A news report about a Buddhist monk caught my attention and I wanted to blog about it. In the space of seven days in the Straits Times, we can now weave a tale of three holy men. They are all “set apart”. They are all men of faith. Two are megachurch pastors and one a monk. But how they live out their faith is different. One owns a few fashion shops but serves the church without a salary and is generous in his giving. There are other pastors like that too who are bi-vocational and the other job is not taxi driver or durian seller but a thriving profitable business, and they are laying their lives for the church and the Lord. Another has a high salary which could have been higher but refuses to accept a system which would have seen him earning even more. He too is generous in his giving. And today Monte Lee Rice a perceptive seer wrote a comment from which I have extracted what he said about the report I wanted to blog on:
And finally brothers and sisters, I am compelled to draw attention to the article in today’s paper (The Sunday Times, 12 October 2008) titled, “I, who have nothing.” This is a short write-up about the British born and Buddhist month Ajahn Brahm, whose picture most of us have at some point seen occasionally in the paper or around town. I am not a Buddhist; I am a Christian. But boy, what shame this man brings upon us! He “travels up to 10 times or more a year” all over the world, “people turn up by the thousands to listen to him,” and yet he “does not carry a single penny, has no mobile phone or MP3 player,” and “sleeps on the floor and has one meal a day from his alms bow.” The article mentions that Ajahn Brahm “doesn’t believe religious leaders should be paid a lot of money either.” I think we better listen to this: “How much money did Jesus have? He had nothing. . . . We’re at an economic downturn here and many people are afraid of what might happen if they lose their savings and house, and I can come along and say I’ve never had a house and savings and I can be happen and peaceful If I can do that with nothing, you don’t need to be afraid.” Well, let’s do give the Lord the last word here: “if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? . . . . But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Monte Lee Rice
Perichorus
Jesus himself, who was not silent on wealth and possessions, had said: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt 6:19-21). Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys(Luke 12:33). Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”(Luke 12:15).
We know that Jesus died a shameful death, and in the world’s eyes, he died in failure and poverty. We also know that all the twelve apostles, and Paul too died with little possessions to boast of. They were the closest to Jesus, and their interpretation of Jesus words can be seen in the way they lived. I suppose they were like Nazirites: you could call them incarnated prophecies for the larger body, extreme examples that will continually arrest our attention, and make us think about how we are living out our faith.
None of us are to legislate how everyone else is to apply these words and teachings of Jesus, and how we should exactly follow the examples of these apostles who were unlikely to misinterpret Jesus’ teachings. How each one of us specifically responds to God is according to the grace we have experienced in our lives, and our stewardship to Him.
Its not that the church doesn’t have its own examples in this respect: John Wesley who despite more money coming into his hands, insisted on keeping his standard of living unchanged, but increased his giving. Or George Muller who ran an orphanage by faith in prayer and without publicity of needs but just by prayer. He saw thousands of pounds pass through his hands but none got stuck in his palms. Or a St Francis of Assisi. Or a Mother Theresa. Or C.T. Studd who gave up his substantial inheritance and fame as a sportsman and became a missionary to Africa.
As Christians, we are all holy, “set apart” men and women, whether pastor or accountant or clerk, we are all equally accountable to God as to how we live in His presence. How we manage and use the gifts and opportunities He gives us is something we are personally accountable to Him for, and we ought not to judge other Christians over how much they earn, or the way they spend their money or the possessions they keep. Or to make what standards of living we are convinced of, a law that everyone else must comply with. However we can ask ourselves as stewards, “What is God saying to me about me about my desire to be rich; about the possessions I now own and my attitude towards them; about my personal pursuit of earthly security in an enlarged barn to store more grain, rather than in an enlarged vision of a loving God to distribute more grain?”
Now if God can speak through nature’s wonders, an animal and even Caiaphas or king Cyrus, is this Buddhist monk, his mouthpiece of the moment to Singaporean Christians and churches in this furious economic tsunami, a dark parable that Christians need to personally reflect on and ask, “Lord, is there something I need to learn here for myself?”
The Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings top 100 was released recently and Singapore’s National University of Singapore now enjoys joint ranking with UCLA at number 30. Such ranking systems have their detractors and objectors but if you have improved over last year and are in the upper half what is there to complain about? Take a look at the top 30:
1 HARVARD University United States
2 YALE University United States
3 University of CAMBRIDGE United Kingdom
4 University of OXFORD United Kingdom
5 CALIFORNIA Institute of Technology (Calt… United States
6 IMPERIAL College London United Kingdom
7 UCL (University College London) United Kingdom
8 University of CHICAGO United States
9 MASSACHUSETTS Institute of Technology (M… United States
10 COLUMBIA University United States
11 University of PENNSYLVANIA United States
12 PRINCETON University United States
13= DUKE University United States
13= JOHNS HOPKINS University United States
15 CORNELL University United States
16 AUSTRALIAN National University Australia
17 STANFORD University United States
18 University of MICHIGAN United States
19 University of TOKYO Japan
20 MCGILL University Canada
21 CARNEGIE MELLON University United States
22 KING’S College London United Kingdom
23 University of EDINBURGH United Kingdom
24 ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of T… Switzerland
25 KYOTO University Japan
26 University of HONG KONG Hong Kong
27 BROWN University United States
28 École Normale Supérieure, PARIS France
29 University of MANCHESTER United Kingdom
30= National University of SINGAPORE(NUS) Singapore
30= University of CALIFORNIA, Los Angeles (U… United States
The report continued: “More than a third of the top 100 are based in the US. The rise of Asian institutions is reflected in the inclusion of nine of them within the top 50, including three based in Hong Kong”.
It could have been: 30=National University of SINGAPORE(NUS) Malaysia but alas….
We ought to be thankful we are in the list, although some folks, including its students, may doubt if it deserves to be there.
Is the NUS’s quality of education as good as UCLA’s? Do you think it deserves its place?
Is this another good reason for you to stay instead of emigrating?
Many economic and financial experts have been forecasting this financial meltdown and have often been unheeded or branded as irrational or doomsayers. Even preachers and prophets have declared the same. Here is something I received from a friend, some excerpts from an article by David Wilkerson from a decade back: “America’s Golden Calf is Going Down!”:
“. . .Beloved, America is facing God’s judgment–and we will never be the same! In the days to come, literally hundreds of thousands of Americans will lose their homes. Why? They’ve leveraged them with equity loans, so they could play the stock market and try to strike it rich!
I tell you, the stock market has become America’s golden calf! People see it as a financial savior, and they worship it daily–trusting in it, depending on it, giving it all their energy and attention. But it’s going to fall suddenly–and none of the small, individual investors will be spared. They’ll suffer the most, losing their homes, their cars–everything!
I must ask you: “Are you prepared for what is coming? If not, are you acting now to get ready? When I speak of being ready, where do your thoughts take you? Do you think immediately of investments, bank accounts, survival plans, safety for your family?”
Yet, I believe it is much more important today for American Christians to focus on spiritual preparation–before the coming storm hits. Let me tell you why.
I believe that when the coming storm hits with full fury, and the nation is reeling with panic and fear, people will flee all false gospels and feel-good churches. Christians will forget about gospel entertainment and Christian TV, and they’ll start demanding hard truth. They’ll flock to hear godly pastors, demanding the true Word of God. Their cry will be, “Who will preach to us a prophetic, life-changing word?”
Sadly, many charismatic Christians today talk much about being Spirit-filled–but they are totally bankrupt of truth. They’re not intimate with Christ–and so they don’t know how to draw on His strength in truth. They don’t tremble at the truth of His Word. They don’t know how to walk in His resurrection power or live wholly dependent on Him. Instead, they twist, manipulate, and misinterpret His Word to accommodate their flesh.
