Looking Ahead...

Changes. It’s inevitable.

'Development; at what cost?'

'Blatant disregard for the environment.'

'Exploitations of foreign labourers.'

'Suppression of the voices.'

'The old and weak despised.'

'A purposeless generation.'

'What will we be remembered for?'

50 Years of independence shaped the nation. History says we have achieved much. Our elected representatives say we should maintain status quo to ensure the next 50 years is just as successful. The media plays to the tune of a harmonious country and progressive nation.

But is everything REALLY all right? How sure are we that the pact our founding fathers worked out, will work in the changing decade and shifting values? Crime has reached an unprecedented stage. Diseases, natural disasters, human carelessness and greed make a ‘normal day’ read.

What role will you be playing in writing the next 50 years? God forbid that if we keep silent or remain in apathy, history itself will convict our generation for allowing things to deteriorate.

But what CAN we do, where we are?
Do we even care?

(Photos courtesy of BBC News, LightFrame.lee and Joshua3.com.)

Silence of Christmas

"When is Christmas ever silent?" we ponder.
Carols and jingles mingle aloud in malls,
There's Santa with his bagful of wonders.
And not forgetting the myriad stalls

Selling trees and trinkets and tinsel
To go with wrapped goodies we scatter
Round the twin altars of Pine and Mistle-
Toe. It takes a while before the other,

Yes, the insignificant other part
Of the season comes to mind.
If at all. "...till it happens in your heart."
Do we forget when, or why, or with Who,
"...Christmas really starts..."

The little babe buried 'neath the season.
Has the quiet loud night lost its reason?

Carried Away?

"Whooosh!!! Can’t stop…need to hurry for Christmas practice."

"Byeeee!!! Gotta go finish this last 2 assignments first."

"Eh…coming for the Christmas party? I’ll be acting…seeya there!"

"Sorry!! Can’t join you guys for mamak today. Got church caroling practice…"

Does the lines above sound familiar or similar to what we have been saying to our friends this end of year season?

Where have our time all gone? Assignments, Christmas preparations, camps….all good things in themselves. But are we being too carried away? Busy ‘being busy’, what are we ourselves leaving in our friends? Or even with our families?

Leaving behind “hurrying”? “Rushing”? Christmas presents? Songs?….Or even hurried goodbyes shouted to our friends after the last exam paper is over as we rush off to other things?

Ever wonder that our friends and family may miss us?….Miss our simple unhurried presence.

You and I have hope of leaving behind something with our friends and family. But in our busyness, what are we REALLY leaving behind?

What does your end of year season look like?

Come share with us what you are REALLY leaving behind…

Contend For The Faith!

Life goes on. Even when life gets twisted and distorted and contorted, life goes on. Even when truth tellers cease and falsehood abounds, life goes on! When wrong seems right, and Christ is made to be a superstar or a real moron, life goes on.Faith goes on, in its out of world experience.

Yeah you have seen the past posts in mugz-n-buzz. Today, we no longer have servants as our leaders, we have CEOs. Today, we no longer call for a counter-culture, we immerse ourselves right in what is offered today and make no difference. Today, because of our lust for wealth and health, we buy into anything a preacher says, as long as we stand to benefit.

We desist a gospel that calls us to be humiliated, to suffer or to sacrifice. Christ has been made mute, ineffective and ridiculous, because we Christians have not fought for the real Gospel with our lives. I urge you to CONTEND FOR OUR FAITH!


Will you voice the wrongs you see? Many are being led astray. The Bible is no longer our final authority, but what man says seems to count more. You may have your story to tell where the truth has been violated, ... this is your forum!

Enough! Who is going to stand up and stand out? Who will speak out? Or are we as usual going to cower and fit in?

Health and Wealth

Recently there was a story where a mother of twins died because she refused to receive blood during her delivery which had complications. She was from a Christian group which people would call extreme. This group however would just call themselves people who are exercising faith in the Healer.

There also has been many stories about Christians who believe that in giving to the church, they would receive back manifold. Have you heard about one speaker who promised the return of gold fillings in a person's tooth if he gave money to the 'Lord'?

These might be stories from one extreme but i am sure there are also so many other stories that state healing and material blessings as a direct consequence of faith in healing and in giving.

How do you view these stories that crop out every now and then? What is your view of giving and trusting God in faith?

Be Free to Celebrate

Celebrations……
When I thought of celebrations, I thought of food, wearing new clothes, playing mini fireworks, meeting relatives and a time for reunion.
I’m a Chinese Christian and naturally when I thought of celebrations, I thought of Chinese New Year and also Christmas.

But wait……I’m also a Malaysian.
I remembered when I was in my secondary school; I was invited to my Malay friend’s house to celebrate Raya. That’s how I discovered what is nasi himpit. There are several invitations to friend’s house for Raya and Deepavali when I was in my secondary school, but now is lesser.

