20121013- BS challenge : RUNNING

Phi 3:13-14" but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus"



It was indeed a fun family run on 13/10/2012.  Amateur photography, video, on site impromptu interviews, spontaneous laughters...witnessed the awesome race from 2 year olds to 50s! Unforgetable!

Story of John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania

John Stephen Akhwari

This is the motivating story of John Stephen Akhwari a Tanzanian Olympian who struggled to complete the 1968 Olympic marathon after he fell during the race cutting and dislocating his knee. As he pushed himself through the pain and 1 hour after the race had already been won, John Stephen Akhwari finished the race. When asked by a reporter why he didn’t quit he replied  ”My country did not send me to 5,000 miles to Mexico City to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”

According to the John Stephen Akhwari Facebook page, the competition won him the title of “A King without crown. “Akhwari competed for ten years after the 1968 Olympics. He finished 5th in the marathon at the 1970 Commonwealth Games. Akhwari has lent his name to the John Stephen Akhwari Athletic Foundation, an organization that supports Tanzanian athletes training for the Olympic Games. He was invited to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney,Australia. He later appeared in Beijing as a goodwill ambassador in preparation for the 2008 Games.

20121006- Cycle - East Coast to Bay Gardens

I never knew that there was such a scenic untapped quiet stretch of cycling track here in this little red dot!

Highly recommended to all who can peddle...
- Start off at East Coast (Burger King) or Big Splash - Bike rental at S$14 for 3 hours
- Ride to Fort Road, cut across the traffic lights into Old Airport Road HDB flats
- Turn out from the HDB into the back of Tanjong Rhu condos - allong the Kallang River
- Herein lies the GREAT KALLANG RIVER SCENIC RIDE....
.....Yes,,it is a with a million dollar view indeed!
- Feel the quietness, watch the awesome view, smell the flowers, stare at the blue sky...
- See the DOMES from afar, the MBS, the BIG Wheel...
- Ride into the Marina Barrage..
-..enter into the Gardens by the Bay..(Unfortunately, bikes are not allowed ...)
- Well, managed to sneek in and out....under the SUPERTREES....
- enjoy the ride back to East coast..
- all in 3 hours
- Return the bike and have a superfeast at Brewerks @ Spore Indoor Stadium with S$18 set meal that comes with BEEEERRRRRR.....
- SUPER BIKE, SUPER FEAST...
Nothing Bromptom but simply glutton!
- This was led by Eleanor - a cycling enthusiate!

Things to do:-
Be physically FIT
Drink lot of 100 Plus ....
All in 3 hours ride..can be tiring for some...
But great great family and friendship fun!

Will be doing a sundown cycle soon - inspired by this one...Think the cool nite and pretty nite lights would be another awesome sight! Wanna come along?
Enjoy this video - dedicated to all who managed to make it on 6th OCT 2012...
May you be inspired to RIDE it out with some folks soon too!
Most fell flat after the day- but it was definitely worth it!

Gardens by the Bay, East Coast Park to be linked
By Dylan Loh | Posted: 10 October 2012 1826 hrs

	Click to enlarge Photos 1 of 1 Gardens By The Bay (Photo: Hester Tan, channelnewsasia.com)

		inShare	19

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Gardens by the Bay will be joined to East Coast Park by a park connector, with construction works to link the two expected to start in late-2013 and finish in end-2014.

This will create the country's longest continuous stretch of coastal parkland - from the island's north-east to south-central Singapore.

The National Parks Board is now studying details of bringing the two major green spaces closer.

The Eastern Coastal Loop of park connectors currently lets residents in Simei, Bedok, Tampines and Pasir Ris, among other estates, access East Coast Park on bicycle or on foot. When the park is joined to Gardens by the Bay's East section, they can cycle, stroll, or jog to the attraction without using public roads.

Starting from Changi Beach Park, they can cycle through the Coastal Park Connector to East Coast Park, and head to the Bay East Garden of Gardens by the Bay via the new link.

