Take 2 Timothy +++ Regularly for Perseverance.

Citrus Sin, Oriole Cafe & Bar. iPhone 3gs + a bunch of apps.

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

To Timothy, my beloved child:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

You are aware that) all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me — may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself.

Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal:"The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity."

Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra — which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.

The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you." (2 Timothy 1-4)


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Whenever embarrassment crouches at the door, blushing at the apparent narrowminded-ness of Scripture-centric ministry, whispering accusations of ungodliness - that "your" clique is arrogantly imposing its elitist views on the rest and causing disharmony, that all this Bible stuff is just a phase of a Christian's life just as young people throughout the centuries have been similarly passionate about democracy/communism or human/animal rights or sports/video games, and surely different people have different learning styles - why not focus on good music and fun activities, and obviously you can't expect toddlers or children or our ADHD youth or busy workers or harrassed parents or people who have never done well academically or seniors with various ailments and complaints to sit down and study God's Word?...

...it is good to remember that this is exactly what God expects. For just as God gave us his only Son to die for our sins, he also gives us the ability to understand his Word and the power, love and self-control to hold on to it, teach it faithfully and live according to it and pass it on. He keeps us faithful in persecution and suffering for the sake of our salvation as well as the salvation of those who will put their faith in Jesus as we teach them the Scriptures.

True shame will be to be found by the Master on The Day with a handful of flimsy excuses for slacking on the job.

(Some sort of circulus in probando? Not a problem if it is true there is only one source of truth!)

PS: In one night, there were two stories of illiterate grandmothers in their 80s coming to Christ and then quickly learning to read the Bible. These testimonies were a mercy rather than a necessity since we already know whom we have believed and how he is faithful in doing what he has promised.

PPS: D.A. Carson's From the Resurrection to His Return is a good stocking stuffer on this topic. (It seems when it's D.A. Carson lite, he's known as "Don Carson".)

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The Pop! Goes Our Hearts Partnership (Philippians 1:1-11)

At the CIMB Singapore International Piano Festival last week, Vladimir Feltsman strode on stage to polite applause before sitting down perfunctorily and launching into J.S. Bach's Partita No. 1 in B-flat major. The initial excitement of the audience soon gave way to the dawning realisation that there was something very familiar about his style - it had all the symptoms of a child being forced by proud and somewhat musically-clueless parents into playing his Hanon exercises for visitors. Feltsman's use of rubato seemed merely an attempt to allay his boredom rather than to add colour to the piece. Chopin's Polonaises and Ballade No. 3 fared little better though Feltsman actually showed a bit of interest in Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition with glimpses of technical brillance and even, emotion. Later, I thought his first encore piece really did sound like piano exercises and recently ex-fan R was insulted by the triteness of his second encore piece.

Travel-weary performing-monkey syndrome theory was put to rest by reports that Feltsman was similarly uninspired in his adopted homeland. The South Florida Classical Review likened "his stage personality and musical style" to "that of an impatient, vaguely irritated professor who wants to get class over with as quickly as possible". Though describing his interpretation was individualistic, The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that "Feltsman's moments of boredom [were] unfortunately obvious". (Edit: Chang Tou Liang's review in the Straits Times probably attempted to be far more constructive and positive.)

What a great contrast between the pianist free to practise his art in front of a willingly-adoring audience and the effusive Paul fettered and mired in opposition as he writes the letter to the Philippians.

Astonishingly, the letter is in a joyous major key with I, IV, V chord progressions, with the main themes of partnership (Philippians 1:7, 4:14-15. 1:27, 2:1, 3:10 (I want to partner in his suffering), 4:2) and what standing firm in partnership might look like (Philippians 1:27 - 4:1), always with an eye on the last day (Philippians 1:11, 4:17).

In his various letters, Paul uses different imagery to describe the relationships between the church and God, and between the members of the church: God is the Father and we are his children and members of one family; Christ is the head and we are parts of one body etc.

Here, he appears to be using the imagery of partnership (κοινωνί). It is not just the loosely bandied "fellowship" which Christians term just about every gathering regardless that there is little difference between such chowtimes/ weekend football sessions/ gossip meet-ups and the gatherings of pagans. The partnership to which he refers is akin (hehheh) to that found in the business world, where people get together and commit to working singlemindedly, and do indeed work passionately, towards a common objective. William Taylor suggests the active, energetic picture of a takeover situation where the accountants, lawyers, business people are working hard overnight with a common target in sight. But more than that, the partners in a partnership relationship are stakeholders; they are in close relationship, each contributing his part, and each sharing in the ups and downs - directly reaping the profits of the success of their enterprise and also directly bearing the losses of the failure of their business.

There is partnership between Christ and the church, and the members of the church with each other. It's not just a shake-hands commercial deal with one eye always on protecting oneself and being ready to sue the other for breach of contract but a real teamship, a heartfelt joint venture. Just as the "affection of Christ" was no Saturday night whisper to be melted away by the stark sunshine of Sunday, but shown in his sacrificial death on the cross, so Paul's love for the Philippians is real - shown in his concern and affection for his partners (Philippians 1:3-4, 1:7, 1:8) and the amazing joy welling up even in his private prayers (Philippians 1:4) because he can see they are keeping in partnership with him (Philippians 1:5, 1:7) even as they all partner with Christ (see later chapters). The evidence of this is their monetary support, their being faced with the same opposition and their standing firm in the gospel (Philippians 1:7).

