Lightness of being#49 Children of the Light ( 13 Sep 2014 )
Dear....
He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
John 1:8-9
God brings us to different seasons in our journey in His presence, even as He continues to refine and transform us unto Christlikeness.
The silence of the past month from me, has been due to a bit of traveling in China, but also a time of personal reflection. China, a vast land of extremities, unfettered materialism yet dire poverty. For the latter, not just in the physical, but very much in the spiritual. There is an emptiness that is the inevitable consequence of a long repressed and impoverished society that sought to make up for lost opportunities by seeking feverishly the wealth of this finite world, to the neglect of family and values.
And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?
Mark 4:21
"Light," this is the word that our good Lord has subjected me to these past few days. Be it in last Sunday's sermon in Church, a reading from Our Daily Bread, and an impression upon the heart that precedes the former two affirmations.
Interestingly, darkness or rather the creeping temptations of the forces of darkness was what I was more subjected to in the past one week. The evil spirits of lusts, pride and self righteousness were jostling to take centre stage in my heart, now that by the grace of God, the spirit of fear that has hovered over me for the better part of the past two years in this new ministry that God has called me to has been finally dispelled.
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Romans 13:11-14
"Like Saul (who became the apostle Paul), all Christians have been exposed to God’s mighty light—Jesus opened our spiritual eyes when we were saved (John 1:9-13). And God’s light is at work in our hearts today. When we struggle with sin, fear, or confusion, we can remember what Paul said: “[The Lord’s] light within you produces only what is good and right and true” (Ephesians 5:8-9). These inner blessings assure us that God, who began His good work in us, will continue it until His Son returns (Philippians 1:6)."
( from "Our Daily Journey Sun Sep 7, Jennifer Benson Schult)
Followers of Christ are more than mere pretty fireflies that glow in the pitch dark swathe of evil that blankets our fallen world. God will use us as His beacon of hope for the hopeless. A mobile fireplace where the downtrodden can seek solace, where the weak and humbled receives sustenance and shelter from the harshness of Satan's world.
"Lightness of being," this present blog#7 might connote Christian living as one of living without cares or concerns. That is not the life God envisaged for those He called. We are called into the battlefield against the forces of evil. Wounds and bruises we will receive. Downright oppression from the realm of darkness we will be subjected to. But through it all, our burden will be light, because the Spirit of God is within us. And indeed buffeted I have been, but thanks be to God, the grip of evil has no permanent hold upon my countenance.
And down sometimes I might be, but out never, but in fact, always back up even more stridently in His service, for evil cannot take away the victory of the cross.
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:9-10
"Life of the overflow," it is apt my men's small group completed today the 30th and final lesson of this wonderful course "School of the Shepherds." A 30 months journey, time that was well spent amongst men who seek after our Lord, as a community of brothers.
We struggled through not just the need to not doze off from the soothing balms of the half hour video lessons as each of us prepared for the Saturday's discussion from the comforts of our individual abode. But for the past 30 months, each of us wrestled with God, like Jacob, in the nights of our life, when the issues of daily living is brought to bear upon us.
We have committed to repeat the same 30 lessons. Not because we were abject failures in our coursework, nor were we totally way off in our walk with the Lord.
But rather, we want to be even more fully equipped by our Lord, as He uses us to be
the lamp upon which His light will shine forth, we want to be "children of His Light."
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Romans 15:13
That the world will witness the overflow of God's abundance upon our lives, that the wilting world will want to be led to come to Christ our Chief Shepherd, the door upon which all who enter will experience the abundance of God's grace, not in material prosperity alone, but in the inexplicable joy, inner peace and reassured hope granted to all who believe and follow Him.
And with this sharing, it is time to move to a new focus in my journey with our Lord.
"Children of The Light," this will be my new blog series#8( eng-hieang88.blogspot.com).
The days of wavering is over. It is time the watching world must see Christ lived out in us, for the End of Times are indeed nearer than we think.
The Islamic Caliphate chose the color black rather than the standard green that one often associate with the Muslim faith. They have deliberately chose to bring back the cruel practices of the dark days when society were more barbaric. Darkness has indeed taken on an even more ominous tone.
Scotland in UK, Catalonia in Spain, and many more nations within nations are seeking to breakaway from past enforced marriages. Yet while vying for independence, they want to seek the solace of the European Union. And with the Russian bear starting to be overbearing again, her nervous neighbors in the Baltic States and Scandinavia must be feeling the need to be coddled by Mother EU. The reality of One Europe and the anti-Christ is inching towards fulfillment. And what better ground than Continental Europe , a land mass where the worship of self has long displaced its once Christian roots.(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9589732/Mass-rally-in-Venice-to-call-for-independence-from-Italy.html)
Recently, the former President of Israel, Mr Shimon Peres proposed to the Catholic Pope to initiate a new United Nations of religion. For it is his belief that diversity in religions is the cause of the present world's conflicts. If there is only one voice for the world to listen to, on issues of religion, religious based conflicts will have no room to move( http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Israels-Shimon-Peres-Proposes-Creation-of-a-UN-of-Religions-20140904-0082.html).
A man of peace, this Nobel Peace laureate, is also purported in some reported sources to be the father of Israel's nuclear program.
Are we moving towards the notion of one world religion?
God blesses
Eng Hieang
13 Sep 2014
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Friday, August 8, 2014
Lightness of being #48 The Word is God (9 Aug 2014)
Dear....
Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:
Deuteronomy 8:11
Just this evening, I had a wonderful fellowship with a dear brother, and one closing thought I shared with him was on a verse that our good Lord gave me twice when He called me to step out of my comfort zone two years back. The first verse was His reassurance on my success His way if I let go and let Him.
The other verse was as above, Deuteronomy 8:11. A warning on not being distracted by my success.
And tonight, as I pondered upon the title of this sharing, to reflect the intense presence of God in my life these past twenty four hours, the same Deuteronomy was the verse that stared at me as I opened my online Bible. God affirms.
'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'
John 1:1
This was the verse I read in my quiet time in my office. Its familiar to me, and I paid scant attention to it because my very being was too engrossed by my experiencing God's guiding hands last evening and this morning.
I had two back to back meetings which I anticipated will be difficult. But thanks be to God, I have come to learn to always look to Him, and He spoke to my heart in my time of prayerful communion with Him this Tues evening, the very same words that I read again the next morning in Thursday's Daily Bread "Loving difficult people."
I had meant to read Wed's reading but inadvertently flipped the Thursday's instead.
And God is always prescient. The first flip of the Bible brought me straight into the reference verse Ephesians 4:1 for Thursday's reading, as if God has readied the page for me, and indeed He has.
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:1-3
The Word of God comes alive. It is a common experience for us who seek to know His Word, to often be joyfully amazed, bemused, assured and empowered by His engaging us in conversations of the heart through His Words.
And this morning, as Singapore prepares to celebrate her 49th birthday, this was the word I read in my quiet time.
Therefore the Lord heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob,
and anger also came up against Israel; Because they believed not in God,
and trusted not in his salvation:
Psalms 78:21-22
Coincidentally, Psalm 77 was the Psalm I was asked to read out in full for our Friday's men' prayer meeting yesterday. Psalm 77 speaks about our struggles, and God's goodness.
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Genesis 50:20
As a nation, we have come a long way. Many might have consigned to distant memory the paucity of hope we have in our early birth as an independent nation.
A still birth, our enemies had hoped. A frail child best abandoned, that was what our ex colonial Brit parents thought was most expedient. And much as we thought there was still hope with our big brother up north, the umbilical cord was unceremoniously severed.
But God not just never forsake us, but He was in control.
'...we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done...'
Psalm 78:4
We had the guiding expertise of the Israelite army in the formation of our national defense. It is a fact, and lest one forget, our neighborhood might be beguiling calm today, but history has shown that friends today can be enemies again tomorrow.
What about Mr Albert Winsemius, the late Dutch economist who played a key growth in nurturing Singapore's economic development from an entrepôt backwaters to the forefront of industrialization?
Was he a Jew? His surname and nose indicates the possibility.
Jew or not, Singapore is a miracle of God's grace.
As we look beyond today to our Jubilee year as a nation exactly a year from now, it is good to ponder upon Who is truly our God?
