56) Persecute bi po
57) Decision jue ding
58) distracted bei gan rao
59) disturb da rao
60) A balance Christian ping heng de xin tu
Monday, October 22, 2007
TQ! Deliverance
Dear Prayer Partners,
1. Thank you for prayers! As mentioned in the previous letter, http://global-south.blogspot.com/2007/10/pl-now-to-kuching.html, I was invited to preach in a tertiary camp in Kuching,
2. The Lord graciously moved among the campers. Around 15 people indicated their desire to accept Jesus for the first time. Then there were many manifestations as the people repented of their sins and were set free from demonic influences.
3. Ministry among people with animistic background would normally have such expressions. There is a lot of spiritual warfare involved due to their close association with the spirit realm. That’s why your intercessory prayers were so critical. Thank you for standing with us and covering us with your prayers.
4. We needed to nurture an atmosphere where the presence of God was conducive to be present. For we know it is only through His glorious power that can set people free from their bondages. I just happened to be the available vessel for Him.
We seek to establish an atmosphere where the presence of God is pleased to dwell. For ONLY in His presence there is deliverance, healing, and victory. May it always be our hearts’ desire to nurture His presence in our lives and ministries!
5. I am back to Spore and have to hit the books for my doctorate course. http://global-south.blogspot.com/2007/10/dmin-module-syllabus.html. Thank you for upholding me. It’s hard to study when you are older. The eyes play tricks on you.
6. I will be preaching in a camp in Tapah, Perak, in late November. Pray for the preparations on top of the DMin studies. Pray also that the Lord will minister to the participants. Many of them are in need of a touch from the Father.
7. During this period, I will also be preaching-teaching in various Bible Study groups and services. I really need the Lord’s str
8. A quick note. I am trying to organize a one-month Malay-language residential discipleship-leadership training course in Kuching,
9. Being the main organizer, I would also have to raise funds to sow and invest into the lives of the participants. Pray for the Lord’s abundant provisions, if this course is His desire. I will share more once details are being worked out. At present, I need more prayers as more ministries are being birthed.
Desire alone is never sufficient, but it is the beginning. Desire must be bathed and immersed with prayer in order for it to explode into reality in our lives.
Set Me Free
-
Set Me Free
- Set me free, free to be a servant
- Set me free, free to be a slave
- Set me free to be bound to You
- Enamored by the life You gave
- Free, free from this cold heart
- Set me free, free from my past
- Set me free, free to live an honest life
- Completely Yours at last.
- Lord, set me free...
- Break these chains that bind me
- I want the world to find me
- Serving in the presence of Your peace
- My desires recapture, let me know the rapture
- Of giving You the praise for my release.
- Set me free...
- Craig Bidondo
- © 1990 - Little Peach Music, Inc.
- CCLI # : __________
Sunday, October 21, 2007
PL: Now to Kuching
3rd Oct 2007
1. Thank you for your prayers and partnership. I had a good time teaching the trainee pastors about Interpreting the OT for 2 weeks in KL.
2. Many of them have developed a greater appreciation of correctly interpreting the Scriptures. They learned new principles and techniques that they were not exposed to before. Pray that they will use them and become even more effective in their ministry.
3. This remains a passion in my life to help people, especially among the natives, to rightly understand the Scriptures. It is most unfortunate that we do not have enough Biblical literature and resources in the language that they are most familiar with.
4. Maybe in the future, when I have enough time, experiences, and finances, I hope to devote some time to write such materials to enable them to be better preachers of the gospel. The harvest is indeed great, we need more laborers – preferably laborers who are skilled in the Word and full of the HS.
5. During the 2nd week that I was there, Jessie, her mom and Ana came up. It was a good opportunity for family reunion, and to introduce Ana to her cousins. She was in her element, and kept giving hi-5s to everyone in sight.
6. Pray for me for the next coming weeks. I will be flying off to Miri to participate in a seminary course that I helped to initiate. This is part of my long term love affair with cross-cultural mission in
7. Then I will be flying to Kuching to preach in a camp during the Hari Raya hols. Pray that the campers, most of them undergraduates, will experience life-transformations through the power of the HS and the truths of God’s word. They have asked me to share on ministry and spiritual gifts. Pray for God’s anointing to empower them to do His work.
8. Immediately after the camp, I will need to prepare for my next doctorate module. I need to read about 3000 pages. http://global-south.blogspot.com/2007/10/dmin-module-syllabus.html. Pray for more grace and more str
God has given us a free will. We have the right to serve Him or not. However, there is a blessing that comes with obedience and a curse that comes with disobedience. If we have any sense at all, we would believe God and take Him at His word. We would make sure we are doers of the word. One thing that always stands out in the Word of God is just how amazingly generous the Lord is with us. He is always looking for an opportunity to bless us and He always multiplies what He has already given to us.
Harry Potter as a Christian Tale?
Final 'Harry Potter' Hits Shelves … as a Christian Tale?