Many pastors and evangelists today have no interest in seeking the Spirit of truth. They think they can call on the Holy Ghost at any time to come down and sweep away all the powers of hell. But these people won’t be prepared for the dark times that are coming?
The only manifestations we’ll see when the storm hits will be men and women falling to their knees in awe and fear of God. They’ll be slain by the piercing, convicting, soul-cleansing preaching that comes from the Spirit of truth.
Indeed, today–while most of America focuses on its prosperity–God is waking a holy remnant in the church. These saints are on their faces, seeking Him with all their strength and crying out for a true Word from the Spirit of truth.
In recent months, our ministry has received hundreds of letters from pastors and believers who are repulsed by most of what they see in the church: hype, foolishness, entertainment, shallow preaching. They’re crying out, “Enough! We’re tired of seeing our pastors go to conventions and return only to introduce come new gimmick. We’re sick of seeing the flesh accommodated. We’re hungry for truth! We want to hear preaching that convicts us and challenges us to holiness and prayer.”
Believer, you can rest assured–in the coming days of calamity, the true revival won’t come through showboating, big-time preachers or TV evangelists. It won’t come through prosperity teachings or other doctrines of false security. No–God’s revival will come through a hidden company of pastors and lay people who have been in the school of Christ, learning His ways and trusting in Him. These will lead a revival of truth!
Yet not everyone is going to want truth. Many will turn to unbridled lust. Indeed, our society could see Sodom replayed a hundred times over. But, as our nation poises on the brink of chaos, many Americans will begin to seek truth, answers, life.
As for me, I want to face the coming times as ” . . . a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth” II Timothy 2:15
I urge you: Ask the Lord to prepare you–His way–for the day “America’s golden calf” comes down. Seek His Spirit of truth in your secret closet.Learn to recognize His voice above all the worldly clamor going on in His church. Then you’ll truly be prepared to face the coming storm.
———————————————————————
David Wilkerson is founder of Teen Challenge, Inc., the worldwide Christian drug and alcohol rehabilitation ministry. He is the author of The Cross and the Switchblade, and many other books. David and his wife, Gwen, live in New York City, where he serves as senior pastor of Times SquareChurch.
I have been meditating on the following passage in Mark for some time now. And I can see that this prayer is an appropriate prayer for people inside and outside the financial systems of the world, blind and in desperate need, to pray:
“Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus(that is, the Son of timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10: 46-47)
“JESUS, SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY ON ME!”
And let me add this Anglican prayer which is currently getting a lot of hits during this economic tsunami:
Lord God, we live in disturbing days,
across the world,
prices rise,
debts increase,
banks collapse,
jobs are taken away,
and fragile security is under threat.
Loving God, meet us in our fear and hear our prayer:
be a tower of strength amidst the shifting sands,
and a light in the darkness;
help us receive your gift of peace,
and fix our hearts where true joys are to be found,
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The New Creation Church board made a good decision when they permitted the Straits Times to do an interview with Pastor Joseph Prince. The interview was reported in last Sunday’s papers and was interesting. It has always been my conviction that the “holy man” is most influential when he is humble, open with his weaknesses, and vulnerable. I saw this in Lawrence Khong. And I saw some of it in this report. The flamboyant distant holy and handsome man Joseph Prince became more like one of us: accessible, real, and vulnerable. It gave you a feeling of identification, of empathy, of being made from the same cloth. We find we are able to relate to him.
“(JP)….is a shy man and a stutterer.”
“Joseph Prince says, “I’m still frightened. To me, I’m very humbled. Every week when I stand there for four services, once in a while, I still wonder to myself, people are queueing up, for what? This is not Hello Kitty, you know.
“Born to an Indian father and a Chinese mother, Mr Prince spent eight years - mostly during his primary school days - in Perak where his father was a priest. He doesn’t care to mention which religion his father belongs to because he found no reality in it, he said. His father was often drunk. He eventually came back to Singapore and followed an aunt to church. he was then a young man dabbling in occult, he said, but “supernatural experiences” opened his eyes to Christianity.
