Nehemiah is one of my least favourite books in the Bible.  It lacks the exciting miracles, glorious battles or political intrigue found in other books such as Exodus, Samuel and Esther, the elegant poetry or rich religious imagery of the prophetic books such as Isaiah and Jeremiah and, unlike the shorter prophetic books such as Obadiah and Haggai, is too long to read in one sitting.  It is, to be honest, a terribly boring narrative.

Somewhat reluctantly, I’ve been reading Nehemiah again (well, I can’t keep skipping Nehemiah to go on to Esther every time I’ve completed Ezra which is, incidentally, another equally boring book).  Surprisingly, this time round, I’ve discovered a couple of lessons applicable to life today.

1.  Faithfulness in times of fortune

Like the majority of Christians in the developed world today (or at least in Singapore), Nehemiah lived in a society that was prosperous and was himself quite well off (he was an official of the court).  However, instead of complacently enjoying the comfort of his good fortune, and leading a mediocre Christian life, Nehemiah was faithful in remembering fellow believers who were suffering in Jerusalem and God’s unfinished work, ie. the reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem and its temple.  The account in Nehemiah 1 tells us that Nehemiah took a keen interest in what was going on in Jerusalem, and was so disturbed by the bad news that he wept and fasted and prayed.

Have we been faithful by taking a keen interest in what God is doing, first within and then outside of our church ?  Or have we been faithless by living for nothing more than ourselves ?

2.  Miracles in the mundane

Nehemiah lived at a time when miracles and prophecies were rare.  Yet Nehemiah saw miracles in the seemingly mundane.  Nehemiah 4 : 16 records that, in Nehemiah’s mind, "this work had been done with the help of our God".

This is an appropriate worldview, because "in Him we move and have our being" (Acts 17 : 28).  There is nothing which occurs or exists without the foreknowledge and permission if not the active participation of God.

Our present world is pretty much like that of Nehemiah’s time, especially for those of us who come from non-charismatic churches.  Miracles appear to be rare.  But might it be because we have taken what we see around us - creation and our circumstances - for granted, believing that they are products of our efforts or of coincidence, instead of God’s miraculous provision ?

3.  Love lived out in action

The third thing which impressed me was how Nehemiah lived out his faith and love through social action.  Nehemiah 5 records how Nehemiah forgone the food and other privileges that he was entitled to as governor, so that he could share this with his countrymen.

No amount of singing, fervent prayer or scripture reading in church will immediately meet the needs of a hungry man.  Nehemiah reminds us that the church must do all these, and also demonstrate God’s love by meeting the immediate needs of the community.

Jesus’ suggestion to the young man in Matthew 19 : 21 - "if you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor … then come, follow Me" - succintly summarises this.  This is not command to accumulate good karma or earn salvation by deeds, but a challenge to Christians to go beyond mediocrity by demonstrating God’s love through positive action.

Today’s papers carried a sad story of how an eight year old boy was killed by a reversing truck.

This is not the first incident of a reversing vehicle hitting a pedestrian, and underlies the need to educate pedestrians about the risks of walking into the path of reversing vehicles.

While this sounds awfully silly at first sight, the fact is that I’ve encountered numerous pedestrians who lack the common sense not to walk into the path of a reversing vehicle.  (Thankfully I’ve not run over any).

Pedestrians (thankfully) pretty much understand that they should not walk into the path of a vehicle that is moving forwards.  Even if a vehicle were moving at a snail’s pace of between 5 to 10 kmph, it may not be possible for its driver to avoid hitting a pedestrian who unexpectedly jumps into his path just 3 to 5 m in front of his vehicle.

It is much harder for a driver to brake in time if he is reversing, even at that speed.  This is because his field of vision in the case of the rear view mirror is much narrower, and because the he will usually be monitoring up to three mirrors (one rear and two side view mirrors), but obviously not all at the same time - he has only one pair of eyes - and will from time to time have to take his eyes off the rear view mirror for a few seconds.

And if the driver is the driver of a truck, van or bus, which has more "blind spots", it is even less likely that the driver will be able to spot a pedestrian who walks into the path of his reversing vehicle in time.

It is not without reason that the reverse sensor was invented - to assist drivers who are reverse parking; driving in the reverse direction is much more challenging than driving forwards.

So while my initial reaction is rage against the truck driver, perhaps he may not be entirely at fault either.

