Lightness of being #30 Purge (25th Dec 2013)
Dear....
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Mark 14:38
My flesh was indeed weak last night. My constitution is not made for expensive meals, for after an expensive French affair, I spent most of Saturday night and the wee hours of Sunday morning getting acquainted with the toilet bowl.
Much as it was a purging of a stomach gone awry, it was also a symbolic cleansing for me, to be made ready before I was to lead worship the next morning at 7.30am.
Thanks be to God, much as my stomach remained wobbly, I was able to hold steady at worship, and not be compelled to visit the familiar haunt of the past twenty four hours.
"What a friend we have in Jesus," this seemingly simple yet very powerful truth that so many of us forget in our daily struggles. The privilege granted to all believers to come to our Lord Jesus Christ in prayers. We know that prayers asked in a His will, God will answer.
But what is God's will?
I know what is not the will of God. On that Saturday night, I had let anger and judgment take center stage in my life. This was clearly not in line with the fruit of the Spirit.
I had opened the door to a spiritual attack by my folly, and suffered the consequences of my act of disobedience. Much as we ate from the same place, I was the only one in the family of four to be struck by diarrhea. The purging, which started at 11pm, only stabilized at 3am but I have never doubted that our good Lord will ensure that the repentant me will be able to lead worship in Church the next morning at 7.30am.
My confidence rested on the fact that much as our Lord allows an admonishment, He will forgive if we truly repent. And when His Spirit convicted me of my sin, I repented without any hesitation, for time with our Lord through the years have taught me to obey from His perspective. My prayers with our Lord was less about my stomach stabilizing, but more about being able to deliver the prayer at worship that I truly believe our good Lord has guided me on.
Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
Mark 15:43
The word "purge," takes on a more sinister tone in the annals of political intrigue. While its origins way predates the Communist era, the acts associated with the word "purge," is closely associated with the draconian communist regimes of the 20th/21st Century. This is because the absolute monarchies of the Western world has ceased to exist by the end of World War 1, and democracy provides less room for blatant mass purging, not that it does not exist in more subtle forms.
The Soviet dictator Josef Stalin used to consign his enemies and dissidents to the harsh clime of the Gulag in Siberia. The late Chairman Mao, whose hometown I made a foray to last month, conducted his mother of all purges with the Cultural Revolution back in 1966.
Those were yesteryears, but thanks to the repressive North Korean regime, the world gets to relive the term "purging." Did the supreme leader Kim Jong Un execute his uncle out of insecurity or because he did not like to hear the truth that this utopian dream that his late grandfather created, his deceased father propagated and that he now reigns over was about to go the way of the Berlin Wall?
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Psalms 103:2
With all the social networking platforms like Facebook and Instagram, it will be difficult to lose sight of one's friends and not be kept current on their activities. And this being the vacation period, we see many people posting snapshots of their footprints in exotic locales. This is quite a change from the 1970s when for most of us, a 7 days West Malaysia tour organized by Nam Ho Travel was an experience. Most of my vintage might have forgotten, and for those of younger make, such knowledge do not exist in their black box.
What about the grace of God in our lives? In the midst of plenty, have we also consigned to the deep recess, the gratitude we once felt when His Spirit lifted us out of the pits?
It is time to refresh memories that have faded with time and wealth.
As Christians, the world will see Christ in us when we speak and live the truth. Will you be willing to carry the cross?
And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion,
and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy,
even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:
When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion,
and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof
by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.
Isaiah 4:3-4
God blesses
Eng Hieang
25th Dec 2013
An afternote - Walk-about Kyushu with our Lord
And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.
Mark 16:20
By His grace, I find myself back again in Kyushu, the Southernmost part of mainland Japan. It was just in Oct that I was last there, and much as this time is a family vacation, it was wonderful to experience God's grace in this ministry ground.
Spiritual challenges is not about our circumstances, but more about one's manner of response. On day one, my traveling partner lost his IPad at the Singapore immigration scanning machine, and we also lost and recovered one traveling bag. Thankfully, the carnal reaction of frustration and anger was not as intense nor lingered too long.
And the resulting delays led us to almost miss our train to the next location. But God placed an angel in the form of an English conversant Japanese man who happened to be back from Singapore to visit his family. This kind gentleman took time to guide us through the train ticketing and we made the train with barely a couple of seconds to spare.
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
1 Chronicles 16:8
And it was with joy to have this attached photo 1 taken by my son of me, at the Onsen that we stayed in. A symbolic reminder and reassurance that light of Christ, as represented by the indwelling Holy Spirit is with us, the believers who seek Him.
But we must want to respond by walking in the Light of our Lord.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:7
And it was lovely to see a nice rainbow as we drove along the lovely coast of Southern Japan. Rainbow, an affirmation of God's grace upon the faithful.
But as a reminder that there is not just Heaven but hell, a visit to the 8 hells located in Kyushu is a symbolic warning to all, including those like me who might still walk wrong, much as we have seek to be right with our Lord. See photo 2.
Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles and the judgments he uttered,
1 Chronicles 16:12
And as we close off this trip in Japan with spending Xmas here, it is a little strange as one sees the decorations, yet the more muted festive mood as Xmas is not a holiday here. But more importantly, the unfamiliarity with the message of love and salvation.
There was an article in the newspaper on Japanese mums who formed a street choir in Tokyo to sing Xmas songs. The reporter stated that gospel hymns were started by blacks who being excluded from White churches in America, sang outside the churches.
In the midst of such ignorance, the article also reported on the joy experienced by the many women in the choir, who are not Christians. And indeed, the love of God transcends all understanding.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:7
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Lightness of being #29 Man in the mirror (8 Dec 2013)
Lightness of being #29 Man in the mirror ( 8th Dec 2013)
Dear...
And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.
Luke 1:22
I am not much of a science student. Nor am I a person who pays much attention to the minute details of my surrounds. But as I was praying, I felt led to go take a look at my reflection on the mirror.. And while it is no major discovery, the mirror reflects what looks into it, yet creates a disorientation for my left now becomes my right and vice versa.
One cannot but laud the masters of the art of inside painted snuff bottles, for not just their consummate skill at painting on a very small canvass, but for their mental dexterity
For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self- control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
2 Timothy 3:2-5
Some of us do take an undue amount of time assessing our physical appearance that is reflected on the mirror. I used to do that after the usual traumatic haircut at the neighborhood barber, when my crowning glory looked like a lawn that just had a mower gone 'amok' through it. But with age, a less lush mane, failing eyesight and a better hairdresser, it's no longer an issue. For it is the heart that seeks after our Lord that truly matters.
But will it not be good to take time to be still, to rest in our Lord, to let His Spirit illuminate the gathering dross in our lives, that busyness has left us indifferent to? Are we truly striving to be the lamp upon which the light of our Lord will shine forth, or have we become lampshades, where Christ is no longer obvious in our life of oblivion?
What image do we see reflected in the mirror of our lives?
Moving away from this self reflection, our good Lord brought me to the two verses below, twice over, last night and this morning. It is no coincidence for I have come to learn that if it is from our Lord, He will affirm it twice over. These two verses, "Philippians 2:12-13" and " Romans 8:15" mirrors the issue of trepidation in two contrasting context.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father."
Romans 8:15
Romans 8:15 reminds us that as believers, we have accepted the gift of salvation. We can and should walk boldly forth in our daily living. The oppressive world that Satan rules over, no longer has a hold over us. We can be in this world, but need not be of this same world.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleas
Philippians 2:12-13
But as Philippians 2:12-13 so aptly stated, the fear of our Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
We cannot and should not continue to be indifferent to God's call, for to do so will bring one into great troubles
We should not fear the world, but we must fear our Sovereign God
The former no longer has a hold on us. The latter, our Father in Heaven Who will let us go through gainful pain, to save us from ourselves, if we continue to be recalcitrant.
When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.
Jonah 2:7
God blesses
Eng Hieang
8th Dec 2013
An afterthought - Through the looking glass
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Revelation 13:11
As I rested upon our Lord, in preparation for my trip to China last Sunday, His Spirit impressed upon me this thought.
Like a weakling, whose face was once kicked with sand, an insult that spurred a determination to build a muscle bound Charles Atlas, China today is no longer the opium imbibed weakling of the early twentieth century.
It is payback time. A righting of the wrongs that the West and Japan inflicted on a house that was divided. But will this unwillingness to forgive lead to consequences that could bring harm to all?
Will a overbearing China bearing in on a cornered Japan trigger the long repressed but very present beast in the Japanese psyche?
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy;
at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Psalms 16:11
I am now back after an eventful trip to China. From the moment I set foot on China, there were interesting snippets along the way. Arriving at Changsa half an hour too early, my car pickup was no where in sight. Matter not, I took a taxi instead, and hit right smack into a heavy traffic jam. And right behind us, an over enthusiastic tailgater decided to nudge my taxi from the back. From past experiences, I thought I will be privy to a display of the Hunan style of verbal if not physical tirade between the two drivers, but thanks be to God, my taxi driver, save for a few choice Hunan words, decided to move on.
The delay was prescient though, as that gave the seminar organizers time to realize that they had not informed me of a change of hotel, and we manage to divert my driver to the right place.
In the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) in the gathering of Jews, from the various regions, every one could understand each other, even when there was a non familiarity with the diversity of languages. Was the Holy Spirit also at work at this conference of Muslim business people from all over China?
By the grace of God, I did understand to my surprise the diverse and heavily accented Mandarin spoken. And they seem to understand my convoluted Mandarin.
And being from the various minority non Han Chinese ethnic groups, the sense of camaraderie with Islam as the unifying factor was very palpable. And it was an experience to sit in a small group environment with twelve of the Muslim leaders for 3 hours into the wee hours as they testify of Allah's grace upon their lives. None lynch me when I had to correct their assumption that I was a Muslim. And they were surprised when I told them their sharing was what we Christians term 'testimony,' '见证'for it seems that they have no word to describe the testifying of Allah's perceived kindness upon their lives.
By the plans of God, I have not just had a better understanding of the Muslim community in China, who are primarily from the non Han Chinese race, our good Lord has made me an honorary member of this community. I just have to get used to eating mutton and going to cities in more remote parts of China, be it Yunnan, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang.
There is a need to point this community towards the true God, for there is a palpable sense of inequitable latent resentment towards the majority Han which could lead to a future rise of the beast of terrorism as is so prevalent in other parts of the world.
Shanghai, the second leg of my trip was a pleasant change for a spoilt tier one city dweller like me. My best meal in 3 days was on the plane, where they served pork.
And by the grace of God, I made it to the plane despite some unexpected hiccups in my flight ticketing.
Coming from a surfeit of Muslim friends in Changsa, it was a one in a million chance to meet up with a very committed Chinese Christian on my first night in Shanghai. Shanghai, as a long time resident of this city tells me, is a transient city of greed, envy and pride, a place where many put on false personas. Our good Lord ordained that I should make a new friend and potential ministry and business partner whose heart wants to place God first and foremost in his life on my first meeting in Shanghai. What joy it is to go where God brings us and see His hands at work.
God answers prayers asked in His will. I had a late flight home and felt a desire to do a prayer walk round the key points in Shanghai. The haze worsened and my flight was postponed to the next day. That gave me a little more time to complete my prayer walk, and much as I strained my eyes to see, while standing from the vantage point of the famous Shanghai Bund, no beast rose from the waters. But there indeed is a beast that is stirring.
A program that I watched on CCTV on my extra night in Shanghai brought into perspective for me what the future portends. North Asia will be a theatre for conflict, not just for China and Japan but also the two Koreas, USA and the old nemesis, Russia. A reprise of the Meiji period when a modernizing Japan defeated the Russians in a naval battle. That victory was a prelude to emboldening an increasingly nationalistic Japan and her future misadventures into World War 2.
God is calling on Christians both within and outside North Asia to pray and to influence through engagement, the people of North Asia. This future conflagration can be avoided if good sense prevail, and that is only possible when all hearts are turned to the Sovereign God.
On my final morning in Shanghai on Saturday, there were only 4 people at the breakfast room. A rare Japanese couple, who were rather low key. A lady sitting across me who epitomized the temptations of this city of lights. And in walk a yellow robed monk who was particularly keen on engaging both the lady from Jiangsu and myself. Where would this tripartite engagement have led me to? I have no answer to that as my flight was confirmed and after 6 days in China, I was glad to be going home. And if our Lord so wills, this ministry in China and Japan will evolved even more.
And how do I know this sharing is truly from our Lord? He always affirms and as I came back to this completed sharing to give it a once over for factual accuracy, but more importantly, for spiritual alignment. Our Lord brought me to the exact page on Acts 2, which was the verse I had planned to look for but could not remember in which Book.
Our lives will mirror the wonderful path God has set for us, when we let go and let Him.
Dear...
And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.
Luke 1:22
I am not much of a science student. Nor am I a person who pays much attention to the minute details of my surrounds. But as I was praying, I felt led to go take a look at my reflection on the mirror.. And while it is no major discovery, the mirror reflects what looks into it, yet creates a disorientation for my left now becomes my right and vice versa.
One cannot but laud the masters of the art of inside painted snuff bottles, for not just their consummate skill at painting on a very small canvass, but for their mental dexterity
For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self- control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
2 Timothy 3:2-5
Some of us do take an undue amount of time assessing our physical appearance that is reflected on the mirror. I used to do that after the usual traumatic haircut at the neighborhood barber, when my crowning glory looked like a lawn that just had a mower gone 'amok' through it. But with age, a less lush mane, failing eyesight and a better hairdresser, it's no longer an issue. For it is the heart that seeks after our Lord that truly matters.
