Above all else

The recent terror attacks in Mumbai and senseless killing of scores of people, including a Singaporean lawyer, may well make us question why, if there is a good God, do bad things still happen? For others among us, the current economic crisis along with job and investment losses may raise the same questions. But this is the whole story of the Bible, Jesus and those who follow him. Certainly, Jesus being whipped and strung up on a cross was a bad thing to happen. It was a bad thing for Joseph to be sold into slavery by his own brothers. It was a bad thing for the Israelites to be slaves for generations in Egypt. It was a bad thing for Daniel to be exiled to Babylon. It was a bad thing for Paul to be locked up in chains. Oftentimes, we will not be able to immediately understand why God has allowed terrible things to happen. But Hebrews 11:1 says: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." What then do we hope for? What are we certain of? Fi

Wonderfully sung. I know that not everyone who read this will be immediately familiar with Christian precepts, and I distinctly recall a non-Christian once recoiling with horror when he heard about the "blood of Jesus" like he was in the middle of a bunch of bloodthirsty cannibals. So I'd better explain. The Bible records that God created man in His own image, so that man might enjoy eternal life and fellowship with God. But man chose to go his own way, essentially choosing to disobey God in the Garden of Eden. This is called "sin". Not just doing "bad" things, but simply separation from God, which is typically manifested as "bad things". Man instinctively longs to regain that fellowship with God. This is why religion is such a powerful force. There is a God-shaped hole in everyone's heart. We are wired like this. Some people try to regain it through good works. Some try religion itself. Some even try going to church. But the

I know my Mum and aunties check in on my blog once in a while, and I know they love the Mamma Mia musical too, so here's saying hi to everyone :)

As part of our equipping for Christmas, we've been encouraged to dust off our testimonies as to how we came to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. I feel it's important at this stage to emphasise that there is a difference between finding out who Jesus is, and accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour. I'll make this plain in the testimony that follows. ============ I have always thought of myself as a "good person" and have worked hard to live up to those expectations of myself, in my personal ethics, and my work (and when I was a student, my studies). As a child, I was a manic perfectionist. Those of you who are parents of school going kids probably yell at your kids (as I sometimes find myself doing) to do their homework conscientiously. As a kid, one abiding memory of my homework regime was relentlessly ploughing through assessment book after assessment book, refusing to stop until I had got at least one whole paper absolutely 100% correct, or until my Mum begged me

Had a rather odd conversation today. I was talking to my parents about how I'm settling into my new post, and the conversation came round to what I thought would help me to succeed. I said that one thing which I thought would be useful was that I was good at getting along with others and creating trust. My parents both thought this was probably true, but my Mum added that this was something she would not have thought I would grow into, having seen me as a kid. I thought about this for a while and realised this was true. I was really awkward as a kid, and found it incredibly difficult to make friends. I find it curious that today, I would say without hesitation, that one of my strengths is interpersonal relationships, though that is perhaps not necessarily the same as making friends. In fact I recall a recent "Strengths Finder" test which suggested that one of my main strengths was, in fact, "Relator". (Incidentally, another one was "Learner", which I c