I should really have blogged about this a week ago but was busy.  Anyway, Jed hurt his right arm in the evening two Sundays ago.  I’m not exactly sure how he hurt his arm - he didn’t fall on it - but he did hurt it.  I say this because he suddenly stopped using his right hand / arm about two hours before bedtime - Jed is right-handed - and started using his left.  He also flinched whenever we touched his right arm.

There being no visible injury, and since Jed couldn’t tell us what was wrong (he can’t talk, yet), we decided to put Jed to bed and see if his right arm would get better the next day.

It didn’t.  Jed didn’t flip around in bed that night, because he couldn’t use his right arm to support this movement.  And when he got up in the morning, he was obviously still using his left arm alone.

So I applied for leave and got ready to send him to the pediatrician.  And prayed quietly for him.

Just as I was about to leave the house, Jed started using his right arm / hand again.  I can think of no other explanation, than that Jed’s right arm / hand was miraculously healed.  So there, Jed’s first miracle !

A friend - fairly newly married - asked me recently to give him a good reason to want to be a parent.  Whether it was worth giving up all the freedom and time that Joyce and I once had as a couple, to add Jed to our family.

I told him the usual stuff : that Jed adds a new dimension to our relationship, that watching your child grow from baby to a toddler and cross all the milestones of development - sitting up, rolling, crawling, walking, etc. - fills you with a sense of wonder, and that these are joys that a couple can never experience except as parents.

"But you feel that these are joys which you shouldn’t miss as parents because you are already parents - what if you never had kids, would you miss being a parent ?  How would you know that being a parent is too important to miss, if you’ve not experienced it before ?"

He’s right.  Or at least not quite wrong.

While Jed has brought us a lot of joy, we’ve also had to give up quite a bit (for starters, we’ve not caught a movie in 2 years - we’ve missed X-Men 3, Superman Returns, Fantastic Four, and Spiderman 3).  Often, its very tiring and / or frustrating - like when Jed refuses to eat or go to bed (which is often enough).  And we worry about how he’ll cope with school, whenever he falls sick, etc. 

It is, ultimately, a very humbling experience.  A test of how deep and unconditional and sacrificial our love and patience can be as imperfect human parents.   I think that for most people, there will perhaps be no other time in their lives when they will find themselves having to change soiled diapers, wipe up puke, and prepare food or sing lullabies in the midddle of the night.

And living at a time when society offers us so much to do for ourselves - further your career, obtain a second qualification, buy a bigger car / house, go on a weekend spa vacation, or a long distance holiday - all the foregoing chores which accompany parenthood doesn’t seem too attractive. 

Parenthood reminds me to be grateful for my parents, who put up with all my nonsense as a kid, so that I may be where I am today.

It also helps me better appreciate the meaning of unconditional love, a trait often ascribed to, but which I suspect is not so easily understood of, the God of the Bible.

Incidentally, the National Family Week 2007 starts today.

The Straits Times published a feature on elitism and "elite" schools in Singapore this past Friday and yesterday.

Interestingly, I was approached about two weeks ago by a colleague (who I would in fairness add is a very nice person) from another department, who asked whether I was junior or senior to the deputy director of my legal department.

"I’m actually one year his senior.  I graduated one year before him."

"Really ?  I’m also one year his senior from Raffles JC.  I don’t recall that seeing you in my batch."

"That’s because I wans’t from Raffles."

"Oh.  Was it AC or Hwa Chong then ?"

"Actually I was from a ‘neighbourhood’ JC.  I was from Temasek."

Controversial American TV evangelist, and highly conservative (some say fundamentalist) Christian leader, Jerry Falwell, died today at 73.  There will be those who say he did good, and (sadly) probably more who say he did bad, for his community and for Christianity (sad not because they are necessarily misguided, but because Falwell appeared to have created more division than unity).  The truth probably lies somewhere in between, and I believe that his work will be shown for what is is, because the Day will bring it to light (1 Corinthians 3 : 13). 

Whatever one may think of him, and while I don’t think I would agree with everything he said, I think that his message on Christ, published on his website, is a meaningful summary of the Christian faith, and bears repeating here -

Without a doubt the most important message of all times is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no other name on Earth, beneath the Earth or in the Heavens above by which a person can be saved except through the name of Jesus.