Christians find each others' testimonies tearduct-tickling. It was really wonderful to hear R's 11-year journey to the faith through the unlikely help of a Nobel Prize winner's book on Barrabas and the Christian (heritage) of favourite poets. Heck. God's sovereignty being, err, really sovereign, even The Simpsons can be his messengers through which he calls his people.

It's easy to start out strong and full of promise (this is a general comment and not specific to prata-buddy's future!). Think of the childstars who crashed and burned when they were no longer cute enough to hide their lack of (other) talent, or the one-hit wonders, or the sportspeople who grew old and weary and then retired to collect royalties from their eponymous range of sports equipment, until those too were retired because their achievements had been eclipsed by others.

How do we know we will last in this partnership with Christ to the end in a world full of temptation and opposition and suffering? And furthermore, churches fester with all sorts types, how can we manage to remain in such intimate partnership with people we can't quite stand the sight of?

Well, we didn't discover the faith under our own steam or through dumbass good luck, but God ultimately who first called us to this salvation. So unsurprisingly, it is he who began a good work in us who will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). And our sharing in Paul's imprisonment (facing the same conflict and opposition and persecution he faced), and our sharing in the defense and confirmation of the gospel (confirmed no doubt also by our standing firm in it), far from being signs that God is punishing us, are signs that God's approval is on us - for Paul considers these part of the grace, the undeserved favour given to us by God (Philippians 1:7)

And yet, in that familiar both-and scenario that is replete through the Bible, we are to rest on God but not on our laurels. Paul prays that the Philippians' love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that they may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, and in the same letter, tells them how they are to do this. No instant makeover from God. Wounds, difficulties, pain and suffering to follow.

Christian camps: camaraderie in the cause of Christ. The joy of Christian service together (and silly games and sillier photographic memories of the same).

This is all with the aim to bring praise and glory to God on that Last Day (Philippians 1:11, 4:17) through our fruits of righteousness, overwhelming evidence of his work in us, a massive harvest, an overflowing bank account because of our faithful gospel partnership.

But more on what remaining in true partnership, what abounding love with knowledge and discernment, looks like to come. Yay!

Outside, It Was Stormy And Dark...

... perhaps so we might follow His street lamps and road signs.

For James tells us:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-3)

and

As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (James 5:10-11)

and from a distance of centuries, John Newton shouts encouragement to those who, having asked the Shepherd for similar directions, have been put on that good old trodden path:

I asked the LORD that I might grow
In faith, and love, and every grace;
Might more of his salvation know,
And seek, more earnestly, his face.

'Twas he who taught me thus to pray,
And he, I trust, has answered prayer!
But it has been in such a way,
As almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that in some favoured hour,
At once he'd answer my request;
And by his love’s constraining pow’r,
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.

Instead of this, he made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart;
And let the angry pow’rs of hell
Assault my soul in every part.

Yea more, with his own hand he seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe;
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

LORD, why is this, I trembling cried,
Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death?
"’Tis in this way, the LORD replied,
I answer prayer for grace and faith.

These inward trials I employ,
From self, and pride, to set thee free;
And break thy schemes of earthly joy,
That thou may'st find thy all in me."

(John Newton, Olney Hymns)

And we do not stop to gawk at car wrecks in the darkness, for our hope drives us on homewards:

There is a hope that burns within my heart,
That gives me strength for ev'ry passing day;
a glimpse of glory now revealed in meager part,
Yet drives all doubt away:
I stand in Christ, with sins forgiv'n;
and Christ in me, the hope of heav'n!
My highest calling and my deepest joy,
to make His will my home.

There is a hope that lifts my weary head,
A consolation strong against despair,
That when the world has plunged me in its deepest pit,
I find the Savior there!
Through present sufferings, future's fear,
He whispers, "Courage!" in my ear.
For I am safe in everlasting arms,
And they will lead me home.

There is a hope that stands the test of time,
That lifts my eyes beyond the beckoning grave,
To see the matchless beauty of a day divine
When I behold His face!
When sufferings cease and sorrows die,
and every longing satisfied,
then joy unspeakable will flood my soul,
For I am truly home.

© Stuart Townend, Kingsway Music
(An untoward dislike of wind instruments means i only listen from 0:58 to 4:28)
(HT: the B)

A Death, A Wedding, A Youth Camp, A Good Dinner and Inagiku

An eventful week: news of a friend's wife's meaningless death at the hands of Pakistani terrorists in Mumbai (refusing to accept the meaninglessness of a life suddenly ended, some have tried to paint her as a martyr or a heroine),

followed quickly by a most delightful wedding (featuring hilarious speeches by best friends, a groom who managed to insult the bride's sister, the bride and his own mother in his speech and a demonstration of why masking tape is better than sliced bread), whose intimacy was a marvellous celebration of relationship (cf the usual Chingay parade) and great reminder of much-awaited union of Christ and the church,

then immediately on to a week of youth camp. At the well-appointed Fairy Point Chalet 7, an old colonial bungalow overlooking the yachts moored off Changi Beach Club, with Pulau Ubin on the horizon. There was a field at the front of the house for a bit of football, a room equipped with table-tennis tables, nests in the surrounding trees to amaze visiting toddlers, a huge kitchen to the delight of the camp mother (inhabited, unfortunately, by huge hardworking ants), 4 toilets, 3 showers, 9 beds...

