Author andrewong2024

Christianity through Arts and Creativity

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In this second installment of “Jesus and the marketplace” series, Makota Fujimura is a Christian artist who paints Christ-centred arts. He lives and works in New York City, and is an elder in a Presbyterian Church.

Makoto FujimuraThere are no crosses in Makoto Fujimura’s paintings. No images of Jesus gazing into the distance, or serene scenes of churches in a snow-cloaked wood.

. . . After the 2001 terrorist strikes on the World Trade Centre, three blocks from Fujimura’s home, his work explored the power of fire to both destroy and purify, themes drawn from the Christian Gospels and Dante’s “The Divine Comedy.”

“I am a Christian,” says Fujimura, 46, who founded the non-profit International Arts Movement to help bridge the gap between the religious and art communities. “I am also an artist and creative, and what I do is driven by my faith experience.

“But I am also a human being living in the 21st century, struggling with a lot of brokenness _ my own, as well as the world’s. I don’t want to use the term ‘Christian’ to shield me away from the suffering or evil that I see, or to escape in some nice ghetto where everyone thinks the same.”

By making a name for himself in the secular art world, Fujimura has become a role model for creatively wired evangelicals. They believe that their churches have forsaken the visual arts for too long – and that a renaissance has begun.

Read the full article here>>>

Responding to His Call and Mandate

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“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Isaiah 6:5-8 (New International Version)

Reclaiming the World for Jesus

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Evidently as we observe over the years that the Church has lost its influence in the world.

It is a far cry from how the early Church started as depicted in the book of Acts. Since then, the Church has slowly retreated from our original place of influence.

But now, it seems that God is moving His Church to fill that void to reclaim our God-given authority in being the head and not the tail in this world with the power of the Holy Spirit.

We need to engage our culture that ultimately shapes and influences our values and lives towards the Truth, the Way and the Life.

Watch the 5min video clip from www.reclaim7mountains.com below:

Personally, I think that engaging our marketplace especially in the arena of business or economics makes perfect (and biblical) sense.

Our global marketplace is the missions field and our jobs are the means to engage with people and our culture with the ultimate goal of making the gospel available to the lost with our lives.

Business through the eyes of faith

Business is, after all, an institutionalisation of God’s intention for us to work and to serve each other. It is a legal structuring of work where we express dominion over creation and provide us the opportunities to plan, organise, lead, follow and develop skills in a number of areas- all mirroring godly qualities.

With the fact that some business people do not place moral principles very high in their decision criteria, Christians, therefore, have this particular opportunity to be salt and light to the business world, and thereby demonstrate what it means to be ethical and moral, but yet still experiencing success.

So the challenge is on us Christians who are in the marketplace of business to view our work as a ministry in impacting lives, and not merely as a job to earn a living.

The mandate is clear that we need to win the souls of every spiritual sphere, corner and territory in this world for Christ.

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My Read of the Month:

Title: Cyber Rules: Strategies For Excelling at E-Business
Author: Thomas M. Siebel
Published: 1999
Genre: Business/E-commerce
Ratings: 1.0 out of 5 stars

I picked this book up to gain more knowledge and insights about doing business through the internet. I didn’t expect much from this book as it was published in 1999. And now 9 years forward, the internet has grown exponentially and is ubiquitous.

As this book was written when many still weren’t open to the power of the internet with its potential still pretty much left untapped, this book provides very outdated information. But it does present good case studies on why businesses have to tap on the internet in order to remain competitive in a global marketplace.

On my personal intake, I am more convinced that every business has to ride on the internet if it wants to thrive and be around for a long time as the internet has become so integrated in our daily lives that it is the very means to connect to your consumers or stakeholders.

Who should read it: If only you have no other book to read or else get an updated version.

My Easter Tribute to God

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Andrew Ong's Easter TestimonyDuring Easter Service on 23 March 2008, I was given the opportunity to share about my 8-year journey with God since the day I made a commitment to follow Him whole-heartedly.

This was my third time being able to testify of God’s love and power in my life to the congregation. And despite having to serve my reservist over that weekend, I was divinely granted permission to leave for that particular Sunday.

I recalled that my first time was sharing my conversion story through “The Time is Now” brochure in 2001. The second time was told by one of the Pastors through his sermon about living a life in God’s purpose with my testimony about my studies in 2006.

However, this third time was done with me sharing live on stage. It was special and I took it as a personal tribute to give God all glory as my Saviour and Lord.

Below is the recorded version of my Easter Testimony:

Discovering More of His Destiny

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PrayingLately, I have been led to pray even more as I learnt that prayer does wet one’s appetite for God’s presence and will in one’s life.

One’s spiritual hunger will always lead him/her to a prayerful life.