Whether Christians may agree with it or not, the newest and final volume of the “Harry Potter” series has come full force into bookstores.
by Kevin Jackson, Christian Today US Correspondent
Posted: Sunday, July 22, 2007, 9:01 (BST)
Whether Christians may agree with it or not, the newest and final volume of the “Harry Potter” series has hit bookstores worldwide.
Excitement reached fever pitch over the last few weeks ahead of the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, and that anticipation was finally satisfied midnight Saturday for the many who queued up to get their hands on a copy.
“Speculation has been mounting for weeks, if not years in fan circles, as to how the final book will conclude the best loved story of the modern day,” explained Christian author Nancy Carpentier Brown in a statement. “Will Harry die? Is Snape really a good guy or bad guy? Will the dead Dumbledore play a part in the last book? Will Harry conquer the evil Lord Voldemort?”
While many Christians have criticised the boy wizard of occult magic, others have been quite impressed with the children's novels. And with all the press going towards the seventh book in the “Po tter” series, Christian groups have been jumping in as well to promote Christian values that they feel are inherent in the fantasy tale.
The Church of England just recently came out with a study guide to accompany “Harry Potter” using the popularity of the literature to tie in with Christian themes.
Other Christians have gone even further, however. Some say that the bo oks are indeed Christian-centered novels and always have been.
"In the midst of all this political correctness, this tolerant, non-judgmental, relativistic world, enters a story about a school where right and wrong are defined, rules are enforced, misbehavior comes with detention, evil is evil and must be fought and goodness is rewarded," said Brown, author of "The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide" and a former opponent of the novels.
“Rowling has packaged a Christian story with a wrapping of witchcraft and magic, and through this disguise had drawn millions of children – millions of adults to read a redemptive moral story that perhaps can teach more than a religion class ever could," she added.
Looking at the symbolism in the JK Rowling creations, other people have gone so far as to claim that Harry Potter is even a symbol to represent the Son of God – Jesus.
"As we approach the release of the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series, Potter friends and foes alike ar e in for the surprise of their lives," wrote Abigail BeauSeigneur in an article on the most-visited Harry Potter fan site, Mugglenet.com. "The story of Harry Potter is, and always was, a Christian allegory – a fictionalised modern day adaptation of the life of Christ, intended to introduce his character to a new generation."
To back up her claims, she cites examples such as their prophetic births, personality traits, life events, opposition to authority, battles against evil, unfair trials, as well as similarities between Lord Voldemort and the devil.
So the question that remains is whether or not Rowling is a Christian in disguise.
"Rowling is a genius to tell a Christian story in the unexpected disguise of a witchcraft tale – people who would never pick up an overtly Christian story are reading Potter by the millions, attracted to it by its modern themed packaging," concluded Brown in a statement. "Christianity has always produced great writers. Tolkien, Lewis, Percy, Chesterton to name just a few. I believe JK Rowling is a Christian writer."
But then again, there are many Christians who would disagree.
“[T]he movie version of ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ is liable to still do great business at the box office,” stated Dr Ted Baehr, founder of MovieGuide.org, as the fifth instalment of the "Harry Potter” film series released last week.
“Regrettably, however, this means that even more children will be lured away from God and His Infallible Word, which says that witchcraft is evil and abhorrent. Instead of dreaming about the joys that God gives us through Jesus Christ, they will be dreaming of casting spells, using magic spells, riding brooms, and rebelling against their parents.”
According to the Associated Press, "Deathly Hallows" has a print run of 12 million in the United States alone, and Internet retailer Amazon says it has taken 2.2 million pre-orders for the book. The Royal Mail says it will deliver 600,000 copies on Saturday; the US Postal Service says it will ship 1.8 million. Over 20,000 requests were received at Amazon.com on July 17 alone.
Article from Christian Today:
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/final.harry.potter.hits.shelves.as.a.christian.tale/11776.htm
Copyright © 2006 Christian Today. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Harry Potter
Harry Potter author reveals books’ Christian allegory, her struggling faith
After years of averting questions on whether Christian themes were present in her wildly popular Harry Potter books, author J.K. Rowling finally opened up this week about the Christian allegory in her latest book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
by Elena Garcia, Christian Today Correspondent
Posted: Friday, October 19, 2007, 8:44 (BST)
After years of averting questions on whether Christian themes were present in her wildly popular Harry Potter books, author J.K. Rowling finally opened up this week about the Christian allegory in her latest book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
During a press conference at the kick-off of her “Open Book Tour” on Monday, the British author told reporters that while religious themes were always present she purposely refrained from referencing any particular religion in order to conceal the ending.
“To me, [the religious parallels have] always been obvious,” Rowling said. “But I never wanted to talk too openly about it because I thought it might show people who just wanted the story where we were going.”
And where did the story end up? (Spoiler warning: Read no further if you don't want to find out what happens.)
Apparently, the last installment of the series is about resurrection and life after death.
