His Death Brings About More Value
Yesterday, I reproduced an sms from Jeff in which he did a compare and contrast of MJ and JC.
An article in today's papers says that the irony is that MJ is worth more by his dying than his staying alive! He was saddled with debts that would have taken years to pay. But now that he is no more, the value of his music has suddenly multiplied in value.
As I pondered upon this, I realise that holds true of our Lord Jesus Christ, and all the more so. When Jesus physically walked on earth, His ministry was primarily to the Jews. Yes, the occasional Gentile like the Samaritan woman at the well, or the Roman centurion's servant, or the Syrophoenician woman whose daughter was demon-possessed would be recipients of His blessings, but He was sent to His own fellow Jews. His ministry then was limited, so to speak.
It was only upon His death at the cross, that much more was accomplished. The New Covenant was established. The temple veil was torn in two. Our sins were forgiven once and for all. The Holy Spirit is made available to every believer and we are now considered sons and daughters of the Most High God.
Indeed, the irony is that Jesus' death has brought about much more value to mankind than if He had remained in heaven or while He physically walked the earth as a mortal man. God has achieved much more by redemption that He has ever done by redemption. Hallelujah!
MJ vs JC
Yesterday, I checked out Facebook and saw statuses such as "RIP MJ" and "Long Live the King of Pop". Putting two and two together, it was not difficult to conclude that Michael Jackson had passed on to the next world.
I grew up on the music of the 1980s, of which Michael Jackson was a big part. His album Thriller which was released in 1982 is the best selling album of all-time, with sales of some 109 million copies. In fact, I read somewhere that it was 1 out of every 4 albums that was sold that year.
However, I was never a big fan of his. I prefet Britpop, and count among my favourite Cliff Richard, Big Country and the Style Council. The song that he wrote "We are the World" contains the lyrics "God has shown us by turning stones to bread" is definitely not in the Scriptures. If anything, it was the devil who tempted Jesus to turn stones to bread, and Jesus replied that man was not to live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from God's mouth.
As to whether MJ is now in heaven or otherwise, that is not something for me to speculate. That decision lies with our creator God Himself.
Fellow brother-in-grace Jeff Teo sent me the following SMS which sums things up rather nicely...
MJ was the king of pop
JC is the King of Kings
MJ sang "wanna be startin somethin"
JC cried "it is finished!"
MJ said "beat it!"
JC said "come unto Me."
MJ died of a heart attack
JC died of a broken heart for the sins of the world.
MJ was THE singer
JC is THE Saviour!
Yes and Amen!
I was on Facebook recently and came across a quiz entitled "Which Singapore church are you best suited in.

The questions asked were kind of loaded and not really very flattering to say the least. They actually perpetuate the stereotype that others already have about particular churches.
But I went along and got the answer that was expected. Lol.
Yes and amen, brothers and sisters!!!
Happy Daddy's Day!
Decided to go to NewCre again today since Ps Prince was preaching.
It was a wonderful sermon expounding on Rom 5:17 -- about reigning in life via the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness.
The focus today was on the gift of righteousness, about how we are blessed because God does not impute sin to us, having already imputed it upon the body of His Son Jesus on the cross.
Thank you Daddy God for your wonderful gift to us.

On the way out, all fathers were given a wonderful Fathers' Day present -- a watch holder.
My kids gave me a present each too. The card is from the boy while the Mr Happy water bottle is from the girl.
Across The Earth

Hillsong United, the youth band of Hillsong Music, will be in Singapore again to perform at the Zone Youth Conference 2009, by the invitation of NewCre.
Date: 25 July 2009
Time: 7pm - 10pm
Venue: The MAX Pavilion, Singapore Expo
Worship: Hillsong United
Speaker: Pastor Judah Smith
Tickets are now on sale at S$5 each and are going fast.
This time around, my entire family will be attending :-D
By the way, their new album entitled Across the Earth is now out in stores.
GraceXtremists - Online Care Group for Embracers of the Grace Gospel

Fellow Best Christian Blog of the Year winner Stanley Wong has started an online care group for embracers of the grace gospel, which he affectionately calls GraceXtremists.
... because "grace can only be extreme, never balanced".
I am reminded of an occasion back in Feb 2007 when someone labelled me as an extremist. I was initially offended by her comment, but subsequently took it as a compliment. You can read about that blog entry here :-D
Anyway, the group has now got 11 members and we meet up every now and then at Stan's stall for a time of "tao suan" fellowship.
If you would like to join this group, please do send an email to Stan.
Give Thanks, Because All Things Work Together For Good
It's been quite a while since we last went to NewCre.
I checked out the website and discovered that Ps Prince was preaching, so my wife and I decided to go there today (for the 1st service, so as to avoid the crowd going to the PC Show which started at 12 noon).

