Workplace Witnessing (Part X)

The Effects of Daniel's Workplace Witnessing

Nebuchadnezzar praising God. Daniel 3:28-30, 4:34-37
Darius praising God. Daniel 6:19-20, 26-27
Daniel's services were retained by the new Persian ruler, Cyrus the Great, and he probably played a part in persuading Cyrus to allow the Jews to return from exile to their native land of Judah.

The Pseudepigrapha

The Pseudepigrapha or False writings are writings whose authors fake other famous authors' names. e.g. include famous author names from the OT/NT. The aim is to let the work have more influence in the christianity circle.

Though like the Apocrypha, not in the canon yet has remained as the works of the early Christian church, but what's different with the Apocrypha is that its authority is below that of the Apocrypha. If we say that the Apocrypha is a reference to faith, devotion or doctrine related materials, then the Pseudepigrapha is just a religious literary work.

There are a huge quantity of such books. They were authored between 200 BC - 200 AD. What is worth mentioning is that the NT authors have used a portion of the Apocrypha. E.g., Jude 14 "It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying,“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, "


The Pseudepigrapha is not a devils' bible or heresy. They are literary works popular during the early christian church.

What Are The Apocrypha?

The term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical".

The Hebrew bible does not include the apocrypha, but it was preserved in the Septuagint, which is the Greek O.T.

Though in the times of Jesus and the apostles, the most popular version of the OT is the Septuagint, however, authors of the NT did not refer to the apocrypha books in it.

However, in the 4-5th century, many church fathers like Gregory of Nazianzus started to suspect the canonizing of these books. Jerome, accepted only the Hebrew bible books to be the canon. He felt that it was necessary to distinguish the books of the Hebrew bible and the other books. Thus, he started using the term 'Apocrypha' to refer to the books not canonized into the Hebrew bible. The Latin bible which edited, Vulgate did not include the Apocrypha books in the bible. because of Jerome, the churches of the middle ages suspected the legality of the apocrypha.

In the 16th century, in the council of trent, 1546 by the RCs, they announced the apocrypha had authority and included them into the canon, thus which became the RC bible of the Deuterocanonical books. The Protestants however denied the canon of the Apocrypha. Thus, the Christian OT has 39 books (same as Judaism) and the RC, 46 books in the OT.

However, Martin Luther when he was translated the German bible, included the Apocrypha books and included in his preface, that reading the Apocrypha has its benefits. But he did not place them on the same level of authority. In England, later, initally the apocrypha was included but then, the Puritans after it gained strength, pointed out in the Westminster Confession that the Apocrypha is just the work of man, and it cannot be placed on the same authority as the bible. This was accepted widely by the Protestants.

How Did We Get The New Testament?

Formation of the New Testament

The formation of the N.T. went through a long period as well. The four gospels as well as the 13 epistles of Paul were affirmed in about 130 AD by the church as having sacred authority scriptures. About AD170-220, they had the same authority as the OT canon. The rest of the NT books were canonized later. Amongst them which stirred greatest controversy were Hebrews, Jude, 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation.

On the other hand, there were other works which were earlier recognized as having authority but later not canonized. E.g. Epistle of Barnabas and Shepherd of Hermas.

The earliest church NT list of titles was written in AD367 by Athanasius titled, the 'Festal Epistle'. The order in which he wrote was, the Gospels, Acts, Major letters, Pauline letters, Revelation. In AD 397, north africa in a meeting, they decided that the 27 books listed by Athanasius to be the canon which we have today.

After the 16th century, the Protestant church (新教／更正教) had a meeting and affirmed the 66 books of the NT, OT canon. The Roman Catholics in 1546 in the council of trent added seven more books into the canon. Thus, the RC's canon became 73 books. The eastern orthodox church in 1672 added 14/15 books in their canon which made their canon 80/81 books.

We have to note that this does not mean that the books were decided to be in the canon by these meetings, e.g. Jewish meetings, the Synod of Jamnia, Catholic Church, Carthage Meeting, because man has no ability to decide or judge which books' content are God's Words. Rather, the Holy Spirit led the Jewish rabbis to understand which books ought to be in the OT canon. Similarly, the Holy Spirit led the early church to understand which books's content were the word of God. God revealed His word to some Christian authors, and through their writings, presented the Word of God in written form.