This route measures over 25 km and at more than half the island's length, makes it the country's longest sweep of park space along the coast.

From the Bay East Garden, people can already access the Bay South Garden, where the two cooled conservatories and Supertrees are, by crossing the Marina Barrage at the mouth of the Marina Reservoir.

People can also head to the future Sports Hub from Bay East, by using the Tanjong Rhu Promenade Park Connector, and crossing the Tanjong Rhu suspension bridge.

Construction on the Marina Coastal Expressway is currently being carried out and are set to be completed by end-2013. After that, works to link Gardens by the Bay and East Coast Park will start.

Associate Professor Tan Puay Yok of the Architecture Department at the School of Design and Environment with the National University of Singapore, said: "The terrain itself is not very challenging, I think it's a fairly easy site to work with. And the fact that Singapore has already a fairly large, extensive network of park connectors, means that the design intention, design considerations could be followed for this site."

Currently, cyclists who wish to access Gardens by the Bay from East Coast Park have to exit the park from near the western end of the park along East Coast Park Service Road, and head onto public roads. This will not be necessary anymore when the two green spaces are finally linked.

19-year-old polytechnic student Chang Teck, who is an avid cyclist, is happy with the new link.

He said: "It will be more safe for cyclists like me. Because we don't have to go on the roads and look out for cars...and follow the traffic rules. [With the] straight path to the Gardens by the Bay, we can have a longer route, we can have more recreational activities for cyclists, we can cycle a longer path."

Joining both green spaces also opens up possible new routes for the many organised runs taking place yearly around downtown Singapore.

The National Parks Board's long-term goal is to create a Singapore-wide park connector network, linking up the whole of the island.

-CNA/ac

20120909-Judges- Time of Apostasy/ A different Micah

Judges 17:1" And there was a man of Mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah"
Judges 17: 7" A young Levite from Bethlehem...came to Micah's house.."
Judges 18:1 "..In those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel"
Judges 19:1" ..there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of Mount Ephraim...concubine.." {Dan & Benjamin fight}

A Time of Apostasy Indeed
This Micah in Judges is not the minor prophet Micah.
Sadly, this Micah was a thief who stole from his mother, kind of repented and returned his money back to his mother. Yet his mother blessed him and used the money to make graven molten image! And so Micah had a house of gods, he made himself an ephod and teraphim and consecrated one of his sons who became his priest. Well, Micah did what which was right in his own eyes as in those days there was no king in Israel. Not only that in 17:7, he even 'bought' himself a Levite young priest and let him stay in his house. He was only deceiving himself when he said in v13" Now I know that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest"

How does Dan come into the picture?
The Danites had not got their inheritance then.  They spied the land and came into this Levite staying with Micah. They took Micah's stuff - graven idols, ephods and made the Levite an offer! 18:19" Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us , and be to us a father and a priest; is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?"

Too tempting for the Levite. The offer was bigger and better! So he left with the Danites! The whole contingent fame to Laish and they built it down and renamed it Dan. Sinned all the way.  It is hence no wonder that in Rev 7, this tribe of Dan was not even mentioned among the 12 tribes! What a sorry state! Their name was left out in Rev7! 

Judges ended off with quite a gruesome story of rape and murder in chapter 19, leading to a fight between the 2 tribes Dan and Benjamin.

Such is the whole story of Judges - Sinned, Sold, Supplicate, Saved. A span of over 300 years of various judges raised to grant the land some peace.  But the people never learn.
Chapters 17 onwards showed a time of apostacy - a falling away of beliefs - both at personal level as well as corporate & national level.

Reflections
Does this sound familiar in our present times?
Do we have such people or pastors today like Micah of Ephraim? Or like the Levite who sold himself out to lead a bigger group  Or a type of tribe like Dan who led the whole squad in delusion?
The idolatory of building molten images is no different than today's idolatory of materialism and prosperity coveted by many. 
What is the standard of man versus God's standards? What is right and what is wrong? How do measure against the right plumbline?