“He attended Commonwealth secondary School and went on to finish his A levels at a private school, Our Lady of Lourdes.
“Joseph Prince, by the way, was a name he adopted when he was working as an IT consultant before he became a full-time pastor. “I saw in the Bible that everyone that God raised, he changed their names,” he explained.
The awfully good-looking, charismatic, anointed preacher was a stammerer! He still retains a sense of wonder at what God is doing instead of feeling like they are queueing up because of his great preaching. He had a tough background, an absent and negligent father, and many of us can identify with that. He attended an ordinary non-elite school like the majority of us Singaporeans, and couldn’t even make it to a ‘proper’ junior college. Hear ye, hear ye, he is not a government scholar! Don’t we all love underdog make good by God’s grace stories; Chesterfield beat Man Utd, 6-0 stuff. And he adopted a new name to make a break with the painful past so that he can start anew, and we have all experienced that too. From what I read he is easy to relate to and anyone could feel at ease with him. I can have coffee with him and talk natural. I don’t have to speak in tongues every alternate sentence. I can laugh and even talk about some Korean serial, and not feel obliged to discuss about the fifth trumpet of the book of Revelation. He seems an okay kind of guy: spiritual, yet natural.
I was once tired of carrying diaries and refilling them every new year, so I had a PalmPilot pda . But when longsightedness caught up and I couldn’t read the tiny words, I went back to diaries. Now I got tired again. Furthermore, I am wearing progressives, so small fonts are still readable especially with new technology. I have been eyeing the Nokia E71 but the price was steep and I was attached to my trusty Sonyericsson cybershot 801i. So I bid my time and waited for my affection to fade, and for the price to drop, which would be precipitated by the coming of Apple’s 3G iPhone. When it dropped, I quickly made my move and so here am I with a phone that has most of the functions I need in a phone, planner, and camera. I managed to sell three old mobiles for a pathetic $150! I learned that a second hand phone value goes down pretty quickly and models of a few years fetch like $20 only.
A fortnight has passed and I must say I am a satisfied customer. I like the elegant slim adrogynous look and feel of this aide. I was even able to download into it Norman Wong’s set prayers (which I use considerably ), my prayer list, other articles and notes in word documents. I am now trying to download a suitable e Bible. There are other possible unexplored uses too. I have tried the Nokia camera function and though it is the same 3.2 megapixel its end result was perceptibly of a lower quality than my previous phone, but I can live with that difference. Take a look at the pics I have taken HERE using both phone cameras and see if you you can spot the difference (when you hold your cursor over photos, those taken using Nokia will show).
Yesterday I read some interesting stuff in the Sunday Times about Joseph Prince and Kong Hee, a tale of two Singapore megachurch pastors, and will perhaps blog about it later.
J.B. Jeyaretnam died of a heart attack at a Singapore hospital. To me he was a true Singapore patriot and hero. Read more from this BBC report:
Singapore opposition leader dies
Veteran Singapore politician JB Jeyaretnam has died of heart failure in a Singapore hospital, aged 82.
He was the first to break a government monopoly on power in Singapore when he won a seat in parliament in 1981.
He had been forced into bankruptcy over defamation cases won by the government but was planning a new run for office.
Dubbed the Grand Old Man of opposition politics, analysts said Mr Jeyaretnam was a thorn in the side of Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan-yew.
Born in 1926 in Jaffna, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Mr Jeyaretnam trained as a lawyer in Britain before making his home in Singapore.
Political injustices
He served as an MP from 1981 to 1986 and from 1997 to 2001.
His first victory, as standard bearer for the Workers’ Party, came when he defeated the People’s Action Party (PAP) of founding prime minister of independent Singapore Mr Lee.
He was returned to parliament in 1984 but in 1986 was found guilty of making a false declaration of his party’s accounts and fined a sum which made him liable to expulsion from the legislature.