Thus, before the period of Athanasius, various churches already knew and recognized which books were deemed to have authority. This is because they were moved by the same Spirit. Only till the 4th century, when the church met with heresies that the church decided in AD 397 to be the canon. The rest of the meetings similarly were just to re-affirmed what was already recognized to be the canon in the believers circle.

How Did We Get The Old Testament Bible?

The formation of scriptures into the bible we have today is termed as the 'canon'. Its original meaning is the carpenter's ruler or measuring tool. Later, this term came to mean 'standard'. In Christianity, the term canon came to mean holy scriptures which have absolute authority and is the highest standard of the faith.

The formation of the bible did not happen in an instance nor was did it dropped from heaven. Its was formed through a period of time. It was formed by the Holy Spirit moving through the Christian church. This process is the known as the 'Formation of Canon' or 'Canonical Process'.

Formation of the Old Testament

The Old Testament bible is also known as the Hebrew bible. It is received from Judaism and therefore thought as revealed and completed（达成） through the Jews. "First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God." Romans 3:1-2. Judaism is though of as the medium through which the O.T. canon came.

The Hebrew bible includes three portions. The 'Pentateuch' or 'Torah/Law', 'the Prophets' and the 'Writings.'

The Hebrew bible was formed firstly through oral communication/tradition. Later, the contents of the oral message was written down. The records were consolidated between 8th BC - 3rd BC. The Torah was consolidated around 4th BC. The prophets and writings were consolidated around 5th-3rd BC - 1st AD.

The confirmation of the OT canon began only after the second destruction of the holy temple in 70 AD.  It was done by  the rabbis who confirmed which books belonged to the canon. At the Synod of Jamnia in AD 70, it confirmed the 24 books in the Hebrew bible (??). We should take note, that though the OT was only confirmed then, in actual fact, many of the books were already affirmed by the Jewish community as part of the canon. For e.g., Jesus and the disciples used many O.T. verses and termed these as 'the Writings/Scriptures', Mt 22:29, Mk 12:24, Lk 24:32,45...

Thus, what we have discussed is the last confirmation（确立） of the canon (AD 70) and not to say that that is the date where it was accepted （接受）as the canon.

Essentially, the Rabbis used three principles to decide which book were to be in the canon.

First, it had to be authored before the time of Malachi. It had to be a work completed before 400 BC. This is because the Jewish rabbis felt that because of the disobedience of the Israelites, God's spirit left the Israelites, thus after Malachi, God did not reveal anymore.

Second, the books needed to be authored in Hebrew. A minor portion of text in the Hebrew bible was written in Arabic. The rest were written in Hebrew.

Thirdly, the books needed to be generally affirmed and accepted by the Jews and recognized it as having sacred authority. It also had to have general authority.

Thus, the rabbis chose form large amounts of books, and then affirmed it to be the OT we see today.

Workplace Witnessing (Part IX)

Acknowledge the Source of Strength 宣告智慧的源头

"The king asked Daniel, “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”
Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.“
Daniel 2:26-30



Build Relationships and Conversations. Many people distance themselves from friendships at work. I think Christians should not do that. We should strive to do that. How can we lead someone to Christ when we are not even willing that we be friends with them?

Have conversations during breaks (morning coffee, colleagues, lunch). During such conversations, how do you start to witness? How do I start a discussion? e.g. someone asks you how is your weekend? Oh, i go to church. Have you ever been...In church we learn...

无私的关怀 Care beyond work. This is where sets us apart from non believing workers. Having built a relationship, we can get more in depth conversations and start to see the needs and problems of our colleagues which only God can resolve. We can pray for their need. We can tell them what the bible says of their problems.

Many in the workplace have never known the love of Christ. You might be the only one they ever meet who can introduce them to this love.

Jesus modeled love and service in the marketplace. His ministry was also in the workplace. Of 52 parables Jesus told, 45 had a workplace context. Of 40 divine interventions recorded in Acts, 39 were in the marketplace. He modeled servant leadership and taught his disciples that serving others was the central focus of his life and should be the central focus of their lives as well.