Mammon or our Sovereign Father in Heaven? And if it is mammon, then do continue to seek your material pursuits. But if it is God our Father Who provided our blessings, what then is His call to us? Antioch of the East?
With our strong Singdollar, enhanced property valuations, well travelled and well educated populace laced with a good organizational streak, and still credible national reputation, God has equipped us in His service.
Our response is not dependent on when we think we are ready, but rather it is about our willingness to depend totally upon Him now.
For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Esther 4:14
God blesses
Eng Hieang
9 Aug 2014
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Lightness of being#47 Formosa (27 July 2014)
Lightness of being#47 Formosa (27 July 2014)
Dear....
'The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self controlled so that we can pray. And above all love each other deeply....'
1 Peter 4:7-8
Curiosity kills the cat. In my case, it did not happen as my attempt to experience the recent typhoon Matmo from the rooftop of my Taipei hotel died a still death, as the hotel closed off that level to all and sunder.
Formosa, the beautiful land, a name the Portuguese of old ascribed to the slice of verdant land off the Chinese mainland. The less populated mountainous east of Taiwan, a lovely stretch facing the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, took the brunt of typhoon Matmo.
It was a mighty storm, with collateral damage, but not on the scale to evoke the sense of impending doom. But if it were, would we as committed children of our Sovereign God be willing and able to live out the above verse 1 Peter 4:7-8?
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?
Romans 10:14
Save for the detour to Vietnam in May, our good Lord has, in the past one year, brought me to the troika that He has called me to back in April 2009. China, Japan and Thailand. What underlines these three countries is the spiritual stirring in what was once and still is very hard ground. And what about Taiwan? A largely Buddhist/Taoist oriented population, yet a hybrid of China/Japan as a result of the confluence of history. For Japan was gifted Taiwan by the defeated Qing Dynasty, and the fifty odd years of Japanese rule ended only in 1945, only for the fleeing Chinese Nationalist(KMT) to make Taiwan their last stand, in the face of Mao Tse Tung's communist onslaught.
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 10:15
On my first near one week trip to this lovely and friendly land, God provided me the opportunity to make acquaintances of very nice devout Buddhist business counterparts , but also the privilege of gathering with a small congregation of a newly planted church. A handful of very committed Christians, who have managed to bring in an equal number of non Christians to their Sunday worship.
This speaks volumes of the enormous tasks at hand, yet showcases the broad possibilities of a largely unreached population.
The near 6 hours two way trek was tiring, but meaningful. And it pales in comparison to this non Christian local lady who regularly made the arduous journey( from another town) of lugging her two young boys to attend Church service. The oasis of love exuded in this small Church draws the spiritually hungry to our Lord.
"Lord, help me remember that there are no small places or small people. All are precious in Your sight. May I see the value of my work and cherish it as You do."
( Our Daily Bread Sunday July 20)
But much more needs to be done to share the good news of the gospel.
The deaths of many in the air disaster in the storm buffeted island of Penghu just 3 days after brings home this stark truth exclaimed in Romans 10:14.
'For the vision is yet for an appointed time; ..... it will surely come.'
Habakkuk 2:3
The deeds of men cannot thwart the purposes of God( Our Daily Bread Sunday July 27).
Like most, there are times I do feel quite overwhelmed by circumstances and people around me. Do we still have the capacity to minister to our neighbors, to love them more than ourselves?
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
2 Corinthians 1:8-9
你恩典够我用
With men, it is nigh impossible. But with a God all things are more than possible.
These past two years journey of actively placing God above all else has not been without its struggles. The dichotomy though is in the lessons learned. When I focused less on Him and instead upon my self preservation, I literally drown in my woeful understanding. But when I totally let go and let God, it has always been a delightful experience of joy and peace, as I witness His grace and power work through me.
Therefore turn thou to thy God:keep mercy and judgment,and wait on thy God continually.
Hosea 12:
As people who are blessed to have the veil lifted from our hearts. Knowing about God is not the end all. Knowing Him is what we must work on, for it will be dreadful come the day we meet our Maker, and He does not know us. And beyond our comfort zone, out there are many who knows not the love of God. It is not just our call, but privilege that God chose us to be His lamp.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
John 15:2
God blesses
Eng Hieang
27 July 2014
Incline my heart unto thy testimonies,and not to covetousness.
Psalms 119:36
Dear....
'The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self controlled so that we can pray. And above all love each other deeply....'
1 Peter 4:7-8
Curiosity kills the cat. In my case, it did not happen as my attempt to experience the recent typhoon Matmo from the rooftop of my Taipei hotel died a still death, as the hotel closed off that level to all and sunder.
Formosa, the beautiful land, a name the Portuguese of old ascribed to the slice of verdant land off the Chinese mainland. The less populated mountainous east of Taiwan, a lovely stretch facing the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, took the brunt of typhoon Matmo.
It was a mighty storm, with collateral damage, but not on the scale to evoke the sense of impending doom. But if it were, would we as committed children of our Sovereign God be willing and able to live out the above verse 1 Peter 4:7-8?
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?
Romans 10:14
Save for the detour to Vietnam in May, our good Lord has, in the past one year, brought me to the troika that He has called me to back in April 2009. China, Japan and Thailand. What underlines these three countries is the spiritual stirring in what was once and still is very hard ground. And what about Taiwan? A largely Buddhist/Taoist oriented population, yet a hybrid of China/Japan as a result of the confluence of history. For Japan was gifted Taiwan by the defeated Qing Dynasty, and the fifty odd years of Japanese rule ended only in 1945, only for the fleeing Chinese Nationalist(KMT) to make Taiwan their last stand, in the face of Mao Tse Tung's communist onslaught.
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 10:15
On my first near one week trip to this lovely and friendly land, God provided me the opportunity to make acquaintances of very nice devout Buddhist business counterparts , but also the privilege of gathering with a small congregation of a newly planted church. A handful of very committed Christians, who have managed to bring in an equal number of non Christians to their Sunday worship.
This speaks volumes of the enormous tasks at hand, yet showcases the broad possibilities of a largely unreached population.
The near 6 hours two way trek was tiring, but meaningful. And it pales in comparison to this non Christian local lady who regularly made the arduous journey( from another town) of lugging her two young boys to attend Church service. The oasis of love exuded in this small Church draws the spiritually hungry to our Lord.
"Lord, help me remember that there are no small places or small people. All are precious in Your sight. May I see the value of my work and cherish it as You do."
( Our Daily Bread Sunday July 20)
But much more needs to be done to share the good news of the gospel.
The deaths of many in the air disaster in the storm buffeted island of Penghu just 3 days after brings home this stark truth exclaimed in Romans 10:14.
'For the vision is yet for an appointed time; ..... it will surely come.'
Habakkuk 2:3
The deeds of men cannot thwart the purposes of God( Our Daily Bread Sunday July 27).
Like most, there are times I do feel quite overwhelmed by circumstances and people around me. Do we still have the capacity to minister to our neighbors, to love them more than ourselves?
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
2 Corinthians 1:8-9
你恩典够我用
With men, it is nigh impossible. But with a God all things are more than possible.
These past two years journey of actively placing God above all else has not been without its struggles. The dichotomy though is in the lessons learned. When I focused less on Him and instead upon my self preservation, I literally drown in my woeful understanding. But when I totally let go and let God, it has always been a delightful experience of joy and peace, as I witness His grace and power work through me.
Therefore turn thou to thy God:keep mercy and judgment,and wait on thy God continually.
Hosea 12:
As people who are blessed to have the veil lifted from our hearts. Knowing about God is not the end all. Knowing Him is what we must work on, for it will be dreadful come the day we meet our Maker, and He does not know us. And beyond our comfort zone, out there are many who knows not the love of God. It is not just our call, but privilege that God chose us to be His lamp.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
John 15:2
God blesses
Eng Hieang
27 July 2014
Incline my heart unto thy testimonies,and not to covetousness.
Psalms 119:36
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Lightness of being #46 Color matters (28 June 2014)
Lightness of being#46 Color matters ( 28 June 2014)
Dear...
This Saturday morning, it's about pink or white. Pink you take a walk to Hong Lim Park to show your support for the proponents of alternative lifestyle, white you wear on your person to make a stand for the traditional family nuclei.
Color is a powerful symbolic differentiator.
