Month: November 2022

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bible study devotion

Who is my neighbour?: devotion

Dr. Andrew C S Koh

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book shelf

Luke 10:30-36

 30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” 37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” (read the rest of Luke 10).

Oxymoron

To the Jews, Good Samaritan is an oxymoron because to them, no Samaritan is good. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. The parable of the Good Samaritan is unique to the Gospel of Luke. Jesus told this parable in response to a scribe’s question  “who is my neighbour?”  

Commentary

A Jew was robbed and attacked by thieves when he was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They robbed, injured, stripped, and abandoned him by the roadside in critical condition. A priest coming down from Jerusalem passed him by but was afraid to even touch him. He turned a blind eye to the man and walked by on the other side as though he was transparent. A Levite passed him by and did exactly the same. These two pious religious Jews turned a blind eye to another Jew even though he needed assistance so desperately. They were hypocrites who did not do what they preached. They did not love their neighbour as stipulated in the Mosiac law. 

 A Samaritan man passed him by, stopped, rendered first aid, took him to an inn, and looked after him. The next day, he paid the inner keeper with a promise to reimburse all subsequent expenses. 

The irony of the parable is that the most hated person in the parable is the hero. The most unlikely person to help stopped to help. The most unloved person showed love to someone who hated him. The good Samaritan man took care of the wounded man and saved his life.

Jesus answered the scribe’s question with another question. Which of these three men qualifies to be a neighbour to the man?  This is the punch line of the parable. The scribe could not even pronounce Samaritan! All he could say was, ‘’he who showed mercy’’. 

Jews hated the Samaritans and vice versa. Jews considered Samaritans as half-breeds, unclean, pariahs, outcasts, and marginalised them. 

Application

The priest and Levite showed no compassion to another Jew even though he was in dire strait. Here is the shocking part. A Samaritan man showed love and compassion to a Jew. He saw a wounded man and not a Jew. 

Will you show love and compassion to those who need your help? Will you turn a blind eye or stop to help?

Do you love your neighbour as yourself?

Your neighbour is someone who needs your help and whom you are in a position to help.

Your neighbour may not be someone you like. 

Your neigbout=r may even be your enemy.

If you want to know who your neighbour is, go and look out for the needy, the sick, the poor, the destitute, and the marginalised. There are plenty of needy people in your neighbourhood whom you are in a position to help.

Will you be a good Samaritan to someone today?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for telling us this timeless parable. Help us to reach out to those who are in need of help. Help us to see suffering people through Your eyes of love, compassion, mercy, and grace. Help us to be good Good Samaritans who will reach out to the marginalised and needy. Do not let us turn a blind eye to anyone in need. Help us cultivate the spirit of the good Samaritans, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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bible study devotion

Word became flesh: devotion

by Dr. Andrew C S Koh

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book shlef

John 1:14

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we come before You with reverence and awe. We pray for quiet, soft, receptive, and teachable hearts. Speak to us as we listen to You, in Jesus’ name, Amen. 

The Word became flesh

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth

John 1:14

Commentary

I will dissect this verse into 5 parts.

The Word became flesh

The Word is Jesus Christ. The Word became flesh means incarnation. Incarnate means embodied in flesh. Jesus is the embodiment of God in human flesh. Jesus of Nazareth stepped out from eternity into our time-space continuum and became a man 2000 years ago. This explains why the calendar is divided into BC and AD.

In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God

John 1:1

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched, this we proclaim concerning the Word of life

1 John 1:1

made His dwelling among us

The Greek word for “dwelling” is “tabernacle”. God dwelled among the Israelites in the tabernacle and later, the temple.  The tabernacle or temple was a foreshadow of Jesus Christ. Today, Jesus tabernacled among us. The body of a Christian is the temple of the Holy Spirit. When someone is born again, the Holy Spirit tabernacled in his/her body. During the inauguration of the first temple, Solomon asked whether God would really dwell in the temple that he built, 1 Kings 8:27. God answered this question 1000 years later when Jesus came to earth and dwelled among us!

But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!

1 Kings 8:27

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

1 Corinthians 6:10

If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make Our dwelling place with him

John 14:23, amplified Bible

we have seen His glory

The Greek word for glory is “doxa” which means splendour. “We” is a plural pronoun. John and the apostles had seen, heard, and touched Jesus. They saw the glory, grace, and truth of the Son of God. John was not only an eyewitness of Jesus but also a reliable one. John was a cousin of Jesus because his mother Salome and Jesus’ mother Mary were cousins. As children, they would have played together as a family. This was how close they were. 

the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father

The Greek word for one and only is “monogenes’’ which means the only unique or the only begotten. Jesus Christ, the unique Son of God, came from the Father as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity.

