Category Archives: For the Soul

The crucifixion of Jesus – the central event of the entire human history. Jesus took upon Him all the sins of the world.

 

tn_crucified10224The crucifixion of Jesus on Friday two thousand years ago, was and still is the central event of the entire human history. Jesus took upon Him all the sins of the world. Because of that event, history was split into two Era – “Before Christ” and “Anno Domini” – Latin phrase for ‘In the year of the Lord’, the year of Jesus Christ’s birth. Every day of AD you’re using Jesus’ birth as the reference point.

The books of the Old Testament contain many passages about the Messiah,  all prophecies about Jesus Christ were fulfilled. For instance, the crucifixion of Jesus was foretold in Psalm 22:16-18 about 1,000 years before Christ was born on earth, long before this method of execution was even practiced.

“For dogs have surrounded Me;

The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.

They pierced[a] My hands and My feet;

I can count all My bones.

They look and stare at Me.

They divide My garments among them,

And for My clothing they cast lots. “ Psalm 22:16-18

The Sunday before Easter.

Palm Sunday.

Zechariah was a prophet who lived in the 6th century before the birth of Christ. Zechariah’s ministry took place during the reign of Darius the Great (Zechariah 1:1), and was contemporary with Haggai in a post-exilic world after the fall of Jerusalem in 587/6 BC.

In Zechariah 9:9, the prophet speaks of a future king presenting himself to Jerusalem while riding on a humble donkey. This foreshadowed something that happened about 500 years later. As explained in Luke 19:35-37, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and presented himself as the Messiah, the King.

Palm Sunday.PalmSunday

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your King is coming to you;

He is just and having salvation,

Lowly and riding on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey.  “ Zechariah 9:9

 

 

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen…Romans 1:20-21

God created the universe out of nothing in an act which also brought time into existence.

When confronted with the marvels of life, the order and beauty of nature and the universe – the impression and inexorable powerful evidence of logic, purpose and design are overwhelming. We must ask why and not just the how, too.

Consider the coconut tree; one can say that whoever created the coconut tree wanted it – to bear coconuts. In other words, by looking at the order in the world, we can infer purpose and from purpose we begin to get some glimpses of the knowledge of the Creator, the Architect of all these. We must acknowledge that there exists an unfathomable power and might with infinite wisdom, foresight, competence and knowledge that started the whole universe going in the first instance.

The more one were to study nature and learn about creation, the more one stand amazed at the works and glory of the Creator. Through the mighty works of God’s hands and from those works imply intentions – from these intentions and comprehending His wisdom, majesty and power, we receive the consciousness of the Almighty.  It makes no logic and sense to assume that the universe and our existence is just a huge accident, that life materialised due to chance physical processes in an environment which merely happened to have the right properties. Moreover, order may never come out of chaos. God is a mathematician, physicist, etc of the highest order and He used high-level and complex (an understatement, to say the least) mathematics, physics, etc, in constructing the universe. Those working in fundamental physics are able to discern a world of deep and beautiful order. Some of these laws are within the grasp of the human mind so that we could share in His thoughts. It’s evident that an acquaintance with the physical and natural laws mean no less than an acquaintance with the mind of God therein expressed. God wanted us to comprehend them by creating us after His own image (read Genesis I: 26-27).

The exquisite order displayed by our scientific understanding of the physical world and the immense mysteries of the universe should only confirm the certainty of its Creator.

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Jesus said in John 8:32

God is Truth (God is love, God is holy, God hates sin because it is contrary to His perfect and holy nature. God is righteous). There is no incompatibility between science and the belief in God. The purpose of science is to build up – without prejudice or presumption of any kind – a knowledge of the facts, the laws and the processes of nature. The observations and experiments of science are so wonderful that the truth that they establish can surely be recognised as another “expression” of God. God shows Himself by enabling man to establish truths. God would encourage by giving mankind the brains for scientific research as modern man’s noble striving to apprehend, respect and admire His handiwork. The universe as discovered through scientific examinations, including the existence of exact mathematical principles among others, are the active and living witnesses that God has indeed been at work. Science is possible because the universe is a divine creation. Science “shows” that an infinitely intelligent Creator is responsible – that God exists.