The Thais have their red vs yellow grouping depending upon political affiliation. Apartheid South Africa had its clear black and white race demarcation, though they did grant the then economically vibrant yellow Japanese honorary white status. The self righteous Americans had its clear color code( even in public transport) up to the civil rights movement of Martin Luther King, who amongst others fought for the discriminated blacks. And Australia was a Whites only country as far as immigration was concerned not too many years ago. And just to round off, the Christian Crusaders in their desire to stand up for their misguided stand for Christendom, were no less if not more cruel in their campaigns to wipe out the green hordes in the Middle East.
In truth, man being imperfect, we are all shades of grey!!
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27
I know the omnipresent God. Who am I to question His right to only create two categories of the human race. But in the "liberal" West, it is increasingly at great personal risk to adhere to this God ordained view. Quite a paradox that Western society ostensibly prided themselves on individuality, yet increasingly institutionalize recrimination against anyone who even dares to hold a view different from that of the same sex proponents(see article on ex Mozilla boss), which are in truth, just one segment albeit an overtly aggressive and organized segment of a pluralistic society.
( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26868536)
The term "discrimination," has now been equated to "not agreeing," and is being steadily morphed by its vocal and determined proponents to "not in support of."
Corporate America is on the forefront of discriminating( on the pretext of equal rights ) against anyone who holds a different perspective on what is a lifestyle that is different from their personal belief system.
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32
As a Christian, I cannot displease God, just to please man. But not agreeing does not mean I cannot show agape love to a fellow child(regardless of sexual orientation) of God.
We can pray for a realignment of their hearts, but more importantly, we must let God transform us, to let the truth of God's love be lived out upon our lives.
It's not how they live, but how we live out our faith.
Is not giving in to the tantrums of a child an act of child abuse? Every child needs loving discipline as part of his or her molding process.
But again, the very same liberals have removed the cane that is needed to correct a wayward child, yet happily letting gun toting youths run rampage terrorizing the community.
Is putting a serial molester in prison an impingement of his or her claimed inborn natural propensity to sodomise innocent victims? It was clearly not in the old value system of traditional society, but it is if one was to draw from the line of arguments of the LGBT proponents.
Or on seemingly mundane issues of unisex toilets in King's College London, simply because the sexually undecided feels that they are entitled to use both.
Truth is, what about those of us who are not inclined to share facilities with the opposite sex, not just for decorum but practical hygiene issues which places the fairer sex at a disadvantage?
and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
A lie becomes a truth when its proponent relentlessly propagate it. Today, the silent or rather self focussed majority is allowing themselves to be increasingly entrapped by the very determined and organized proponents of not just an alternative lifestyle, but an alternative world. A world that is more in line with that envisaged by the androgynous fallen angel, the devil.
Is this a fair statement? It is a personal view. Do I have to seek asylum in Russia to be able to express these personal thoughts to ensure that I do not get lynched by the marauding packs of same sex vigilantes?
Life is a paradox. In the supposedly liberal West, where free speech and individual rights are sacrosanct, it is increasingly obvious that this applies only to the once discriminated closet inhabitants. Like this famous quote from George Orwell's Animal Farm,
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Indeed, the world is increasingly turning into a real jungle as the end of times intensifies. Should we be like the contentious denizens as many are apt to or should we not be as God commands all who love Him to speak the truth in all boldness but always with love.
Colors will no longer cloud our hearts nor that of our detractors when the light of Christ illuminates in all clarity through us the willing and purified lamp.
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Ephesians 4:25
The Apostle Stephen was stoned to death, and so were many of his fellow Apostles subjected to the wrath of the godless mobs. The days are upon us again when the same anti Christs are rising. The difference was that it used to be in the godless Communist regimes post World War 2. Today, it is in the supposedly free world of the West.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Romans 1:24
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections:for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Romans 1:26-27
God blesses
Eng Hieang
28 June 2014
An afterthought - The world according to Google
Does the share price of Google justifies its stratospheric levels?
Yes if one were to measure it by the increasing dominance Google has upon cyberspace, and the wider world. The latter being an increasing reality as real life and virtual life are intertwined in a manner that makes the co enjoined Siamese twin Eng and Chang look like two distinct entity.
Google wants to make all our life easy. There is a deliberate shift of the eco system to the cloud, where in lieu of our surrendering personal control over our personal database, Big Brother Google will take care of the bolts and nuts. Big Brother will know and be able to control all your personal data.
Is it right and sensible to entrust everything to Google or for that matter, other competing Mother Ships like Amazon and Microsoft?
The American tech giants are not just killing off smaller potential competitors by buying them up, but are at the forefront of pushing their belief system, which is very much a worldly approach in the guise of equal rights.
Welcome to the new 'Church of Mammon.'
Dear...
This Saturday morning, it's about pink or white. Pink you take a walk to Hong Lim Park to show your support for the proponents of alternative lifestyle, white you wear on your person to make a stand for the traditional family nuclei.
Color is a powerful symbolic differentiator.
The Thais have their red vs yellow grouping depending upon political affiliation. Apartheid South Africa had its clear black and white race demarcation, though they did grant the then economically vibrant yellow Japanese honorary white status. The self righteous Americans had its clear color code( even in public transport) up to the civil rights movement of Martin Luther King, who amongst others fought for the discriminated blacks. And Australia was a Whites only country as far as immigration was concerned not too many years ago. And just to round off, the Christian Crusaders in their desire to stand up for their misguided stand for Christendom, were no less if not more cruel in their campaigns to wipe out the green hordes in the Middle East.
In truth, man being imperfect, we are all shades of grey!!
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27
I know the omnipresent God. Who am I to question His right to only create two categories of the human race. But in the "liberal" West, it is increasingly at great personal risk to adhere to this God ordained view. Quite a paradox that Western society ostensibly prided themselves on individuality, yet increasingly institutionalize recrimination against anyone who even dares to hold a view different from that of the same sex proponents(see article on ex Mozilla boss), which are in truth, just one segment albeit an overtly aggressive and organized segment of a pluralistic society.
( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26868536)
The term "discrimination," has now been equated to "not agreeing," and is being steadily morphed by its vocal and determined proponents to "not in support of."
Corporate America is on the forefront of discriminating( on the pretext of equal rights ) against anyone who holds a different perspective on what is a lifestyle that is different from their personal belief system.
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32
As a Christian, I cannot displease God, just to please man. But not agreeing does not mean I cannot show agape love to a fellow child(regardless of sexual orientation) of God.
We can pray for a realignment of their hearts, but more importantly, we must let God transform us, to let the truth of God's love be lived out upon our lives.
It's not how they live, but how we live out our faith.
Is not giving in to the tantrums of a child an act of child abuse? Every child needs loving discipline as part of his or her molding process.
But again, the very same liberals have removed the cane that is needed to correct a wayward child, yet happily letting gun toting youths run rampage terrorizing the community.
Is putting a serial molester in prison an impingement of his or her claimed inborn natural propensity to sodomise innocent victims? It was clearly not in the old value system of traditional society, but it is if one was to draw from the line of arguments of the LGBT proponents.
Or on seemingly mundane issues of unisex toilets in King's College London, simply because the sexually undecided feels that they are entitled to use both.
Truth is, what about those of us who are not inclined to share facilities with the opposite sex, not just for decorum but practical hygiene issues which places the fairer sex at a disadvantage?
and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
A lie becomes a truth when its proponent relentlessly propagate it. Today, the silent or rather self focussed majority is allowing themselves to be increasingly entrapped by the very determined and organized proponents of not just an alternative lifestyle, but an alternative world. A world that is more in line with that envisaged by the androgynous fallen angel, the devil.
Is this a fair statement? It is a personal view. Do I have to seek asylum in Russia to be able to express these personal thoughts to ensure that I do not get lynched by the marauding packs of same sex vigilantes?
Life is a paradox. In the supposedly liberal West, where free speech and individual rights are sacrosanct, it is increasingly obvious that this applies only to the once discriminated closet inhabitants. Like this famous quote from George Orwell's Animal Farm,
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Indeed, the world is increasingly turning into a real jungle as the end of times intensifies. Should we be like the contentious denizens as many are apt to or should we not be as God commands all who love Him to speak the truth in all boldness but always with love.
Colors will no longer cloud our hearts nor that of our detractors when the light of Christ illuminates in all clarity through us the willing and purified lamp.
