Epistle to Hamers (14)

Dear Frank and Lora,

How are you? It have been quite sometime since I last wrote an email to you. C. S. Lewis said, “Whenever you are fed up with life, start writing: ink is the great cure for all human ills." Not that I am fed up with life, but this quote is always an encouragement for me to start writing, and I have 3 days off this week, so I have some time to sit down and write this email.

It has been five months since I transferred to Sibu to work. So far I am glad to work in this department and hospital that I am comfortable with, but of course there are some ups and downs occasionally in my working environment. Just that recently I feel a bit pressured from my superiors, either I am not doing well enough, or they have high expectation.

Disaster Plan for the department, done together with my colleagues and my boss.

The view from the triage counter in emergency department.

In this five months time I attended a few training courses, the notable ones are the Good Clinical Practice (GCP) in February and WINFOCUS Basic Echocardiography (WBE) in March.

The GCP is a three-day course, mainly about how to conduct clinical trial or studies on human subjects in an ethical way and how to maintain the integrity of the data for statistical analysis. To be honest it is rather a boring subject, many times I feel like I am reading a law subject. I survived through the course by keep drinking coffee. Coffee and tea were provided at the back of the hall, so even the organizer knew it is boring, However it is an important subject, especially for those going for master program in any specialty, as doing clinical research is part of the program. The reason I am attending the course is because Sibu Hospital will be one of the centre to conduct CRASH 3 trials (Clinical Randomisation of Antifibrinolytic in Severe Head injury - http://crash3.lshtm.ac.uk/), and it involves the neurosurgical and emergency department. So GCP qualification is one of the requirement to be involved in this trial. Thanks God that eventually I did passed the examination at the end of the course.

The WBE is two-day course and it is so much more interesting, as they teach you how to use ultrasound to scan the heart and do clinical judgement base on the finding. So it will be more useful in clinical practice. This course was conducted in the town of Ipoh at Perak. I took express train from Kuala Lumpur, about two and a half hour of journey,

​Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. (Psalms 90:14)

​Train station in Ipoh.

​ For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. (Psalms 27:5)

​ The funny picture in the course to remind us not to forgot good history taking and physical examination, instead of immediately push the ultrasound machine and scan the patient, lest we become "ultrasound worshipers".

In April, my family members came over for Qing Ming (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingming_Festival), or Tomb-Sweeping Day. This is the first time I visited my grandfather's tomb. I am glad that the whole thing was done in a God-honouring way, with no ancestral worshiping was done (like burning hell money or offering food), mainly due to the fact the strong influence of Christianity in Sibu and among my relatives. I am also glad to hear from my aunt that my grandfather actually believe in the Lord before he passed away.

* * *

Recently I have been reading the Minor Prophets. The plan started since the Friday evening Bible study was on the Book of Hosea previously, now the Book of Joel. So I guess it is also a good timing to read the Minor Prophets for my daily reading, with the aid of ESV study bible, which I don't have much time to read during my housemanship/internship previously.

During driving I listened to a few audiobooks in the past few months: The Attributes of God Vol 1 by A.W. Tozer, and Everyones A Theologian by R.C. Sproul.

A few wonderful quotes from A.W. Tozer:

"God is above all things,
beneath all things,
outside of all things
and inside of all things.
God is above, but He’s not pushed up.
He’s beneath, but He’s not pressed down.
He’s outside, but He’s not excluded.
He’s inside, but He’s not confined.
God is above all things presiding,
beneath all things sustaining,
outside of all things embracing
and inside of all things filling.
That is the immanence of God."

"Two creatures may be in the same room and yet be millions of miles apart.
When we come to anything that is intellectual or spiritual or of the soul; space, matter, weight and time have no meaning at all."

"To know something in your head is one thing, to feel it in your hear is another.
And I think most Chistians are trying to be happy without having a sense of the Presence.
It's like trying to have a bright day without having the sun."