He was disqualified from sitting in parliament until 1991, and disbarred from legal practice.
The Privy Council in Britain ruled in 1988 that he had been wrongly disbarred in “a grievous injustice”.
Mr Lee “appeared determined to drive him from political life” wrote Professor Michael Leifer in his Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Southeast Asia.
Not until 1997 did Mr Jeyaretnam try again; he re-entered parliament as a non-constituency member without voting rights.
Just over a year later he was again brought to court, on the charge of having defamed then prime minister Goh Chok-tong and ten other senior members of the PAP.
Although the court found in favour of the government it awarded damages at only one-tenth of the amount possible but on appeal, damages were increased and full costs imposed on Mr Jeyaretnam.
By May 2000, he was declared bankrupt for failing to keep up payments in another libel case.
He left the Workers’ Party in 2001, and was discharged from bankruptcy in 2007.
Re-election plans
This year he helped form the Reform Party to challenge the 40-year rule of Singapore by the PAP, saying Singapore had been “enslaved” by its rulers.
He said in April he planned to run in the next parliament election, due by 2011.
His death came just days before he was to appear in the High Court to seek an order that a by-election be held for a seat that is currently vacant, his family told AFP news agency.
GK Pamela, another of his relatives, said Mr Jeyaretnam hoped he would be propelled back into parliament.
“That was his wish,” she told AFP in tears. “Such a good man. Why did God take him?”
The opposition has long been marginalised in Singapore, where it complains of limited access to the pro-government mainstream media and restrictions on public assemblies.
The People’s Action Party, which has ruled Singapore since independence from Malaysia in 1965, holds 82 out of 84 elected seats in Parliament.
The Straits Times website described Mr Jeyaretnam as “pugnacious”, an “old warhorse” and “irrelevant”.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/7643379.stm
I hold a different opinion from the Straits Times, and think he was passionate for the cause, an accomplished tenacious pioneer, a resilient voice in the wilderness, and a beacon of undying hope and courage.
May he rest from his labour and enjoy eternal bliss.
There are things I like in both the Republican and Democratic party. I resonate with the social conservatism of the Republican party: their pro-life stand, their promotion of family values, and public morality; though I do not like their supply-side economics which favor the rich, and does not really “trickle down” to the poor. I like the Democrats for the way they seek ways to level the playing field, in opportunities, in health and education, in welfare for workers and the poor. I think the economy was doing better under Clinton than under the Bushes. There are Christian values that I admire in both parties and wish that there is a third party that incorporates the best of these, but can a new party survive in this jungle of giants.
I am going out on a limb here because this is not my country: Obama or McCain? Since Americans advocate freedom of expression, I’ll share my five cents worth. For me, if I were an American, I’d vote for the Obama ticket. Why so? Firstly, eight years of supply side economics have not brought about the trickle down effect promised (though I have to acknowledge the free trade agreement signed with Singapore could only be possible under the Republicans). When promises are not kept, its time to look to others. Secondly, under the Republicans, America stinks to most of the world, with an arrogance personified in the President himself. Americans deserve to be appreciated and honored all over the world but it takes a wise, courageous and compassionate government to reverse the tarnish of America’s good name. I think there is a higher chance Obama can deliver that. Thirdly, the entrenching of pro-life and pro-family values in the last eight years is not going to collapse overnight with the Democrats in power. In fact, it may allow time for a development of the neglected area of fair access to health and education for all, and welfare for the poor. Fourthly, the Democrats’ team look stronger to me in terms of ability to govern with good judgment. Fifthly, Americans can personify what they preach by electing their first Afro American President. Dr Martin Luther King’s bones will rattle in a dance of joy when this historic event takes place.