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Ephesians 4:25
The Apostle Stephen was stoned to death, and so were many of his fellow Apostles subjected to the wrath of the godless mobs. The days are upon us again when the same anti Christs are rising. The difference was that it used to be in the godless Communist regimes post World War 2. Today, it is in the supposedly free world of the West.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Romans 1:24
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections:for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Romans 1:26-27
God blesses
Eng Hieang
28 June 2014
An afterthought - The world according to Google
Does the share price of Google justifies its stratospheric levels?
Yes if one were to measure it by the increasing dominance Google has upon cyberspace, and the wider world. The latter being an increasing reality as real life and virtual life are intertwined in a manner that makes the co enjoined Siamese twin Eng and Chang look like two distinct entity.
Google wants to make all our life easy. There is a deliberate shift of the eco system to the cloud, where in lieu of our surrendering personal control over our personal database, Big Brother Google will take care of the bolts and nuts. Big Brother will know and be able to control all your personal data.
Is it right and sensible to entrust everything to Google or for that matter, other competing Mother Ships like Amazon and Microsoft?
The American tech giants are not just killing off smaller potential competitors by buying them up, but are at the forefront of pushing their belief system, which is very much a worldly approach in the guise of equal rights.
Welcome to the new 'Church of Mammon.'
Monday, June 16, 2014
Lightness of being#45 Beneath the facade (1 June 2014)
Lightness of being #46 Beneath the facade (1 June 2014)
Dear....
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2 Timothy 3:16
And indeed every Word of God is prescient and precise for the Word is God.
If so, is the nonchalance that is prevalent in a world that in all reality should be drowning from her excessive borrowing, is it not an act of defiance of the warning from our Lord.
The rich rules over the poor,
and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
Proverbs 22:7
This morning, our good Lord impressed upon my heart, the need to remind all in Singapore, that in the midst of our material prosperity, that beneath the facade are structural faults that can easily keel over the upright ship of our own making.
This evening, I came across a CNBC article ( http://www.cnbc.com/id/101603154 ) which had an interesting observation.
In all economic crisis, the match that truly turn it into a true crisis is the preponderance of excessive debt.
And like the dried leaves in the Australian bush, the world is awashed in easy credit, and we are just waiting for the spark to light the match or in debt speak, rising interest rates
An incremental pop up in interest rates, that is likely. But a significant increase in interest rates, that is not plausible, for the biggest bubble blower of the world, the US Federal Reserve and her sidekicks in the developed world will not dare to stop pumping monetary oxygen into an endemic patient that is the Western economy. But is the world right in this thinking?
Man plans, but it is God Who directs. And through history, one will observe that all major crisis happens when the world choose to be oblivious to the obvious, leaving us caught with one's pants down.
God is a faithful God. He wants to save us from ourselves. He speaks to us all, but only the faithful will sense and obey His prompting.
God impressed upon my heart to deliver this warning on debt.
I have no idea as to when this debt bomb will blow up in one's face.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak:and he will shew you things to come.
John 16:13
But like the return of Christ, most don't heed the call to be made ready for His return, because they figured they have tomorrow to do it.
It is possible that Christ might not return tomorrow.
But question is, your last breath might depart from you this next second , much as Christ has not returned.
Interest rate might not rise much tomorrow. But just imagine, if a geopolitical crisis develops in our backyard, and the perception of fortress Singapore as a safe haven crumbles overnight, your 60th storey apartment will still retain its height, and so will your mountain of debt, but the value of your prized asset will likely come down quite a few peg.
SARS was a reminder that the impossible is possible with God.
God will transfer His blessings from the disobedient to the faithful as end times intensifies. To give is to receive.
This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones:to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
Daniel 4:17
God blesses
Eng Hieang
1 June 2014
An afterthought - Strange bedfellows (16 June 2014)
It's been a good two weeks since I first felt led to pen this deep impression our Lord left upon my heart. Events since then in Iraq has brought some strange realignments of relationships. The Great Satan America is chatting up the Iranians, head honcho for the Shiites, while the "terrorists" overrunning Iraq is in all probabilities getting support if not sympathies from their Sunni brethren.
Will the cauldron boil over and lead to a $200/barrel oil? That will put to rest the endemic recovery in the Western World, and put the spotlight on the hugh debt, leading to a loss of confidence and a significant rise in interest rates.
Till Christ returns, cycles will repeat itself, but as End Times intensifies, the next shaking will getting more intense, just as the evil in men deepens.
Will you turn to God now?
Dear....
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2 Timothy 3:16
And indeed every Word of God is prescient and precise for the Word is God.
If so, is the nonchalance that is prevalent in a world that in all reality should be drowning from her excessive borrowing, is it not an act of defiance of the warning from our Lord.
The rich rules over the poor,
and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
Proverbs 22:7
This morning, our good Lord impressed upon my heart, the need to remind all in Singapore, that in the midst of our material prosperity, that beneath the facade are structural faults that can easily keel over the upright ship of our own making.
This evening, I came across a CNBC article ( http://www.cnbc.com/id/101603154 ) which had an interesting observation.
In all economic crisis, the match that truly turn it into a true crisis is the preponderance of excessive debt.
And like the dried leaves in the Australian bush, the world is awashed in easy credit, and we are just waiting for the spark to light the match or in debt speak, rising interest rates
An incremental pop up in interest rates, that is likely. But a significant increase in interest rates, that is not plausible, for the biggest bubble blower of the world, the US Federal Reserve and her sidekicks in the developed world will not dare to stop pumping monetary oxygen into an endemic patient that is the Western economy. But is the world right in this thinking?
Man plans, but it is God Who directs. And through history, one will observe that all major crisis happens when the world choose to be oblivious to the obvious, leaving us caught with one's pants down.
God is a faithful God. He wants to save us from ourselves. He speaks to us all, but only the faithful will sense and obey His prompting.
God impressed upon my heart to deliver this warning on debt.
I have no idea as to when this debt bomb will blow up in one's face.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak:and he will shew you things to come.
John 16:13
But like the return of Christ, most don't heed the call to be made ready for His return, because they figured they have tomorrow to do it.
It is possible that Christ might not return tomorrow.
But question is, your last breath might depart from you this next second , much as Christ has not returned.
Interest rate might not rise much tomorrow. But just imagine, if a geopolitical crisis develops in our backyard, and the perception of fortress Singapore as a safe haven crumbles overnight, your 60th storey apartment will still retain its height, and so will your mountain of debt, but the value of your prized asset will likely come down quite a few peg.
SARS was a reminder that the impossible is possible with God.
God will transfer His blessings from the disobedient to the faithful as end times intensifies. To give is to receive.
This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones:to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
Daniel 4:17
God blesses
Eng Hieang
1 June 2014
An afterthought - Strange bedfellows (16 June 2014)
It's been a good two weeks since I first felt led to pen this deep impression our Lord left upon my heart. Events since then in Iraq has brought some strange realignments of relationships. The Great Satan America is chatting up the Iranians, head honcho for the Shiites, while the "terrorists" overrunning Iraq is in all probabilities getting support if not sympathies from their Sunni brethren.
Will the cauldron boil over and lead to a $200/barrel oil? That will put to rest the endemic recovery in the Western World, and put the spotlight on the hugh debt, leading to a loss of confidence and a significant rise in interest rates.
Till Christ returns, cycles will repeat itself, but as End Times intensifies, the next shaking will getting more intense, just as the evil in men deepens.
Will you turn to God now?
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Lightness of being #44 Walking on water (7 June 2014)
Lightness of being #44 Walking on water ( 7June 2014 )
Dear....
And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
1 Chronicle 21:1
God is faithful. He provides. But why do I often do a stocktake of His provisions just to reassure myself? Like King David, do I need to be rebuked by our Lord to realize and repent of my folly? It is God our Provider Who matters, and not His provisions.
It is good to be sick. Not mentally but rather physically. For it is in the midst of our bodily discomfort and weakened constitution, one's spirit tend to be by default stilled, and if we are willing, a rare opportunity to take time with our Lord during this period of convalescence.
And much as I am temporarily half deaf, from the air pressure lingering in my blocked nose, the enforced two days medical leave, from a weakened constitution from partaking albeit from a mere street away in the recent pre coup Bangkok protests, and followup two weeks later with a visit to the riot torn industrial site in Ho Chi Minh City, was a God given respite.
