Ruth Made Simple, by Dr. Anthony Loke

Ruth Made Simple by Dr. Anthony Loke, RM15 at Pustaka SUFES

If you enjoyed Dr. Anthony Loke's speaking at our webinar on the Book of Micah, or if you're looking for a deeper understanding of books in the Old Testament, do check out his latest book on Ruth, going at RM15 at Pustaka SUFES.

10% discount and FREE delivery when ordering 10 copies or more*!

Dr. Anthony Loke is an independent scholar, researcher, author, and lecturer. He holds a PhD in Old Testament from the University of Wales, UK. HE was a pastor for 32 years, out of which he served 19 years as a full-time lecturer in a local seminary. He is presently an adjunct lecturer with BCM and AOIC. He has authored 13 books.

Pustaka SUFES
Address: 354, Jalan 5/57, Bukit Gasing, 46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Phone: 03-7782 8239
Email: pusufesm@gmail.com

*Do mention that this info is from Dr. Anthony Loke when placing your order

Resilience and the Expanding Kingdom

by Melba Padilla Maggay, February 24, 2020
This article has been previously published by Micah Global, but it is a wonderful expression of the story that God is weaving, even as the travails of 2020 continue to reach unprecedented levels. Who could have known that nearly a year later from this article's first publication, the coronavirus would be touching 100 million infected? What then is the church's role, our role, in God's story?

It has been a slam-bang beginning. This early, we have seen the ravages of wounded nature fighting
back. Bushfires raging without letup in the wild outback of Australia. Taal volcano erupting, spewing a black plume of cloud-like ash falling on miles and miles of towns and cities. The novel coronavirus killing hundreds in Wuhan and spreading silently and quickly its deadly menace across the globe.

All these, plus the never-ending wrongs inflicted by corrupt governments in rogue states and the dying of democracy in this country -- the oldest republic in Asia -- and elsewhere.

In times like this it is easy to bury our heads in the sand and make what some call ‘a separate peace.’ In the face of despotic governance, many take to the high seas like our sea-faring ancestors who fled from the rule of the fabled Majapahit empire. We do not revolt; we just migrate to other climes.

Church people see in all these signs of the ‘end times.’ Some see no reason for re-arranging social reality; it is a dying world, it is said, let us just evangelize and save as many as we can from this sinking ship.

This line of thinking misunderstands the nature of our good news. The gospel is not just about securing a ticket to heaven. It is about making this earth a bit more like heaven.

When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples, he told them to bring this message to the lost sheep of Israel: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ The longed-for restoration of the Davidic kingdom, the best in their memory of what a good government is like, has come in the person of the Messiah Jesus.

The good news is that a new social order is coming into being, this time backed up by supernatural signs and wonders: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.” (Matthew 10.7-8) With the coming of Jesus, the powers of heaven have descended. A new reign of justice and righteousness has begun.  

This new order inaugurated by Jesus is here now, though in many ways hidden. It becomes visible when the people of God behave like true people of the Kingdom – fighting injustice, treating with kindness and compassion those in the margins, and walking with God in such a way that we ourselves are transformed. (Micah 6.8)

At the end of the day, the story that God is weaving through the travails of our time is our own re-making as a grand ‘poem’ – a ‘workmanship,’ created and crafted by the Lord Jesus for the good work he has prepared for us beforehand. (Ephesians 2.10)

This ‘good work’ is not just the bits and pieces we do as good disciples in our lives and professions, but no less than the making of “a new heaven and a new earth.” We have been saved, not just to sit around and wait for the rapture or some such thing, but to storm the gates of hell in this sad earth. The church is not just a hospital for the walking wounded, but an army, tasked with reclaiming, inch-by-inch, territory already won by Jesus on the cross. We are to be at the center of the fray, battling against principalities and powers that are entrenched in our systems and institutions. For this reason we need to be spiritually resilient, strengthened by the Spirit and wielding the Word as a mighty sword that pierces through all sorts of fake news.

The end of this story, we are told, is that we shall be like a spotless Bride coming down from heaven, inhabiting a new Jerusalem set in a new earth that we shall inherit.  (Rev.21.1-7)

The Bible tells us that we are not really going anywhere, but here. In Jesus, heaven has come down, and the kingdoms of this world are becoming the kingdom of our God. (Rev.11.15)

Melba Padilla Maggay
President, Micah Global 

This article is part of a series written by various authors after a Christian Writing for Advocacy Workshop organised by Micah Global, Malaysian CARE, and CTI in mid-2019. Dr. Melba Padilla Maggay assisted in conducting this session. 