He was in the beginning with God

John 1:2

No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known

John 1:18

full of Grace and Truth

Grace is to get something that we do not deserve. Truth is something that is authentic. The Hebrew words for grace and truth are “hesed” and “emet”, which means unfailing love and faithfulness. Hesed and emet in the Old Testament correspond to Grace and Truth in the New Testament. Salvation is by the Grace of God through faith in Christ, who is Truth. 

So, the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness

John 1:14 (a), NLT

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God

Ephesians 2:8

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me

John 14:6

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free

John 8:32

Application

Jesus Christ stepped out from eternity into our time-space domain to become a human being. Jesus Christ is God in a human body. He is not just a good man, wise teacher, or prophet. He is fully God and fully man. He is God whom you can know, see, hear, love, and relate to. He is the message, the Word of God. 

Do you know Jesus? Do you want to know  Him? You can know Him right now, right where you are.

If you want to know Jesus say this prayer with me:

Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner. Please forgive me. I believe You died on the cross to pay the punishment of my sin for me. I surrender my life to You, in Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

If you prayed this prayer you are born again as a child of God. This is the first step. Find a Bible-believing church near you, inform the church pastor about your decision, and join in the fellowship of believers to grow and mature in the faith.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to step out of eternity into our time-space domain to live among us. Thank You for showing us Your Glory, Unfailing Love, Faithfulness, Grace, and Truth. Thank You for the gift of salvation and eternal life by grace through faith in Christ, in Jesus’ name, Amen. 

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bible study devotion

Rapture: devotion

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Dr. Andrew C S Koh

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clouds

Rapture

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, 17 then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever (please read the rest of 1 Thessalonians 4 on your own).

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Reflection

Paul spelled out the end-time prophecy concerning the rapture in this passage. The word rapture is derived from the words caught up in verse 17. The Greek word for caught up is harpazo.  The Latin word for harpazo is raptura. Rapture comes from the Latin word raptura. The Thessalonians Christians were worried because many of them had died but Jesus did not come back. They wondered whether they had missed out on the second coming. Paul reassured them to the contrary.

Rapture is not the same as the second coming of Christ as these are 2 separate and different events. On the day of rapture, Jesus Christ will come down from heaven preceded by an angel’s shout and a loud trumpet blast. The trumpet is a shofar or ram horn. Christians will be caught up to heaven to meet the Lord in the sky. Two groups of Christians will be raptured, The first group will be those who had died before the rapture. The second group will be those who are still alive at the rapture. The rapture is imminent, meaning that it can happen at any time. No one is privy to the exact day or time, except God, the Father, Matthew 24:36, 41-21.

But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Matthew 24:36

Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left.

Matthew 24:41-42

The rapture will come suddenly, like a thief in the night, 1 Thessalonians 5:2. Those raptured will be transformed into spiritual, imperishable, and immortal bodies to meet the Lord in the sky, 1 Corinthians 15: 52-53. Even those who died a long time ago will be resurrected and raptured. How this is even possible is a mystery and God is revealing this to us. 

For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night.

1 Thessalonians 5:2

Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.For this perishable body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 

1 Corinthians 15:52-53

There are three theological positions on the timing of the rapture i.e. pre-tribulation, before, mid-tribulation, at the middle, and post-tribulation, at the end of the 7-year tribulation. The second coming of Christ will take place at the end of the 7-year tribulation, Revelation 19. Christ will set up His millennial kingdom on earth. for 1000 years, Revelation 20. This theological position is called pre-millennialism.

Application

If you subscribe to pre-tribulation rapture, the rapture is imminent, which means it can occur at any time. However, if you subscribe to mid or post-tribulation, it will not be imminent. Certain events must happen first, for example, the anti-christ appearing onto the world scene, the signing of the peace treaty, building of the the third temple, and so on before the rapture can occur. 

Are you rapture-ready? Are you sure, you will make it to the rapture? Are you sure, you not be left behind?

Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. If you are not a Christian yet, you can become one right now, right where you are. In a simple prayer, confess to Jesus that you are a sinner, acknowledge that you believe He died for you on the cross, and surrender your life to Him. Find a Bible-believing church near you, inform the pastor about your prayer, join in the fellowship of believers, and grow in the faith.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of salvation by grace and justification by faith in Jesus Christ. Thank You that You died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins for us. Thank You for speaking to us through Your word. Help us to be ready before the rapture by accepting You as our Lord and Saviour. Help us be vigilant of world events even as they unfold and be aware of the times that we are in. We pray for mercy, grace, protection, wisdom, and knowledge, in Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.

