My dear readers,
1. What does another day bring forth'
“Unexpected happenings happen unexpectedly.” It needs no particular wisdom to come to such a conclusion, but it needs wisdom for one to be ever alert to “expect the unexpected,” meaning to say, “Be not too shocked or taken by surprise when some shocking thing happens.”
Tuesday 21 August, thirty-five Golden Years Fellowship members and friends had a morning gathering at the Garden Hotel. It was my joy to speak to the group from David’s Twenty-third Psalm, in particular verse four: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Among the group was Sister Mary Lim, well within sight of the proverbial “threescore years and ten.” She thoroughly enjoyed herself, being one of our “old faithfuls” who never missed a meeting: Sunday Morning Service and Tuesday night Prayer Meeting. At lunch, seeing the popularity of the sashimi table, her curiosity got the better of her and she helped herself to the delicacy. It was to be her first taste of raw fish, and last.
That night Mary was at Prayer Meeting and early as usual. That was the last we saw of her. The next day 22 August, she answered God’s call: “Come home to your rest, my child.” Thank God, Mary is now at rest in Paradise, no more to be burdened with the “labour and sorrow” of earth and ageing.
2. “Flower of youth cut down”
This morning’s Straits Times (27 Aug 07) front page carried a news headline: “Army captain, 25, collapses and dies.” Completing the half marathon in 90 minutes. Captain Ho Si Qiu crossed the finishing line, and collapsed soon after. Instant resuscitative measures by trained first aid personnel failed to revive his heart: he had answered the Maker’s call.
But before this morning’s paper reached us, the tragic news was conveyed to me by a member of our Church, a maternal Aunt of Captain Ho. He was a faithful believer, so we are much comforted that for him, “absent from the body” is “present with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8 ). For us, in Christ our Lord, there is assured comfort in sorrow, bright hope in death – all because Jesus lives, victorious over death and the grave.
3. Sixty Million Girls Missing In Asia
Friday Church News Notes
The following is excerpted from a FoxNews report, June 13, 2007 : “There is a little-known battle for survival going in some parts of the world. Those at risk are baby girls, and the casualties are in the millions each year. The weapons being used against them are prenatal sex selection, abortion and female infanticide – the systematic killing of girls soon after they were born. According to a recent United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) States of the World Population Report, these practices, combined with neglect, have resulted in at least 60 million missing girls in Asia, creating gender imbalances and other serious problems that experts say will have far reaching consequences for years to come.
Steven Mosher, the first American social scientist allowed into China, puts much of the blame on Beijing’s one-child policy, which took effect in 1979. Female infanticide was the result, he said. … In India, where the child sex ratio is calculated as the number of girls per 1,000 boys in the 0-6 years age group, the problem is severe … In certain parts of the country there are now fewer than 800 girls for every 1,000 boys … Like China, there is a strong son preference for various socio-economic reasons, such as the son being responsible for carrying on the family name and support in old age … Complicating matters even further in India is the dowry system where families pay large sums in order to marry off their daughters. – Christian News 9 July 2007.
4. Episcopal Paganism
Friday Church News Notes
Recently I watched a DVD of the investiture and installation service of Katharine Jeffert-Schori as the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in America. This took place on November 4-5, 2006, when she became the first female to occupy this position. Her entrance processional featured Native Americans chanting and drumming. The Indians had incense and eagle feathers that they used to consecrate the altar. There were also Buddhists in the procession. This fits Jefferts-Schori’s universalist doctrine.
A few days before her installation she said, “If we insist we know the one way to God, we’ve put God in a very small box” (“ECUSA’s Incoming Leader,” Agape Press, Nov 2, 2006). In fact, we don’t know anything about God for certain except that which He has revealed in the Scriptures, and He has plainly stated that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation.
During her installation, Jefferts Schori wore a rainbow colored hat and robe. This is the color of the homosexual movement of which she is supportive. She does not believe the Bible condemns “committed” homosexual relationships and claims that sexual orientation is “not a choice” but is “a piece of how one is created” (Agape Press, Nov 2, 2006).
During a strange “baptism” ceremony the choir sang “wade in the water” in a jazz style while Jefferts-Schori walked down the isle sprinkling water on the crowd. Before this “baptism” she prayed, “Sanctify this water so that those who are baptized shall be cleansed from sin and born again.” Jefferts-Schori says the job of the church is to bring healing to the world (“Episcopal Head Shifts Focus,” Christian Post, Nov 13, 2006). Speaking at the denomination’s Executive Council meeting on November 12, she said this healing will come through such things as halting the spread of AIDS, eradicating poverty, achieving universal education, promoting gender equality, and fighting environmental problems. She observed that these are the same objectives identified by the United Nations as Millennium Development Goals. It is no surprise to see the Episcopal Church adopting the goals of the United Nations, since it is one in spirit with this pagan one-world organization.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come … Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:1 , 5 ). Christian News, 26 March 2007.
Lovingly in the Lord
Dr SH Tow, Senior Pastor