A Tribute to Parents

Hi Everyone,

Introduction
 
Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day are approaching again. Have we ever wondered how our lives would be, without the nurturing and disciplining of our parents? 

How about the values that we have inculcated through our parents?

• Integrity
• Honesty
• Diligence
• Perseverance / never give up attitude
• Street smart
• Unconditional and sacrificial love
• Law abiding citizen
• Importance of education
• Importance of health / sports
• Importance of creative arts such as music
  
• Lifelong learning

Content

There are times we take our parents for granted. We take for granted that they are always there for us. Recently and in the past few years, we are saddened to hear the passing away of people who are fathers and mothers in church as well as close to home. One of these were not due to old age or serious illnesses but we were shocked by sudden death of quite healthy people.

Respecting our parents and the elderly are good values that are present in our society. Filial piety is important, especially for Chinese communities. Honoring our parents is mentioned several times in the Bible. Firstly, it is the 5th commandment in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). Besides that, there is an entire section that describes the wife of noble character in Proverbs 31:10-31. Honoring our parents is mentioned to Ephesians 6:1-3 as well as the gospels.

Our parents are there when we need them especially when we were babies and when we were much younger. They were very worried when we were not feeling well or when we got hurt while playing outside or at home (fell down, concussions, injuries), and responded immediately by bringing us for treatment at the doctors during our childhood days. They brought us to have vaccinations. I had a surgery once after I hurt my chin after falling down from the sofa at an awkward position.

We should cherish our parents everyday. Parents are present in our lives but they will not be always there for us. We will reach a time when they are not around. There will be a point in time when we will make decisions on own.

Before I had my car, my parents were my chauffeur as they fetched me around to piano classes, Juliet McCully's speech and drama classes in Bangsar, swimming lessons, school, tuition, haircuts, friends' gathering, college, LRT stations and work. I still remembered calling and waited for my parents (either one or both of them) to come and pick me up after work. After I bought my car, my parents would come and pick me up using my car and I drove home until they are confident enough for me to drive on my own. I now offer to drive them during weekends or when I am around. It is the same for my sisters as well.

They are with us through happy, sad and difficult times. They are there to help us when we need help. I am sure some of you have parents who guided you in your studies during your SPM exams. Our parents can be more stressed than us when it comes to their children's studies. They worked hard to ensure their family live a comfortable life, have enough food to eat and have the necessities in life. They sacrificed their time and money to ensure that we had good education regardless of whether it is local or overseas. Overseas education is not cheap but some of them who have a better earning power will still send send us for overseas education to have a different experience. Regardless, we must appreciate our parents. They are there for our important milestone events of our lives such as our graduation, our marriage and the birth of their grandchildren Our parents are willing to take care of their grandchildren when we get married and have children of our own.

I may not be interested in playing the piano but I was glad to learn it and did not regret learning piano until Grade 6 and Grade 5 theory. I am still able to read the notes and play the piano if I want to. Please note that my piano skills is average only. My mom would like me to learn the piano and I appreciated and thanked her for that.

Do you remember when you had access to the Internet for the first time? Who decided to subscribe for an internet account? My mum was the one who decided to subscribe to Jaring. She was also the first in our family to use online banking. She could see that the Internet benefits our family, back when I was in primary school.

One of the Petronas Chinese New Year stories and the past Digi advertisements depicts the importance of spending time with the family. For the Petronas CNY commercial back in 2006, a group of 4 ladies at an old folks home were eating lunch. While eating lunch, 3 ladies in an old folks home were bragging on how successful their children are, some of them earning very well as a lawyer, a successful salesman selling Chinese herbs, a partner in an accounting firm and a cardiologist. When it came to the 4th lady called Eng, she told them that her son is coming. The scene ended with Eng's son arriving at the home to bring her to Cameron Highlands, together with his family. The other ladies' looked at Eng going to the car, feeling lonely, for their sons / daughters did not bother to come back to visit them. The commercial ended with this message "Love of a family is life's greatest blessing".



