blogpastor – Page 111

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Hiking Mt Kinabalu at age 11

11 January 2018 blogpastor Leave a comment

I was solemnising the marriage of two faithful members of the church when during the course of the dinner, I heard a unique name called out that triggered my memory. It was, “Mao Siang” (spelling uncertain).

Years ago, in 2005, I led some young people from the church on a hike to Mt Kinabalu. it included adults for sure. However, the youngest of them was eleven year old Mao Siang, one of our member’s nephew.

Mao Siang, Rachel the cousin (who got married).Peter Lim and Eunice, the aunt.

It was remarkable that at that young age he had the motivation, discipline and endurance to go through the rigours of weeks of afternoon training at Bukit Timah Hill and finally to summit the mountain. I was amazed. And with such a unique name, I simply could not forget.

Mao Siang (second from left, lowest row) at the Loh’s Peak, summit of Mt Kinabalu.

So I asked the mother to introduce him to me and I learned he was studying in the second year in the National Technology University of Singapore. I could not resist taking a wefie and blogging about this.

With Mao Siang at the wedding of his cousin Rachel

If you are interested in hiking Mt Kinabalu in Sabah, East Malaysia have a look at the blogposts below:

Kinabalu 1 – where Mao Siang hiked with us.

Kinabalu 2 – church youths to Kinabalu and God’s intervention

Kinabalu 3 – the last church hike to Kinabalu

Incarnation: God made flesh

8 January 2018 blogpastor Leave a comment

Christmas is over. I am still meditating on the mystery of the Incarnation. God made flesh. Lived among us. Moved into our neighbourhood as The Message paraphrases it.

It fills me with wonder that Jesus had to be God-man: fully man and fully God. Fully man because only the life of a human, lived perfectly and sinlessly, could be spared the wrath of God and therefore be a substitute for another sinful human being.

Jesus had to be fully God too for his substitutionary death to be of infinite worth and therefore capable of paying for the sins of the whole world past, present and future.

And after Christ has died for our sins, was buried, and was raised to life, and ascended to the right hand of God, he exists in that fully God fully human form. He had not shed aside his humanity like a used shirt. It has become a part of the Godhead.

He had taken on humanity so that we could take on divinity. Union with God in the newly renovated earth and heaven will demonstrate God’s purpose of healing and reconciliation that extends to the whole of creation, uniting all things to Christ.

Trying to find my own words to express this mystery as I see it thus far, and the panorama and vista is mind-blowing!

What do you see of the incarnation?

John Sung: a manic depressive?

5 January 2018 blogpastor Leave a comment

Dr. Alex Tang wrote a fascinating post about the late John Sung a well-known Chinese evangelist and revivalist to South East Asia and China of the 20^th Century.

I have read John Sung’s biographies by various authors, and perused the notes of his fiery sermons. His dedication and the life-changing responses to his ministry everywhere he went, had stirred me to seek God, pray more and study the Word more.

What is interesting about Alex’s post is that he presents an unknown or ignored view of this man of God’s life and ministry. He proposes that John Sung might have been mentally ill. He in fact thinks he might have suffered from manic depressive psychosis. He quotes a source that stated:

Recent research, based partly on reliable archival materials from Union Theological Seminary, paint a different picture. It seems that Song really did suffer some sort of psychological breakdown, leading to hallucinations, strange dreams, visions, and bizarre behavior, including impenetrable letters and diagrams. Having been diagnosed as psychotic by three psychiatrists, he signed the self-admittance form to Bloomingdale Hospital in White Plains, New York.

There is a further citation which you can read in his blogpost HERE.

We know a preacher can be effective in his ministry even though he suffers from a physical health problem. But can a man of God have a mental illness and still be effective in his ministry, even perhaps aided by the symptoms of that illness itself? Why do we find it hard to believe that this may be possible?