 | "I have loved you with an everlasting love"--Jeremiah 31:3 | Jan 27, 2007 |
'For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.' (Ephesians 3:14-21) Watching England playing in the World Cup from my current home in England (London) is different from watching it from Singapore. I can't help but sympathize with the feelings of the people around me. Indeed, I felt sad when I saw the England's fans cried. I shared in their disappointment when England crashed. I felt indignant when their second goal was unjustly disallowed. Their horrendous defence giving away goal after goal to the Germans was almost too painful to watch... As I reflected on this upsetting defeat, I realized that the church at large is in some ways similar to the England team. It is quite common nowadays to see people like Richard Dawkins ridiculing Christianity as foolishness. It is true that back in ancient times Paul was saying 'but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness (1 Cor 1:23) even while he was penning the most brilliant writings of the first century and giving irrefutable evidence for the resurrection (1 Cor 15:3-11). Nevertheless, the most important reason why Christians are called foolish in our present day is not because many Dawkinians are blinded by their self-centred 'wisdom' and are stubbornly ignorant like those first century Jews and Gentiles--though the Dawkinians certainly are like that. Rather, the most important reason is that many Christians are not making a good defence for the hope that is in them (1 Peter 3:15) when they interact with other people. In other words, the fault lies with our own people. And that is what upset me the most. We have got the best arguments, we have got the best evidence (see http://eucharisteo.multiply.com/journal/item/65/Useful_apologetic_websites_and_materials--_a_compilation), Dawkin's case is demonstrably fallacious (he doesn't even have the courage to debate the Christian apologist Dr William Lane Craig). And yet again and again I heard Christians who should have known better say 'Christianity cannot be shown to be true, you just have to accept it by faith'--which makes it sounds like unreasonable blind faith WHEN IT IS NOT unreasonable blind faith! One ought to feel indignant about this. So many Christians have been brainwashed by others to think that faith should not be supported by evidence, when the authors of their own Scriptures gave evidence for their faith (cf. 1 Cor 15:6). By ignoring or downplaying the evidence, our own people are like the England team-- giving the goals away. Totally unnecessarily. If only more Christians can wake up, equip themselves with knowledge of the evidence, and support one other to reason and to contend for the faith like the first century Christians (1 Cor 15, Acts 6:9-10, 13:30-31, 17:31, 18:4, 18:24-28, 1 Peter 3:15, Jude 3, etc). Ministry isn’t much like snowboarding By Rick Warren Did you watch any of the snowboarders during the winter Olympics? You wonder how these athletes can perform the stunts they do knowing the potential disaster they face if they crash. Gold medalist Shaun White says they have to have considerable confidence in their own abilities. But what’s good for Olympic snowboarders isn’t good for those of us in ministry. Too often we can explain everything we do by our own abilities and the abilities of people on our team. That’s not what God calls us to do, though. God is looking for ministers who risk everything on his power and his ability. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (NIV) God is pleased when you trust him. Does your ministry consistently demonstrate that you trust God for what you can’t do on your own?
Most ministries can be explained away through simple human effort. Most of the time you can see exactly why a ministry succeeded or failed by looking at the talents and abilities of those in leadership. You don’t want a ministry like that. If your ministry can be done without God’s power, you’re aiming too low. The only reason Saddleback keeps moving forward is by God’s power. It wouldn’t happen any other way.
You live by faith by taking risks in your ministry. Too many pastors start casting a vision before they’ve decided to trust God for the results. They use logic rather than faith to build their ministry. Faith – the radical faith God is calling us to – is believing God when you can’t see what he is going to do. Faith actually leads to vision – not the other way around. You’ve got to believe God before you can see what he is going to do.
You’ve heard the famous line from William Carey: “Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.” Carey knew he had a big God. And he leaned on that big God for great things Jesus says in Matthew 9:29, “According to your faith it will be done unto you.” (NIV) What are you believing God for in your ministry? Throughout the preparation for the debate as well as the debate itself, I experienced a lot of encouragement from God through friends, family, and even my opponent. God prepared me for the debate through sermons (on Haggai), songs, and even movies (Prince Caspian and Snow buddies)! I also experienced God through His word, such as Isaiah 41:10, Acts 6:10, James 1:19-20, 1 Peter 3:15, 5:5-7, Matt 5:38-39,44-48. It was a good learning experience. Without God, I could never have done this. Glory be to God!
