Prodigal sons and daughters come home

“My adopted son rejected the Christian faith and my world was collapsing before me.” Dr. Paul Kooistra shared about his pain before an audience of 80 people. I sat there in the sanctuary listening to his story with transfixed eyes. His son’s open rebellion brought shame to Dr. Paul and he did not know where to hide his face. Isn’t the pastor supposed to be a role model for the congregation? Does that mean he has to leave the pastorate because he could not manage his family well? During the period of her son waywardness, Dr. Paul’s wife demonstrated unconditional love by persistently and consistently through actions and words affirming her son that ‘there is nothing he does that will stop her from loving him.’ He never ceased to be their son even when he turned his back on them. Eventually the ‘prodigal son’ came home. In Dr. Paul’s words, God’s covenantal love reached out to his son.

Another heart wrenching story was told by Dr. Paul that gripped my heart. He told a true story of a pastor whose daughter rebelled against her parents. The story was written into a book entitles “Come Back, Barbara.” “Mom, Dad, I don’t want your rules and morals. I don’t want to act like a Christian anymore! And I am not going to,” Barbara barked at her father at age 18. As her father desperately tried every possible ways to win her heart, Barbara grew more resentful, choosing a path of immorality that only deepened her parents’ pain. Barbara dropped out from school and lived with a man. Eventually they got married but the relationship was short lived. She then married a drug trafficker who was wealthy. “Everyone was horrified. I had left Tom and moved in with a drug dealer who carried money in his briefcase and a gun in his belt.” Her father could only watch in silence and at a distance completely helpless. During those dark periods, he became to talk less but prayed more. Barbara could never understand the agony, the frustration, the wounded feeling of her father. As a pastor he had to preach, to council and to provide pastoral care for the hurting ones in his church and yet he had to hide his tears from the crowd. He carried the wound silently in his heart. Sadly Barbara lived in luxury oblivious to the pain of her parents. However, the opulent lifestyle did not bring happiness to her. Finally she moved out of that relationship and drifted into another one. Her father’s faith was tested to the limit. The more he prayed, it seemed the further she moved away from God and from the family.

For parents, the pain of watching their children move in wrong directions, knowing that no word of rebuke or drastic action will reach and change them, can be overwhelming. Barbara’s story is not uncommon.

Pastor John Miller and his wife persevered in their belief of the faithfulness of God. They continued to trust in the covenant keeping God who is sovereign and who is working out his purpose for Barbara. Their persistent love and unconditional love finally won Barbara over. Barbara remarried and together with her husband, Angelo, went to study in Bible seminary. Barbara is a Bible teacher, editor, and conference speaker. They founded the youth ministry at New Life Presbyterian Church. Who would have thought that Barbara would reconcile with her family and renew her relationship with God? Not even pastor John Miller! When the fog seemed thick, the cloud was dense and dark, a pilot has to believe that the aviation instruments are working and reliable. In the darkest hour, one has to place his hand into the hand of the loving God who is wise and powerful and walks in faith.

I think of many friends I know whose children have become wayward. My heart goes out to them. As I heard the story and read the book, I know the prodigal sons and daughters will surely come home one day. It’s just a matter of time.

"When the prodigal son finally came to his senses....so he returned home to his father..." (Luke 15:11-32)

The Man unfazed with materialistic lifestyle

When Ian came in his Volkswagen to take me around Charlotte, he pulled over his car in front of my American host’s bungalow, his ‘old junk’ stood in great contrast with the expensive modern vehicles parked there. Judging from the look of the car, I seriously doubt its reliability. But the Germans are noted for manufacturing solid tankers.

Ian drove his Volkswagen as if it is a Ferrari. He even overtook several bigger cars along the high way. All along the journey my left foot was stepping on the imagery brakes. Ian is a huge American. He looks like Francis Schaeffer, the great philosopher and theologian whom I admire. Ian was completely contented with his ancient machine. He was unfazed with materialism. I find his attitude towards money refreshing.