Because this was a holiday camp, indoor games included Cranium, Saboteur, Sleeping Queens (bought on a whim and has proved absurdly popular so far!), Taboo, Rush Hour, River Crossing, real-life Scrabble, Gift Trap ("I am really not a bimbo ok? I'm not! I...oh! Professional make-up lessons!"), Shadows Over Camelot - a co-operative board game, Citadels, round-robin table-tennis (with plastic plates as bats) and wave-boarding while clutching to sofas and walls.

One night, the boys went fishing. Another night, there was a rainy barbecue at the side of the bungalow, where there was an umbrella boy to shield the fire from the rain and wailing cats fanning into flame the, erm, charcoal provided by God. Then, there were observation-logic games (Open or Close?, What Number Is This?, Bang Bang Bang Who's Dead? Crossed-Uncrossed) and the bad jokes:

Which is the biggest city in the world?
Dublin. Cos it's always doublin'.

How is Ironman a woman?
He is an Fe-male.

What did Sushi A say when it saw Sushi B?
Wassup, B! (wasabi)

Man tou and siew mai went to watch a sad movie but only siew mai cried. Why?
Cos man tou didn't have filling (feeling).

Groan.

All this play was sustained by good meals from the kitchen (the cheerful servant-hearted kitchen assistants had strange fake Indian accents) and from visiting wives and moms: chicken stroganoff, beef stroganoff, babi assam, beef bolognaise, pasta with porcini mushrooms, fried beehoon, beef hash, mandarin trifle, banoffee pie, brownies, hot chocolate.

The theme for the camp was the recently-concluded Beijing Olympics. The main talks were centered cheesily around the One World One Dream theme: ie, One World, One Dream? (Ephesians 1:9-10), One Garden (Genesis 2:8-17), One Mistake (Romans 1:18-19), One Saviour (Romans 5:9-11), One Decision (John 14:5-7 and a can of Anything and another of Whatever), One Life (Ephesians 4:17-24). The focus talks on Amos for the leaders and scampers were a real treat: standing on the shoulders of Hugh Palmer, L preached faithfully on God's judgment, his salvation and the terrible danger of presuming that past rescue meant exclusion from present judgment.

We read Vaughan Roberts' Battles Christians Face for the scampers' book club. Chapter 8 was a particularly good reminder of the God-instituted media by which we keep on keeping on in the faith: by his word the Bible, by prayer and by the encouragement of the other members of God's church.

In the same way I wondered why repeat campers still didn't quite get the gospel but continued to idolise Jay Chou, why professed Christians didn't see the need for Bible study, so I realised that I hadn't quite grasped the concept of primacy of God's word either despite understanding it intellectually. Instead of relying fully on the Word to save, was nervous(?) enough to try to contextualise too much in the seminars. Repented of not trusting in the Word to do the job it promises to do: being the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), quick and powerful, sharper than double-edged sword it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). It is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). It is the things that look weak and foolish in this world that God uses for his kingdom (1 Corinthians 1:27).

The leaders' morning meetings at 7.45am-ish were good times to review the previous day and preview the new day and to express our dependence on God for all things.

Sent the camp to Old Changi Hospital and Pulau Ubin for the wide game: a time for the campers to get out of campgrounds, run about in packs and have opportunities for good conversations. The ones who bothered to check with the Gamesmaster got useful hints about taking the van, the ones who'd gone off on their own theory of where they were supposed to be heading ended up cycling (they said it was very nice) and one fell over and had to have dirt scrubbed out of her wounds back at base camp later.

This wide game was less Amazing Race and more of a build up to the Final Challenge. The clues were meant to reinforce what the campers had learnt about eg. the garden, the fall... One of the teachers said it was useful. Throughout the game, I also gave out "Prophet Notes". Like the OT prophets, these popped up in their own time and told the camp their current status: a great gap had opened up between them and the Safe Haven, they needed something to bridge the gap, or someone. The Final Challenge consisted of us locking the main gate on them and preventing the tired, sweaty, mozzie-bitten, hungry people from returning to Safe Haven. J totally relished his role as St Peter With The Keys. One leader irritated by the heat time being of the essence said he was going to go off if the gate wasn't opened by 7pm, other campers tried (with big Bambi eyes) pleading, alternately, their good works, the Virgin Mary and unsubstantiated grace. Finally, a designated saviour revealed himself and upon hearing that he had to die for them to enter the gates, the mob ran towards him screaming,"Get him! Kill him!" So much for that Messiah.

After camp, stumbled home and konked off for the rest of the day, waking up just in time for a delicious meal of in-bone ham, applesauce, beef short-ribs, mash and salad with 3 types of dressing, and Ironman on HD for dessert. Grateful for the generosity and hospitality. The host had more bad jokes of his own:

Who is the most business savvy woman in the Bible?
The pharaoh's daughter cos she went down to the banks to get a little prophet (profit).

Who is the most famous orphan in the Bible?
Joshua, son of Nun (none).

Who is the shortest man in the Bible?
Nehemiah (knee-high Miah).

Sigh.

The next day, a surprise birthday party for a big boy (who did not look the least surprised), a real life roti prata man, kiddies being introduced to beer (they weren't too impressed and wisely decided that the ice surrounding the cans and bottles was more fun afterall), after which I was thankful for conversations on dealing with sin, frustration with the self-centredness of professedly sorted people and the lack of good conversations on things of eternal value, they preferring to waste time and energy either promoting themselves or fawning over "senior leaders"zzz, and dealing with own sinfulness and the sinfulness of these people in humility and grace.