Apostasy.  Leaving the fundamental faith. We are indeed destined to reign. But who are we reigning with? Let's pray that it would never be like Mammon Micah of Ephraim but another Micah - the one whose name means "Who is like Yawheh" or be the deluded Levite or in another dangerous situation - being in the so called tribe in Dan, embracing all they were doing, seemingly right religiously, but totally missing the whole point.

‘Prosperity is right. Amen’

 September 4th, 2012 |  Author: Online Press

(4 Sep) – At “Miracle-Seed Sunday” inSingapore’s New Creation Church last month, the pastor’s sermon was preceded by PowerPoint and video presentations, and donations were overseen by Deloitte & Touche LLP auditors.

Centuries after Catholics established missions in Asia, Singaporeans are flocking to a new species of churches making appeals more in common with “Material Girl” pop-singer Madonna than the Jesuits. Wearing a white leather jacket and jeans, Senior Pastor Joseph Prince asked God to reward a crowd of about 1,200 with houses, cars, jobs, pay raises and holidays if they contributed to New Creation’s multimillion-dollar funding drive.

Prince’s 24,000-strong flock belongs to a flourishing breed of churches from Houston to Sydney winning followers with a focus on personal well-being. As the rise of so-called mega churches helps make Christians the fastest-growing religious group in majority-Buddhist Singapore, their fundraising prowess is also making its mark, allowing groups including New Creation and City Harvest Church to invest in some of the island’s biggest commercial properties.

“Mega churches have been able to articulate Christianity in a very contemporary manner,” said Terence Chong, a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies who has researched such groups. “Being able to adopt the language of pop culture, mass consumption — we think this appeals to the new middle class, people who are aspiring middle class.”

In a city state of 5.2 million people occupying a quarter of the area of Rhode Island, the mega churches stand out with their gatherings of thousands, near-celebrity leaders and outreach methods that range from magic shows and concerts to musical worship backed by electric guitars.

At the New Creation service, PowerPoint slides showed attendees how to write checks to the church, while armed security guards watched the cash. Worship and Holy Communion were followed by a video about a woman who donated on Miracle Seed Sundays even when her husband’s cancer treatments saddled the couple with debt. Images of a Volkswagen and a condominium showed the rewards that came to them for giving.

“As they come forth Lord to sow, release upon them Father the power to get, to create, to receive wealth in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,” Prince said in the rented Rock Auditorium at the Suntec City Mall. “Prosperity is right. Amen. We prosper to prosper others. We prosper to prosper God’s kingdom, so come believing.”

The special session sought to raise funds for the church’s half of a S$976 million ($783 million) retail and entertainment complex, which includes a 5,000-seat auditorium. The venue, which will double as New Creation’s meeting place, is set to open in November with concerts by musician and producer David Foster and friends including Chaka Khan and Babyface, according to a statement from the theater.

Like the grandfather's clock above, here is the tick tock tick tock "awakening"...

20120809: Gen41:33 - 4 & 1+3+3! A Tale of 2 countries

Gen 41:33Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man DISCRETE AND WISE, and set him over the land of Egypt"

Joseph was THE discrete or discerning and wise man the pharaoh picked to watch over the land of Egypt. It was then 7 years of plentiful where Joseph stored up in his advice to pharaoh to prepare for the 7 coming famine years.