Ian spent a few days taking me around Charlotte. He was most generous even though he wasn’t rich at all. Being a missionary kid, he grew up unlike most American kids who have more things than they ever need in their lifetime. He has very little and yet possesses much. He has a big heart and kind. When he insisted paying the bill for the pullover I bought at Billy Graham Center, I could not fight with him. His size dwarfed me.

This is a man who chose not to go to University and yet had written 3 books. He once worked in the Hollywood’s studio and is gifted in literary, video shooting. His gift will enrich my church when he comes to us.

His wife Darlene sings like an angel. Darlene is a Sundanese and also a missionary kid. They have 3 lovely children. They live a simple lifestyle. It’s such a joy to know this family who are committed to serve God wherever He calls.

Jesus’ sermon on birds of the air and lilies of the field was fleshed out in their lives.
“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field… So do not worry…but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…”

It is often said that we will not be judged by how much we possess (hoard) but by how much we gave away to be a blessing to others, and yet many have bought in the materialistic culture lock, stock and barrel.

We save our lives, we will lose them. We hoard our possession, we will lose them. In giving away, paradoxically we find them and possess them in return.

Serving God and being faithful in spite of illness

In a Christian culture where people flock to healing rally expecting their diseases and illnesses to be healed, I find this one woman to be unique. She does not make a fuss about her condition when she was diagnosed to have stage 1-2 Parkinson disease. Her shoulder is stiff and tense after a day of hard work in the office. Her mobility and motor activity has slowed down considerable and noticeably. Doctors who are her friends spotted her Parkinson-like movement and advised her to see neurologist. She is too young to suffer from Parkinson disease. But a specialist confirmed it and she is being treated with medication.

She works twice as hard.
Like the Proverbs 31 woman, she is wise. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. Her wisdom is sought after by many particularly those who work under her. She is perceptive and insightful. I often wonder why she is so wise even though she did not have a degree in counseling.

She is industrious.
First to arise in the house and she makes sure that everything is done for the family. Literally she gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls (Prov. 31:15). She sleeps only 4 to 5 hours a day. I have known her to be a woman of strength both physical and mental. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. Everything she does, she gives her all. Her colleagues commented that she is a ‘super woman.’ This may have to do with her mother’s upbringing. Her mother is a tough woman herself.

She has entrepreneur’s blood running in her vein.
She could have been a CEO running a big company. But she chooses to marry a pastor and give her time serving God. Not unlike the Proverbs 31 woman, she sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers (Prov. 31:18-19). She works hard to make sure that her business is built upon biblical values. Today she runs an education business with 3 other partners and the center has a reputation that provides excellent and quality education for the children.

She is compassionate.
She employs a woman who once was struggling with her life both financially and spiritually. She took her into her center and made her to cook for the children and the staff. She helps her to be strong and to get on with her life.

Recently this ‘super woman’ decided to take in an aborigine girl to her education center to train her. I was thinking how she is going to train an illiterate young girl. “I would train her for 10 weeks so that she could go back to her village and to teach other children. And from time to time she could come back to the center to be trained. This is one way we could help the Orang Asli (Aborigines). Ramla could also stay in my house during the period of training.” This is neither the first time nor the last that she has shown mercy to the marginalized and the destitute. She opens her arm to the poor and extends her hands to the needy (Prov. 31:20). She has a heart of gold.

She dresses in style.
She is clothed in fine linen and purple (Prov. 31:22). Her dress sense and taste is far better than her husband. Always elegantly dressed for work, she exudes grace and poise. Now I know why her daughter is crazy over purple color. She is the chip of the old block.

She makes her husband looks good.
She is as theologically trained as her husband. She has 2 master degrees but hardly anyone in the church knows about it. She does not know how to brag at all! She serves in the Sunday school, sourcing books and devising curriculum and teaches a class regularly for 7 years since the founding of the church until now. Many would have been burned out by now. Not a word of complaint found in her lips.