Are we free to celebrate with our friends who are not of the same race and religion?
Are we cutting ourselves off from celebrating with our friends who are not of the same race and religion?

Come and share with us some of your experiences.

Rise of the CEOs

What is the most successful model of leadership these days? What most easily comes to mind when leadership is mentioned? Prime Minister? President? Donald Trump? CEO?

Leadership now is about who is most powerful, who has the power of decision, who ultimately controls. CF leaders, church leaders, Christian leaders….all begin to look like what is out there. Power, commanding loyalty, and one-man shows have become very attractive. There’s hardly any place for team.

Come, take a look around us. What type of people are we choosing to be our leaders? Maybe we have fallen into the trap of looking for CEO-like characters

“…Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,…” (Mark 10:43-44)

Where has the true servant Jesus talked about gone to? Is now an era where servanthood is no longer ‘in’? Isn’t the Bible’s model of a leader outdated? Would we even want to respect such a person if he could be found?

CEO vs servant? You choose and you tell us how it should be.

Are we too immersed in culture?

We have always had this teaching where “we are in the world but not of the world”. This statement has given us our identity and mission in the world. Yet the tension of this statement comes when we try to define the world we reside in. The simple definition of culture is ‘the integrated system of learned behavior patterns which are characteristics of the members of a society and which are not the result of biological inheritance’. We all behave in such a way as all peoples in our society because this is our culture. Sometimes we do not even know if how we live is good or bad simply because we have become too immersed with the culture we are living in.

Attempts to integrate culture and Christianity often fail simply because we have already made distinctions or judgments about contemporary living. We have divided culture as secular and Christian living as holy. Therefore it is difficult to integrate them.

Yet the bible gives us a cultural mandate in the very beginning of creation. We are to ‘steward’ our society as God has placed us here. This is seen in the term ‘subdue’ used for Adam’s role to the place he was living. And we are called to be ‘creative’ in our stewardship as seen in the fact that Adam had to take care and name all the animals of the garden. In other words, the cultural mandate that God gave Adam and also to us was to creatively steward his society in order to transform it for living.

Adam’s call was not so much just for selfish reasons or for the sake of doing it simply because God wanted him to do so. The transforming act was simply because God acts for transformation. We are made in the image of God and therefore act as he does.

The question here is “are we agents of transformation of our culture today?” Or “are we just people who live in the world and deny strongly our involvement in our culture simply because we are not of the world”? How can we steward our society creatively? When we begin to not see the purpose in doing this, we actually deny the identity of being made in God’s image in ourselves.

Do you see being agents of transformation of culture as one of the roles God has given to us? What are some examples of being these agents? Do share and encourage us.

TO TERRIFY, OR BE TERRIFIED

"Got Your fire in my bones, but how come ah'm a-leaking in a well.

Plain lost all'a mah friends, yeah, God, dis pain surely's hell.

See, ain't be too long till 'em Babylons come,

No! We can't flee, but till God's full wrath is done.

What kinda pit You dug for me, what kinda hole is this misery?

What kinda song is this curse on my own, what kinda blues is this sad melody?"

When I look at Jeremiah, I honestly think he would make a great blues musician. I can imagine him shrouded in dim light; his anguished, primal lyrics giving voice to the raging torment in his soul. Branded a traitor by the very nation he shed broken-hearted tears over, he brought prophecies that were the opposite of peace and prosperity and ultimately proclaiming and having to see for himself the unrepentant nation of Judah carried off into exile.

I can see him demanding of God why his cup was so bitter. Demanding why the words weren't the fluffy, feely-goody kind that the people were flocking to. He saw the rot in God's people of the day and spoke out loud and strong against it. He wasn't a blues musician; he was a prophet. What did it cost him to be God's mouthpiece in his day? What was the cost of Truth? What is it going to cost us in THIS day, when we speak honest truth?

Jubilee. Yipee, We Are 50!

The term ‘Jubilee’ means celebration or rejoicing! And this is exactly what we Malaysians are commemorating as we rejoice over our 50^th year of independence. Many moving recollections, documentaries, striking stickers and apt taglines (“Satu Warisan, Satu Matlamat” or “One legacy, One Destiny”) tug at our hearts and call us to celebrate and build up our nation.

In Leviticus 25:10, the 3^rd book of the Bible, the Jubilee year was a call to “consecrate the 50^th year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.” My heart feels the prick of conviction amidst these celebrations. Have Malaysian Christians really been a part of this nation, caring for its welfare and proclaiming liberty to all?

Missing voices! Christian voices are missing in building our nation. One Legacy? Christians are no different and are caught in their prejudices against the races too. Imprisoned! Yes, we lock ourselves in our own comfort zones. One Destiny? Huh? ‘Christians are only concerned about heaven and that we are of no earthly good’ or so say our harshest critics.

