A Video Clip from Younger Leaders Gathering, Malaysia 2006

Thank you Bruce for emailing me this link. Although the clip itself is very much a low quality, Malaysia 2006 was a high point in my life, an event that accelerated the work of God in and through me. Some one once said, i think it's C.S Lewis...and i am paraphrasing it...we some times experience a simple, ordinary moment without knowing that therein is wrapped destiny.

The African Worship was a sensory experience, worth sharing again with the world. So to all YLGers out there, may you take your place in this life, live it fully, experience it joyfully and leave very little or no room for regrets. We are called to shine, to reflect His glory through simply living the life that honours Christ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqWjbVMREJ8

Drool and Dirt: A Gross God?

Imagine standing in line for prayer and the minister walks up to you, spits in her palm and touches you with that cold, smelly, jelly fluid? Perhaps screaming and spinning in disgust is an appropriate response.

In John 9:1-7, we read a puzzling story of a blind man. For starters, the cause of his blindness was up for guess work…sinful parents? serious birth defects? God’s glory? Then there’s the very murky, shady healing approach by Jesus. He spat on the ground, made clay art from it (yuck!) and placed it on the blind man’s eye. Perhaps, this man’s life didn’t need extra humiliation, due to his shame, pain and rejection. I must add that this does not fit the image of Jesus, the pretty blond blue eyed buddy, who is depicted as stately, regal, charming and oh-so-wow all the time!
In my culture, to spit in front of someone is considered as very offensive, not to mention dipping your finger in it, mixing it with dirt, another rude symbol, and placing it on someone. Surely there must have been some more fancy method to the madness? A more decent way to heal this blind man in public? Was Jesus simply stretching his creative boundaries? Throwing the box? Manufacturing drama?
According to sabbatical laws, no work at all! No one is permitted to bake, mix or mould anything on the Sabbath. Jesus decides to mix saliva in public (case #1), sends him to go wash (case #2).
In this controversial episode, I believe there is far more than what meets the eye. I must admit that most of the messages I have heard on this subject have sounded rather bland, clichéd and colourless. Today’s culture attempts to filter out rich layers of reality from the context of how life was in Jesus’ days. One theological school of thought says that “it was a symbolic use of fluid – representing washing, cleansing…He did it in order to teach us that we who are spiritually blind are under the curse of God. We are an abomination to God. We are dead in our sins…
In one similar healing story found in Mark 8:23-25, he spat directly in a man’s face to heal him, yet in another found in Mark 10:52, only faith healed the man. So you must have noticed that Jesus varied his healing methods, why?

From some of the extra readings I do through my delicious ESV bible study, I stumbled into the “Testament of Solomon”. Disclaimer here: I am not recommending that the content therein is the word of God. I simply found interesting comments pertaining to spitting on the ground, and some scary instances of how King Solomon fought spiritual warfare with demons. The Bottom-line is, there were layers of superstitious acts and beliefs prevalent in those days. Do you remember the story of Moses and the magicians? The Jews many times wondered where His powers were from (Mark 11:28). Magic was the norm, even though Jewish law prohibited various forms of sorcery, witchcraft or divination. The authorities wanted to discern whether he was a fake or a true prophet of God. Talking about superstitions,
Spitting is also used as a prophylactic against the evils of coveting, sorcery and the evil eye. When speaking of evil and of evil things, the early Hebrews would press one thumb on the ground, repeat the word "Pipi" nine times and spit. Another method is to spit at the object and utter the word "Maris." Spitting on one's breast was supposed to avert the Jealousy of the gods. The Bible records innumerable instances of its superstitious use by the Hebrews and its symbolic personification. It states that if the father of Miriam (the wife of Moses) had spat in her face when she was born, she would not have contracted leprosy. In parts of Ireland even today, a newborn child is spat on by its father; neighbors spit on the child for luck the first day it is brought out; and the older women spit on the ground all around it to ward off evil.

From the excerpt above, how do you think Jesus was perceived? I believe in most instances, Jesus was a borderline legal case for the authorities. He pushed the envelope, heightened their paranoia by rubbing their fears in. See what Matthew 12:22 says:
“Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed…

jump to verse 24:
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said “it is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons that this man casts out demons.”

All I can say is that I like this man. They could question his methods, but one thing remained unmistakable, Jesus knew who He was, and what He was doing. He was God at work without a formula or presciption!