Above all else

I recently noticed that some dead spots were appearing near the bottom of my TV screen, so we dug out the warranty from our cupboard, and to our relief, the 3-year warranty was still valid - just one month to go!  When the repairman turned up, he took one look at the TV and concluded - nope, this model was too old, so he didn't even have the parts to repair it. So we got a brand new TV from the manufacturer! Woohoo! You know, things didn't use to break so quickly. I happen to have an old TV in the bedroom. You know, those non-smart, non-HD, non-everything TVs. And man, those things refuse to kick the bucket.  Same thing with my old microwave, electric kettle, etc. I bought some of these things when I first got married, more than 2 decades ago. Those things were built to last! But these days, things break a lot faster. One big problem is the issue of deliberately irreplaceable batteries, especially in wireless devices like our mobiles, earphones, and laptops and so on. This is,...

Awful things happen all the time.  The newspapers are full of bad news.  Perhaps that's what sells.  Or perhaps the world really is pretty awful place. The Bangkok bombing.  The Sabah earthquake.  The Ebola outbreak.  MH370.  Disease.  Famine.  Poverty.  Divorce.  Job loss.  Death of a loved one. So the question is, if there is a God, and a good God, then why on earth is there suffering? To answer that question, it makes sense to start with the nature of God and the intent of His plan.  Who is this God who permits suffering, and why is He allowing it?  The Bible explains that God created the heavens and the earth, and that He created man, in His own image.  This last bit is critical. Imagine - God, awesome creator of the heavens and the earth - made you, in His image.  So we too, like God, can create.  Make choices.  We are not slaves to animal instinct.  We have freedom to choose. ...

I had cause to talk to a friend yesterday about God.  One of the things that men like to pride ourselves about is that we are logical, and we operate on facts.  And men often say that's the reason why we can't accept faith in God. So why then do I accept faith in God?  I too pride myself in being logical and demanding facts before I accept something as the truth.  But look back at that sentence.  See the word "pride"?  I don't think it's the lack of logic or facts that stops men from coming to God.  It's pride.  And I can totally empathise with that.  Believing in God ultimately involves surrender.  Not surrender of logic.  But surrender of will to the One who knows better.  There is a huge difference between the two, but it's convenient to confuse them.  Like you, I  too want to hold on to my plans and desires, and when confronted with an alternative - God's alternative - we say, that's not logical, when reall...