The best-kept secret is that she is a better preacher and communicator than her preacher husband. Many think so highly of her husband but not many know that she is the better half. She is the source of his strength. Every time when he is deflated when discouragement of ministry sets in, she is always there listening, cajoling, spurring him to move on. Her husband grew from strength to strength. She is the woman behind his every success. Today her husband is respected at the church gate where he takes his seat among the bishops of the land (Prov. 31:23). She makes her man looks good.

This is the woman who is suffering from Parkinson disease. Does she yearn for divine healing? In quiet confidence, she looks to her God for mercy, grace and strength. Despite illness, she goes about quietly serving God, loving others. She watches over the affairs of her household, she watches over the affairs of God’s household, she watches over the affairs of her business. She does not allow her ‘immobility’ to immobilize her. She may be slow in her movement; she is fast in her thinking and in doing good to others.

How do I know so much about his ‘super woman’? She happens to be the wife of noble character that God gifted me.

Sarah and Sam arise to and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.

“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”

God's Kairos Moment

I received a phone call from a total stranger yesterday telling me that God’s Spirit had spoken to him and directed him to come to Malaysia. The Holy Spirit stirred his heart for the Vietnamese in Malaysia. He fled Saigon in the early 90s as a young man. His father was a captain in the army and used to work for the CIA. When his father was released from the prison, the whole family migrated to USA. The communists continue to rule Vietnam. Life was hard for everyone. Christians were persecuted and church activities were greatly restricted. This young man moved on to USA and finished his tertiary education. Called by God to the church ministry, together with his wife they studied in the seminary. Being ordained as a Presbyterian minister in Seattle, when he came to Malaysia, naturally he came looking for reformed pastors in Presbyterian Church of Malaysia. He was given my e-mail address and that was all he has. Somehow his e-mail did not reach me. But he managed to locate me through ‘accidental’ contact with an ordained minister of Presbyterian. The line was connected and the contact made. Sitting in front of my desk, he shared the amazing story of God’s orchestrating his purpose.

When I got the call from Rev. Truong yesterday, God has already prepared my heart for the Vietnamese work. I came back from Ho Chi Minh City on Monday. Hwei Yeow, William and I went to Vietnam to train the pastors. I met Rev. Khoa, the moderator of Presbyterian Church of Vietnam in Bangkok at Mission Consultation. He then invited me to come to Ho Chi Minh to train his pastors. The 4 days mission work in Ho Chi Minh has opened my eyes to the work of God in Vietnam. The country is fast opening up to the outside world. The young population is responsive to the gospel. The country is growing economically at a rapid pace. The labor force is huge and cheap as compared to Malaysia and even China. It has attracted big amount of foreign investment. The desperate need for economic development provides opportunities for tent-makers in business and in teaching English. English centers flourish in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. Christian NGOs, which propose legitimate aid projects, are increasingly invited to work in Vietnam. The pastors are eager to learn and have passions to plant churches. From just a small house church movement, the Presbyterian Church of Vietnam (PCV) has grown to a size of 7000 strong in a span of one decade.

Truong shared his burden of being directed by the Holy Spirit to reach out to the Vietnamese migrant workers in Malaysia and to disciple them and send them back to Vietnam, intuitively I sensed God’s prompting that this is the man God has prepared for a time such as this. He was planning of relocating his family of 2 young children from Seattle to Subang Jaya. His heart is at the right place.

There are 180,000 Vietnamese migrant workers in Malaysia. Many have received the gospel in our country. In just 3 weeks’ stay in Klang, Rev. Truong had baptized 400 Vietnamese. I can sense the urgency and the passion with which he spoke about the movement of the Holy Spirit among the Vietnamese. He firmly believes that we should disciple these Vietnamese and to send them back to the churches in Vietnam, revival will come to the nation of Vietnam.

This is God’s kairos moment as the window of opportunity for gospel work is wide open.

