Victor Chen Ministries

Off the cuff (1)

2011-08-08T17:39:00.015+08:00

It was a quiet cold night in Perth that I dropped by a Malaysian restaurant ‘Sri Melaka’ to have dinner. This was way back around 1990 while I was still in medical school. On another table was the late Ghafar Baba whom I instantly recognized and walked over and greeted him. The former deputy PM was friendly, accepted my handshake and quipped that I must return to Malaysia and serve ‘country’, and of course it meant little to me as I left Malaysia after Primary 3.
Went home I did after 16 years in Australia. I remember those days my dad kept reiterating that there are more career opportunities in Malaysia. Back then, most of my peers came back to Malaysia except those who studied medicine. Today many parents are encouraging their children to stay back upon graduation. It is difficult to say whether we would have been better off had we remained in Australia. I certainly had the option.

In recent years I have been saying farewell to quite a number of friends who have migrated in the other direction because of their children’s’ education. Whether the sacrifice they made for the kids will bear fruit, who knows? Even more drastic those whom have the means are sending their kids to private schools in Malaysia, a clear rejection of our education system. Even odder, Malays are sending their kids to vernacular Chinese schools citing better discipline amongst other qualities. So I guess there is nothing for me to lament in missing out on Malaysian education. Dad sent me away at the age of 9.

When I returned to Malaysia with my medical degree I pondered as to which high-security, bank-rolling profession deserved me. I eventually joined the pharmaceutical industry only to find that there was no security in employment in a modern capitalistic environment, rather only ‘employability’ as the MNCs I worked for were always merging or being acquired. To remain employable I had to be on top of my game and be able to add value each day I turned up work. Previous achievements counted for little and my superiors were shifted from one continent to another.
Then my business career began. My dreams of a money-minting business were shattered in the early days after initial failures. I didn’t have anyone to guide or mentor me. All the sermons of imminent success and that I cannot fail because Jesus was my CEO left my thinking. Pastor had preached slogans like ‘minimum effort, maximum return’; ‘thou shall not sweat’; and 100-fold blessing from what we gave. But instead there was nothing but misery, dryness and lots of effort but no return. The only friends I had that did minimal and harvested plentiful were friends doing illegal empat ekor or had fathers who were either multi-millionaires, state EXCO members or cabinet ministers.

Banks only lend money willingly to those in a way don’t need it. Besides money from parents and bank loans with properties as collateral, I got on with business and life despite setbacks. Our applications for grants from bodies like SMIDEC and MARTRADE were not that fruitful. It is not easy to get started any business these days as entry cost and barriers are increasing each year and to say the least so is the competition in any field of business. Each year I find it harder and harder to register products in Malaysia with the MOH and glad that I already have over 20 products registered. To start from the beginning NOW would be daunting and a definite non starter as far as I am concerned in a stagnant market.

I cannot but look objectively where my new wave of excitement will come from and where to live my dreams, yes disciplined dreaming, not just wishful thinking. Without dreams I might as well be dead. The poorest man ain’t the guy with no money, but the one with no dreams, no vision. There can be deep ambitions within, but ones needs an arena to live his dream through planning, building the right foundations, being strategic, and hardworking.
People often gauge the arena of a country by acronyms like PEST, STEER, STEEPLE and the lot. But what can we see of Malaysia for now and the near road ahead?

POLITICS and The ECONOMY

I have gone beyond deep theoretical jargon and analysis of sorts. There may be no perfect form of government to administer a country, though a rhetoric US President may convince you that they have closest to the ideal. But they ought to look at problems in their own backyard with the sluggish economy, and recent near default by the US Federal Treasury. Surely, a nation that is borrowing more and more from the rest of the world cannot have got everything right. It was only a few years ago the Bush administration had to do a massive and unprecedented bailout of the banking and financial system. But I still think that they are the most advanced nation on earth be it technology, management, engineering and the sciences. This is because they use the best of the best talents regardless of race or religion, which has not been the case in Malaysia. I am speaking from my own experience having worked for US companies and seen the head quarters of Abbott in Chicago where it is like a mini-United Nations. We on the other hand have a hemorrhagic brain drain problem and only a dearth of talent coming back despite the efforts of Talent Corp (http://www.talentcorp.com.my).

If America represents democracy in its sublime form, then what is China? Marxism? Communism? I am not entirely sure. When I was back in Grade 8 I had to read the book “Animal Farm”. Yes early days communist China had most of those traits in the satirical fable like corruption, ignorance, indifference, greed and wickedness but its model is evolving. It has its own model which I am still learning. And it is a model that is revolved and keeps adapting to ensure the government remains relevant and deliver to the masses. The ‘Middle kingdom’ was the most advanced, powerful and prosperous nation on earth centuries ago when the West was still infant in much areas. Yes, China today is the world’s most exciting economy, yet there are many aspects of the country that are still wanting. The West condemns its poor human rights record; many of the rural regions are still relatively poor by any standards and sometimes with the smog in my face I can’t help but think that the Pollution Index may have exceeded the Shenzen Composite Index. But what is has going right is that domestic consumption will spur the economy the years ahead. The reported Q2 GDP growth of 9.5% was above forecast. But the Chinese work hard and all desire to be rich. There is definitely ‘fire in the belly’ amongst the young generation.

I worry for our younger generation. Education in Malaysia now big business, with degrees being traded like a commodity, students being processed in many unreputable if not dubious institutions to be given a piece of paper, Even worse is the quality of jobs that awaits them. Without meaningful and good on the work training, how far can they develop? Most SMIs are struggling and investments are heading off-shore, not in-shore. The GLCs are not optimally run and in either case promotion is based along racial lines. Foreign Direct Investments is scarce despite our Mustapha Mohamed saying FDI will exceed RM30 billion in 2011. Some friends are saying it is just illicit political money being channeled back in to beef up those figures. This is plausible for 2 reasons; (1) A report by Washington-based financial watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI) found that Malaysia’s ILLICIT outflows tripled from US$22.2 billion in 2002 to a staggering US$68.2 billion in 2008, (2) you don’t see big pages of newspaper advertisements to “CONGRATULATE” new starts up or factories like in the early 90s.

to be continued --- lots on mind but must find time to pen down.

Reject attempts by Utusan Malaysia to instil fear and spread falsehood

2011-05-11T11:31:00.000+08:00

Press Release

Reject attempts by Utusan Malaysia to instil fear and spread falsehood
The Malaysian Bar is deeply concerned about the report that appeared on the front page of Utusan Malaysia on Saturday, 7 May 2011, entitled “Malaysia negara Kristian?”

Without offering any evidence save references to postings by bloggers, which do not appear to have been separately and independently verified, Utusan Malaysia saw fit to publish this story. Given the highly controversial nature of the alleged story, it is incumbent on any self-respecting newspaper to ensure that its reporting is fact-checked. To have printed such a story without checking with the subjects of the alleged incidents is highly irresponsible on the part of Utusan Malaysia, and is nothing short of gutter journalism.

What concerns the Malaysian Bar further is the fact that Utusan Malaysia appears to be able to offer such so-called journalism in a climate of impunity. Instead of questioning Utusan Malaysia’s journalistic conduct and ethics, the immediate responses from the Ministers in charge of home affairs and communications were to order investigations into the alleged incidents themselves.

It appears that it is enough for the police to launch an investigation once a report has been made, without first investigating the veracity of such reports themselves. The whole process of making police reports has thus been turned into an avenue to invade the privacy of dinner parties and closed-door meetings, without first asking whether the maker of such reports has ulterior motives. People are then being made to respond to police investigations launched on the flimsiest of reasons and to defend their freedom of assembly and speech. This is a mockery of the principle of justice that someone who is accused of wrongdoing is innocent until proven guilty. This is clearly a dangerous erosion of the fundamental liberties enshrined in our Federal Constitution, and must be stopped.

By immediately investigating the alleged incidents rather than those who made the reports, the authorities have shown favoured irresponsible parties how they can wantonly instil fear and religious disharmony in the country. All they have to do now is to make unproven and unsubstantiated allegations in any compliant national newspaper and the law enforcement authorities will do the rest. In this way, the authorities are gullibly assisting those who seek to play up lies and falsehoods in order to artificially create religious conflict.

In creating and/or highlighting this “non-news” item, these irresponsible parties seek to manoeuvre and manipulate current events so as to give the impression that certain elements within a particular community are working to cause disunity and perpetrate treasonous activities.

This dastardly deed by such reckless parties must be seen for what it is – a naked and blatant act of deliberate provocation. The aim appears to be to cause fear through the creation of false news. The lodging of police reports throughout the country seeks to invite the police to investigate a particular community, thus heightening emotions. This then conveniently provides the authorities with a false justification to tighten control of blogs and other forms of electronic media, thereby muzzling free speech, open dialogue and informed discussions.

Any independent observer of the mass media would reach the conclusion that Utusan Malaysia is beyond the reach of the law. Although the Malaysian Bar opposes the use of oppressive laws, including the Sedition Act 1948 and the Printing Press and Publications Act 1984, the Government threatens to wield such laws against those who voice dissent, hence acting in what is perceived as an arbitrary, or even biased, manner.
The Malaysian Bar is concerned that no action has been taken against Utusan Malaysia although it has persistently published intemperate and wild accusations, written in inflammatory language, which threaten Malaysia’s social fabric. Utusan Malaysia continues to act with impunity, and thus appears to enjoy a status that is above the law.

We call on the authorities to instead investigate the Utusan Malaysia journalists and editors responsible for perpetrating such repeated attempts to instil fear and spread falsehood.

Lim Chee Wee
President
Malaysian Bar

9 May 2011

Our faith is in the Lord

2011-05-10T00:15:00.003+08:00

I see many in church always needing reassurance about the position and how God views them. God loves us and sees us as He sees Jesus our burnt offering.

All we need to know is that God does not condemn us, and does not see us a sinful.

My sense of self-worth and sense of security is in God, not what others think, not even what the elders and pastor thinks (of course respect them). Once you get this right, you don't need feel condemned, inadequate and unworthy. We care and love those dear to our hearts, those that care for us and have us 'truly' at heart.

Many things in between

2011-05-06T01:10:00.003+08:00

Last night I went out with friends who introduced me to this girl. I guess it is not what I want but I never mislead or waste anyone's time. Friends did it out of heart.

Over the years, I have not wavered like a tree and simply dated girls but concentrated on my career and personal growth. I remain focused on the big picture and prepare myself to be the right person rather than to look for the right person.

I must say I only ever had interest in one girl in church before. She had a non-Xtian boyfriend then, married him and to date the guy still has not come to the Lord after 10 years. We were good friends then, we are friend now and I never made a move for her coz she had a boyfriend.

The other thing I find strange is people in church introducing me non-Christians including many of their beauticians. The message they send me is that I have no brains and the Christian ones in church are not available :-).

Nor do I need to go to church to be spiritual. The standard answer why we must go to church is that we must go there to learn spiritual truths etc which I can read from sermons online and spend time with family. My needs as a single guy, with a biz and parents to take care are different from just going there to listen to sermons.

Moms of the Great Faith

2011-05-05T12:14:00.003+08:00

Mom's have always played a vital role in our lives, and Mother's Day is a great chance remember and give thanks to moms. Over the centuries, Moms have been given jobs of great faith.

Mother of Moses
Jochebed was the wife of Amram and the mother of Moses. We learn about her the most in Exodus 2. Pharaoh commanded the mid-wives to kill all boy Hebrew babies. The mid-wives feared God more and Moses was born anyway. Mothers and fathers have often feared over the future of their children.
Imagine Jochebed's fears! Moses was born into a super hostile world. Eventually she placed her baby boy in a basket and let him float down the river. He was found by Pharaoh's daughter and spared. Who knows if Jochebed placed him on the river strategically close to Pharaoh's daughter or not.
However, her heart had to have broke as he him floated away from her. Pharaoh's daughter saw a beautiful child and needed some one to nurse him. Jochebed was the woman hired to perform this task. Moses was taught about God during this time. No matter how hostile the environment a godly woman can teach her children about God.

Mother of Samuel
Hannah was the wife of Elkanah, but she was barren, 1 Samuel 1. She prayed to God for a child.
"O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head" (1 Samuel 1:11).
This woman dedicated her son to the Lord. After he grew she weaned him and took him to Eli. There is no definite age, however we do know this child was very young. "Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe, and bring it to him year by year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice" (1 Samuel 2:19).

Mother of Isaac
The changing of Sarah's name was more than a play with words. Sarah meant mother of nations. Every time someone called Sarah or anytime she introduced herself to someone she was making a statement of faith, calling herself the mother of many nations even before she had a child. By this time she was already 90 years old.
GEN 18:10 "Then the LORD said, 'I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.'"
Sarah eventually gave birth to Isaac.

Mother of Jesus
Mary the mother of Jesus, although a virgin and promised to marry to Joseph, was with child. She was not asked how she felt about this situation.
God chose Mary and she had to accept what happened.
This was durring a time where young unmarried pregnant women at that time were stoned.
She was going to have the Savior of the world. During her life she would get to see him grow (Luke 2:52), perform miracles (John 2:1-11), gather large crowds (John 6), and God's Word.

Mother of Timothy
Lois was the mother of Eunich, 2 Timothy 1:5. Often we read of her grandson, Timothy. However, Timothy's mother was Eunich.
We also know that Timothy's father was a gentile, Acts 16:1. We also know Timothy learned the Holy Scriptures while growing up, "from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures" (2 Timothy 3:15a). Lois and Eunich worked as a team in teaching Timothy.

The devil's plan

2011-05-03T13:32:00.003+08:00

God has a plan for Malaysia and the world, but then so has the devil. The devil's plan is to steal, kill and destroy by whatever means. The devil plans terrorism, murders, mass destruction etc. Would a God of love plan to drive a plane through buildings and kill thousands of civilians? Even our PM Najib in today's paper says it is not the way to portray Islam.