But will it not be good to take time to be still, to rest in our Lord, to let His Spirit illuminate the gathering dross in our lives, that busyness has left us indifferent to? Are we truly striving to be the lamp upon which the light of our Lord will shine forth, or have we become lampshades, where Christ is no longer obvious in our life of oblivion?
What image do we see reflected in the mirror of our lives?
Moving away from this self reflection, our good Lord brought me to the two verses below, twice over, last night and this morning. It is no coincidence for I have come to learn that if it is from our Lord, He will affirm it twice over. These two verses, "Philippians 2:12-13" and " Romans 8:15" mirrors the issue of trepidation in two contrasting context.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father."
Romans 8:15
Romans 8:15 reminds us that as believers, we have accepted the gift of salvation. We can and should walk boldly forth in our daily living. The oppressive world that Satan rules over, no longer has a hold over us. We can be in this world, but need not be of this same world.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleas
Philippians 2:12-13
But as Philippians 2:12-13 so aptly stated, the fear of our Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
We cannot and should not continue to be indifferent to God's call, for to do so will bring one into great troubles
We should not fear the world, but we must fear our Sovereign God
The former no longer has a hold on us. The latter, our Father in Heaven Who will let us go through gainful pain, to save us from ourselves, if we continue to be recalcitrant.
When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.
Jonah 2:7
God blesses
Eng Hieang
8th Dec 2013
An afterthought - Through the looking glass
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Revelation 13:11
As I rested upon our Lord, in preparation for my trip to China last Sunday, His Spirit impressed upon me this thought.
Like a weakling, whose face was once kicked with sand, an insult that spurred a determination to build a muscle bound Charles Atlas, China today is no longer the opium imbibed weakling of the early twentieth century.
It is payback time. A righting of the wrongs that the West and Japan inflicted on a house that was divided. But will this unwillingness to forgive lead to consequences that could bring harm to all?
Will a overbearing China bearing in on a cornered Japan trigger the long repressed but very present beast in the Japanese psyche?
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy;
at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Psalms 16:11
I am now back after an eventful trip to China. From the moment I set foot on China, there were interesting snippets along the way. Arriving at Changsa half an hour too early, my car pickup was no where in sight. Matter not, I took a taxi instead, and hit right smack into a heavy traffic jam. And right behind us, an over enthusiastic tailgater decided to nudge my taxi from the back. From past experiences, I thought I will be privy to a display of the Hunan style of verbal if not physical tirade between the two drivers, but thanks be to God, my taxi driver, save for a few choice Hunan words, decided to move on.
The delay was prescient though, as that gave the seminar organizers time to realize that they had not informed me of a change of hotel, and we manage to divert my driver to the right place.
In the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) in the gathering of Jews, from the various regions, every one could understand each other, even when there was a non familiarity with the diversity of languages. Was the Holy Spirit also at work at this conference of Muslim business people from all over China?
By the grace of God, I did understand to my surprise the diverse and heavily accented Mandarin spoken. And they seem to understand my convoluted Mandarin.
And being from the various minority non Han Chinese ethnic groups, the sense of camaraderie with Islam as the unifying factor was very palpable. And it was an experience to sit in a small group environment with twelve of the Muslim leaders for 3 hours into the wee hours as they testify of Allah's grace upon their lives. None lynch me when I had to correct their assumption that I was a Muslim. And they were surprised when I told them their sharing was what we Christians term 'testimony,' '见证'for it seems that they have no word to describe the testifying of Allah's perceived kindness upon their lives.
By the plans of God, I have not just had a better understanding of the Muslim community in China, who are primarily from the non Han Chinese race, our good Lord has made me an honorary member of this community. I just have to get used to eating mutton and going to cities in more remote parts of China, be it Yunnan, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang.
There is a need to point this community towards the true God, for there is a palpable sense of inequitable latent resentment towards the majority Han which could lead to a future rise of the beast of terrorism as is so prevalent in other parts of the world.
Shanghai, the second leg of my trip was a pleasant change for a spoilt tier one city dweller like me. My best meal in 3 days was on the plane, where they served pork.
And by the grace of God, I made it to the plane despite some unexpected hiccups in my flight ticketing.
Coming from a surfeit of Muslim friends in Changsa, it was a one in a million chance to meet up with a very committed Chinese Christian on my first night in Shanghai. Shanghai, as a long time resident of this city tells me, is a transient city of greed, envy and pride, a place where many put on false personas. Our good Lord ordained that I should make a new friend and potential ministry and business partner whose heart wants to place God first and foremost in his life on my first meeting in Shanghai. What joy it is to go where God brings us and see His hands at work.
God answers prayers asked in His will. I had a late flight home and felt a desire to do a prayer walk round the key points in Shanghai. The haze worsened and my flight was postponed to the next day. That gave me a little more time to complete my prayer walk, and much as I strained my eyes to see, while standing from the vantage point of the famous Shanghai Bund, no beast rose from the waters. But there indeed is a beast that is stirring.
A program that I watched on CCTV on my extra night in Shanghai brought into perspective for me what the future portends. North Asia will be a theatre for conflict, not just for China and Japan but also the two Koreas, USA and the old nemesis, Russia. A reprise of the Meiji period when a modernizing Japan defeated the Russians in a naval battle. That victory was a prelude to emboldening an increasingly nationalistic Japan and her future misadventures into World War 2.
God is calling on Christians both within and outside North Asia to pray and to influence through engagement, the people of North Asia. This future conflagration can be avoided if good sense prevail, and that is only possible when all hearts are turned to the Sovereign God.
On my final morning in Shanghai on Saturday, there were only 4 people at the breakfast room. A rare Japanese couple, who were rather low key. A lady sitting across me who epitomized the temptations of this city of lights. And in walk a yellow robed monk who was particularly keen on engaging both the lady from Jiangsu and myself. Where would this tripartite engagement have led me to? I have no answer to that as my flight was confirmed and after 6 days in China, I was glad to be going home. And if our Lord so wills, this ministry in China and Japan will evolved even more.
And how do I know this sharing is truly from our Lord? He always affirms and as I came back to this completed sharing to give it a once over for factual accuracy, but more importantly, for spiritual alignment. Our Lord brought me to the exact page on Acts 2, which was the verse I had planned to look for but could not remember in which Book.
Our lives will mirror the wonderful path God has set for us, when we let go and let Him.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Lightness of being #28 Steer, not stir the dragon (19 Nov 2013)
Lightness of being #28 Steer the stirred dragon ( 19 Nov 2013)
Dear.....
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself
that they might declare my praise.
Isaiah 43:18-21
As I penned these rudimentary thoughts, possibly in a few weeks time, I will begin my first step into the final leg of the tripartite that God had placed in my heart in the lows of the subprime crisis back in April 2009.
Thailand is a decade long well where our good Lord has sent me to plow since 1998. A land where His Spirit fell upon me and transformed my life from sedentary believer to a determined follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. Artisan wells there are plenty in Bangkok, and a reason for its continued sinking. It is an "old well" that our Lord has led me to give a respite to, as He now brings me to the new wells "Japan," and "China."
And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say,
Luke 12:11
Is this coming trip truly the will of God? Man plans God directs. It is good for me to wait upon our Lord, and move forth only when His Spirit leads.
Like Gideon or other men of God's leading, this trip that I plan to embark on is not without its challenges. Language proficiency will be testing for me, for one will not just be in a total Putonghua environment, but one spiced with the heavy accents of the locale which can be a strain on the uninitiated. Would a "yellow banana" like me, schooled in the Anglophile environment of the mission schools, be incommunicado in this Chinese bazaar?
Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:12
Much as with man it might be impossible, with God all things will be possible.
God will on reflection, prepare us even as He leads us in wherever He wills for us.
These past 3 months of determined immersion in the Mandarin vernacular has given me some semblance of the beginnings of a more structured foundation in my grasp of the unifying language of the Chinese race. Though on the side, if what I had read is true, Hokkien was the language of the Great Tang Dynasty, much as Mandarin was distilled from the barbarian tribes north of Beijing.
I had intentionally concentrated my reacquaintance with Mandarin through primarily Mandarin Christian hymns written in the traditional Mandarin script used in Taiwan, rather than the simplified version in use in China. And I listened to the mandarin audio Chinese Bible on a daily basis, while on the road and very little of anything else.
Our Father in Heaven has a great sense of humor. Not only my rudimentary grasp of the written Mandarin characters is more apt for Taiwan, than China.
I do wonder what the primarily Muslim Chinese entrepreneurs whom I will be spending time this trip with will think given my fairly nascent Putonghua is significantly Biblical oriented?
Like Japan, where my spiritual journey started with the very symbolic purchase of a property away from the main city, but in a strategic cross road of the two spiritual strongholds that have enslaved the country. A place where through the prayers of the faithful, God will begin to break the spiritual bondage.
I know my going to Hunan will be prescient if it is truly from our Lord.
And indeed, it is interesting that this ministry is not starting with the mainstream Han Chinese, but instead with the minority Muslim tribes and the Han Chinese who engage in business with them or reside in their land.
God always affirms. In Japan, in Kyushu where I made my maiden trip last month, it was also the place where the Western Christian missionaries were first allowed into a closed door Japan. And it was where the Japanese Christians who at one point accounted for 10% of the population were decimated through persecutions and cruxifications. Yet, the embers of Christianity never died off.
Changsha city, in Hunan Province was where Chairman Mao Tse Tung, had his epiphany moment with the "godless" religion, and became a communist. He was the man who brought China out of the inequitable capitalist abuses of Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek's Kuomintang, into the utopian but in reality bondage of communism.
Changsa city is also the hometown of the great reformer, the ex Prime Minister Zhu Rong Zhi, whose radical reforms catapulted China up the curve in the 1990s. It is prescient that the present leadership in meeting in the key 3rd Plenary, where the next leap forward, is dotted with many advisers from PM's Zhu era.
Spiritually this is where our Lord has placed me to, to begin through prayers and engagement, the unravelling of the roots of China's present darkness.
Revelation 12:17
Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
And this morning, our Lord impressed upon my heart, to retitle this sharing from the planned "Mao Tai," a pun on Chairman Mao, and an intoxicated China, that is now inebriated with not the potent Chinese wine, but with the concept of Babylonian capitalism.
"Steer, not stir the dragon," this is the word our Lord gave me.
The ramifications of China, the Land of the dragon king( where every Emperor ascribe their ancestry to) awakening from self imposed slumber( since the Ming Dynasty, save for Admiral Cheng Ho's great sea expedition) reverberates through all our lives globally.
But clearly, from mere stirring, the Middle Kingdom is ready to reclaim her perceived birthright as the pivot of the world. She is ready to steer the world in her way.
Would it be in a godless manner, as is the foundation of the Communist Party?
Or in an even more rudderless manner, for with the dominant religion "communism," losing its bearings to corruption, many Chinese are increasingly searching for that spiritual compass, that peace and joy, that the much pursued material wealth the past three decades have not been able to provide.
God is calling Christians to pray for this nation. To engage the Chinese and be the conduit upon which His light will shine forth and transform hearts, that will point China's people, if not her leadership toward's Christ, before Christ returns.
For the times are near.
And on engagement, this past one week has been an intense Mandarin festival. Starting with meeting friends from Taiwan, followed by half a platoon of visitors from all across China, and rounded off by two calls from con men in China who caught me a little off guard in my Mandarin intoxicated state. And closing the week by signing on to WeChat to connect with my new friends from China.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
19 Nov 2013
An afterthought - Long Sand
Revelation 12:17
Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
"Long sand," this is the literal translation of Changsa. And it did struck me as to the coincidence or more aptly God's prescience in bringing me to Revelation 12:17 as above, where indeed, the Chinese government has been clamping down on the independent House Churches.
But it is the last line of Revelations 12:17 "he stood on the sand of the sea." that is intriguing.
Who is this he?
Bible theologians are divided as to who it is?
Revelation 13:1
The First Beast
And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
If one read into Revelations 13:1 it will be Satan, as he stood on the beach to summon the beasts.
It could also be the Apostle John as he stood on the beach to witness the rising of the beasts.
What matters for us is, we are now standing on the same line on the beach of life.
We are witnessing the rise of the beast in our midst, for the world as we know it is increasingly deviant and the rules of the jungle is increasingly the norm in mainstream life.
Will you stand with the devil, as many are, as they either exhibit the same deviancy or choose to not speak and live boldly against it. Or will you answer God's call when He lifted the blindness in your hearts, to stand firm on the sand, and be the beacon of love as His light shines forth?
And is my fertile imagination on overdrive, or the Spirit of God is bringing to life the montages that must sharpen our spiritual awareness. As I was driving to the hair saloon this morning, I was reminded of a possible connecting trip to Shanghai from Changsa.
"Above the sea," that is the literal translation for this mega polis. And with the Chinese Government now focussed on using Shanghai as their experiment to go thoroughly capitalist,
indeed the new beast of Babylon has risen.
Is Changsa ( the sand ) where our Lord will allow me to witness the rise of the beast upon the water, Shanghai? And Shanghai, the old dame of Asia is where I will be in this 2 leg trip
Dear.....
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself
that they might declare my praise.
Isaiah 43:18-21
As I penned these rudimentary thoughts, possibly in a few weeks time, I will begin my first step into the final leg of the tripartite that God had placed in my heart in the lows of the subprime crisis back in April 2009.