The Digi advertisement meanwhile talks about a dad who works hard for the family that he has no time for his daughter. His daughter was angry with him until his colleague asked him to go back. Family time is precious.

I understand why my parents are still concerned for us. We are precious to them.

Response / Conclusion

In a nutshell, everyday is Parents' Day. As we grow older, we are more independent but we should also be there for our parents. Therefore, we should spend more time with our parents and families when we can, whether we are single or married. We can spend time with our friends and colleagues but we must always remember our parents regardless of where we are.

This should be our response to our parents after they have brought us up from when we were babies to adults. 

Simple gestures can make a difference. We must always be there for them. We give them monthly allowances or pay bills after we started working. It is not an obligation but a response to their love for us. We can pray for them. We can send them messages to ask them how they are going on more frequently. We can have more meals together. We can be at home for important family events more often. If our parents or grandparents are at a nursing home / elderly home, we can visit them more often. We can bring them out more often. I help my parents with the computer / technology at home. We just need to show that we care. The presence of us being there with our families is important, especially to our parents, just as we need to them when we were growing up.

Also for Christians, our parents demonstrated their unconditional and sacrificial love for us just as God demonstrated His unconditional and sacrificial love for us. God is faithful and so do our parents. We heard of children rebelling against their parents but their parents, as well as our parents, if we did rebel against them, would journey together with all of us. Our parents still love us no matter what we did. They will not abandon us.

Here are some songs as a tribute to them:



 

Note: We should also cherish our siblings, relatives and our friends too but more so our parents for they brought us up.

Cheers,

Roger Koo

What Is Easter All About

The Easter weekend is here again. It is a remembrance on Good Friday and a celebration on Easter Sunday for Christians. Easter is another essential occasion for Christians besides Christmas.

Is Easter the prequel or sequel of Christmas? It is the sequel. As Christians, we celebrate the birth of Jesus during Christmas. However during Easter, we remember a pivotal event in the Bible, that is the death and the resurrection of Jesus, God's one and only son. This is the crux of Christianity.

Bad News

We have sinned by rejecting and disobeying God. Mankind has committed various despicable acts such as: 

• Sexual Immorality
• Adultery 
• Debauchery
• Idolatry 
• Obscenity
• Lust
• Envy
• Greed
• Rage 
• Selfish ambitions 

among others. There is no concept of "Small" sins or "Big" sins in God's eyes. All these angered God because God is a holy God and because of His holiness, the punishment for sinners is death.  We are all sinners and imperfect people. There is no one who is perfect and righteous except God. We are made to obey Him but we choose not to because we want to take control of our lives.

Good News

The good news is that God still loves us. He loves us so much that he sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to die on the heavy cross, bearing all our sins. Not only that, he resurrected after 3 days, conquering sin and death. He took the punishment for all our sins although He had no sin and defeated sin and death once and for all after He rose. We do not deserve this but God chooses to save us from our sins. God has forgiven our sins because Jesus has paid the price for each one of us. He does not remember our sins anymore. This is the main focus of Easter and the gist of Christianity as mentioned earlier. This is why the cross is an important element to Christians around the world. It not only reminds us of the suffering that He went through before He was crucified on the cross, but also the power of His resurrection, which results in the victory over sin and death, as well as the forgiveness of our sins.

Note:

There is a misconception that Christians are perfect people. This doesn't mean that Christians do not sin anymore after they believe in God. Our human nature is still to sin. However, as Christians, God gives each one of us the Holy Spirit when we believe and place our trust in Jesus. The Holy Spirit will transform us from inside out, help us to sin less and to love others more as we journey with God. All our character, actions and thoughts will be more and more like Jesus as we grow deeper into our relationship with God. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. This transformation is a gradual process throughout our life as Christians.

That is a summary of what Easter is all about

Here are some songs that we can listen and sing to during Easter:

The True Meaning of Christmas

Hi Everyone,

Christmas is the time where we receive presents especially children. Giving presents itself is not wrong but we also need to remember the real meaning behind Christmas. We need to know why Christians celebrate Christmas.