In the name of Jesus we must bind and break every spirit of destruction, evil and terrorism. We take control of the spiritual realms around the corners of the world by spiritual warfare with our prayers and loose the ministering angels to protect the world. We must do it at midnight onwards to 1am as that is when the devil is on the prowl. Midnight is the high point of the night. It is the time of intense activity. It is the time of the most serious spiritual activity and intense spiritual programming. It is a time whereby the satanic generals are released by the kingdom of darkness for warfare (unfortunately it is the lowest point of intercession for the church).

Those churches with a bless me, bless me attitude will never understand the importance of this call for intercession.

Korea exposure trip (August 19 – 27, 2004)

2011-05-02T00:38:00.001+08:00

It was a maiden trip to Korea for a lot of us, and for some it was the first time in experiencing what God has done in South Korea. The nation is widely regarded as a Christian country with 14 million Christians in a population of over 40 million inhabitants, and over 5,000 souls are added to God’s kingdom each day in South Korea. God has clearly established this nation to be a spiritual influence and outreach to its neighbors – Japan, North Korea and China.

The world’s largest church

Our first visit began with Friday all-night prayer meeting in Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul located near the Han River. The whole stadium with a seating capacity of over 12,000 was full even before the service began. The church began humbly in 1958 in the aftermath of the Korean War which devastated the country. Overcoming all odds and obstacles, the Holy Spirit guided Pastor David Cho and built this mega-church with global mission outreach, a social welfare town, having 2 universities and a theological institute under its wings. It also owns the Kukmin daily which is a daily secular newspaper but with a section for the gospel.

As of the year 2002, Yoido Full Gospel Church had a membership of over 840,000 members. Current statistics include 600 pastors, 1500 elders and around 20,000 home cell leaders. SIMPLY GINORMOUS! That is not all. We were taken on a tour of their premises in downtown Seoul. The main sanctuary is in a building on its own. It is roughly the size of Stadium Negara. Each Sunday it holds seven services and if you are 15 minutes early, you are LATE!

Along the same strip is four other buildings owned by the Yoido Full Gospel Church. A 13 storey building is totally dedicated to Sunday school. AMAZING! An adjacent building houses the Kukmin daily, while other buildings are offices for its wide-ranging ministries such as World Mission Center, Church Growth International and David Cho Evangelistic Ministries. A sixth building, a high storey apartment block was previously owned by the church, but now the individual units have been given to its various pastoral staff. All these on prime real estate land. It is as if RLC owns 5 buildings along Jalan Sultan Ismail. JUST IMAGINE! If the Lord can do it for the Koreans, He can do it for us too. Amen to that!!! Jalan 221 isn’t too far being off being Lorong RLC, he! he!

International Fasting Prayer Mountain

We stayed in Osanri Choi Ja-shil Memorial Fasting Prayer Mountain for 3 nights which is an hour’s drive north of Seoul. This place is another ministry of Yoido Full Gospel Church. Over 200 individual prayer grottoes are available and it has several chapels with services everyday. More grottoes are currently being built as well as chapels and additional lodging facilities. Thousands of Christians have fasted and prayed there since it was founded in 1973, and the spiritual atmosphere is simply awesome. One can sense the presence of the Holy Spirit immensely and it is easy to enter the spiritual realm rapidly.

Each night, all 78 of us from RLC would meet to worship the Lord and Pastor Joshua will share God’s word with us. Then each of us took turns to share our individual testimonies. The moments of fellowship were very warm, touching and really brought us together as a loving family. In the mornings we broke up into groups of seven to eight people to pray for each other, for RLC, for Pastor Joshua and his family, the RLC staff, the unification of Korea and also for Malaysia and our leaders.

Fervency of prayers
One thing we noticed was that the Koreans are real mighty prayer warriors. They pray deep and long prayers. It is through such prayers that South Korea has become an economic power in Asia after the ruins following the Korean War. It is also these fervent prayers that are keeping any imminent North Korean attacks at bay.

Many poorer Koreans with ailments and other needs camped in the main chapel for weeks, having only bare essentials with them such as a pillow and a mat. They were there to cry out to the Lord. Many will fast and pray, and will not leave until the Lord has answered their prayer or healed them.

Indeed, prayer is essential to our spiritual being in as much as breathing is to our human life. This is what a lot of us take back with us. We now have a deeper revelation of the need and importance of prayer. I now find it such a joy to pray each morning whereas previously it was a struggle. Praise God! I now enjoy being in His presence and just want to savor each intimate moment with Him. I can now feel His love much deeper and feel His presence more tangibly.

The cemetery

On our last night a small group of us went to a hilltop on the adjacent Christian cemetery. In the night a lot of Koreans usually cry out to the Lord there. We went there to simply worship and praise the Lord. We sat in a circle and sang and sang love songs to Jesus; we worshipped Him with songs as the Spirit led and rejoiced in Him in our hearts. It was such a magical moment that no words could ever describe. We tasted heaven.

Then the Lord appeared in a glory of light in the midst of us. He was in a white gown and was pleased with us. Immediately we could nothing but just kneel down before Him. We cried, praised and thanked the Lord Jesus as tears flowed down our faces. It was so beautiful. He even distributed gifts to us individually.

As we gather may Your Spirit dwell within us
As we gather may we glorify Your name
Knowing well that as our hearts began to worship
We’ll be blessed because we came,
We’ll be blessed because we came.

Earlier we had sung these words, that “we’ll be blessed because we came”. We came to Korea to seek the Lord in a greater way. We went to hilltop with no shopping list, but just to praise Him. And as we gathered, He showered us with His love, and we were truly blessed because we came.

Victor Chen
September 3, 2004

The breath of life

2011-04-30T11:52:00.005+08:00

Ps 39:5 says "Each man's life is but a breath." NIV.

In fact once there is no breath in us, we die a physical death.

In fact scientists have shown by putting participants aged 60+ on a treadmill to measure how much oxygen they can consume, participants who consumed or processed more oxygen (aerobic capacity) lived longer. These participants were followed up for a 11 year period.

Aerobic capacity, often referred to as VO2 Max, this can be measured in a gym or a physiological lab using a treadmill or bicycle with a gas analyzer. It measures how much oxygen your body can make use of each minute. Studies have shown that higher VO2 Max correlates with a longer life-expectancy. Aerobic capacity indicates how well your lungs take in air, how much oxygen is coursing from your lungs to the bloodstream, how well your heart is pumping it to the muscles and how well your capillaries are delivering it to your cells. Most people’s VO2 Max declines as they move past 35. This decline is reversible with aerobic workouts. As you reverse it, your body will grow younger and your mind clearer.

Ref: 1. Blair, S et al. Physical Fitness and All-Cause Mortality. J of the American Medical Association 1989, 262: 2395-401

Good health

2011-04-29T10:39:00.002+08:00

It is amazing how people go to church asking for God to heal them from many lifestyle related disease like diabetes, high blood, high cholesterol etc and their subsequent cardiovascular problems.

For instance diabetes may be genetically related but its expression is lifestyle related. The degree to which your propensity to express these genes are dependent on your diet and exercise.

It is futile to keep telling some of them that they are already healed 2000 year ago though it is biblically correct. More often than not, they won't be healed coz though God can perform miracles but He wants us to address the root problems. How to expect God to heal you from lifestyle related disease if you still eat like a pig, smoke like a chimney and drink like a fish.

I do a lot of running and hashing with many friends. So far none of them have complained of lifestyle related ailments.

8yrs old Rhema Marvanne

2011-04-28T12:43:00.000+08:00

Come clean or don't come at all

2011-04-27T12:08:00.000+08:00

2 months ago a friend rang and said wanted to introduce a Christian colleague of hers to me, and she only wants to meet Christian guys. But this girl has a boyfriend but not happy with the boyfriend.

My friend asked me to add her on my facebook which I did. After some time I asked her to have dinner on a weekend, she said she can't that weekend as she needs to accompany her boyfriend to Ipoh. I immediately deleted her from facebook for the follwing reasons:

*she must be honest to herself and the BF.
*any unresolved matters will be brought to the next relationship.

The Lord choses the weak

2011-04-24T19:02:00.003+08:00

It has been a long haul. We have worked hard to be where we are. Our biz is finally positioned to be where the Lord can filled our barns and vessels to the brim. We rely on His way as that is the only way.

We are in the zone. We have to make it happen. We let Him lead. We lean on His wisdom, not ours. Only fools can say min effort ---> maximal return. We had to go through so much. Biz is not for the faint-hearted. Fortune favours the brave.

I have sacrificed and gone through much pain to get the China biz up.We were undercapitalized from the beginning and started with little. God really used the weak the humble the strong. I asked God why and it is simple. What story would there be if a rich man went abroad and ventured and got richer?

Never make a woman angry

2011-04-22T10:19:00.000+08:00

A woman arrived at the Gates of Heaven. While she was waiting for Saint Peter to greet her, she peeked through the gates and saw a beautiful banquet table. Sitting all around were her parents and all the other people she had loved and who had died before her. They saw her and began calling greetings to her, "Hello. How are you! We've been waiting for you! Good to see you."

When Saint Peter came by, the woman said to him,

"This is such a wonderful place! How do I get in?"

"You have to spell a word," Saint Peter told her.

"Which word?" the woman asked.

"Love."

The woman correctly spelled "Love" and Saint Peter welcomed her into Heaven.

About a year later, Saint Peter came to the woman

and asked her to watch the Gates of Heaven for him that day.

While the woman was guarding the Gates of Heaven, her husband arrived.

"I'm surprised to see you," the woman said. "How have you been?"

"Oh, I've been doing pretty well since you died," her husband told her. "I married the beautiful young nurse who took care of you while you were ill. And then I won the multi-state lottery. I sold the little house you and I lived in and bought a huge mansion. And my wife and I traveled all around the world. We were on vacation in Cancun and I went water skiing today. I fell and hit my head, and here I am. What a bummer! How do I get in?"

"You have to spell a word," the woman told him.

"Which word?" her husband asked.

"Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis", she replied.
****
Moral of the story: Never make a woman angry . . . there will be Hell to pay!

NB: The longest word currently listed in the Oxford dictionary is the supposed lung-disease

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters).

(Now you've learned a new word.)

"The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling

and even more beautiful is to know that you are the reason behind it."

Keep smiling ...and keep mailing.

Why did Jesus fold the napkin?

2011-04-22T10:12:00.002+08:00

This is one I can honestly say I have never seen circulating in the emails so; if it touches you, you may want to forward it.

Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection? I never
noticed this....

The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes..

The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed separate from the grave clothes.

Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!'

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.

Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.

Was that important? Absolutely!

Is it really significant? Yes!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to
understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.

When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it.

The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just
out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would
not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.

The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.

But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it
beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because...........

The folded napkin meant, 'I'm coming back!'

He is Coming Back!

This is one I can honestly say I have never seen circulating in the emails so; if it touches you, forward it to friends you wanted blessed.

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Phil 4:4

Cheap skates

2011-04-21T13:57:00.003+08:00

I went to a healing seminar last weekend. It was a Friday- Sun thingy. On Saturday when I went I thought I better pay the enrollment fee of RM20 even though I was only there for a few hours. The person who collected the money from me said many didn't want to pay.

In my heart I pondered, what is the use of lifting holy hands in worship and praising God when there is not only no charity at heart but just take, take, take rather than grace, grace, grace.

At the seminar, I spoke to someone who was a former medical technologist and knowing that I was in the milk powder business told me that cow's milk is not for humans plus loads of other related things which even if I didn't know won't kill me as long as my products sell. There are just too many professors around!

Oh well, God bless us all nontheless.

No more cheap foods

2011-02-09T01:09:00.002+08:00

The freak weather in Queensland, Australia has created havoc to the supply of crops, sugar and fruits to the world market. They may be conied a lucky country with their minerla deposits but their farmlands has to endure extreme weathers. New Zealand on the other hand has a milder weather and is a better bet for farmland investment.

Australia is a also big player in wheat, sugar and other essential crops. The drought in Russia also lifted wheat prices. The French has >30,000 bakeries supplying 20 million bagels a day and the prices has shot thru the roof due to the increase in price of wheat.

The era of cheap food is gone. Even in Malaysia, RM3-4 per meal is also GONE. Food inflation is very real.

The world population is increasing at unprecedented rates, while rural farmland is being converted for industrial use. The frequent and spontaneous disasters with Mother Nature has not helped the supply of food to say the least.

The times may be coming when a day's wage would not be sufficient to feed our families?

Surely not.The Lord will provide to us whose trust is in HIM.

Losers are made

2011-02-01T20:06:00.003+08:00

God made us to be more than conquerers. He made us to be winners in life to glorify Him. Most of us live ordinary lifes and have our modest achievements which is okay. We were never born to be losers, you become one own through your own actions and attitudes.

I have friends who came from poor backgrounds but they have achieved good success in their work, life and careers. At work and in university you roughly know who will make it big and who will be mediocre. It is all in their attitude.

Winning does not mean becoming a billionaire. It is about making the most of the opprtunities that come your way. Most of us are not big time winners but do okay and get by in life. To be a big success in life, luck ain't enough. You have to work hard and create your own 'good luck". Thereby luck is not sustainable, but good luck is.

I have a cousin who was given the opportunity to study in Australia since 15 but he never graduated. He went on to work and now barely makes a living as he screwed up his own career and had CBT cases charged against him etc. He blames everyone and everything. Everything is in the attitude. Every company that he has been in he has run into problems either coz of non performance, criticizing management or swindling money. Winners are born, but losers are certainly made.

We must have a river mentality, not a pie mentality wrt to God's blessings

2011-01-30T19:57:00.007+08:00

As I walked past this water feature in a restaurant in Dongguan to have dinner with a tycoon of a bread/biscuit/cakes company I thought of God's overflowing blessings to me.

God does not have to bless person A at the expense of person B. His blessings are continual like a river. Some live in a nation where there is racial discrimination wrt to business and educational opportunities. It does not matter if we are discriminated against even in our country of birth because of our race as the Lord's blessings is a flowing river not a pie that has to be shared.

If our nation can believe that God by whatever name their religion calls Him, can bless us like a river flowing to our lives than there is no need for discrimination, quotas for government tenders, share equity etc. God is always creating and scientists believe that the universe is ever expanding. Likewise we have the creative powers to create wealth as God has given us the anointing. With government protection and hand-outs, the God-given creativity can never be nurtured. All talk of high income nation by 2020 is just hot-air.