Thailand is a decade long well where our good Lord has sent me to plow since 1998. A land where His Spirit fell upon me and transformed my life from sedentary believer to a determined follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. Artisan wells there are plenty in Bangkok, and a reason for its continued sinking. It is an "old well" that our Lord has led me to give a respite to, as He now brings me to the new wells "Japan," and "China."
And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say,
Luke 12:11
Is this coming trip truly the will of God? Man plans God directs. It is good for me to wait upon our Lord, and move forth only when His Spirit leads.
Like Gideon or other men of God's leading, this trip that I plan to embark on is not without its challenges. Language proficiency will be testing for me, for one will not just be in a total Putonghua environment, but one spiced with the heavy accents of the locale which can be a strain on the uninitiated. Would a "yellow banana" like me, schooled in the Anglophile environment of the mission schools, be incommunicado in this Chinese bazaar?
Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:12
Much as with man it might be impossible, with God all things will be possible.
God will on reflection, prepare us even as He leads us in wherever He wills for us.
These past 3 months of determined immersion in the Mandarin vernacular has given me some semblance of the beginnings of a more structured foundation in my grasp of the unifying language of the Chinese race. Though on the side, if what I had read is true, Hokkien was the language of the Great Tang Dynasty, much as Mandarin was distilled from the barbarian tribes north of Beijing.
I had intentionally concentrated my reacquaintance with Mandarin through primarily Mandarin Christian hymns written in the traditional Mandarin script used in Taiwan, rather than the simplified version in use in China. And I listened to the mandarin audio Chinese Bible on a daily basis, while on the road and very little of anything else.
Our Father in Heaven has a great sense of humor. Not only my rudimentary grasp of the written Mandarin characters is more apt for Taiwan, than China.
I do wonder what the primarily Muslim Chinese entrepreneurs whom I will be spending time this trip with will think given my fairly nascent Putonghua is significantly Biblical oriented?
Like Japan, where my spiritual journey started with the very symbolic purchase of a property away from the main city, but in a strategic cross road of the two spiritual strongholds that have enslaved the country. A place where through the prayers of the faithful, God will begin to break the spiritual bondage.
I know my going to Hunan will be prescient if it is truly from our Lord.
And indeed, it is interesting that this ministry is not starting with the mainstream Han Chinese, but instead with the minority Muslim tribes and the Han Chinese who engage in business with them or reside in their land.
God always affirms. In Japan, in Kyushu where I made my maiden trip last month, it was also the place where the Western Christian missionaries were first allowed into a closed door Japan. And it was where the Japanese Christians who at one point accounted for 10% of the population were decimated through persecutions and cruxifications. Yet, the embers of Christianity never died off.
Changsha city, in Hunan Province was where Chairman Mao Tse Tung, had his epiphany moment with the "godless" religion, and became a communist. He was the man who brought China out of the inequitable capitalist abuses of Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek's Kuomintang, into the utopian but in reality bondage of communism.
Changsa city is also the hometown of the great reformer, the ex Prime Minister Zhu Rong Zhi, whose radical reforms catapulted China up the curve in the 1990s. It is prescient that the present leadership in meeting in the key 3rd Plenary, where the next leap forward, is dotted with many advisers from PM's Zhu era.
Spiritually this is where our Lord has placed me to, to begin through prayers and engagement, the unravelling of the roots of China's present darkness.
Revelation 12:17
Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
And this morning, our Lord impressed upon my heart, to retitle this sharing from the planned "Mao Tai," a pun on Chairman Mao, and an intoxicated China, that is now inebriated with not the potent Chinese wine, but with the concept of Babylonian capitalism.
"Steer, not stir the dragon," this is the word our Lord gave me.
The ramifications of China, the Land of the dragon king( where every Emperor ascribe their ancestry to) awakening from self imposed slumber( since the Ming Dynasty, save for Admiral Cheng Ho's great sea expedition) reverberates through all our lives globally.
But clearly, from mere stirring, the Middle Kingdom is ready to reclaim her perceived birthright as the pivot of the world. She is ready to steer the world in her way.
Would it be in a godless manner, as is the foundation of the Communist Party?
Or in an even more rudderless manner, for with the dominant religion "communism," losing its bearings to corruption, many Chinese are increasingly searching for that spiritual compass, that peace and joy, that the much pursued material wealth the past three decades have not been able to provide.
God is calling Christians to pray for this nation. To engage the Chinese and be the conduit upon which His light will shine forth and transform hearts, that will point China's people, if not her leadership toward's Christ, before Christ returns.
For the times are near.
And on engagement, this past one week has been an intense Mandarin festival. Starting with meeting friends from Taiwan, followed by half a platoon of visitors from all across China, and rounded off by two calls from con men in China who caught me a little off guard in my Mandarin intoxicated state. And closing the week by signing on to WeChat to connect with my new friends from China.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
19 Nov 2013
An afterthought - Long Sand
Revelation 12:17
Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
"Long sand," this is the literal translation of Changsa. And it did struck me as to the coincidence or more aptly God's prescience in bringing me to Revelation 12:17 as above, where indeed, the Chinese government has been clamping down on the independent House Churches.
But it is the last line of Revelations 12:17 "he stood on the sand of the sea." that is intriguing.
Who is this he?
Bible theologians are divided as to who it is?
Revelation 13:1
The First Beast
And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
If one read into Revelations 13:1 it will be Satan, as he stood on the beach to summon the beasts.
It could also be the Apostle John as he stood on the beach to witness the rising of the beasts.
What matters for us is, we are now standing on the same line on the beach of life.
We are witnessing the rise of the beast in our midst, for the world as we know it is increasingly deviant and the rules of the jungle is increasingly the norm in mainstream life.
Will you stand with the devil, as many are, as they either exhibit the same deviancy or choose to not speak and live boldly against it. Or will you answer God's call when He lifted the blindness in your hearts, to stand firm on the sand, and be the beacon of love as His light shines forth?
And is my fertile imagination on overdrive, or the Spirit of God is bringing to life the montages that must sharpen our spiritual awareness. As I was driving to the hair saloon this morning, I was reminded of a possible connecting trip to Shanghai from Changsa.
"Above the sea," that is the literal translation for this mega polis. And with the Chinese Government now focussed on using Shanghai as their experiment to go thoroughly capitalist,
indeed the new beast of Babylon has risen.
Is Changsa ( the sand ) where our Lord will allow me to witness the rise of the beast upon the water, Shanghai? And Shanghai, the old dame of Asia is where I will be in this 2 leg trip
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Lightness of being #27 Is life a transaction? (16 Nov 2013)
Dear....
'.... And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.'
Daniel 5:23
Dr Faustus sold his soul to the devil, in exchange for power and knowledge for a finite number of years. Is this play written in the seventeenth century still very reflective of the "Faustus." in many of us? We ignore the omnipresent God, and continue to partake in the life of angst, strife and self determination that will bring the curse of Egypt upon us.
Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.
Psalms 143:8
Is going down on our knees every new day, to ask God to show us His will for us for the day, an act of delusion to avoid having to deal with the difficulties of life? Or is it truly an acknowledgement of God's sovereignty and our limitations. A reality that Adam and Eve ignored at great folly when they succumbed to the devil's prodding, and chose to move away from dependency upon God to self.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalms 23:1
A familiar verse often used in obituaries and at funeral wakes. Yet, is this an indictment of the failing in most of us, being willing to entrust all to God, ONLY when all else fails, and in this case, it is not even the choice of the departed!
Should we not trust God Who is Lord of everything this very moment, and in every breadth that He grant us?
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1 Peter 5:6-7
Every new day, at the break of dawn, I remind myself this new day is given by the grace of God. Every morning, I also glanced through the obituaries in the newspaper, to remind myself that once we breathe our last, we will no longer be able to make right our lives before we meet God our Maker.
Every new day that God provides, my prayer would be to have the wisdom to discern His will for me today.
And that His grace will enable and empower my spirit man to honor Him, as His Spirit leads, in my response and interaction with my community, to be the lamp upon which His light will shine forth.
and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain,
1 Timothy 6:5-6
Strange, many will think. What about your worldly obligations to family, to employer?
How will you be able to make a living in this present world if your thoughts and actions are focussed only on Yahweh?
The Word of God is the bread of life. But will that be suffice to take care of our bodily needs in this present world? Should God not prosper us materially?
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Matthew 4:8
A sense of deep insecurity as regards material provisions, is what drives my life and my perceived success. God by His divine grace removed this burdensome lie that has hovered over me and freed me at age 40, and empowered me to go out to share the message
"that the chains on our soul has long been removed. That we can walk out of the prison gates that Adam found himself ensnared in, when he transacted with the devil."
Matthew 4:10-11
That it is God our Provider that truly matters, not His provisions.
As the year draws to an end, many of us are starting to budget for next year. There is an implicit transaction, for the numbers set will determine our renumeration and the quality of our work life grind.
Much as we as Christians must honor our earthly employers, the only true employer is the Lord our God.
It is imperative that we must start with, always be with and end the day with God.
Will doing so help us achieve our earthly goals?
Not necessarily, but God knows our needs and in doing His will, His ways are always better than ours
1 John 3:21-22
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
16 Nov 2013
An afterthought - For whom the bell tolls?
If my memory fails me not, this was a book written by Ernest Heminway
For the world of me, much as I remember Sally Fields as the Flying Nun, I cannot remember the plot of this book. But matters not. Rather what is more pertinent is this question "for whom are you toiling for in your drive to attain the temporal things of this finite world?"
Ecclesiastes 4:8
one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.
This evening, by the faithfulness of a bro in Christ, I was blessed to attend an introduction to an initiative that runs close to my heart, especially this past one year.
It is more than Bob Buford's second half, where one dedicates one's life to God, after having done the needful in our secular career.
It is about continuing where God places us, possibly for many in the secular career, but with a realignment in focus. We respect our secular bosses, but we work only for God.
Can we in this world, yet not be of this world in our daily work?
And this is a call by His grace, I have answered a year back, wrestled with my carnality, yet God has always been faithful much as I often wavered.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!
This evening, God has brought a gathering of Christians who are like minded to build this individual response into a community. A parallel economy run on Godly principles as contrasted to the increasingly deviant economic system of our present world, where the mark of the beast is no longer opaque. Where to do well in corporate life, you will increasingly have to exhibit or at least accept the beastly behavior of greed, pride, selfishness, deceit, anger, envy, lusts and impatience.
'.... And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.'
Daniel 5:23
Dr Faustus sold his soul to the devil, in exchange for power and knowledge for a finite number of years. Is this play written in the seventeenth century still very reflective of the "Faustus." in many of us? We ignore the omnipresent God, and continue to partake in the life of angst, strife and self determination that will bring the curse of Egypt upon us.
Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.
Psalms 143:8
Is going down on our knees every new day, to ask God to show us His will for us for the day, an act of delusion to avoid having to deal with the difficulties of life? Or is it truly an acknowledgement of God's sovereignty and our limitations. A reality that Adam and Eve ignored at great folly when they succumbed to the devil's prodding, and chose to move away from dependency upon God to self.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalms 23:1
A familiar verse often used in obituaries and at funeral wakes. Yet, is this an indictment of the failing in most of us, being willing to entrust all to God, ONLY when all else fails, and in this case, it is not even the choice of the departed!
Should we not trust God Who is Lord of everything this very moment, and in every breadth that He grant us?
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1 Peter 5:6-7
Every new day, at the break of dawn, I remind myself this new day is given by the grace of God. Every morning, I also glanced through the obituaries in the newspaper, to remind myself that once we breathe our last, we will no longer be able to make right our lives before we meet God our Maker.
Every new day that God provides, my prayer would be to have the wisdom to discern His will for me today.
And that His grace will enable and empower my spirit man to honor Him, as His Spirit leads, in my response and interaction with my community, to be the lamp upon which His light will shine forth.
and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain,
1 Timothy 6:5-6
Strange, many will think. What about your worldly obligations to family, to employer?
How will you be able to make a living in this present world if your thoughts and actions are focussed only on Yahweh?
The Word of God is the bread of life. But will that be suffice to take care of our bodily needs in this present world? Should God not prosper us materially?
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Matthew 4:8
A sense of deep insecurity as regards material provisions, is what drives my life and my perceived success. God by His divine grace removed this burdensome lie that has hovered over me and freed me at age 40, and empowered me to go out to share the message
"that the chains on our soul has long been removed. That we can walk out of the prison gates that Adam found himself ensnared in, when he transacted with the devil."
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.Matthew 4:10-11
That it is God our Provider that truly matters, not His provisions.
As the year draws to an end, many of us are starting to budget for next year. There is an implicit transaction, for the numbers set will determine our renumeration and the quality of our work life grind.
Much as we as Christians must honor our earthly employers, the only true employer is the Lord our God.
It is imperative that we must start with, always be with and end the day with God.
Will doing so help us achieve our earthly goals?
Not necessarily, but God knows our needs and in doing His will, His ways are always better than ours
1 John 3:21-22
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
16 Nov 2013
An afterthought - For whom the bell tolls?
If my memory fails me not, this was a book written by Ernest Heminway
For the world of me, much as I remember Sally Fields as the Flying Nun, I cannot remember the plot of this book. But matters not. Rather what is more pertinent is this question "for whom are you toiling for in your drive to attain the temporal things of this finite world?"
Ecclesiastes 4:8
one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.
This evening, by the faithfulness of a bro in Christ, I was blessed to attend an introduction to an initiative that runs close to my heart, especially this past one year.
It is more than Bob Buford's second half, where one dedicates one's life to God, after having done the needful in our secular career.
