Lightness of being #4 Is Faith illogical??(19th June 2013)

A Preamble - Crossing 52

The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness:and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
                          Ecclesiastes 2:14

Wish the number above was the PSI reading for this annus horribilis haze, , for that will be breathable air compared to the oppressive near if not already hazardous 290 reading. Is it mere coincidence that tomorrow I reached a new milestone( at age 52)  in my climb up the tree of life, just as man's greed and selfishness is making it possible for us to empathize with the over fogged mosquitos, what with the PSI possibly going past 300!!(as I pen this, my son just told me at 11pm, it crossed 321)

What if the PSI touches 500? Does it truly matter anymore this present Singaporean pursuit of higher car prices and even more astronomical property prices.
Haze and dengue fever, its extremities are less about nature, but more about the continued sins of us, the fallen man.

In all things, God is Sovereign.It is good to reflect as a nation, the state of our hearts with our Lord. It is time to come down on our knees, in repentance, for God is a forgiving God.

I know I will still be around till at least age 75. Our good Lord impressed upon my heart when His Spirit assured me back in Sep 2011, when I first discovered the 40% blockage in my heart. An upgrade in my journey with Him, He says.
Was I hallucinating then, as some are likely to these few days, with this unbearable haze?

Do take time to ponder these thoughts below that God has placed in my heart these few days.

Is Faith Illogical??

Dear...

And he said, Come. And Peter went down from the boat, and walked upon the waters to come to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me.
                  Matthew 14:29-30

As followers of Christ, how many times have we walked on water, only to very quickly sink into the realization that it was illogical? This morning, as I was deciding as to which lane to filter my car into, my logic and experience tells me that it should be the first lane. My spirit man prompted me to take lane 2 instead. By faith I moved from lane 1 to lane 2, and was thrilled to see that lane 2 was smooth, compared to lane 1 which had two unexpected hindrances within such a short lane. Is this what childlike faith entails?

For what great nation is there, that hath a god so nigh unto them, as Jehovah our God is whensoever we call upon him?
                      Deuteronomy 4:7

Faith is not about us making a wish, and then expecting God to bring it to fruition.
God answers prayers asked in His will, not ours.
Faith is about our spirit man sensing the will of God, as His Spirit prompts us. And faith is about responding to this command, much as our natural man might question the logic.

Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
                  1 Corinthians 1:25

For those of us who do take time to read the Bible, this is not an unfamiliar verse.
God is far superior to us, we know that. But here begat the question, if this is true, why are most of us struggling with trusting Him?

"For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness..."
                  1 Corinthians 1:22-23

Like the cross breed cartoon  characters  in the books of Dr Seuss, all of us started as and most continue as "Jeeks," a cross breed of the sign seeking Jews and the intellectual Greeks.
The Jews thought that their Savior from the oppressive Romans would come in the form of a superhero. It was repulsive for them to imagine a lowly carpenter being the fulfillment of their hopes. Today, many of us cannot move forward in our faith, for we find it unfathomable to do the things that God is showing us. For example, in the corporate world today, which is now truly a jungle than its previous incarnation of a zoo, can one be of integrity and still be fruitful? With man it is nay impossible,with our Sovereign God, all things are possible.

Just last week, I was doing a little study on Sapporo city, Hokkaido as the 2nd base for my future ministry.. A little snippet of interesting information popped up. There was an American academic, William Clark who was hired by the Japanese to help develop the agricultural educational framework for 19th century Hokkaido. Clark left not just a good agricultural legacy, but also a Christian heritage in Japan and this famous catchphrase - "Boys - be ambitious."
What about the Christian clarion call? Should it be "Men - leave aside your ambivalence and move forth."

Thou wilt show me the path of life:In thy presence is fulness of joy; In thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
                  Psalms 16:11

Today I just led my 8th Worship session in Church. It by far has been my most enjoyable, because I surrendered my heart to our Lord.  The run up to it was the most challenging though, for the hymn given to me, I could not find on the YouTube to learn from. Fear not, I have learned, wherever God brings us, He will provide and indeed He has.
To the logical world, this willingness to rest in our Lord runs contrary  to the natural reaction to either feeling flummoxed or run helter skelter for help.

I am the door:by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
                      John 10:9

I am sure, if you were to revisit your own walk with God, there will be many instances where by faith, you did as the Spirit of God led, illogical or impossible as it may seem. And that joy you experienced when the unseen but Divine hands of Our Sovereign Father makes the impossible possible. For to everyone  who witness the  cruxification of Christ, who would imagine that victory awaits the necessary death on the cross?

Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee:and upon earth he made thee to see his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.
                    Deuteronomy 4:36

Every day is a new day to look forward to when we look to God. And we have a God Who will speak to us. Conversation with God, is that possible or is it a hallucination?

God blesses

Eng Hieang
19th June 2013