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testimony

Testimony

by Dr. Andrew C S Koh

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Fireworks, sunset

Spinal shock

On 26/12/2019, I attended a post-Christmas, pre-New Year celebration dinner with my cardiologist colleagues in a hotel in Ipoh. After dinner, when I was leaving the restaurant, I tripped and fell. I could not remember how I fall. I must have lost consciousness, and when I came to myself, I saw my friends looking at me and calling me.

I could see and hear them but I had a strange feeling. I could not feel my body below the neck and this was frightening! It was as though my head was cut off from the rest of my body from below my neck. I could not move my hands and feet, and there were no feelings below my neck. Then it dawned on me that I was tetraplegic, and the fall had resulted in a neck injury and spinal shock.

Prolapsed intervertebral disc

My colleagues called for an ambulance and transferred me to KPJ Ipoh Specialist Hospital. The paramedics were very careful not to move my neck and protected my neck with a cervical collar. I was immediately taken for an emergency MRI brain and neck scan and subsequently admitted to the ICU. The MRI scan showed no head trauma, but there was a prolapsed intervertebral at the C3/C4 level causing a 90 % compression of the spinal cord, confirming the diagnosis of a prolapsed intervertebral disc with cervical myelopathy at the C3/C4 level. By then, it was already past midnight.

Spastic tetraplegia

The next morning, I was taken for a CT scan of the neck to delineate the prolapse intervertebral disc in more detail. By then, the spinal shock had resolved but I was tetraplegic. The spinal surgeon who attended to me advised urgent spinal cord decompression surgery to remove the prolapsed intervertebral disc and to decompress the spinal cord. He explained that this was a delicate and precise operation, and there was a risk of permanent spastic tetraplegia in the event of complications arising during the operation.

Spinal Surgery

At 8 pm on 27/12/2019, I was wheeled to the operation theatre for the scheduled operation. I heard the anaesthetists in attendance saying that they were giving me pure oxygen, and will be putting me to sleep. The next thing, that I remembered was the doctors calling my name, asking me to wake up, and saying that the operation was over. When I opened my eyes, I saw the doctors, nurses, paramedics, and the clock in the operation theatre, and it was 11 pm. I was wheeled back to the ICU.

Rehabilitation

After 8 days in the hospital, I was well enough to be discharged and was able to walk with great difficulty using a walking frame. After 6 more weeks of outpatient physiotherapy and rehabilitation, I finally recovered and was discharged from physiotherapy. At that time, the COVID-19 pandemic kicked in, and the whole country was under lockdown. It took me another 3 months before I became ambulant. It is now almost 3 years post operation and I am fully ambulant but still requires the assistance of a walking stick.

Thanks for the support

I thank all my cardiologist colleagues for calling the ambulance and protecting my neck during the ambulance transfer.

I thank my wife, sons, daughters-in-law, sister, brother-in-law, nephew, niece, relatives, in-laws, friends, pastors, church members, ex-school, and ex-university classmates, for their prayers, support, care, visitation, encouragement, and reassurance.

I thank the spinal surgeon, neurosurgeon, neurologist, anaesthetists, radiologists, staff nurses, nursing aides, paramedical staff, radiographers, physiotherapists, KPJ ISH hospital directors, and all the hospital staff, who had attended to me during my hospitalization.

Miracle

According to one of my cardiologist friends who was an eyewitness to the accident, I fell head facing downwards hitting the floor, and was lifeless for about 5 minutes. He said that at that moment, he thought I have died and was so worried for me. When I woke up again, it was a miracle. According to one of my sons, who is an anaesthetist in New Zealand, he said that such an injury almost always results in permanent tetraplegia, and my recovery in such a short time was indeed a miracle.

So many people prayed for me, through whats-app messenger and in person. My wife and sister were very supportive throughout my hospital stay and postoperatively. My in-laws were also very supportive throughout my ordeal. They drove me to various places outside Ipoh during the Chinese New Year of 2020 for food and recreation, just to cheer me up.

Thank God

I thank God for saving my life, rescuing me from spinal shock, rescuing me from spastic tetraplegia, successful spinal surgery, and successful rehabilitation

I thank God for preserving my life so that I can serve Him in the church. For the past 3 years, He had enabled me to write and publish 38 books. God is good, He loved me, had compassion, mercy, and grace on me, and His eyes were on me throughout my ordeal. I had experienced such amazing grace.

Testimony

I was once paralysed but now I can walk! I hope this testimony will be an encouragement for you as it had been for me.

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How to format an Amazon paperback with Word for Mac

by Dr. Andrew C S Koh

a photo showing an open book
opened book

In this article, I will walk you through the process of how to format a word document into an amazon paperback that is ready to be uploaded to the Amazon bookshelf for publication. If you follow these steps closely, you should be able to format the document. Here, I am using an apple mac book. If you are using windows the steps may be slightly different.