I am the fastest fish

2011-01-19T10:52:00.003+08:00

In China I am a small fish in a big pond, but the old adage that big will gobble up the small isn’t always true. In the industrial age, the bigger the better. In the information age, invisible is the best. Just look at the IT entrepenuers and sales via portal like taobao (US$29 billion in 2009).

It isn’t a matter of big fish eat small fish. It is the fish that is fastest to react and fastest to capitalize on new ideas and opportunities that will get the prize. Sometimes big organizations become too fat, inflexible, and have little room for creativity and adaptability.

By God's grace we will remain higly innovative and creative in our products, marketing and distribution, and we will outperform the rest.

Eleventh Hour Vision

2011-01-18T11:20:00.004+08:00

We have a vision. Each day it is getting clearer, and when the day it is clear, all things are possible as we have the Lord.

We go deep into things so we can outrun and outperform the competition. We remain diligent and work out His salvation. He has put us on the threshold of big, big business. PTL!

CHRIS TOMLIN -- HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD (HD version)

2011-01-17T00:27:00.000+08:00

Hidden agendas

2011-01-07T00:17:00.002+08:00

If you read the 4 gospels you will notice that each writer has a different focus and their own agendas. Yes scriptures is inspired by the Lord, but do you think each author of the bible just held a pen next to the papyrus and the Holy Spirit moved his hand and he wrote like a robot. Of course not!

Each author has his own hidden theme and agenda.

Likewise, today even chruch leaders etc have their own agendas. That is the truth! Yes there will be some that are truly genuine, but there are many with their own agenda even though they are sincere in their allegiance to God.

New year 2011

2011-01-02T22:51:00.002+08:00

Time flies! Next week is my birthday and I am a year older. Some friends will fly to Guangzhou and celebrate my birthday along with the China staff, and collaborators in China.

It is a matter of time before I spend more time in HK/China amd relocate to HK. God can bless me anywhere - in Malaysia, in Australia and in China. He is ubiquitous and His blessings for me is not limited to Malaysia. Though I wished my life partner is Malaysian but increasingly I am giving up hope on that and look towards HK/China. I don't need a life partner to help me in business but in ministry. Business is complicated and with the quality of graduates in Malaysia these days and the jobs that they are in, they are not trained for multi-tasking and business. Moreover, they cannot see the bigger picture in life, business and ministry.

2011 will be a huge year for my companies. Yes the Lord is sovereign and I will free flow with His leading.

Lyrics for 唱一首天上的歌

2010-12-20T11:35:00.001+08:00

I shared this in Chinese church yesterday

The Lord is my Saviour

2010-12-19T20:38:00.002+08:00

As I sit and reflect the whole day, there is a deep gratefulness in my heart that the Lord is my Saviour, not my friends, not the pastors, not my business partner, not my parents (thought they are always supportive), not my products, and not my distributors or suppliers.

The Lord is my Saviour. It is Him who has weaved my life, my career and my future. Oh yes Lord, it is the finishend work of the cross that saves me O Lord. It is the finished work of the cross that saves me from eternal death, financial doom and career doom. Thank You O Lord.

Year end

2010-12-17T23:10:00.005+08:00

It is now towards the end of another year. How time flies! There is so much excitement for me next year and though there are many bruises from the battles of 2010 there is no time to lament but only ask God for bravery and strength to battle it out in 2011.

I am blessed that my 2 milk powders for children got approval for sale in China recenlty and we will launch in Jan 2011. God is a great God. We did it through proper channels and didn't have to bribe anyone and plus we gained respect of the agencies for being proper and professional.

I searched the web for apartments in Hong Kong and I told the Lord are you sure! The Lord said "dont doubt!". The apartments I liked are about HK$25million at around HK$13,000 - 15,000 per sq feet.

My pastor's wife wanted to matchmate me. My immediate response was to say I am leaving Malaysia in the near future so 'no need', but true reason is my half guess she will introduce the oldest unmarried ones from her care group. Best just to say 'no need'.

唱一首天上的歌

2010-12-13T23:17:00.000+08:00

Prophecy

2010-12-12T21:39:00.003+08:00

Today while praying for someone I released a word of prophecy. He was asking us to pray for his upcoming work appraisal by his boss, and I saw a vision of orderly books and told him that he will not only have a good appraisal but be moved into admin work as part of a promotional move by the Lord. I have been spiritually out of tune for a while and have not move in the spiritual gifts for a while :-(.

I remembered praying for brother Terrence in a cell group once and told him God will give him a baby boy, and 2 years later his wife gave birth to a boy. I remember praying for a sister who broke up with the boyfriend and saw a vision of a horse running away and not returning. She flew to Melbourne to try to get back the guy she dated for 7 years from uni days but he never did come back to her.

I remember in my late 20's when Pastor Joshua prophecized that I will have a mulitnational business with products sold worldwide, I just kept it aside as I was still a very junior employee at Abbott. I am nowhere near that even now, but it seems more likely than 15 years ago.

I remember when Ps.Sally's husband prayed for me (in 2006) and said that the Lord will send me a business mentor I didn't think much of it, but 2 years later the Lord did send me a mentor cum partner in David Liu. Praise the Lord!

I remembered when Ps.Margaret Falls prayed for me and said that my business needs to be revamped and repackaged in 2007 and David later helped in that process in 2009 and 2010.

I remembered in 2003 when my partner Chris and I was looking for an office to rent, Pastor Joshua prayed for me (not knowing I was looking for an office) and released the word that the Lord will give me a blue-glass building that will house my corporation. At that time I only had 20% share of the company (Vidalin Corporation) and it went under as my partner Chris and others squandered all the money on night clubs and women. As a result I had to go back to employment and later came out again to establish Eleventh Hour and Guangzhou Dochen. Maybe the blue-glass building is for the 2 companies which I control :-).

I remembered I was so down in the beginning of 2007 that brother James Tan brought me to Wednesday night prayer meetings led by Pastor Charles Popson at Grace Assembly. One night Ps.Charles send me a personal SMS and said a breakthrough will come my way and it did the next month and I made 600k from that breakthrough. He later prayed and said that I will have a palm tree business in China. Palm tree being a tree where every part has economical value.

Yes it is a long road but yet I count my blessings. The Lord is good and He has a plan for me. I am too precious for the Lord to ignore :-).

Well all I can say is that we plan for the mid-to-long term but live each day as it comes.

No confidence in the flesh

2010-12-09T21:02:00.005+08:00

Last nite brother Simon Yap shared John 11:45 onwards. I don't have the notes with me but it was about the plot to kill Jesus. The chief priest and the pharisees had a meeting at the sanhedrin, and plotted to kill Jesus.

The wanted to kill Jesus at all cost despite the miracles Jesus performed. The sharing for the nite was oddly entitled "No confidence in the flesh" which was really a misnomer for a really good message nonetheless.

On reflection yes if I keep boasting of my fleshly abilities in building my business, not only would I be in a way 'plotting' to kill the Lord in my business, but will miss His miracles and grace in my career. Despite all our credentials like Paul boasted in Philipians 3:5,like Paul we must have no confidence in the flesh.

Reflection after Wed nite bible study

2010-12-05T21:46:00.004+08:00

After some exchange of views on Wed nite I went back to read my August 6, 2007 posting. You may also want to go to my August 24, 2007 posting.

August 6, 2007 posting:
These days to do business in some neighboring countries you need to bribe. Even locally it may also be the case. It is not that I condone bribery or pretend that it does not exist, but Christian business people must see its reality and then factor in as a cost. If this cost still makes sense and the risk worth taking, then perhaps one may proceed depending on one's conviction. If you wait for the normal process, the business may out of vogue or the product not in demand anymore. You may have missed the opportunity to make a good profit.

I searched the Bible and in all cases the offender in the bribery case is often the accepting party. The warning or the trespasses of bribery seemingly is always on the acceptor of the bribe, rather than the giver.

This is plausible as it is those in authority who had placed the premise in which business is run, or how permits are to be issued. There is a deluge of such scriptures that condemns the person accepting the bribe (Ex23:8; Duet 16:19; Duet 27:25; 1 Sam 12:3; Job 36:18; Ps 15:5; Pv 17:23; Pv 21;14; Eccl 7:7; Isa 5:23; Mic 3;11). as his judgments on business permits and practices should be impartial.

In contrast, there is only one verse that implicates the giver of the bribe. This is found in Pv 17:8, "A bribe works like magic. Whoever uses it will prosper!". As I read the different translations of this verse, there seem to be no hint of wrong-doing on the giver's part. Rather, this scripture seems to acknowledge it power and privilege, if not its acceptance.

The above sharing may sound like that of an iconoclast, but lets face the truth. In some countries, it is standard business practice, and all the spiritual warfare won't budge the system. It may be seen as subsidizing the officers' paltry salaries. In some countries like Honduras, some government servants have not been paid for over 10 years. Yet they turn up to work everyday. Taking illicit money is their only means of survival. If we give to them a small sum it can be seen as a blessing rather than a bribe.

I can imagine if the Pharisees had asked Jesus the modern day version of Caesar's taxes which includes some illicit bribes and state taxes as we see in Matthew 22:17 , what his response would have been. Even then the tax collectors were unjust and were hated by the subjects in those days. Zacchaeus was one of them who prospered from imposing unjustly from the public.

I can imagine Jesus saying literally and metaphorically, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" (Mt 22:21). In some business cultures, a bribe however significantly small or big is the way of business. That is why Pv 17:8 says it works like magic and you will prosper. I find no implicit punishment mentioned. The Lord abhors different weighing scales yes, but the one maneuvering the scales is the person in authority and power. The giver is the victim of the system and not the perpetrator.

I was told by some elders that even the Jews who have prospered and are the upper echelons of the business society practice Judaism but with much grace, in spite of the legalistic candidness of its laws and teachings. I am sure the same goes for successful Christian businessmen. Following strict edicts won't get you far at times. Perfect principles are for a perfect world. Some of them you can't apply to an imperfect world such as ours depending on the circumstances.

The latest book I read

2010-11-29T23:34:00.004+08:00

Below is the latest book I read. It is written by John Nasbitt who wrote the best seller Megatrends over 20 years ago.

As he rightly puts it a lot of people have an opinion of China based on their own prejudices. I have friends who think they are China experts but have not even lived or work there.

As I read and look at China's way of governing its country in a socialist way for the common interest of the community it resembles Gods' way in Leveticus more than the western Westminster model. I am not favoring the Chinese way but do read it for yourselves. Where in the Bible do you find elections and so called western democracy etc. All the leaders like Moses, Joshua, David, were appointed by God and lead the people with love for the people.

God never intended Israel to have a king as it was the Israelites who demanded that God to give them a king like the pagans. All in all the Israelites had a paramount leader an a council of advisors in the interest of the people just like the Chinese potliburo.

Western politicians promise many things in their election manifesto but the Chinese government don't talk and just deliver to the people. This is an awesome book! In one generation the CCP took 400 million people out of poverty and the whole nation out of the mud. 30 years ago China was as poor as Malawi. If this is not God's doing, then what is? There are many people praying for China and I am sure Watchman Nee in his dying days cried out to the Lord for his beloved China. Watchman Nee your suffering were not for nothing and your prayers are not in vain. We all love China from the heart in our own ways and we all want to see her become stronger and stronger.

Life goes on

2010-11-25T23:00:00.005+08:00

I paid Ps Charles Popson a visit yesterday.

He prayed for me. He said next year is my year of divine elevation. It will be beyond my expectations.

But deep in my heart I tell the Lord please send me a life partner who loves Him. If not I will be a rich man but won't fulfill my potential to serve the Lord. I can be a rich man but lose my calling and my ministry.

Without the Lord at heart a person is all money. Every thing she measures by is money. I have a friend who is an ex-Ms Malaysia but every thought of hers in just $. Her conversation is always who is rich and who owns what. I am not poor but the measure of a man's wealth is not by what he has or what he has achieved, but what he is and has in Christ.

I have tasted your grace O Lord, so why do I want anything else? I have tasted your grace O Lord by myself. My parents to date are not Christians but I have tasted your goodness first hand and not second hand O Lord. I am a first generation Christian. I see the blessings of friends who are generational Christians like my 2 brother in laws who don't even go to church anymore but their parents remain fervent. Though I wished I had the same generational blessings, I know the Lord loves me all the same.

Thots while on a plane (Nov 20, 2010)

2010-11-23T21:12:00.000+08:00

As I sit here on the plane to China, I felt a relief that I had dropped out of the Masters of Theology program. I just didn’t have the time and moreover it was just too theoretical and didn’t suit my needs.

I had intended to get some theological credentials for the future when I publish books on my business journey with the Lord. At least it will have M.Theology under my name on the book cover.

This morning the Lord firmly told me I don’t need the M.Theology credentials. My business will prosper and bloom and that will be my credentials not the paper qualification. The Lord’s looks at a man’s heart (1 Samuel 16:7) but men judge a person on the outward appearance, what car he drives and what he has. Thus the only credential needed is a lot of $$$

There is a saying in Chinese that it is better to have travelled a thousand miles than to have read a thousand books. Many pastors preaching on business would never have ran a business before nor failed in business and went through the mill of building a business. Indeed I have heard many good sermons on prosperity and wealth but what is lacking in churches is a program and mentorship group on how to bridge vision and reality. Hearing a few sermons here and there won’t help.

Preface for Refresh II: Psalms for Business Victory (mock)

2010-11-19T22:36:00.003+08:00

I write as an entrepreneur for Christ not as an expert, but as a pilgrim. I write not as the most successful businessman around, but as one that has received the grace from God to overcome my challenges and difficulties.

In my business journey as a Christian the messages from many pastors on (1) prosperity and (2) grace, has spurred me on.

I discovered that the 21st century is not a period of prosperity that God is showering on His entrepreneurs, but rather He had always been a God who is wealthy and looking for co-workers in His kingdom.