The universe has been made with the most exacting precision, order and is exceptionally finely tuned; else we could never have come into being. The circumstances indicate without a shadow of doubt that the earth – delicately balanced to provide exactly the conditions required to support life was created for man to live in. They are positive reasons, based on observations, logic and scientific knowledge rather than default assumptions, that God indeed is the designer. Evolutionists and people challenge science to prove the existence of God and say they cannot visualise a Designer. Well, can we see an electron? We can’t see electrons or radio waves either but we know they exist as we see their effects. It is a strange rationale to accept the unseen electron as real while refusing to accept the genuineness of a Designer on the grounds that we cannot see Him. God is the explanation for the miracle of existence, why there is something instead of nothing.

Romans 1:20-21 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 God reveals Himself to us.

That’s why we read …

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ” John 1:1-3  Word refers to Jesus**

… rather that in the beginning there was nothing.

“Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Psalm 90:2

Thus God revealed to us that all of creations were made by Him and that He is from Eternity to Eternity and is outside the dimension of time. God existed since eternity and that Jesus existed in eternity with Him.

God is eternal and He created time. Only One who is outside of time, that is, timeless, or eternal, could do this.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”  Genesis 1:1

In the beginning – BEFORE the creative acts stated in this chapter – ALL was and is ETERNITY. Time signifies duration measured by the revolutions of the heavenly bodies; but prior to the creation of these bodies there’s no quantifying of duration and for that reason – no ‘time’: consequently, ‘in the beginning’; in the context of this statement, must evidently mean the inauguration of time which followed, or rather was constructed by God’s creative acts, as an effect follows or is produced by a cause.

Jesus**

”..The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” Deuteronomy 6:4

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”Genesis 1:26

“I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me.” Isaiah 45:5  Notice it is not no God besides us.

“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,” 1 Timothy 2:5

God refers to Jesus “But to the Son He says:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;”Hebrews 1:6-8

Jesus said to His disciples. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:19

Jesus spoke clearly of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, if you read this verse attentively, you will see that the Three have just one name. It says, “baptizing them into the name” (not names) “of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

There are ‘Three’ with one name. This is the Triune God, the Trinity. ONE God in “3 Persons” not and NEVER 3 Gods. We cannot understand the Trinity fully but that is how God reveals Himself to mankind – both “I” and “Us”.

Don’t forget we are finite and God is infinite – we may not fully comprehend God. BUT what God has revealed is sufficient for our salvation.

 

It is clear that there never was a time when nothing existed; otherwise nothing would exist now. ~ CSLewis

 

God’s handiwork is evident – sun, moon, stars & all of creations, proclaim His wisdom and power that reverberates through the corridors of time. ~ Cheong Kok Weng

 

“Thus says the Lord,
Who gives the sun for a light by day,
The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,
Who disturbs the sea,
And its waves roar
(The Lord of hosts is His name):”Jeremiah 31:35

“He appointed the moon for seasons;
The sun knows its going down.” Psalms 104:19

“And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.” Deuteronomy 4:19

“O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!

Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!” Psalms 8:1-9

Missing the donut by looking through the hole is ok, BUT missing the Creator by looking ‘through’ creation is eternal regret. ~ Cheong Kok Weng

 

Psalms 19:1-4

The heavens declare the glory of God;

And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Day unto day utters speech,

And night unto night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech nor language

Where their voice is not heard.

Their line has gone out through all the earth,

And their words to the end of the world.

In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,

“.now you do not see Him, yet believing..rejoice with joy inexpressible..receiving..of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”1 Peter 1:8-9

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,  that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,  whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,  receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:6-9

Our current state just shows where we are now: a new start_with purpose, focus & action to unlock our God-given potentials.~ Cheong Kok Weng

Our current state just shows where we are now: a new start_with purpose, focus & action to unlock our God-given potentials. ~ Cheong Kok Weng

Our present state does not (necessarily) determine our destination, but start TODAY as long as there is a TODAY.. to begin – may we choose the course and direction wisely.  May God help us to have the courage to ‘sail the seven seas and discover new insights, horizons and wisdom’ and MOST of all to know Him.

 

Though we cannot change the past, God grants us yet ..the amazing privilege to write the future pages. ~ Cheong Kok Weng

Though we cannot change the past, God grants us yet a pen with capability for each of us and the amazing privilege to write the future pages. ~ Cheong Kok Weng

quill2In fact, God allows or grants us the mandate to write (decide) our eternal future or destination whilst we are still alive on planet earth or whilst alive in space (remembering our astronauts in space – our fellow human beings).

Colonial-Quill&PaperEach of our completed lives on earth will be a closed book … and we will not be allowed to write anymore concerning our sojourn on this planet because they have thus ended.

BibleLightRays636363-42Deuteronomy 30:19

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;

John 3:16-18

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.