On Sunday, Joshua Ng preached on Haggai at Bethany Trinity Presbyterian Church and Hosanna Baptist Church. The prosperity gospel, he noted, is only half right. Hillsongs and the mega-churches in Singapore are getting God's timetable wrong. And Satan's strategy has always been half-truths. Of course health and riches are good but God promises them only for the future. And just as we do not expect them now, we also should not expect our labour for the Lord to bear fruit immediately or ostensibly. We can work hard at it but our Bible study groups might keep shrinking; we can prepare to meet up with a young Christian and change our schedule to fit him but in the end, he may stand us up for a soccer game on telly.

Later, a belated birthday lunch at Inagiku where the sashimi and wagyu beef and garlic fried rice and tempura were ok, but the news of another person setting foot in the kingdom of God was terrific indeed! Told people at the table about Haggai and thanked God for his grace in keeping me in him. The effort I put into his work has borne little if any fruit and much as I want to save family and friends from their certain fate I've achieved nothing, yet despite my obvious disinterest in my career, God has provided a boss who thinks well of me and colleagues who don't have too much of a problem with that. If God had let me be too tempted by the path of less resistance, I may not have stood.

Altogether a very humbling and therefore refreshing week, PG, lived in light of major awareness of the suddenness at which the light can be switched off on life. Yes it was more than worth missing Kraftwerk for.

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labour pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)

[Edit: a self-appointed regulatory officer has pointed out a lack of transparency in the matter of bad jokes. So in interests of full disclosure, I hereby declare that I too contributed to the bad joke fodder with the following stinker thought up during the talk on Amos 9:

Moses warned Pharaoh of all the disasters that would befall his country if he did not let the Israelites go and Pharaoh saw that God did indeed do as threatened. Yet, he did not believe (in) God. Why?
Because he was in the Nile (denial).

And later, because the skin on my ears and knees was sunburnt from sailing and peeling, I was proud that I was a-peeling (appealing).]

Greek Masterpieces From Musée du Louvre and Peter O'Brien On Prayer

"We're back from the National Museum," gushed the parentals some months ago, waving about Greek Masterpieces From The Louvre brochures, "they've brought in sculptures from the Louvre. You must go and see them!"
"But we've seen them...at the Louvre!"
"Did not."
"We did. We went to the Louvre, you criticised I M Pei's pyramid, then you said you were bored and wanted to go shopping."
"Oh."

In any case, last Sunday, after Peter O'Brien'd delivered his 64th talk in the last 3 months, I popped across the road to the museum for a gawk.

Surrounding David by Titarubi.
Poor old David's so commodified he's attained pink kebaya-cloth kitsch-ness.

The exhibition was fairly small but decently and thematically-curated. Peter O'Brien, being a bit of a scholar in Paul's New Testament letters, had, earlier in the day, painted many word-pictures and made many references to cultural context in which the letters had been written. Even though these statues preceded Paul by a century, there were probably quite a few of them still mooching around with their Augustan brothers when Paul gandered about Athens during the Late Roman Empire (Acts 17:16-34).

To my initial shame, having always been fond enough of Greek/Roman literature to have an entire bookcase on the subject and Greek/Roman-themed BBS rooms, my main reaction to some (because others looked like really bad copies) of these drapped bodies was one of great appreciation: the proportionality of facial features, bodies and limbs, the rendering of wet himations, and how nice it'd be to have a quiet empty museum for a sit around and a charcoal sketch.

But Paul, I thought when I got home and had a flip through the Book of Acts, had got it spot on. Upon seeing these beautifully proportioned idols, he did not bring out the sketchpad. Instead, his spirit was provoked within him. Barely able to contain himself, he went about arguing against the wisdom of that age, reasoning with Jews and devout persons and professional philosophers (Acts 17:16-34). So my reaction of great appreciation = FAIL. But someone later pointed out: all cultural lor. Not idols to ppl of our time liao.

Pardon me, but your butt is cracking.

Simulacra of the Roman simulacra of the Greek simulacra of...well, maybe no long-dead bird/hunk in particular; the Baudrillardic phase where the simulacra masks the absence of basic reality by being its own pure simulacra, these chipped blocks of marble may be, but they are not meaningless simulacra qua simulacra. Instead, they form part of a system of signification for the ancient Greeks and their Roman copiers/consumers. So the late night chat was a good reminder of the "nothing is a sign unless it is interpreted as a sign" of Charles Peirce, the cultural subjectivity of the signifier and the signified, and so the subjectivity of idolatry and therefore the necessary failure of any attempt at legalism.

Nevertheless, such utter incompetence in even identifying the right reaction in any given stimulus is probably a good impetus for prayer. (We had an interesting semiological debate in our DG about the word "prayer", but that's another post.)

Notes from Peter's talks on prayer:

Knowledge, wisdom and understanding and thanksgiving (Colossians 1)
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul tells them that he is constantly praying for them (Colossians 1:3,9). He asks of God because he knows that God is generous and will not withhold good things from his children. What does Paul pray for? He prays that they will be filled with knowledge so they will please the Lord (Colossians 1:9-10). He prays that they will have all spiritual wisdom and understanding. This wisdom and understanding is not what we think of as guidance from God, not "Lord, what do you want me to do?". Rather it is more about what God wants done in his world and how we can fit into God's plan for the world.