Moreover, which parent, be it our heavenly Father or our earthly father would want their children to be poor? To be successful we must have an image of a Father (even with our earthly parents) who is loving, forgiving and full of grace (Eph 6:4). If we harbor an image of our Father as a harsh, judgmental and one that will bring brimstone and fire for failing to toe-the-line, we will never succeed in life.

When we were young, we indeed need discipline and I won’t argue that a few reminders of the 10 commandments was not needed. But as you get older and having made some mistakes in life -business, relationship, family – we really need grace messages to get us out of our mess. Having made many blunders in life, it was the constant grace messages that kept me going. It was always grace that was going to see us through. It was always God’s grace and the indwelling Holy Spirit that guides us to success, not laws or ‘being good’, though it is still important that we abide by His word.

This book:

Part 1 (12 poems)
My journey through the tough and trying times

Part 2 (12 poems)
The breakthroughs

The living God is a God of grace. We don’t have to earn our salvation. Jesus has done it all for us on the cross. The danger when we stop believing in who is our real Father (Creator), is not that we will believe in nothing. The danger is that we will believe in absolutely anything – fortune telling, mediums, feng shui, and other gods. [An orphan will go around looking for all sorts of adopted parents till he finds his true parents]. Some claim that feng shui is harmless as it is about ‘nature’. But God created nature, and He can change and direct ‘nature’ as he did for Joshua by holding the course of the sun for a while and by holding back the raging storms. If you have God in your business, your feng shui is always good without having to shift pieces of furniture or the changing the direction the main door is facing.

PS: only got 9 poems thus far for Part 2 :D.

Wed nite Bible study

2010-11-19T22:00:00.007+08:00

On Wednesday we had a discussion on healing, and they still talk of certain people who gave testimonies of being healed from cancer etc, and another inclination is that we must have enough faith to be healed.

I am real. More people die from cancer than being healed of it after prayers. This much I can tell you. So don't lose your faith in God's ability to heal you if you see someone die. In fact for every testimony of God healing a person from cancer maybe another 20 died from it despite prayers etc.

Firstly our faith for God to heal us is not in testimomnies though they are good to share an uplift us and more importantly to give the Lord the glory. Miracle do happen as God can heal and does heal miraculously. But our faith is not in the testimonies but in the fact that He is our Healer (Exodus 15:26). Therefore rest in Him as He won't simply say He is your healer if God is a half-past-six doctor. He is a proven healer with a good reputation. For instance if you have a knee problem, you will go to an orthopaedic surgeon with a good reputation, and not just any doctor right? God Himself says "I AM" you healer, "I am" your surgeon", so rest in His reputation as a Healer.

Yes we must have faith and trust the Lord whether we are healed or not for the secret things belong to the Lord (Duet 29:29) if the worst happen. Don't go and tell suffering patients that they do not have enough faith, or someone reduced to bones in a oncology ward that he/she must have more faith. it won't help. Ask them to rest in Jesus's faith and his ability to heal you (Mark 9:14-24). When you rest in Jesus' faith you have all the faith for miracles to happen.

God healed you 2000 years ago (1 Peter 2:24). By His stripes you were healed and it is past tense. Just receive it! Your sins won't block your healing coz Christ has died for your sins. If your sins is hindering your healing then Jesus died in vain on the cross.

Young in God's eyes

2010-11-16T21:51:00.000+08:00

The oldest in my church is a nice, pleasant and witty 84 y.old lady and she says she is old but seems fulfilled. Yes, the rebellious generation in the desert all died around 70, if strong then 80 (Psalms 90:10) but God promised we will live a long blessed life (Gen 6:3 says our days are 120 years) in the OT, what more the NT. In God's eye she is middle-age. At age 60 a person is only a teenager :-). Nearing age 90 Sarah still had admirers (Gen 20:2) and gave birth to Isaac at 90.

At age 120 Moses climbed Mt Nebo from the plains of Moab (Deut 34:1). He didn’t have any reported arthritic problems. He died there age 120 and his eyes were not weak and his strength was not gone (Duet 34:7). This is to say he had no reported cataracts, glaucoma or muscular weakness.

Caleb at 85 was as vigorous in battle and as strong the day Moses sent him out to be a spy (Joshua 14:10-11) "......So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then". Thereafter he still had to go to battle (Judges 1:19) to get the hill that Joshua blessed him with.

Wealth of the nations

2010-11-13T01:34:00.001+08:00

You are the light of the world, O Lord
The bright and morning star
In You is my victory
It is You who tored down the gates of bronze
And the walls of iron.

The wealth of the nations, abundance of the seas ,
Of the hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places,
Laid up for me as I praise You O Lord .
Through all days and nights Your gates are open
All the nations will call me blessed.

You are my Cornerstone, O Lord
The Hidden Treasure of my desire,
You are my Pearl of Great Price .
Oh yes I adore you Rose of Sharon,
The lily of my…………... valley .

November 13, 2010

Abundance of the seas

2010-11-12T22:56:00.005+08:00

Isaiah 60:5 “…the wealth on the seas will be brought to you,
to you the riches of the nations will come”. NIV

The KJV translate the wealth as "abundance". The Chinese bible translates "wealth" as 丰盛的货物 or abundant "goods"

As we look for new products to give us breakthrough in our business, the above verse crept out. We had linked up with the biggest fishing company in Japan and a caviar producer in South America for our China business.

This is surely the Lord's leading as God is leading me to food stuff rather than my original biz of food supplements. I have never seen a company selling supplements to be worth billions but I have seen many companies related to food worth billions.

Trust in God, not man

2010-08-12T09:57:00.004+08:00

I have this poster outside my office room. It is a constant reminder to put our trust in God, not man. Man can fail you, but not God.

Surely, the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear (Psalms 27:1)?

There are people stupid enough to listen to those who slander me and the company but whom shall I fear? Man or God?

Those that slander usually do it out of desperation and not standing on solid ground. Those that are on solid ground rest firmly in the Lord. That is why there is no need for us to retaliate or defend.

M.Theology

2010-07-28T00:55:00.003+08:00

I started a Masters of Theology at Tung Ling. I am still wondering whether I have the time to complete it as running my businesses is a serious matter.

At first when I started my business I just had in mind running a small business but the Lord is suprising me every day. Every day I get home I am already tired and now the business is going regional plus China with our very own company I am flat out daily. But I am aure this course is the Lord's leading so I will make it through despite all the travel, entertainmnet, weekend talks and exhibitions and countless meetings.

A short read

2010-07-16T15:26:00.003+08:00

Recently I went on invitation to a Roman Catholic mass, so I decided to read further on the difference between RC and the Protestants and found this book at Canaanland.

As an evangelical missionary in Italy for over thirty years, Thomas Heinze found that there are certain things that Roman Catholics would like to know about the faith of the Protestants and about the Bible. Moreover, they want clear, honest answers. The ecumenical movement in their own church has made it more important than ever for them to have this information.

Written lovingly to the Roman Catholics, this book uses Scriptures to explain major differences between Catholic and Protestant beliefs. So Catholics won't think this is Protestant theology from an "unapproved" Bible, Heinze uses their own New American Bible. The reader will come face to face with the fact that the Catholic church cannot save, only faith in Jesus can.

It contains such a loving, soul-winning message and invitation to trust in Christ alone, that it's a great book to give to Catholics. And it's inexpensive too!

Now you can point Catholics to Christ with answers to these questions:

Do you have the Mass like the Catholic Church?
Where do the differences between Catholics and Protestants come from?
What is the most important difference between Protestants and Catholics?
Why don't Protestants venerate images?
Why are Evangelical pastors permitted to marry?
Do you believe in Mary?
Is there a purgatory?
On whom is the Church founded?
To whom should we confess?

Know that you are not buried, but planted

2010-07-01T15:18:00.001+08:00

I am planted in Your love O Lord
I am a seed of Christ
I am not buried in my past
Nor am I dead to my mess
For I am planted anew O Lord

I am planted O Lord
Nourished by Your grace
New blessings will spring forth
The old may have gone
But the new abounds

The dirt of life shall not paralyze me
For I am planted as Your seed O Lord
You will turn my mess into a message
You will make miracles out of my mistakes
All for Your glory O God!
Amen.

July 1, 2010

Staying in God

2010-05-10T00:25:00.003+08:00

I have seen people who once make it big in the life and career put God away in one side of their life. I am determined O Lord as I grow bigger my service and life abides in You only.

Time and time I cling to You O God. I will not waver but live in Your grace forevermore! For in You there is the grace to overcome, the grace to carry on, the grace to thrive and the grace that is more precious than any jewels.

God is in control

2010-05-04T11:00:00.000+08:00

I have not blogged for a while and friends are wondering what is wrong with me and whether I am ok. Yes there are some things happening but I must say that while bad things were brewing God was there protecting.

He is the God who knows all and is all. He is looking after our interest even when we are in a slumber. He is the One who is total control. Amen!

What is worse?

2010-04-22T10:43:00.005+08:00

What is worse than having no money? The poorest man or woman in this world is not the one without money, but the one without a vision, real purpose and direction in life. Without a vision in life, people perish (Proverbs 29:18).

Without a vision in life people live aimlessly. They do nothing productive in this world and do not take their own destiny in their own hands. The direction that their life takes is all circumstantial and not a deliberate act or will. They are like lost gypsies in this world.

Our lives is a product of the choices we make, and not the chances we take. Had we chosen to develop ourselves and be disciplined earlier on, we will reap the benefits of that now. It is all a choice!

Living in this world

2010-04-13T23:21:00.004+08:00

The Bible says that while we are in this world, do not be of this world. It says that yes we do live in a fallen world, but yet we are not to have the values and principles the world has (Colossians 2:20).

The above is easier said than done. I struggle every day.I am blood and flesh and too enjoyed a lot of the worldly pleasures :-(. There is so much temptations in this world. There is the lust of the eyes (covetousness), lust of the flesh (especially being single) and pride of life (1 John 2:16). Yes I am born a winner, and shall do great exploits for the Lord when He deems me ready. For I have tasted the love and glory of the Lord.

Moses chose to forgo the pleasure of sin which is for a season. What can compare to glory of the Lord for eternity? Truly, the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord (Psalms 111:10).

Mattersey Hall

2010-04-08T01:20:00.003+08:00

Praise God that I have been accepted to study Masters in Practical Theology at Mattersey Hall. Mattersey Hall is the bible school of the UK Assemblies of God (AOG). The course is 2.5 years by distant learning with 2 weeks of lectures per year at Tung Ling Seminary.

I also wonder whether I still have the discipline to do another degree with the traveling and businesses abroad and pending relocation to HK/China. But I know it is for the Lord as He will use me later to preach His specific message at an appointed time. Without the paper qualifications it just doesn't seem complete yet to do the work He has for me to do in the future.

The Lord put a question in my heart. Should the global business He is building through me be worth the billions in US$ will I will be able to give it away and put it into a trust fund to do His work? To be honest it is hard to answer, but I must say it is easier for me than others as I know very how the Lord took me out of my mess and lifted me.

More blessings and happiness

2010-03-26T11:39:00.003+08:00

Some one sent an email to me and it had the caption below:

May your troubles be less
Your blessings be more
And nothing but happiness
Come through your door

Yes, how I yearn for this too. There is so much hustle and bustle in our lives that we all could do with a little less trouble, and definitely less stress. But all glory to God, he is always there to protect and bless His sheep.

Yes, may more happiness come through our doors, but even if we had set backs and moments of sadness, His grace is always present.

The Sovereign Lord

2010-03-20T00:32:00.005+08:00

As I ponder, there are aspects of my business that are not the way I wanted it to be. Likewise, many things in my personal life that had not turned out the way I had dreamt or prayed over the years till now. Sometimes I must admit I get bitter with God and struggle in my predicament. But like Job I choose to stay in His grace, revere Him, fear Him and walk in obedience. For in all circumstances, good or bad, the Lord Almighty is Sovereign whatever the outcome.

Flourishing times

2010-03-15T10:36:00.002+08:00

"The righteous shall flourish like palm tree. He shall grow like cedar in Lebanon. Those planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing." Psalms 92:12-14.

How exciting! It is my time to flourish. Yes we will flourish in every aspect of our lives. I am going to claim it. Amen.

Psalms 63:3

2010-03-01T10:57:00.002+08:00

Psalms 63:3 says that God's loving kindness is better than life.

I sometimes find it hard to perceive this, as there is so much good things in life and there is nothing wrong with them. But as I reflect, good things in life too can turn sour or just be temporal. Only God's love is permanent. And sometimes, a good thing that you have may not be the best that God wants for you. The GOOD can also often be the enemy of the BEST!

Interesting medicine!

2010-02-24T11:50:00.000+08:00

Tiger Woods speech on Friday (US time)

2010-02-21T15:31:00.003+08:00

I tuned into the golf channel at 0000 hours Malaysian time Saturday 20th, to listen to Tiger.

It was a sincere speech of apology to his wife, family, biz partners and fans. The line that struck me most in his speech was, "I once heard -- and I believe it is true -- it's not what you achieve in life that matters, it is what you overcome".

This is so true. Most successful people have received much accolades and much success. But if they had not overcome their own hurdles and battles innate to them, their world would have disappeared before them at any point in time.

The Bible tells us in Romans 8:36 that we are more than conquerors in Him. So whatever problems I am facing I will overcome and conquer it in Christ who loves me.

He's got the whole world in His hands

2010-02-18T21:23:00.004+08:00

What an amazing picture! Yes everything is in His hands.

He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.

He's got my brothers and my sisters in His hands,
He's got my brothers and my sisters in His hands,
He's got my brothers and my sisters in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.

He's got the sun and the rain in His hands,
He's got the moon and the stars in His hands,
He's got the wind and the clouds in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.

He's got the rivers and the mountains in His hands,
He's got the oceans and the seas in His hands,
He's got you and he's got me in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.

He's got everybody here in His hands,
He's got everybody there in His hands,
He's got everybody everywhere in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.

Chinese New Year

2010-02-14T20:43:00.002+08:00

Chinese New Year marks the beginning of spring in China. Yes in Malaysia we do not have four seasons but in spirit it marks "spring" in many aspects of our lives. Spring represents "life" as living things hibernated during winter and flowers blossom in the wake of spring.