“Everything rises and falls with leadership” is a mantra some of us are familiar with. But what kind of leadership? In the past few months I have reflected on this simply because of news and events in the religious, financial, and political realms. From news of Paul Cain, Mike Gugliemucci, and Todd Bentley to the corruption of former president of Taiwan, and the turmoil in Malaysia, and the fall of big financial institutions like AIG and Lehman Brothers. These are all led by very capable, visionary, well connected, and obviously gifted leaders. I mean the financial muscle of the financial giants meant they could hire the best brains and talent available, even better than those in politics, and perhaps even industry.
However the world economic plight we have all landed in is the fruit of the flawed leadership of these talented, bottom-line focused, capable leaders. It goes to show leadership does rise and fall again when you have leaders with ability but no integrity. Together with these leaders we have worshipped the bottom line of maximum profits and allowed greed and fear unfettered reign in the marketplace. Again we have underrated integrity, character, righteousness, and good motivation and will have to pay a steep price for our dementia.
The wisdom of the Bible could have helped everyone but who would listen? We prefer the latest research from Wharton business school to the ancient priority given to good character. St Paul listed the qualities to look for in a leader, and it contained mainly character qualities, with only two abilities:”able to teach” and “able to manage his family”. Most of the other qualities are character based like temperate, honorable, hospitable, not hot-tempered, nor out to make money, kind, peaceable, sensible, mature, repected by others. Absolutes and business ethics need to make a big and permanent comeback to business and the world of finance. After Enron and Arthur Anderson, topics like “leadership by character” and “business ethics” made a popular but ephemeral appearance in the marketing of many business schools and the conference circuit, only to disappear underground into dark cavernous blackholes.
All this does point to a great challenge for the church today: how more Christians can assume positions of leadership in such places and be salt and light in these dark places where our Christian values and convictions will stand out and be most needed. I am sure there are Christians up to the challenge of applying God’s grace, wisdom and ways in the world of politics and finances. I am sure there are young people who are willing to answer this call of God.
Just the park alone is about the size of Singapore. The sights were spectacular, stunning, unforgettable and so were the sounds. This trek was a feast. Ten of us had a delightful and healthy holiday in a trip planned early in the year to take advantage of AirAsia’s fierce fares. For about S$500 for the whole trip, it was a steal. We flew from Senai airport and stayed overnight in sleepy oil town Miri. Then we caught a MAS Fokker propellor plane and reached Mulu National Park, Sarawak, in 30 minutes. The alternative was upriver on motor boats for an unthinkable 10 hours. The park hq had adequate, satisfactory accomodations and sedap Malaysian food. One of the few highlights for many of us was adventure caving. Park guides accompanied us and equipped with park supplied helmets and lights we made our way into the unlit, dark Lagangs Cave.
We trekked on wooden planks for about less than an hour and reached the entrance of the cave. When we entered, we caught sight of stalactites (’c’ for from the ceiling) and stalagmites(’g’ on the ground) as we walked by with our lights on, and as we got used to the darkness. It was wet and muddy in some places and we used our hands too, and scrambled over boulders, and squeezed and contorted through crevices and gaps on several occasions, but for the most part it was plain walking in a cool cave instead of a humid rainforest. It dripped here and there and there was a stream running throughout the cave.
There were several creatures of the dark in the cave and we spotted or heard swiftlets, bats, spiders, white river crabs and a snake (click on thumbnails for pop-ups). There were no mosquitoes! The bats ensured that.
It took about an hour or more through the cave and when it ended we felt good because our fears of the mystery that the dark world held, and our ideas of what caving required of us, were unfounded. Our fears were imagined and they evaporated as we refused to cave in to fear, and just do it a step at a time with a trustworthy guide.
One of the great highlights of my recent vacation with my trekkie friends was to witness and video the incredible bat exodus from the Deer Cave in the Mulu National Park, in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. It was a stunning and spectacular sight to behold. Creation sings his praises and stills our complaining voices with His great wonders! Let all that have breath praise the Lord!
