Of Demons & Angels

There’s an evil spirit under my bed…!!!! Or so I thought when I was shaken silly last night just as I was about to fall into slumber. I began to pray aloud in tongues. Binding & rebuking demons, commanding the shaking to stop. And it did. So I relaxed & was about to snooze when my phone rang. It was Andy, my 15th floor neighbour, asking me where I was & why I hadn’t gotten out of my apartment. Huh? I got dressed in lightning speed & grabbed my laptop, passport, GPS & mosquito repellent in the dark. In crisis relief management, I was taught to have my rations bag ready for evacuation. Let’s just say that I was half ready. I left my rations bag in the dark while trying to ‘escape’ from my apartment. Upon reaching ground, many other residents were already out. Some were without shoes. Andy & Nita headed off downhill with their cat, Moggie. I was waiting for Lenny, my brother in Christ on the 15th floor too. Then I got a call from TV Smith, “Chaad, are you at sea??? There’s been tremors all over Penang & KL, are you alright?” “Chaaaaad! My bed shook & I’m evacuating now. I’m fine. What’s happening?” He replied, “Earthquake, Chaad. I’m online & will update you soon. Be safe ok? I gotta alert the rest. Bye, Chaad.” “Byeee…thanks, Chaad!” By now, I really don't care if it was the demons that were under my bed or if I were in need of deliverance. It can't be so coincidental that the earthquake that triggered the tsunami fell on the day after Christmas & this earthquake I'd just experienced, happens to be a day after Easter. Perhaps God is reaffirming something... Tell us, When shall all these things be? And what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? And Jesus answering them began to say, Beware that no one deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I AM, and shall deceive many. And when you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled. For it must happen, but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall be earthquakes in different places, and there shall be famines and troubles. These things are the beginnings of sorrows. But take heed to yourselves. For they shall deliver you up to sanhedrins, and in the synagogues you shall be beaten. And you shall be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. But whenever they lead you away and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what you should speak or think. But speak whatever shall be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speaks, but the Holy Spirit. And a brother will betray a brother to death, and a father his son. And children will rise up against their parents and will cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake, but he enduring to the end, that one will be kept safe. But when you see the abomination of desolation, that spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let him who reads understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. And let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not turn back again in order to take up his garment. But woe to those with babe in womb, and to those who give suck in those days! And pray that your flight is not in the winter. For in those days shall be affliction, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never shall be. And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, whom He has chosen, He has shortened the days. And then if anyone shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ! Or, lo, there! Do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will give miraculous signs and wonders in order to seduce, if possible, even the elect. But take heed; behold, I have told you all things beforehand. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of Heaven shall fall, and the powers in the heavens shall be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He shall send His angels and shall gather His elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven. And learn the parable of the fig-tree: when her branch is still tender and puts out leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, at the doors. Truly I say to you that this generation shall not pass away until all these things occur. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father. Take heed, watch and pray, for you do not know when the time is. As a man going away, leaving his house, and giving authority to his servants, and each man's work to him, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Then you watch, for you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, at evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or early; lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all. Watch. Mark 13:4 – 37 Anyway, the perceived 'demons' had come from an incident during the day. I got a phone call from Ken asking me to pick him up from Damansara Utama to Jalan Ipoh. Ken had never asked me for favours & I reckoned it must have been really urgent so I went. We haven’t seen each other for quite some time so we did some catching up. When we got to the car showroom, he asked me to be in there with him. I asked him what’s the story or if he had wanted me to negotiate with the sales people. Then he briefed me about his suspicion of dishonesty in the sales girl handling the purchase of his car. He had been waiting 3 months & no car. He was just uneasy about the deal. Hmmm.....I'd just been dragged into battle. So we entered this massive showroom. The sales girl wasn’t in. We were invited to the manager’s room. It must have been a good one hour of argument with the manager to maintain our intentions of buying the car but not getting the car. In the course of his dealings with this sales girl, Ken was offered other colours & make to substitute for the non-availability but even when he compromised on accepting a different model, he still didn’t get his car. Upon checking with other showrooms of the same manufacturer, it was confirmed that the particular model/colour in question was indeed in production. To our horror, the manager showed his system’s records that Ken’s order had been cancelled on 7th March! Of course, here I was, not knowing the full story, insisted that it made no sense to have a cancellation after being made to wait for 3 months. Throughout the 'arguement,' I noticed the manager's tie, was filled with tiny crucifixes. Could he be a Christian too? I'd rather be volunteered that information as I'd been insinuating that he was a Liar, Liar, pants on fire kind of bloke. I suggested to have lunch first as the sales girl was being summoned to return to showroom. On our way to lunch, Ken mentioned that the sales girl had told him that she had transferred the order to another dealer in order for him to get his car. I flipped. He didn’t want to get her into trouble. It was a clear case of CRIMINAL BREACH OF TRUST. Then I made it known to him that we, as Christians, should uphold righteousness & honesty in the workplace & in all our dealings. The consequences of the sales girl’s actions, will cause others to have a very bad view of Christians. To have him keep quiet, meant that he was advocating the crime! I felt bad for him at the same time as he had sold his car & was without transport for the last 3 months. So we committed it to the Lord. We prayed & asked for wisdom in handling this issue as I precipitated the matter earlier by implying that the manager was lying to customers. We asked God to clothe us with the armour of God, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the gird of truth, the sandals of peace & the sword of the Spirit which is in the word of God as we prepared ourselves for the spiritual battle ahead. There was no way Ken would be getting a car in the way things were heading. Even if he received a refund, he would have to waste time in booking & waiting for the delivery of the car from a different showroom. It was a no-win situation. We asked God to help us get the truth exposed & obtain the car by honest means. We asked for His presence to guide the deal according to His will. This brings to mind, the time when Elisha was going into battle. And the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that you do not pass such a place, for the Syrians have come down there. And the king of Israel sent to the place of which the man of God told him and warned him, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. And the heart of the king of Syria was enraged for this thing. And he called his servants and said to them, Will you not show me which of us isfor the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king, but Elisha the prophet, who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom. And he said, Go and spy where he is, so that I may send and bring him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. And he sent there horses and chariots and a great army. And they came by night and surrounded the city. And the servant of the man of God arose early and went out. And, behold, an army surrounded the city, and horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master! What shall we do? And he answered, Do not fear, for those with us are more than those with them. And Elisha prayed and said, I pray You, Lord, open his eyes so that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And they came down to it, and Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, I pray You, strike this people with blindness. And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 2 Kings 6:8 – 18 ‘Those with us’ clearly depicted the warring angels that surrounded & protected Elisha. We have been given charge of angels to war & battle on our behalf as they protect us. And it shall be that we walked into the manager’s room in the presence of the sales girl & Ken proceeded to tell the truth as a God-fearing Christian. I just agreed to not say anything. When the sales girl started to confess that it was her boyfriend, a used car dealer, who cancelled Ken’s booking for him & wanted to snitch the sale, the manager immediately picked up the phone to order a unit of Ken’s desired model with the manufacturer with great urgency. The order was reinstated. Battle control terminated. The Lord was clearly present in the room with us. Victory belongs to Him. Ken will finally get his car in a week.

