Kairos Spiritual Formation

According to Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas visited Pisidian Antioch on their first journey to Asia Minor, having first arrived in Perga on their journey from Cyprus. From Perga they would have followed the Via Sebaste to Antioch. The book of Acts states that on the sabbath Paul and Barnabas went to the synagogue in Antioch and were invited to speak to the people there. Their message was so well received that on the following sabbath �almost the whole city gathered� to hear them (13:44).

These troglodyte cave-cities were excavated as early as Hittite times, and expanded over the centuries as various marauding armies traversed Central Anatolia in search of captives and plunder. There are 36 underground cities in Cappadocia and the widest one is Kaymakli underground city, while the deepest is the Derinkuyu Underground City.

Antioch was one of the three largest cities of the Greco-Roman world, along with Rome and Alexandria. It was part of Syria and it was also known as Syrian Antioch or Antioch of Syria (there were at least 15 other cities named Antioch in the ancient world). Known as Antakya today in the Hatay province of southern Turkey. Photo shows entrance to St. Peter's Church.

Walking the Labyrinth with the Psalms

labyrinth at Lifesprings Canossian Spirituality Centre, Singapore

�O God, you will show me the path of life and fill me with joy in your presence.� Psalm 16:11

| 16 April 2013 | read more

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It is the human Jesus who resisted the temptations of Satan by his lived experience of the Scriptures. This gives us hope that we can resist temptations by (1) knowing ourselves; (2) developing a plan to resist; (3) avoid temptations; (4) resist and pray; and to (5) get the help of theirs.

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Conversations with my granddaughter: Shoes for the journey

photo credit: iStock Photo

Growing spiritually deeper in Christ may also be understood as growing deeper in faith, spiritual growth, maturing in Christ, discipleship, and Christian spiritual formation. I prefer the word Christian spiritual formation as we all are being spiritually formed from the moment of conception whether we know it or not. Our minds and hearts are continually being informed, formed and transformed by our parents, spouses, children, society, culture and many other influences we are exposed to everyday. Christian spiritual formation has the nuance that this formation and transformation is the result of the cooperation of the Holy Spirit and the person who is being formed.

Growing spiritually is co-partnering with the Holy Spirit to transform us by removing the veil and revealing the glory (Christ) that is within us. Growing deep in faith spiritual involves two components, three dimensions and four principles.

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The "Jesus Boat" and the Storms of Life

Return to our senses- a book review

Christine Sine, executive director, liturgist and chief gardener of Mustard Seeds Associates and her blog Godspace is a one of the innovators of the contemporary Christian contemplative tradition. In this delightful book which is aptly named Return to our senses: Re-imagining how we pray, Christine challenges our perception of how and why we pray. Christine argues that though there is great value in verbal prayers, there is more to praying than using our cognitive �senses.� To her, our sense of sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste are also means to praying.

| 4 December 2012 | read more

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We are God�s witnesses. The world will mostly know God though what we reveal to them through our lives as His witnesses. To be effective witnesses, we need to see through the eyes of faith.

Baby Hatch

Baby hatch, OrphanCARE, Malaysia

There may be an unidentified epidermic of infanticide in the country. Occasional cases come to light when the victims (dead newborn/babies) are discovered in the trash, drain, toilet, bags and other places and are reported in the press. The mothers are often unmarried adolescents who became pregnant and did not know what to do with their unwanted pregnancies.

Science and Christianity

| 19 August 2012| read more

Spiritual Blindness

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Soul Care: The Art and Science of Spiritual Direction Course

A Good Deed Remembered

Every time I read the account of how the brave men of Jabesh-Gilead went by night and climb the city walls to cut down the bodies of Saul and his sons, I cannot help but wonder why would they do that? Infiltrating an enemy fortified city is dangerous work and all these just to ensure four dead bodies has a decent burial? I also wondered why any of King Saul's mighty men did not attempt to salvage their king's honour? An incident early in 1 Samuel 11 in Saul's life threw some light on the events.

| 24 June 2012 | read more

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Mentoring and Spiritual Formation

In Homer's great epic, the Odyssey, Odysseus, king of Ithaca, sets sail to lay siege to Troy, leaving behind a young wife and an infant son, Telemachus. However, he also leaves behind his trusted friend to instruct, train and guide his son to be the future king. "I leave with you this son, whom I so tenderly love; watch over his infancy if you have love of me, keep flattery far from him; teach him to vanquish his passions." This man's name is Mentes (Greek) or Mentor (Latin). Thus the word "mentor" entered the English language. A mentor, as defined by the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, is a trusted counselor or guide. A person who is being mentored is called a prot�g�.

| 12 June 2012 | read more

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Why will you climb a tree?

