TJ Gong

Today is Qing Ming, the Tomb Sweeping Festival, one of the three primary festivals in Taiwanese culture or I’ll say in Chinese culture. At daybreak, everything was packed up in the car and we drove down to my hometown in the southern part of Taiwan, Along the highway we could see pillars of smoke here and…

Once in a while my wife and I will warn our children not to waste their time, “Why are you hanging around in the room doing nothing? Go back to your desk and work on your homework.” We all want to be a good steward of God, managing our time and money well. However, sometimes wasting…

In 1 Samuel 9 the people of Israel asked Samuel for a king as he was getting old and his sons didn’t follow in his steps. Samuel was very upset with their request. Thus, he went to God for advice. God told Samuel to do as they say, but warned them abut what a king will treat…

Last night as she came home from school my older daughter was pretty excited about the coming of April’s Fool Day. Asked why she loved it, she replied, “I can play jokes on people.” As I was pondering the word “fool”, what is “fool”? Paul  wrote in his letter to the Corinthians, saying, “We are…

In the Old Testament the Israelites were commanded to  sacrifice burnt offerings to God. Whatever the animal was a bull, a ram or sheep, or a dove or pigeon should be without any defects. The offering must be cut into pieces and placed on the altar. The odor of this offering was pleasing to the…

Christians are convinced that  we now live near the end times as the signs mentioned in the Bible are occurring day by day, such as wars, earthquakes and famines. But what is the right attitude toward end time events? Jesus replied plainly to his disciples in Mark 13, ” Don’t panic” (v. 7) and “Watch out”…

Last night my pastor spoke on the topic of “Being a Good and Faithful Servant” in our annual spring retreat. He quoted Proverbs 30:8-9 to illustrate his message of being a good money manager: Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I…

In our culture religion has long been considered a type of healing medicine by which a person may find peace and solace. Through the baptism of some religion a person may lie in a place of peacefulness and blissfulness. To reach the highest goal of spiritual awakening, many religion seekers escape from this secular world and enter an untrodden…

During the Chinese New Year holidays my family had a chance to visit the Center of Traditional Arts in Yilan. The Center is noted for its preservation of Taiwanese culture and tradition, featuring various exhibitions and performing arts on a regular basis. As we arrived in the Center, one staff guided us through the whole park…

Mr. Lee, a college professor and deputy magistrate, resigned his post after being accused of having an extramarital affair with a female legislator. He of course denied the accusation of his misconduct. On the other hand, Asked about the affair with Mr. Lee, The female legislator admitted having the “improper” friendship with him. She then…