No Sex Scandal

The Billy Graham Library is one of a kind in the world. It is not the normal library which has rows of books. It is rather a center which features the life and ministry of Billy Graham through large screen video presentation. Large posters displaying his evangelistic crusades around the globe are posted at strategic place. It displays many of his personal things which are associated with his evangelistic campaigns. One prominent one which caught my attention is the Bible that he read and studied and has his personal notes at the margins of the Bible. From the look of it, one could guess that Billy Graham is a serious student of God’s word. How else could he thunder so convincingly each time he stepped into the lectern: “The Bible says….” If he has not soaked or saturated himself with the word of God.

I stood there in one of the rooms speechless when I saw Billy Graham (Video presentation) placed his Bible on the stump of a tree, he kneeled and prayed to God and exclaimed that he accepted and believed the Bible in totality as the inspired word of God by faith. After that singular moment of utter surrender, Billy Graham never waivers for one bit about the Word of God. Always with the Bible in one hand and the other hand gesturing vehemently, he would speak with great confident and summoned the crowd to come to Christ and to put their faith in Him. “The Bible says!” is his clarion call. We can better appreciate this incident when we understand the context that Billy Graham was in. During the early stage of his ministry, it was a time when Bible was subjected to higher critical method of interpretation. Many doubted whether the Bible could be trusted in its entirety. Miracles recorded in the Bible defy rationale and were considered untrue. Charles Templeton, a better preacher and more brilliant man than Billy Graham in those days, shipwrecked his faith because he rejected the authority of the Word of God. Templeton did not believe that the Word of God is fully inspired and therefore could not be trusted completely. Billy Graham too struggled but he came to a settled conviction and by faith took the Bible at face value as the Word of God. He never looked back.

No wonder God uses Billy Graham as His mouthpiece to convict hundreds of thousands of people of their sins and to turn them to Him.

No wonder God uses Billy Graham to bring revival and renewal around the world.

No wonder no one can indict Billy Graham of any scandals. He is completely above board with regards to sex, money and power.

Billy Graham has anchored his life and ministry solidly upon the Word of God.

In an age when politicians, movie celebrities, spiritual and business leaders at the ecclesiastical and corporate world faltered and hogged headlines because of sexual or financial impropriety, Billy Graham stands tall. Billy Graham merely stands in biblical tradition where great men and women who were greatly used by God because they held on to the Word of God and allow it to shape and mould their lives.

“For the gracious hand of his God was on him because Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws…” (Ezra 7:9-10)

A time for hibernation

I went into hibernation during the month of December which was supposedly the busiest month of the year. I did not even preach at the Christmas eve service in my church even though many expected me to preach since I am the senior pastor of the church. I took time off to be with my family. We had a gala time enjoying undistracted and undisturbed time with one another. Sarah was back home from Grand Rapids and we had so much to catch up. Without me around in the church to make sure things were done properly, things turned out to be even better. I could sit back to enjoy the Christmas drama presented by the young people in the church. One thing I learned: pastors must not take themselves too seriously, the church often functions well even when they are not around because God is directing his people.

The short Sabbath refreshes and rejuvenates me. I discovered that while I rest and sleep, God works out his covenant grace to bring about healing, restoration of strength. He makes his church grow. He sustains the universe by his word. I can't build the church by my own effort, neither can a Christian business man earns the whole world by his or her business acumen. God invites me to participate in his creative work, to enjoy his creation. There is a rhythm which he puts in the universe and he expects me to flow with it. We begin with worship, then work and follow by Sabbath (Hebrew word for rest) and play. Sabbath and play is spiritual and God takes delight when we do that. When we work without Sabbath and play as if the world or the work depends on us or else it would collapse or fail, we are taking ourselves too seriously. We forgot that there is a God who is the creator and sustainer of the universe.

Without biblical balance and rhythm, work can become a drudgery, family life may suffer, children may be neglected, friendship becomes utilitarian. I am glad God's word provides me with wisdom.

Article 9 and Peace in Asia

“Article 9 of Japan Constitution states:
(1) Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes.
(2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.”