I am the vine, ye are the branches:He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:for without me ye can do nothing.
John 15:5
And I want to use this God granted down time to seek Him, to wait upon Him, to realign my will to His, and I know God will imbue in me the peace and joy, and empowerment to continue this present phase of my journey of faith, that He first called me to in Nov 2011.
And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
Matthew 14:29-30
I walked on water every day. Unlike many, I am well aware of the omnipresent God. But like many, I find it difficult to ignore the challenging elements in my midst, and sadly I often take my eyes off Christ. But He has never removed His hands from the sinking me.
Tomorrow? What should I be doing and what do I hope to be?
But it is today that God wants us to focus our all on.
What is the will of God for me now and how can I honor Him in my response?
The imperfect man looks for vestiges of certainty. The man of faith look to Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. The man of faith is certain of what God has spoken to him on, much as the circumstances does not seem to concur.
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:3
Indeed, it is in the harsh climes of the desert, or the overwhelming storms of life that we begin to be cognizance of our limitations. It is also in the midst of our inadequacies that our hunger for the Word of God , for God Himself, takes on a decided more determined tone. And God much as He might not take us out of our circumstances, will walk with us and sustain us throughout.
And His Word not just sates us spiritually, but enables us to translate that into life giving sustenance, even as He transforms our very being
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it:cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Genesis 3:17
Adam, from the moment he ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge seek to be independent from God. And the yoke of sin continues to weigh on us all. But it need not be for God has forgiven us through the sacrifice of our lord Jesus Christ.
It is better to trust in the Lord
than to put confidence in man.
Psalms 118:8
God dependence. God must increase, and we decrease. This must now define our every living moment. It is indeed contrary to the ways of the world where most strived and strife to be masters of their own destiny, bringing much grief and angst upon themselves and others. Only to realize that it is fleeting and unfulfilling.
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
God blesses
Eng Hieang
7 June 2014
An afterthought - Efficacy of the Word of God
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
John 15:7
Can we truly afford to take time with God when our circumstances is screaming at us for a response? Are followers of Christ evading the issues of life by hiding behind the literal "skirt" of God? The Bible says faith pleases God, but will it satisfy our needs?
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.
Scripture tells us that faith comes from hearing God. And hearing comes from the Word of God.
God indeed often speaks to us who seek Him through His Word. And He will affirm His call to us in ways that leave no doubt as to His will.
So in obedience we respond. But oft then not, matters don't seem to work out the way we thought it would. Should one hold on stubbornly to God's call in this trial of faith, or would it not be easier to just jump ship and forget about the "absent" God Who seems to have left us in the lurch?
And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water:and they ceased, and there was a calm.
Luke 8:24
'And he said unto them, Where is your faith? ....'
Luke 8:25
God's command to all is simple. Always to His presence and His Spirit will
- align our perception of issues to His perspective, for is not He Sovereign?
- cleanse our cluttered hearts to be ready to receive the fullness of His Spirit
- empower us to move boldly, yet humbly in victory
In all circumstances, God will always show us the wonders of His ways, that none can deny His glory and grace. This happens only when we let go and let Him every moment of our life. Letting go is not a mere mouthing of the words, but a willingness to be like Christ, to think of the interest of our neighbors and to love them in action.
We can put aside our needs, and serve others because we know God will provide, and He will.
The Bible tells us that Jesus came to give us life abundantly and to give us a purpose, a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11 and John 10:10). It also says that Satan came to steal, kill and destroy our lives (John 10:10)
这一生最美的祝福就是能认识主耶稣
Do watch this video titled "The faith factor"
http://youtu.be/nmbaE8A84BM
Dear....
And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
1 Chronicle 21:1
God is faithful. He provides. But why do I often do a stocktake of His provisions just to reassure myself? Like King David, do I need to be rebuked by our Lord to realize and repent of my folly? It is God our Provider Who matters, and not His provisions.
It is good to be sick. Not mentally but rather physically. For it is in the midst of our bodily discomfort and weakened constitution, one's spirit tend to be by default stilled, and if we are willing, a rare opportunity to take time with our Lord during this period of convalescence.
And much as I am temporarily half deaf, from the air pressure lingering in my blocked nose, the enforced two days medical leave, from a weakened constitution from partaking albeit from a mere street away in the recent pre coup Bangkok protests, and followup two weeks later with a visit to the riot torn industrial site in Ho Chi Minh City, was a God given respite.
I am the vine, ye are the branches:He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:for without me ye can do nothing.
John 15:5
And I want to use this God granted down time to seek Him, to wait upon Him, to realign my will to His, and I know God will imbue in me the peace and joy, and empowerment to continue this present phase of my journey of faith, that He first called me to in Nov 2011.
And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
Matthew 14:29-30
I walked on water every day. Unlike many, I am well aware of the omnipresent God. But like many, I find it difficult to ignore the challenging elements in my midst, and sadly I often take my eyes off Christ. But He has never removed His hands from the sinking me.
Tomorrow? What should I be doing and what do I hope to be?
But it is today that God wants us to focus our all on.
What is the will of God for me now and how can I honor Him in my response?
The imperfect man looks for vestiges of certainty. The man of faith look to Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. The man of faith is certain of what God has spoken to him on, much as the circumstances does not seem to concur.
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:3
Indeed, it is in the harsh climes of the desert, or the overwhelming storms of life that we begin to be cognizance of our limitations. It is also in the midst of our inadequacies that our hunger for the Word of God , for God Himself, takes on a decided more determined tone. And God much as He might not take us out of our circumstances, will walk with us and sustain us throughout.
And His Word not just sates us spiritually, but enables us to translate that into life giving sustenance, even as He transforms our very being
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it:cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Genesis 3:17
Adam, from the moment he ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge seek to be independent from God. And the yoke of sin continues to weigh on us all. But it need not be for God has forgiven us through the sacrifice of our lord Jesus Christ.
It is better to trust in the Lord
than to put confidence in man.
Psalms 118:8
God dependence. God must increase, and we decrease. This must now define our every living moment. It is indeed contrary to the ways of the world where most strived and strife to be masters of their own destiny, bringing much grief and angst upon themselves and others. Only to realize that it is fleeting and unfulfilling.
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
God blesses
Eng Hieang
7 June 2014
An afterthought - Efficacy of the Word of God
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
John 15:7
Can we truly afford to take time with God when our circumstances is screaming at us for a response? Are followers of Christ evading the issues of life by hiding behind the literal "skirt" of God? The Bible says faith pleases God, but will it satisfy our needs?
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.
Scripture tells us that faith comes from hearing God. And hearing comes from the Word of God.
God indeed often speaks to us who seek Him through His Word. And He will affirm His call to us in ways that leave no doubt as to His will.
So in obedience we respond. But oft then not, matters don't seem to work out the way we thought it would. Should one hold on stubbornly to God's call in this trial of faith, or would it not be easier to just jump ship and forget about the "absent" God Who seems to have left us in the lurch?
And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water:and they ceased, and there was a calm.
Luke 8:24
'And he said unto them, Where is your faith? ....'
Luke 8:25
God's command to all is simple. Always to His presence and His Spirit will
- align our perception of issues to His perspective, for is not He Sovereign?
- cleanse our cluttered hearts to be ready to receive the fullness of His Spirit
- empower us to move boldly, yet humbly in victory
In all circumstances, God will always show us the wonders of His ways, that none can deny His glory and grace. This happens only when we let go and let Him every moment of our life. Letting go is not a mere mouthing of the words, but a willingness to be like Christ, to think of the interest of our neighbors and to love them in action.
We can put aside our needs, and serve others because we know God will provide, and He will.
The Bible tells us that Jesus came to give us life abundantly and to give us a purpose, a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11 and John 10:10). It also says that Satan came to steal, kill and destroy our lives (John 10:10)
这一生最美的祝福就是能认识主耶稣
Do watch this video titled "The faith factor"
http://youtu.be/nmbaE8A84BM
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Lightness of Boeing #43 Meeting our Maker (31 May 2014)
Lightness of being#43 Meeting our Maker (31 May 2014)
Dear....
Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Matthew 16:28
Death is the sting of sin. If we believe and follow Christ, should death no longer be a scourge upon us? Indeed the Bible says some will not see death until Christ returns. But till then, for most of us, our bodily shell will eventually crumble and our God given spirit brought home. Question is, to be with God or to be in eternal damnation?
