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!!
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