A Handful of Nails

Pulau Bidung Monument

I had wanted to visit Pulau Bidung’s wrecks for a long time. It was out of bounds to civilians until the 90’s but then, being an enthusiastic diver wanting to go to a forbidden place may not receive similar response from dive operators & fellow divers. I was asked to conduct a Rescue Diver course for Lindy Edwards on board a ship on one fateful weekend of August 2003, where the ship had no other customers except us. Somehow, some of their bookings were cancelled & the ship was docked in Pulau Bidung, with a chaser boat sending us out for every dive. I was still in primary school when the Vietnamese sought asylum in our country. I barely understood the significance of the boat people then but when I made the dives on the wrecks just at the bay of Pulau Bidung, images of the lives of these people flashed in my mind. There were lots of crockery, some buried in the sand. And I am guilty of picking up a souvenir. There were old cauldrons. An earthen stove that’s before my time. Oil drums. Anchors. Household utensils which I’m sure, many had been salvaged by other divers before me. The boats were of a different shape, unlike boats from our country. To have the boats sunken in such a haste really struck me. They must’ve been so afraid to be made to leave the island that they destroyed their own mode of transportation to be marooned. A sense of grief struck me. How fortunate are we Malaysians not having to worry about running away from our own country. I felt grieved & relieved at the same time as God said to me I was born here for a reason just as the Vietnamese were born there for another. To have lived the extremities & tasted the bitterness, not many lived to tell. Since the story had been highlighted in the newspaper, it just confirmed everything that I had felt while I was amidst the total wreckage (more than 15 boats)then. May God grant the survivors favour & blessings for all their future undertakings. You can see my underwater pictures here