A news report about a Buddhist monk caught my attention and I wanted to blog about it. In the space of seven days in the Straits Times, we can now weave a tale of three holy men. They are all “set apart”. They are all men of faith. Two are megachurch pastors and one a monk. But how they live out their faith is different. One owns a few fashion shops but serves the church without a salary and is generous in his giving. There are other pastors like that too who are bi-vocational and the other job is not taxi driver or durian seller but a thriving profitable business, and they are laying their lives for the church and the Lord. Another has a high salary which could have been higher but refuses to accept a system which would have seen him earning even more. He too is generous in his giving. And today Monte Lee Rice a perceptive seer wrote a comment from which I have extracted what he said about the report I wanted to blog on:
The Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings top 100 was released recently and Singapore’s National University of Singapore now enjoys joint ranking with UCLA at number 30. Such ranking systems have their detractors and objectors but if you have improved over last year and are in the upper half what is there to complain about? Take a look at the top 30:
Many economic and financial experts have been forecasting this financial meltdown and have often been unheeded or branded as irrational or doomsayers. Even preachers and prophets have declared the same. Here is something I received from a friend, some excerpts from an article by David Wilkerson from a decade back: “America’s Golden Calf is Going Down!”:
interview with Pastor Joseph Prince. The interview was reported in last Sunday’s papers and was interesting. It has always been my conviction that the “holy man” is most influential when he is humble, open with his weaknesses, and vulnerable. I saw this in Lawrence Khong. And I saw some of it in this report. The flamboyant distant holy and handsome man Joseph Prince became more like one of us: accessible, real, and vulnerable. It gave you a feeling of identification, of empathy, of being made from the same cloth. We find we are able to relate to him.
I was once tired of carrying diaries and refilling them every new year, so I had a PalmPilot pda . But when longsightedness caught up and I couldn’t read the tiny words, I went back to diaries. Now I got tired again. Furthermore, I am wearing progressives, so small fonts are still readable especially with new technology. I have been eyeing the Nokia E71 but the price was steep and I was attached to my trusty Sonyericsson cybershot 801i. So I bid my time and waited for my affection to fade, and for the price to drop, which would be precipitated by the coming of Apple’s 3G iPhone. When it dropped, I quickly made my move and so here am I with a phone that has most of the functions I need in a phone, planner, and camera. I managed to sell three old mobiles for a pathetic $150! I learned that a second hand phone value goes down pretty quickly and models of a few years fetch like $20 only.
J.B. Jeyaretnam died of a heart attack at a Singapore hospital. To me he was a true Singapore patriot and hero. Read more from this BBC report:
He had been forced into bankruptcy over defamation cases won by the government but was planning a new run for office.
the free trade agreement signed with Singapore could only be possible under the Republicans). When promises are not kept, its time to look to others. Secondly, under the Republicans, America stinks to most of the world, with an arrogance personified in the President himself. Americans deserve to be appreciated and honored all over the world but it takes a wise, courageous and compassionate government to reverse the tarnish of America’s good name. I think there is a higher chance Obama can deliver that. Thirdly, the entrenching of pro-life and pro-family values in the last eight years is not going to collapse overnight with the Democrats in power. In fact, it may allow time for a development of the neglected area of fair access to health and education for all, and welfare for the poor. Fourthly, the Democrats’ team look stronger to me in terms of ability to govern with good judgment. Fifthly, Americans can personify what they preach by electing their first Afro American President. Dr Martin Luther King’s bones will rattle in a dance of joy when this historic event takes place.
“Everything rises and falls with leadership” is a mantra some of us are familiar with. But what kind of leadership? In the past few months I have reflected on this simply because of news and events in the religious, financial, and political realms. From news of Paul Cain, Mike Gugliemucci, and Todd Bentley to the corruption of former president of Taiwan, and the turmoil in Malaysia, and the fall of big financial institutions like AIG and Lehman Brothers. These are all led by very capable, visionary, well connected, and obviously gifted leaders. I mean the financial muscle of the financial giants meant they could hire the best brains and talent available, even better than those in politics, and perhaps even industry.