First, type out a clean Microsoft word document.

Highlight the whole document by pressing Command + A. On the Word menu table, click Home, and click Normal. This will clean up your whole document.

Create the following sections for your paperback manuscript

Title

Copyright

Foreword

Preface

Table of Content

Chapters

About the author

Other books by the author

Sections 1 to 5 are the Front matter, section 6 is the Core matter, and sections 7 to 8 are the Back matter.

Setting the trim size and Margins:

On the Apple Word menu, (the top most horizontal blue bar), click Format, select Document from the drop-down menu. Select Margins, enter the Margins in cm for Top, Bottom, Inside, Outside, based on your page count which can be found in the article http://www.amazon.com, “Build your Book, format a paperback manuscript” ( Word for Mac or window). In this article, I am using Word for Mac, using a MacBook, but it should be quite similar if you are using Windows. Follow the margins for no bleed, unless your book has bleed.

Gutter margin, enter 0 (zero)

Pages, Multiple Pages- select mirror margins.

Apply to: whole documents

select OK.

Select Page Setup, Format for, Any Printer.

Paper size: for the trim size of 6 x 9 inches, enter 152 mm x 229 mm. For any other trim sizes enter accordingly.

scale, 100%, Click OK

Apply to the whole document, click OK

Setting Normal style for book body:

On the Word menu, (top horizontal menu bar), click Home, right-click Normal, select Modify from the drop-down menu, set font size to 12, select Format, select Paragraph from the drop-down menu, set alignment to justify, Indentation, left and right to 0 cm, Special, First line By, 0.5 cm, Spacing, Before and After, to 0 pt, Line spacing, to single.

Click OK, twice.

Applying Normal Style to book body:

Place cursor before the first word on the text of the Copyright page, then hold down shift + page down to highlight everything below the cursor. Keep everything highlighted. On Word menu, click Home, Click Normal.

Setting Heading 1 Style:

Click Home, right-click Heading 1, select Modify from the drop-down menu, set Font size to 12, set colour to black, Select Format, select Paragraph from the drop-down menu, set alignment to justified, indentation, left and right, to 0 cm, Special, First line, By, 0.5 cm, Spacing, Before and After, to 0 pt, Line spacing, to Single, Click OK, Twice.

Applying Heading 1 Style:

Apply Heading 1 Style to the Headings of Copyright, Foreword, Preface, all the Chapters, About the author, and Other books by the author.

Highlight the heading of Copyright. Click Home, click Heading 1. Repeat the same steps for the heading of Foreword, Preface, Every Chapter, About the Author, and other books by the Author.

Adding section breaks:

Add a section break after every section.

Place the cursor at the end of the last word on the Title Page. On the Word main menu, click  Layout, click Break, select Next Page from the drop-down menu.

Repeat the same steps for Copyright, Foreword, Preface, Every Chapter, About the Author, and Other books by the Author.

Formatting the Title Page:

Type out the Title, Subtitle, and Author’s name on one page. This is the book’s first page.

Highlight Title. On Apple main menu (top horizontal blue menu bar) click Font, set Font Size to 28, set Font set Style to bold, select OK.

On the Apple menu, click Paragraph, set alignment to centre, indentation, left and right to 0 cm, Special, to none, Spacing before to 32 pt, and After to 16 pt. Click OK.

Highlight subtitle. On Apple main menu, click Font, set font size to 24, set style to italic.

On the Apple menu, click paragraph, set alignment to centre, indentation, left and right to 0 cm, Special, to none, Spacing before to 16 pt, After to 16 pt.

Highlight the author’s name. On Apple main menu, Click Font, set the font size to 20, set style to Normal.

On the Apple menu, Click Paragraph, set alignment to centre, indentation left and right, to 0 cm, Special, to none, Spacing before to 16 pt, After to 0 pt.

Formatting the Copyright page:

Highlight the text of the copyright page and set alignment to centre. Add a call to action below the last line of the text by adding your email link and website links.

On Word menu, click insert, click links, select link, select email address, enter your email address into the box, click OK.

Repeat the same steps, select link, select webpage, enter your blog URL address into the box, click Ok.

Repeat the same steps to add your URL address for Amazon author central page, the URL address of the Facebook page, Instagram page, Twitter page, etc. Test the link to make sure there is no error in the URL addresses! The URL address should start with https://www…….

Formatting Other Books by the Author:

On this page, you can add a call to action by adding the URL links to all your books. The link should start with https://www.amazon.com/dp/B………followed by 9 alphanumeric digits.

Make sure there is no error in the URL addresses!