It is about continuing where God places us, possibly for many in the secular career, but with a realignment in focus. We respect our secular bosses, but we work only for God.
Can we in this world, yet not be of this world in our daily work?
And this is a call by His grace, I have answered a year back, wrestled with my carnality, yet God has always been faithful much as I often wavered.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!
This evening, God has brought a gathering of Christians who are like minded to build this individual response into a community. A parallel economy run on Godly principles as contrasted to the increasingly deviant economic system of our present world, where the mark of the beast is no longer opaque. Where to do well in corporate life, you will increasingly have to exhibit or at least accept the beastly behavior of greed, pride, selfishness, deceit, anger, envy, lusts and impatience.
Friday, November 8, 2013
Lightness of being #26 Sampan (9th Nov 2013)
Dear...
Our Prime Minister was quoted as referring to our beloved nation as an upgraded sampan version 2.0, a far cry from the cruise ship that many think should better reflect our progress as a developed nation.
And why not a cruise ship? PM Lee acknowledged our progress but we need to continue to strive, and not rest on our laurel. I have been on a couple of luxury cruises, and it was great. Being fed all the time, lolling on deck or in your suite, and going onshore for sightseeing without your baggages. A life seemingly with no strife but also with no desire to strive.
Is life for a Christian any similar? When we come onboard the Jesus Christ SS, are we on a comfy cruise ship captained by our Lord, or have we been gang hauled into a rickety flat boat of no more than 3.5 meters by 4.5 meters?
The word 'sampan," is a Hokkien word, contrary to my belief that it had its origins in the Malay language. "3 planks," that is the visual configuration of a typical sampan, and being atypical of how words are derived from one's visual ingestion, hence the term.
I was at a Christian lunch meeting today. The food was simple but tasty, the camaraderie was easy when Christ, and not the world is the focus. The speaker is eminent, but that matters less than his heart. And he reminded all present that wherever God places us, we must be keenly aware of His purpose for us and we must respond, to share and live the gospel truth. Cruising along in our faith, by doing no wrong in our lives is not the great commission. We are to impact our surrounds, not by our own strength, but by being a willing lamp for the light of Christ to shine forth into the darkness. In the wide ocean of humanity, it matters not if one is the "Titanic," or a mere bobbing sampan. For what truly count is, "will you be willing to be the platform for Christ?"
Why, when I came, was there no man; why, when I called, was there no one to answer?
Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?
Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert;
their fish stink for lack of water and die of thirst.
Isaiah 50:2
Time in the pool does bring one greater clarity of thought. In the midst of my evening swim today, the irrepressible sampan floated into my frame of reference. Storms at sea might be impactful visually, but storms in our lives are no less daunting.
But if God is Sovereign, and He is, fear is but a manifestation of our reluctance to let go and let Him.
What we should truly fear is the enemy from within - our self deceitful self!!
A sampan might be tossed about in a virulent tempest,but God is master of both the tempest, the sea and all. What should concern us is ourselves!! For a quiet but steady leak will wrought an early demise, even in the most placid body of water. As the temple of upon which the Spirit of God resides, we must be holy, for God is holy.
The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
Isaiah 50:4
Much as being out of my comfort zone this past one year can be quite a disconcerting experience, thanks be to God my sleep remains restful. Tossing in bed is not endemic in my nightly ritual, though my wife claims the decibels in my snoring is intensifying.
I am thankful that indeed I could truly draw deeply from Christ, the spring of life, as He strengthens the roots of my faith. Thirsts in the desert of this journey of the past one year has brought me into a liberating relationship of dependency upon our Lord every new day.
And this morning, the word "adrift" was impressed upon my heart.
Indeed, the "big ships" of the global system have drifted increasingly away from the lofty ideals of her founding fathers. Judeo Christianity values, which have been the foundational anchors for the two sequential dominant empires of the past three centuries, pax Britannia and pax America, is now replaced by the attitude of self ,self righteousness and deceit.
How do we as a small sampan in this ocean of change stay true to the values that have allowed God to transform us from an island in the sun, to a beacon of strength?
"David inquired of The Lord."
2 Samuel 5:19
We must rise above the fray, by anchoring ourselves even more deeply to The Lord our God. Only then can we not only not be overwhelmed by the encroaching godless and deviant armadas of the Western world, who seek to influence, and coerced the rest of the world to their shifting values or the lack of it.
Only then can we be transformed from a mere sampan, to be the lighthouse, the beacon for which the light of our Lord Jesus Christ will shine forth into the creeping darkness of our world.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
9th Nov 2013
An afterthought - Digging wells
Water, water everywhere but it does not sate one's thirst. It is time to leave the swathe of salty sea and beached the sampan onto terra firma, for there are new wells to be dug.
He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
Psalms 107:35
When I answered, after much reluctance, our good Lord's call to step out of my comfortable abode of the past 17 years, I was fearful. Not because I had heard wrongly, for God never leaves the faithful unsure about His will. But rather, the execution was clearly daunting, if not overwhelming.
It has been a year. It is by His grace that this ministry has been very fruitful, much as it has been a struggle throughout.
But I believe the struggle was very much more about myself rather than the surrounds.
Our good Lord convicted my heart of two fundamental truths
- I have to be willing to trust in His Sovereignty by being willing to be totally dependent upon the Holy Spirit's leading every new day.
- to stop focussing on the old wells of my past experiences and instead, dig for new wells as His Spirit leads.
Most of us are familiar with the parable of the poor widow. Our Lord brought a new perspective to me this morning.
For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Mark 12:44
Many of us wants to serve our Lord. It is never meant to be a part time vocation as many would rather it to be. God must be first and foremost in our heart's focus. In fact, His will must be our only focus.
And it is His way, not ours that must now be the DNA that drives our thought processes and every action.
And will we be willing to give Him our all from what we have, no matter how inadequate it may seem, rather than from what we would like to have, in His service?
Only in honoring Him in total surrender, in total dependency upon His grace, will the world witness the glory, power and grace of our Sovereign God.
Our Prime Minister was quoted as referring to our beloved nation as an upgraded sampan version 2.0, a far cry from the cruise ship that many think should better reflect our progress as a developed nation.
And why not a cruise ship? PM Lee acknowledged our progress but we need to continue to strive, and not rest on our laurel. I have been on a couple of luxury cruises, and it was great. Being fed all the time, lolling on deck or in your suite, and going onshore for sightseeing without your baggages. A life seemingly with no strife but also with no desire to strive.
Is life for a Christian any similar? When we come onboard the Jesus Christ SS, are we on a comfy cruise ship captained by our Lord, or have we been gang hauled into a rickety flat boat of no more than 3.5 meters by 4.5 meters?
The word 'sampan," is a Hokkien word, contrary to my belief that it had its origins in the Malay language. "3 planks," that is the visual configuration of a typical sampan, and being atypical of how words are derived from one's visual ingestion, hence the term.
I was at a Christian lunch meeting today. The food was simple but tasty, the camaraderie was easy when Christ, and not the world is the focus. The speaker is eminent, but that matters less than his heart. And he reminded all present that wherever God places us, we must be keenly aware of His purpose for us and we must respond, to share and live the gospel truth. Cruising along in our faith, by doing no wrong in our lives is not the great commission. We are to impact our surrounds, not by our own strength, but by being a willing lamp for the light of Christ to shine forth into the darkness. In the wide ocean of humanity, it matters not if one is the "Titanic," or a mere bobbing sampan. For what truly count is, "will you be willing to be the platform for Christ?"
Why, when I came, was there no man; why, when I called, was there no one to answer?
Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?
Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert;
their fish stink for lack of water and die of thirst.
Isaiah 50:2
Time in the pool does bring one greater clarity of thought. In the midst of my evening swim today, the irrepressible sampan floated into my frame of reference. Storms at sea might be impactful visually, but storms in our lives are no less daunting.
But if God is Sovereign, and He is, fear is but a manifestation of our reluctance to let go and let Him.
What we should truly fear is the enemy from within - our self deceitful self!!
A sampan might be tossed about in a virulent tempest,but God is master of both the tempest, the sea and all. What should concern us is ourselves!! For a quiet but steady leak will wrought an early demise, even in the most placid body of water. As the temple of upon which the Spirit of God resides, we must be holy, for God is holy.
The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
Isaiah 50:4
Much as being out of my comfort zone this past one year can be quite a disconcerting experience, thanks be to God my sleep remains restful. Tossing in bed is not endemic in my nightly ritual, though my wife claims the decibels in my snoring is intensifying.
I am thankful that indeed I could truly draw deeply from Christ, the spring of life, as He strengthens the roots of my faith. Thirsts in the desert of this journey of the past one year has brought me into a liberating relationship of dependency upon our Lord every new day.
And this morning, the word "adrift" was impressed upon my heart.
Indeed, the "big ships" of the global system have drifted increasingly away from the lofty ideals of her founding fathers. Judeo Christianity values, which have been the foundational anchors for the two sequential dominant empires of the past three centuries, pax Britannia and pax America, is now replaced by the attitude of self ,self righteousness and deceit.
How do we as a small sampan in this ocean of change stay true to the values that have allowed God to transform us from an island in the sun, to a beacon of strength?
"David inquired of The Lord."
2 Samuel 5:19
We must rise above the fray, by anchoring ourselves even more deeply to The Lord our God. Only then can we not only not be overwhelmed by the encroaching godless and deviant armadas of the Western world, who seek to influence, and coerced the rest of the world to their shifting values or the lack of it.
Only then can we be transformed from a mere sampan, to be the lighthouse, the beacon for which the light of our Lord Jesus Christ will shine forth into the creeping darkness of our world.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
9th Nov 2013
An afterthought - Digging wells
Water, water everywhere but it does not sate one's thirst. It is time to leave the swathe of salty sea and beached the sampan onto terra firma, for there are new wells to be dug.
He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
Psalms 107:35
When I answered, after much reluctance, our good Lord's call to step out of my comfortable abode of the past 17 years, I was fearful. Not because I had heard wrongly, for God never leaves the faithful unsure about His will. But rather, the execution was clearly daunting, if not overwhelming.
It has been a year. It is by His grace that this ministry has been very fruitful, much as it has been a struggle throughout.
But I believe the struggle was very much more about myself rather than the surrounds.
Our good Lord convicted my heart of two fundamental truths
- I have to be willing to trust in His Sovereignty by being willing to be totally dependent upon the Holy Spirit's leading every new day.
- to stop focussing on the old wells of my past experiences and instead, dig for new wells as His Spirit leads.
Most of us are familiar with the parable of the poor widow. Our Lord brought a new perspective to me this morning.
For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Mark 12:44
Many of us wants to serve our Lord. It is never meant to be a part time vocation as many would rather it to be. God must be first and foremost in our heart's focus. In fact, His will must be our only focus.
And it is His way, not ours that must now be the DNA that drives our thought processes and every action.
And will we be willing to give Him our all from what we have, no matter how inadequate it may seem, rather than from what we would like to have, in His service?
Only in honoring Him in total surrender, in total dependency upon His grace, will the world witness the glory, power and grace of our Sovereign God.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Lightness of being #25 Age of irrelevance (3 Nov 2013)
Lightness of being #25 Age of irrelevance (3rd Nov 2013)
Dear....
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
2 Corinthians 6:16
Kodak is gone. And Fuji film is transformed partially into a cosmetic company. Like Punch and Judy, the iconic yellow box of Kodak film, used to jostle with the distinctive green box of its Japanese competitor in every conceivable platform globally. Who can imagine that with the advent of digital camera, film was no longer relevant?
Today, with the popularity of smart phones, the same fate seems to await the once dominant usurpers, digital camera players like Canon and Olympus.
For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
2 Corinthians 2:17
What about the Christian faith? Does Christ, God and the Bible need a makeover to stay relevant? Does the Sovereign God need to be repackaged as a God of Fortune to be of utility to those who worship wealth? Is the worship of God a mere facade for a rolling good time at a concert, where appeal to the carnal senses supersedes a contrite and thankful heart? Do we no longer hold God in awe and reverence?
Is the ongoing schism in the Anglican Church truly one of disagreement over the need to redefine Scripture to meet contemporary carnality and gay rights, or it is part of a greater but fruitless Satanic plot to divide and delude God's people?
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=9305889
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
Revelation 22:18-19
We are to be transformed into Christlikeness, and not the other way.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:16-17
As I resume my meanderings from where I left off last night on this reflection, our Lord put this thought into me, is the internet the new Tree of Knowledge that our forebears, Adam and Eve sinned for? Was it Steve Job's mere wry sense of humor or was there a sinister ploy to ensnarl the world by providing the sleek paraphernalia( and call it a fruit) that will allow men to be enslaved by the Web, just as Adam and Eve did in falling for the devil's ploy?
The temptress sleeps with most of us today, for wherever we are, the gadgets that gives us internet connectivity lurks in the shadows.
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
2 Corinthians 4:8
Is a God Who allows us to undergo the refiner's fire no longer in sync with the god of perceived ease and prosperity that the world harks after? The roots of our faith digs deeper into Christ, the source of all comfort and grace in times of challenges. Ongoing troubles are the very thing that discourages us from enmeshing ourselves into more troubles. When life is more challenging, I am very keenly aware of the need to stay the course and not succumb to the next temptation that comes my way. I fear God will let me go into greater agony if I sinned. But when life is dandy, I tend to have less hesitation about erring,
Why, when I came, was there no man;
why, when I called, was there no one to answer?
Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Isaiah 50:2
In our pursuit of the riches of this world, we have exchange our relationship with the Sovereign Lord for the idols in our midst. God is no longer relevant when success awaits us at the pedestal. The success that the world desires, with its associated pride, greed and lusts, is different from success in the Kingdom of God. Living every day with the God granted, Spirit led wisdom is what epitomizes success for a Christian. The world looks for conclusions, God desires our obedience.
The world's fixation with conclusions brings us the attendant grief and angst for we deal with the uncontrollable.
We will be imbued with the God given joy and peace when we focus on what is within our will, that is, to seek God with our all in total obedience.
Contrary to messages of grace being popularized, the Christian life is not about wishing and whining for God's grace. But rather, it is a determined life of discipleship.
That alignment of one's heart with the will of our Lord, will ensure that we will turn to our Lord, come what may. God is as relevant and omnipresent today as He was with the Israelites when they left Egypt.
The Day of the Lord Is Near Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is near; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests.
Zephaniah 1:7
And why is this willingness to submit to the transformative process that God will put us through so important? This morning, as our good Lord awakens me, His Spirit reminded me on the hour glass of life. The sands in all our hour glass of life shrink relentlessly. Are we prepared for the day it runs out? Or rather have we prepared correctly? Is it for the return of Christ or for most, for their unenviable time in the cauldron with the devil?
Circumcise Your Heart
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.
Deuteronomy 10:12-14
God blesses
Eng Hieang
3rd Nov 2013
An afterthought - Good morning yesterday
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RWHL_4_ia_Y
Paul Anka, in his classic song, "Times of your life" was crooning about the retentive memories a photograph can capture. It was a successful Kodak film advertisement of the '70s. But paradoxically, it is now a requiem to the deceased, or in this case the extinct. What was once an iconic company, laid to an inglorious rest. But what about us. When we meet our maker, can we be certain that our yesterdays were lived in total reverence to the Living God, or the truth is God was irrelevant in our life?
This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:3-4
Controversy generates great publicity. And the purveyors of adultery as a game to be savored did well in targeting still relatively strait laced Singapore as their next launch. The expected reaction brings great free publicity. This age old trick of the snake oil peddlers is still of great relevance.
But in using the tag line that life is short, to encourage sin. They are right on the first count, ie life is indeed not just short but unpredictable.
But would it be of not just greater relevance, but imperative that we lived a holy life? For God is holy, and death does not absolve one of the need to face the judgment seat of our Lord.
Would it not be interesting to know the sentiments of the promoters of Ashley Madison when they have to face the consequences of their sins for eternity?
But maybe better not to know, for one will need to succumb to their delectable but toxic wares to qualify for the privilege of being permanently on heat!!
Dear....
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
2 Corinthians 6:16
Kodak is gone. And Fuji film is transformed partially into a cosmetic company. Like Punch and Judy, the iconic yellow box of Kodak film, used to jostle with the distinctive green box of its Japanese competitor in every conceivable platform globally. Who can imagine that with the advent of digital camera, film was no longer relevant?
Today, with the popularity of smart phones, the same fate seems to await the once dominant usurpers, digital camera players like Canon and Olympus.
For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
2 Corinthians 2:17
What about the Christian faith? Does Christ, God and the Bible need a makeover to stay relevant? Does the Sovereign God need to be repackaged as a God of Fortune to be of utility to those who worship wealth? Is the worship of God a mere facade for a rolling good time at a concert, where appeal to the carnal senses supersedes a contrite and thankful heart? Do we no longer hold God in awe and reverence?
Is the ongoing schism in the Anglican Church truly one of disagreement over the need to redefine Scripture to meet contemporary carnality and gay rights, or it is part of a greater but fruitless Satanic plot to divide and delude God's people?
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=9305889
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
Revelation 22:18-19
We are to be transformed into Christlikeness, and not the other way.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:16-17
As I resume my meanderings from where I left off last night on this reflection, our Lord put this thought into me, is the internet the new Tree of Knowledge that our forebears, Adam and Eve sinned for? Was it Steve Job's mere wry sense of humor or was there a sinister ploy to ensnarl the world by providing the sleek paraphernalia( and call it a fruit) that will allow men to be enslaved by the Web, just as Adam and Eve did in falling for the devil's ploy?
The temptress sleeps with most of us today, for wherever we are, the gadgets that gives us internet connectivity lurks in the shadows.
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
2 Corinthians 4:8
Is a God Who allows us to undergo the refiner's fire no longer in sync with the god of perceived ease and prosperity that the world harks after? The roots of our faith digs deeper into Christ, the source of all comfort and grace in times of challenges. Ongoing troubles are the very thing that discourages us from enmeshing ourselves into more troubles. When life is more challenging, I am very keenly aware of the need to stay the course and not succumb to the next temptation that comes my way. I fear God will let me go into greater agony if I sinned. But when life is dandy, I tend to have less hesitation about erring,
Why, when I came, was there no man;
why, when I called, was there no one to answer?
Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Isaiah 50:2
In our pursuit of the riches of this world, we have exchange our relationship with the Sovereign Lord for the idols in our midst. God is no longer relevant when success awaits us at the pedestal. The success that the world desires, with its associated pride, greed and lusts, is different from success in the Kingdom of God. Living every day with the God granted, Spirit led wisdom is what epitomizes success for a Christian. The world looks for conclusions, God desires our obedience.
The world's fixation with conclusions brings us the attendant grief and angst for we deal with the uncontrollable.
We will be imbued with the God given joy and peace when we focus on what is within our will, that is, to seek God with our all in total obedience.
Contrary to messages of grace being popularized, the Christian life is not about wishing and whining for God's grace. But rather, it is a determined life of discipleship.
That alignment of one's heart with the will of our Lord, will ensure that we will turn to our Lord, come what may. God is as relevant and omnipresent today as He was with the Israelites when they left Egypt.
The Day of the Lord Is Near Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is near; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests.
Zephaniah 1:7
And why is this willingness to submit to the transformative process that God will put us through so important? This morning, as our good Lord awakens me, His Spirit reminded me on the hour glass of life. The sands in all our hour glass of life shrink relentlessly. Are we prepared for the day it runs out? Or rather have we prepared correctly? Is it for the return of Christ or for most, for their unenviable time in the cauldron with the devil?
Circumcise Your Heart
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.
Deuteronomy 10:12-14
God blesses
Eng Hieang
3rd Nov 2013
An afterthought - Good morning yesterday
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RWHL_4_ia_Y
Paul Anka, in his classic song, "Times of your life" was crooning about the retentive memories a photograph can capture. It was a successful Kodak film advertisement of the '70s. But paradoxically, it is now a requiem to the deceased, or in this case the extinct. What was once an iconic company, laid to an inglorious rest. But what about us. When we meet our maker, can we be certain that our yesterdays were lived in total reverence to the Living God, or the truth is God was irrelevant in our life?
This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:3-4
Controversy generates great publicity. And the purveyors of adultery as a game to be savored did well in targeting still relatively strait laced Singapore as their next launch. The expected reaction brings great free publicity. This age old trick of the snake oil peddlers is still of great relevance.
But in using the tag line that life is short, to encourage sin. They are right on the first count, ie life is indeed not just short but unpredictable.
But would it be of not just greater relevance, but imperative that we lived a holy life? For God is holy, and death does not absolve one of the need to face the judgment seat of our Lord.
Would it not be interesting to know the sentiments of the promoters of Ashley Madison when they have to face the consequences of their sins for eternity?
But maybe better not to know, for one will need to succumb to their delectable but toxic wares to qualify for the privilege of being permanently on heat!!
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Lightness of being #24 What is right? (26 Oct 2013)
Dear....
There is a small "hole in the wall" fruit stall in Ghim Moh market which I have been patronizing this past few months. The potpourri might be more limited compared to the multitude of competitors in his midst, but the singlet shirted uncle has been true to his words wherever I asked him for the fruits that were ripe and sweet.
"What is ripe?" might be a tough call to make for the uninitiated like me, but for the experienced fruiterer, it seems a cinch.
"What is right?" Is this not the dilemma that faces all of us at the many crossroads of our lives.
But as a determined follower of Christ, such questions beget the need for greater reflection, for what seems right in our carnal blinkered eyes, might not be aligned with the will of our Sovereign God. And that misalignment brings us into unnecessary grief.
The Lord Rebukes the Priests
“And now, O priests, this command is for you. If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.
Malachi 2:1-2
Life is a paradox. In the midst of our struggles, do we have the time or luxury of doing what honors God? And when success comes, will we be willing to move from wallowing in our self glorification and acknowledge the grace of God?
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Romans 15:13
The Christian life if lived in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit is anathema to the ways of the world. When life becomes tougher, men of harder substance grit their teeth. For us the children of God, we girth ourselves even more upon the living word of our Lord.
The world clings on to the hope that there will be a light at the end of the dark tunnel of life's circumstances that they are going through. For us the children of God, the Light of all grace and comfort already resides in our hearts. Darkness is the absence of light. It begets the question then, why is life for many Christians still seemingly shrouded in oppressive darkness? In our professed life as a Christian, is there something that we are not doing right? Is that why a statistic I was shown today indicated that 45% of Singaporeans who brand themselves Christians have been to the casino.
'.... And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.
Daniel 5:23
In the meritocratic society, rewards commensurate with one's ability. Is the Christian life considered dysfunctional? Surrender of self and submission to God. An attitude of dependency upon Christ our Lord as His Spirit leads. Is this right?
Or is it better to continue to be enslaved to the idolatry of what the world values, be it wealth, power, health, looks, talent ...?
Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning;
for in thee do I trust:
cause me to know the way wherein I should walk;
for I lift up my soul unto thee.
Psalms 143:8
This morning, another bout of anxiety crept upon me. What I termed a toxic brew whose two main ingredients are the oppression of the lurking devil, working in tandem with my self deceiving mind. But thanks be to God, much as I often struggle to do the only right thing, that is to look to Christ in submission, rather than try to overcome the devil on my own strength, His Spirit residing in me empowers and enables me to move forth boldly in victory.
The Light of the Gospel
Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.
2 Corinthians 4:1
How can one walk in the victory of the risen Christ, in our fallen world?
- Believe in and acknowledge the Sovereignty of God in all circumstances in our lives.
- Seek Him always in prayers, in His Words, in praise and in works.
This act of submission will free us from our own understanding, a grip that Satan implanted in us all through the first man Adam when he sinned. When we let go of our own understanding and let God lead us, the devil no longer has a hold on us.
- Waiting upon our Lord is an exercise of our free will to let His Spirit sanctify us, realign our focus back to Christ and away from the world.
- Moving boldly forth as our spirit discerns the call of His Spirit.
- Honoring God by living fully the fruits of the spirit. This will ensure that our hearts are focused on the light of God shining within our inner man. Every step we take will be right.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6
God will affirm the righteousness of our ways. He will allow us to see and experience the tapestry of His awesome ways. And the joy and peace that emanates from knowing the love of our Abba Father, that is the prosperity of life that far outweighs the temporal riches of the fallen world that Satan continues to proffer to the world.
God blesses
Eng HIEANG
26 Oct 2013
Surreptitious !!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17
God is a God of grace. That is true, but the easy message that grace means the bestowment of what carnal man hungers after, the temporal wants of this Satan defined world is a misrepresentation. It is no different from pouring the old wines of carnality in the guise of the new wine skin of "man defined rather than God determined Christianity."
What some call prosperity gospel, I am inclined to rename "surreptitious' preaching.
sur·rep·ti·tious (sûr p-t sh s). adj. 1. Obtained, done, or made by clandestine or stealthy means. 2. Acting with or marked by stealth.
'..and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
2 Corinthians 5:15
Apostle Paul reminds all that by God's grace, our sins are redeemed by the risen Christ.
There is no longer the need to pursue the temporal, for eternity in Heaven is waiting for those who believed.
The right thing then is to work on our salvation, to be made ready for Christ's return.
The message of prosperity is not about worldly desires as proffered by some, for that is what Satan offered Christ.
But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.
2 Corinthians 4:2
Do pray and ponder upon what Apostle Paul describe as a rich Christian life in 2 Corinthians 6, below is a snippet, though do read 2 Corinthians 6 in its entirety.
'..as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.'
2 Corinthians 6:9-10
Sent from my iPad
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Lightness of Being #23 Humbler (20 Oct 2013)
Dear...,
Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning;
for in thee do I trust:
cause me to know the way wherein I should walk;
for I lift up my soul unto thee.
Psalms 143:8
Tumbler was the word that easily rolled off the word "humbler" as I penned the title of the thoughts our good Lord has placed in me.
"Humility." I am about to enter the land of great politeness, and I am reminded of an earlier trip I made with my beloved family a few years back, which was a joy, for we started with the Land of a Thousand Smiles, "Thailand," enroute to the Land of Many Bows, Japan."
As shared previously, I have had a few dramatic falls in my life, but by the grace of God, I have always never been seriously injured. But what about life's tumbles? Pride comes before a downfall, and thanks be to God, He has always allowed me to be knocked off the perch before I could climb very much higher up the ladder of insolence.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OoUnHnMlYYM
This Mandarin worship song, is worth a listen. It draws her inspiration from the above verse from Psalms 143:8. And it reminds me of the humbling God allows us to go through, to ensure our hearts will not wander off, to prepare us for His service.
Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Psalms 25:4
Wait upon the Lord and He will lift us up. Indeed our Lord is bringing me to the paths He has set for me when He called me to leave my comfort zone.
"Insouciance," a state of calm, untroubled. This word has its origins from the French language. It's been a year since I embarked on this journey, I worked in the midst of Francophiles, but have I attained this emotional utopia? But it is more than an utopian dream, for peace and joy in all circumstances, Christ promises to give to all who seek and trust Him.