There must be more than this

For some time, I’ve realised that I have been hitting a plateau with my walk with God. This has caused a deep dissatisfaction within me.

“There must be more than this!”

“There must be more of God that I have yet experienced!”

“Teach me Lord how I can really live my faith and life with more of Your power whether it is in my workplace; in my bedroom; in church; with my friends or family!”

I know for a certain that there just have to more than this cos my God is a BIG God.

Pray, pray and PRAY

I am learning more how prayer is the “secret” of drawing near to God. Without God, I inevitably limit myself as I depend on my own strength without tapping on His supernatural resources.

Having a vision alone is not enough, we need passion to see it to fulfillment. And prayer is the key to sustaining that passion.

Prayer also helps me to be sure and clear of the path that I am threading as I hear His voice providing me direction and encouragement.

I need God

Albeit this period of uncertainty and barrenness, this has somehow dug deeper a spiritual hunger for more of Him. So I know this phase is good and I am earnestly praying and trudging towards where He is leading me step by step.

As quoted from a preacher, “Our spiritual appetite is vital in determining whether or not we turn out as a man of destiny or a man with a mediocre life.”

And I am determine to live out His destiny for my life for His redemptive purpose.

We Are to Engage the World

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“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept.

We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand.

Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

Matthew 5:14-16 (The Message)

Christianity: The Need for Relevance

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I believe the world that we live in needs to know how Christianity is indefinitely more than just another religion. Especially for those of us who profess Christ as Lord and Saviour, the onus is on us to accurately represent Christ in a way that is relevant and anew in this 21st century.

It is safe to say that majority of the unchurched view God as outdated, unexciting and boring. How do they formed such impressions?

The answer: The Church.

This surely is ironic and sad since the Church should actually be the truth bearers and for a fact, Jesus is certainly not outdated, unexciting and boring.

We are in the world, but not of the world

I think the problem starts when we Christians become too religious and focus on the do’s and don’ts. The deeds or the outward behaviour becomes the standard rather than the being.

As such, for many Christians, this world is something to stay away from. Everything in society—with all its sciences, philosophies and pop culture—is seen as the work of the devil; something profane and must be totally rejected. Since this world is not our home, we should have no ownership of material assets. As much as possible, we should not have any unnecessary contact with anything “secular.”

However, Jesus says to us, “We are in the world, but not of the world.”

So how can we live in the world, and not be of the world? How are we to be the head in the world, and not be the tail in the world? How are we to function in the world, have a relationship with it, and all the while not be influenced by it?

Understanding the “world”

Is the Bible confused concerning the world, blowing hot and cold at the same time? Hence, knowing the whole counsel of God ’s Word is very important. When the Scripture uses the word “world,” it could mean one of three things:

  1. The world is God’s created order (or masterpiece) for His own enjoyment– The Bible says that though the world is fallen, God still loves it. In fact, He loved it so much that He sent His Son to reconcile all things in the world back to Him (Col. 1:20). So this world, which God loves and Jesus saves, is not totally evil. But nevertheless, it suffers the effects of sin and the way sinners have treated it. Acts 3:21 says that the plan of God now or in this age is to restore all things to its original purpose and intention.
  2. The world also implies physical lands or nations- Jesus says that “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14). To Christ, used in this context, the world refers to countries and physical territories on planet Earth.
  3. The world is the realm of wickedness and prideful rebellion against God- In this wicked realm, Satan is its prince and god (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). This sinful realm constantly opposes God and persecutes the godly. It is this “world” of pride and rebellion that a believer must not conform his mind to (Rom. 12:2).

Evidently, there is an urgent need for us to change how we think and communicate the reality of Christ to the world. The gospel needs to be re-presented (with its biblical principles intacted), not just represented.

Being relevant and engaging the world

Personally, I believe that God wants the world to envy us (just as how it was depicted in the Old Testatment) and say to us: “We must have your way of life!” Yet, how many among the unchurched are actually jealous of Christians today?

Why aren’t the unbelievers rushing to church every weekend, or knocking on our doors saying, “Help me, I have to get into the kingdom of God! I want to be like you—happy, successful and creative!” Or have we presented Christianity in a way that is flaky, boring and ugly? Have we presented the kingdom of God to be so backward and irrelevant that the world doesn’t want any part of us?

Let us decide to be relevant to our society. We shouldn’t be afraid to engage a world that God has created and always loved. We should not be fearful to engage culture by being as creative, as colorful, and as progressive as we could possibly be for the glory of God.

We mustn’t shun the sciences and arts out there in the marketplace. Rather, we should work hard and excel in the arena of life God has planted us in. As we do that, we will become the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Ultimately, we will be able to bring many into the kingdom of God !