It does not have to be hopeless

It has been some time since I last had the woeful task of telling a patient's family that the patient has a matter of days to live. Sadly, I had to do it again in the early hours of this morning when I was on night shift. It is moments like these that upset me, especially when the relatives are shattered to bits at such awful news. It is moments like these that I feel so helpless - helpless that despite a medical degree and a PhD from one of the finest universities, all I could say to the weeping relatives was, "I am sorry. I am afraid that ... ". And yet, I am reminded of the glorious hope that God has given us. A hope that is real and certain! In the final book of the bible, we learn that there would be a day when there would not be another death or another crying relative.
"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." - Revelation 21:3-4.

2000 years ago, God came personally into the world as Jesus Christ and gave us a glimpse of this heavenly reality that is coming. He made the lame walk, opened the eyes of the blind, healed the sick and even raised the dead. A Christian does not face his own mortality with woe or helplessness. Instead, a Christian can look forward to a life far better than what we can ever imagine possible here on earth.
Jesus Christ challenges us with these words, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" - John 11:25

I am an Evangelical ... Huh?

"Borrowed" Picture of my church - St George's Church, Singapore

It has been four and a half months since I returned to Singapore. In Singapore, when people find out that I am a Christian, one of the first questions they ask is "What is your denomination?" (or words to that effect). I would much prefer them to ask me the magic question instead - "Why are you a Christian?"
When I tell them that I got to know Christ in the Methodist tradition, grew in Christ in the Anglican tradition but don't really care about denomination because I am an evangelical at heart, I just get a very blank stare in return. Why? I suspect that it's because most people who ask me about my denomination do not really know the differences between them anyway.
So just to set the record straight, as an evangelical Christian, I believe the following 12 'S's:
1. Sovereignty of God - God made the universe and is the king of the universe. Nothing that happens in this universe is outside His control. (Revelations 4:11, Proverbs 19:21)
2. Supremacy of Christ - Jesus Christ is God (The second person in the trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). He is not merely a super-human, a prophet, a good teacher, etc. (Hebrews 1:3 c.f. John 14: 6-7)
3. Seriousness of sin - All of us are guilty of terrible rebellion against God and the consequence is serious - eternal separation from God (think: death, suffering, pain, broken relationships, etc). (Romans 6:23)
4. Substitutionary death of Christ - Christ suffered the consequences of our sin by dying in our place on the cross. In other words, he paid the price/penalty for our sin. He redeemed us. (1 Peter 3:18)
5. Salvation by faith alone - We are only saved because we believe in Jesus. Good works do not earn us our salvation. Good works are signs/evidence that we have been saved. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
6. Sanctification by the Holy Spirit - God does not leave us to struggle alone as Christians. He gives us the Holy Spirit to change or regenerate us to be like Jesus. What we could not do in the past (i.e. live to please God), we now can because of the Holy Spirit working in us. (1 Peter 1:1-2)
7. Scriptural authority - The bible is God's word - his very voice speaking to us. Hence, it has authority over us. It is final regardless of whether we feel comfortable with it or not. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
8. Certainty of the return of Christ (okay, this is the honorary 'S') - Christ not only died but rose to life on the 3rd day. He is living and will return one day to judge this world (Acts 17:31).
9. Significance of evangelism - If items 1 to 8 are indeed true, then the most loving thing to do is tell others about it (something like a scientist telling the world about a new cure for cancer or nasty infections). We tell others about Jesus by words AND (not or) actions. (Matthew 28:18-20)
10. Sacrificial living - We are called to worship God by being living sacrifices. This does NOT mean that the priest slays one of us at the altar every Sunday. Instead, we recognise that we do not belong to ourselves but to God. We live to please God. (Romans 12:1)
11. Society of saints - A Christian is NOT Rambo - he/she does not operate behind enemy lines alone. We are here to give to and receive from one another as a community/society that loves one another. (John 13:34-35; 1 Cor 12:13; Example of fellowship in Acts 2:42-47)
12. Centrality of bible teaching (the last honorary 'S') - Christians not only go to church or attend cell groups just to have company with other Christians. Christian fellowship must include meeting around the word of God and be Christ-centered. It is no wonder that Paul writes, "We proclaim him (Jesus), admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ." (Col 1:28).

So, if understood correctly, there can be evangelical Anglicans, evangelical Pentecostals, evangelical Methodists, evangelical ... you get the idea! Praise God for this!

Merry Christmas!

