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.
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