And what pleases God? Bearing fruit in every good work (Colossians 1:10b). This does not mean being successful in God's work by the world's standards, but having the fruit of the Spirit to be enabled to do things in a godly way, in growing in love for Christ, in wanting to know Jesus more and more.

It's all very well to talk about these things but how will we be able to do them? Through being strengthened in all power by the Spirit (Colossians 1:11). This same power, this same Spirit, raised Christ from the dead. So it's pretty lethal stuff.

Then Paul returns to thanksgiving. We have all been transferred from the dominion of darkness to the kingdom of light. Gaining citizenship of a country like Singapore or Australia's pretty difficult, but the difficulty level is nothing compared to trying to gain citizenship of heaven. Yet, Christians have achieved it through the forgiveness wrought for them in Jesus Christ. It is not only children who find it hard to say "please" and "thank you". Adults struggle as well. The writer of Hebrews tells us that we can now enter God's throne room with boldness. This should encourage us to pray prayers of thanksgiving.

Suffering and Weakness (Romans 8:18-30)
Voltaire was of the opinion that God either couldn't stop suffering or that he had the ability to do so but wouldn't.

We all live in the midst of suffering. But we are told that we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. We will share in his suffering before we share in his glory. This tension is not just individual, it is also corporate.

Paul's thesis on suffering and glory is in Romans 8:18 - "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us". Paul was no stranger to suffering. In 2 Corinthians 1, he told the Corinthians that he was being utterly and unbearably crushed; he was so close to death that it was only a whisker away. Paul didn't have a silver spoon in his mouth. But he believed that the glory to come was a sure and certain thing. If it wasn't, then we would do all sorts of things to put our present suffering out of our minds, to try futilely to gain security, to distract ourselves.

The whole of creation is bound up with suffering (Romans 8:20). It was knocked off its perch of God-centredness because of Adam's sin. But again there is the promise that after this suffering will come glory when the sons of God come into glory (Romans 8:21-22). Suffering and glory go together.

And we Christians also groan inwardly (Romans 8:23). We were adopted as sons of God when we first trusted in Christ. But we now wait for that final adoption and the redemption of our bodies. Every time we have to visit the pharmacist or the doctor we are reminded of how our bodies have yet to be redeemed.

And as we wait in hope for this redemption, we continue to suffer and struggle. We are weak. Part of our weakness is that we don't know what we ought to pray for, "ought" meaning in accordance with God's will. This is part of our suffering. There are some people who approach the throne of God with such boldness that they keep telling God what they want over and over again. And when they don't get what they want, they blame God. There are other people who are just at a loss about what to pray for.

But, Paul says, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, interceding for us with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26). There is a content to the Spirit's prayer that we don't know about. Paul is not talking about speaking in tongues. The groanings of the Spirit are wordless. And God who searches hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, not just theoretically but the content of intercessions of the Spirit that are in line with his will. And God answers the intercessions of the Spirit. When we pray, we fire arrows at a target which may go far wide. The Spirit redirects the arrows to make sure we hit the bullseye everytime.

When we were younger, we thought that we could do things on our own strength. But when we are older (and hopefully wiser), we rely more on God and his strength and his power. Nothing is too small for God. He numbers the hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7) and does not forget even the littlest bird, the sparrow (Luke 12:6-7).

For those who love God, all things work together for good (Romans 8:28). God works our good through things that were meant to harm us. Joseph, for example. was sold off by his jealous brothers (Genesis 37). After his many adventures in foreign lands, where he was ill-treated and thrown into prison, Joseph met his brothers again. He was now in a position of power and he could have had them killed (Genesis 42-45). But instead he recognised God's hand in his situation, even where his brothers meant evil, God meant it for good. God had sent him to Egypt before them to preserve their lives (Genesis 45:5-8). This does not mean that there are 2 different experiences but that the 2 are sandwiched into 1, the clearest example of this being the death of God's own Son. Wicked men meant for the destruction of Jesus and they will be held responsible for their actions, but their evil was used by God, and infact predestined by God, for good.

We are encouraged to call upon God. His answer to us will not be brilliance in analysing our situation or in summarising the problem. He will not answer us because our motivation is 100% pure because we are wretchedly corrupt. God will answer us because the Spirit intercedes for us.

And we know that God has infinite resources (Ephesians 3:20). Not only that, but also God doesn't hide away his resources like Scrouge. God gives lavishly. God wants to give abundantly. It's almost as if God is waiting to be asked so that he can give.

Faced with the reality of our own weakness, living in a world that is suffering, prayer is real and practical now. We do not need to wait until we are better before we can pray, nor must we do this or that before we can pray.

Prayer: slick? Unrealistic claims? Full of promises too good to be true? (Philippians 4:6-20)
Slick solution? (Philippians 4:6-9)
The poor Philippians were being pressured from without and being given a hard time. But whatever they were distressed about, Paul told them to be anxious about nothing and instead present their requests to God. ("Anxious"ness being unreasonable heresying care.) This sounds like a slick platitude but Paul was in prison then and knew what he was talking about.

God knows all needs. He clothes the lilies of the field etc (Matthew 6:28-33). They weren't to tell God about their needs because he didn't know them and needed to be updated. But by bringing their requests to him and laying their troubles upon him, they were to demonstrate their dependence on him. And this would strengthen their faith.