Report of the debate: http://eucharisteo.multiply.com/journal/item/59 Paul's prayers in the Bible. Pray one each day of the month 1st. Rom 15:5-6 2nd. Rom 15:13 3rd. 1 Cor 1:3-9 4th. 2 Cor 1:2-4 5th. 2 Cor 2:14 6th 2 Cor 13:7-9 7th 2 Cor 13:14 8th.Eph 1:15-17 9th Eph 1:18-21 10.Eph3:14-17a 11.Eph 3:17b-18 12. Eph 3:19 13. Phil 1:2-5 14.Phil 1:9-11 15.Col 1:2-4 16. Col 1:9-12 17.Col 4:2-4 18. Col 4:12 19.1 Thess 1:1-5 20.1 Thess 2:13 21.1 Thess 3:10-13 22.1 Thess 5:23 23.2 Thess 1:2-4 24. 2 Thess 1:11-12 25.2 Thess 2:13-15 26. 2 Thess 2:16-17 27. 2 Thess 3:1-2 28. 2 Thess 3:5 29.2 Thess 3:16 30.Philemon 3-6 Compiled by Rico Tice, All Soul's Church, Langham Place  Dear friends,
Greetings to all of you from London! 2009 has been a year of adventures for our family that continued from October 2008, when we first arrived in the UK, and in this letter I will like to share some of the highlights for the past year and explain briefly the things that I have been working on. THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES... We started this year in Durham, where the winter was freezing cold. Although I had been accepted into a PhD program at King’s College London starting in January this year—a gracious answer to our prayers that went beyond our expectations—we had a contract with our landlord at Durham until April. Since the PhD program in UK does not require any coursework but only the submission of a thesis and meeting my supervisor (Dr Alister McGrath),I took a 3 1/2 hour train ride every few weeks to meet Dr McGrath.  A greater problem facing us was the lack of funding. All our savings were merely enough to support our family for the one year MA theology in Durham. With the unexpected acceptance into the PhD program in London starting in January 2009, we wrestled with the possibility of going back to Singapore after April, where I would work and get enough money first before coming back to UK to finish my studies for the next few years. However, this would seriously slow down my progress. We prayed for God’s best in this situation. In December last year, after much encouragement and advice by brother Leonard Wee (a fellow Singaporean student whom I had met at Durham), I decided to apply to a Singaporean organization which supports overseas theological education. After a couple of months of waiting, there was no reply. The Lord’s answer is never too late. On the 5th of March, the secretary of the organization informed me that I have been awarded the yearly scholarship that would cover the course fees and my own living expenses. This is an amount that would have taken me at least two years of work to save up, and we were overwhelmed with thankfulness to God. G’BYE DURHAM, HELLO LONDON We said goodbye to our dear friends in Durham and the scenic northeast of UK and moved down to the busy city life of London on 15th April. We found a flat in the Zone 4 suburbs, and here (as was in Durham) we experience the provision of God through the kindness of many brothers and sisters in Christ, including an upright piano from a free-recycling group in our neighbourhood. By God’s grace we managed to find a school for the girls that is within walking distance, where they have also found good friends. London itself has much in store for us. Most of the museums offer free entry, and there are also good performances at very economical prices: truly a great educational and cultural experience. Furthermore, continental Europe is just next door, and we were sponsored a memorable trip to Paris, Germany, and Switzerland with my mother when she visited us in the summer.
We have been attending All Souls’ Church, Langham Place. Since then we have greatly benefited from the preaching, especially the series on praying for others using the prayers that Paul prayed for believers in his epistles (e.g. Ephesians 3:14-21, Colossians 1:9-12, Philippians 1:2-5, 9-11). There is also a very large international community of over 60 nationalities there. On the very first Sunday we visited the church, we were welcomed and treated to a sumptuous lunch by a very warm Singaporean community, and on the following weekend we attended ‘Singapore Day 2009’ in London together.
STUDYING AT KING’S COLLEGE LONDON. Working with Dr McGrath, who is one of the leading theologians in the world, has been a great privilege and blessing. He is flexible to work with and he adjusts his supervision according to my needs, which I appreciate. He found Dr Richard Burridge, a New Testament scholar and Dean of King’s College London, as my secondary supervisor whose sharp and well-nuanced criticism has been very helpful. It is also a blessing that Dr McGrath was invited to speak in Singapore in May this year during the Fellowship of Evangelical Students 50th Anniversary Celebration, where my parents and parents-in-law had the opportunity to meet him personally, and that greatly reassured them. Furthermore, God has led the writing of my thesis in answer to the prayers of many friends. Often, it felt like a bucket of ideas was poured down onto my head-- especially after the praying meeting of my church in Singapore on Tuesday evenings!—and I struggled to keep pace with the ideas that were rushing though my head by typing them down as fast as I could, often working up to 12 hours a day. Because of this, I was able to submit the first draft of my thesis by the end of this year, and if the Lord wills I should be done with my PhD by the end of 2010.
CHRISTMAS AND INCARNATION:
The thesis that I have been working on concerns the incarnation, the belief that God took up a human nature in the person of Jesus Christ nearly two thousand years ago. Not only is this celebrated every Christmas, more importantly, the affirmation that Jesus was truly divine and truly human is vital for our salvation and eternal destiny. For if Jesus were not truly human, he could not have represented mankind in order to suffer death for our sins on the Cross. And if Jesus were not truly divine, his sacrifice could not have been adequate to atone for the sins of every single human being. Nevertheless, throughout the centuries many sceptics, Muslims, and Jehovah Witnesses have argued that the affirmation that Jesus was truly human and truly divine is incoherent. The reason is that it appears impossible that any person can possess human properties such as ignorance, as the Scriptures apparently testify of Jesus (e.g. Mark 13:32), while possessing divine properties such as omniscience at the same time. Many Christians have replied that the incarnation is a mystery. The problem with this reply is that since Christians want to make meaningful statements by saying, for example, that the divine nature has the property of omniscience and that Jesus was apparently ignorant according to the Bible, they must explain what these statements could possibly mean; it is not enough to claim that it is a ‘mystery’ and leave it as that. And as Christians explain these statements, they must also ensure that their meanings do not result in contradictions. For to make contradictory statements e.g. ‘Jesus had complete awareness of everything and he had incomplete awareness of everything simultaneously’ is like writing something and then immediately erasing it, such that one ends up affirming nothing, which defeats the purpose of making statements about Jesus in the first place. As mentioned in my previous newsletter, in a recent article published in a leading secular academic journal in Germany, I demonstrate that the incarnation is coherent by proposing a possible model of the incarnation, which I call the ‘Divine Preconscious model’ (‘On The Coherence Of The Incarnation: The Divine Preconscious Model’, Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie 51 (2009): 50-63). This model suggests that at the incarnation, the mind of the pre-existent Son of God was divided into conscious and preconscious (a part of the subconscious), and certain divine properties such as omniscience were located in the preconscious, while the conscious acquired newly created human properties such as limited awareness of things. Based on this model, I demonstrate that all the properties of divinity and humanity could have simultaneously coexisted in Jesus without contradiction. For example, concerning divine omniscience and Jesus’ apparent ignorance, since knowledge does not require conscious awareness (e.g. knowing 2+2=4 does not require me to be consciously aware of 2+2=4 all the time), it is possible that Jesus’ knowledge of all things was not limited (thus he was omniscient), but he freely chose to restrict his conscious awareness of all things and not to utilize his omniscience in order to share our human experiences, and this explains his apparent ignorance (e.g. Mark 13:32).
