Mahatma Gandhi once said, “If it weren’t for Christians, I’d be a Christian.” Gandhi said that because he had been disgusted by the unchristian attitudes and behaviours of many Christians. It is easy for us to respond simply with “Don’t look to man but to Christ.” However, how can non-Christians see Christ whom they cannot…
Due to the current cap of five unique visitors per household per day, my immediate extended family found ourselves unable to meet up together at the same time. No matter how we arrange our visits, there is no way we can fit the entire family together. I’m sure many faced the same predicament and painful…
James saw himself as the servant of God. His letter is addressed to the new Israel of God, the twelve tribes scattered abroad, the church of Jesus Christ. Instead of being ensnared by the world, James 4:8 calls the church to draw near to God. Who then is this God? He is revealed in James’…
The past few weeks have been deeply challenging for me. The more time I spend reflecting on James, the more acutely I’m aware of how far I fall short of God’s standards. I struggle to find joy in my trials. I’m slow to hear, quick to speak, quick to anger. I know what God’s word…
When I was in Junior High, my school had an annual school cleaning campaign day. Instead of school bags, we were asked to bring cleaning cloths. Our teacher explained the task of the day—every class is responsible for cleaning their own classrooms and we need to complete the task before the end of the day.…
We all have our plans in life. Some of us may have plans to further our studies abroad, to get married, to buy a house, or to travel to this or that country. Likewise, although the Bible does not mention Mary and Joseph’s plans, I believe they had theirs as well. Being human and betrothed…
I had always felt that peace was such a fleeting sensation. Perhaps my time in the hospital best exemplified this: I could be looking out of the window at lunchtime, briefly losing myself in the peaceful serenity of the autumn landscape, marvelling at the beauty of God’s creation; in the next minute I find myself…
Have you ever noticed that whenever the Bible talks about believers, it uses metaphors that talk about Christians as a whole community, rather than as individuals? This tells us something very important – Christians are not meant to be individuals alone, but part of a community of believers. What does it mean to be part…
Recently, someone handed me a copy of our Advent worship bulletin from 1965. That is almost 60 years of Advent celebrations here at ORPC, and maybe more if it started even further back. But what makes celebrating Advent so special that it has become an integral part of our tradition? Robert Webber, in his book Ancient-Future…
In recent weeks, Singapore has continued to reopen travel with the rest of the world with successive launches of vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs). Pent-up demand for overseas travel is expected, as many in Singapore look forward to being reunited with family members abroad, or simply to go travelling again. This is despite the significant additional…