Miracle Breakthrough Service

For the first time in many many years, I stepped into a church, not for a wedding service but for service. But it was nearly not meant to be.

It was Good Friday and at the invitation of a good friend, M & I went to Lighthouse Evangelism at Tampines for their Good Friday Miracle Breakthrough service. Maybe I really have been out of the church scene for too long but things really have changed. We got there late as we had problem finding a parking lot and had to park much farther away. And when we finally reached the church, I was so surprised that it was full and people were milling outside because they couldn't go in and the usher refused to let anybody in. That was it! At that moment, I thought this wasn't meant to be M time to hear the Lord's message. But our friend, who had invited us came through in the end and she and her children gave up their seats for us so in the end we managed to go in. Thanks Mich but a church turning people away? That was something I certaininly had never expect to see.

And there was a second surprise for the evening. The hall we were in was on the first floor and the service was being conducted from the church at Woodland and broadcast live. That was something new to me. I have heard about this of course but somehow it wasn't the same looking at somebody on a video screen and singing along without a worship leader. And the thing is we were on one floor and there was another 2 floors of people looking at the same video broadcast. Which was really so unreal to me.

This wasn't a worship service. Rather as named, it was a Miracle Breakthrough, an evangelical and healing service for the non-believer and sick. The 3rd surprise was hearing the testimony of 2 Mediacorp artises, Rayson Tan and Chen Liping. I didn't know they were Christian. More surprising was that it was another Mediacorp artiste, Li Naxing who introduced them to Christ. The testimony was done interview style by Pastor Rony Tan and centres on their lifes before Christ and how they accepted Christ.

This was followed by a call for non-believers to stand up and accept Christ. Was M sufficiently touched by the testimony? Apparently not, caused she stayed put in her seat but in a way I am not sad. I could like it that should she one day choose to accept Christ, it will not because of some charismatic pastor and emotional feeling from the service or pressure from anybody but because she is ready and sure. Just like Chen Liping. In her sharing, she was the first one to felt the touch of the Spirit and the call of God but it was Rayson Tan, who was brought up in a traditional Taoist family and who was by their own accord very supersitious and religious who accepted Christ earlier while Chen Liping took some time to be 'ready'.

This segment was followed by a mass 'healing' session. Now while I accept that God can perform miracles and healing, I am always uncomfortable by mass session like this. Maybe I should just go to a traditional church although I think those are a dying breed judging by the number of flourishing 'modern' chuch. Even Lighthouse, when I was a student worshiping at Jubilee Church, Lighthouse which was actually a breakaway church from Jubilee had just a handful of members worshipping in a small rental shophouse at Holland V. Look at how it has grown! Anybody know of any traditional church to recommend?

From Astroboy to ???

Some years ago, when the movie AI was out in the cinemas, a lot of my Christian friends were making a lot of 'noise' about it; their main objections to it being that only God can create humans and human cannot create life. The movie was of course set in a future world where human and robots live side by side and the robots are so life like and human in nature that they take the place of children. I laughed at their objections. After all, it was only a movie.

Now I guess fiction is fast becoming fact. Japanese scientist have moved on from creating robot dogs to creating a robot child, one that can touch, feel and response to stimuli. From the pictures published so far, this is by far the most human like robot ever created. In fact, this robot has been programmed to learn and develop social skill. Just like a real baby. More info can be found here and here.

So the Japs have move on from Astroboy to Robotboy. Will a world like that in AI become a reality? I think the answer is not yes or no but when and the unthinkable will it happen? Will robots take over the world.......

Soo Jung Cho

Beautiful things should be shared and not hidden. Someone emailed me a link to her website (hope not a virus scam) which contained beautiful visuals created by the artist.

Check it out: www.soojungcho.com

Right to die

Much has been said in the papers and debated hotly over the right to die. Most time, most people argued passionately about it and usually the pro camp are those who have been in a situation before whereas the against camp are those with strong religious beliefs and those who have not been in such situation before and do not fully comprehend the impact of the right to die.

Let me said that I am pro life but I am also pro right to die. My views like many people however applies only to myself – ie if I am so sick and suffering from an incurable disease, I rather be allowed to die with dignity than suffer for long period and in the process drag loved ones into misery. The pro life part of me said that life is precious, a gift from God and we should treasure and nurture it to the best of our ability and not destroy what God creates. So what happened when something like that occurs? 

I have never actually thought too much about it but yesterday at CGH, I found myself contemplating this as I visited a relative who has been warded there. She was already ‘brain dead’ and apparently being kept ‘alive’ for 2 to 3 more days. I am not too sure what are the reasons for keeping her alive. Is it that none of the children was willing to make the decision to pull the plug preferring to just let her go on her own or they can’t bear to be parted? Thank goodness, the call was not mine to make. But as I stared at her and looked at her children standing watch, I could feel the dilemma, the burden they carried as they struggled with the decision of when to let her go. And I wondered……..