Upon entering the overflow room on the 4th floor above the Rock Auditorium, we were pleasantly surprised to receive from the ushers the Holy Communion elements nicely wrapped up with the wafer on top and the juice below.
Seems like this has been done to minimise the risk of spreading infection in the light of the H1N1 virus.
Ps Prince preached a wonderful sermon about God causing all things to work out for good (Rom 8:28), and that we are to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess 5:18). This resonated very deeply in my heart, because it has indeed not been exactly a smooth journey for me ever since embracing the grace gospel back in Aug 2005. I was removed from church and cell leadership, am being shunned by fellow church members, some of whom grew up with me since Sunday School days, wrongly implicated for vandalism, etc.
Yet somehow, God has caused all things -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- to work out for my good, and I stand here, a living testimony to His unmerited and undeserved favour. He has blessed my marriage and family, prospered my career and given me a BMW X5 for my 41st birthday, just to name but of a few of His manifold blessings.
I was reminded of a song by Don Moen entitled "We Give Thanks" that goes as follows:
Chorus:
We give thanks we give praise
For we know that all things work together for our good
We give thanks we give praise
For by faith we know your grace will see us through
For all you've done
For all you're going to do
We give you thanks
And we lift our praise to you
For all those things
That we don't understand
We come by faith
And we place them in your hands.
Even if we stumble
Even if we fall
You will not forsake us
You are King and Lord of all
Lord of all………..
Latest and Coolest Gadget
The Great Singapore Sale just started, so I got myself the latest and coolest portable gadget on the planet -- a Sony Vaio VGN-P25G in pyrite gold.
This will come in handy in carrying out my favourite pastimes of blogging, watching videos on YouTube and checking out Facebook.
The colour sure matches that of my wedding ring, doesn't it :-)

