Critical Decisions are Always Exclusive

We had a wonderful dinner tonight with Llewyn and Chris - a couple that has faithfully served together with us in The Marriage Course. The question from Llewyn - "Why did Jesus have to die?" started a train of discussion from Genesis to the Gospel on the origin of sin, sacrifice and ultimately how all this climax at the Cross. The unique thing about the Christian faith is how God works through real history and real people and it is all documented in the Bible! We worship a God that is firmly rooted in history right from Adam to Jesus and his wonderful plan of salvation revealed from Genesis to Revelation. 

Conclusion : Critical decisions in life (eg. marriage) is always exclusive. Without exclusivity, a relationship cannot go on to the next level. Similarly, the decision to follow Jesus Christ MUST be an exclusive decision. We rejoice that was the decision which Llewyn made. Welcome home, Llewyn. The angels in heaven rejoice! 

First "Genesis Relevance" Talk

On Sunday (26 Apr), we had six families gathered in our home for the inaugural "Genesis Relevance" presentation. The common "thread" that held us all together was the fact that we are all parents deeply concerned about the faith foundations of our children. Here are two opening thoughts in the sharing :

• Culture is strongly defined by origins. Unless one knows clearly where he comes from, he cannot know for sure where he is going. Genesis 1-11 holds the key for building the right sense of identity.
  
  
• Effective parenting is about putting our marriage first. Unless both husband and wife and united in one flesh and spirit, teaching our children from the same starting point of Scripture - our kids will be distracted by so many other competing forces of peer pressure and humanistic philosophies. Foundation building is a team effort.

At the end of our time together, there was a strong resonance that the building of a Biblical Worldview must start with us as parents first. It is only when we are personally excited about the relevance of Scripture to all areas of life then we have something worthwhile to pass to the next generation. As a next step, the majority of the families agreed to go through the Answers Academy package as our small step forward in reclaiming a giant plot in the future. We thank God for this core team of families that have provided my wife and I with the momentum to carry on the passion ignited from last month's training at Answers in Genesis.

The Attraction of a Bumper Sticker!

I was in McDonald's yesterday evening with my two daughters when suddenly an American gentleman walked up to me and said, "Does the Toyota Innova out there belong to you?" Curiously, I said "Yes" - expecting him to point out that I did not switch the lights off or something to that effect. But his answer came as a total surprise ....

"Did you actually visit the CREATION MUSEUM?" was the response from this gentleman. Here's how he was able to link the car to me :

1. He noticed the Creation Museum bumper sticker on my car. That started him thinking.
2. When he sat next to my table at McDonald's, he thought - "Hmm, what's a dad doing here with his two kids on a school day? This must be a homeschooling family."
3. Homeschooling -> Christian -> Creation. Isn't that totally logical?!

We had such a wonderful time of fellowship! The couple was Mike and Diane Constantine - an American couple from Virginia who now makes Malaysia their second home - ministering in the area of family and church leadership. See : http://www.intermin.org

Isn't it wonderful how a seemingly innocent bumper sticker can cause like-minded folks to bump into each other?

p/s : Curious about the Creation Museum? Go to http://creationmuseum.org

Answers in Genesis

20 March 2009 - This is a pivotal date for my wife and I as we stepped onto Korean Air headed for Cincinnati Airport for a week's worth of training with a Creation Apologetics Ministry - ANSWERS IN GENESIS. Look it up - http://www.answersingenesis.org

Besides spending our 13th Wedding Anniversary (23 March) enjoying real American Ice-Cream (thanks to Dr.Crandall and his team), this training has expanded our view on the critical importance of developing a Biblical Worldview in all areas - especially in domains where the opinion of man has superseded the authority of God's Word. We are now so excited about home schooling our two daughters in subjects of science and history from the God's perspective!

Also, we look forward to working with Christian families who desire to provide real answers to the next generation who is growing up in an ever increasing skeptical, humanistic and anti-God world.

We thank God for the generosity of Mr.Ken Ham, Dr.Crandall and the ANSWERS IN GENESIS team for organizing this training. The friendship with fellow believers from Australia, India, Russia, Moldova, Egypt, Scotland, Hungary and Portugal really made this a fantastic experience for my wife and I.