Last year, I made plans to travel to New York in the middle of winter to attend a 2 days retreat with Eugene Peterson. The fact that there will be 200 other pastor-leaders present did not deter me. It will be unlikely that Eugene will have time to spend personally with me. What did deter me were the comments of one of my friends. While not specifically referring to my decision, he mentioned the word �celebrity-sighting.� Maybe Zacchaeus was also afflicted with a similar condition of �celebrity sighting�. He must have heard of this miracle working itinerant Rabbi with a large following. Maybe he just wanted a glimpse of this man. So knowing Jericho, he chose a good vintage point � a sycamore tree. This is the tree we were brought to see in Jericho. Now the poor tree must be the most photographed tree in the world (if it is the correct tree!)

| 15 June 2012 | read more

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Petra

Mt. Nebo

Mt Nebo is 1,000 meter-high mountain at the northern end of he Dead Sea. Presently it is sited in modern Jordan. At it peak, we can see across the Jordan valley to Jericho (City of Palms) and Jerusalem. We can also see the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. On a clear day, the site offers a panoramic view of the land that God has promised to the Israelites. Moses must have very good eyesight to see to the very borders of the Promised land!

|posted 2 June 2012| read more

Madaba Mosaic Map

Madaba is about 32 km south of Amman. It was a Moabite town that was captured from Sihon the Amorite by the Israelites (Num 21:30). We went there to see the Madaba Mosaic Map. This map is a floor mosaic on the floor of St. George�s Greek Orthodox Church which was built over a Byzantine church which was erected around the 6^th century. It is believed to be the oldest surviving map of the Holy Land. As buildings erected in Jerusalem after 570 CE are conspicuously absent, it was probably created between 542 and 570 CE. The floor mosaic was rediscovered in 1896.

| posted 2 June 2012 | read more

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Rabbath Ammon

Amman is the capital of Jordon. Jordan is mainly desert except for the Jordan valley which is watered by the River Jordan and is a fertile area which produces fruits and vegetable. The ancient people of Jordon are the Ammorites who are the descendents of Ben-Ammi, the son of Lot and his younger daughter (Gen.19:38). The son of Lot and his older daughter is Moab who is the father of the Moabites (Gen. 19:37).The land of the Moabites lies between the Amorites in the north and Edomites (descendent of Esau) in the south. All these people provided challenges to the Israelites, the descendents of Abraham during the exodus. Somehow ancient quarrels are never forgotten. Saul protected Jabesh-Gilead against Nahash, king of the Ammon (1 Sam. 11:1ff) which made him a popular hero, popular enough to be confirmed as king.

| posted 1 June 2012 | read more

My Pilgrimage to Baitumagdis- The Choice

My country, Malaysia, does not recognised the political nation of Israel and hence we, Malaysian, are not allowed to visit Israel. There is only one country which was printed in our passport which we cannot visit � Israel. So it was with joy that I learnt last year that Malaysia has begun to issue special pilgrim permits to Christians to visit Israel for religious pilgrimage.

| posted 30 May 2012| read more

Is Dr Google My Competitor?

Increasingly, I find that many of my patients' parents have googled their children's problems before bringing them to see me in my clinic. Gradually, I have been eased from being the first and primary source of healthcare information by Dr Google. Should I be concerned?

| 03 May 2012| read more

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So You Want to be a Doctor?

This is a letter written by my dear friend, Assoc. Prof. Wong from Monash University Malaysia in response to an inquiry by Daryl.

Dear Daryl,

Your aunt has asked that I share with you my thoughts on medicine and medical education today.

|19 Apr 2012| read more

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Jesus� temptation in Gethsemane is the crisis point in salvation history and encourages us to watch and pray.

Rest in God's Heart

I slept, but my heart was awake. (Song of Solomon 5:2 RSV)

Will you be my Valentine?

Random Musing on Valentine�s Day 2012

Valentine's Day, was a Christian feast day, usually observed on February 14 honoring one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine. There are numerous early Christian martyrs who were named Valentine which includes Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni. Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred about AD 269. Valentine of Terni was bishop of Interamna about AD 197 and may have been martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian. The feast day was first established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD, and was later deleted from the General Roman Calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI.

| 14 February 2012 | read more

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