Can I truly let go and let God? My carnal self wrestles with my spirit man. But in those moments when I just stopped and turn to Christ, He affirms.
Our good Lord sent a hitherto stranger to me last Thursday. An English speaking Japanese, who can be an additional bridge for my ministry in Japan.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
Psalms 25:9
Brazil is the land of the samba. Japan, there was a feature in the newspaper on walking tours that allows one to ramble through the Tokohu region of Japan, to retrace the journeys of past, long before the pristine northern part of Japan became associated with the Fukushima nuclear fallout.
Land of rumbles, Japan is, and for a very hard ground that this nation is, God is bringing about a great stirring. The harvest fields in Japan is ripening.
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert! They tested God again and again
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
when he performed his signs in Egypt and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.
Psalms 78:40-43
As I ponder upon what is the will of our Sovereign Lord for this trip, the thought did struck me as to what will constitute "success?" But conclusion is from our Lord, obedience must come from us. I am reminded that many times in my walk in the desert this past one year, my thirst for success has shifted me away from the fear of God to the fear of failure.
Have I behaved as badly as the wandering Israelites in the Sinai desert?
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:18-19
Like me, if you are willing, God will use you to prepare the way before Christ returns. It will be off the old beaten track, for His ways are not the ways of the world. Will you trust Him by putting aside our preconceived notions, and instead learn to wait upon Him every new day?
And be in awe of the wisdom of His wonderful ways. When I left my comfort zone, I have never imagined going to Japan for business. And God affirms twice over. For come Dec, I will be in Kyushu for a holiday. That was planned before for this trip was even seeded.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
My trip
I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
Hosea 14:4
As my plane approached Fukuoka City, I was reminded of an earlier era when the feared Japanese warplanes flew into Singapore, to supposedly liberate us from the British colonial masters. "Syonan-to," which means "Light of the South" was the new name given to Japanese ruled Singapore.
that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
Philippians 2:15
Like the growing number of Christians from Singapore, we are the post war baby boomers who are in a role reversal. Being used by our Lord to shine His light into this long oppressed land. And at the crack of dawn, what a privilege that God gives me, to be able to pray over this land at 10,000 meters, starting at its southernmost tip, the bedrock of this water filled land.
The Lord Answers Jeremiah
“If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,
how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting,
what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
Jeremiah 12:5
God is bringing us the willing to new heights. On reflection, the struggles He allows us to go through in the past is a preparation for ministry that He wants to bring you to. It is daunting if on our own strength, but awe inspiring when we look to and lean upon Christ the author and finisher of our faith.
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes ....'
Jeremiah 29:12-14
God is a faithful God. Other than the very strong winds, being down South, I was spared the inconvenience of the mighty typhoon that buffeted Central Japan. I am gratified and humbled by the care that our Abba Father has always given me through all circumstances.
And it always bemuses me as to not just the prescience but the wit our Father in Heaven in the way He shows us His guiding presence.
"What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it holds a well."
Quote used in an article by Professor Hiroshi Arakawa, Aichi Tokyo University
This was from a coffee table book "Japan Now," in my hotel room. And the dear Prof penned an article on the symbolism of water in Japan, a well watered land. And he quoted from the Bible on the "Spring of Life," much as it was from a non believer, academic perspective.
Indeed, much as it has been a humbling experience this past one year working in the desert, it has been a spirit filled experience and as God continues to broaden my experience to an even harder ground, what is impossible for man, God will make possible.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
Mark 1:2-3
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:18-19
Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning;
for in thee do I trust:
cause me to know the way wherein I should walk;
for I lift up my soul unto thee.
Psalms 143:8
Tumbler was the word that easily rolled off the word "humbler" as I penned the title of the thoughts our good Lord has placed in me.
"Humility." I am about to enter the land of great politeness, and I am reminded of an earlier trip I made with my beloved family a few years back, which was a joy, for we started with the Land of a Thousand Smiles, "Thailand," enroute to the Land of Many Bows, Japan."
As shared previously, I have had a few dramatic falls in my life, but by the grace of God, I have always never been seriously injured. But what about life's tumbles? Pride comes before a downfall, and thanks be to God, He has always allowed me to be knocked off the perch before I could climb very much higher up the ladder of insolence.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OoUnHnMlYYM
This Mandarin worship song, is worth a listen. It draws her inspiration from the above verse from Psalms 143:8. And it reminds me of the humbling God allows us to go through, to ensure our hearts will not wander off, to prepare us for His service.
Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Psalms 25:4
Wait upon the Lord and He will lift us up. Indeed our Lord is bringing me to the paths He has set for me when He called me to leave my comfort zone.
"Insouciance," a state of calm, untroubled. This word has its origins from the French language. It's been a year since I embarked on this journey, I worked in the midst of Francophiles, but have I attained this emotional utopia? But it is more than an utopian dream, for peace and joy in all circumstances, Christ promises to give to all who seek and trust Him.
Can I truly let go and let God? My carnal self wrestles with my spirit man. But in those moments when I just stopped and turn to Christ, He affirms.
Our good Lord sent a hitherto stranger to me last Thursday. An English speaking Japanese, who can be an additional bridge for my ministry in Japan.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
Psalms 25:9
Brazil is the land of the samba. Japan, there was a feature in the newspaper on walking tours that allows one to ramble through the Tokohu region of Japan, to retrace the journeys of past, long before the pristine northern part of Japan became associated with the Fukushima nuclear fallout.
Land of rumbles, Japan is, and for a very hard ground that this nation is, God is bringing about a great stirring. The harvest fields in Japan is ripening.
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert! They tested God again and again
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
when he performed his signs in Egypt and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.
Psalms 78:40-43
As I ponder upon what is the will of our Sovereign Lord for this trip, the thought did struck me as to what will constitute "success?" But conclusion is from our Lord, obedience must come from us. I am reminded that many times in my walk in the desert this past one year, my thirst for success has shifted me away from the fear of God to the fear of failure.
Have I behaved as badly as the wandering Israelites in the Sinai desert?
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:18-19
Like me, if you are willing, God will use you to prepare the way before Christ returns. It will be off the old beaten track, for His ways are not the ways of the world. Will you trust Him by putting aside our preconceived notions, and instead learn to wait upon Him every new day?
And be in awe of the wisdom of His wonderful ways. When I left my comfort zone, I have never imagined going to Japan for business. And God affirms twice over. For come Dec, I will be in Kyushu for a holiday. That was planned before for this trip was even seeded.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
My trip
I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
Hosea 14:4
As my plane approached Fukuoka City, I was reminded of an earlier era when the feared Japanese warplanes flew into Singapore, to supposedly liberate us from the British colonial masters. "Syonan-to," which means "Light of the South" was the new name given to Japanese ruled Singapore.
that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
Philippians 2:15
Like the growing number of Christians from Singapore, we are the post war baby boomers who are in a role reversal. Being used by our Lord to shine His light into this long oppressed land. And at the crack of dawn, what a privilege that God gives me, to be able to pray over this land at 10,000 meters, starting at its southernmost tip, the bedrock of this water filled land.
The Lord Answers Jeremiah
“If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,
how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting,
what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
Jeremiah 12:5
God is bringing us the willing to new heights. On reflection, the struggles He allows us to go through in the past is a preparation for ministry that He wants to bring you to. It is daunting if on our own strength, but awe inspiring when we look to and lean upon Christ the author and finisher of our faith.
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes ....'
Jeremiah 29:12-14
God is a faithful God. Other than the very strong winds, being down South, I was spared the inconvenience of the mighty typhoon that buffeted Central Japan. I am gratified and humbled by the care that our Abba Father has always given me through all circumstances.
And it always bemuses me as to not just the prescience but the wit our Father in Heaven in the way He shows us His guiding presence.
"What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it holds a well."
Quote used in an article by Professor Hiroshi Arakawa, Aichi Tokyo University
This was from a coffee table book "Japan Now," in my hotel room. And the dear Prof penned an article on the symbolism of water in Japan, a well watered land. And he quoted from the Bible on the "Spring of Life," much as it was from a non believer, academic perspective.
Indeed, much as it has been a humbling experience this past one year working in the desert, it has been a spirit filled experience and as God continues to broaden my experience to an even harder ground, what is impossible for man, God will make possible.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
Mark 1:2-3
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:18-19
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Lightness of being #22 There is a GOD (12 Oct 2013)
Lightness of being#22 There is a God ( 11th Oct 2013)
Dear....
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4
Childlike faith, is that what is needed for us to believe that God exists, that He is not a figment of our imagination? And that we can and should totally submit to His Sovereignty, to revert to the relationship that Adam the first man originally had with God, before sin crept in. To be good stewards of all that God provides, yet always dependent upon a loving and faithful Father.
and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.
2 Chronicles 20:6
It seems cliche to state the obvious, "we do lived in an increasingly difficult world."
Many struggle to cope, to make sense of the forces that impact them, yet are beyond their control. Be it the victims of the Kenya terrorist carnage or the US government workers who are placed on furlough. In the corporate world, and probably in academia and all aspects of society, basic respect for our fellow humans are thrown out of the window as the law of the jungle increasing takes precedence. It is no small wonder that the spirits of depression, pride, selfishness and angst are do a roaring trade.
Where is God in this whole equation? Is God truly omnipresent and omnipotent? Or is He a lame duck, absentee father?
Or in truth, is there truly a Divine Being we call "God?"
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8
Man like to start from the pedestal of personal judgment. For the fruit from the tree of knowledge was proffered by the devil and willingly partaken by Adam and Eve.
"Till we see God, we will not believe," snorted the non believer.
"And even if God is real, we cannot accept a cruel, overbearing, disinterested God," glared the self righteous man, at anyone who dared to share the good news of the gospel.
Is it then no surprise God is an easy sell when packaged as a God of prosperity. A God after man's sinful liking. A God Who demands no accountability from our continued sins. Who panders to our sinful wants. Purveyors of such misrepresentation are enriched materially by the false gods they worship.
There is a Divine God, but He is not the God preached on the altar of prosperity.
God promises us a richness of life when we seek after Him, not riches of the world. The latter is what the devil offered Christ in exchange for His subservience.
I am not equipped to go into a discourse on Christian apologetics. But the God I know is a Father Who loves His children. But are you willing to be His child in all circumstances? To know if there is truly a God, we have to want to seek Him. To know God, we must be willing to love our neighbors, for God is love.
Do that and you will know there is indeed a Sovereign God, Who is omnipresent, omnipotent and Who loves us.
To paraphrase from the faithful servant of God, the late John Stott
"Perhaps the transformation of the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest evidence of the work of the Spirit of God living in residence in the hearts of believers."
O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
2 Chronicles 20:12
Transformation is a process. It is life long unlike the "2 minutes" needed to cook a delicious bowl of instant noodles. Some people of the older vintage like me might recall the "Maggie noodles" advertisement and its jingle "fast to cook, good to eat."
Transformation starts with a moment of epiphany with our Lord. An encounter where His love cleanses our tortured inner being and His peace washes over our parched soul.
The wheels of refinement begins to move into gear when we respond to God's love by loving Him and people He placed in our lives.
But much as our hearts have opened to the Spirit of God, will our carnal mind be willing to be renewed?
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Luke 18:1
Prayers bring us into communion with our Lord. It is time out from the world, and time in with God. God will "converse" with you. But it is our spirit man, as instructed by the indwelling Holy Spirit, who God will commune with.
Prayer is not an incessant drone like that of the cicada. It is being willing to be still and to sense the soft quiet voice of God. Prayers is about our hearts being totally focused on God.
A heart that is uncluttered will have better resonance with our Lord.
And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat:Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.
2 Chronicles 20:15
Can we truly take God at His word? Love does imbue in us the sense of what God is like. But only in immersing in His Word, will we know Him well, for God is the Word.
You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. ’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
2 Chronicles 20:17
Letting go and letting God, most of us struggle with living out this command. Faith is about being able to hold back our tendency to resolve matters our way, and instead waiting upon our Lord. Going forth boldly but only when His Spirit lead us.
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31
Yielding to the will of God is an act of worship. It must come from a thankful heart, for gratitude signifies our willingness to give the Holy Spirit latitude to mold us in Christlikeness.
In the ways of man, we are thankful when things go our desired way. With God, we are thankful because of the risen Christ, there is always life after death, no matter how daunting a situation might seem to be.
And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,
“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his steadfast love endures forever.”
2 Chronicles 20:21
An aftershock??
To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
Isaiah 40:18
Bowing down is something that I used to do at Mass in the Catholic schools I attended.
I never became a Catholic not because I abhor kneeling, but rather, the non Catholic students were dismissed from school earlier on the Fridays that Catholic boys had to attend Church.
For us Methodist, besides coming to the altar rail to pray, we get to bow, a symbolic yet very meaningful act of supplication to God only during Holy communion. But last Sunday, I got to bow twice. Once at Holy Communion when we partake in the bread. The other preceding it when I lost my balance at the Church steps.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness
Psalms 95:6-8
Why did I trip? I do it not too infrequently but thanks be to God, I have always managed to land gracefully with no serious damage. And why did God allow me to trip last Sunday?
I guess I was too distracted by a new toy that I had just bought. And it was slowly creeping in to jostle for space in my heart. Our God is a jealous God. There must be no idols in our lives. He watches us, He will intervene for He will save us from ourselves.
And indeed the fear of God is what keeps us the professed faithful, steadfast.
Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.
