Praying for the South Korean Hostages

We are all aware of the situation now. A group of South Korean christians on a volunteer trip to Afganistan have been held captive by Islamist militants and one of the hostage's body have been found with 10 bullet wounds to the head, chest and abdomen.

Many would once ask the age old question, why does God allow all these to happen? True love and true worship from men to God can only mean giving man freewill. And sad to say, that the sin in these man is sometimes beyond our comprehension. From hatred bearing sin, the militants have kidnapped innocent people and even killed one of them which clearly contradicts what that is mentioned in the common faiths of Christianity and Islam.

So man has freewill and has decided to exercise it wrongly, but does God still allow these to happen? We earnestly pray that these Koreans can go back to safe hands. But we also pray that God's sovereignity and will be manifested in such a situation. The Koreans might die in the hands of these people. Jesus has died in the hands of persecutors though he had done nothing wrong.

God's assurance is that one day all suffering will be gone and He will reign eternally and will wipe away all tears. In the very worst case, the Koreans might be killed. But that is certainly not the end state. God has set and plan eternity in the hearts of man. Life after death continues and this life for the Koreans whom have by God's grace accepted Jesus's salvation shall live in a far better place now in which Jesus have prepared a place for them.

As we lead our normal lives now, let us not forget the Koreans and keep them in our prayers, for their safety, but also that God's will clearly manifested in this mishap.

Psalm 36-55; Acts 23 - 27

Coming week's sun sch lesson touches upon the rebellion of man towards God in Psalm 2. The theme is repeated throughout Psalms with one being Psalm 36 in this week's bible reading program.

Time and again, men have rebelled against God. From the Exodus from Egypt when they wished that God had not brought them out, to when the Kings of both Israel and Judea did not revere God, to the rejection of Jesus Christ, to now where Atheism is widely accepted as a norm, men has always sought to rebel against God even though He has manifested Himself through His creation and revelation.

But the Psalms state upon God's judgement will come upon those who constantly rebel against Him. The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 over years when their journey to the promised land just takes over a few months. The rebellion by the Kings caused them to lose their empires and that became a reality when the empires of Assyria and Babylon invaded Israel and Judea and the Jews were exiled all over.

God's judgement will come again in His time. We have already witnessed several natural disasters (Tsunami, earthquakes), sicknesses (bird flu, dengue, SARS) and wars (Middle East conflict, Iraq-Afganistan war) all which points towards God's judgement coming soon.

The only way to turn away God's wrath is to keep to His Word, both in thoughs and actions as mentioned by the Psalmist.

Glory to God,
Jason

The First Step

Hi Sun sch students!

So let us encourage each other to stick to the church weekly's bible reading plan and share upon a verse or two that you come across over here in the comments.

The below picture is that of a chaff mentioned in last lesson in Psalm 1. When the wind blows, it will just fly away in the direction the wind...

but a tree planted in streams of water...
bear fruits timely, its leaves does not wither and whatever it does it prospers. Because it is deeply rooted in the streams of water that is God's word.

Continue to shine for the Lord in your own areas!

------
Jason