As our nation celebrates her 47th year, indeed we need a 4-7 man like Joseph in Gen 41:33 to steer us into the next lap.  The medals above are not the London Olympic Gold, Silver or Bronze medal. Below is a contrast of 2 countries, Singapore vs Grenada. I have never heard of this country until someone sent me this photo below. It is a small country off the Carribean (NE of Venezuela) . Predominantly Christian in population. And yes, God has blessed this little place which came into independence 9 years after our little red dot as it is also known as an island of spice - major exporter in nutmeg and mace.  Interesting , her motto is "Ever conscious of God we aspire, Build and advance as One People"

We were given these medals at the Day Of His Power, an annual praise and prayer meeting held on the eve of our national day.  The athletes who compete in the Olympics do it for mainly one reason - I suppose - to bring pride to the country whom he or she represents.  S'pore has so far not won any gold. But this year 2012, this little country of Genada proved that they can come up with a man like  Kirani James who won the first Olympic gold medal in the men's 400 m dash. And the reward? 
A PUBLIC HOLIDAY!!! For all the 110,000 citizens! No million or hundred of thousands payout in cash to the competitor. Had the Malaysian badminton player won, then all Malaysians were supposed to be treated to a free ice-cream by one ice-cream company.

Reflections
What does national day mean to you?
In the past, I am proud to carry my red passport.  It is a passport that many from other countries often see red as many visas are waived because we are citizens of a little red dot.

Lately, some embarrassment and shame has crept in.
We are an unique nation. We Pay And Pay to get the cream of every crop - that comes from the top ministers and civil service and into the sports arena.  The carrot is always dangling & seducing the very young here.  No one knows the heart of the man or woman - the work or sports competition - is it for the money or the fame or glory?

Unlike Grenada which is mainly Christian, our little red dot is only perhaps 18% christian as we lived in a very multiracial country.  Our electorate for voting in the recent Presidential election was only slightly past 2mio. But we have right now about 5mio people here on our 710 sq km.  Imagine Grenade with only 110,000 people on their island half the size of our little red dot!  Integration - the talk of the town here to.  Embracing other nationals.  Can we be like Grenada - able to share the same motto " Ever conscious of God we aspire, Build and advance as One People"? We are very multiracial.  The God whom the people worship differs. What is nation? My earlier blog touched on it. Can we aspire? Can we build and advance? Yes. But as ONE people? Er...

I have seen some of the photos of Grenada. The island looks simple and rustic. Perhaps that was what Sir Raffles saw and loved when he stepped unto this red dot. But the country has changed over the years.  I have been to the Gardens by the Bay. But there is lots of artificial stuff in there.  I dunno how to express. Just felt it. Preferred the botanic gardens ten times over.  I think we are trying too hard.  Time to sit back and just relax on the sandy beach of the east or west coast to gaze at the stars - the natural blinking lights above the dark night. These little twinkling lights - there are free.... so here is a national day song "Free" (by Corrine May)  to all ...Blessed 47th birthday S'pore.  Pray that we will have 4-7 Joseph - discrete and wise to steer this little red dot in right direction in the days ahead.  Break the chains over our nation.  Set us free... ....a reminder of the wild morning glories I used to see on the fences in my kampong days! Have you seen a morning glory around lately in your neighbourhood?

20120807: Bromptomgate Cycles : Judges 3: Othniel First Judge :40years

Judges Pattern : SINNED---SOLD---SUPPLICATE---SAVED!


History had proven over and over again.
The LORD is sovereign. He is the King of Kings over the nations.

Why would the Lord allow the Israelites to dwell among the Cannaanites,  the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites?
Guess the answer lies in Judges 3:1. "These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan.  (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience)..v4 they were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the LORD's commands , which he had given their forefathers through Moses"

Reflection
1. The Lord is constantly testing us to prove our hearts' commitment towards Him
2. The Lord wants us to be geared up for warfare at all times

In the midst of difficult or challenging situations, can we rise up and pass the tests set before us? Spiritual warfare is for real.  Are we sword-ready, shield-prepared, truth-belted, helmet secured and shoes buckled to take on this fight? 

20120805: Judges 2 Judges Raised

Judges 2:1 And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers, and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.  v2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall thrown down their altars; but ye have not obeyed my voice; why have ye done this?"

Judges 2:16" Nevertheless, the LORD RAISED UP JUDGES which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them"

The angel of the LORD term appears more than 40x in the bible.  Essentially it was thought that the person is Jesus Christ Himself.