People do not care what you know; they want to know that you care. When you genuinely take an interest in another person in the workplace, you will become a credible person in their eyes. You will stand out among the crowd. Recently I took a phone call from a CEO of a company. The man shared how he was impacted by the TGIF devotionals a family member began sending him. I recognized the man was not a Christian. We began to talk, even though I was pressed for time as I was leaving town that afternoon. The man ultimately prayed to receive Christ over the phone. Later, the man commented on how impressed he was that I took time with him on the phone when I was pressed to get out of town. As a busy executive, this man equated time with love and service to him. That is what the world is looking for.

Workplace Witnessing (Part VIII)

Prayer for self and others

"He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of Heaven concerning this mystery... " Daniel 2:18

在见证主当中，我们要指向人到这一位听祷告的主。他们带着人生的忧虑，重担，罪孽。我们需要进一步的和他们谈话，关怀他们。多了解他们，以致才可以介绍听祷告的主给他们。

我们也要记得我们有了尊君祭司的名份，需要在他们当中代表神，与他们分享主的身份，主的话，并且，为他们祷告。

所以，我们可以和我们的同事一起的祷告。让他们经理到他们可以向这一位神祷告。也鼓励他们给进一步的认识这位神。

分享带领学生与她母亲的见证。他们这么样认识主，就是从一起祷告开始。

Workplace Witnessing (Part VII)

Show Concern for Co-Workers

"The Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends ..." Daniel 2:17

Care beyond work. This is where sets us apart from non believing workers. Having built a relationship, we can get more in depth conversations and start to see the needs and problems of our colleagues which only God can resolve. We can pray for their need. We can tell them what the bible says of their problems.

Many in the workplace have never known the love of Christ. You might be the only one they ever meet who can introduce them to this love. 

Jesus modeled love and service in the marketplace. His ministry was also in the workplace. Of 52 parables Jesus told, 45 had a workplace context. Of 40 divine interventions recorded in Acts, 39 were in the marketplace. He modeled servant leadership and taught his disciples that serving others was the central focus of his life and should be the central focus of their lives as well.

People do not care what you know; they want to know that you care. When you genuinely take an interest in another person in the workplace, you will become a credible person in their eyes. You will stand out among the crowd. Recently I took a phone call from a CEO of a company. The man shared how he was impacted by the TGIF devotionals a family member began sending him. I recognized the man was not a Christian. We began to talk, even though I was pressed for time as I was leaving town that afternoon. The man ultimately prayed to receive Christ over the phone. Later, the man commented on how impressed he was that I took time with him on the phone when I was pressed to get out of town. As a busy executive, this man equated time with love and service to him. That is what the world is looking for.

Workplace Witnessing (Part VI)

Work Excellence - Willingness to Face Problems 

"When Arioch, the commander of the king's guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. He asked the king's office, 'Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?' Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. At this Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him." Daniel 2:14-17

Workplace witnessing involves not running away but facing problems when they arise. When all the wise men were ordered to be executed what was the response for Daniel? He didn't avoid it, he didn't run away from it. He wanted to resolve the problem as long as it is in his means.

He enquired, identified about the problem first by asking Arioch, the commander of the King's guard. Note that he did it with wisdom and tact. He faced the problem head on. Once having identified the problem, he went in to the king!

Though he does not yet know how to resolve, he was willing to face it. To shoulder it. Do we do likewise? We often avoid it when we should face it. We often procrastinate and put it off till it hurts. May we learn from Daniel his willingness to face problems. And we can learn from his wisdom that often when we don't know how to resolve a problem, ASK FOR TIME!

Workplace Witnessing (Part V)

Work Excellence 卓越精神

"In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in the whole kingdom." Daniel 1:20

"Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.” Dan 6:3

在工作，品格上卓越

Workplace witnessing involves excelling in your work and character. Excel in your product or service. Be helpful. Help solve problems. Be a team player （具有团体精神）.

But note that it is not enough to Excel, for even the pagans do that (eg. Japanese) and we might be doing it for ourselves (eg promotion, pay raise). While excelling in our work, we MUST make known our identity that we are Christians (straight telling them, bible on your desk, refrain from pagan practices like 4D, drinking, entertainment). 回到第一点。

And then, we can tell them the reason why we excel is because our God demands excellence, hardwork. He Himself is a God of excellence. Look at His creation!

