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.
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