My PhD thesis is basically filling in the details for this model. What has impressed me greatly in my studies is that there is very good historical evidence that Jesus regarded himself as divine, and together with the historical evidence for Jesus’ bodily resurrection, which serves as a miraculous and divine confirmation of Jesus’ claims, this constitutes a good basis for believing that Jesus was God incarnate.
THE FULFILLMENT OF AN UNFULFILLED DESIRE Concerning the bodily resurrection of Jesus, it was mentioned in my previous newsletter that this was what I had initially wanted to focus on for my MA in Durham and in my PhD. I mentioned that the resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15:17) and the centrepiece of Christian apologetics. As things turned out, my paper on the incarnation got published first, and that led to doing a PhD on the incarnation with Dr McGrath. Nevertheless, the desire to work on the resurrection remained, and I wanted to share my contribution to a wider community. And so, I converted my initial research proposal for the resurrection into an article, and sent it to The Journal of Theological Studies published by Oxford University Press. Given the high standards of this secular journal, to my surprise, the editor got back to me, suggested some minor corrections, and accepted the article! The background and gist of it is as follows (The full article is available at http://jts.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/flp093?ijkey=vMC5UJ0KHNydHHf&keytype=ref ): It is a well established historical fact, testified by not only Christian documents but also by ancient Roman and Jewish historians, that Jesus of Nazareth was a historical figure who was crucified in Palestine in approximately AD30. The first century Christian documents show that within a few weeks after the crucifixion, Jesus’ disciples believed that he was bodily resurrected, because they claimed to have experienced with their physical senses the bodily resurrected Jesus in a variety of circumstances involving various groups of people, and that the tomb was empty. At this point, many sceptics have responded by saying that the fact that the earliest disciples believed in the resurrection does not imply that it really happened. After all, there are many possibilities to consider: for example, the disciples could have experienced hallucinations of Jesus, which convinced them that Jesus was resurrected. In this article, I demonstrate that all the possibilities can be reduced to only the following: Either the disciples who claimed to have experienced the resurrected Jesus did not actually experience anything which they thought was Jesus but gave false testimonies, or at least some (if not all) of them did experience something which they thought was Jesus. If the latter were true, then either all of these experiences were caused intra-mentally (i.e. by things inside their own minds e.g. hallucinations), or at least some (if not all) were caused extra-mentally. And if the latter were true, either these were not caused by the same Jesus (i.e. perhaps they mistook someone else for Jesus) or at least some (if not all) of these were caused by the same Jesus, in which case either this Jesus did not die on the cross (‘Escape’ Hypothesis), or he did die on the cross (i.e. the ‘Jesus’ they experienced was the same Jesus who rose from the dead). Hence, there are only the following alternatives to the resurrection: False Testimonies Hypothesis, Intra-mental Hypothesis, Mistaken Identity Hypothesis, and Escape Hypothesis. But all of these are extremely improbable. To explain very briefly, False Testimonies hypothesis does not explain how the disciples were willing to die for what they knew to be false, Intra-mental Hypothesis does not explain how the tomb of Jesus which was guarded by soldiers became empty, and it does not explain the variety of experiences involving groups of people (often with intimate and extensive contact) and which also convinced unbelieving sceptics such as Paul of Tarsus. Mistaken Identity hypothesis does not explain the empty tomb and how the disciples who had lived a few years with Jesus could have misidentified him in a variety of circumstances, and the Escape hypothesis does not explain how a half-dead Jesus still suffering from the wounds of the crucifixion could have convinced the disciples that he was the risen Lord of life. Therefore, together with the absence of any good reason to think that miracles cannot happen, the most probable hypothesis is that Jesus was resurrected from the dead.
Needless to say, I was overjoyed with the publication of this paper: it was a fulfilment of an unfulfilled desire to work on the resurrection of Jesus which the Lord had graciously granted. When I was young, I had dreamt to be a soccer player, and I had often imagined myself scoring a goal in the World Cup final. Well, getting this article published in this journal does feel like scoring a goal in the World Cup final! The lesson that I learned is this: A person who is willing to follow His will wherever He leads will not feel short-changed: the plan of God is better than what we can ever imagine, and what we do for God will have eternal value. Jesus gives life to the fullest to those who would pray ‘Not my will, but yours be done’. (John 10:10, Luke 22:42)
FINAL THOUGHTS The battle is not over yet; there are more goals to be scored. Throughout this year, we have experienced many wonderful answers to prayers, and if not for the grace of God we would have fallen away. To our brothers and sisters in Christ, we hope that you would continue to remember us in your prayers. Pray that we would become more like Jesus, more submissive to the Holy Spirit, and that what we do will be helpful for others. Pray for my studies, publishing, and future career after graduation.
And for the New Year 2010 we pray for you this prayer that ‘God our Father would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen!’ (Ephesians 3:14-21).