Man was originally created by God as a perfect being. God gave man all good things at creation including a free will to make his own decisions. In one instance of Satanic temptation, man chose to disbelieve what God had commanded him thus disobeying God and falling from his sinless state of perfection. The Bible says, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5:12). Every man, woman and child has sinned. There is none righteous, no, not one. Romans 3:10. That day Satan was cursed by God for deceiving Adam and Eve: And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (Genesis 3:14, 15). Verse 15 is the first verse to contain a prophecy of the coming Redeemer.

The only way sin could be atoned for was through a perfect, sinless sacrifice. The events, sacrificial offerings and prophecies of the Old Testament looked forward to the day when Messiah would come and redeem the world from sin. Jesus Christ is that perfect, sinless Messiah; the Son of God born of a human virgin, the sinless God/Man.

It is my prayer that you have already made the most important decision to accept Christ into your own life. There is only one way of salvation and it is through Jesus Christ.

Becoming a Christian is an act of faith. Jesus Christ willingly died for your sins and calls upon you to trust him as your personal Savior.

Knowing Jesus Christ as your personal Savior is the most exciting experience of life. Yet millions of people live today as if there were no God at all. They live as though the death and resurrection of Christ made no difference for them. He does not matter to them because they have never come to know Him as their personal Savior.

One does not become a Christian by merely attending church or religious services. Sitting in church will not make you a Christian any more than sitting in your garage will make you an automobile!

To become a true Christian believer, you must come to know Jesus Christ. This involves a personal encounter with Christ. Such an encounter may happen anywhere: at a church altar, in your car, or at home. The place is incidental. The personal experience with Christ is what really matters. Jesus said, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10). I want to introduce you to this abundant life.

We need forgiveness. The Bible clearly teaches that we are all sinners by nature and by choice. Sin is the transgression of God’s law. To sin is to voluntarily disobey God’s law. The Scripture says, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

Sin is a problem with which we all must deal because its consequences are so devastating. The Scripture says, For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Spiritual death involves total separation from God for all eternity. It is the greatest of all the consequences of sin.

We are all guilty of sin. The degree or intensity of our sins may vary, but we are all guilty of sinning. The Bible reminds us, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). The prophet Isaiah illustrated it this way: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way (Isaiah 53:6).

Doing the best we can or trying to "balance the books" is not sufficient to remove even one of our sins. That is why the payment for sin always involved a blood sacrifice. In the Old Testament, animals were sacrificed for sin. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, became the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of mankind.

Sin is an offense against a holy God. It separates us from God and keeps us from experiencing all that God has for us in life. Since we cannot save ourselves, nor remove the fact of our sin, we need to be forgiven.

We need a Savior. A savior rescues someone else from dire consequences. Jesus Christ is called the Savior because He died to rescue us from the consequences of our sin. The Bible says, Christ died for our sins… was buried, and… rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The apostle Peter put it this way: For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened [raised] by the Spirit (I Peter 3:18).

Jesus died in our place and took the punishment for our sins. Trusting Him as your personal Savior means that you accept his death on the cross as the sufficient payment for your sins. The Bible declares, The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin (I John 1:7).

Christ’s payment for our sins is so complete and sufficient that we can add nothing to it. We cannot save ourselves, and we need not try, because He has already paid for our sins. That is why the apostle Paul said, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Salvation is a free gift of God made possible by His grace to undeserving sinners. It is not a reward for our good deeds. Nor is it something we must spend a lifetime trying to earn. It is a gift that we must receive by simple faith.

We need to receive salvation by faith. Knowing that Christ died in our place and that God is willing to pardon our sins will not save us until we receive that pardon by faith. If a prisoner was condemned to die and was given a pardon, he would have to receive it in order to be set free. Saving faith is simply receiving God’s pardon for sin. That pardon was secured by Christ’s death on the cross.

Faith is the placing of one’s trust in someone or something. It is believing a chair will hold you up when you sit on it. It is believing the word or promise of someone when he gives it to you. Saving faith is believing in the promise of God. It is accepting the offer of salvation as a free gift from God to you personally.

The Bible is the instrument of our faith. It is the inspired Word of God, which declares the message of God to mankind. The apostle Paul said, Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). The apostle Peter describes this process as being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God (1 Peter 1:23).

The Holy Spirit is the agent of our faith. He is the one who convicts us of our sin and causes us to see our need of a Savior (John 16:8). He is also the one who guides us into all truth (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit initiates conviction in our hearts and draws us to the Saviour.