Character Excellence 品格上卓越

"...tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent." Daniel 6:4

Be trustworthy, not corrupt, not negligent.  It naturally attracts people to you and wonder why you are doing what you are doing. And this is where you can point them to a perfectly righteous, trustworthy God.

Don’t Cut Corners! 不要偷工减料

The reason why we display integrity is because our God is a righteous God of integrity. We love, we help because our God is a loving God who commands us to love our neighbours as ourselves. We should not cut corners. Don’t lie. Don’t take a bribe. Be righteous in your dealings.


I believe Satan’s number one strategy is to defeat Christians in the workplace, make them ineffective in their workplace witness. This is why many cite they would rather not do business with a Christian. 

I believe this trend will change as we become better equipped to see our work as a ministry and calling. We have so segmented our work lives from our faith lives that we have allowed the culture to encourage us that ethics and integrity are not important when compared to the bottom line. That is why we got into the problem with the Enron’s and Worldcom’s of the world. Remember, integrity is defined by what you do when no one is looking.

Workplace Witnessing (Part IV)

Not Compromising Yet Providing Alternative Solutions 

不妥协，却找出和解的办法

"Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." Daniel 1:12-13

The wise Christian worker not only stands resolute in his christian values. Although he knows that he should not compromise his christian values and do anything that might bring God's name to shame, he does not just reject and risks others calling him stubborn, inflexible or cause the work to come to a halt.

We should be wise to provide alternative solutions to co-workers/superiors that still will get the job done yet not compromising our faith. When Daniel was asked to eat the royal food and wine, he refused. However, he provided an alternative solution that he was to be fed vegetables and water to drink and after ten days, compare his appearance with the others.

找出和解的办法需要付代价

Now, coming up with an alternative solution involves wisdom and a price to pay. We have to pray for wisdom to think of these alternatives. We have to also be prepared to pay a heavier price like in the case of Daniel where he had to eat vegetables instead of meat and drink water instead of wine.

When I was in the army, the senior warrant officers would often urge the younger specialists to go with them to KTV lounges during the nights where they would indulge in drinking and women. Often, they lie to their spouses that they are having night training and have a valid excuse to come back late at night. When i was asked to go with them, it was a simple decision for me to make. No. i made a vow to be faithful to my wife and more so to God, to obey His word. So do you think they saw lesser of me just because i didn't go with them?

I worked harder during training, helped them when they needed it, chatted with them on the daily concerns of living, and i believe that i forged a closer and truer bond then those who had gone to the lounges with them. Though these involve paying a price, you have to spend time, effort, but its worth it.

当和解不了。。。你尊容神，神必尊容你

Once in the polytechnic, i was offered a chance to go to MIT on a exchange course for five weeks. I was supposed to learn some best practices there and bring it back to be implemented. However, during that time, my baby was just two months old. Both mother and child needed my support greatly. I wanted to go, get the exposure, but I had to fulfill duty to my wife and child. I tried to think of alternatives. Its not easy sometimes. I wanted to bring them along but it was winter then and it would be too cold. I thus knew that bringing them wasn't the solution.

I tried negotiating for a shorter duration and do more video conferencing to make up for it but management refused. It was to be five weeks. Sometimes, you cannot compromise and others also will not accept your alternative suggestions. It is in these instances that you just have to stick with your resolve and forego some things. Till this day, i don't regret my decision not to go. In the end, there were several many other projects/chances for me to show my contributions and also balance fulfilling duty to my family.

"Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. ” Daniel 3:16-18

记得Eric Liddel 的例子吗？

Workplace Witnessing (Part III)

Don't Compromise Your Christian Values

"But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way." Daniel 1:8

In Daniel 1, we know that Nebuchadnezzar had successfully invaded Jerusalem. He then selected qualified man from amongst the Jews, brought them to serve in his palace. Among them were Daniel and three of his good friends.

He resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine that he was offered in the palace because he knew that there was the possibility that they had been prior offered to idols or that there were unclean components in the food. Though immersed in the Babylonian culture, he resolved to maintain his Jewish culture because in his heart, that was God honoring. In his workplace, he resolved not to compromise his God honoring values.

Similarly, in our workplace, the first step to workplace witnessing is to establish our identity as Christians amongst everyone. Establishing our identity is not just wearing a cross, placing a bible on our desks, or tell people that we go to church on sundays. That is important. But truly establishing our identity is resolving to our Christian values when the call for compromise arises.