And speaking of Facebook, I took a quiz and it confirms what people are already saying: I'm 100% addicted to it.
Kiddie-Sitting
My wife's big big boss is being transferred to the Sydney office come July 1st, and so they held a farewell dinner for him this evening.
In her absence, I had to "kiddie-sit" my daughter and son, and decided to take them out to watch a movie -- Night At The Museuem 2 (having watched the prequel on Channel 5 last Sunday).
While they took the MRT from home at Lor Chuan to Dhoby Ghaut, I took it from work at Raffles Place and we met at GV Plaza Singapura at about 6:30pm.
After the movie, we went to the Crocs outlet on the 3rd floor to pick up some jibbitzs.
I myself got one of "the map" (which is my favourite character from the cartoon Dora the Explorer) and a Canada flag (since I work in a Canadian company).
We then went to Cafe Cartel for a late dinner, after which we took a bus to St. John's Headquarters carpark to pick up the car to drive home.
I had a great time of bonding with my 2 kids. Thank you Lord for wonderful moments like these :-D
Questionable Behaviour
Just last week, I blogged about an article that Rev Kong Hee of City Harvest Church had written about what he had considered "questionable teachings" and how fellow blogger Stan had written a series of responses to that article which he entitled "questionable" questionable teachings.
Well, since Rev Kong Hee is such a stickler for the law, I wonder whether he has seen the music video that his wife Ho Yeow Sun did for the song entitled "China Wine" and whether he should write a follow-up article entitled "questionable behaviour". After all, what's sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander, no? ;-)
Here's a letter that was published in the latest copy of 8 Days written in by someone who signed herself off as "Christian girl".
I was surprised to see a blonde Sun Ho on last week's cover. And I was terrified after reading your interview with her. I checked out her "China Wine" music video online and, gosh, is this someone you can call a famous yet respectable pastor's wife? I'm sorry but I think she's going in the exact opposite direction of where a church member should go. The clothes and the dance moves are inappropriate for someone of her status. I've got nothing against her musical ambitions -- but only if she wasn't a pastor's wife.
An Example of Good Works
Recently, I have been in a nostalgic mood and have been searching out songs of the 1980s on YouTube to listen to. One of my favourite artistes of all time is Sir Cliff Richard. Even though he started singing in the late 1950s, his career has spanned several decades including the 1980s. During that era, he had a string of hits including Christmas-themed releases such as Daddy's Home (1981), Little Town (1982), Mistletoe & Wine (1988) and Saviour's Day (1989). He is even my Facebook friend, and I have blogged about him several times before, which you can read about here.
Well, one thing led to another and I stumbled upon these videos that were uploaded by a big fan of Cliff. This took place during the 1996 Wimbledon Championships (which is the "UK Open" and 1 of the 4 "Grand Slams" of tennis, the other three being the French Open, the Australian Open and the US Open).
Back then, the courts were in the open-air and subject to the elements. Just before the men's semi-finals were about to begin, it started to rain heavily and the courts had to be covered. Well, Sir Cliff was amongst the spectators in the stands and he was invited to sing inpromptu to entertain the crowd while waiting for the rain to stop! And he gave a wonderful rousing acapella performance, to say the least. You can catch that here:
Now this is what I would refer to as an example of "good works". A Christian singer being placed at the right place at the right time to make a difference for Jesus. Hallelujah!
About Butterflies
In 1996, there was a song entitled Butterfly Kisses by gospel singer Bob Carlisle that won him a Dove Award (which is the Christian version of the Grammy Awards). The song was written by a dad to his daughter, about how he saw her growing up. The words of the song are very touching and never fails to bring tears to my eyes..
BUTTERFLY KISSES - BOB CARLISLE
There's two things I know for sure
She was sent here from heaven, and she's Daddy's little girl.
As I drop to my knees by her bed at night
She talks to Jesus and I close my eyes
And I thank God for all of the joy in my life, oh but most of all...
For butterfly kisses after bedtime prayer
Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair
Walk beside the pony Daddy, it's my first ride
I know the cake looks funny Daddy, but I sure tried
Oh with all that I've done wrong, I must of done something right
To deserve a hug every morning, and butterfly kisses at night.
Sweet sixteen today
She's looking like her Mama, a little more everyday.
One part woman, the other part girl
To perfume and makeup, from ribbons and curls.
Trying her wings out in a great big world, but I remember...
Butterfly kisses after bedtime prayer
Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair.
You know how much I love you Daddy, but if you don't mind
I'm only gonna kiss you on the cheek this time.
With all that I've done wrong, I must of done something right
To deserve her love every morning, and butterfly kisses at night.
All the precious time, oh, like the wind the years go by.
Precious butterfly, spread your wings and fly.
She'll change her name today, she'll make a promise, and I'll give her away.
Standing in the bridegroom just staring at her
She asks me what I'm thinking, and I said I'm not sure.
I just feel like I'm losing my baby girl, and she leaned over...
Gave me butterfly kisses with her Mama there
Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair.
Walk me down the aisle Daddy, it's just about time.
Does my wedding gown look pretty Daddy? Daddy, don't cry.
Oh, with all that I've done wrong, I must of done something right.
To deserve her love every morning, and butterfly kisses,
I couldn't ask God for more, than this is what love is.
I know I gotta let her go, but I'll always remember...
Every hug in the morning, and butterfly kisses.
Well, 13 years on (which is how old my daughter is, by the way), another equally-touching song about fathers, daughters and butterflies has emerged. This time, the reverse holds true in that it is written by a daughter to her dad :-)
Teenage sensation Miley Cyrus and her real-life dad Billy-Ray Cyrus (those from my generation would remember his one and only 1992 hit "Achy
Breaky Heart") both star in the Disney Channel comedy series called Hannah Montana.A movie, simply entitled "Hannah Montana: The Movie" has just been released, and my daughter and I went to watch it when it premiered in Singapore yesterday.
The movie features this song, which is entitled "Butterfly Fly Away". The scene shows Miley having a conversation with her dad, and he asks her, "What's the song about?" to which she replies, "You. Me. Us." She then begins playing her guitar and singing it to her dad, after which her dad joins her in the chorus.
BUTTERFLY FLY AWAY - MILEY AND BILLY-RAY CYRUS
Miley Cyrus:
You tucked me in turned out the light
Kept me safe and sound at night
Little girls depend on things like that
Brushed my teeth and combed my hair
Had to drive me everywhere
You were always there when I looked back
You had to do it all alone
Make a living, make a home
Must have been as hard as it could be
And when I couldn't sleep at night
Scared things wouldn't turn out right
You would hold my hand and sing to me
Duet : Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus
Caterpillar in the tree
How you wonder who you'd be
Can't go far but you can always dream
Wish you may and wish you might
Don't you worry, hold on tight
I promise you there will come a day
Butterfly fly away
Butterfly fly away (Butterfly fly away)
Spread your wings now you can't stay
Take those dreams and make them all come true
Butterfly butterfly butterfly butterfly
Butterfly fly away
By the way, there were also many other dads/moms who brought their daughters to the movie as well. So, if you have a daughter between the ages of 6 and 16, may I recommend that you watch the movie with her. It is a great time for parent-daughter bonding.
Oh ya, and don't forget your packet of tissues to be used when "Butterfly Fly Away" comes on...