       On 5th August, the second day of our holiday trip to Germany, my wife and I decided to make a trip to Bayreuth, knowing that this was the day on which Parsifal, one of my favorite pieces of music, would be performed at the Bayreuth festival. ‘The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Performances take place in a specially designed theatre, the Festspielhaus. Wagner personally supervised the design and construction of the theatre, which contained many architectural innovations to accommodate the huge orchestras for which Wagner wrote as well as the composer's particular vision about the staging of his works.’ (Wikipedia). The waiting time for a ticket to attend a performance at this festival is notoriously long—it can take up to 10 years—and I told my disbelieving wife that I may have to wait another 10 years before I can have a chance to listen to Parsifal at Bayreuth. Back in January I had made a hopeful phone call to Germany asking if there were any tickets for any of the operas (also known as 'music dramas') available, and I was told that all the tickets for all the 30 performances have already been sold out since October last year! Nevertheless, I read online that people have gone to Bayreuth on the day of performance asking for last minute tickets and obtained it. A website at http://www.faqs.org/faqs/music/wagner/general-faq/section-17.html advised thus: ‘Come to Bayreuth and queue in front of the box office from early in the morning (with your evening wear in a bag, just in case) until just before the performance (when, sometimes, returned tickets appear as if by a miracle). After giving up at the box office, you can sit in front of the Festspielhaus, in your best evening wear, holding up a sign that says "Suche Karte" and with a sad look on your face. Do not give up even after the performance has begun; sometimes patrons leave during one of the intervals and give their tickets to some of the pathetic creatures sitting on the pavement. At least you get to see the last act.’ (For me, I do not mind not listening to the whole music drama, and I would be grateful just to listen to one Act as I merely wanted to have an experience of Parsifal inside the Festspielhaus with its famously atmospheric acoustics.) And so my wife and I decided to try getting a last minute ticket. Before going to Bayreuth, I told my wife that the chance of getting a ticket is slim and it is not the case that I desperately need to watch the music drama—after all, God is my everything, not Parsifal!. Nevertheless, I prayed ‘Father God, if it is your will, let me have a chance to listen to Parsifal. I thank you for your love that surpasses knowledge, and I trust that You are able to do immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:18-20).’ We arrived at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus later than we planned—at 1.15pm, the performance was scheduled to start at 4pm—and there was already a queue of about 15 people waiting outside the ticket office for last minute tickets. Some people brought a chair to sit, and they had presumably been sitting for very long. Soon there were people queuing behind us, and I felt relieved that I was not the last to arrive. A lady in front was holding a sign ‘Suche Karte’ (‘Seeking Ticket’)—what I read on the internet was true after all! Seeing this, I felt less embarassed to take out the same sign which I had prepared back home, and held it in front of me as I walked around the Festspielhaus while my wife continued to wait in the queue. After walking a few rounds around the Festspielhaus for one hour, I felt like giving up. There were people in their best eveningwear streaming down the pathway to the garden outside the front door of the Festspielhaus. When they saw me, some smiled; others gave me a sympathetic look before walking away. No one approached me except an elderly gentleman who spoke almost unintelligible German to me (I think he was trying to tell me to attempt waiting outside the main door after Act 1 and someone might just throw me a ticket) before walking away. I had met a Chinese lady handling out some anti-Communist pamphlets along the way, she was a local and she advised me that the best place to look for ticket is at the carpark, right outside the main door, and at the ticket office (interestingly, she told me that there was one year where someone threw her a ticket when she was distributing pamphlets outside the main door, even though she was not looking for any tickets!) Nevertheless, when I went to those locations I found other people also holding the ‘Suche Karte’ sign standing there. They were better dressed and looking sadder than me. I went back to my wife, who was still queuing, telling her that we should give up and visit other parts of the city, so that we would not waste our precious holiday time. Surprisingly, she told me to persevere on, even though she was no Wagner fan! I told her that I appreciated her sacrifice for me, but I do not wish her to suffer standing for so long. She replied that she was actually enjoying watching the well dressed people from all over the world (some in their traditional costumes) walking from the parking lot to the Festspielhaus—a truly amazing fashion show! And so I continued walking around the Festspielhaus, holding the ‘Suche Karte’ sign and trying with difficulty to look sad (after all, I was not desperate to see Parsifal, though I would be extremely pleasantly surprised to get a ticket!). Then I saw a very joyful looking woman dancing around the alley—she was the lady holding the ‘Suche Karte’ sign that I saw earlier. Apparently she had gotten a ticket! I went back and confirmed this with my wife. The woman looked so happy, and I felt happy for her. I had witnessed that it is really possible to get a ticket after all! But after walking around for another hour, nothing happened. By this time, people in front of the queue outside the ticket office had started to leave, and I told my wife that we should give up as well. Once again, she told me to persevere, and that she prayed that we would get a ticket. After walking for a few more rounds, I gave up walking, telling my wife that I felt too tired walking under the hot sun. Still, my wife would not give up, and I joined her waiting in the queue. The lady queuing behind us was approached by another lady who sold her a ticket and the transaction took place in a flash, leaving us astonished at this ‘miracle’ yet wondering “why her?” After some minutes, someone approached a man who was queuing right in front of us. They exchanged some money and he walked away looking extremely happy—he had gotten a ticket as well! We waited for another half an hour more. By this time it was already 340pm and the situation looked desperate. There were still about six people queuing in front of us. Then out of nowhere a well-dressed man came from behind us and spoke to me in German. I told him that I do not understand what he is talking about. He then spoke to me in excellent English telling me that he had to leave after Act 1 of the performance, and he would meet me outside the ticket office after Act 1 and give me his ticket for free to attend Act 2 and 3! I couldn’t believe my ears. I thank him profusely and felt extremely grateful to him and most of all to God. God had made me tasted GRACE through this