Did this mean that all our prayers will be answered? Philippians 4:7 promises one sure result: that the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Whether our particular petition is granted or not, we are assured of divine protection against everything. "Peace" isn't a feeling of peace but is that something objective that was done on the corss (Romans 5:1) - reconciliation and salvation. And this peace "transcends all understanding" and is more wonderful than they could imagine.

Philippi was settled by many retired soldiers who had the protection of a garrision or guard. This peace, said Paul, would similarly keep guard over their hearts and minds, those areas of their lives that were vulnerable to attack from desperate heresying care.

Do not be anxious but instead pray and God will guard your hearts and minds. The promise given in Philippians 4:7 is not slick. As I reflect on what God has done for me, this guards me against all sorts of wretched fears.

I can do everything! Unrealistic claim? (Philippians 4:10-13)
"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." says Paul. Will nothing be beyond our capabilities if we pray, if we had the same faith that Paul had? But yet, Paul had an extremely long list of things he still suffered (2 Corinthians 11). This is not a triumphalistic promise.

The context explains the promise. Paul says that he is content in all circumstances. He has experienced life at both ends of the economic spectrum and he knows how to live at both ends.

How does he do this? Through Christ who gives him strength. He can do all things, that is, be content in all things through Christ. Compare this with the Stoics who taught that the happy man was the content man. The content man was content in and of himself, due to his innate resources. But Paul knew that it was when he was most conscious of his inadequacy (2 Corinthians 12) that he could most rely on God.

Every need met! A promise that is too good to be true? (Philippians 4:14-19)
The doxology in Philippians 4:19-20 brings to a close the thanks to the Philippians. They have supplied Paul's needs, God will supply theirs. This is not a reciprocal tit-for-tat.

"Every need" does not mean just material things like money, but also the whole host of things that they were up against. They needed to stand firm in persecution (1:27-30), they needed unity where there were divisions (eg. between the 2 quarrelling ladies forever immortalised for posterity in the Bible), they needed to shine like stars in the universe even though they were under pressure.

"in glory" - these needs which they had would be met gradually and partially in the present but would be met fully at the end.

"in Christ Jesus" - Jesus is the only one in whom God's promises are fulfilled. Therefore, only when they are united with him fully would all their needs be met.

Our Spiritual Battle, the Devil and Prayer (Ephesians 6:10-20)
The spiritual dimension in Christianity is often ignored, whether in moral decay or in evangelism. This may have more to do with the Enlightenment than with Scripture. Scripture describes things from the world's viewpoint and also from a cosmic dimension. We neglect these things at our peril. We will not be seeing things as God sees them.

God has already won the decisive victory but the Devil and his minions still exist and still act even though they have lost. They will do anything to snatch away the Word when it is preached. This is especially so at morning tea after Sunday service when people will talk about anything but God's Word. The Devil distracts people so that they do not come to repentance.

In the Ancient Games, the most important, the blue-ribbon event was wrestling. So when Paul talked about wrestling not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, he was emphasizing that the battle with evil is close-contact, hand-to-hand combat. If we think that when we evangelise, we are up against flesh and blood, we have misread the battle. We are up against evil.

The attacks against us can be one temptation over and over again. But the Devil can also switch tactics. He has variety and range. The attacks can be internal and external. Uncontrolled anger and the telling of falsehoods are not from the Devil but he can use them to cause strife within the body of Christ.

What is our strategic objective in the battle? It is to stand firm (Ephesians 6:11, 13,14), to stand up against evil powers. We are not to move ahead (which infact, might be a serious wrong) but to stand firm.

Can we take on such a formidable foe with just our own resources? No. But we can do this by relying on the power of God (Ephesians 6:13ff). In actual fact, the victory has already been won by Jesus Christ on the cross. The Devil's final defeat is imminent. Soon, everything will be subject to Christ. We don't have to try to win that victory over and over again. But for the battles in the meanwhile, God has provided mighty armour for us. This is the same armour that the Lord of Hosts fights in in Isaiah 59 and the armour that God's Messiah wears when he goes out to do battle in Isaiah 11. This armour that God himself wears we also wear. This armour is made of truth, righteousness and salvation - aspects of God himself. When we put on the Lord Jesus Christ at conversion, we put on his aspects, his armour.

The breastplate of righteousness is protection in knowing that we are right with God. We can't be blackmailed. The Devil cannot tell us that we aren't a good Christian because we haven't read the Bible or haven't prayed. Who will condemn us when Jesus has died for us? If we aren't sure of ourselves, we won't share the gospel. This is the ploy of the Devil.

The sword for battle, the sword of the Spirit, is also the same one used by the Messiah in battle.

The shield of faith refers not to that little round shield which doesn't protect the head or the limbs in a battle but to the full-length one that covered the whole body. It was soaked in water and could quench dangerous missiles - arrows dipped in tar and then lit and shot. The Devil will try to attack us not just with temptation but also persecution and false teaching. We must trust in God's ability to keep us in the midst of battle.

Prayer is essential and crucial to our being armed. Standing firm and prayer are interlinked.

Summary
Thanksgiving is a mark of being Christians. The world may raise complaints and concerns to an art form, but the Christian is forever thankful because we have been transferred from darkness to light.

The Christian may find it difficult to pray aright. But the Spirit, who intercedes for us, hits the bullseye everytime.