We celebrate Christmas to welcome the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus was born in a manger through the virgin birth of Mary in Bethlehem about 2015 years ago. The birth of Jesus came through Mary, a virgin who was pledged to be married to Joseph. Before they were married, Mary, a virgin¹, was pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Joseph, who was faithful with the law wanted to divorce her quietly when he heard about her pregnancy as it was shameful  for a lady to be pregnant before marriage. After considering this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him informing him that the baby his wife, Mary is conceiving is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and they are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.^2,3

I became a Christian by trusting Jesus as my God and Saviour during Easter 10 years ago. He is perfect and has no sin yet he bore the burden of our sins and chose to die on the cross for our sins, because of His deep and wide love for us. Jesus, who in very nature God, gave up his rights as God to fulfill the Father's will of saving mankind from sin. We are supposed to be at the cross to receive our punishment yet Jesus took them all. On the third day, He rose from the grave and sit at God's right hand. His resurrection proves that He has conquered sin and death. He died for all our sins regardless of who we are. All our sins are forgiven and we are made right in His eyes. We are saved by grace through our faith in God. He taught us to imitate Him, to be who He wants us to be. As we walk with God, we will bear his likeness and the fruit of the Spirit.

<sup>Below are the references to the birth of Jesus in the Bible. All of the verses are in the New International Version (NIV) translation.

Here are some related Bible verses that describes how God loves us:</sup> 

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, NIV, Bible Gateway)

Romans 5:8-9

⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
 ⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! (Romans 5:8-9, NIV, Bible Gateway)

Ephesians 2:8-9

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

(Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV, Bible Gateway)

1 John 4:16-19

¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

   God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

 ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:16-19, NIV, Bible Gateway)

Galatians 5:22-23

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

(Galatians 5:22-23, NIV, Bible Gateway)

Through our faith in God, we learn to be generous and kind. We are also told to be a cheerful giver. We can give Christmas gifts and yet we also need to remember the birth of our Lord Jesus. We can also remember the needy and help them as well during this period. We can pray for them so that they can find hope and peace with God.

I would like to share some Christmas songs with you this year:

Chris Tomlin - Adore

Chris Tomlin feat. Kristyn Getty - Silent Night

Chris Tomlin - Joy to the World - Unspeakable Joy

Paul Baloche - Hark The Herald Angels Sing



Avalon - We Are The Reason

Christina Perri - Happy Xmas War Is Over

That's all for now. 

Cheers,

Roger Koo

¹ Bible Gateway passage: Luke 1:26-38- New International Version

² Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 1:18-24  - New International Version

³ Bible Gateway passage: Luke 2:1-21  - New International Version

Father's Day

Hi Everyone,

We celebrate Father’s Day every 3^rd Sunday of June every year. This year, it falls on 15^th June 2014.

Fathers will always be there for their children. Together with mother, he brought us up to where we are now. He knows what is best for his children. He gives advice to his children. He works hard to earn a living for the family.

He willingly fetches his children to / from the places that they want to go. For example, friend’s house, piano lessons, swimming lessons, school, meet up with friends, tuition among others, airport. We can talk to him about technology, cars, sports and politics. He listens to the music that you listen to although he still listens to the classics. He follows what you are watching on the tv. He wants to know about technology.

He disciplines his children. He can spend the time to help to you pass the exams. He is willing to sit down with you and helps you with your studies. He knows about men’s fashion. He was the one who taught me how to tie my tie. He wants us to study well and know the importance of education in our lives. He supports our decisions if it is fine with him. He can manage his finances well. He plays sports with us. 

He guides you in your life. He tells you to drive carefully. He advises you not to mix with bad company. He wants you to be a gentleman.  He tells his children to be street smart in the working world. He knows what it’s like at work. It can be tough sometimes. He knows what it is like to work hard in his career. My dad tells us that drinking and smoking are bad for our health.

We love you, Dad.

Everyday is Parents' Day.

Here are some songs about fathers:

Boyzone - Father and Son

Michael Bolton - Butterfly Kisses

Harry Chapin - Cats In The Cradle