man. After waiting for another 20 minutes the ticket office closed—the person in charge came out telling us that there was no more person who called up to return their tickets (because they were delayed by the train, etc). The people in front of the queue—including a man who brought along his chair—left with a disappointed look on their faces. They had waited longer than us, perhaps since early in the morning. My heart went out to them. Although we didn’t get anymore tickets then, we felt very thankful to God for the ticket that the man promised us. We thought it was truly amazing that he would want to pass the ticket to me, since there were others who were queuing in front of us and there was a well dressed pretty lady queuing behind us. And we were truly amazed to have gotten the ticket for free—I have only budgeted at most 100 euro for the performance. (The man who queued in front of us met us later and told us that he got his ticket for 200 euros from someone who had waited for 10 years to attend the performance, but who could not attend because of an illness.) Nevertheless, there was only one ticket promised, but there were two of us. I told my wife that I would like her to enjoy the performance as well. And so we decided that she would go in for Act 2 while I attend Act 3. I felt very grateful to be able to attend one Act of the performance. Still, we decided that we would try to get one more ticket during the Act 1-Act 2 interval. During the interval the man came as he promised, handed me the ticket, and walked away telling me to enjoy the show. What a gracious person he was! I held the 125 euro ticket in my hand, overwhelmed with joyfulness and thankfulness, and went to join my wife who was standing outside the main door holding the ‘Suche Karte in her hands. There were two other people who were holding the same sign standing outside the Festspielhaus before us, and they got their tickets pretty quickly. Other people were streaming out of the Festspielhaus and passing us by as they made their way to the restaurant for dinner, and soon there were few people left inside and the situation once again looked desperate. I picked up my bag and we prepared ourselves to leave for dinner. Then out of a sudden an elderly gentleman, one of the last to leave the Festspielhaus, approached us with two tickets costing 152 euro each and told us—‘Zusammen (together), 50 euros.’ Again, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I told my wife that we should grab the tickets, but then we would have three tickets in our hands. Just then, we turned our heads and saw the well dressed woman who was queuing behind us outside the ticket office earlier. My wife went to ask her if she still needed a ticket and with some help in translating her Italian, she happily bought a ticket from us for 25 Euros. Everything was placed together by God! And so after a wonderful dinner my wife and I attended the performance of Parsifal sitting next to each other inside the Festspielhaus, paying only 25 euros for seats that cost a total of 302 euros! And it was a truly remarkable experience—the greatest performance of any kind I have yet attended in my life. My wife and I were both moved to tears, especially at the final Holy Communion scene of Act III which was accompanied by some of the most beautiful music ever composed. After the performance, I still find it difficult to believe that I had actually made it into the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, listening to a performance that I thought I would have to wait for 10 years. I was most impressed by the fact that our God is truly a God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine!
Eph 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man I find myself not living to the fullest extent the life that God wants me to live, the life that is like Jesus. I need power to do that. Pray, fast, earnestly (Eph. 3:14), forcefully (Matt.11:12) Ask and it shall be given, according to the riches of His glory. God wants to bless us. May our lives be channels of His blessings, that the infinite riches of His glory may downpour through us onto this world, to His glory. (1) How is the benevolence of God proportioned and limited? Answer: The benevolence of God is proportioned according to the nature and circumstances of His creatures. For example, a purely physical creature would receive only physical good, whereas a physical and spiritual creature like man will receive both spiritual and physical good. Also, the benevolence of God is limited to a sinful man only by his sin. He can receive physical good, but he cannot receive God's approving love and peace. Application: Since our sins are already forgiven by Christ and His perfect righteousness has already been imputed on us, there is no limitation to God's benevolence on us. Praise God for that! | The blessings of the Kingdom (1) (Matthew 5: 1-4), From the series The Blessings of the Kingdom | | All Souls Church, Langham Place Sunday sermons | | David Turner | |
    Psalms 96:3: Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. 2008 has been such a tremendous year of overwhelming blessings and victory from God for our family. In this letter, we would like to share with you some of the wonderful things which God has done in our lives. Hope that you too will be blessed as we tell of God’s glory.
THE STEPS WHICH LED US TO DURHAM
At the time of writing this letter, we are in the city of Durham, UK. So much has happened since we came here three months ago. But before we share this with you, we will like to retrace the steps that brought us here.
In July 2008, I finished my two years MA Philosophy of Religion program at Talbot School of Theology, California. It has been a fruitful time in the States, with the Lord’s blessings in ALL aspects of our lives. Physically, the Lord kept us in good health generally. Financially, we received gifts and even a car beyond our expectations, and these help us to meet our needs. Socially, we formed meaningful relationships: me with my classmates and Mary with her friends from Talbot’s Wives’ Fellowship •Academically, I experienced God answering my prayers and giving me the victory for every paper assignment and every examination that I took. He gave me the ideas to write my papers, strength to study and wisdom to think through problems, such that I was able to finish the program with the highest honors. I have heard scary stories of how theological studies have made some people confused and even destroyed their faith. Thank God, this has not been my experience. In fact, the opposite is true: Having studied the writings of the most brilliant atheists and skeptics in the world as part of my MA program, I became even clearer about what I believe, and even stronger in my conviction that evangelical Christianity is true. Spiritually, we were just awed by how real God is in all of these. It was nothing of a coincidence that the last sermon we heard in the States was a message on God’s providence based on Deuteronomy 8:3-4
•:“He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.” • As the pastor spoke about how God led the Israelites, I was moved to tears as I recalled how the Lord took care of our family all the time we were in the States. I received the assurance that the Lord will be us and will take care of us wherever we go.