Yes I pray for a spring in the peace of this nation, a spring in the economy whereby new engines of growth are blossoming while old ones are continue to thrive. Yes there are many who points out that the political and economic situation in the country is less than ideal, but God puts us here to intercede for the nation.

Yes there is call for Malaysian Chinese to go beyond the Malaysian borders for business and career opportunities, but we also had our beginnings here humble as they are. I pray that no matter how successful I grow our businesses in greater China and elsewhere that the Lord will keep me humble, always teachable and approachable. And most importantly to encourage and help those left behind economically and remain underprivileged in areas of education and opportunities.

Poem by night

2010-02-12T10:44:00.003+08:00

Grant me a helper O Lord
Grant me a beauty in Your eyes
That I may serve You
To always walk in Your ways

Mould and make me Lord
A man filled with Your grace
That I may love her with Christlikeliness
A love that transcends all love

I never asked for the right one
But that You mould me to be the right one
The right time and place will come forth
But mould me O God to be worthy

O Lord keep me pure
That I will not go wayward
And not to waver
But to keep Your statutes
And to be deserving O God

I love You O Lord
There is nothing sweeter than Your love
Nothing can compare to Your goodness
Jesus there is nothing that compares to You.

Victor Chen
February 12, 2010.

Before my enemies

2010-02-08T12:41:00.003+08:00

In the presence of my enemies
You blessed me O God,
In their presence
You prepared a table for me
Of abundance, and honor
Grace and blessings from Above.

You showered me with gifts O God
Breakthroughs and victories
In a quantum You lifted me
True to Your word
As Your firstborn
I am doubly blessed

I seek not the gifts
Nor the glory, nor recognition
I only yearn to abide in Your presence
To dwell in Your love
That is all I long for O Lord
Let me rest in You
And seek Your comfort.
For I am weary, battled and bruised
I just want to be where You are O God.

Victor Chen
February 4, 2010

The Lord's supper

2010-02-07T21:45:00.002+08:00

We had Holy Communion in church today and also on Friday in CG.

The gospels tell us that Jesus' said that the bread is his very body. Jesus is also the way, the truth and life" John 14:6. We can only have eternal life in Christ. I read Genesis 3:22 tells us that in the garden of Eden lies a tree of life which gives eternal life and God didn't want Adam to eat it anymore. Hence Adam was banished from the garden and mankind faced death.

Thus in Christ we eat the tree of life in the garden of Eden to obtain eternal life.

Empowered by the Lord

2010-02-04T23:29:00.002+08:00

It is a long road that I had to go through with the CEO (Jesus) of my businesses. The Lord Jesus' has a long apprenticeship program for me that does not seem to end :-).

But I am joyful that the Lord has always been there for me in the toughest and roughest of times, and each period of trial and every moment of difficulty, He has brought me through the storms and strengthened me.

To a lot of non-believers they do not know what kind of business we are running. They do not understand that my businesses is also a ministry. It is a ministry to testify God's power in our business and to do His end time work. Amen.

The Lord prepared a table for me

2010-02-03T15:07:00.003+08:00

"You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows" (Psalms 23:5).

What more can I say? The Lord is good and graceful to me.
Many enemies literally try to finish us off but the Lord is there not only to protect but He lift us up high before our enemies. Our businesses is blessed with his abundance and overflowing grace.

A potted plant or a planted plant?

2010-01-31T20:01:00.005+08:00

Last night I told a close friend David Guru that I am slowly finding a spiritual home in SIBKL. I told him that I need a platform to not only develop my spiritual life but also to be used by God.

Psalms 92:12-14

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the LORD,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,

This was part of the message today. If we do not plant ourselves in a church and be part of its mission we cannot grow either. We will just be like a plant in a pot. A potted plant is one that will keep hopping from one church to another. A potted plant's potential is limited by the size of the pot. If we are to truly flourish then we must plant ourselves in a wider church group. We truly become owners of the church's vision and devote ourselves to the church like a planted tree.

The Lord is my Redeemer

2010-01-24T23:44:00.002+08:00

My friend Mark shared this with me during dinner tonight as I was awarded some awards for business and entrepreneurship.

Mark shared that the Lord is our Redeemer. He felt that he is inadequate in his business skills but somehow the Lord rescued him each year when he nearly failed in his projects. Isaiah 48:17 says the Lord is our Redeemer. I too can recall how many times the Lord had to rescue and redeem me. Each year my businesses could have been wiped out, but the Lord has redeemed me each year. All glory to the Lord. In Jesus'name. Amen!

Home

2010-01-18T13:12:00.002+08:00

I have barely been away a week in Australia and already yearn to go home. There is an inner yearning for the comforts that I am used to at home. That is exactly what defines a home – a place you yearn to return despite all the good food and hospitality away from home. It is where your heart and soul is.

I believe it will be hard to call another place home despite growing up abroad for 16 years. Even now with business in China I still yearn to stay back home. God has a purpose for me at a particular place and a particular time.

Blooming 2010

2010-01-04T23:30:00.003+08:00

"When the climate is right a thousand flowers will bloom".

This what I believe will happen in 2010 for us and myself personally. It is a year when the flowers will bloom and we will see the fruits of what we have sowed for the past few years. God is a good God and He is no man's debtor.

The climate is now right, and the flowers will bloom in 2010 for me and my businesses O Lord. Thank You Father. In Jesus' name I give thanks. Amen.

Thank You O Lord

2010-01-01T14:23:00.003+08:00

As I sit here alone at my office desk on the first day of 2010, I can count my blessings for 2009. Of course there were bumpy moments and unsettled matters that are carried into 2010, but I can only praise God for sustaining us.

Yes, thank you Lord for Your providence when we ran dry.
Yes Lord, You lifted me when I was down.
O God, Your promise that "no weapon formed against me shall prosper" is an assurance I can cling to. The weapons of the enemies may seem to be prospering, but it ain't as I stand steadfast as I am in the Lord and the Lord loves me.

There are many things to thank the Lord for in 2009. We won an award for small companies. In 2010, I am sure the Lord has even more blessings in store for us. I sit here in solitude writing and am sure in 2010 I will continue to experience His grace and love in a greater magnitude.

A song in my heart

2009-12-28T01:35:00.002+08:00

"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." Henry Thoreau.

Most of us have hope and desires in our hearts to achieve certain things in life. The sad thing is most men die with their dreams unfulfilled. The dreams may have even been planted by God in our hearts.

In life there are many critiques but I guess we just have to know what we want and follow our hearts. There is nothing wrong with people warning us out of love, but never cease to live out the hopes and dreams in your heart.

I have made many mistakes in life and business and paid the price for them. In all of us there is always a candle kindling a sense of desperation, a song that urges us on to achieve what we want. I have taken huge steps in many things in the last few years and hope that I will not join those souls who died with the song still in my heart.

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-24T11:04:00.005+08:00

It is the time of year to wish you all a Merry X'mas. It was a rather eventful year for me and had it not been the grace of God to see me through, I am sure I will be 10 feet underground on many fronts.

It is because the Lord was born as a sacrificial Lamb to redeem us we can LIVE! He is our sin offering and also our burnt offering. There is no greater gift than this than God Himself should be born on earth to die for us.

Pic: Heathrow Airport.

Arresting Malaysia’s relative decline Hock's Viewpoint - By Choong Khuat Hock (The Star, Monday 21 Dec 2009 in the Biz section)

2009-12-22T00:24:00.002+08:00

It reads "THE book, The global financial crisis and the Malaysian economy, written by Datuk Dr Mahani Zainal Abidin, director-general of ISIS Malaysia, and Professor Dr Rajah Rasiah, dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administration at Universiti Malaya, in collaboration with UNDP and ISIS makes interesting reading.

In particular, it highlights the declining trend in manufacturing labour productivity in Malaysia due to lack of technological upgrading, making it difficult for our manufacturing sector to compete with those in South Korea, Taiwan, China and Singapore.

It further highlights it has been difficult for existing firms to shift towards higher value-added activities due to a lack of focus on research and development (R&D). Malaysia’s R&D is pitifully low against those in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore (see table on R&D expenditure in GDP).

The authors suggest that a combination of factors may be to blame: a scarce supply of engineers and R&D scientists and technicians, the poor quality of those leaving universities in the country, low R&D investment, and the reluctance of most qualified Malaysians to return home from foreign countries.

....
.....

The 1Malaysia is a refreshing breakthrough concept that aims to unite Malaysia and ensure that everyone has a place under the Malaysian sun. Only when there is a sense of belonging can we expect Malaysians to invest long term in R&D and make Malaysia the preferred venue for their business and family rather than joining the brain-drain bandwagon.".

Furthermore the US has given up negotiating with Malaysia on a Free trade Agreement as the Malaysian side would not budge on the open tender for government projects and the NEP.

I just pray whatever that Malaysia will be competitive and not fall behind our neighbors.

Psalms 34:8

2009-12-21T23:40:00.003+08:00

Psalms 34:8 "Taste and see that the Lord is good".

I praise the Lord that He has been good to me. It is not just head knowledge but I know it by experience. I have gone though the valleys in life and been darkened by the shadow of death and know that the Lord has been there to rescue me. He will never let me fall as long as I rest and rely on Him.

Everyone has to know Christ for himself. Each and everyone of us have our individual challenges. We have to know His love and protection for ourselves and not know that the Lord is good from second-hand (told by others) experiences.

I know the time will come that I will testify of all His goodness to the whole world on stage and in my new books. Amen!

Forty

2009-12-16T19:44:00.002+08:00

Genesis 25:20 (New International Version)reads "and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram [a] and sister of Laban the Aramean."

I guess being forty is no big issue. Isaac only got married when he was forty. At 40 I am still single, but age is no barrier. In God's timing the Lord will send someone for me. Sarah gave birth to Isaac at age 90.

It is not looking for the right person until you have become the right person.

Malaysian Second Finance Minister comments honestly on the Malaysian economy

2009-12-14T01:13:00.004+08:00

The Second Finance Minister gave a keynote speech at the National Economic Outlook Conference 2010-2011 organized by the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research on the 1st December.

Honestly, what is new? Finally a Finance Minister is telling us what we already knew. We all love our country but also very sad to see the state of affairs in our home land. We are falling behind our neighbors. It is sad that the whole country's future can be neglected to protect a few protected groups.

I pray for our country to be managed properly where there is fairness and equal opportunities for all races. Petronas reported a 50.7% decline in profit (April-Sep 2009 vs corresponding period last year), and now all of a sudden we see an introduction of credit card tax, Goods and Services Tax and reintroduction of Real Property Gains Tax.

According to the AFP report, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah (2nd Finance Minister) said:

"Malaysia is trapped in a low-value-added, low-wage and low-productivity structure," Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah (left) told an economic outlook conference. Among its peers China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand, Malaysia's economic growth over the past three years was second-lowest, he said.

"Our economy has been stagnating in the last decade. We have lost our competitive edge to remain as the leader of the pack in many sectors of the economy. Our private investment has been steadily in decline... While Singapore and Korea's nominal per capita GDP grew within the last three decades by 9 and 12 times respectively, ours grew only by a factor of four."

In a withering assessment, Ahmad Husni said the services sector is underdeveloped, private investment is half the levels before the 1997-98 Asian crisis, and the manufacturing sector is suffering from lack of investment.

...He called for sweeping measures including an emphasis on meritocracy and ensuring all Malaysians are given "equal opportunity to participate in the economy".

"We must also consider the gradual dismantling of our open-ended protection of specific sectors and industries which have introduced a climate of complacency and artificial levels of supply... The long-term success of the nation's economy must take precedence over the short term interests of a few protected groups."

Poems by Emperor Kangxi

2009-12-12T20:24:00.001+08:00

Early emperors from the Qing Dynasty were greatly influenced by Christian thinkings. This was reflected by Emperor Sun Zi's 21 visits to the South Beijing Church to consult the great missionary Johann Adam von Bell during his reign. His son, Kang Xi who succeeded him was obviously impacted by his father and was a Christian initially. The following are a few Christian poems written by Kang Xi.

The Poem of the Cross
When the work was accomplished, blood formed a creek
Grace from the west was thousand feet deep.
He who lowered himself for us stepped on the midnight trip.
Before the rooster crowed twice, betrayed thrice was He.
Five hundred slashes torn every inch of his skin.
Two thieves at six feet high hanged besides him.
The sadness was greater than anything seen by anyone.
This poem is for You, the Holy one.

The Poem on Truth
Everything as seen by the eye is His creation.
He who has no beginning and no end, is three persons in one.
The heaven's gate was closed to the first man's sin and reopens through the Son.
Rid of all false religions, we should become real disciples admired by everyone.

The Treasure of Life
The treasure of heaven is comprised of Sun, Moon and Stars;
The treasure of earth consists of crops, gold and silver.
The treasure of a kingdom is to have righteous officials;
The treasure of a family is to have descendents with piety.
Yet, Gold, silver and jade are not as precious as one's life.
Hundred years of age is nothing compared to eternity.
Coming and going in life is like a dream.
The best food and clothing don't mean a thing.
It's no exception for someone born in a royal family.
The most important thing in the world is life.
Something that white jade, gold and silver can't buy.
Even plain porridge can be satisfying;
No cloth is fit to wear for a thousand years.
The heaven's gate was closed due to the first man's sin;
The path to salvation is through the Son only.
I would like to accept God, the Son and the Holy Spirit;
And receive from thee my free gift of eternity.

The Lord is my fortress

2009-12-11T00:28:00.003+08:00

O Lord!
You have delivered me from my enemies
Who seek to devour me
Their words are vicious about me
They planned to destroy Your work in me;
But even in my slumber You are fortress
For You are the Lord who sees all
I am safe as I lean on You.

Their words are cordial to my ears
But only You know of their malicious hearts
Yes O Lord forgive me of my transgressions
My oversight,

Praise You for containing my enemies
For they have no regards of Your work in me
You shall destroy them
Never will they rebuild again, never again .
Thank You O Lord, my fortress, my protection, my salvation.