Adding page numbers:

Place the cursor anywhere on the title page. On Word main menu, click insert, click page number, select page number from the drop-down menu, position to Bottom of the page, Alignment to Centre, select, show number on the first page.

Select Format, Number format, to 1,2,3. Page numbering, to start at 1. Click OK twice. Page numbers will be added to the bottom centre of the page.

Creating a formatted Table of Contents:

This is the final step of the book formatting.

First, create a blank page before Chapter 1. Place the cursor before the first word in the heading of chapter 1.

Click Layout, click Break, select the next page on the drop-down menu.

On the top of the blank page type, Table of Contents.

Highlight Table of Contents.

Click References, click the table of contents, select custom Table of Contents, select- show page number, select- align page number to right, deselect- Use links instead of page numbers. Show levels- select 1. Click OK.

Congratulations!

You have successfully formatted an Amazon paperback print book. Convert this into a pdf format and upload it to the bookshelf, book content when you are uploading your paperback print book.

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How to format a nonfiction Amazon kindle e book on Word for Mac

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By Dr. Andrew C S Koh

A photo of an opened book on a coffee table
Opened book on a coffee table

In this article, I will walk you through the process of how to format your word document into an Amazon kindle e-book that is ready to be uploaded to Amazon kindle book shelf for publication. For paperback, please go to our archive and look for the accompanying article for formatting a paperback. For this, you need to subscribe to office 365 so that you can access Microsoft Word.

Type out a clean manuscript

Use the default setting of Microsoft word to type out a clean manuscript. Highlight all the text by pressing CTRL+A. On the top horizontal menu bar of Word, click Home, click Normal and this will clean up your manuscript.

Sections

A nonfiction e-book consists of four sections, front matter, table of content, core matter, and back matter.

The front matter consists of the Title, Copyright, Foreword, Preface, Dedication, Acknowledgment, etc. The core matter consists of the book chapters. The back matter consists of the author’s biography, (about the author), and other books by the author.

Therefore, create the following sections:

Title

Copyright

Foreword: get someone who is prominent, famous, and well-known in your genre to endorse your book by writing a foreword.

Preface: explain why the reader must read your book and why you wrote this book

Table of Contents

Chapters

Biography (about the author)

Other books by the author

Format the front matter

Title Page

On the Title Page, type out your book Title, Subtitle, and author’s name on one page.

Highlight Title, select font size to 28, set alignment to centre, on the drop-down menu, select font style to bold.

Highlight the subtitle, select font size to 24, set alignment to centre, on the drop-down menu, select font style to italic.

Highlight author’s name, select font size to 20, set alignment to centre, on the drop-down menu, select font style to normal.

Setting Normal style

On the horizontal top menu bar of Word, Click Home. Right Click, Click Normal, on the drop-down menu, select modify, select font size to 12, select format, select paragraph, set alignment to justified, set indentation, left and right 0 cm. Special, select First line by 0.5 cm. Spacing before and after to 0 point, Line spacing, single. Select OK, twice.

Apply normal style to the text of copyright, foreword, preface, chapters, biography (about the author), and other books by the author. Do this by highlighting the text, click Home, and click Normal.

Copyright

Apply Copyright to normal style by highlighting the text on the Copyright page. On the top horizontal menu bar of Word, click Home, and click Normal. With the text still highlighted, set alignment to centre.

Below the last sentence in the copyright page, insert the link to your email address, website URL, Amazon author central page URL, Facebook URL, Instagram URL, Twitter URL, etc. This is your call to action. Mark sure that every word is correctly entered. Make sure your URL includes, https://www……make sure that it works by clicking on it!

On the horizontal top menu bar of Word, click Insert and click links. On the drop-down menu, select email address, type in your email address, and select ok. For the website address, select webpage, type in the URL address, and select OK.

Setting Heading 1 style

On the horizontal top menu bar of Word, click Home and right-click Heading 1. Select modify, select font size to 24, select format, on the drop-down menu, select paragraph, set alignment to centre, set indentation, left to 0 cm, right to 0 cm, special, none, spacing before, 60 points, after, 60 points, line spacing, single. Select OK twice.

Applying Heading 1 Style

Apply Heading 1 style to all the headings that you want to be included in the table of contents.

Highlight the Copyright heading. Click Home, click Heading 1. Do the same process for the headings on Foreword, Preface, Every chapter, Biography, and Bibliography.

Other books by the author

Under this, list out all the other books that you have written. As a call to action, insert the URL links to each of your books. Click insert, click links, select link, on the drop-down menu, select a web page, type in the book URL link, select OK. Repent the same process for each of your books. Mark sure that every word is correctly entered. Make sure your URL includes, https://www……make sure that it works by clicking on it!