•NOT SURE WHERE WE WILL GO…
• The main problem, though, is that at that time I was still not sure where I would go after returning to Singapore. Although I was clear about my calling to serve in the apologetics ministry and the need to do a PhD so as to be qualified to do research and teach in universities and seminaries, I was not clear what the next step was. I had applied to PhD programs at two places few months before, but I was rejected for some unspecified reasons. In the meantime, I had been accepted by Durham University to do a MA in Theology. The team of scholars at Durham in the discipline of New Testament studies is world-class, and mastering this discipline is important for giving a historical defense for the Christian faith. Nevertheless, I was still hoping, if possible, to go straight into a good PhD program with my MA from Talbot as this would save me a lot of time. However, no door for PhD was open at that time, and after praying about it I decided to bring my family to Durham. Little did I know what would happen there would be beyond my expectations.
•While waiting to go to Durham in October, our family spent two months in Singapore, where we experienced the Lord’s marvelous workings in numerous situations. We felt the love of our family and church friends in many ways, such as in the celebration of the birthdays of our daughters. I also had the opportunities to witness to a few non-Christians and led them to Christ. In these instances, I experienced how effective a Spirit-directed use of apologetics is. I found out (as I did before) that God does use rational arguments, that people do respond to these, and how helpful these arguments are for building up confident Christian witnesses to the world (1 Peter 3:15). God also gave me good opportunities to work as a doctor at various clinics to supplement our depleted savings, and He gave me the strength and good health to sustain my working day and night.
•There is this testimony of how wonderfully real and gracious God is. I had made up my mind many years ago to give to God a tenth of my salary in supporting various Christian ministries. Having earned some money in these two months, however, I was really tempted to keep it for my own use, especially in view of the fact that the living expenses in UK is going to be high. There was a strong tendency to rationalize by thinking that in supporting myself I would actually be supporting His ministry, since I would be engaged in full time theological studies. Nevertheless, the Spirit showed me that I was not rationalizing with the attitude of trusting that God will provide my needs, and He led me to make up my mind to be faithful in my giving to other Christian ministries. I will not forget that Sunday on which I put part of my giving in the offering bag, a deacon approached me after the service, handed me an anonymous envelope and told me that somebody has offered a sum of money to support my studies. The money turned out to be a few times more than what I had offered on that day. I do not know who that person was to this day, but God knows. All I know is the fact that “WE CAN NEVER OUT-GIVE GOD.” How awesome and generous God is! •LIFE IN DURHAM
•After these two months in Singapore, our family moved off to Durham, a beautiful little city in northeast England with a magnificent cathedral and castle overlooking. •There we once again experienced the abundant grace of God. A kind pastor offered us a three-room semi-detached house for the rent of almost half the market rate! There were gracious Asian friends who helped us settle down (including moving a heavy washing machine into our house). Our children were delighted to find company with their children who were of similar ages. Joy had since started her school-life in Neville’s Cross Primary School, while Mary is busy at home with Serene and Evangel. •We were introduced by our Singaporean friends to a wonderful church where the gospel is preached purely. I began to serve in the church’s outreach Bible study to overseas students, where I had the opportunity to be involved in two Chinese students being led to Christ. We have also found the sermons edifying. The series on the Sermon on the Mount, in particular, destroyed any grounds for self-righteousness in our lives. Indeed, one of the most important lessons we can learn, and still learning, is to be humble and broken before the Lord. Many instances in the past year have taught us that we are imperfect humans. But it is also in those instances when we humbled ourselves that we realized how sweet the Lord Jesus is. He is the One on whom we build our lives upon, and we can stand before God ONLY because of His righteousness. We experienced Him as the healer of our souls, the One who catches us when we are about to fall. •The biggest turn of events had yet to happen. We mentioned previously that there were two places where I had applied for PhD but was rejected. There was one other professor at Oxford University, however, whom I had approached in July concerning supervising my PhD thesis. He is Dr Alister McGrath, one of the leading theologians in the world and an ardent apologist for the faith. At that time, he told me that he was moving over to King’s College London. However, he informed me that he might be able to supervise my thesis starting in September 2009, and he asked me to contact him at a later date. On 22nd October I received an email which I am so thankful for. It was sent by a professor from Germany, and he told me that an article which I had submitted a few weeks ago had been accepted for publication by Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie, a journal of systematic theology and philosophy of religion which is ranked class A by the European Science Foundation.
[The article is a defense of the incarnation of the Son of God: in it, I demonstrate how Christians can speak meaningfully of Jesus having the full divine and full human nature without entailing contradictions. I pray that these ideas will be conveyed widely and remove intellectual obstacles to the gospel for people, especially liberal ‘Christians’ (there are many of them in Germany!), Muslims and Jehovah Witnesses, many of whom think that the idea that God took up a human nature in Jesus is illogical.]
Soon afterwards, I informed Dr McGrath about this acceptance for publication, and I asked him again about supervising a thesis that would be based on this article. He congratulated me and confirmed that he would be able to supervise my thesis in September 2009 if I am accepted by King’s. Since September 2009 was still a long way off, I procrastinated with my application while continuing my studies at Durham. But one day I decided to try out the online application system of King’s, and to my surprise I realized that the system actually allowed for admission as early as January 2009! With a certain degree of incredulity I decided to ask Dr McGrath about the possibility of starting in January. It turned out that Dr McGrath was actually not familiar with the application process, having just arrived at King’s, and after checking with his colleagues he replied that he would indeed be able to start supervising my thesis from January if I do get accepted at King’s!