There are some promises in Scripture that aren't what we want them to be. They must be read in their contexts.

We need to pray because our struggles are also in the cosmic dimension. The world is natural, the flesh is natural but the Devil is supernatural. If we live only as if there is the world and the flesh but no Devil, we misread the battle. There are ministers of Satan who will tell falsehoods and who are disguised as ministers of the gospel.

But when Jesus clothed us at conversion, he clothed us with armour that the Devil cannot destroy.

Remembrance of Things Past and The Way Forward

Apologies to Proust and Ford and people who don't like long rambly posts.

Out in the nave, the murmurings crescendo-ed, soaring up to the stone vaulted canopy of our English cathedral. The burgeoning audience arrived anticipating a performance of Handel's Ombra Mai Fu. But away from the crowd, a great chill froze my heart in the quiet transept: my trembling hands held the neck of my violin, broken off horrendously, the edges of the fragmented parts like sharpened stakes; irreparable damage to a friend's Strad. In the midst of a nightmare conscious that it was a nightmare, I waited for the sharp sunny edge of reality to cut through the greyness, I willed it to spike through so I could stumble, blurryeyed, to check on the violins in storage. Back in this world, latches were hastily flicked and dusty cases flung open to reveal that the neck of the Chinese one had indeed come off horribly (suffice to say that I popped into Gramercy and everyone took one look at the remains and laughed) from humidity and disuse. But I never liked it anyway. (The more favoured Czech was still quite alright.)

England
Dreams of England are rare these days, which makes waking life much less painful (and also I suppose, waking life now rests in Christ). But years before, happy nights were spent in smelly old Barbours, strolling the familiar shiny wet cobblestoned streets, trailing steamy breath, chatting and noshing on hot pasty, visiting as we always did the grocer's for brown bags of shiny apples, the baker's to ask after his lovely macarons and the quaint tilted bookstore with dusty Bach scores in the back to have a browse and a quick word with the old lady who ran it. Sometimes, it'd be summer and the air would be delicately warm for long hikes across the moors or punting in the sweet river or lazy games of crocker on the lawn and scones, clotted cream, pots of jam and cups of tea after. It took us at least a year to ease off the crushing yearning, though we still felt as Rupert Brooke (though not quite in the same context): "there's some corner of a foreign field that is forever England". (Am glad that someone else on the blogosphere still dreams of England as well!)

Perhaps it was the casual gift of Galaxy bars "to remind you of England", perhaps it was someone wanting to return to England where you could play games and have a barbie in the open without conspicious sweat and being surrounded by a cloud of mozzies, perhaps it was the offer of Müller Corners, perhaps it was the Toad in the Hole and the Spotted Dick, perhaps it was the revisiting of old haunts that stirred and churned the memory...

Old Haunts

Tiong Bahru: The Art Deco and rounded stairwells and ventilation holes replicated in the "upgraded" hawker centre. Brilliant.

People's Park: BestFriend and I used to accompany his girlfriend, a sometime model and fulltime LaSalle student, here to gather haberdashery, sequins, buttons, trimmings, assorted odds and ends for her fashion design course. Years after, latenight postgrad dinners were spent in the cheap hawker center downstairs in a cloud of cigarette smoke, debating the finer points of some obscure part of the course (as only postgrads do) over long meals of cze char. And still after, nice folks from CYC brought me here to select fabric for work shirts. Now refurbished, the mangy cats and singletwearing pipesmoking oldmen have been relegated to the sidelines.

Ghim Moh: Whole generations of junior college students have been fuelled by, and have pontang-ed from lessons to paktor over, the char kway teow, prawn mee and roasted duck here.

Even the Holland Village cobbler has moved on.

Old Friends and Acquaintances
Refurbished old haunts aside, it's been a nostalgic sort of month in other ways: heart-pounding chance meetings with former stalkers, impromptu but inevitable reunions at weddings, almost-forgotten friends popping by Singapore for a visit and pleasantly-surprising long-distance calls from voices from the past...

The thing about meeting people from your past is that you see, reflected in their comments and questions, younger images of yourself ossified at separate fossil layers, stratified in history. And, whether as a symptom of a relationship-obsessed society or because nonbelievers haven't much more to be interested in, the comments and queries inevitably focus on marital status and whom one is seeing at the moment (regardless of marital status), for example: primaryschoolmates think you are still that "self-sufficient kooky genius" and so must never have gone on a date; secondaryschoolmates think you're the uncommitted easilybored cheeky joker who must have married one of your secondary school sweethearts and seen somepeople on the side; juniorcollegemates are shocked that you and stable RuggedOutdoorsyPerson could ever have broken up; universitymates tell you that they've just got their own pad and a cockerspaniel and ask if you will leave hot and stinky Singapore and come and live with them and work things out; postgraduatemates tell you that they've seen AmbitiousHighFlyer in the media the other day and ask if you would both go over for dinner next weekend or a different group assumes that as soon as AmbitiousHighFlyer II returns from Hong Kong, the blacktie wedding invites will arrive in their mailboxes in due course and offer to do the harpsicord and viola at the reception. As the dimwitted tout whispered,"See I sell you cheap Mr. Mozart's skull when 'ee was 5. Eef you want, I have also 'ees skull when 'ee was 10 and 18". A very outofbody experience.