John 4:35
And as I prepare to go to Japan next week. I am reminded of how God continues to bring to the surface, the planks for me to step on, even as I walk in faith, across the chasm He has pointed me to this past one year. Thanks be to Him our ever present Abba Father.
Dear....
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4
Childlike faith, is that what is needed for us to believe that God exists, that He is not a figment of our imagination? And that we can and should totally submit to His Sovereignty, to revert to the relationship that Adam the first man originally had with God, before sin crept in. To be good stewards of all that God provides, yet always dependent upon a loving and faithful Father.
and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.
2 Chronicles 20:6
It seems cliche to state the obvious, "we do lived in an increasingly difficult world."
Many struggle to cope, to make sense of the forces that impact them, yet are beyond their control. Be it the victims of the Kenya terrorist carnage or the US government workers who are placed on furlough. In the corporate world, and probably in academia and all aspects of society, basic respect for our fellow humans are thrown out of the window as the law of the jungle increasing takes precedence. It is no small wonder that the spirits of depression, pride, selfishness and angst are do a roaring trade.
Where is God in this whole equation? Is God truly omnipresent and omnipotent? Or is He a lame duck, absentee father?
Or in truth, is there truly a Divine Being we call "God?"
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8
Man like to start from the pedestal of personal judgment. For the fruit from the tree of knowledge was proffered by the devil and willingly partaken by Adam and Eve.
"Till we see God, we will not believe," snorted the non believer.
"And even if God is real, we cannot accept a cruel, overbearing, disinterested God," glared the self righteous man, at anyone who dared to share the good news of the gospel.
Is it then no surprise God is an easy sell when packaged as a God of prosperity. A God after man's sinful liking. A God Who demands no accountability from our continued sins. Who panders to our sinful wants. Purveyors of such misrepresentation are enriched materially by the false gods they worship.
There is a Divine God, but He is not the God preached on the altar of prosperity.
God promises us a richness of life when we seek after Him, not riches of the world. The latter is what the devil offered Christ in exchange for His subservience.
I am not equipped to go into a discourse on Christian apologetics. But the God I know is a Father Who loves His children. But are you willing to be His child in all circumstances? To know if there is truly a God, we have to want to seek Him. To know God, we must be willing to love our neighbors, for God is love.
Do that and you will know there is indeed a Sovereign God, Who is omnipresent, omnipotent and Who loves us.
To paraphrase from the faithful servant of God, the late John Stott
"Perhaps the transformation of the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest evidence of the work of the Spirit of God living in residence in the hearts of believers."
O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
2 Chronicles 20:12
Transformation is a process. It is life long unlike the "2 minutes" needed to cook a delicious bowl of instant noodles. Some people of the older vintage like me might recall the "Maggie noodles" advertisement and its jingle "fast to cook, good to eat."
Transformation starts with a moment of epiphany with our Lord. An encounter where His love cleanses our tortured inner being and His peace washes over our parched soul.
The wheels of refinement begins to move into gear when we respond to God's love by loving Him and people He placed in our lives.
But much as our hearts have opened to the Spirit of God, will our carnal mind be willing to be renewed?
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Luke 18:1
Prayers bring us into communion with our Lord. It is time out from the world, and time in with God. God will "converse" with you. But it is our spirit man, as instructed by the indwelling Holy Spirit, who God will commune with.
Prayer is not an incessant drone like that of the cicada. It is being willing to be still and to sense the soft quiet voice of God. Prayers is about our hearts being totally focused on God.
A heart that is uncluttered will have better resonance with our Lord.
And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat:Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.
2 Chronicles 20:15
Can we truly take God at His word? Love does imbue in us the sense of what God is like. But only in immersing in His Word, will we know Him well, for God is the Word.
You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. ’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
2 Chronicles 20:17
Letting go and letting God, most of us struggle with living out this command. Faith is about being able to hold back our tendency to resolve matters our way, and instead waiting upon our Lord. Going forth boldly but only when His Spirit lead us.
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31
Yielding to the will of God is an act of worship. It must come from a thankful heart, for gratitude signifies our willingness to give the Holy Spirit latitude to mold us in Christlikeness.
In the ways of man, we are thankful when things go our desired way. With God, we are thankful because of the risen Christ, there is always life after death, no matter how daunting a situation might seem to be.
And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,
“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his steadfast love endures forever.”
2 Chronicles 20:21
An aftershock??
To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
Isaiah 40:18
Bowing down is something that I used to do at Mass in the Catholic schools I attended.
I never became a Catholic not because I abhor kneeling, but rather, the non Catholic students were dismissed from school earlier on the Fridays that Catholic boys had to attend Church.
For us Methodist, besides coming to the altar rail to pray, we get to bow, a symbolic yet very meaningful act of supplication to God only during Holy communion. But last Sunday, I got to bow twice. Once at Holy Communion when we partake in the bread. The other preceding it when I lost my balance at the Church steps.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness
Psalms 95:6-8
Why did I trip? I do it not too infrequently but thanks be to God, I have always managed to land gracefully with no serious damage. And why did God allow me to trip last Sunday?
I guess I was too distracted by a new toy that I had just bought. And it was slowly creeping in to jostle for space in my heart. Our God is a jealous God. There must be no idols in our lives. He watches us, He will intervene for He will save us from ourselves.
And indeed the fear of God is what keeps us the professed faithful, steadfast.
Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.
John 4:35
And as I prepare to go to Japan next week. I am reminded of how God continues to bring to the surface, the planks for me to step on, even as I walk in faith, across the chasm He has pointed me to this past one year. Thanks be to Him our ever present Abba Father.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Lightness of being#21. Precious (5th Oct 2013)
Lightness of being #21 Precious (5th Oct 2013)
Dear...
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5
How great it must be to be appointed as one of God's prophets. But think again. Jeremiah was described as a heartbroken prophet with a heartbreaking message. He labored for forty years proclaiming a message of doom to the stiff necked people of Judah, who despised and persecuted him. And when Judah finally fell to the Babylonians, Jeremiah wrote The Book of Lamentations, a tear stained portrait of the once proud Jerusalem now reduced to rubble.
Today, as children of God who have been blessed to have the veils upon our hearts lifted, we are to take on the mantle that was once taken by Prophet Jeremiah and other men of God.
Is it any easier to minister to modern society today than to the man of eons back?
We are in this world, yet not of this world. Rebels with a cause we followers of Christ might be, but it will be an exercise in futility if we were to be dependent on our own strength.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12
Is it no small wonder that many are easily sold on the message of God as Santa, Who loves us and we just need to boldly ask, He will indulge our carnal wants. We are indeed precious to God, but like a rough diamond, we need to be polished and cut to the point of perfection, where His light will emanate forth in all brilliance. And that requires trials for deprivation brings us into dependency upon God.
The grace of God is not about giving us what we want. But rather, it is about His imbuing in our inner man, this peace and joy, much as He not only enables us to perservere through life's challenges, but empowers us to move forth boldly in His will.
The Bible states "that man is born to trouble." And while being a child of God does not exonerate us from this truth, woes will not grip us too long, if we submit to the Sovereign God. And what we cannot do, God will make possible, and that includes saving us from ourselves.
'...... For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome;
who can endure it?
Joel 2:11
The new day God gives me is too precious to be wasted away in wiles, strife or in the pursuit of the temporal things of this fallen world. Much as I think I am still age 32, reality is I am age 52, and a close neighbor to sexy 60. The sands in the hour glass of life is fast receding, and our good Lord impressed upon my heart, in my slumber, how important it is to use the remaining days well. For there is eternity to work on today, for judgment day awaits all.
Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon:nothing shall be left, saith the Lord.
Isaiah 39:6
For many, the day of reckoning with God seems too distant away to warrant any meaningful fear. Trepidation is more immediate when it comes to the lack of things of the world.
King Hezekiah foolishly showed the Babylonians his earthly treasures, which God allowed to be taken away subsequently.
The Babylonian system of old uses silver as a medium of exchange. Are the days fast approaching when all the treasures we hoard will be of much lesser value, as a new Babylonian system comes into fruition?
Much as the world is back to her self serving ways, after the near scarce of the subprime crisis. Unless men repent, a bigger shake awaits us, for God wants to bring us back, for we are all too precious for Him to be lost to eternal damnation.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
An afterthought - Debt extension
Much as the once mighty USA is increasingly a shadow of her self, most doubt that it will default on its looming debt. Extension, in this case, debt extension is a term that strikes a different chord in me.
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Isaiah 38:2-4
I am reminded of how God divinely intervene to surface my hitherto unknown blockage in my heart. I am grateful that His Spirit residing in me has led me to strive to live a faithful life that seeks after God.
Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father:I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.
Isaiah 38:4-5
God spoke to my heart as I pondered upon the brevity of life, much as I was never fearful, for I saw His hands at work in this episode of my journey with Him. "75" that was what He impressed upon me. Does it mean I have to age 75 before He takes me home, or I will be around at the minimal, till age 75?
But it should matter not. For what truly matters is how do I repay the debt of love that God gave me and all humanity in sacrificing His beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, to redeem us from our sins?
In my moments of weakness, be it fear, envy, pride, misery, lust or any of the wide swathe of carnal emotions that marked humanity, I have to consciously be mindful of why God extended my life. It is not about living to satisfy worldly benchmarks but rather, to be the lamp upon which His light will shine forth into the oppressive darkness that encapsulate our present world.
Dear...
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5
How great it must be to be appointed as one of God's prophets. But think again. Jeremiah was described as a heartbroken prophet with a heartbreaking message. He labored for forty years proclaiming a message of doom to the stiff necked people of Judah, who despised and persecuted him. And when Judah finally fell to the Babylonians, Jeremiah wrote The Book of Lamentations, a tear stained portrait of the once proud Jerusalem now reduced to rubble.
Today, as children of God who have been blessed to have the veils upon our hearts lifted, we are to take on the mantle that was once taken by Prophet Jeremiah and other men of God.
Is it any easier to minister to modern society today than to the man of eons back?
We are in this world, yet not of this world. Rebels with a cause we followers of Christ might be, but it will be an exercise in futility if we were to be dependent on our own strength.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12
Is it no small wonder that many are easily sold on the message of God as Santa, Who loves us and we just need to boldly ask, He will indulge our carnal wants. We are indeed precious to God, but like a rough diamond, we need to be polished and cut to the point of perfection, where His light will emanate forth in all brilliance. And that requires trials for deprivation brings us into dependency upon God.
The grace of God is not about giving us what we want. But rather, it is about His imbuing in our inner man, this peace and joy, much as He not only enables us to perservere through life's challenges, but empowers us to move forth boldly in His will.
The Bible states "that man is born to trouble." And while being a child of God does not exonerate us from this truth, woes will not grip us too long, if we submit to the Sovereign God. And what we cannot do, God will make possible, and that includes saving us from ourselves.
'...... For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome;
who can endure it?
Joel 2:11
The new day God gives me is too precious to be wasted away in wiles, strife or in the pursuit of the temporal things of this fallen world. Much as I think I am still age 32, reality is I am age 52, and a close neighbor to sexy 60. The sands in the hour glass of life is fast receding, and our good Lord impressed upon my heart, in my slumber, how important it is to use the remaining days well. For there is eternity to work on today, for judgment day awaits all.
Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon:nothing shall be left, saith the Lord.
Isaiah 39:6
For many, the day of reckoning with God seems too distant away to warrant any meaningful fear. Trepidation is more immediate when it comes to the lack of things of the world.
King Hezekiah foolishly showed the Babylonians his earthly treasures, which God allowed to be taken away subsequently.
The Babylonian system of old uses silver as a medium of exchange. Are the days fast approaching when all the treasures we hoard will be of much lesser value, as a new Babylonian system comes into fruition?
Much as the world is back to her self serving ways, after the near scarce of the subprime crisis. Unless men repent, a bigger shake awaits us, for God wants to bring us back, for we are all too precious for Him to be lost to eternal damnation.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
An afterthought - Debt extension
Much as the once mighty USA is increasingly a shadow of her self, most doubt that it will default on its looming debt. Extension, in this case, debt extension is a term that strikes a different chord in me.
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Isaiah 38:2-4
I am reminded of how God divinely intervene to surface my hitherto unknown blockage in my heart. I am grateful that His Spirit residing in me has led me to strive to live a faithful life that seeks after God.
Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father:I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.
Isaiah 38:4-5
God spoke to my heart as I pondered upon the brevity of life, much as I was never fearful, for I saw His hands at work in this episode of my journey with Him. "75" that was what He impressed upon me. Does it mean I have to age 75 before He takes me home, or I will be around at the minimal, till age 75?
But it should matter not. For what truly matters is how do I repay the debt of love that God gave me and all humanity in sacrificing His beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, to redeem us from our sins?
In my moments of weakness, be it fear, envy, pride, misery, lust or any of the wide swathe of carnal emotions that marked humanity, I have to consciously be mindful of why God extended my life. It is not about living to satisfy worldly benchmarks but rather, to be the lamp upon which His light will shine forth into the oppressive darkness that encapsulate our present world.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Lightness of being #20 Our amazing journey (28 Sep 2013
Lightness of being #20 Our amazing journey (28th Sep 2013)
Dear....
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Ephesians 4:17-18
I have this palpable desire to testify to the amazing journey that God has set for me, that by His grace, I have from tentative steps, progressed to bold strides as His Spirit leads.
It is a journey where coincidences is the norm, where the prescience of His unseen yet very visible hands are always at play, where joy and peace, regardless of our circumstances, is our daily manna from Our Lord, and thankfulness is our responsive offering to our Sovereign God. And it is my prayer that many more of you will embark on this amazing journey that our good Lord has already laid for us. For you will be awed by His ways, that we never imagine could be possible or for that matter, with our finite understanding, could never have fathomed.
