Longevity - China

Recently in The Star newspaper there was a report of the Yao people of Guangxi province who live into a hundred years. There are from Bama, Guangxi. This has made the place famous worldwide. Certainly most of us would wish to live a long life but due to many reasons we cannot.

This people live simple lives and eat simple foods and live in a tranquil environment. Perhaps this are their secrets.

They are not Christians (gathered from the video) yet they are blessed with these qualities that many of us longed for. It testify to our awesome God, who bless all man kind whether they know Him or not.

Matt 5:45 "so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous". NJKV

I found s video on this subject in You tube. Watch below:

Praying for a Church

Here is an interesting article written by a Malaysian Muslim writer Karim Raslan about a group of Christians in Indonesia who forth for their religious rights. To me it is such a testimony of their Christian faith, and how fervent they were to stand their grounds for Jesus. They went on praying even on an empty piece of land which was suppose to be their Church but authorities disallowed the building of a Church ! Despite being intimidated by demonstrators they continued their prayers. Praise God! Hallelujah! I wish I had their faith.

Read full article from this link :
http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?file=/2010/8/17/columnists/ceritalah/6869689&sec=ceritalah

Extract:
Christian Bataks in Jakarta, long denied a permanent place of worship, opt for Sunday morning prayers in the open

I AM a writer. I consider it to be my responsibility to help my readers experience other people’s lives: to educate and, at times, entertain.

Unlike some columnists, I wish to bridge the gap of understanding that exist between groups, not widen them.

Often, this requires a degree of empathy, of stepping into someone else’s place to understand their world, their hopes and fears.

Try to imagine then, that you’re Indonesian and that you’ve moved to Jakarta from your birthplace in Sumatra.

This happened some 20 years ago and you’re now married with children.

You’ve settled in Bekasi, a suburb outside the capital (much like Cheras or Subang Jaya).

Property prices there are more affordable.

The houses are small but sufficient. In fact, some of them have been converted into shops and kiosks.

Meanwhile, Bekasi, with an estimated population of over 2.2 million, has grown rapidly.............

Sunday Service-Pastor Ben Wong of Sheperd Community Grace Church, Honh Kong

Last Saturday, Pastor Ben spent a day with our Church leadership to reinforce the core values or essence of our Church developed during his last visit in March, 2010. It was a very useful session, and we as a Church had a better idea of how we are to move forward. That evening he had a session with our youth at Bro. Chung Chek's & Sis Paik Im's home.

On Sunday, Pastor Ben delivered sermon at three services, Mandarin, English and Iban. Like what Bro Tung Hui said, "I don't know where he gets his energy".

Pastor Ben main message was "Love", how we should love each other in our Church, and out of our Church. Relationship is important, and not all the programs that the Church does. Take care of our Church members and the numbers will be added.

He gave examples from his Church which were very touching. He shared about a young couple, who were cell leaders, yet they committed fornication and had a baby. In most Church these couple would have been expelled, but Pastor Ben met with them and cried for them, got them to confess their sins in front of all the Church leaders, and asking them to repent of their sins. Their Church leaders did not like their sins, but they love them and hugged them. Reconciliation and healing took place. Praise God, they decided to get married after they were very sure of their love for each other. While presiding over their wedding, Pastor Ben cried again, this time of the joy of their union, and God's forgiving them of their sins. Today this couple are missionaries in India. Praise God, Hallelujah!

From his Church there are now 54 missionaries in many countries like Japan, Taiwan, China, Thailand, India and recently Pakistan. In dact, Pastor Ben arrived from Pakistan after a transit in Hong Kong.

We are honoured and thank Pastor Ben for his help. May God be with him always.

In this video, Pastor Ben demonstrated how sometimes we pray negatively for people. He is a funny Pastor!

Alpha Course Week 3 (Session 2 )

Last evening we had the Week 3, session 2 Alpha Course in Church. Praise God that many guests turned up! In fact about 20 new guests came, and the bulk of them from Batu Lintang Teachers Training College near by our Church. Praise God that these trainee teachers are learning about Christ, and we pray one day they will be able to share with their students. We thank Sister Georgina who have invited and encouraged these students to come.

The Week end away was promoted during this session. We have a new poster in red advertising this event. Bro Malcolm, the MC also announced it.

All in all we had a great meeting! Praise God! Glory to His Name, Amen.

Malaysian Tribe Forced to Convert

Read statement by NECF:
Every Malaysian has the right to choose his or her religious beliefs based on personal conviction as guaranteed under Article 11 of our Federal Constitution.

The allegations that "facilities and easy access into the villages" will be gained by conversions in the report should be investigated fully so that any wrong-doings by persons or organisations may be brought to light and stopped immediately.

Any development programme of the Government to lift Malaysians out of poverty should be without strings attached. Whilst we note that the Malaysian Department of Orang Asli Affairs (JHEOA) has stated that "development program such as electricity, water supply, housing and other basic infrastructure given to Orang Asli communities are based on their need and not their religion", yet we see in the video clip that those who converted received new homes and enjoy modern amenities while those who don't continue to live in their huts.

We believe that the promotion of conversions-in-name to gain "facilities and easy access to villages", if true, is an abuse of executive powers (which ought to be exercised for the public good) for insidious sectarian purposes. Ultimately, such practices would tend to create a community lacking in integrity and true freedom of choice where people are encouraged to compromise their beliefs, culture and identity by means of economic duress and inducements.

Bishop Ng Moon Hing,
Chairman and the Executive Committee
The Christian Federation of Malaysia

Jesus Died For Me

This evening, our Alpha course will cover why Jesus died for us. Watch this video:

Babies in China Developing Breasts

Unsettling news from China again. Just about a year ago they had a huge problem with milk tainted with melamine, now there is a problem of hormones in milk resulted in babies developing breasts! When comes to increasing profits people will do all sort of things!

"Do not wear yourself out to ger rich, have the wisdom to show restraint" Proverb 23:4

Read news below:

USA is worried that children are attaining puberty too early in life while in China, 15-month old babies are developing breasts. This has got the Chinese authorities frowning and they have attributed this peculiar phenomenon to the hormones in the new brand of milk powder that mothers are giving their babies. Medical tests carried out indicate that the level of hormones in three girls aged 4 to 15 months fed on the same milk powder exceeded that of an average adult female. Earlier, in 2008, there was a scandal related to Chinese milk that had melamine mixed in it to give it an appearance to be enriched with protein. Consuming such milk led to death of at least six infants and serious health problems to over 300,000.