Josephs in the Last Days - By Norm Franz

2009-12-09T19:14:00.001+08:00

There are many conflicting allegorical teachings concerning the end time Josephs. When applying Scripture allegorically to the last days, we must be very careful not to compromise the integrity of what the Word of God is saying.

End time allegories are generally stated within the Scriptures themselves. A good example of this is the parable of the tares among the wheat (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-40). There are many good allegorical teachings concerning this parable, but when using it to minister about the end time harvest, Revelation 14:14-20 is the only way it can be interpreted. Any other application perverts the plan of God and cause believers to miss what God wants to do. Today, a host of inaccurate teachings about what the harvest is all about has churches trying to conduct a harvest that doesn't exist.

End Time Anointings

The best way to allegorically apply Scripture to any time period is to apply Scriptural principal in the lives of the people living at the time. When applied in the lives of individuals living in the last days, those principals will manifest and work themselves out as anointings (divine enablements or gifts) during the end times. There will not be an end time company of Josephs because the Scripture specifically calls for one, but because a group of individual believers will operate according to Joseph principals during the end times.

It won't be a structured network or a church organization, but anointed individuals flowing in the unity of God's Spirit under a Joseph anointing. Personally, I believe that all the anointings of God's servants of the past, (Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, etc.) are designed by God to manifest in the lives of His people during the last days. It's part of the fullness of Christ and the restoration of all things.

The Joseph Anointing

When it comes to the Joseph anointing, there are a lot of confusing allegorical interpretations being applied to the end time church. Because the Joseph anointing has to do with wealth, there seems to be a tendency that some people have to misapply Joseph's gifting in a way that best promotes their agenda (physical buildings, church programs, organizational networks, or business enterprises). This is generally cause by the love of money combined with the spirit of manipulation and control that permeates the church today. We cannot allegorically twist the Scriptures to say whatever we want them to say in order to validate our program. Remember, this was one of the reasons why the church strayed so far from the Hebraic roots of God's word after the second century.

Literally speaking, Joseph was ordained and anointed by God to warn Pharaoh and Egypt (leaders and their governments) that a famine was coming and how they should physically prepare for it. Although he was ordained by God, he was empowered (authorized) by Pharaoh to do what he did. This was the same scenario that Daniel operated under in Babylon. God used both of them to affect the heart of the king so that God's purposes could be fulfilled. In both Joseph's and Daniel's case those plans were accomplished through the resources of Egypt and Babylon - i.e., the world system.

Some say that, because God owns everything, Pharaoh and/or Nebuchadnezzar allegorically speaks of God the Father. However, nowhere does Scripture even hint at the allegorical concept that the rulers of Egypt or Babylon could ever be referring to Jehovah. God only refers to them allegorically as sin, death, the world, or some form of judgment.

This application is generally used by church pastors, who are trying to bring Joseph's wealth into Father's storehouse of the institutional church in order to fund its programs. If the programs are from God, we should fund them as God leads. However, we don't have to misapply Scripture to do it.

Some say that Joseph's are called to set up a Christian financial system or network, which operates independent of the world system. However, Joseph's ministry didn't have a system separate from Egypt's, but clearly operated within the Egyptian (world) system. In truth, neither Joseph nor Daniel owned very much. They were predominantly managers of the government's resources. Nor did they do what ever they wanted to with those resources. In Joseph's case, both a goal and a plan were laid out before Pharaoh, and he empowered Joseph to carry them out (Gen. 41:33-37).

Even though Joseph was given authority over all Egypt, there was no mistaking that the authority came from Pharaoh. Joseph may have manipulated Pharaoh a little, but he always understood that Pharaoh was in charge (Gen. 46:33 - 47:6).

This doesn't mean that all end time Joseph's have to work for the government, only that they must be operating within the world's system and submitted to the government's laws (Rom. 13:1-6). Every attempt by Christians to set up some type of business organization or financial network that operates outside the world system has failed. That's because it's not part of the Joseph anointing or God's plan for the last days.

Many are confused at why Joseph would make the Egyptians store up their own grain during the "years of plenty" and then force them to buy it back during the "years of famine." Most ancient Rabbis understood that Joseph bought the grain for Pharaoh's storehouses during the seven years of plenty when prices were low. When the famine came, he simply sold grain to the Egyptian people and the nations of the world as a matter of conducting state business (Gen. 41:56-57).

Sometimes Christians assume certain things that just don't make any sense in the real world. If Joseph would have forced the Egyptians to buy back their own grain, they would have cursed him, but they didn't. Even after they lost everything and became Pharaoh's slaves, they blessed Joseph for his forward thinking that delivered them from death (Gen. 47:20-26).

This principle was best expressed by Solomon when he said, "He who withholds grain, the people will curse him, but blessing will come on the head of him who sells it" (Proverbs 11:26).

Joseph was a Forerunner

Many teach that Joseph was a type of Christ, and those with his anointing will save God's people in the last days. Although Joseph possessed Christ like attributes, I believe Joseph was more of a forerunner who was sent to help preserve life during the famine. This is clearly seen in when Joseph says to his brothers, "And now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here [to Egypt]; for God sent me before you to preserve life" (Gen. 45:5). Joseph was more accurately preparing the way for Moses, who was very clearly a type of Christ. Moses would save and deliver God's people out of the Egypt (sin, death, and the world) through the blood of the Passover lamb that represented Jesus. This is an allegory that is clearly established in the Apostolic writings of the New Testament (Acts 3:22; 1 Cor. 5:7-8).

My point is that Joseph's ministry is a prophetic forerunner ministry similar to that of Elijah's and Ezekiel's. In the last days, this anointing warns the people of the coming difficulties (famines, judgments, etc.) and then helps prepare them in spirit soul and body for the day of Christ (Luke. 1:17; 1 Thess. 5:23). We are quickly approaching the end of the age, and the season of the forerunner ministries is here.

Goshen

As a forerunner, the Joseph anointing provides a place that sustains the spiritual, mental and physical lives of God's people. In Egypt, this place was called Goshen. Goshen was the "best of the land," but it was also a somewhat isolated region. Joseph's purpose for putting Israel in Goshen was to sanctify them as far from Egyptian culture as possible. This way they were in Egypt (the world) without being of it. This has always been God's way (John 17:15). Don't read more into this Scripture than is there. Some are teaching that Goshen literally means, "near to God" because of Gen. 45:10, and that today Goshen represents a network, or a system, or a geographic location were large numbers of Christians will gather to be safe in the last days. Again, this type of reading into the Scripture is generally done in order to legitimize someone's program.

Goshen is the Hebrew word #1657 in the Strong's concordance, and it's simply defined as: "Goshen, the residence of the [Israeli's] in Egypt." Goshen was given its name long before Joseph ever arrived in Egypt. It's important to note that Goshen is also called the "land of Rameses" (literally spelled Ra-ameses), which was named impart after the Egyptian sun god "Ra" (Gen. 47:6-11).

When Joseph said he wanted Israel in Goshen, it was so they would be sanctified from Egypt and geographically near to him (Joseph), not Him (God). The Lord doesn't actually set Goshen apart and protect it until He starts His judgment on Egypt through Moses' ministry (Ex. 8:22-23). During that time, God refers to Goshen as the place where Israel was already living (vs. 22).

In fact, the real division was not between the land of Goshen and the land of Egypt, but between God's people Israel and Pharaoh's people Egypt. However, because Israel was living in Goshen, the land was protected also (vs. 23). God doesn't protect programs He protects His people.

This protection was supernatural and separate from any program or project. Even Joseph's God ordained food storage was just a temporary natural project to help them survive the famine. Although Israel eventually went into enslavement, the food storage allowed them to survive as a people until Moses brought deliverance through the blood of the Passover Lamb.

Likewise, today's Joseph projects1 are temporary ministry designed to help God's people through the famine (difficult times) and prepare for the Lord's coming. Eventually, a new Pharaoh will arise as the antichrist to enslave the world (Ex. 1:8-11; Rev. 13:7-8, 16-18). I believe that God supernaturally protects His people during the early stages of antichrist's rule just before the harvest when he reaps (raptures) His people into the Kingdom of God (Rev.11:3-6; 14:14-20). Therefore, today's Goshen is simply that place where God has individually called us to be. This pertains not only to our physically dwelling, but our job, our investments, our church, our spiritual growth, etc. In other words, God will provide a place were we can be sanctified in the world without being of the world, so we might disciple the nations (John 17:15).

The difference between a Joseph project and a religious program is that a Joseph project is a Spirit empowered campaign that produces the fruit of God's kingdom for a specific time and purpose, while a religious program is a work of the flesh which becomes an Icon that goes nowhere and never seems to end.

A Famine Of God's Word

A purely spiritual allegory, that is very applicable for the end time church, would be that today's Josephs are called to preserve God's people during the spiritual famine of the last days. This famine is a famine of the true Word of God that seems to come during the inflationary collapse of the world's financial system (Amos 8:4-11).

In this allegorical application, end time Josephs are called to provide the necessary resources to teach, train, activate and release God's people to fulfill the New Covenant mandate of writing God's Torah (laws) on their hearts (Jer. 31:31-33). This work is spearheaded by full time five-fold ministers (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers). However, in the home, fathers train and activate their children, and in the business world, elder market place ministers disciple those of like calling.

Beware Of The Nimrod Spirit

Over spiritualizing Old Testament Scripture can be dangerous, because we might mistakenly believe that God will do something He has no intention of doing. However, being to literal can be almost as dangerous. Believers who are overly aggressive about building any type of physical building, end time organization, or religious program run the risk of being seduced by the Nimrod spirit. The Nimrod spirit is always saying, "Come let us build for ourselves a city and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth" (Gen. 11:4). This spirit always wants to build some religious program that becomes an idol it can identify with. When that happens, the builders generally find themselves manipulating people, circumstances, money, and Scripture to keep their program (city and tower) going.

The Lord has shown me that the confusion in the church surrounding all the different religious programs is coming from him. It's the same confusion that He released on Nimrod's program at the tower of Babel, when they tried to build something that was not of God (Gen. 11:7). It's also the same confusion that he allows to come on His people when they walk in rebellion to His commandments and execute a plan that is not His, and trust in Egypt (the world) for their safety (Ezra 9:7; Ps. 44:15; Is. 30:1-6 KJV).

Building the church is not about religious programs. It's about Jesus building the individual members of His body up into a temple made of living stones that are being transformed into His image (1Pet. 2:4-5).

Where Are All the Josephs?

Many times I hear rich people referred to as Josephs. However, I don't believe that this necessarily the case. Most of today's rich people are rich in debt: debt based investments, leverage stocks, mortgaged real estate, and empty paper promises called currency. They have the image of prosperity, but they are actually slaves to their lenders.

When the full shaking comes on the world's system, these will find themselves to be among the church of Laodicea who thought they were rich and wealth and had need of nothing, but they were really poor and blind and wretched and miserable and naked (Rev. 3:14-22). These are not the Josephs of the last days.

Joseph didn't even know he was a Joseph until after his brothers came to Egypt (Gen. 45:5-7). I believe that most end time Josephs are still in the pit or serving in Potiphar's house, where God's word is testing them just like it did Joseph before he came into the fullness of his ministry (Ps. 105:16-19). When they are thoroughly tested and found to be faithful to God's in the small things, God will bring them out and give them charge over much (vs. 20-22).

Some true end time Josephs are just beginning to emerge. Everyone who is working to build up the body of Christ and restore God's word in the market-place during these last days, are end time Josephs. As we are faithful to study and teach and do God's Word (Ezra 7:10), God will send us Joseph projects that will be above all we can ask, hope or think possible.

A Delicate Balance

God is working in both the natural and the spiritual. Therefore, the allegorical application of any Old Testament anointings to God's people today must be done with the utmost care. I believe that there are six basic allegorical applications of the Joseph anointing that the end time church should expect to function in. 1. End time Josephs are forerunners who are called to warn government, church and business leaders that both a physical and spiritual famine are coming on the whole earth. This is only done at the direction of the Lord as He authorizes and opens the doors. 2. Joseph's primary anointing is to extract real wealth out of the world's system and judiciously channel it into the Kingdom of God as the Lord commands them. The goal is to use the finances of the world system to deliver the message of the Gospel, which saves and sanctifies man from sin and the world.

3. Josephs, who are government officials, attempt to influence their government to legislate biblically based law. They also use their influence to persuade their legislature that it would be wise to build up the nation's food and other crisis supplies.

4. Josephs, who are pastors of churches or one of the other five-fold ministries, are actively writing God's Torah on the hearts of the people in preparation for the spiritual famine that is coming. They also work closely with market-place ministers to establish Joseph projects as the Lord commands. They teach their people the Joseph principal of having a physical storehouse in preparation for the physical famine and other crisis. As the Lord leads, they prepare food storage in preparation of the coming famine (Act 11:27-30).

5. Josephs, who are market-place ministers, actively transfer the wealth of the world into the work of the Gospel. The Gospel of the Kingdom not only wins the lost, but teaches, trains, actives and releases believers in the ways and purposes of God. In other words, they should be actively discipling others who are called as market-place ministers and end time Josephs.

6. Individually, Josephs are writing the Torah indelibly on their hearts, so they can spiritually feed their family and others during the coming spiritual famine. They aggressively seek the Holy Spirit on what Joseph projects God wants them to support. As the Lord leads and provides, they also provide a storehouse of natural food to sustain their families during the coming crisis.

Don't make more out of the Joseph anointing than it is. To do so will only lead to financial ruin.

In Messiah Jesus, Norm Franz

The Nearness of Our God By Francis Frangipane

2009-12-09T18:03:00.000+08:00

In the 73rd Psalm, the psalmist Asaph expressed a struggle we all might feel at times. He questioned why the wicked seem to prosper while the righteous are chastened. The whole idea was troublesome until he entered the sanctuary of God. Once in the presence of God, Asaph realized his error. As he compared himself to the unbeliever, he saw that, apart from the influence of God, he had nothing in which to boast. He said, "When my heart was embittered and I was pierced within, then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You" (vv. 21-22).