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24
Most of us love to savor the thrill of a new purchase. But such happiness are temporal at best. God also made a purchase. He bought our freedom from the tentacles of Satan through the risen Christ. Now that we are freed, will you be willing to embark on the journey of transformation unto Christlikeness that God desires for all?
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Isaiah 40:3-5
In the context of the natural world, a physical transformation could involve a stricter dietary regime, quite a few trips to the gym( or the aesthetic doctor for many), a good hairstylist and change to a sharper wardrobe. But that is just the outward appearance. Eliza Doolittle of "My fair lady," went a little further, with deportment classes and language training to turn from what was a working class cockney to a dainty lady of nobility.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
God looks at our heart. A heart that seeks after Him. A heart that wants to please Him. A thankful heart that wants to respond to His grace and love. A heart that will learn to be still and discern His will, and be willing to do His will. Trust and obey and like Alice in Wonderland, you will find yourself transported to a new dimension of experience. But for Alice, it turned out to be a dream. For the followers of Christ, it is no fantasy, but rather, the foretaste of what Heaven will be, for the Spirit of God resides in us, the temple of God, till Christ returns .
And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Ephesians 5:2
God is love, and we will experience His edifying presence when we love Him and translate that love into loving our neighbors. This afternoon, I walked pass an old lady with a sad looking bag full of packets of tissue paper. She was sitting on the sidewalk, chewing a piece of bread. Not just a simple but very small lunch, way past lunch hour. Cynicism is a trait that stops many from showing love to the destitute. Compassion has no room for a judgmental heart, for unqualified love for others is our response to God's love for us.
And God will always make a 'wrong' right if our hearts wants to be right with Him.
And this old lady did not take my giving as a gift of love. Without hesitation, she wanted to give me change for what she thought was a purchase of a packet of tissue.
At that moment, I could truly understand God's love for me and the joy it must have brought Him when we respond with a thankful heart, for I could see the gratitude in her eyes.
'...as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, And every mountain and hill shall be brought low; And the crooked shall become straight, And the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Luke 3:4-6
John the Baptist spent time in the desert, seemingly in solitude, but in truth with God.
God used him to speak boldly the truth, and though he lost his head, his heart never wavered.
Are you at this stage of your life, in the midst of what seems to be a searing desert?
You long for Christ the spring of life to sate your thirst. But frustratingly, the conclusions you hoped for turn out to be mere mirages.
But is this drab life of misery you are now going through as dreary as it seems?
But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Deuteronomy 4:29
God is omnipresent. In fact, His Spirit is in our very residence. Your life is encapsulated by the dark forces of Satan, because you are seeking the treasures the devil proffers.
The light of our Lord will shine forth from our hearts, if we are willing to turn to Him, now and every moment of the days He gives us.
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord:and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations...'
Jeremiah 29:13-14
God blesses
Eng Hieang
28 Sep 2013
An afterthought - gems on the road
And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Luke 6:46
Loving others must be from an attitude of obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
It must never be with an expectation of a reward from God, for God has already provided, and He will continue to provide but at His timing, His way. And in the act of giving, we must be on guard against condescending pride which can and will creep unto our hearts.
The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
Proverbs 15:29
Trust and obedience, that is what God desires from us. Faith comes from Him in response to our being willing to follow as His Spirit leads. Time in His Words enable us to stay on course. Prayers empowers us to sustain and stay the course. A thankful heart encourages and emboldens us to look past the next hurdle. And heartfelt praise for our Sovereign God will lift us beyond the grasp of the devil who seeks to keep us mired in fear.
And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
Exodus 3:11
Lets not be like the Moses who was afraid to answer God's call.
But we can be like the Moses who was emboldened to obey and as a result, was used by God for the world to witness His glory and Sovereignty.
For there will be many more Red Seas God will bring us through.
'And God said, "I will be with you...'
Exodus 3:12
Dear....
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Ephesians 4:17-18
I have this palpable desire to testify to the amazing journey that God has set for me, that by His grace, I have from tentative steps, progressed to bold strides as His Spirit leads.
It is a journey where coincidences is the norm, where the prescience of His unseen yet very visible hands are always at play, where joy and peace, regardless of our circumstances, is our daily manna from Our Lord, and thankfulness is our responsive offering to our Sovereign God. And it is my prayer that many more of you will embark on this amazing journey that our good Lord has already laid for us. For you will be awed by His ways, that we never imagine could be possible or for that matter, with our finite understanding, could never have fathomed.
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24
Most of us love to savor the thrill of a new purchase. But such happiness are temporal at best. God also made a purchase. He bought our freedom from the tentacles of Satan through the risen Christ. Now that we are freed, will you be willing to embark on the journey of transformation unto Christlikeness that God desires for all?
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Isaiah 40:3-5
In the context of the natural world, a physical transformation could involve a stricter dietary regime, quite a few trips to the gym( or the aesthetic doctor for many), a good hairstylist and change to a sharper wardrobe. But that is just the outward appearance. Eliza Doolittle of "My fair lady," went a little further, with deportment classes and language training to turn from what was a working class cockney to a dainty lady of nobility.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
God looks at our heart. A heart that seeks after Him. A heart that wants to please Him. A thankful heart that wants to respond to His grace and love. A heart that will learn to be still and discern His will, and be willing to do His will. Trust and obey and like Alice in Wonderland, you will find yourself transported to a new dimension of experience. But for Alice, it turned out to be a dream. For the followers of Christ, it is no fantasy, but rather, the foretaste of what Heaven will be, for the Spirit of God resides in us, the temple of God, till Christ returns .
And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Ephesians 5:2
God is love, and we will experience His edifying presence when we love Him and translate that love into loving our neighbors. This afternoon, I walked pass an old lady with a sad looking bag full of packets of tissue paper. She was sitting on the sidewalk, chewing a piece of bread. Not just a simple but very small lunch, way past lunch hour. Cynicism is a trait that stops many from showing love to the destitute. Compassion has no room for a judgmental heart, for unqualified love for others is our response to God's love for us.
And God will always make a 'wrong' right if our hearts wants to be right with Him.
And this old lady did not take my giving as a gift of love. Without hesitation, she wanted to give me change for what she thought was a purchase of a packet of tissue.
At that moment, I could truly understand God's love for me and the joy it must have brought Him when we respond with a thankful heart, for I could see the gratitude in her eyes.
'...as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, And every mountain and hill shall be brought low; And the crooked shall become straight, And the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Luke 3:4-6
John the Baptist spent time in the desert, seemingly in solitude, but in truth with God.
God used him to speak boldly the truth, and though he lost his head, his heart never wavered.
Are you at this stage of your life, in the midst of what seems to be a searing desert?
You long for Christ the spring of life to sate your thirst. But frustratingly, the conclusions you hoped for turn out to be mere mirages.
But is this drab life of misery you are now going through as dreary as it seems?
But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Deuteronomy 4:29
God is omnipresent. In fact, His Spirit is in our very residence. Your life is encapsulated by the dark forces of Satan, because you are seeking the treasures the devil proffers.
The light of our Lord will shine forth from our hearts, if we are willing to turn to Him, now and every moment of the days He gives us.
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord:and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations...'
Jeremiah 29:13-14
God blesses
Eng Hieang
28 Sep 2013
An afterthought - gems on the road
And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Luke 6:46
Loving others must be from an attitude of obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
It must never be with an expectation of a reward from God, for God has already provided, and He will continue to provide but at His timing, His way. And in the act of giving, we must be on guard against condescending pride which can and will creep unto our hearts.
The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
Proverbs 15:29
Trust and obedience, that is what God desires from us. Faith comes from Him in response to our being willing to follow as His Spirit leads. Time in His Words enable us to stay on course. Prayers empowers us to sustain and stay the course. A thankful heart encourages and emboldens us to look past the next hurdle. And heartfelt praise for our Sovereign God will lift us beyond the grasp of the devil who seeks to keep us mired in fear.
And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
Exodus 3:11
Lets not be like the Moses who was afraid to answer God's call.
But we can be like the Moses who was emboldened to obey and as a result, was used by God for the world to witness His glory and Sovereignty.
For there will be many more Red Seas God will bring us through.
'And God said, "I will be with you...'
Exodus 3:12
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Lightness of being #19 Land of the Risen Son (23 Sep 2013)
Dear.....
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Romans 10:13-15
As the End of times intensifies, one is reminded of God's promise that Christ will not return till the gospel of salvation is preached to all. I used to think those most unreached would be
in the impoverished remote far corners of the world, where physical accessibility denied many the opportunity to know the gospel. The fall of the Iron Curtain, and China's embracement of capitalism while still keeping its communist core have also removed major barriers to evangelism.
But the biggest hurdle to the spread of the gospel have been the hearts of the potential recipients. This is the experience globally, but none is as collectively shuttered as the peoples of Continental Europe, Thailand and Japan.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17
Back in the lows of the subprime crisis in April 2009, our good Lord put in my heart the call to minister to 3 nations - Thailand, China and Japan.
Thailand is where I spent the best part of the past 15 years building relationships based on trust. It is also where our Lord fully lifted the veil in my heart. But tried as I might this past one year, Thailand is a door that is temporarily closed off for me.
What about China? I am always encouraged and attracted by the work done by the Antioch Mission in China. But the season has not come and I continue to seek a breakthrough in my Mandarin proficiency in the meanwhile.
A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.
Proverbs 16:9
Japan, "the Land of the Rising Sun," is where our good Lord is bringing me to. The past years of dabbling in collecting Japanese art has given me an appreciation of an aspect of their culture that the average Watanabe are not familiar with. Prayerfully, the two art books I published will eventually be translated into Japanese to feed the growing hunger for the Word of God amongst the growing indigenous Christian community.
Nagasaki, on the western coast of Kyushu, was unfortunate to be bombed because the other chosen site was visibly blocked by the clouds. Before the atomic bomb, Nagasaki was also known as the gateway for the spread of Christianity in Japan, which flourished to include at one point 10% of the population. This was subsequently stifled but never snuffed out over 200 years, with persecution and cruxification of Christians by the governments of that day. "Hidden Christians," this was used to describe Japanese Christians who ostensibly renounced their faith to avoid persecution, but in actual fact worship Christ whose image were hidden behind the facade of Buddhist figurines.
Japan is a society that was an economic miracle, rising from the ashes of defeat in the aftermath of World War 2. The Americans needed to repress the "samurai" spirit that underlined the officer class of the Japanese Imperial Army, to ensure that such forces will never again be unleashed upon the world.
Today, with the Abe government, we are witnessing the reawakening of this very potent evil spirit, no doubt unwittingly aided by an unforgiving China who continues to harangue the till now docile Japanese. And the Obama Administration in their attempt to encircle China, is feeding this rising nationalism in Japan, for the United States holds the key to the pandora box.
God wants all to know about the good news of the gospel. Japan and Thailand are both very hard grounds for sowing the Word. Christianity in Thailand has traditionally been confined to the minority tribes straddling the notorious Golden Triangle. But I know that there has been a unprecedented tremendous growth down in Bangkok these past few years.
What about Japan? In this past one year since our Lord put in my heart( in Nov 2012) to start the process, of the call He gave me back in April 2009. I have come to know of and met by His Divine arrangement, like minded Singaporeans who have been led to Japan, to pray, to minister and to build the infrastructure for the coming harvest.
Japan, "the Land of the Rising Sun, " is reviving economically after more than 20 years in limbo. On the spiritual level, much as evil tries to reprise its role as in the past, I believe God is finally lifting the long oppressed nation out her spiritual bondage.
The people of Japan will witness the the love of Christ, the risen Son of God emanate forth.
As Christians in the Antioch of the East, is this not what God has prepared us for?
But not just Japan, but possibly the other major closed off market, North Korea, where the strong Christian faith were made stronger despite the determined attempts of their then Japanese rulers( in the 1930s) to repress. And when the yoke of the Japanese upon them were finally removed after WW2, instead of freedom, it was replaced by the present communist regime of North Korea today. Yet the seeds of the Christian faith were never eradicated, for many fled down South to turn South Korea into a great evangelical nation today. And even in North Korea, I believe the seeds of Christianity were repressed but never eradicated, but lying low, just waiting for God's timing to sprout forth.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.
Psalms 37:23
Masayoshi Son, the billionaire Japanese of Korean descent made his wealth through his company, SoftBank during the internet boom. The next boom in Japan could be more grounded upon brick and mortar. Like many of the world who aspires to be rich, are we chasing the next delusory dream. But as people anointed by our Lord, we should be chasing after the salvation of souls that God is bringing about an increase in.
Japan is just an example. Where is God leading you to? Be still and know His will.
And be blessed to partake in the joy of being the lamp upon which His light shines forth.
For He has raised us up for a time like this.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
An afterthought - You raised me up
For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
John 20:9
"You raised me up." ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=en-GB&gl=SG&v=Z5rMi2jKqkY) is a worship song that is stirring. It is a praise of affirmation, of God's grace and empowerment, to bring us to more than what we can be.
It is why the Christian life if lived in obedience is a walk of victory, for within us, resides the Spirit of our Sovereign God.
God brought me to this song twice over this past week. Why?
Increasingly, many in the world will hear about the risen Christ. But buy in will come only when they witness the power of the gospel lived through us, in all circumstances.
But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
Philippians 1:12
So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Philippians 1:13-14
According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:20-21
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