In the last line of this section, you can also add a line to thank your readers for reading your book, remind them to leave a review, and add a reader magnet as a call to action. A reader magnet is a link where you give away a free e-book when a reader signs up for your mailing list.

Inserting a page break

Insert a page break after every section, viz. title, copyright, foreword, preface, chapter, biography (about the author), and other books by the author.

Place the cursor after the last word of the section. Click Home, click Layout, click Breaks, on the drop-down menu, select Next page.

Format a clickable Table of Content

First, create a blank page before Chapter 1. Place the cursor just before the first word of the chapter 1 heading. Click Layout, select Breaks, select the next page. This will create a blank page before chapter 1.

On the top of this blank page, type in Table of Contents. Highlight Table of Contents.

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The 70 weeks of Daniel

Daybreak at Gale Crater by NASA Goddard Photo and Video is licensed under CC-BY 2.0

Dr. Andrew C S Koh

a photo showing clouds in the sky
clouds

Daniel 9:24-27

In the first year of King Darius’ reign, Daniel studied the prophecy of Jeremiah and came to the conclusion that the seventy years of exile were coming to an end. He prayed, interceded, and fasted in sackcloths and ashes, to seek the Lord’s will. 

While Daniel was still praying, angel Gabriel appeared to him in a vision, saying that the Lord had answered his prayer. In Daniel 9:24-27, angel Gabriel gave a profound end-time prophecy from the Lord.

In this article, I will walk you through the prophecy of the 70 weeks of Daniel. This interpretation is based on a pre-millennial, pre-tribulation rapture position. 

24 Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. V 25 Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench but in times of trouble. V 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. V 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple, he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him (Read the rest of Daniel 9 on your own).

Daniel 9: 24-27

Verse 24, seventy sevens

Seventy ‘sevens’ refer to seventy weeks of years i.e. 490 years. Your people refer to Daniel’s people i.e. the Jews. Your holy city refers to Daniel’s holy city i.e. Jerusalem. This prophecy is for the Jews and Jerusalem. The entire duration of the prophecy is 490 years. At the end of 490 years, there will be no more sin, transgression, and wickedness and there will be everlasting righteousness. The vision and prophecy will be sealed, and the Most Holy place of the temple will be anointed. 

Verses 25-26, Part 1

The prophecy has a starting point and an ending point. The starting point is from the time a decree was given to rebuild Jerusalem. The ending point will be the second coming of Christ as will be explained later.

The prophecy has two parts. Verses 25 to 26 spelled out Part 1. It started with the issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem in 445 BC and ended with the first coming of Christ in 33 AD.

From the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to the first coming of Christ will be 7 X 7 plus 62 X 7 years i.e. 49 + 434 i.e. 483 years. The decree to rebuild Jerusalem was given by King Artaxerxes Longimanus to Nehemiah in Nehemiah 2:8-9 in 445 BC. The first coming of Christ as Messiah was on Palm Sunday in 33 AD. Zechariah prophesied this around 500 BC, Zechariah 9:9. 

 445 BC to 33 AD is 478 Gregorian/ Roman/ solar years, based on 365 days per year. However, the Jewish lunar calendar is based on 360 days per year. 478 Gregorian/ Roman/ solar years is equivalent to 483 Jewish/ lunar years. 

Jerusalem was rebuilt in times of trouble amidst opposition from the Samaritans. On Good Friday, 33 AD, Christ was killed (cut off). In 70 AD, Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by the Romans. Wars and more wars had continued unabated ever since. 

Hence, the first 483 years of Part 1 as spelled out in verses 25 to 26 were fulfilled by the first coming of Christ. 

Verse 27, Part 2

Part 2 is prophesied in verse 27.  The last 7 years of world history remain unfulfilled. The ‘He’ of verse 27 is the antichrist. The starting point of Part 2 will be the signing of a peace treaty between the Jews and the Arabs, brokered by the antichrist. In the middle of this 7-year, the antichrist will set up the abomination of desolation in the future third temple. Part 2 will ends with the second coming of Christ at the culmination of world history. 

Between Part 1 and Part 2 is an interlude called the church age, and we are now living in this interlude for the past 2000 years.

God stopped the prophetic timer at the 483rd year. of the prophecy. The clock will start ticking again after the rapture, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. 

The antichrist will allow the Jews to rebuild the third temple and resume the temple sacrifice. In the middle of the 7 years, he will set up his image in the Most Holy Place and force the Jews to worship him. This image will be called the abomination of desolation, Mathew 24:15. The Jews’ refusal to worship the image will trigger off intense persecution by the antichrist in the last 3 1/2 years of world history. This is called the great tribulation. 