(Picture taken from http://www.britishturkey.co.uk)

It's the time of the year again when we exchange presents, roast big birds, and get a public holiday, which is all really nice (unless you are a turkey/big bird). Amidst all the celebrations, I wonder if the world remembers the birthday boy himself - Jesus Christ. After all, Christmas marks and honours the birthday of Jesus Christ, doesn't it? (footnote: The actual birthday of Jesus is not really 25th Dec but some powerful guy just choose this day once upon a time)
I wonder how does the world perceive the birthday boy, Jesus Christ. Do people see him as a helpless baby born in a manger more than 2000 years ago? Or as one friend cheekily wrote - "divinity in a nappy"? This view of Jesus was certainly true 2000 years ago. I guess he would have been breastfed and needed his diapers changed back then. However, it would be foolish of us to assume that time is frozen and think of Jesus Christ still as a helpless baby in a manger. Jesus Christ WAS a baby in a manger but this baby is now King of the Universe and will return one day to judge. He came to earth for the first time as a baby but will come the second time as a powerful and righteous King. The words of Jesus himself makes it clear:

"When the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left." Matthew 25:31-33 (NIV)

Do we really know who is Jesus Christ? Are we ready for his second coming?

Did you say that kids were innocent?

I just got back from my first night shift in the Emergency Department of a local hospital and finished it without falling prey to an 11-year-old patient of mine (read: small achievement). I will spare you the details of the consultation. In a nutshell, this very convincing kid was pretending to be very ill though he turned out to be fine in the end. And my suspicions of the little genius faking his illness was finally confirmed with the following exchange at the end of his visit.
Kid, "Doctor, can I have an MC for school?"
Me, "Sure. I will give you an MC for 2 days."
Kid (immediately looking brighter and less ill), "Can I have an MC for 3 days?"
Father interrupts, "Son, stop your nonsense! You are not missing school like that."
I then continued, "Well, it depends on what your father says."
Kid, "What if my father says yes?"
Can you believe this 11-year-old boy??!! :-D It was at this point that I realised that I wasn't dealing with an innocent 11-year-old kid. I found the encounter rather hilarious and it did break the monotony at 2 am. However, I was reminded that kids aren't that innocent after all. They are cute and adorable but certainly not innocent!

Where have the trillions of dollars gone?

Well, I don't really know. All I know is that it was there last week but not there now. And I have been affected just like almost everyone else. Just a year ago, who would have thought that banks would collapse (think: Icelandic Bank for this week), people would lose their deposits/investments overnight (think: Lehman Brothers), the Dow Jones would plummet 2000 points in a week, property prices would dive (not just fall but dive), unemployment would rise to a 5 year high, and coordinated multinational efforts of the governments aren't enough to reverse the problem. In light of these observations, one would (and should) be asking "Where is my security?" I am sure that people would be searching for answers as they realise that our security is not found in our wealth ... fragile fragile wealth.

It is not surprising that Jesus says, "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." - Matthew 6:19-21.

Maybe it's time to take what Jesus says a lot more seriously. He is not only right about wealth but also about more important issues like life & death. Would you like to find out more about Jesus and the 100% security that He offers?
The good news starts here - Simple message at the heart of Christianity.

My first wrestling match with my 3-year-old godson

Today was a very happy as well as a sad day. Happy in that I got to spend quality time with my godson, Harry, his family, and a few close friends. Sad in that I would not be seeing them for a long time after today. To make this day extra special, my godson also showed me how an intelligent 3-year-old could make things challenging for us adults. Here's what happened:

As Harry saw me inflating his Thomas the tank engine air bed for his afternoon nap, he said, "I want to play."
Me, "We can play after you had your nap."
Harry' "I don't want to go to bed."
Me,"I am afraid that you are going to bed now."
Harry' "Not quite."

NOT QUITE??!! Can you believe the cheeky monkey? He then proceeded to pull out the air pump from the bed and began a wrestling match with me for the pump.

Harry won.

I will really miss this little fella and all my close friends in the UK!

Who says that nothing is free?

Since I will be leaving the UK soon, here are a few items that I will be giving way for FREE. You would have to collect it from my flat in the Headington, Oxford Area. Please contact me if you are interested. If you are a complete stranger who does not know me, just leave me your email address as a comment on this site and I will get in touch with you. Items for free include:
1. Toaster, 2. Toastie-making grill, 3. Electric orange juicer, 4. Electric Kettle, 5. Cutlery, 6. Utensils, 7. Writing Table, 8. Single-sized mattress, 9. Electric Fan, 10. Table lamp, 11. Electric heater, 12. CD rack, 13. Chair for writing table, 14. Magazine rack, 15. Wall clock, 16. Picture frames, 17. Dust bins (still looks new), 18. Fitted sheets + duvet cover for single-sized beds, 19. Small Rice Cooker, and much more (just ask!).
So, who says that nothing in life is free eh? And it gets even better - if you want a place in heaven (where there is no death, mourning, crying or pain), contact me as well. I can't give that to you but I know of someone who can.