Man Of My Dreams

The Real Phantom! The epitome of a true man! A woman’s man! And a man’s man! Man, is Gerard Butler handsome or what?!? His depiction of phantom is so full of that L-factor that when our performing arts cast went to watch it, some of the expressive ones broke into song while I just sat there & swooned. He is one of the few who could melt me & make me malleable….wow! I thought I only get this feeling with Bollywood movie stars with the likes of Abishek Bachan, Sharukh Khan & Hrithik Roshan. What happened here??? I must regain my composure…ahem…mmm….now where were we? Days when Sarong Party Girls never got the light of day for their Mat Salleh-totting ways (Mat Salleh is a slang for Caucasians), the Boh-Sia (literally means ‘no-sound’) in the streets of KL caused a stir when they would have sex freely & for free. Friends back then would always say to Mat Salleh-totters, ‘Are all Asian men dead or dying?’ to voice their displeasure & biasness towards Asian men. Let me stress that this is not a racial issue but merely to point out ‘the men’ from the men. These men friends get so upset when they hear/know of cases of neglect & heartbreak on their Asian girl friends by their expatriate boyfriends. So it’s no surprise that when the books, SARONG PARTY GIRL, THE REVENGE OF THE SARONG PARTY GIRL, THE SPG RIDES AGAIN were published, they were well received. Expats have been known to have caused so much grievances to the hopefuls who think that they may be tickets out of the country. I know of some very loving Expat-Asian couples who have weathered storms & such but they are few & far between. So who can be the man of my dreams, when I have to battle with differentiating the real guys from the fake guys, the macho singles from the married super-machos, the touchables from the untouchables. These will be explained in the following paragraph. Scientifically, looks & physical assessment has been found to be the determining factor for people to select their mates to produce good offsprings. Somehow, this biological programming in our bodies often deceives us when we are looking for a soul-mate. Harry-chest & whatever-turn-you-ons aside, how many guys actually take the time to woo the ladies & win her heart for life? Well, this question depends upon the values that one is holding about marriage & life. Take for example, the Hit & Runs, the Wham Bam Slams & the Meow-Meows. First, we identify the FAKES. They dress to the nines to impress but they are all borrowed stuff. They make up fancy job titles. They try to be somebody they are not. They make you pay on dates. The Bible says that women are to experience the grace of life. Equality is something that the devil has put in the minds of females to liberalise themselves, so to speak, but in actual fact, it is a direct contravention of God’s teaching. We should seek equal opportunities, equal rights for an education, equal pay, equal benefits, equal views & equal respect but equality does not mean that we should be EQUAL TO MEN. An apple does not need to be equal to an orange because they each have their own attributes to make them unique & taste the way they do. When I want to eat an apple, I expect the apple to taste like one. Just like I only have oranges in juice form & no other way. So it would not be right to outdo men (though most times we do & can do far better but this is not a question of competition) or do what they rightfully should do when taking girls out. There won’t be a second date if I have to pay. In my course of work before, I often have to have dinners to elaborate on work & most often, I get ‘taken out’ instead of the opposite, with the client. A brief insight to who goes to these dinners, there are the exceptionally gentlemen who would open doors, seat you at the table, order whatever you want & asks real questions to get to know you. Some of these genuine people have become friends for life. Prospect? None. They are married. They fall under the ‘married super-machos’ category. They can afford anything, take you anywhere, (Chieng Mai for golf?) & offer a lot to please you. They are covetous. They want you all to themselves. The moment I know that they are married, I always insist on having others accompany these dinners. Then there are those who trust you so much that they would take you to meet their wives…..then take you along to dinners to be with their mistresses so that they can use you as an ally when their wives raise suspicion. I guess there is some truth to married men being able to understand women better & know how to treat them well……they want to treat every woman that way too. However, they are out of bounds & I am very familiar with their modus operandi. Doesn’t turn me on one bit. I don’t want to go to