It is heartwarming to see Japanese Christian leaders as well as other religious groups in Japan stood their ground against the revision of Article 9 in their constitution. There is an attempt by the Japanese government to move in the direction to make amendment to Article 9. Already revision of textbook had taken place to portray Japan as a victim instead of being the victimizer in the Second World War. China and Korea protested vehemently to the distortion of history. These are the two nations, which had suffered the most during the brutal regime of Japan.

At the consultation which was organized by NCCJ (National Christian Council of Japan), delegates from Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Germany, UK, USA, Australia, and Japan listened to key note addresses and panel presentations and unanimously stood in solidarity with the majority of Japanese not to revise Article 9. Any attempt to revise Article 9 will pose as a threat to regional security and peace. Peace can never be achieved through military violence but only through promoting a culture open to patient dialogue and diversity that promotes justice, equality, and respect.

Transformation of society involves active engagement with national agenda. Although Christian population in Japan is very small but they are active in political and social engagement.

An elderly Japanese (probably in his mid 80s) spoke about the wars with deep sadness and remorsefulness. He obviously had gone through the pains of seeing the Japanese soldiers brutally killed and raped the victims of the wars. I could sense the great guilt carried by the Japanese Christians on behalf of their nation.

I remembered reading Iris Chang’s book “The Rape of Nanking” which described the atrocities and brutalities of the Japanese soldiers. It was estimated that 300,000 civilians were massacred. Thousands of women were raped, tortured, humiliated beyond words to describe. It was a national shame to China to be humiliated to such extent. The Japanese government denied the historicity of such event in spite of the presence of thousands of documents, photos, and eyewitnesses’ accounts. This singular colossal tragedy happened in 1937, the precursor of the Second World War. China has recently published an eight-volume list of 13,000 victims of the Nanjing massacre in which it says invading Japanese troops killed 300,000 civilians. The Chinese publications, released to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of massacre which is known as the “Rape of Nanking”, include the names, ages, sex, occupations and residential addresses of the victims, which Japanese army unit was responsible and how the victims were killed. To deny the reality of the historical event on the part of Japan is tantamount to murdering the victims twice. No wonder the people in China still harbor deep resentment over Japanese wartime atrocities.

“Women suffered the most,” Takokoro, Kozo, a former soldier in the 114th Division of the Japanese army in Nanking, recalled. “No matter how young or old, they all could not escape the fate of being rape. We sent out coal trucks from Hsiakwan to the city streets and villages to seize a lot of women. And then each of them was allocated to 15 to 20 soldiers for sexual intercourse and abuse.”(Iris Chang “The Rape of Nanking” p.49)

In 1941 when Japan invaded Malaya, Philippines and other South East Asian countries, army brothels were set up to service the sexual needs of the Japanese soldiers. The women were forced into prostitution and they were later known as the Comfort Women. In fact many Korean, Taiwanese and Chinese women were forced to become Comfort Women. This was the response of the Japanese government to the massive outcry from Western nations to the wholesale rape that took place at Nanking.

It was estimated that 200,000 women were forced into this giant underground system of military prostitution. To this day, many Comfort Women who are now in their old age are too ashamed to even talk about it to their families let alone to come out to make public statement. But there are those who were persuaded to make public press statement and to sue the Japanese government for compensation.

Germany could move forward because it had confessed and acknowledged its sin and compensated the Jews for the holocaust. But Japanese government still lived in denial. The previous PM of Japan periodically visited the shrines of the war criminals to honor them. Japan government has not publicly apologized to the nations, which were brutalized by the Japanese soldiers during the wars.

One lady panelist from Philippines narrated the story of his aunt being beheaded by a Japanese soldier at the consultation. There was a dead silence in the audience.

If Article 9 is changed and Japan begins to arm itself, militarism and militarization rears its ugly head again, I wonder what will be the implication for the security and peace in Asia. Hence, Christians in Japan see its role to resist the government.

As I participated in the consultation, I sat there wondering: “what was going through the mind of the teenage Japanese soldiers who were handed rifles and bayonets that propelled them to commit such atrocities?” Have the Japanese learned from wartime history? What would be our collective responsibility in halting Japanese government to revise Article 9 of their constitution?