Currently I am listening to The Case for the Real Jesus by Lee Strobel. Kind of interesting to listen how this journalist investigates the criticism on Christianity. Kind of regret for not reading The Case for Christ and The Case for A Creator by the same author when I saw them lying around at the book corner in Koinonia.

One thing that struck me a lot while listening to this audiobook is on the issue of Scripture, particularly on a few texts that were included in most translation of the Bible but is questionable where it is in the original manuscript.

• The longer ending of the Gospel according to Mark (Mark 16:9-20)
• Jesus and the woman taken in adultery (John 7:53-8:11)
• Comma Johanneum (1 John 5:7–8)

I have encountered the issue with Comma Johanneum few years back when I am dealing with the KJV-only issue. This is one of the "missing" verses that KJV-only people tends to talk about, as this verse clearly uphold the doctrine of Trinity. In the book Knowing Scripture by R.C. Sproul (a book which Frank gave me few years back, and I passed it on to Ivan), Sproul did mentioned that how evidence shows that this verse is unlikely be part of the original manuscript. ESV translation did not even put it as footnote like what NIV did. Lee Strobel also mentioned that if your doctrine of Trinity only hang on this verse and if your belief in Trinity falls apart just because this verse is not in the Bible, then your belief is rather weak or even pathetic, because the doctrine of Trinity is clearly seen in other parts of the Bible. This is the conviction that I have long before I heard this audiobook.

Well the new issues are in regard with Mark 16 and John 7. I have notice this bracket "the earliest manuscripts do not have...." in the NIV Bible long time ago. But I didn't bother much about it. I just try to believe by faith that whatever is in the Bible is the authentic Word of God. But I think that is just blind faith. The account of Jesus and the woman taken in adultery in John is an inspiring account where Jesus taught us not to be judgemental, but also gave us a lesson of repentance. So it is quite a surprise for me to hear that this account probably not in the original writing by John. And also such a large portion of the ending in Mark is also probably not in the original. A simple "google" or "wikipedia" will shows bunch of articles on these things. ESV study bible also in the position that these two portions of Scripture might not be in the original. ESV study bible also gave a good insight on it.

Personally I am quite interested to know what is your opinions on it and how will you respond if someone else asks you whether you think these two portions of the Scripture are in the original manuscript. The reason I ask is because I am not very sure how I am going to respond, for example if there is a bible study of John or Mark and if we arrive at this portion of Scripture. In one way or another I will face this issue or discuss it with other people in the future. Like whether should we study them, or just skip them (because in ESV study bible they don't even have study note or explanation on the context of the verses itself).

I am quite impressed with the way how Strobel investigates all these issues or challenges as a journalist. A conclusion that he drawn out is that no matter how inspiring the account in John 7:53-8:11 is, if evidences doesn't support the authenticity of it, it is most likely not in the Scripture, yet it doesn't shipwreck our faith. Our faith doesn't hang on the account in John 7:53-8:11 or Mark 16:9-20.

By the way, the annual Klang Valley Bible Conference and Preaching Conference will be held in Petaling Jaya in July, Really looking forward into it. (http://kvbctrust.org/)

I will end this email with a few pictures and photos.

Many times I wished I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ earlier, yet He has His own perfect timing to brought me to Russia to make Himself known to me,
and He reassures me by these words:"I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten".

An interesting picture, shared by the pastor in the church I attend in Petaling Jaya.

"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up.
Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads."
(Deuteronomy 6:6-8)

The Jews actually follow this commands literally, tie the Scripture on their forehead and their arms. The lesson is not that we should follow it literally, but figuratively. We should remember God's Word in our mind and act according to God's Word.

There’s not a plant or flow’r below, but makes Thy glories known.
- Isaac Watt -


Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye,
If I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky.
- Isaac Watts -

For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind,
and declares to man what is his thought,
who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth
 — the Lord ,the God of hosts, is his name!
(Amos 4:13)