hell. Then comes those whom you know, are single, unattached, very eligible & are great friends. You love them dearly. You think of them when you want to watch a silly movie, a cartoon or do anything for the weekend. I mean, really great friends where you can hang out together with no apprehension, inhibitions & what not. When you are down, they are readily available to cheer you up, to cook you a scrumptious meal, to assure you they are still there as your friend even though your boyfriend is not anymore. After 5 years of that, you begin to wonder why there hasn’t been any love interest in their lives at all. You feel that you know them well but not enough to ask about their single status. You begin to wonder if they are GAY. You hope not. You can’t ask because you don’t want to ruin the friendship. You begin to feel for them. You begin to wonder why you had never thought of them romantically before. Have they become the UNTOUCHABLES? From all the do & ditch (a better term for Hit & Run) testimonies in Cleo & other girly magazines, instances of those on the prowl will seek out easy targets for one-night stands. Those who stopover from other countries, in transit or in for short term visits will almost definitely be like a sailor on every port…..seeking out Susan. If they are polite & pay for services, they would be looking for the nearest red light districts, if more polished, at expatriate-frequented pubs in Bangsar & wait for the unsuspecting Mat Salleh-Seeker to make contact. Usually, these types of Wham-Bam-Slams are often the rejects themselves. If they are lucky, they might find one to settle down with, if not, they just have to settle it themselves. That leaves us now with the Meow-Meows. What has cats got to do with this issue of finding that dream man? Well, surely you must have heard in your lifetime, a Tom cat meowing away when Tabby’s on heat. Sensing the need to mate, the Tabby may or may not be receptive to the Tom who thinks he’s so desirable. Then what does Tom do? He meows his heart out, pulling up every trick from his sleeve, whether in truth & sincerity or in falsehood & captivity, Tom’s objective is to get the pussy. No time spent in getting to know Tabby or to love Tabby, Tom just wants to be Tom. In light of the many flaws in the process of finding the man in question, I have thought about what this man should be. This will then narrow down my selection criteria to weed out the Hit & Runs, Wham Bam Slams & Meow-Meows. It would be great if he would run to the pharmacy in the midst of his work to get you a bottle of ProBiotics when he’s found out you had food poisoning the day before. If he would spent time learning about your interest & what matters most to you. If he would detect the slightest hint of trouble from your voice over the telephone. If he would not let you carry heavy stuff. If he would tell you stories to keep you interested. If he would take you back to his hometown & endure teasing from his family members for doing touristy stuff with you like picking rubber seeds in rubber estates & playing with chickens in the farm. If he would hike up to almost the peak of Gunung Ledang waterfalls to soak your troubles away with you in the cool rushing waterfalls. If he would call you when he’s halfway across the world from you. If he would find an excuse to wine & dine you even if there’s no occasion. If he would call you when he has a matter to think about. If he would wait patiently for you to browse the lingerie section while you try to decide which one. If he would forego business lunches to eat with you instead. If he would send you flowers because he thought of you. If he would write you long letters even though you live in the same city. If he would remember birthdays, anniversaries & important dates. If he would have a heart for the faith you have in you. If he would propose to you not because he thinks he can live with you but because he can’t live without you. If……so many ifs. I figured this man can only be found in one other person besides God. And he’s here.

It is...

...very...

...clear...

...that we are...

....more....

....blessed....

.....than they. Whenever I'm sent pictures like these to remind me of what a wonderful life I have, I thank God for putting me in my mother's womb when I was thought of. I thank God that I had a good education & am able to think & fend for myself. I thank God for the burden He has placed upon my heart to reach out to the unreached & stretch forth my hand to those who need it. I may be only one but I thank God for the multitude of people whom He had sent to me to make things possible for His Kingdom. I live but once. I want to make it count. I want to be able to move in accordance to His will. I thank God to be alive.

