it will destroy a good part of ourselves. All the bark that had grown over would be torn open again. The clean-up will be messy. 

It is certainly easier to have treated the wound years ago when it was yet fresh. The longer we leave it, the more difficult it is to be completely healed. If any one needs to be forgiven, forgive them today.