Dr. Maggay (right) reviews some writing during the workshop with a participant. Source: Malaysian CARE

Integral Mission #1: Getting started

 

Welcome to this series on Integral Mission

Integral mission means following Jesus with our whole lives. Proclaiming and demonstrating the love of God in the same way that Jesus did during his time on earth. 

We begin this series by looking at the history and context of the formation of Integral Mission. On each banner you can click on the image that will take you to the full document. Integral Mission is not new but neither is it extensively known and practiced yet here in Malaysia. We hope that this series can give you an idea of what and how Integral Mission can be integrated within your life and the life of your church.

The Greatest Commandment

by Gertrude Pereira, 2020

Contrary to popular belief in Christendom, the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16–20) isn’t our Lord’s greatest commandment. As laypeople sitting in the pews and listening attentively to the messages from the pulpit, we would get the impression that The Church’s primary job is to execute the Great Commission. It’s an emphasis that appears to override other priorities and particularly what our Lord Himself states as the greatest commandment.

In Matthew 22: 36-40, a smart-aleck Pharisee asks Jesus, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (cf Mark 12:28–34, Luke 10:27a)

In Jesus’ own words, the greatest commandment is to totally love God. To that He adds a second commandment and places it equal with the first: “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” As the next line reveals, everything is dependent on the two. Yet, in Christian life are these two commandments our overriding concerns or do practical matters like running a church or fulfilling ministry objectives take precedence?

It is not that loving others is not preached. It is! However, for many leaders, church building means the Great Commission -- evangelism -- and it becomes the overriding reason to justify church growth and raising funds. Evangelism is definitely the mission of The Church but the Greatest Commandment is what compels the mission. Without the latter, the former is empty, and just another job.

Leaders do teach the Greatest Commandment but they tend to focus on loving and reaching out to God. Loving and reaching out to others is just touched on or assumed to happen naturally! Well, in some cases that may be true, but in most cases Christians need to learn how to love our neighbours! When that aspect of the Greatest Commandment is addressed, I believe Christians will be more confident of themselves in reaching out to our neighbours. We will learn how to build meaningful relationships with family, friends, neighbours and workmates based on respect and trust despite differences. In the security of other-respecting relationships, surely it would be easier to share the Gospel and make disciples of all peoples?

The Great Commission is coined by men to describe our Lord’s last command before He ascended to heaven: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28: 18-20, cf Mark 16: 15, 16, Luke 24: 44-48)

Those who coined the phrase saw it as our Lord’s last commandment and having the weight of a last will which must be executed. It is the primary motive that has driven more than 2000 years of evangelizing the world. No doubt it is something to be proud of but it also begets the question as to why so many Christians struggle with loving others. It’s not an easy thing to do and emphasizing how to get it right will go a long way in improving the Christian testimony. In turn, that testimony will definitely aid in realizing the Great Commission.

A note from the editors at Micah Malaysia:
Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbour as yourself. Living God’s story shows us that as Christians we are commanded to share the good news, yes, but also to serve society with compassion and justice. Each of us is called to do so in different ways, from writing articles such as these, to volunteering and caring for one another in the communities we are placed in. How can we learn to love our neighbours more?

Bio:
Gertrude Pereira is a journalist, lecturer, writer and blogger. She has worked at The Star and The Sun and was the editor of a news portal for some time before going into lecturing. Currently, she writes on politics and contemporary issues at her blog, www.21stcenturycitizen.com, and writes short stories.

 

This article is part of a series written by various authors after a Christian Writing for Advocacy Workshop organised by Micah Global, Malaysian CARE, and CTI in mid-2019.

 

Book of Micah: Judgement and Hope

Book of Micah: Judgement and Hope
with Dr Anthony Loke and Philip TN Koh

 27/1/21: This event is now over, but you may watch the event at our YouTube channel here. Thank you to the 230+ people who attended! You can also find the speaker's papers here.

22/1/21: Please login to the Micah webinar early. As we are oversubscribed, admission to the webinar is on a FIRST COME, FIRST ADMITTED basis. The recording will be made available online after. Thank you.

21/1/21: As we have reached the max of 300pax for our zoom, for family members who have signed up individually, please consider sharing your device as a family so that more people can join in. If you would like to join our waiting list, please send us an e-mail at micah.malaysia@gmail.com.
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