The Measure of Success

Shark's Purse!

Nokia phones. The latest & hippest. Power packed notebooks. PDAs. Armani suits. Tickets to the philharmonic orchestra. Going to the philharmonic orchestra. Titles on your name cards. Titles to your name. Titles for your properties. Invitation to grand openings. Invitations to grace openings. Celebrity status. Celebrity circles. Magazine interviews. To London for lunch & back. A week at a French Polynesian island. Having your own island. Being a jet setter. Jet setting on your own jet. A dream life?

The world tells us to achieve this much, enjoy this much, obtain great things & reign over others to be significant. What this world has done is, give birth to a society of user or loser mentality where you get as much out of them before they can get anything out of you. Life on the fast track has become a life of chasing fortune that you would leave for your children to squander away. Your choice of friends would be among the high flying elites of the Tattler-kind. One who overflows with an accent, artificial or otherwise. The flashy recent new rich, driving flashy new cars with flashy rims & leather interiors. Suddenly it’s so hip to hang around the So & Sos. Members of private golf clubs. Residents of elite neighbourhood. Cigar-totting chaps who burn away a couple of thousand dollars of Chivas or Martell a night. A lifestyle that would require you to live beyond your means only to laden you with bills that you can’t upkeep. And leave you with superficial friends who think you might be useful to have around. For now.

I used to think that all that was the norm having grown up in a club that provided all the convenience of my healthy pursuits in sports & all of my so-called friends. Unfortunately, they only talk about where they’ve been shopping, what holidays they took with their parents’ money & the hairdresser’s appointment that would be the highlight of their week. It’s great to pamper yourself but when you close your mind to what’s happening in the world, what’s there left to appreciate? At the time, I was very concerned about the environment. I was also involved with speaking up for animal rights. I used to write in to the newspapers. The radio station, Blue Network, what Radio 4 was known by then, used to read out my letters before a song. I would talk about environmental issues. These seemed trivial to my shopaholic childhood friends whom I was happy to outgrow. I had to work & earn my way. To me, there was certainly more to life than wearing branded clothes & having high tea at Regent Hotel every Saturday. I needed to find my way in the world where I would achieve great things. Do the impossible. Break records. Perform feats. Anything. The need to prove myself in the world was so great that it overwhelmed me. I wanted to win prizes for my pursuits. I wanted recognition.

I was diving when I found a shark’s purse (egg casing of sharks that look like a lady’s purse). I was elated, not to mention, screaming for joy at the life that hatched judging by the empty, broken case. Then I thought about success. This must have been the most successful for the sharks, to survive against the odds of shark finning, coral reef decimation, predatory fear of other sharks… The definition falls by far of the human standard of success which is measured by wealth, fame & fortune. By class, creed & caste. Worst still, if you are in India, you are doomed to fail if you belong to the lower castes. How such a simple thing as finding a shark’s purse can bring so much excitement to me. I was going to tell everyone about this life that had been born! Rare enough that we see sharks in our waters but to discover life is really something. I had to rethink success. I have the privilege of learning a great deal about the ocean & about life. What would happen if I take that to the grave with me? It isn’t about going out with So & So or be seen with Who & Who for the sake of being a somebody, it’s about how you live life. My goodness, how on earth did I take so long to discover that? It’s about what you make of your life. It’s about how you share the marvels of life with others. It’s about how I should share my fantastic experiences & amazing discoveries with people who care to listen. It’s about sharing the gospel. God has enabled me with gifts that would benefit His people. And I’m going to share it. The shark will not do well if it remains in the purse. It has to break out & live. Only then will it find success for its species.

For I am already being poured out, and the time of my release is here. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. Now there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that Day; and not to me only, but also to all those who love His appearing. 2 Tim 4:6 - 8

Feed the flock of God among you, taking the oversight, not by compulsion, but willingly; nor for base gain, but readily; nor as lording it over those allotted to you by God, but becoming examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory. 1 Peter 5:2 – 4

I think the crowns would be more than anything man could ever give me. In knowing what I’m running the race for, has redefined my measure of success.