Murderer of Dreams

In the midst of the noise of the F1 race weekend in Singapore, and the huge crowd in town, there is another thing that i have witnessed and its effect will be more deeply felt than the race car or the crowded street is that dreams are killed.

I am deeply convinced that a gross injustice is happening within the churches today, is that thousands if not millions of dreams are being destroyed. The Church needs to repent, especially the ‘aristocrats’ of the church need to know that they serve a higher cause than themselves or their organisation itself, that is God. I am deeply disgusted that the church instead of liberating their people, youth or adults to fulfilltheir destiny in God, they kill it even before it began. I wonder, the picture of the mass tombs should be an appropriate picture of the church today and an halocaust of people’s dreams and destiny are emtombed forever by the pharisaic religious body call the Church today.

The Church we were meant to be.

Back after a long absence from the blogosphere, and here, after a short bible study discussion yesterday with Veron, Mercy and Boon Wan, on the topic of Church. There was an interesting thought to the role of Church and how we Christians have a responsibility within the Church.

The Church is an extension of the ministry of Jesus, as well as the representative of the Kingdom of God on earth. When Jesus left, He left the Church a mandate, that is to go into the world and tell His Story of redemption and salvation, and second, to make disciples. That we have so often called ‘the Great Commission’ but failed to realise that it is the mandate handed over from Christ to the Church, and that is what the Church should exist for.

I asked them a question, why is the Christianity so attractive in the early church and why it is so repulsive today? It is because the Christians today have failed or rather the Church have failed to live out the 100% holiness that is demanded of the Church. We have failed to live out the Christian principles that we proclaimed with our mouth, but in our lifestyles, we live so differently.

When preachers travel in their private jet, live in a multi-million dollar mansion, driving an expensive car, and i wonder, quite often, is this the Christianity i have come to live by? Or is the Christianity lived out by Heidi Baker where she gave up everything she has for the poor, the abused, to bring hope to the hopelessness? Why is there such a wide difference in the two end of the Christianity that on one, i find their brand of Christianity nothing more than a self glorified Gucci suit, and on the other end, Jesus with skin on.

The question remains, where our decision to lead us to position ourselves, will determine how we live for Christ, and how the Church will be.

Signs of an unhealthy Church

http://www.cyberscripture.com/warning.htm

This article talks about the signs of an unhealthy Church, which I find it very relevant to my own experience. I have been asking what’s the scope of responsibility of a pastor in the believer’s life that one should take on the role of controlling every aspects of it? Where is the line to be drawn? Particularly in the ideal community of believers in the book of Acts, there will never be a case when a pastor starts controlling the church, after all, aren’t we in the Body of Christ – the Church, so why are pastors fighting so hard to protect their own ‘turf’?

CBN resources
Part 1 of Spiritual Abuse
Part 2 of Spiritual Abuse
Part 3 of Spiritual Abuse

On the edge of spiritual dis-satisfaction!

Was watching this drama on the mobile-TV on board the bus last night call “Life Story” and sometimes, i just looked at the world, the gross injustice on why good people has to suffer sometimes while the wicked prospers! It reflects how wicked and sinful human race has become, or rather fallen into. I see such injustice day in day out, from old folk begging for a living selling tissue papers when people walked past them, and i do not care about whether these are from a syndicate, because they do get paid, if they are, and what’s $1 to support them? I see how people are not getting a chance at life especially ex-convicts, or even people who had done wrong. If Christ has forgiven their sins, who am i to judge them? How self righteous i am!

Was talking to Mercy one night why Christians are sometimes worse off than Non Christians. One reason is that most of the time, Christians tend to be self righteous, when non christians are not. They accept people more readily than people who are forgiven and ought to extend that same Grace and Mercy shown to them, but failed to. The injustice among the world is not as heart breaking as those witnessed within the Church. Where millions around us are dying, without God, without proper meal, and here we are, ministers who suppose to represent God, are enjoying a millionaire lifestyle with private jets, million dollars estate, and driving luxury cars. These ministers and Christians live like Kings on this earth, but forgotten about servanthood and as bond slaves in the Kingdom of God. One thing i realized, why i do not want to talk about the slums in India, because, i see the same condition of hopelessness, and desperation in my country, with old folk off Commonwealth Close, Toa Payoh, the modern slum littering the ‘dark alleys’ of our sophisticated cosmopolitan society. Why are Churches building a multi million dollar corporation and neglecting the essence of Christian lifestyle – to care for the poor, widow and orphans of our nations? Where do i direct such anger that i, echoed what Paul said, the chief of all sinners, except that i am nothing like Apostle Paul.

Where am i heading? A deeper intimacy with God will cause a radical dis-satisfaction with your spiritual life, and with your life and ultimately your attitudes and values. One cannot hold on to their WANTS, and not nailed it to the Cross, and carrying it daily if we desire to follow Christ. He demand nothing less than total commitment. Jesus is coming back real soon, real soon, and when He does, will he say, “Good and Faithful servant” or “Away from me, i do not know you.”

Bishop Eddie Long speaks

As quoted

Bishop Eddie Long called the requests by Sen. Charles Grassley “unjust, intrusive, and an attack on our religious freedom and privacy rights.” as he addressed the congregation during the morning service.

A sense of disappointment that a Christian leader has to resolve to such methods to cover up their own financial irregularities in handling finances. As I see it, that there should be an inquiry into all prosperity gospel preachers including Eddie Long and it is nothing unjust about it, in fact, justice is served to audit Eddie Long finances when money are being used to further Eddie Long’s kingdom rather than God and especially so when such financial gains are solicited from poor people where Long’s promise of blessings when they gave to his ministry. Let God’s justice be done first within the Church and then the world, for Judgment will fall first on the Church and then the World.