Things moved at a rapid pace since then. I managed to get my professors at Talbot to help me with the reference letters, wrote up my research proposal, attached all the required documents and submitted my application form, all in the space of a few days. After a few weeks of waiting for the result and learning the lesson of trusting God, I was called up for an interview with Dr McGrath on 3rd December. By the grace of God, the interview was successful, and I was accepted into the PhD program at King’s without having to complete the MA program at Durham. How wonderful the plan of God is!
A CHRISTMAS GIFT
Prior to the interview I had told God that it would be a great Christmas present for me if I do get accepted at King’s to write this thesis on the incarnation (which, of course, is what Christmas is all about), and that I would write it out of love for Him. The Lord answered my prayer. After I was informed about the success of the interview, I was deeply impressed by the reality that not only blessings such as salvation, love, joy, peace, guidance, care, etc are God’s gifts, but even what we can do for God is God’s gift to us. When my girls share with me the oranges which they have peeled, I have often thought that I could have peeled them for myself at a far more efficient pace. Still, I deeply appreciate and enjoy their love. I was reminded that the heavenly Father could have done all the things He wanted to do by Himself: He could have led people to Christ, wrote the most brilliant thesis, and do a much better job than any of us, but He chose to let us do it, so that we might experience the joy and the excitement of co-working with Him, and learn the lesson about love and the meaning of life. What have we to offer Him that is not already His? Ultimately what He wants of us is the love that comes from our hearts.
 
. A lot of people have asked me, "What made you gave up full time medical practice to study theology?" The story goes back a long way, to the time when I first accepted Christ into my life when I was 16 years old. Making Jesus as the Lord of my life logically led to the decision that, if God should call me one day, I would be willing to let go of everything and to enter into whatever ministry He calls me to. Since that time, God began to stir my heart with His word through my reading of the Bible and through sermons. I also began to serve God actively in various ministries, including Campus Crusade for Christ (I led the Student Venture group at Temasek Junior College from 1992-1993), Youth Fellowship at my first church Sion Presbyterian (where I was president from 1995-1998), short term missionary work to Burma, Saipan, Kenya, China, and Cambodia from 2000-2004, advisor for Youth fellowship at my current church Macedonia Bible Presbyterian from 2003-2006, and in my work in the hospitals from 1999-2005, where I had the opportunity to lead a few patients to Christ
During the third year of medical school, a classmate of mine challenged my faith by giving me an article on atheism. He asked me tough questions such as: Are there good reasons in this scientific day and age to think that God exists? Are the New Testament accounts of Jesus reliable? Aren't the stories in the Bible such as the Creation stories in Genesis and the Crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus legends? What about the problem of evil and suffering? Some of the arguments that he raised against Christianity really troubled me, and yet I realized that in order to share the gospel with him I could not ignore such important questions. More importantly, I wanted to be intellectually honest; I wanted to know the truth, and I wanted to be fair to other points of view. My concern for honesty and fairness led me to the study of apologetics, which is a branch of theology that concerns the giving of a rational defense for the faith. 1 Peter 3:15 says, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence." (NASB) The Greek word translated as "defense" is apologian, from which we get the word "apologetics". For the next few months, I studied apologetics intensely, and I engaged in many discussions with skeptics. By the mercy of God, I found the answers to my friend's questions through the writings of William Lane Craig, a professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University.
Through these few months of research, I also realized the importance of apologetics to Christianity. I realized that TRUTH is the most fundamental issue. For if Christianity isn't true, then there is no point going to church, encouraging other believers, or sharing the gospel; there is no point praying, reading the Bible, or doing mission work. But if Christianity is true, then there is real hope for the world. There is hope for forgiveness of sins, and there is hope of eternal life. This hope is greater than what medicine can ever offer to mankind.
Therefore, I realized more profoundly than I ever did before that the most fundamental question in our approach to the Christian religion is "What reasons are there for thinking that Christianity is true?", and I am extremely grateful to God for finding the answers. It is immensely exhilarating for any Christian to know, not merely that Christianity is the truth, but why it is the truth. I realized that the task of sharing this answer to the world is of far greater importance than finding the cure for diseases such as AIDS, because it concerns the eternal destiny of everyone.
At the same time, I realized that apologetics is important for the spiritual lives of Christians as well, because knowing with good reasons that the stories of the Bible are real historical events rather than fairy tales helps us to treat our faith seriously. Moreover, apologetics is important for our children. The sad fact is that many who grew up in Christian families lose their faith and stop going to church once they enter into the high schools and colleges and face the tough questions that their professors and friends ask them, because they have been given the wrong impression that there is no good reason to think that Christianity is true. The teaching of apologetics in our churches and Sunday schools will solve this problem; it will equip our future generation to face the world with a mature faith and with a healthy intellectual honesty, and it will make them excited and confident about sharing the gospel with the world.
What all these imply is that there is a great need for the apologetic ministry, both to enhance the effectiveness of the preaching of the gospel and also to help other Christians to mature spiritually by thinking intelligently about their faith. Christians need to reason with unbelievers as Paul did in Athens (Acts 17:17), and to "destroy speculations and every proud thing that have been raised up against the knowledge of God, and to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). I realized that the value of such a ministry is worth far more than an illustrious medical career with big houses and expensive cars. In the midst of searching out answers and discussing with people, I also realized my calling and gifting in this ministry, while at the same time my soul found no satisfaction in postgraduate medical studies. Finally, after much prayer during a two weeks period in 2005, I made the decision to give up a full time medical career and to enter the seminary to study apologetics.
My vision to serve in the apologetic ministry made me choose the MA Philosophy of Religion program at Talbot, which is probably one of the best programs in the world for apologetics-related ministries. There I would have the opportunity to study under J.P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, two of the best philosophers of religion serving in apologetics. "Unfortunately", I was rejected by the program when I made my application, as the admissions department said they had too many applicants for this program from all over the world and they considered the grades that I had received from National University of Singapore (NUS) to be inadequate. And so, I agreed to be admitted into the MA Theology program instead, hoping that I may still have the opportunity to take some classes with these philosophers.