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
Matthew 16:26-27
Through the brevity of life, all of us will experience the loss of people around us, some from a distance, a few a hair's breath away. And for some, a personal near snuffing out of the flickering wick of life.
Jesus wept.
John 11:35
It has been a decade since I was intimately involved with a fellow human being going through the throes of death. Tears, that wellspring of an expression of emotional grief has become a stranger in the past decade. Christ wept for the deceased Lazarus, but Christ brought him back to life after that.
What about the people we loved? They remained dead cold. Why does Christ not bring them back to life now? Christ will, when He returns, but not into a fallen world, but rather into a new world where God and Christ will dwell in our midst.
靠主恩典，安全不怕 ，更引道我回家
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
A wonderful truth. A hope that all who believe can cling to, much as pain and grief will permeate our very being in this moment of loss.
And God understands our limits. And much as He allows the spirit of our loved ones to depart from their bodily shell, and much as we who believe know that this separation is temporary, God knows we need His assurances.
A decade ago, when half a dozen of my colleagues left this present world, the untimely deaths from heart attacks or cancer over eighteen months was an emotional drain for those who remained. Yet the grace of God was never far from us who seek Him, and He truly walked with us, grieved with us, and yet He brought us forth, both the deceased and the living to His realm.
Memories do fade with time. Searing the experiences might have been, but like a scar peppered over many times by the distractions of the delusions of Satan's world, it is easy to misplace life's priorities.
Will you be ready when your next breath could be your last?
"Signs of death." I took a quick look on the internet to refresh my observations from a decade back.
The bodily system begins to shut down, but one's spirit is still very much alive, waiting to leave the crumbled physical shell.
But will you
- or rather your spirit be ready to let go? Is there a multitude of unresolved issues that needed to be resolved?
We are all imperfect, living in a fallen world.
Yet, if we truly seek to let God be Sovereign in our lives, experience tells us that one will have a much lighter burden restraining our ability or willingness to leave the present realm. For God is love, and if love had permeated our life and relationships with others, our countenance will be carefree.
- be looking forward to meeting the parties waiting to greet your liberated spirit.
Christ says He has prepared rooms in His Father's mansion, and while I have not had the privilege of verifying this truth as yet. But as shared previously from those who had gone down that road albeit for a brief interlude, Christ is there for you if you know Him. But if you don't, then the denizens of Hades will be your dreadful soul mates.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom:the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luke 16:22-23
God blesses
Eng Hieang
31 May 2014
An afterthought - Walking dead
Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks:for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Life for most of us is like one long wake. Buffeted by the constant storms of life, we often carry the countenance of the grieved. Perking up only on the temporary respites which we want to believe is utopia.
"Onward the victorious Christian," a clarion call of a promised life of victory fashioned from the risen Christ. Yet why does it seem to ring hollow for most of us?
So he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty.”
Zechariah 4:6
The power of God emanates most powerfully from a surrendered life. God dependence rather than self dependence. We will walk more purposefully the path that a God has already laid when we are willing to lean upon Him.
God is truly omnipresent and He knows our needs. Below are a couple of thoughts from (http://www.marketplaceleaders.org/tgif/) which He used to bless me with, even as He continues to renews my mind and transform my heart.
"Learning not to act until God shows you to act is a sign of maturity in God."
"What does God have to do in our lives to remove the controlling and manipulative nature that so often is part of a workplace believer’s life? Perhaps it will require a time of immobilizing, loss of a job, loss of income, loss of health, loss of a close relationship. These are His methods of preparation. Your new nature will not be complete until you’ve stopped striving with God through your own self-efforts. If God is taking you through this process, be encouraged; it is because of the inheritance He has prepared for you. However, the inheritance can only be received when God brings us to total dependence on Him."
"First, when God decides it is time to move you into a larger place of His calling, He has the ability to provide the resources you need to support the call. God gave Jacob a dream that resulted in a strategy never used before to build wealth. It was totally from God’s hand. It was creative and new. God called Jacob to move out after he had demonstrated his faithfulness in 20 years of serving Laban. He learned to live under authority and served Laban faithfully, even though he knew he was being taken advantage of."
Think about it. All of us struggle in varied degrees in our willingness to trust the "invisible" God. But when it is time for our spirit to leave our shell, is the choice to decide still yours? The deceased who preceded us will know, but will not be able to tell us.
And he said, Nay, father Abraham:but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Luke 16:30-31
Dear....
Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Matthew 16:28
Death is the sting of sin. If we believe and follow Christ, should death no longer be a scourge upon us? Indeed the Bible says some will not see death until Christ returns. But till then, for most of us, our bodily shell will eventually crumble and our God given spirit brought home. Question is, to be with God or to be in eternal damnation?
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
Matthew 16:26-27
Through the brevity of life, all of us will experience the loss of people around us, some from a distance, a few a hair's breath away. And for some, a personal near snuffing out of the flickering wick of life.
Jesus wept.
John 11:35
It has been a decade since I was intimately involved with a fellow human being going through the throes of death. Tears, that wellspring of an expression of emotional grief has become a stranger in the past decade. Christ wept for the deceased Lazarus, but Christ brought him back to life after that.
What about the people we loved? They remained dead cold. Why does Christ not bring them back to life now? Christ will, when He returns, but not into a fallen world, but rather into a new world where God and Christ will dwell in our midst.
靠主恩典，安全不怕 ，更引道我回家
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
A wonderful truth. A hope that all who believe can cling to, much as pain and grief will permeate our very being in this moment of loss.
And God understands our limits. And much as He allows the spirit of our loved ones to depart from their bodily shell, and much as we who believe know that this separation is temporary, God knows we need His assurances.
A decade ago, when half a dozen of my colleagues left this present world, the untimely deaths from heart attacks or cancer over eighteen months was an emotional drain for those who remained. Yet the grace of God was never far from us who seek Him, and He truly walked with us, grieved with us, and yet He brought us forth, both the deceased and the living to His realm.
Memories do fade with time. Searing the experiences might have been, but like a scar peppered over many times by the distractions of the delusions of Satan's world, it is easy to misplace life's priorities.
Will you be ready when your next breath could be your last?
"Signs of death." I took a quick look on the internet to refresh my observations from a decade back.
The bodily system begins to shut down, but one's spirit is still very much alive, waiting to leave the crumbled physical shell.
But will you
- or rather your spirit be ready to let go? Is there a multitude of unresolved issues that needed to be resolved?
We are all imperfect, living in a fallen world.
Yet, if we truly seek to let God be Sovereign in our lives, experience tells us that one will have a much lighter burden restraining our ability or willingness to leave the present realm. For God is love, and if love had permeated our life and relationships with others, our countenance will be carefree.
- be looking forward to meeting the parties waiting to greet your liberated spirit.
Christ says He has prepared rooms in His Father's mansion, and while I have not had the privilege of verifying this truth as yet. But as shared previously from those who had gone down that road albeit for a brief interlude, Christ is there for you if you know Him. But if you don't, then the denizens of Hades will be your dreadful soul mates.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom:the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luke 16:22-23
God blesses
Eng Hieang
31 May 2014
An afterthought - Walking dead
Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks:for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Life for most of us is like one long wake. Buffeted by the constant storms of life, we often carry the countenance of the grieved. Perking up only on the temporary respites which we want to believe is utopia.
"Onward the victorious Christian," a clarion call of a promised life of victory fashioned from the risen Christ. Yet why does it seem to ring hollow for most of us?
So he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty.”
Zechariah 4:6
The power of God emanates most powerfully from a surrendered life. God dependence rather than self dependence. We will walk more purposefully the path that a God has already laid when we are willing to lean upon Him.
God is truly omnipresent and He knows our needs. Below are a couple of thoughts from (http://www.marketplaceleaders.org/tgif/) which He used to bless me with, even as He continues to renews my mind and transform my heart.
"Learning not to act until God shows you to act is a sign of maturity in God."
"What does God have to do in our lives to remove the controlling and manipulative nature that so often is part of a workplace believer’s life? Perhaps it will require a time of immobilizing, loss of a job, loss of income, loss of health, loss of a close relationship. These are His methods of preparation. Your new nature will not be complete until you’ve stopped striving with God through your own self-efforts. If God is taking you through this process, be encouraged; it is because of the inheritance He has prepared for you. However, the inheritance can only be received when God brings us to total dependence on Him."