When you are asked to bring a client to entertainment spots which involves sexual immorality or drunkenness, what values do you hold on to? If you often have to miss sunday service because of work, what alternative arrangements do you do? When colleagues are engaging in gossip, do you add fuel to the fire or do you act as the peacemaker? When there are unrighteous dealings in your company, how do you react to it?

Workplace Witnessing (Part II)

Why don’t we witness at the workplace?

We know we are supposed to witness for Christ 24 by 7. But we just do not do so. Here are some reasons why we don’t do it.

- We have a bad testimony in the workplace
- We are not burdened with the call to witness for Christ.
- We are afraid that we will be viewed as weird.
- We are too busy with our work that we overlook it.
- We cannot find chances to do so.
- We are afraid that it might affect our working relationship with colleagues/managers/subordinates.


So exactly how do we draw strength to witness at the workplace and be a victorious Christian? We will learn lessons from a favorite character of mine in the bible. His name is Daniel.

Workplace Witnessing (Part I)

Why do we have to witness at our workplaces? 

At the end of all the four gospels, it is always a command to preach the gospel. We always concentrate on Matthew, but actually, the rest of the gospels end with a command the bring the gospel to the ends of the earth. Do you realize this?

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations.” Matt 28:19
“Go down to the ends of the earth and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15
“The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Luke 24:46-47
“Feed my sheep.” John 21:15-17


Therefore, the command to preach the gospel is crystal clear. 


Preaching the gospel involves time, effort, talking to people, leveraging on relationships with people. Where and when do we do these most? At the workplace. In a week, five/six out of seven days are spent at the workplace. If we don’t witness at the workplace, when will we do so? We have wasted too many opportunities to bring someone closer to Christ. May we make the most of chances from now on.


Witnessing at the workplace is the main means of bringing people to the church. Workplace witnessing is also the main objective of working other than as a livelihood and supporting the ministry of God.

Dealing with Jealousy

F.B. Meyer told the following experience to a few personal friends. 

"It was easy," he said, "to pray for the success of G.Campbell Morgan when he was in America. But when he came back to England and took a church near to mine, it was something different. The old Adam in me was inclined to jealousy, but I got my heel upon his head, and whether i felt right toward my friend, i determined to act right."

"My church gave a reception for him and i acknowledged that if it was not necessary for me to preach Sunday evenings, I would dearly love to go and hear him myself. Well, that made me feel right toward him. But just see how the dear Lord helped me out of my difficulty. There was Charles Spurgeon preaching wonderfully on the other side of me. He and Mr. Morgan were so popular, and drew such crowds, that our church caught the overflow and we had all we could accommodate."


Jealousy shoots at others and wounds herself.
Jealousy is misery's companion.
Those who are green with envy often become red with anger.
But what if all were like me? The world would come to a certain end.
So trust in the Lord's sovereignty, that He uses all people for His glory. 

Dealing with Discontentment

There were two fields divided by a fence. Both fields were about the same size and each plenty of grass, green and lush.

In each field, there was a sheep and each sheep had his head through the fence eating grass from the other sheep's pasture. All around each sheep in his own field was plenty of grass, yet the grass in the other field seemed greener or fresher, although it was harder to get.

In the process, the sheeps were caught in the wires and were unable to free themselves.

Are we often discontented with what we have? Does it seem that others have it better?


"But godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Tim 6:6

If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, you can bet the water bill is higher.

"Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Luke 12:15

How Should a Christian Respond to the CHC Saga (Part 3)

Lastly, we should discern if we are following a Pastor blindly or we are truly following God. Days after the fraud has been revealed, it is shown that there are many who still support the pastor even when there are things revealed which are contrary to the bible as shown in the previous posts.
http://jasonljq.blogspot.sg/2012/07/how-should-christian-respond-to-chc_09.html
http://jasonljq.blogspot.sg/2012/07/how-should-christian-respond-to-chc.html

We have to be careful if we are treating a particular pastor in a position which is above God as revealed in the bible. We have to be careful not to treat a pastor as an idol. This is particularly if he teaches contrary to the bible.