The second chapter opens with a harsh judgement on the nation of Israel.  I ended up in last blog - Bochim - the people wept.

Joshua let the people go and everyone went to their own inheritance to possess the land. This earlier generation served the LORD all the days of Joshua as well as the elders who outlived JOshua who had seen the great works of the Lord. Joshua died at 110 years old. Then the problem kicked in when the next gen x-y-z who do not know the Lord came in.

It is a scary thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.

How can we provoke the LORD to anger?

v2:11-19 :

1. Do evil

2. Serve Baalam, Baal, Ashtaroth

3. Follow other gods

4. Follow the gods of the people that were around them

5. Failed to listen to the judges but whore (prostituted) after  and bow (worship)  to other gods

6. Fail to obey the commandments of the LORD

7. Corrupt more than their fathers  

What happens when God turns hot ?

a) God delivers us into the hands of the spoilers or raiders

b) sells us into the hands of the enemies

In this interesting history time, after Joshua died, the Lord RAISED UP JUDGES. The people were supposed to listen to the judges. And when times they did not,  judgment was met .


The interesting pattern goes throughout this book of Judges. When it came to pass when the particular judge died, the people went back to the old days and corrupted more. But when they repented, they were delivered.  We call it the 7 cycles of sin.


Reflection
Back in those days following Joshua, judges were righteous and they helped to judge, rule, deliver the nation. The Hebrew title is "Shophtim" - meaning "judges, rulers, deliverers or saviours" Purpose - maintain justice and settle disputes, to liberate and deliver.


Back then , the people often fall into a cycle of being corrupt after a while. But how about judges of today? Today, democratic nations are govern under the rule of law. National constitutions are drawn up individually in various countries on how the people in that country should be ruled.

Just earlier this month, something interesting cropped up in the courts with a member of the law society here.  I often wondered why the term "called to the bar"?
Well the Bar is  the body of legal practitioners who practice as barristers. The sudden barging in of this fellow member and the sequel of events that is now underway with the famous noodle in this little red dot - "Sumee" is funny yet, sad.


Sad. Has the bar been lowered? Has it been compromised? Has it been politicised?


Few more days to our 47th birthday ....Someone used the word "Repent" during the GE2011 Election. Indeed, how apt and important is this concept from this Chapter 2 of Judges.  Hope is still there for those who are willing to repent.  Afterall, our God is the Chief Justice of this nation. There is no one like Him.  His nature is one of mercy and grace. Don't ever provoke HIm to be hot....the little dot may turn from red to black ashes indeed.

20120714: Judges 1: Partial Disobedience :Failure to Drive out Inhabitants

(Aboriginal Rock Art, old civilisation - Darwin ,2/6/2012)

 Judges 1:1 "Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying "Who shall go up for us against the Canannites first, to fight against them?"

Before this opening chapter, we must understand what happened before in the book of Joshua. Below is an extract which summarised
 what God told Joshua to do when he was supposed to conquer the land which was given to him after Moses' passing.
Many people find it confusing to know that God was not just a God of love but also one that allowed the killings to take place in those old days.

A short section from Norman Geisler’s book, A Popular Survey of the Old Testament, that directly addresses this issue which might help here.

A Moral Problem—the slaughter of the Canaanites (Josh 6, 8, 10).

Israel was commanded by God to completely exterminate the Canaanite inhabitants of the land including men, women, and children. This has been called a primitive and barbaric act of murder perpetrated on innocent lives. 