In 174 BC, Antiochus Epiphany IV erected a statue of Zeus in the Most Holy Place, splashed swine blood on the altar, and desecrated the second temple. The future antichrist will desecrate the third temple in the same way during the tribulation. Jesus Christ will come back from heaven on a white horse and defeat the antichrist in the battle of Armageddon., Revelation 9:11 and following. He will set up His millennial kingdom on earth and fulfill the seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel, Rev. 20:4 and following.

Please note that the rapture and the second coming of Christ are two separate events. 

“And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests”.

Nehemiah 2:8-9

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey

Zechariah 9:9

So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel, let the reader understand

Matthew 24:15

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness, he judges and makes war.

Revelation 9:11

I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Revelation 20:4

Application

The Bible has given us sufficient information on how the world will end. The future is not looking optimistic. More troubles will break out as we move closer and closer to the end of world history. The covid 19 pandemic had already taken a toll on every one of us. The dust of the pandemic has not even settled and war broke out in Ukraine! We are truly in uncharted territories. If this war gets out of control and nuclear war breaks out, millions of lives will be wiped out in a matter of seconds! Whether you believe in a pre, mid, or post-tribulation rapture, one thing is for sure. Christ’s second coming is not too far away. Are you ready for His return? Have you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior? Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. Come to Christ. With a simple prayer, confess your sin, accept Him as your Lord and Savior, and surrender your life to Him. You will be saved and even if anything happened, you will have eternal life.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your word to us today. We know that Your second coming is not that far away. We know that You are in control of world events. We pray that the war in Ukraine will not get out of control but will come to an end soon. We pray that You will protect the people of Ukraine. We pray for the soldiers, the civilians, the refugees, and all others. May Your mercy and grace be upon all the people of Ukraine. Help us to surrender our lives to You because our future is in Your hand, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. 

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Pentecost: devotion

by Dr Andrew C S Koh

a photo showing an open book
open book

Acts 2: 1-4

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we come before You today as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to You, as our spiritual act of worship. We give You our full attention, hearts, and minds. Help us be transformed to the image of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Saviour, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Pentecost

1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 2:1-4

Reflection

Easter corresponds to the Feast of First Fruits in the Old Testament. The day of Pentecost is celebrated fifty days after Easter (Feast of First Fruits), Leviticus 28:16. Pentecost is also known as the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering, Numbers 28:26 and Exodus 23:16. The Holy Spirit descended upon the 120 disciples in the upper room on day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came with the sound of a strong wind and rested on the head of each disciple as a tongue of fire and they spoke in tongues.

Jesus compared the activity of the Holy Spirit with the blowing of the wind in John 3:8. In Greek, the word for wind and Spirit is the same word, pneuma from which we get our English word pneumatic.

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit

John 3:8

Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.

Leviticus 23:16

Also on the day of the first fruits, when you bring a new grain offering to the Lord at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work.

Numbers 23:16

and the Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of your labors which you have sown in the field, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.

Exodus 23:16

Application

The New Testament church was born on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon the 120 disciples in the upper room of Jerusalem. This was a fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to His disciples in the upper discourse in John 14:26.

 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 14:26

Church Age

The time period from the day of Pentecost until now is the church age. The church age will end on the day of rapture when the church will be taken up to heaven to meet the Lord, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit descended open the disciples as visible tongues of fire resting over their heads and they spoke in the languages of other people’s nations. Like a Chinese person speaking French, a German person speaking Arabic, a Korean person speaking Japanese, and so on.

The power of the Holy Spirit is as strong as the wind. Typhoons and cyclones can blow off rooftops! Once, I was in Hong Kong and I saw the effect of a typhoon damaging houses. Another time, I was in India, and I saw the power of a cyclone.

You cannot see the Holy Spirit but you can feel His presence and you can see the result of His work. You feel His presence as goosebumps all over you and in other ways. Once, when I was in a boat in the Sea of Galilee, I felt goosebumps all over me! You see the result of the Holy Spirit in the millions of lives that are transformed by Him all over the world.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for speaking to us through Your word of truth. Thank You for sending us the Holy Spirit to be our helper, teacher, truth revealer, counselor, and advocate. Thank You for the amazing power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives. Thank You for Your love, mercy, and grace, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Creation: devotion

Genesis 1:1-4

by Dr. Andrew C S Koh

a picture of God creating Adam
Creation of Adam

Creation

God created the world in six days. Whether this is a literal 24 hours day or not is something that is hotly debated. According to God’s reckoning, 1 day is as 1000 years and 1000 years is as 1 day, 2 Peter 3:8. God created, transcends, and is outside of the time, and space continuum. There are two schools of thought regarding the age of the universe. Is the age billions of years old or is the universe 6000 plus years old? There is also the gap theory. Is there an interval of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2? These are hotly debated issues among Bible scholars. As far as the Bible is concerned God is the creator of the universe. In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth. The universe is not a product of a massive explosion billions of years ago. The universe is not a product of random chance and mutations. Human beings did not evolve from monkeys or gorillas

“But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.”