Pray about it. Pray that God gives you the wisdom and the courage to make a decision which He favors. Discern the scriptures and examine yourself if what the pastor has taught is biblical.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." 1 Tim 6: 6-10

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2: 15


"There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" 2 Timothy 3: 2-4

将你最好的献给主

神在利未记多次的强调，当我们奉献给神的时候，不应该随便。所奉献的，应该是我们所拥有的最好的。就如献上没有残疾的公羊，奉献初熟的果子，我们有没有奉献我们最好的给神吗？

愿我们在一切事情上，把最好的献给神。

Making Sense Out Of Suffering

I recently visited a good friend of my mother. He's a great golf companion (taught me some swings before), and always in high spirits. He has been fighting cancer for a few years now but has always mustered enough strength to play golf on Saturdays.

However, in the recent Saturdays, he has been missing in action. It is suspected there is a growing tumor which is pressing against his spine. As a result, it is causing severe pain for his entire right leg up to the hips. The pain is so severe to the extend that he has to administer morphine for pain relief. To counter the tumor growth, he has to undergo 12 sessions of radiotherapy.  The doctor however has pre-cautioned that there is no guarantee that it would remove the pain. This is because the strain on the spine if its caused by mechanical reasons, i.e. slipped disc, then removing the tumor growth would not solve the root of the problem.

He shared that it is most painful in the morning when he attempts to stretch himself. When sitting down or driving, he has to find his 'sweet spot' for the position that his pain is most relieved. His days now involve going to radiotherapy sessions, countless hospital visits and regular administration of pain relief. Its just not too long ago that he underwent an operation in which his wife shared that he almost lost his life.

When I chatted with him, i will always remember his first words, 'Count my blessings'. He is a devout Christian who has great faith and submission to God. He says, 'I pray for a miracle, that God will heal me. But if He has another plan for me, may God help me to submit to His good will.' He quotes Romans 8:28, "For all things work for the good of those who love Him."

I told him that he reminds me of a modern day Job. Job as recorded in the bible, was a God fearing man, blameless, upright, and shunned evil. He had many children, had many possessions and servants. However, one day, God allowed Satan to test Job. Overnight, all his children died, his servants killed, his possessions stolen. Job, tearing his robe out of extreme sorrow, shaved his head and fell to the ground worshiping, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked i will return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:20-21) Through all this, Job did not blame God for his misfortune. He held his faith and submission to God.

That wasn't the end of Job's sufferings. Some days later, Job was inflicted with sore boils on his entire body. Even his wife said, "Do you hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!" Job however replied, "You speak as one of the foolish woman speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job 2:9-10) To make things worse, some friends of Job came and blamed Job that the reason he was under so much suffering was that because he had sinned against God though he had not. He was not only under physical pain, more so, he was undergoing emotional hurt.

Job complained, questioned, and challenged God's wisdom and justice. And finally, God Himself spoke. God spoke of His mighty power, "Where were you when I laid out the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding." (Job 38:4) "Have you ever commanded the morning and caused the dawn to know its place," (Job 38:12). God spoke of His authority over nature and its beings. "Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane?" (Job 39:19) "Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?" (Job 41:1-2)

God does not give us a direct reason on why there are sufferings. But He wants us to know that it is all in His sovereignty. It is in His good will. All things, good or bad, work out to God's good will. He just requires that we trust in Him.

In the ending of Job, it records that God gave back to him double of what he had lost. He restored his possessions, healed him, and give him children again. However, God does not promise us the necessity of health or wealth though He often blesses it to us. We cannot be eternally healthy or eternally wealthy. Even if we are healed now, we will one day have to face death too. Even if we are in prosperity now, there will be one day when we have to leave all that behind. There will be a time when we just have to let go and let God. God might not necessarily resolve our problems in this life time, be it healing our illnesses, or our state of poverty, But He assures us that in heaven, there will no longer be pain nor suffering. Every tear will be wiped away. We just have to trust in the good God Himself. Our satisfaction should only be in God Himself.

Uncle Timothy has a living hope. A hope based on earthly matters will diminish as death nears. But his hope is a living hope which does not diminishes as the days to death nears but one which grows livelier and  livelier  till he actually sees Christ face to face. He himself said, he no longer fears the sting of death. Christ abides in him, and he abides in Christ.


It is certainly not easy at all, to go through suffering. We are all weak people. But may we rely on prayer to Him, to help us in our difficulties, and to trust in Him that He knows best what is good for us.