I think we have failed. “Tanah tumpahnya darahku”, is just a song! Who cares? Do you?

Reflections on the hermit crab

Hermit crabs are small, cute & interesting pets. They salvage empty seashells to protect their soft abdomens from harm. They move about carrying their shell. When you go near a hermit crab, be sure not to make so much movement, they will curl and hide inside the shell because they are afraid.

Don’t worry; I’m not here to promote hermit crabs :)

Sometimes, our lives are like a hermit crab. We hide in the shell, not just to protect our own self, but hide our true self from people around us. The environment around us doesn’t allow us to be who we are. We can’t live up to the expectations and we can’t trust what’s outside. We are bound to be vulnerable if we reveal our true self.

Do you feel that you are like a hermit crab – sometimes afraid to come out, sometimes not wanting to come out?

Do you also feel that sometimes you could be the one not giving people the space to make mistakes and be who they really are.

Do feel free to share.

SPOT THE CHANGES ......

Aiyoh! So easy to spot one the noobs! Newbies! Babies! Whatever name they go by. They come into campus, they look scared. Haha. They dress like kinda of formal. They look fresh and with big eyes, and always believe the seniors. They look like kinda of out, overdressed and oh so young and fresh.

See them a few months later. They have changed. They have blended in. They even tell jokes and play pranks on the seniors. Wah! Easy to spot the changes in them. Just give them 3 months.

What about you and I? Can you spot the changes? We too, while having looked 'old' for a while now, have been changing. Can you spot yours? Tell your story, and we promise not to report it to the Malay Mail!!

Rev It Up

Vrrooommmm……vrroommm……its time to pick up the speed.

Huh? Pick up speed? Your soul must catch up with your body lah.

I can already see your body in campus. Where’s your soul?

Where are you now? Ya ya I know you gonna say “in campus lah”.

Holidays are a thing of history. Last sem is lagi deeper in history. But it is this semester that matters. How will this semester be any different from any other semesters?

YOU decide, and YOU tell us how….

Taking a Break

Hi there,

We will be taking a break, but no worries, we will start posting again in July.
Stay in touch and do write your comments on the previous posts. :)

We will be seeing some of you who've signed up for Camp Cameron,
S.T.O.M.P - Students Together On Mission Partnership
and also S.W.E.E.P - Social Work Exposure and Embracement Program.
Pray with us ya :)

For those who haven't signed-up, there's still next year
& POTs - Professionals of Tomorrow coming your way on October 12-16, 2007.

See ya

The @lias

a•li•as (ā'lē-əs, āl'yəs)
noun
a name that has been assumed temporarily.

Adv

Also known as;

Psssst!!!! Psst!!! What’s YOUR alias? I’ve got mine all ready
for the switch. What about you?

What’s your alias as you switch between the world of your
campus to the world of your hometown (with your family)????
For some of us, holidays means becoming someone else because
of what our families back home expect us to be. For others,
holidays means a dip in our spiritual walk, a real fear of
backsliding in our faith because the people who walk with us
in campus won’t be around us in our holidays.

Do we dread going home because the risk of falling into
temptation, wallowing in old mud (old habits) is greater?
Do we forget our good resolutions to live our lives according
to His Word? Do we forget our good resolutions to honour our
parents, to reach our friends, to stand up for Christ no
matter what?

Psst….Psst….. what’s YOUR @lias for the holidays? You can
safely share your @lias here anonymously. Maybe if you were
someone with an ex-@lias, and have found a way to be yourself
while on holidays, come share how you threw away, your @lias.

Addict?

I saw him. He was trying not to look desperate. I saw her too. She was hiding it well. Addicts in daylight. Undiscovered and unrecognized. No needle marks, no dead-looking eyes. In fact, I couldn't even detect the nervous tremor in their arms.

Who me? Erm, yes! The 21st century addict is not hooked on drugs (some really are). Hooked, yes! But to what? For many of us, our lives are filled with holes. Even knowing Christ, we cannot seem to cover our big gaping holes. Deficiencies mostly from the past ~ a lack of love, a lack of self-worth, a lack of dignity, a lack of ------! There is a hidden stream running deep within many of our lives. Driving us to be perfect, to attain higher, to move from one person to another in relationships, to seek success economically and materially. We need to feed these addictions to survive the inner voices that taunt us. Outwardly we look smart, happy and vibrant. Inwardly we are afraid that nobody loves us, or we are going to be nobodies, and depressed. Are you an addict?

Calling all addicts and ex-addicts. This Addict's Anonymous is for you to tell your story. Give voice to your "addictions" (love, material things, attention, status, etc). Share your pilgrimage of sorrow and maybe too of hope!

