A Little Concern

There is an air of expectation in the political environment in our land. It is as though the whole nation is holding its breath to see what happens tomorrow. Some are a little concerned as to whether the change, if it does happen, would be good, smooth sailing and incident free. Others, to be on the safe side, are stocking up. Whatever it is, tomorrow may just be a non-event i.e. "business as usual".

However, that is the name of the game. The saying goes : "It's always darkest before the dawn". I sense that we at at the threshold of a new era. An era where we will be one step closer to realising the dream of a truly Bangsa Malaysia. We may be a little concerned while others have much to be concerned about because it affects their "rice bowl" and "golden goose"

The future can be a scary place. The unknown can be overwhelming, especially when the known has so many struggles. Nevertheless, as God-fearing Christians, we can depend on God's promise of help - regardless of what trouble the world will be in. God said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13 : 5). And Jesus said, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28 : 20). Those are great promises to depend on when we start to worry about what the future holds, whether it is ours or the next generation's.

We may not know who will be the next PM yet, or what the future holds but we can trust in the One who holds the future. Peace to all !

Anwar Ibrahim as PM on September 16 ?

It seems to be a never ending topic that people are talking about these days. Will Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim (DSAI) really have enough MPs to cross over to Pakatan Rakyat and will he be the next Prime Minister ? Whether it happens or not, it is just a mere 9 days more before the deadline is up and in the words of a renowned politician : "One week is a long time in politics".

So, as responsible citizens, do we just sit and wait ? My recommendation for all of us is : "Be watchful and pray". We need to pray like never before. To see change, we must prepare for change and there will be resistance to change and it can take any form. The more the current ruling party thinks their ship is "sinking", the more the resistance to this change will be.

Whether DSAI pulls it off as our 6th Prime Minister or not, let us pray that peace will continue to prevail in the country. May the transition (if it really happens) be smooth with just an audience with the King and the dissolution of Parliament and the immediate swearing in of the new PM and his Cabinet. May it be swift and without resistance or untoward incidents, etc. This we can hope and pray and when DSAI does really become the PM, may we pray that Pakatan Rakyat will truly bring forth a change that ALL of us will be proud to be called : "BANGSA MALAYSIA".

MALAYSIA BOLEH !

Free Apple iPod Touch ?

Last week, I received an invitation to attend a complimentary seminar on Data Governance and advances of Data Management by a renowned IT Solution Vendor with a catchy statement thrown in the invitation : "Free Apple iPod Touch for attendees". Thinking that this was too good to be true, I called up the organisers and asked whether each attendee will really get an iPod Touch for free.

An Indian gentleman on the line replied : "Yes, sir. You will get a free iPod Touch when you attend but it will be by lucky draw." So I asked him : "How many iPods are up for grabs ?" And he replied : "Hold on, sir, let me check (sound of chattering...) Only one is for lucky draw, sir." I said thank you and was wondering how could one advertise something as free when it is by lucky draw. So, in essence, there is no such thing as a "free lunch". You have to endure hours of boring speeches and lectures/workshops before the "lucky draw". Forget it !

This really is nothing but a marketing gimmick to get people to attend the seminar. When our Lord Jesus Christ offer us the free gift of salvation, it is really FREE for the believer although it costs God His only begotten Son's life ! The Bible says in John 3 : 16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." For the believer, all we need to do (no payment on our part) is to just believe and confess our sins. The price for our sins has been paid by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you have seen the show "Passion" directed by Mel Gibson, you will then know why the whole show is so "bloody" and there was a scene where Jesus' mother used a cloth to wipe His blood because it is indeed His precious blood poured out for the remission of our sins. If you want this TRUE FREE GIFT, all you need to do is to accept the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart. This is no gimmick, it is truly an invitation to the FREE GIFT OF SALVATION with the price PAID IN FULL by the Lord Jesus Christ ! Would you say "Yes" to this free gift of eternal life ?

Keeping Your Focus When Your Dreams Are Shattered

This Sunday (7/9/08), I will resume leading a class in my church on "Precept-Upon-Precept" where we will learn about my favourite character in the Bible i.e. Joseph the Dreamer. The story of Joseph appeals so much to me because in many ways, I too am a "dreamer" as are many of us out there. Even Martin Luther King has a dream for America which started the "equal rights" movement where all U.S. citizens irrespective of colour or creed are to be accorded equal rights.

Like Joseph, God has spoken to me via dreams quite a few times before. I dreamt who my future wife will be and God even showed me in a dream how my father-in-law would die (he slipped and fell in hospital) and in his last moments, we managed to share the Gospel with him and he went into eternity accepting Jesus as his Saviour. You see, God gives us dreams for a purpose and it can range from confirmation of some future event, a warning, an instruction we are to follow, etc.

Some of us have dreams that could have been shattered and we ask God : "Why Lord ? Why is the realisation of this dream not forthcoming ? How long more ? " This must have been the cry of Joseph when from being the favourite child, he was sold as a slave to Egypt. He was then bought by an Egyptian officer named Potiphar and was made overseer over his household. He was then accused wrongly and thrown in jail but even there was made to be in charge of the prisoners. He was left there for 2 years but was made Prime Minister when he was able to interpret Pharoah's dreams.

In many ways we too can prayerfully consider how we can relate the events of Joseph's life to our own. In Romans 15 : 4 we read that : "whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." Despite the seemingly non-fulfillment of Joseph's dreams, he never lose focus but continued to trust in the God Who has seen him through so many circumstances. May we learn from Joseph to keep our focus on God when our dreams seem to have been shattered. Hang in there, He will carry you !