Why Does God Allow Suffering?

The question is often asked, "If there is a God, a loving, merciful God, why does He allow people to suffer? How can He allow humans to experience the terrible accidents, illnesses, crime, wars and troubles that are so common in this world every day? Doesn't He care?"

God does care

He knows when humans suffer. He is God. His perspective is infinitely greater than ours. He sees the "bigger picture" - that our experiences as mortal humans, however painful or unhappy, will be to our eventual benefit. 


When a parent takes an infant to the doctor for a regular vaccination to prevent some childhood disease, it's because the parent cares for and loves that child. The young child however will almost always see things very differently. When the doctor's needle goes into that little arm, the child will often cry out and howl from the pain. It may look up at the parent, with those big innocent eyes, in the most pleading and pitiful way, as if to say, "Look at the horrible thing that's happening to me! Don't you care about my terrible suffering? How can you just stand there and allow this to go on? Don't you love me?"


The parent however knows better. He or she is aware that everything is going to be all right in a very short time (even though it almost always has an emotional impact on the parent to see the child distressed in such a way). A minor, brief pain is the price the child pays for a healthier life later.

God's Good Will in the Midst of Suffering

Just as an infant cannot possibly understand the motives of its parent while it is still only a child, so too we cannot appreciably comprehend God's will for us while we are still as we are. It's a matter of perspective - the brief few years of a physical human lifetime, versus the eternity, time without end, that will follow.


God is our ultimate parent. He knows all about the problems we often have, but He also knows that our experiences with pain and suffering, along with all of the good experiences that we may have, will, help mould us into the kind of person that God wants us to be.

God's Offer of Life, Christ

God is not about to willingly abandon any of His children for whom the price of life has been paid. Loss will only occur as the result of a knowing, deliberate refusal to accept God's offer of life,
Jesus Christ Himself, who died for our sins, even though He had lived a perfectly sinless life, and had committed no crime, was brutally beaten, flogged and crucified in great agony.


Let's remember that even the longest human life is merely like a single grain of sand on the infinite beach of the eternal life to come. After we have become immortal, even a century of the worst human pain and suffering would seem to us as almost insignificant, a momentary jab with a vaccination needle, and we will surely be the better for having experienced it.

A Day Where There Will Be No More Suffering

It records in the last book of the bible, Revelation 21:3-4
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes.There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”


Suffering on earth will only be temporary. There will be a day when God will wipe every tear off our eyes. There will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain. Let's fix our eyes and faith upon Christ, who endured the greatest suffering for us that we have the hope of eternal paradise, a new heaven and earth when sufferings will be no more.

How Should a Christian Respond to the CHC Saga? (Part 2)

The financial fraud is a criminal offense in the eyes of the law and time will tell if Kong Hee will be convicted. Now however, what’s worse is that Kong Hee has not announced any words of apologies or repentance. In his tweet, he says, “Anyone can say anything but they cannot take away the belief of the countless whose lives were transformed as a result of the endeavour.” The endeavour was referring to the ‘Crossover Project’, where the funds were used to support the international singing career of Ho Yeow Sun. The reason Kong Hee had embarked on the project was because he had hoped that through the music of Ho Yeow Sun, the love of God would be made known to those listening to the music.

If Sun had been singing christian hymns and spreading the gospel, I think it would be more of a reason to embark on the project. However, just do a quick search on Google Images for her and it will be filled with many photos of her wearing revealing and sexy clothes. A music video of hers, entitled ‘China Wine’ has totally no indication at all in telling a message of God.

Remember that God is holy, and therefore, believers are to be holy. Now instead of telling a message of God’s love, you stir up the lustful desires in many men with revealing attire and sultry dances. Didn’t Jesus commands that anyone who lusts after a girl has already committed adultery with her in their hearts? How many have been lured into the sin of adultery by her?

What is the means by which the gospel is preached? Jesus commands His disciples, go and make disciples of all nations, and teaching them to obey everything that He had commanded. His commands are contained in the bible, the Word of God. There is no other way to proclaim the love of God other than to preach from the bible. The love of God cannot be proclaimed in a general message of love where there is no or implicit mention of God. The medium through which God is proclaimed is the bible and only through the bible.