Since I took the step of faith to go to Talbot, my experiences there had been nothing short of amazing. While a few other students were hoping to get transferred over from the MA Theology into the MA Philosophy of Religion program by doing well in their first semester work, I showed JP Moreland in my first three weeks at Talbot my previous written debate/discussion with an internationally renowned atheist philosopher recommended to me by a professor at NUS. JP was delighted with my arguments and he was impressed enough to arrange for my immediate transfer into the philosophy program without even waiting for my first semester grades! This was truly prayers answered!
Since then, by the grace of God I was able to score well for all my subjects, such that I was able to finish the program in two years (most students take 21/2 to 3 years) with the highest honors. In those two years, I used apologetics to strengthen the faith of other believers who were struggling with intellectual doubts, as well as to bring someone to Christ. To help others through the sharing of my research done at Talbot, I have been presenting papers at conferences. I also have a paper, “On the Coherence of the Incarnation: the Divine Preconscious model” accepted for publication by Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie, an eminent journal of theology and philosophy of religion which is ranked class A by the European Science Foundation.
The best class that I took in the two years at Talbot was a two weeks course in philosophy of religion with Craig who, as mentioned earlier, is one of the foremost philosophers of religion of our time. Here is a man who has been used by God in debating many eminent atheist scientists and philosophers at Harvard, Cambridge, etc, and in publishing with many of the top secular journals and university presses around the world demonstrating the truth of the Christian faith. In that class I was engaged in the most cutting edge discussions in apologetics as he shared with us many of his most recent thoughts concerning a wide variety of philosophical and theological issues. Prior to that class, I had my trepidations in taking it, as I had heard that Craig was known to give immense reading assignments and that he could be quite demanding in his grading. Because of this, some students actually avoided taking his class for credit, for it is obviously not good to have a C in your academic report when you are thinking about doing further studies! Furthermore, I was in the first year of the MA program at that time, and I heard that it was better to do the class in the second or third year, as a substantial amount of background knowledge was expected for that class. Nevertheless, after praying about it I felt that God wanted me to take the class for credit and to trust Him. And so I did, gobbling up almost a thousand pages of heavy philosophy reading in a few weeks. By the grace of God, I was able to score an A for the class, and Craig gave me very good comments for my exams. It is indeed exhilarating to see how God answers prayers as we obey Him in faith. All glory goes to Him!
And now, I have been accepted by Durham University to do further postgraduate work in academic disciplines (in particular, the exegesis and historical background of the New Testament) which are related to the historicity of the bodily resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus is of course the cornerstone of the Christian faith (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:17) and the centrepiece of Christian apologetics. And the team of scholars in these disciplines at Durham is considered one of the best in the world. One of them, NT Wright, recently published a monumental 800-paged book which demonstrates the truth of the bodily resurrection of Jesus based on historical evidence. This is truly an awesome opportunity!
Eventually, I hope to do my PhD in the UK, so that I would be qualified to teach in the universities and seminaries, as well as to publish books and articles arguing for the truth of the Christian faith. My heart's desire is to reach out to people who are seeking answers to tough questions similar to those that my friend asked me in medical school many years ago, so as to guide them to the truth and to bring them to Jesus.
At the same time, I face the challenge of meeting the financial needs of my family with three children. To compete against the unbelievers in the war of ideas requires many hours of study, and struggling with part- time jobs takes away time for fruitful research. On the other hand, the atheists who write against the Christian worldview are often well paid professors in secular universities who have plenty of time to do their research and writing. It is not good that such a biased situation exists, and that I fail to make full use of the opportunities for study which the Lord has given me. It is also not good that the full flourishing of my children be hampered by financial constraints, that they miss out on certain education opportunities because of the inability to pay for the fees. Nevertheless, I believe the biblical principle that God will provide wherever He leads through the body of Christ. (* A note about Christian giving. Many of us would give our offerings to support church building projects, missionary work, social outreach as well as pastoral staff, but how many of us would give to support the apologetic ministry? We hear the cries of people dying from the tsunamis, we see the tears of people whose relatives perished in the earthquakes, and we react spontaneously to such needs (and indeed we should), but how many of us see that the cause of all these sufferings is that mankind has been separated from God, and that the greatest need is to help the world realize that this is the cause and that the gospel is the cure? If we really see this, then we will realize the importance of apologetics. We will realize that there is also a need to invest in the apologetics ministry, so that this most fundamental task--the task of demonstrating to the world the truth of the gospel--can be effectively fulfilled. ) Finally, I hope that you will remember me and my family in your prayers. Serving in the field of apologetics requires much prayers, as the battle of ideas is a war against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (cf. Ephesians 6:12), against the father of lies who have deceived the world with his fallacious arguments such that there is so much suffering in the world as a result. Pray for the publishing of my writings, my postgraduate studies, the financial needs of my family with three children, and that I may proclaim the truth boldly (cf. Ephesians 6:19-20). May it be that in my study and work the truth of Christianity will be demonstrated, such that believers will be strengthened and that people will be led to Christ. I look forward to the opportunity to be in partnership together for the kingdom of God. Yours In Christ, Andrew Loke
...faith is the gaze of a soul upon a saving God. Faith is the least self-regarding of the virtues. It is by its very nature scarcely conscious of its own existence. Like the eye which sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, faith is occupied with the Object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all. While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves--blessed riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do. (Tozer, The Pursuit of God). | Embracing our gender and finding joy | | | | | |
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