"First, when God decides it is time to move you into a larger place of His calling, He has the ability to provide the resources you need to support the call. God gave Jacob a dream that resulted in a strategy never used before to build wealth. It was totally from God’s hand. It was creative and new. God called Jacob to move out after he had demonstrated his faithfulness in 20 years of serving Laban. He learned to live under authority and served Laban faithfully, even though he knew he was being taken advantage of."
Think about it. All of us struggle in varied degrees in our willingness to trust the "invisible" God. But when it is time for our spirit to leave our shell, is the choice to decide still yours? The deceased who preceded us will know, but will not be able to tell us.
And he said, Nay, father Abraham:but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Luke 16:30-31
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Lightness of being #42 In Him (13 May 2014)
Lightness of being #42 In Him (12 May 2014)
Dear....
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
Should the above verse be taken to imply that it is through our efforts that will allow the world to witness the glory of God?
Mother Teresa was famously quoted, at least in the papers she left behind after her death, to be plagued by moments of doubt and haplessness. A very different perception from that of the romanticized image the world chose to attach to her - an indomitable spirit come what may.
Would it be more correct to read Matthew 5:16 as
'It is His light shining through our lives that glorifies God and draw others to Him.'
We are but the lamp, upon which the light of God shines forth.
A bit of a letdown for some of us who dream of being a go getting doer for God. No different from the disappointment the Jews expressed when their long hoped for Savior from the oppressive Romans turned out to be a mere carpenter, instead of a warrior king.
Is the Christian walk one of waiting upon our Lord?
Quite contrary to the ways of the world, which seeks to will her way to a conclusion, God wants us to wait upon Him, come what may. For a surrendered life is where the victory of the risen Christ resonates most powerfully.
I am the vine, ye are the branches:He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:for without me ye can do nothing.
John 15:5
Every new day that our good Lord blesses us with
- we must come unto His presence to offer the first fruits of the new day. Our time, our all to Him, to be still and know His will for us today.
For He is Sovereign, nothing else matters more than seeking Him.
I have set the Lord always before me:
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth:
my flesh also shall rest in hope.
Psalms 16:8-9
Every circumstances that we find ourselves in,
- we must be determined to set aside our own understanding no matter how compelling it might be, and take time with our Lord in prayers, to "see" from His perspective.
A thankful heart is the key to unlocking the wonders of God's ways for us.
The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places;
yea, I have a goodly heritage.
I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel:
my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
Psalms 16:6-7
And in the many snatches of time He will bless us with every day, we must take time in His Words, for the Word is God. For in doing so, we will know His will, and know how to let His glory sine forth from us.
For in Him, our spirit man will if we are willing, move in tandem with the Spirit God.
And we will always enjoy the peace and joy that God promises to all who believe and seek to follow Him.
"Let my heart personally experience and display Your care."
( Daily Bread 26 Feb 2014)
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
God blesses
Eng Hieang
12 May 2014
An afterthought - Without Him
Whither shall I go from thy spirit?
or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Psalms 139:7
Most of us tend not to want to wait upon God. Our carnal self seeks to grapple with our circumstances, with its angst and all. By not waiting upon our Lord, are we not running away from Him and into the arms of the waiting devil?
Is it no small wonder that our Christian life is not the walk of victory that God intended, and our day seems to lack the peace and joy that God promises to all who believes and follows Him.
Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect;
and in thy book all my members were written,
which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Psalms 139:16
God has set every new day He gives us to be a blessed day.
Take it. Enjoy it. And bless others with our blessings.
Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
John 11:40
Dear....
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
Should the above verse be taken to imply that it is through our efforts that will allow the world to witness the glory of God?
Mother Teresa was famously quoted, at least in the papers she left behind after her death, to be plagued by moments of doubt and haplessness. A very different perception from that of the romanticized image the world chose to attach to her - an indomitable spirit come what may.
Would it be more correct to read Matthew 5:16 as
'It is His light shining through our lives that glorifies God and draw others to Him.'
We are but the lamp, upon which the light of God shines forth.
A bit of a letdown for some of us who dream of being a go getting doer for God. No different from the disappointment the Jews expressed when their long hoped for Savior from the oppressive Romans turned out to be a mere carpenter, instead of a warrior king.
Is the Christian walk one of waiting upon our Lord?
Quite contrary to the ways of the world, which seeks to will her way to a conclusion, God wants us to wait upon Him, come what may. For a surrendered life is where the victory of the risen Christ resonates most powerfully.
I am the vine, ye are the branches:He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:for without me ye can do nothing.
John 15:5
Every new day that our good Lord blesses us with
- we must come unto His presence to offer the first fruits of the new day. Our time, our all to Him, to be still and know His will for us today.
For He is Sovereign, nothing else matters more than seeking Him.
I have set the Lord always before me:
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth:
my flesh also shall rest in hope.
Psalms 16:8-9
Every circumstances that we find ourselves in,
- we must be determined to set aside our own understanding no matter how compelling it might be, and take time with our Lord in prayers, to "see" from His perspective.
A thankful heart is the key to unlocking the wonders of God's ways for us.
The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places;
yea, I have a goodly heritage.
I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel:
my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
Psalms 16:6-7
And in the many snatches of time He will bless us with every day, we must take time in His Words, for the Word is God. For in doing so, we will know His will, and know how to let His glory sine forth from us.
For in Him, our spirit man will if we are willing, move in tandem with the Spirit God.
And we will always enjoy the peace and joy that God promises to all who believe and seek to follow Him.
"Let my heart personally experience and display Your care."
( Daily Bread 26 Feb 2014)
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
God blesses
Eng Hieang
12 May 2014
An afterthought - Without Him
Whither shall I go from thy spirit?
or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Psalms 139:7
Most of us tend not to want to wait upon God. Our carnal self seeks to grapple with our circumstances, with its angst and all. By not waiting upon our Lord, are we not running away from Him and into the arms of the waiting devil?
Is it no small wonder that our Christian life is not the walk of victory that God intended, and our day seems to lack the peace and joy that God promises to all who believes and follows Him.
Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect;
and in thy book all my members were written,
which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Psalms 139:16
God has set every new day He gives us to be a blessed day.
Take it. Enjoy it. And bless others with our blessings.
Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
John 11:40
Monday, April 28, 2014
Lightness of being#41 What am I here for? (28 apr 2014)
Lightness of being #41 What are we here for? (28 Apr 2014)
It has been a hiatus this past one month. It is not a case of writer's cramps, nor because I was away in UK for two weeks, but rather, I just felt the need to rest in our Lord. Through the past decade, I have been but the pen, our good Lord the author. And by His grace, His thoughts flowed through my heart and I believe yours too, like an effervescent well spring of joy and peace.
So why the literal radio silence in the blogging space? I was struggling.
"God must increase, I must decrease." This is not an unfamiliar verse to most.
Do you realize that as we seek to move closer to God, we will have to depend upon Him even more?
"A journey of faith," a phrase that most used in a cursory manner without giving much thought to what it truly meant.
"Faith, is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things unseen."
And in Gospel speak, what must all Christians hope for? To be like Christ, to be made ready to be like Christ before Christ returns.
Christ loved His neighbors. Christ obeyed the will of God, even at the loss of His own life. Can we do the same?
A "mission impossible" for can one truly put aside our own needs, and instead focus on God, and the needs of people He will place in our path?
"What am I here for?" This was the question that has captured most of my time of solitude with our Lord this past one month.
Clarity of the heart is by the grace of God, and if the following thoughts are truly from Him, His will resonate forth.
Dear...
But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
Acts 20:24
If Christ is not risen, then our faith is in vain. But He is risen.
Death is the sting of sin. Man first sinned when Adam disobeyed God and chose to move from God dependence to self dependent.
As a believer, we accept the grace of God in wiping clean the stain of sin upon all humanity.
As a follower of Christ, we seek to follow our risen Christ in His victory over death.
Death is not just mortal death, but spiritual death when we choose to overcome the world by our own strength, rather than upon God.
If we stop looking at issues from our perspective, and instead orientate it from God's. If we stop thinking about our own needs, and instead focus on that of others. Would we not just feel liberated from the angst that life throws at us, but be empowered to move forth in victory as God has ordained?