Would Jesus favor the ‘Crossover Project’? That this is the right means through which His salvation be proclaimed? Why strive for a singing career in hollywood and not in more remote areas of the world where more would not have heard of the gospel? Why live in such a lavish house which is said that monthly expense go above $20,000?


to be continued...

How Should a Christian Respond to the CHC Saga? (Part 1)

I just got back from a Japan trip for a family tour and to visit a missionary couple in Fukuoka. Just before I left, the news of CHC pastor Kong Hee falsifying the church’s financial account was reported in the news. Many people came to his defense. Among them, many quoted Matthew 7:1, “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged.” to criticise Christians who have given disapproval to the actions of Kong Hee.

Firstly, this is not the true meaning of Matthew 7:1. The verse does not mean that we should not point out from the mistakes of others. In the same chapter, Mt 7:15 records, “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves.” How are we to identify false prophets? Doesn’t that involve judging them to see if what they preach and do are what the bible approves of? Doesn’t it take careful judging to see amongst the sheep if one of them is a wolf waiting to devour the rest of the sheep?

Mt 7:16 goes on, “You will recognize false prophets by their fruit...” It carries on in 7:17-20, “every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, neither can a bad tree produce good fruit....So you will recognize them by their fruit.”  How do we recognize if we are not allowed to judge? The very nature of recognizing if someone is a true teacher of God’s Word involves judgement. It involves careful discernment. Careful discernment if a person who claims to be a teacher of the bible has produced good fruit. That is, if he has lead a life that God favours, by doing good, not only in outwardly actions where it is visible by surrounding man, but more importantly, having a truly pure heart with inwardly good intentions which only God can see.

Jesus in fact commands us to judge righteously. Jesus once went into the temple and began to teach. The Jews were astonished at the authority of His teaching. But yet, they began to reject His teaching and even claimed that there is a demon inside Him (John 7:20). Jesus responded to them not to judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgement (John 7:24). To judge if He is in fact a demon, or the true Son of God.

So what did Jesus meant when he spoke the words in Mt 7:1? Jesus was speaking to his disciples to be on guard against the hypocritical, unfair, self-righteous, harsh judging by the Pharisees. The Pharisees judge others but they themselves are committing the same sin or even worse sin. They command people to do good but they themselves are not doing it (Mt 23). They impose overly self righteous moral standards and laws to the people which they themselves are not observing. They cheat the possessions of widows’ (23:14), did not exercise justice and mercy (23:23). Jesus condemns the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in a whole chapter in Mt 23.

Jesus is not telling us that we are not to recognize the mistakes of others if they have truly committed a wrong. He is telling us not to be the kind of people who would judge other people’s wrong and yet, ourselves committing the same kind of sin that they have just judged. This is the hypocritical judging that Jesus does not allow us to have. He says in Mt 7:3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” He carries on in 7:5, “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

An example of hypocritical judging is if someone is watching pornography, yet he rebukes another brother for looking lustfully at scantily clad women in a magazine. Isn’t the case of pornography worse?

Jesus wants us to first examine ourselves for any sin that we might have first before we rebuke the similar sin in others. Thus, in the case of Kong Hee, when we read of the financial fraud that he has committed, let us examine ourselves of any financial fraud that we might have committed too. Have we ourselves gain any dishonest profits or possessions?

But this is not to say that we can just take a neutral stance towards his case of financial fraud. Financial fraud in the eyes of the law already warrants a life imprisonment sentence to the convict. There were two previous large scale financial fraud cases in Singapore. The first one, involved an employee in Asia Pacific Breweries who falsified 117 million. He was sentenced to 42 years in jail. The other involved an employee in Singapore Airlines who falsified 34 millions and was sentenced to 24 years in jail. In contrast, Kong Hee falsified 26 million and the highest penalty is a life time imprisonment.

The secular law already warrants such judgement against Kong Hee. What more the bible which examines in the inner most depths of the hearts of man? We have to be on guard against greed. We have to be alert to judge and recognize a church leader who is involved in financial fraud.

to be continued...

Dealing with Anxiety

An article i wrote awhile back. Its based on a sermon by Pastor Don Green.

Hope it helps you to trust God fully, shift our focus unto Him and not on our worries, for He provides.

Click on the link below.
Dealing with Anxiety