2 Peter 3:8,

The Beginning

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Genesis 1: 1-4

Reflection

The Bible begins with “in the beginning God created”. We do not know when this beginning was. Is it billions of years or thousands of years? God created the universe in eternity past. The universe did not evolve by random chance over billions of years. It takes a lot more faith to believe in evolution than creation. God has no beginning. He is outside the time-space continuum. He is pre-existent, self-existent, eternal, from everlasting to everlasting, from eternity past to eternity future, from the Alpha, and to the Omega.

The six days of creation have a pre-set template, starting with “let there be…..” and ending with ”there was evening and there was morning………”

On the first day, God created the heavens, the earth, and the light. There are three heavens. The atmosphere from the ground to the clouds is the first heaven. The outer space from the clouds to the galaxies is the second heaven. The abode of God’s throne beyond the galaxies is the third heaven. When God created the earth, it was dark, empty, and structureless. Hebrews word for create is bara, which means to create something out of nothing, or ex-nihilo in latin.

God separated the light and the darkness, calling the darkness, evening, and the light, morning, and this was the first day. God defined a day as one evening and one morning. A Jewish day starts from 6 pm in the evening until 6 pm the next evening.

The Holy Spirit circled around the formless, structureless, dark, empty, and watery earth. God spoke, let there be light and light appeared on site. This was not the light of the sun but the light of God’s glory, Revelation 21:23. Jesus Christ is the word of God’s word, John 1:1.

The Trinitarian God of the Bible, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the universe. God saw that the light was good. He separated the light from the darkness and called them day and night. Hebrews for God is Elohim, a plural noun.

In the presence of the Holy Spirit, God, the Father spoke, and it came to be. Jesus Christ is the spoken Word of God, the father.

The city has no need for the sun, neither of the moons, to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Revelation 21:23,

“in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.”

John 1:1,

Application

Genesis declared that everything is created by God. If you believe that God created the heavens and the earth in 6 days, you will have no problem believing the rest of the Bible. How big is your God? How big is your faith? It takes more faith to believe in evolution than in creation. Faith is the key to unlocking spiritual truth. Believe and you will see the glory of God. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, help us to understand Your word. We pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit to enlighten us and to give us wisdom and understanding. Open our hearts, minds, eyes, ears, and spirit to receive, understand, see, apply, honour, and hear the truth of Your word, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Touched by an angel: short story

Dr. Andrew C S Koh

a photo showing a rainbow over the alps
A rainbow over the Alps

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it.He

Hebrews 13:2

Sound of Music

 Many years ago, I visited Vienna and joined an early morning coach tour to Salzburg. Our tour guide led us on a walking tour from the Salzburg city center toward the site where the film, the Sound of Music, was shot. Sixty minutes, several turns, and many gardens later, we arrived. The scenery was spectacularly amazing. After guiding us through the movie site’s intricacies and explaining the location’s mysteries, the guide told us we could start our free time to enjoy lunch and explore further on our own. Before he took leave, he told us to make our way back to the city center by 4 pm sharp for our return to Vienna, or risk being stranded in Salzburg.

    After everyone left, I found myself alone since I was a lone traveler. After a sumptuous lunch, I walked around the site until it was time to leave. By then, I lost my orientation and could not find my way back. I had no access to Google Maps, Waze, or GPS because I did not have data for a Wi-Fi connection. I became worried as I was in a deserted place and the clock was ticking mercilessly. I bowed my head and lifted a simple prayer, asking God to guide me back to the city center.

    As I opened my eyes, a beautiful young European lady stood before me and spoke to me in perfect English. This was rare in Salzburg for the locals spoke German and broken English with a strong accent. She asked me politely whether I needed help. I replied, “I’m trying to find my way back to the city center.” She told me to follow her. We walked through the many turns and wonderful gardens. She pointed out the way I should take near the city center and disappeared.

    I reached our tour coach just ten minutes before 4 pm. In my heart, I thanked God for answering my prayer. I believed that I was touched by an angel in Salzburg. God sent a stranger to rescue me from an impending disaster that day. I could not fathom what would have happened if I was stranded in Salzburg. Nowadays, I will not leave home without my data plans and Wi-Fi connection. I also realized that God is just a prayer away, and His loving kindness and faithfulness endure forever.  

Has anyone experienced an angel encounter? Please share your story in the comment section.

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