Finally, his soul brightened as he considered that God alone was his salvation, and his relationship with God was his strength. He wrote, "Nevertheless I am continually with You … You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth … God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (vv. 23-26).

The summary thought of Asaph's revelation, and the point of this chapter, is in verse 28. He wrote, "But as for me, the nearness of God is my good."
Let's settle this truth once and for all: It is the nearness of God that produces our good. Christianity was never designed by God to be sustained by nice people trying to appear good. We're not that good. We're not that clever. And we're not that nice. The only thing that can sustain true Christianity is true union with Jesus Christ. It is nearness to Him in all things that produces our spiritual fruit.

If we are honest, we will admit that, apart from the influence and work of God, there is nothing morally superior or remarkably virtuous about our lives. Our flesh has the same carnal passions as do people in the world; our soul carries within it the same insecurities and fears. Thus, apart from the influence of Christ in us, there's no difference between Christians and non-Christians (except that Christians, when living separate from God's presence, can be more obnoxious). It's only our relationship with the Lord that keeps us from fulfilling the lusts and desires of the flesh, for apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5).

Therefore, the strength of our walk does not originate from within ourselves; rather it comes from our relationship with Christ. Our virtue, if it can be defined as such, is that we have learned to prioritize seeking God; our character is the offspring of our oneness with Jesus. By this I mean, Jesus is not only first on our list of priorities; His influence rules over all our priorities. He inspires love in our relationships; His voice becomes the conviction in our integrity. God has made "Christ Jesus" to be to us "wisdom … and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Cor. 1:30).

Thus, the God-seeker desires to find the Lord's pleasure drawn to every aspect of his soul. He also knows that, should an area of his heart exist in isolation from God, he will remain vulnerable to manipulation by the enemy in that area. So let me underscore the psalmist's truth, and let us say with our own voice of conviction: it is the nearness of our God that is our good.

Oh God, You are the lover of my soul. Faithfully, have You extended Your hands toward me. Yet, I have been, at times, a drifter and distant. Master, this day I acknowledge my most wonderful times are those spent close to You. When my heart is near to You, I am partaking of the nectar of life.

Buidling His kingdom

2009-12-08T15:48:00.002+08:00

There are lots of pompous churches these days with huge buildings and extravagant fittings. Their members often have been asked to give and often they are struggling even years after giving.

The pastors of these churches also live extravagantly which is their prerogative. Some even live in multi-million dollar houses with Mercedes, designer suits and expensive jewelry. I have nothing wrong with that as we want our spiritual leaders to be comfortable. But what I find disturbing is how they coerce the members to give beyond their means (i.e give to get blessed). A particular church I was told suddenly declared the first offering/tithes for the senior pastor and was told a second offering will be taken for the Lord. There is a sense that the pastor is in the business of religion rather than building the kingdom of God. The church is inward looking and does nothing in terms of social works or missions.

Another church there is alleged transfer of substantial funds from the church into the accounts of a personal ministry headed by the senior pastor without members’ knowledge, poor financial management, claims of nepotism, and the sacking of a well-respected deacon for speaking out. It came out even in the local newspaper. It is sad to see it happen.

Well, I guess a church must build God's kingdom and not anyone person's agenda. A church has to impact the society and transform its members to Christ-likeness.

God's presence in my business

2009-12-06T17:28:00.005+08:00

I said "Oh Lord! If you are not with me, then I am not going into the business in China."
Moses too said something similar. Praise God we will actually be active in China very soon and launching products in February. We had all the licenses but used the wrong lead product (not blaming anyone but business is always a learning proposition, and I personally suffer and bear the financial loss without blaming anyone).

Back home in Malaysia, I have a favorite product I like to sell. The suppliers have forgotten that I have actually bought over 110,000 bottles of the product in 2 years. But people have short memories! And to date we are now selling to end-consumers direct and sales is increasing. What is worse is the supplier is using my apparatus to help my competitors in terms of registration and possibly repacking.

We never over ordered. We could have ordered 26,000 bottles to impress the supplier and after 6 months still have 18,000 bottles left with many trade returns to come as over-ordered plus the enteric-coating of the capsule is poorly done and the COA reflects a failed dissolution test. We never had to kick out a partner in the company to take money out to rescue other businesses. We never had to kick out a partner who actually did all the sales. We never had to delay staff salaries/incentives because we did not have the money to pay them. We never had 2 sales staff who worked with us since the company started "leaving" coz we could not pay the salary/incentive on time.

But the Lord is the CEO of the company. He is still there. He has not departed like He departed Samson in Judges 16:20. In Him I lean and trust. The fruits are there! Our sales is increasing in Malaysia and in China we have many collaborators and people supplying in to us. People can mock us, but God is never to be mocked.

Psalms 28

2009-12-03T06:09:00.004+08:00

The Lord is always protective of His anointed ones. When we enter into business we dedicate the business to the Lord and essentially we acknowledge that the business is the Lord's.

At times something major may go wrong, and it is then time to reassess. When it is our mistake or negligence then I often apologize to the Lord for mismanaging His company. That is the way it should be as He is the CEO and true owner.

I woke up at 5.30am to pray (very rare) and then was led to Psalms 28.

Surely in business there are competitors who want destroy us. They may be cordial but have malice in their hearts (v3). Since they do not show regards that our company is the Lord's and it is the work of His hands that the company is where it is today (v5), He will tear them down and never be rebuilt again (v5).

Praise be to God for He is my salvation and my strength. In Him lies my victory.

fathersloveletter.com

2009-11-30T12:30:00.002+08:00

My Child,

You may not know me,
but I know everything about you.
Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways.
Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image.
Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being.
Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring.
Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived.
Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation.
Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake,
for all your days are written in my book.
Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth
and where you would live.
Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb.
Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born.
Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented
by those who don't know me.
John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry,
but am the complete expression of love.
1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child
and I am your Father.
1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father.
Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.
Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless
as the sand on the seashore.
Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you.
Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession.
Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you
with all my heart and all my soul.
Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things.
Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart,
you will find me.
Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you
the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires.
Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you
than you could possibly imagine.
Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you
in all your troubles.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted,
I am close to you.
Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb,
I have carried you close to my heart.
Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away
every tear from your eyes.
Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain
you have suffered on this earth.
Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you
even as I love my son, Jesus.
John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being.
Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you,
not against you.
Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression
of my love for you.
1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved
that I might gain your love.
Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus,
you receive me.
1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you
from my love again.
Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party
heaven has ever seen.
Luke 15:7

I have always been Father,
and will always be Father.
Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…
Will you be my child?
John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you.
Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad
Almighty God

Billions siphoned

2009-11-29T20:16:00.003+08:00

As I read the front page of The Star, it reported that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission alleged that 60% of the Sarawak government allocations between 2004 - 2008 have been misappropriated.

Frankly what is new? What we desire is to see what is the remedy. The annual AG report for years more or less reports the same kind of things but what is being done about it? We work hard and have to pay our company taxes ahead of time based on forecast. We truly hope that the government be more accountable for our money. I really hope that Malaysia can be strong and be competitive regionally and globally in years to come.

Latest book I read

2009-11-26T00:24:00.003+08:00

This is a 555 pager which took me a while to read. A very interesting read and also explains why my parents have always said I am the descendant of the Yellow Emperor.

Whatever the case I pray that God will continue to bless China and make them a super-super-super power and His will be done.

Also pray that God will bless Malaysia and purge all that is wrong. Malaysia is a blessed country and I hope that there will be prosperity, peace, racial harmony, even playing ground for all races and away with race based politics.

Wall of containment

2009-11-25T00:25:00.004+08:00

I was watching a History channel program called "Escaping North Korea". In NK people are starving and don't even have enough to eat.The program showed people eating from whatever scraps they could find in the dumps and streets. During a recent famine over 2 million people died.

It is a wall of "darkness"! How good can a place good be if you need to use force to keep people from leaving! We are meant to live in liberty and have life in abundance.

The NK-SK border is impossible to cross given the 700k NK soldiers and 400k SK soldiers at either side of the border with a 40km of demilitarized zone in between. The documentary showed how people had to risk their lives to cross the North Korea-China border. They have to bribe the NK side to come across to China. And once in China they are at risk of being caught and deported back to NK. Lots of young N Korean women often come over looking for a better job but only to enter a life of prostitution.

Once in China many of the escapees are lost for work and risk deportation. But there exist a Christian ministry to help bring such escapees to SK. These fugitives learn about the ministry while in China and contact them in SK via the Internet. Through the Christian network, they are housed in Shenyang and be trained for the ordeal. The escapees had to take a 36 hour train ride from Shenyang to Beijing, then to Kunming. On the train they risk arrest and sit in different cabins to avoid detection and try not to speak as they have no valid travel documents.

Once they are in Kunming, the smugglers then help them to cross the Laos-China border through the thickest of jungle. This will take over a day with leeches clinging to your skin. There are border guards surveillance to avoid. Then they hop on an arranged mini-bus and head for the Mekong river. This is a whole day trip. If they are caught, they will be deported by the Laotian government to NK and likely to be executed. Only the Thai government allows asylum.

To cross from Laos in Thailand, they have to go in a canoe to cross the Mekong river. Once in Thailand they are safe. They will go to the S Korean embassy where they will be granted asylum.

I guess no matter how ill-fated we may feel, I believe there are many worse off than us. Post-war South Korea was in ruins. But it was God who raised the nation up into what it is today and used great men of God like Ps.Cho Yonggi to evangelize S.Korea during those difficult times. S Korea has now probably one of the highest number of Christians in Asia.

God's protection

2009-11-17T22:16:00.002+08:00

As I sit here on the eve of my hospitalization I reflect on God's protection. He is the Lord our shield and Protector. I reflect on the things that have gone wrong and in truth could be worse.

The Devil is merciless. He is out to steal, kill and destroy. Without God's protection for an hour or a day, we are finished. Just look at Job when God merely removed His protection. The Devil destroyed his business and killed his children. So even when things take a down turn or life is driven to a corner, just bear in mind that God is always there to protect us. Without His protection it will certainly be much worst if not catastrophic.

Dear Lord Jesus, I pray, that may I never leave your protection and your shield. I love you dear Lord and know that You are protecting me even as I sleep or am busy with my daily chores. Even when all the chips are down, even if life takes a cruel turn, I know I am safely in Your arms. Amen!

Pray for me

2009-11-10T01:09:00.003+08:00

Do pray that the Lord will heal me of my tonsillitis. I am scheduled for an operation under GA but been busy and I cannot even find the documents to admit me to hospital. I lost the documents and my admission forms oh Lord!

Please pray that the procedure will be smooth and that there will be no post-operative bleeding. The last time I had an operation on my sinus I bled a few pints of blood (2 bath towels soaked with blood) and rushed back to the hospital few days after the operation (at home) and nearly died.

2009-11-09T10:43:00.004+08:00

Buddha - Siddhartha Gautama
(Foretold the Holy One) Spoke of Jesus

500 years before Jesus was born

In the Buddhist Suthra (Scriptures) in Khmer Language (a Cambodian language writing), there is a prophecy from about 500 B.C. (Before Christ) of the "Holy One" who would come. One who would lead the people away from the old way, and introduce a new way.

Buddha said “Keep on making merit and look for another Holy One who will come and help the world and all of you in the future.”

Buddha described the "Holy One" by saying;

"in the palm of his hands and in the flat of his feet will be the design of a disk, in his side will be a stab wound; and his forehead will have many marks like scars...." This describes the risen Jesus, after being crucified for our sins, exactly!

Wat Phra Sing

Permission was granted to copy these Buddhist Scriptures regarding the prophecy of the Holy One (Jesus) from Wat Phra Sing in Chiang Mai Province. The person who gave permission was Phra Sriwisutthiwong in Bangkok. It is guaranteed that this copy is accurate according to the original, that there is no error in transmission, which is in the book of the district headman, the religious encyclopedia, volume 23, book #29. This inquiry was made on October 13, 1954 A.D. (Buddhist era 2497). Phra Sriwisutthiwong is the Deputy Abbot and Director of Wat Pho Museum, Wat Pho Temple, Thailand.

Wat Pho Temple

2009-10-30T00:34:00.008+08:00

God is our Protector and our Source. For nothing was created without Him. Through Him all things came into existence. Some put their faith in themselves, some in their money and some in their businesses. But when things take a twist then they search deep in their soul and are found wanting. For instance, I have seen people who trusted on their wealth but when they are struck with a fatal illness and then realize that there must be a deeper meaning to our existence here than just merely being passers by in this world.

Anything can be instantly taken away from us. However, if we are built on God's word and our company stand by His rock we are on solid ground. Unless God takes away my business from me, no man can as it was the Lord who planted the business.

I often tell the Lord it would be so much easier to be a doctor or to work for an MNC. But I stand steadfast as it was Him whom prepared me for the call of business and Him who spoke to many men of God of my calling. In Him we trust and it is Him who is the Provider. Only when the Lord say He will provide do we trust. Man's promise can be with good intentions but may also fail us, for a man's promise is often circumstantial if not conditional. This is because a man has limitations but God is not limited in His ways to provide and protect.

Why do I chronicle all these in writing? It is because in God's timing when things move, it is not sudden thought to say I trusted in God etc. On June 19, 2008 I posted an article of Ps.Charles saying that God had intended to give me my office as a launch pad into international business after a prayer meeting when I was only thinking of buying the office. Ps.Charles prayed from outside of the office as we had no key to go in and gave me God's confirmation and word. At that time I was just happy to be in Malaysia and ignored what he had prophesized about me being an international businessman. Now we have import license for health supplements/skincare/food in China plus infrastructure built in Taiwan. Our business is and will be a testimony of God's grace and providence to all those whom we deal with. If life was all smooth sailing there will be no testimony and no story to share of God's greatness.

Gods' word on the 26th Oct, 2009

2009-10-28T01:08:00.004+08:00

Ecclesiastes 9:16; So I said "Wisdom is better than strength." But the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.

As I was on the way to have dinner with senior executives from a very big global Japanese firm, the Lord dropped a verse out of the blue to my lawyer for me. It was God's word for the season to encourage us to move on as He builds up our organization into one that is heeded and respected. It also encouraged me ahead of the meeting with the Japanese and that God is there to lead us and we are on the right track.