Driving home after, it is late and vehicular and human traffic and red lights are scarce, so it is easy to steer with one hand and prop your head up with the other and view the past through rose-tinted glasses and wonder how different things would have turned out, if only, at the appropriate fork in the road, different decisions had been taken. Later, still under cover of night, lying under the stars, it is too easy to dwell on regrets, to wallow in self-recriminations and to mourn a time long past.

What does God tell us to do with history?

Godly Remembering
There are many instances in the Bible where God commanded his people to remember history: particularly, what God had done in history. One major example is the Exodus event. The Israelites were to remember the day that they were brought out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and the strong hand the LORD who brought them out from that place (Exodus 13:3). Remembering their past was so important that God instructed the Israelites to incorporate mnemonic devices in their lives: the eating of unleavened bread should be to them as a sign on their hand and as a memorial between their eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in their mouth. For with a strong hand the LORD brought them out of Egypt (Exodus 13); the keeping of the Sabbath should remind them that they were slaves in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD their God brought them out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm (Deuteronomy 5:15).

These practices were also to function as methods of transmitting these corporate memories, this national history, from one generation to the next: "no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. You shall tell your son on that day,'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'" (Exodus 13:7-8).

Why was remembering of such importance?

For Relationship
The works of God in the past, and his character shown through those works, told his people who he was, how they should relate to him and what to expect of him. So, for example, they were not to fear other nations they were to dispossess no matter how great they looked, because they were to remember what the LORD their God had done to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that their eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD their God had brought them out. So would the LORD their God do to all the peoples of whom they were afraid (Deuteronomy 7:17-18). The people would know how to relate to God and what to expect of him: trustworthiness and faithfulness, backed up by awesome power. That's how relationships work out: products of a history of interactions and revelations and dealings with each other over a period of time given the parties thereto a pattern within which to relate. (Which is why, conversely, it is difficult to have any sort of relationship with someone with the retentive memory of a goldfish (urbanlegendly, 3 seconds).)

For Survival
Remembering past events is also how we learn to interact with the world and survive in it. Someone who gets zapped once by a wet socket is likely to end his days in a great sizzle if he doesn't remember that wet sockets are dangerous things to touch. So also remembering whom God was and his awful judgement on those who did not obey him was important for the Israelites if they wanted to live: warns Moses,"if you forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy 8:19-20).

For Living in the Present and in the Future
Remember, says Paul to the Ephesians, "that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:12-13). And if this is so, then they are to live, Jews and Gentiles, as one people in Christ.

So it is right, and it is commanded, that we remember the work of God in the history of the world and in our personal histories, for such memories tell us who he is and how to relate to him now. We learn from the punishment of the disobedient in the past to know how to live now. We learn from the faithfulness of God in the past to know for sure that he will fulfil his promises in the future.

Sinful Nostalgia
But there is a certain sort of (selective) remembering, a certain type of nostalgia that God warns us against: that which falsifies the past, that tells half-truths about history.

So the Israelites, very quickly forgetting the terrible slavery that they experienced in Egypt grumbled on route to the Promised Land: "Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at" (Numbers 11:4-6).

So we are sometimes tempted to think how good the days were before we were converted to Christianity: the lovely freedom to do whatever we wanted, to marry and divorce anyone we chose, to cheat and steal if we wanted, to lie on a whim, to spend our money completely on ourselves. But we forget, dangerously, that in that state, we were dead in our transgressions, we were slaves to Satan, we were on the way to an eternity of dreadful crying and gnashing of teeth. And we can be sure that the anger of the LORD blazes hotly against such self-deluding wistfulness (Numbers 11:10).

Racing Forward
"One thing I do," says Paul,"forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14). We are to be like athletes, running the race, pressing on, straining forward to take hold of the prize that awaits at the finishing line. Action words.

There is no place in the Christian life to be weighed down by the remembered guilt of past sins. But this is not a mere talkshow platitude and positive thinking. When we turn back to God, we take hold of the blessing of the substitionary death of Christ on the cross in our place. Because our sins have been paid for by Jesus, God tells us that he himself shall remember them no more. We trust that God's words are true and that Christ's blood is sufficient to pay for our past wrongs, no matter how terrible they were. We have faith that God has forgiven them as he promised.

There is no place in the Christian life to grow fat and complacent in the "successes" of the past. There must be no coasting on past achievements. Don't think that we have it all wrapped up. Don't think that we have arrived. Don't think we know it all. Don't think that we have triumphed over this or that specific sin. Don't think that our years of experience as a Christian, our office within the church as a minister, an elder, a deacon, a DG leader, a 1-to-1 discipler means that we are "sorted" for life.

Paul tells us in Philippians 3 that the mature Christian realises that his work is never completed, that he cannot let down his guard against sin until he has crossed the finish line, and attained the resurrection from the dead. With the Bible as our directional guide, our map, we are to put all our energy in persevering to the end. Christian believers, forgiven sinners as we are, have to work out our salvation for which Christ has taken hold of us, by striving to become like Christ in our character, and by working for Christ in the world.

So a few weeks ago, when it was a toss-up between (1) free tickets to Zouk's "Very Brit" with all that nostalgic Britpop, synthpop, new wave, Topman/Topshop/Warehouse clubbing gear, alt punk 'ttitude; and (2) having a not-dancey, non-alcoholic DG social, the choice was clear not because we were holy-moleys but because...well...I guess, right remembering helps you to make choices in the here and now for the eternal future.

And of course they don't sell a pint of the club's nastiest for just a quid over here. ;-)