God's Smuggler

It's simply amazing! Never had I read any non-fiction book with such thrill. Once it landed in my hands, I buried my face in it at every opportunity. Frankly, I don't get much time to read a day except when my son is taking his nap. 

Although excited, reading this book was slower than I had thought. This is due to the fact I had a pen and a ruler with me all the time underlining every miracle mentioned in the book. It was difficult to resist the urge to underline each miracle that I came across as I felt they touched me deeply. Each time the narrative, Brother Andrew, faced with a great new challenge, my heart raced faster than ever. Each challenge ended graciously, showing the work of God and how faith saved Andrew. 

This book alone speaks volume of God's grace, merciful love and most of all, His power and protection against all odds. I've cried tears of joy and thankfulness for being granted this book. I guess it's a calling from God to renew my faith in Him. 

Since there are too many miracles to mention here, I'll give an instance which I like very much. It was about the Volkswagon that Andrew used for the purpose of transporting Bibles. While he was on his way from East Germany to Poland, his car breathed its last. With him in the car were two Dutch students. He needed five hundred Marks to have the engine changed and another thirty Marks to purchase gasoline on the way home. However, after changing every last guilder, it all came to 470 Marks only. He walked back to the garage and as he could no longer hold the truth from the mechanic, the two students raced through the door, "one of them waiving something in his hand. 'Andy!' he shouted. 'Craziest thing ever happened to me! We were just walking along the street when this lady came up to us and asked if we were Dutchmen. When I said yes, she gave me this bill. She said God wanted us to have it!'

The bill was for fifty Marks." 

Isn't that fantastic? If you have just gasped at the miracle above, you're recommended to read the book yourself to take your breath away with dozens of other miracles in the book. 

BOOK TITLE : GOD'S SMUGGLER

AUTHOR        : Brother Andrew with John and Elizabeth Sherrill

PUBLISHER   : Hodder & Stoughton 
LOCATION    : Great Britain

The Enemy Within

It was an ordinary Sunday's afternoon after church service and I had the 'push' to visit my church's library for some inspiring and spirit-uplifting books. Within 10 minutes, I found this book, The Enemy Within. Well, who is that 'enemy' that the book is talking about? I think for most Christians, we know that it's our flesh and the sins that our flesh indulges into. 

As I read the book, I could not stop nodding my head in agreement with Kris Lundgaard who talks about the power and defeat of sin. 

Lundgaard's book consist of four parts. Part One is about power of sin, Part Two; how sin works in us, Part Three; The Power of Sin in What It Does and Part Four; Nailing the Lid on Sin's Coffin. Lundgaard starts the book with a story of himself wanting to surprise his wife. After some struggling moment through the job, he realised he did not have the necessary tool to finish it off. And it was then that his boys started a rivalry which caused him to lose his temper all at once. After that incident, he felt like a whipped puppy. With that, he quoted Paul in Romans 7:21, "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me." From there, Lundgaard proceeds to explain the truth in that verse and how true it is that in every heart, there is a law which draws us to sin. How often do you find yourself wanting to do good and the next minute, WHAM!, there goes our temper and conscience. 

I like how Lundgaard explains the soul which comprises the mind, the affections and the will. 

The mind is the sentinel, commanded to watch carefully over the soul by questioning, assessing, and making judgments: Will this please God? Is this according to God's Word? If the mind determines that an action is right, the affections should fall in line and desire, long for, and cling to that which the mind said was good. Last, the will puts the soul into action, carrying out what the mind said was good and the affections hungered for. If your mind is persuaded to believe a sin is good for your soul, and your affections work up an appetite for it, your will gives its consent - the dominoes fall and the flesh bears its putrid fruit in your life.   

(Lundgaard; 1998: 56)

The Enemy Within is easy to understand and Lundgaard's perfect use of metaphor and good writing encourage readers to put on their thinking cap. After each chapter, Lundgaard includes a section with questions for reflection and discussion. Therefore, it encourages one to search and read more of the Bible. 

Below is the information of the book: 

BOOK TITLE: The Enemy Within

AUTHOR       : Kris Lundgaard

PUBLISHER  : P&R Publishing

LOCATION   : United States of America 

Tears from the Iron Man

It is a custom for us to go to Johor every Chinese New Year (CNY) for a once-a-year reunion with my husband's family: parents, sisters and other relatives. Though we go back to Johor few times a year, the CNY reunion  brings a much different value to the family. As my husband's sisters are married to other states, we can only come together once a year to celebrate this festive and it had always brought pleasant memories. 

This year, however, I had some misunderstanding with my eldest sis-in-law. Deep inside me, I kept telling myself that, "it's OK. She was just nervous and anxious about the whole issue". On the other hand, I had asked my husband to get into the room and started a tantrum. Sometimes, it's weird that I knew something was wrong yet I continued to indulge in it. And the more I fed my indulgence, I wanted more and ended up calling one after another bus station to check on tickets back to KL. All I wanted was to show my self-existence, my power and authority as a human in that house. 

Heart was pumping fast, nerves were wrecking, and patience towards the situation was running low, I wanted immediate revenge. Within minutes I was already packing my clothings and going to the store room to get my wet clothes after my mother-in-law (Mama) morning wash. Mama was there and asked about what I was doing. I told her I was going to leave that place and she came after me and told my father-in-law  (Papa) who was at the second living hall taking a nap. 

Out of my expectation, both the parents came into our room, Papa crying and pleading us not to leave. "Please don't do like that. I am so old already. I don't know how many more reunions of this kind I would be able to see." Seeing tears flowing from this Iron Man that I knew, my heart twisted and wrenched in pain. Papa was an ex-navy and to what I knew, we had few words through the years and to me, he was one man with heart of steel. His tears proved  me wrong! He is made of flesh and blood just like any one of us though he speaks less with me. By then, Mama had already started crying and asking us to stay. The family will not be complete if one of them is missing. 

I felt sorry for both of them. I was wrong. I apologised to Papa and he told me, "Whatever it is, please overlook it. Don't keep it in the heart." I nodded.

Although Papa and Mama have few words with me, I feel I am actually part of them as well. How could the crave of self-existence be looked upon higher than love? 

"Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope and patience never fail. Love is eternal."

(1 Corinthians 13: 4-8)