We sometimes wonder why the restructuring process is so painful while acknowledging that it is needed. God wants us to be financially strong to do His work at this end-time.

虎洛平陽被犬欺

2009-10-18T23:11:00.008+08:00

There is a saying in Chinese that when a tiger is in the wrong place, even the dog will bully him. Maybe it is just not the time for the tiger to be at the top yet.

Likewise in business when we are nearly there, we also know who are deserting us, not supporting me all the way, or look down on us. We also don't blame anyone as they have a choice. At this time we see who will support us as God has ordained and we are not short of people behind us. If anyone who wants to support us should do now and not later when things change. We already anticipated it as the Lord had earlier revealed. But the Lord also has shown ways earlier to be prepared. We are to be anxious for nothing as He is control and has a perfect plan for us.

In good time we will be big (and not saying it for the sake of saying it), then it will be a different story as people judge us on face value and don't even know what we have in the bag. God say leave the losers and skeptics behind.

God is present

2009-10-16T21:27:00.002+08:00

Life goes on and God is always there for us and for me.

In life there is no certainty. In business there is no certainty. The only certainty is God.

Though going through various challenges, we are progressing and we also get to know who are our true friends and true supporters. It is God's way to let me know that people don't live for us.

I have a lot to thank God for the progress we have made in our business set up. If everyone agrees with your dream, then it is probably a nightmare. We nonetheless press on despite the skeptics as we can see the end game clearly and not too far away.

Good To Great

2009-10-13T23:41:00.004+08:00

This best seller has been out for years but I only just got to read it. It examines 10 companies that outperformed their peers in the industry and the reasons WHY!

Good is the enemy of great! Many good companies became good, but they never become great As I read the book I see parallels how God is putting the foundations for a great company in our operations.

Painful as the measures may be but without addressing our problems we can never become great. As I read the things that are being changed in my company by David (my partner) I see that it is exactly what the 10 companies studied in the book had done to become great. I am not saying it just for the sake of saying it, but the transformation period is tough but needed to become a GREAT company.

Merdeka Day

2009-08-31T23:23:00.002+08:00

Today is our national day in Malaysia and we celebrate 51 years of independence.

My work brings me to a lot of places each month and especially in places like Taiwan or China, and the locals will be guessing where I come from. I have small slanting eyes so most of them will say I am from Japan. Some say I am from Hong Kong when I speak Cantonese. I may then speak a bit of Hakka and say I am from Meizou in Guangzhou. Sometimes I tell them I am an Aussie to confuse them :-).

Some say home is where the heart is. Some say the world is my home. There may be some that may have not lived with their parents for a while, and do not find it hospitable at their 'childhood' home anymore, even if it is just across the street. Their comforts are all in their new home - be it their sofa, hi-fi, bed. We are all creatures of comfort. At this moment, my comforts are all in my parents' house and I will always call it home till God's next plan for me is rolled out.

I do not know where the Lord will lead me to settle eventually, but the truth is that HOME is where God is. If God wants you in a certain place, His anointing, presence and blessings will be with you.

On this national day, I pray that Malaysia will be a peaceful place with racial tolerance, progressive with fair opportunities for all.

Living deliberately

2009-08-15T00:05:00.000+08:00

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, to discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and to be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.

Henry Thoreau.

Robert Kennedy 1966

2009-07-07T00:31:00.003+08:00

Each time a man stands up for an ideal,

or acts to improve the lot of others,

or strikes out against injustice,

he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope,

and crossing each other from a million

different centres of energy and daring,

those ripples build a current that can

sweep down the mightiest walls of

oppression and resistance.

Moving on

2009-06-28T22:35:00.011+08:00

As I sit here reflecting on the past 6 months that has been, I realize I have moved on from certain friends and partners.

There are those that wanted to make it in business, but are just not carved out for it. They do not have the aptitude to make it big, or even just to survive. One friend for instance is good technically, but is not there in terms of business networking. He is just not in the zone. Another is reasonable in network marketing conceptually, but is not there as a businessman. He is just not in the game. A lot of of his ideas is just wishful thinking.

To be successful one really has to be able to multitask, requiring multiple skills sets. We need to have knowledge to act. Hosea 4:6 says that "people are destroyed for the lack of knowledge". To be more sublime, I will pin it as "knowledge to act" when crises, opportunities, issues etc arises. That is why the Lord has to lay deep foundations into us before we can succeed. One really has to have gone through a lot first before he can succeed. The deeper the foundation, the higher the structure, the greater the blessings. In truth, most people are just making a living doing their own business.

As I reflect further, there are those that had a mini windfall that could have been used to start a next project, but they blew the money on all the wrong things. A person may be earning 100k a year, but sudden windfall may earn them a several hundreds of thousand, which if kept properly will not only see them though rainy days, but be seeding capital for a business to bring them to the next level (i.e $1 million per year). But I have seen several friends blow away the sudden windfall in a very short time frame. In light of the bigger picture, they only have themselves to blame, not others.

The bible says "the prosperity of fools will destroy them" Proverbs 1:32 (KJV). Prosperity or money does not destroy people. It those who are foolish that let money destroy them. Money is just a medium of exchange. They are those that once they have some money, buy non-income generating assets like a Mercedes, live lavishly, till disaster strikes and be broke when things take a bad turn. Opportunities don't come everyday. We need to catch it and capitalize on it when it comes. Then only we go can go to a higher level in the next cycle of opportunity.

Language

2009-06-22T16:21:00.002+08:00

The world only had one language and a common speech (Genesis 11:1) till....the Lord scattered men all over the earth (Genesis 11:8) and confused the language of the world (verse 9).

There are thousands of different languages and dialects in the world. Yes in the end times, the world is becoming one again. The internet has made the world small even though we are scattered all over.

English became the international language, while Latin was the common speech in South America. Some had predicted there will be 3 main languages eventually.

1. English - USA, Europe etc

2. Latin - South America etc

3. Chinese - China, Taiwan, HK, Korea, Japan, Vietnam etc

I have enrolled myself in Shanghai University to learn Chinese for a month starting September. Hopefully I can learn it up fast especially the scientific and business terms.

Fathers' Day

2009-06-19T00:42:00.003+08:00

This Sunday is fathers' day. I am very blessed that dad is still healthy and on the go. We are very close to this date. In fact he is like a buddy and a friend to me. Having a strong father to guide me since childhood has given me a head start in all aspects of life.

The strength of a nation is only as strong as the strength its family units. Most broken families are a result of fatherlessness. Children from broken homes never seem to come out the same. I have friends who are now divorced or suffer many repercussions as a result of divorced parents at an early age. Fathers, who were not good role models and never giving security to their daughters, often see their daughters seeking that assurance from preying men. In any society, it is not solely the development of various industries or advancement of cutting-edge technologies that will make a nation strong. It is the people that make a nation great. Family units must be strong for nation building. It is the values that the people have that transform a country. The values of fairness, hard work, fair play, honesty and hunger for continual improvement are the building stones, and those that must transgress a society for it to excellent.

A committee set up by Al Gore investigating into the cause for the increasing crime in America concludes that ‘Fatherlessness’ is the main reason for family breakdown, which inevitably was the main cause for crime and social ills.

Fatherlessness is the lack of concern for the family and is pandemic around the world. Fathering is not just providing for the financial needs of the family, but also counseling, mentoring, encouraging, communicating, loving and leading. Fathering is a comprehensive task. That is why it takes man to do it. Dad did all that was needed of him as my father.

Writing moods

2009-06-18T00:18:00.007+08:00

It has been a long time since I had the mood to really write. But yet I wish not to write for writing sake, but rather penning articles of substance and words that can pierce the bones and marrow of a man. This is only possible it those words are carved out by the sword of the Spirit.

Stress kills! I have been under much stress the past 12 months or so especially the last 8 months. It killed off a lot of my moods. It killed off my mood to exercise, to write, to read and even to meet up with friends. It is never easy to start businesses and venture abroad. Do it only if the Lord is with you and really wanting you to venture out.

I sense that the second half of 2009 all will finally fall into place nicely. Yes I made some mistakes and blunders but the Lord will not allow our efforts to be unfruitful. Jesus is my CEO, heavenly Father is my Chairman and the Holy Spirit is my COO. All the efforts and investments we made in Hong Kong and China will bear fruit second half of 2009 onwards and starting July. Meanwhile in Malaysia, my CEO entrusted me a new business which we will start in August. I won't say what it is now, but it is something if done well will bring us world-wide recognition, fame and fortune. Maybe a bit of a hint! I am able to do 3-D pop animation (stereographics) in-house, in my own office. I didn't planned it. The Lord just put it in front of me on a plate. But must thank Him, be grateful, and not complain :-).

Likewise, I had never planned to come out and start my current business. A series of company takeovers unsettled me, then I left to do my own consulting business, though struggling at first. Then a client I was doing registration work for in Malaysia invited me to visit his health supplement factory in Auckland. I landed back in Malaysia on a Wednesday from Auckland with some documents to register a few products including a sheep placenta product. On Thursday (next day) a friend asked me if I could source and supply sheep placenta to their MLM company in Hong Kong and Malaysia. One thing leads to another and now I have my own company in Hong Kong. From Hong Kong, the Lord lead me to China.

Let us never ever lose the things money cannot buy - love, health, close friends, family bond, our integrity and name. My first love is exercising heaps, reading and writing. These have all taken a very very very long detour. O Lord, how I yearn to go back to these simple things in life. But I know, the Lord wants me to experience certain things, in order to sublimely pen them in my future writings.

Watchman Nee

2009-06-17T01:32:00.008+08:00

When I was a young Christian, I was given a book on the life of Watchman Nee (Heros of Faith series). I read the book in 1-2 nights and cried tears of admiration through out my reading of the book. This was really someone who stood for God till the end. When the communist came in power, they rampantly came to crush the Christian movement. His disciples and wife all fled abroad, but he refused to leave. He was then the most eminent preacher in the whole of China. After his arrest, he was jailed and died in prison after 20 years of imprisonment.

From www.watchmannee.org

Watchman Nee became a Christian in mainland China in 1920 at the age of seventeen and began writing in the same year. Throughout the nearly thirty years of his ministry, Watchman Nee was clearly manifested as a unique gift from the Lord to His Body for His move in this age. In 1952 he was imprisoned for his faith; he remained in prison until his death in 1972. His words remain an abundant source of spiritual revelation and supply to Christians throughout the world.

I have read a few of his books and really they are real solid meat. They are some of the best books I have ever read. e.g The Spiritual Man.

To date I have never been to a church in China or met a Christian there as thus far all my acquaintance are rather cordial. There are supposedly 150 million Christians in China. The government is worried as there are only 70 million people in the Communist party.

I cannot but admire how the Christians there went through all the persecutions and endured, even till death. I recently met a young and very pretty girl whose parents were separated when she was 4 months old. Her grandma had to look after her in Chongqing, while her mum had to work hard labour in Dongguan to raise the family. Her late grandma used to bring her to an underground church and prayed for her everyday. They were very poor and barely got by.

Jsut before her final upper high school exams the grandma passed away (cancer) and though she passed but didn't do well enough to enter university. She then was whisked away by her cousin sister to Shanghai to study Japanese. But after a year she lost focus and quit, supposedly after an argument with the cousin. The lack of a father figure also left vacuums in her life.

She then went to work in another city in the sleazy entertainment industry. This was so until one day she met a good hearted person who sent her back to complete her studies. I believe it was the fervent prayers of her grandma that kept her within God's grace. All the prayers that her grandma had not been in vain , even though she had gone home to be with the Lord.

Seminars and wealth

2009-06-16T00:27:00.005+08:00

I see some people on my Facebook attending the Millionaire Mind Intensive seminar last weekend. The seminar is germinated from a No.1 Best Seller book. Now the same group are talking about "Never Work Again" seminar in Singapore.

On the advertisement of the Millionaire Mind Intensive it claimed that it will change your financial life forever. This to me is wishful thinking! There are organizers who organize them as a business to make money, but then there are professional seminar goers attending for the sake of attending. If it is so easy, there will be no poor people anymore. Just attend these expensive seminars and we will all be laughing to the bank!

I have not really been attending a church of late for some years now, but do go to prayer centre on Monday nights when I am back in KL. I use to attend a church that preached a lot of prosperity and subscribed to it deeply then. 16 year old to 80 year olds will attend the Entrepreneur For Christ meetings. There was the constant messages that God will grant you that breakthrough, your big deal is around the corner and God has a jubilee year for you. Then they ask you to sow money into the church fund, the building fund and more funds. (by the way, nearly every church in town has a building project and not small projects). But the truth is most of them never made it big in business or their careers. Some had a sense of invincibility that they cannot fail and ventured out into business (without the necessary skills) and flopped. In fact, my non-Christian friends are more financially successful in comparison.

I have nothing against prosperity and believe God does bless. Some of these prosperity churches I feel are inward focus. You can feel the "bless me" syndrome. All focus is on God blessing you which I am sure He does, but too much preoccupation with His blessings can be dangerous. A lot of people are left disappointed. There is no skin off the pastors nose, as surely by sheer percentages, a few will make it and then give their testimony (maybe 5%) for whatever it is worth. Those that are still struggling are told that you must keep believing and not give up or your time will come soon. I have seen friends sell their house etc to put food on the table as they have not gotten any breakthroughs after 5-10 years.

Even though the building funds which can go into dozens of millions are raised, then there will still be another building fund for another project that the Lord is supposedly planning. Then the pastors will speak to the congregation on sowing and reaping to raise funds. They may have big buildings but I never felt cared for when I had problems or needed someone to hear me out and pray for me.

Yet I am encouraged to see God pulling out some church leaders to start prayer centers and outreach centers to reach the masses and attend to peoples' needs. I am convinced that this is where my funds will go in the future. The current churches are too locked into their ways, while some are contended with big building projects or to upgrade their sound system to compete for members. They are not preparing the church for the bridegroom's (Christ) return.

Sermon on the Mount (Matthew Chapter 5-7)

2009-06-15T11:21:00.000+08:00