Born to Porn: Phase or Fact or neither?

Face it, how many of us can say that we have never come across pornography sites before? If you’re in a public place, probably like me, you’ll quickly close the sites out of embarrassment. But will the situation be different if it was in the confines of your room?

Maybe what began out of sheer curiosity has now become something that we’ve tried to give up time and again, but failed. We don’t talk about it in our Christian circle for fear of how they would label us, especially if we are leaders.

We want your take on this issue.
What are some of our struggles?
How we can help each other?

Do feel free to write anonymously

The Invasion of the Locusts

“Tell it to your children,

And let your children tell it to their children,

And their children to the next generation”

Children’s rhyme overheard in a Malaysian padang*.

Original text from Joel 1:2.

Hi everyone! When I heard theses lines above being sung as a child’s entertainment in the neighborhood padang*, I was taken aback. Besides these lines being straight out of the Bible, the original tone was not a light one, but one of warning and judgment from God for Israel’s failure to heed His calls as a nation. What a reversal, agree?

It got me thinking, what are we, as Christians, doing that might invite God’s judgment upon us? Any ideas people? Our pursuit after material things without a thought of God being in the picture, our condescending attitude towards the people around us, how we pigeonhole God and Hid word into the smallest corner of our lives, our sectioning off our hearts and our souls so that some part of it can be UN-yielded to Jesus?

Well we may or may not have our own views on the above. Still the second thought that crossed my mind was how we think so little (literally!) of our country and how little we remember it in prayer. We gripe and complain about the everything from the education system to the road conditions. Have we been praying about these things? Have we been praying and upholding our leaders? We need to pray against powers and principalities of darkness in this land, amen?

*padang = playground

SELAH

an isolated word found in certain psalms (e.g. Ps3, 4, 62 etc)
has uncertain meaning.
Most likely though, it is a liturgical notation
that calls for a brief musical interlude or
for a brief liturgical response by congregation.
Therefore ‘selah’ may mean “stop and listen”.
Source: NIV Study Bible: Psalms: Authorship & Title. Zondervan.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Selah.

Is it possible to have SELAH moments in our busy, hectic
and chasing after the wind kind of life?

I can go a full day without drinking water.
Yes, I am thirsty, but am in too much haste to stop and drink.
Off course I feel my lips dry,
and my throat longs for the running water through them,
but I only allow myself a quick coffee or a canned drink
which I can grab when I am passing by some where.
But I need water! I long for water!
Is there time to walk to the fridge and fill a glass and sit and sip?
I am thirsty, how about you?

Continue to read on "here" It's worth it!!

HOW COME? .... Who Will Go For Us?

Revelation 3:17-18
You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

These words to the Laodicean church caught my heart. Something resonated. Often how we think of ourselves may not match what others think of us, ... especially what Christ thinks of us. They thought they were rich and didn't need a thing. In effect, they were pitiful, naked, blind!

Blind?
Hmmn ... even without a statistical survey I wouldn't be wrong in saying that 95% of Malaysians are blind! We were not born with that condition; but our fears, our hardness of heart, and our wanting only happy things has struck us with a great blindness.

A Great Blindness?
Yes, How come we keep getting hit every few years and months .. and still have not learnt? JE, SARs, Bird flu, Tsunami, floods? What did we do? We were rocked for awhile, then sighed a relief that we weren't terribly affected, and forgot all about it. Same with the conditions of our socio-economic imbalance and injustice. We see the rising crimes, the unequal distribution of resources, the discrimination. We feel violated. Then we go our way, thanking God we weren't terribly affected. How come?

How Come?
How come the effect didn't move us enough to do something? Where are the Christians and the CFs, helping to clean out the remains of the terrible floods? Where are we in talking with the flood victims and holding their hands? The same happened in all the issues I mentioned above. We sent our money, we prayed a prayer, and stayed on in our comfort! We have cut ourselves off and are unwilling to get our hands dirty. We do not want the inconvenience of not having easy answers, struggling the long fight against injustice and discrimination. We have left the Lord's question to Isaiah (Isaiah 6:8), "Who will go for us?," unanswered.

Who Will Go For Us?
Jesus called the church in Laodicea to buy from Him gold refined in fire, clothes to cover their nakedness and salve to put in their eyes. I am calling myself and you to this, too. My friend, we cannot pretend any longer that we are rich. We must answer the call, "Who will go for us?" in Malaysia, into our society, into people's lives. We need to be out there, pouring out our lives into our nation, society and other people's lives. The newspapers reported that they needed 1500 counselors to help the flood victims to walk through their trauma. We may not all be counselors, but we can hold hands, can't we? Will you go?

Maybe you have a different view, or your own heart's concerns. Do share, yeah?!