In “Deathly Hallows,” Harry visits his parents’ graves at Godric’s Hallow and sees two biblical references on his parents’ tombstones, reading: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death,” and "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
The first refers to 1 Corinthians 15:26 and the second is a direct quote from Jesus in Matthew 6:19.
By the end of the book, Harry becomes the "Master of Death" and “resurrects” from the dead the spirits of his parents, his godfather, Sirius Black and his old teacher Remus Lupin.
"They're very British books, so on a very practical note Harry was going to find biblical quotations on tombstones," Rowling explained. "[But] I think those two particular quotations he finds on the tombstones at Godric's Hollow, they sum up — they almost epitomize the whole series."
The book also begins with two religiously-themed epigraphs – one Christian, the other pagan.
Even though her books contain religious themes, the church-going author revealed that she struggles with believing in a basic Christian tenet of life after death.
"The truth is that, like Graham Greene, my faith is sometimes that my faith will return. It's something I struggle with a lot," Rowling admitted. "On any given moment if you asked me [if] I believe in life after death, I think if you polled me regularly through the week, I think I would come down on the side of yes — that I do believe in life after death. [But] it's something that I wrestle with a lot. It preoccupies me a lot, and I think that's very obvious within the books.”
Rowling was raised Christian in the Anglican Church and currently attends the Church of Scotland.
However, many conservative Christian leaders have strong denounced the author’s books as anything but detrimental to Christians and children, saying that it promotes witchcraft and the occult.
James Dobson, founder of US-based Focus on the Family, had publicly criticised Harry Potter books.
“[I]t's difficult to ignore the effects such stories (albeit imaginary) might have on young, impressionable minds,” said Dobson in a statement noting the trend toward witchcraft and New Age ideology.
Pope Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, had even condemned the books, writing that their “subtle seductions, which act unnoticed ... deeply distort Christianity in the soul before it can grow properly.”
But Rowling has yet to take warnings on her book’s potentially adverse influence seriously, retorting, “I go to church myself.”
"I don't take any responsibility for the lunatic fringes of my own religion,” she added.
Chuck Colson, founder of US-based Prison Fellowship Ministries, advised parents in a past commentary on Harry Potter to teach their kids to be discerning like Daniel, who read pagan literature but “didn’t defile himself.”
Colson also recommended Christian-themed alternatives such as Irish-born C.S. Lewis's Narnia books, as well as Oxford professor Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy.
“These books also feature wizards and witches and magic, but in addition, they inspire the imagination within a Christian framework—and prepare the hearts of readers for the real-life story of Jesus Christ,” said Colson.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final of Rowling’s novels on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has been out since July 21 and has sold more than 350 million copies worldwide.
Article from Christian Today:
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/harry.potter.author.reveals.books.christian.allegory.her.struggling.faith/14052.htm
Copyright © 2006 Christian Today. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Friday, October 19, 2007
God is love vs Love is God
I received this general mail in my email. I thot I share it with everyone.
What are your thots on it?
Dear friends,
You will by now be familiar with the recent issue of the gay community
submitting a parliamentary petition via NMP Siew Kum Hong on Oct 17.
The petition is for the government to repeal S377A of the Penal Code
which prohibits homosexual male acts.
A recent NTU survey found that 7 out of 10 Singaporeans do not support
homosexuality and society in general still wants to preserve the family
values we hold dear. While we continue to embrace them as our family
and friends, we cannot allow our fundamental family values to be
changed by a vocal minority.
It is therefore time for us to speak up. www.KEEP377A.com is an online
petition by some concerned Singaporeans in an open letter to our Prime
Minister to retain S377A of the Penal Code in the interest of the
majority.
I believe the majority can make our stand clear by doing 2 simple steps:
1. Visit www.KEEP377A.com to put your name down on this petition
2. Forward this petition website to your family and friends and urge them
to make their voices heard by signing the petition.
It's time we speak. For the sake of our children, our families and our
future. Keep 377A.
Warmest regards
DANIEL ONG
What are your thots on it?
Dear friends,
You will by now be familiar with the recent issue of the gay community
submitting a parliamentary petition via NMP Siew Kum Hong on Oct 17.
The petition is for the government to repeal S377A of the Penal Code
which prohibits homosexual male acts.
A recent NTU survey found that 7 out of 10 Singaporeans do not support
homosexuality and society in general still wants to preserve the family
values we hold dear. While we continue to embrace them as our family
and friends, we cannot allow our fundamental family values to be
changed by a vocal minority.
It is therefore time for us to speak up. www.KEEP377A.com is an online
petition by some concerned Singaporeans in an open letter to our Prime
Minister to retain S377A of the Penal Code in the interest of the
majority.
I believe the majority can make our stand clear by doing 2 simple steps:
1. Visit www.KEEP377A.com to put your name down on this petition
2. Forward this petition website to your family and friends and urge them
to make their voices heard by signing the petition.
It's time we speak. For the sake of our children, our families and our
future. Keep 377A.
Warmest regards
DANIEL ONG
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