Several factors must be kept in mind in viewing this situation. (1) There is a difference between murder and justifiable killing. Murder involves intentional and malicious hatred which leads to life-taking. On the other hand, the Bible speaks of permissible life-taking in capital punishment (Gen. 9:), in self defense (Exod. 22:2), and in a justifiable war (Gen. 14). (2) The Canaanites were by no means innocent. They were a people cursed of God from their very beginning (Gen. 9:25). They were a vile people who practiced the basest forms of immorality. God described their sin vividly in these words, “I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants” (Lev. 18:25). (3) Further, the innocent people of the land were not slaughtered. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah clearly demonstrates that God would save a whole city for ten righteous people (Gen. 18:22f.). In that incident, when God could not find ten righteous people, He took the four or five righteous ones out of the place so as not to destroy them with the wicked (Gen. 19:15). On another occasion God saved some thirty-two thousand people who were morally pure (Num. 31:35). Another notable example is Rahab, whom God saved because she believed (cf. Heb. 11:31). (4) God waited patiently for hundreds of years, giving the wicked inhabitants of Canaan time to repent (cf. 2 Peter 3:9) before He finally decided to destroy them (Gen. 15:16). When their iniquity was “full,” divine judgment fell. God’s judgment was akin to surgery for cancer or amputation of a leg as the only way to save the rest of a sick body. Just as cancer or gangrene contaminates the physical body, those elements in a society—if their evil is left to fester—will completely contaminate the rest of society. (5) Finally, the battle confronting Israel was not simply a religious war; it was a theocratic war. Israel was directly ruled by God and the extermination was God’s direct command (cf. Exod. 23:27-30; Deut. 7:3-6; Josh. 8:24-26). No other nation either before or after Israel has been a theocracy. Thus, those commands were unique. Israel as a theocracy was an instrument of judgment in the hands of God. (Norman L. Geisler, A Popular Survey of the Old Testament, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, 1977, pp. 99-100.)

Having understood about theocracy in the days for Israel,  the opening chapter of Judges illustrated a very important concept. Many of the tribes from Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, Manneseh, Zebulun, Asher and Nephtali failed to obey God fully. They "did not drive out the inhabitants..."


What is this concept to learn?
1. We must obey God, not on human understanding to get rid of all the parasites completely.
2. We must be aggressive and not passive not allow them to continue to be thorns in our sides
3. We must not allow their gods to be a snare unto us.


As I ponder over this, and looking back at the recent events happening to our nation - the subtle decay of moral governance,  the compromise of the church and the general corruption of the society, the onslaught of the devil is real and festering and making headways like never before. We cannot be putting the finger at the devil all the time, can we? We reap what we sow. Decisions of the past become a reality of the present. 

The issue of Identity
I believe there is a rationale for God's instructions to ensure that the inhabitants of that land conquered be driven out.  It is a preservation of the identity of the people who had just been delivered out of the land of slavery.  God wanted for Himself a nation of people who knew Him and be set apart.  Unfortunately, history showed that indeed such contamination indeed was not good at all.  Hard truths. Hard lessons.


S'pore : A nation of 47 years in building


Our people seemed to have lost our heritage and national identity.  God has given to us a small 700sqkm of land and people of over only 2mio back then - the country of S'pore was birthed. We prospered and had a good many good years.  But today, we have officially opened the gateway legally to vices, casinos, drug trafficking and many foreign people to raid our land. They have become our thorns in our land.


We have forgotten how our forefathers, parents or grandparents had come thus far to build this place whom we call Home.  We did not drive out the parasites that invade us but on the contrary, we are bring them in.  What a mess!  We seemed to have fill up our cup of iniquities.  The wrath of God is invoked. It is like judgement metted out in Judges 2:3 " Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be as thorns in our sides and their gods shall be snare unto us"..Simply because we have not obeyed HIs voice.


Reflections
Judges 2 -4,5 " And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice and wept. And they called the name of that place Bo-Chim (Bo-kim)  and they sacrificed there unto the LORD


"Bo'Kim" sounds like no gold.  It means "weepers"


Indeed, it seems right for us to weep over this nation as she turns 47 this year.
Let our soul cries out. Let justice and praise become our embrace as we turned from inside out.  Beautiful song - a reminder of mercy , grace and hope.