Jesus Christ is the object of our faith. Having faith alone cannot save anyone. It is the object of one’s faith that really matters. In relation to our salvation, our faith rests in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He alone is the object of our faith. To trust Him as your Savior means to believe by faith that He died for your sins and that the price has been paid.

We need a spiritual rebirth. The New Birth is not an improvement on our old nature. It is the imparting of an entirely new nature. By the creative act of the Holy Spirit at salvation, the believer becomes a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). When we trust Christ as our personal Savior, the Holy Spirit enters our lives and causes us to be born again with spiritual life.

Jesus said, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). The New Birth is not just a nice idea, it is an absolute necessity. The unanimous testimony of the Bible is that one is born again when he receives Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.

Spiritual rebirth occurs when God is born in us and unites His Spirit with our spirit. The marvelous truth of Scripture is that God lives within your soul. When you receive Jesus Christ, He comes to live within you forever (John 14:20).

In the last night of His earthly ministry, Jesus prayed for all who would come to believe in Him: That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us (John 17:21). Our union with Christ is to be exemplified by our unity with other believers. The New Birth makes us children of God and adds us to the family of God. By the New Birth we actually receive the divine nature of God Himself.

We need to call upon God to save us. The invitation of the gospel is clear. The Bible says, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13). I want to personally invite you to call upon God, by faith, to save you. Ask Him to save you and believe that He will do it. Do not hesitate. The Scripture urges us, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near (Isaiah 55:6).

Right now, while you are visiting this web page, give your life to Christ and receive Him as your personal Savior. The Bible says, But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12).

If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:

Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright (c) 2006 by Jerry Falwell Ministries

I’m not usually abrasive, but the dumbness of this Straits Times Forum letter ("Hungry infant on train ?  Get off and feed him"), which was published today (16 May 2007), just grates me.  In response to a complaint that the MRT (Singapore’s subway service) had refused to allow a mother to feed her infant on the train, this irate letter writer said

As a parent myself, I understand how frustrating it must be for parents to endure their child crying from hunger. But should MRT management bend its rules for a screaming infant? … First, how would the MRT officer decide when to relax the rules? In Ms Yeo’s case, it was a hungry infant. What if it involved an elderly or sickly individual who needed a drink. Should they be allowed to drink from a secured container?

The answer must surely be "yes".  If a hungry infant, or an elderly or sickly individual badly needs to eat or drink on the MRT (and I would add to these pregnant women), these vulnerable persons should be allowed to do so.  They should not be made to get off the train (and out of the MRT station, I might add, since the rule extends to eating on the station premises) to do so.

To my horror, we do live amongst aliens on planet earth who believe that compassion and concern for vulnerable persons should be subordinate to the interests of cleanliness and efficiency, like this letter writer.

Where do we draw the line? It would be difficult for MRT officers to uphold the rules that keep trains in the clean and orderly state they are in now. … Singapore is known internationally to have the most effective and efficient transport system in the world. But it takes a lot of work to keep it that way. … the rules must be enforced to ensure that our public transport system remains a joy to ride.

I don’t see how keeping the MRT system clean has anything to do with efficiency. 

I don’t see how we’re going to encourage Singaporeans to have more kids if we are so family-unfriendly. 

And in all honesty, is it that important that the MRT be kept in the almost absolutely clean and orderly state that it is in now ?  I would rather allow for it to be a little messy, and spend the savings (reduced maintainence costs in relation to our obsessive compulsion with cleanliness) on increasing train frequency and extending operating hours.

Half of Singapore (or maybe less) is probably appalled at Victor Ramraj’s article on the "Gay Debate" (9 May 2007, Straits Times), which is largely sympathetic of the gay cause in Singapore.  The other half (or maybe more), is probably gratified at what appears to be a sensible response to gay-bashing (not in the literal sense, thankfully) in the past couple of weeks. 

Personally I think the response brings some balance to all the screaming and name-calling by the parties holding views at both ends of the spectrum.

But what caught my eye was the writer’s suggestion, probably unintentional, that secular-humanism is akin to religion.

Those whose religious views are tolerant of homosexuality, and especially those of us with secular-humanist inclinations, must remain sensitive to the deeply personal and communal role that religious doctrine plays in the lives of many.

Which brings me to my point - if religion is religion, and secularism or secular-humanism is also (a form of) religion, then how can it be possible to keep religion out of politics and public debate ?  (See previous thoughts here).

Believe it or not, Jed typically falls asleep in this position every other night …