那一天，不要忘记有人❤️你。 那一天，不要轻易说放弃。
but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
1 Peter 1:15
To serve God is to be like Christ. It is not easy if nay impossible to be in this world, yet not be of this world. Modern society has become so intertwined that can one truly not be dependent upon the need to subscribe to the world values in order to survive?
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:30-31
Is it truly plausible that one can focus on God and the needs of others instead of securing the provisions for our own needs?
Will God provide manna for those who trust and obey?
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee:for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
I often wrestle with my worldly needs. And in doing so, my act of disobedience, what the Bible term as lawlessness, gives room for Satan to try to delude and oppress my countenance.
But thanks be to God. His Spirit resides in us and His Spirit convicts one of our follies, and enables clarity of heart to dissipate the creeping clouds of delusion.
我一生只听随主声音🔊
"What am I here For?" A statement of affirmation, for it reminds me that our omnipresent God is Sovereign, and in all situations, His purposes are greater than our circumstances.
It is about His will, not ours.
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
2 Corinthians 2:14
No bridge is too far when we know that the Spirit of God is within us. He will not just sustain us, but embolden, enable and empower all who trust and obey to walk the path of victory that He has already set.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10
Pay no heed to the noise around us. Be consciously determined to be still, to put aside our own will, and instead to listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit within. And know and do God's will. Only then will we experience the power of God at work in our lives. Only then can we live to rejoice in His goodness.
For to live is Christ, to die is gain.
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
Luke 9:23-24
God blesses
Eng Hieang
28 April 2014
It has been a hiatus this past one month. It is not a case of writer's cramps, nor because I was away in UK for two weeks, but rather, I just felt the need to rest in our Lord. Through the past decade, I have been but the pen, our good Lord the author. And by His grace, His thoughts flowed through my heart and I believe yours too, like an effervescent well spring of joy and peace.
So why the literal radio silence in the blogging space? I was struggling.
"God must increase, I must decrease." This is not an unfamiliar verse to most.
Do you realize that as we seek to move closer to God, we will have to depend upon Him even more?
"A journey of faith," a phrase that most used in a cursory manner without giving much thought to what it truly meant.
"Faith, is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things unseen."
And in Gospel speak, what must all Christians hope for? To be like Christ, to be made ready to be like Christ before Christ returns.
Christ loved His neighbors. Christ obeyed the will of God, even at the loss of His own life. Can we do the same?
A "mission impossible" for can one truly put aside our own needs, and instead focus on God, and the needs of people He will place in our path?
"What am I here for?" This was the question that has captured most of my time of solitude with our Lord this past one month.
Clarity of the heart is by the grace of God, and if the following thoughts are truly from Him, His will resonate forth.
Dear...
But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
Acts 20:24
If Christ is not risen, then our faith is in vain. But He is risen.
Death is the sting of sin. Man first sinned when Adam disobeyed God and chose to move from God dependence to self dependent.
As a believer, we accept the grace of God in wiping clean the stain of sin upon all humanity.
As a follower of Christ, we seek to follow our risen Christ in His victory over death.
Death is not just mortal death, but spiritual death when we choose to overcome the world by our own strength, rather than upon God.
If we stop looking at issues from our perspective, and instead orientate it from God's. If we stop thinking about our own needs, and instead focus on that of others. Would we not just feel liberated from the angst that life throws at us, but be empowered to move forth in victory as God has ordained?
那一天，不要忘记有人❤️你。 那一天，不要轻易说放弃。
but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
1 Peter 1:15
To serve God is to be like Christ. It is not easy if nay impossible to be in this world, yet not be of this world. Modern society has become so intertwined that can one truly not be dependent upon the need to subscribe to the world values in order to survive?
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:30-31
Is it truly plausible that one can focus on God and the needs of others instead of securing the provisions for our own needs?
Will God provide manna for those who trust and obey?
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee:for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
I often wrestle with my worldly needs. And in doing so, my act of disobedience, what the Bible term as lawlessness, gives room for Satan to try to delude and oppress my countenance.
But thanks be to God. His Spirit resides in us and His Spirit convicts one of our follies, and enables clarity of heart to dissipate the creeping clouds of delusion.
我一生只听随主声音🔊
"What am I here For?" A statement of affirmation, for it reminds me that our omnipresent God is Sovereign, and in all situations, His purposes are greater than our circumstances.
It is about His will, not ours.
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
2 Corinthians 2:14
No bridge is too far when we know that the Spirit of God is within us. He will not just sustain us, but embolden, enable and empower all who trust and obey to walk the path of victory that He has already set.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10
Pay no heed to the noise around us. Be consciously determined to be still, to put aside our own will, and instead to listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit within. And know and do God's will. Only then will we experience the power of God at work in our lives. Only then can we live to rejoice in His goodness.
For to live is Christ, to die is gain.
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
Luke 9:23-24
God blesses
Eng Hieang
28 April 2014
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Lightness of being #40 What's in a name (3 April 2014)
Lightness of being #40 What's in a name (3 Apr 2014)
Dear....
You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church.
Matthew 16:18
This was the reading from our Daily Bread(Thurs 3 Apr 2014). It reminds one of not just the important symbolism of names, for Christ renamed Simon to Cephas( aka Peter) both meaning "rock." But transformation to living up to that reality took not just time, but the empowerment of Christ.
He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
John 1:42
My father did give me a meaningful name. The Chinese character 永贤 denotes perseverance and integrity. But for many years till my first few years of working, I always got the 贤 written as 番！The latter being the first word for "tomato."
And did I live a squishy life like that of a tomato, full of promise yet easily squashed?
To some extent, yes as a deep sense of insecurity permeates my life, especially when it comes to financial well being.
Did the realization that I had mis-written the last character of my name brought forth an overnight transformation of my emotional made?
A name change some are inclined to believe will lead to a change in one's fortunes. I am not sure about that but I know It takes more than a name change for a realignment of one's heart leading to a transformation unto Christlikeness.
"在洪水中，我要安静，知你是神"
This is a line from a very beautiful worship song "安静“ ( Be still ). See youtube link below
http://youtu.be/-dQELbDA7wU
Interestingly, silly as it seems, I just realized my surname 洪 is "red" as in the "Red Sea," of Moses' famous crossing. It was an expression of God's grace to the fleeing Israelites, yet of His Sovereignty over nature when He parted the swirling waters of the Red Sea.
Yet did Moses and the Israelites ever hesitated or had creeping doubts in their hearts even as they hastened across the dry channel enclosed by the fearsome roaring waters that was miraculously kept at bay?
What about us professed followers of Christ? I know I often struggle to take that step of faith. And I continue to wrestle with my fears even as I walk the paths that God has pointed me to.
Names are interesting. The literati through the ages took great care in selecting the apt name for their offsprings. The illiterate were not as well placed, and in my parents' generation when the typical brood in the family was a dime a dozen, names were ascribed in relation to one's trade ( eg Ah Te, for the butcher's son, or Hei Tua, for Charcoal boy or simply Ah Kow, in line with the stray dog or Ah Ngeow for the feline.)
My wife and I did take time and effort to select meaningful names for both my children. But it was from a worldly context rather than a God led manner for both my children were born before I truly committed my life to follow Christ our Lord.
But God is always graceful. And I am grateful that on reflection, much as it was never intended on my part, that the initials of my daughter is SALT, just like salt to the world though she is still very much a work in progress. And the initials of my son is AARR, to resonate the roar of Christ, the Lion of Judah.
“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
A fertile imagination? Probably but with God, every moment is a joy filled discovery, of His tender loving care upon each and everyone of us He gave the precious breath of life to.
It is not about deciding on the right name, for some who possibly should consider naming themselves "Manna" instead of "Noodle," as the HK actor by the surname "Cheng" used to call himself before changing it to "Ekin"
But rather, it is up to us to want to live out fully the name He gave us all "Christian" - follower of Christ.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
3 April 2014
Dear....
You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church.
Matthew 16:18
This was the reading from our Daily Bread(Thurs 3 Apr 2014). It reminds one of not just the important symbolism of names, for Christ renamed Simon to Cephas( aka Peter) both meaning "rock." But transformation to living up to that reality took not just time, but the empowerment of Christ.
He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
John 1:42
My father did give me a meaningful name. The Chinese character 永贤 denotes perseverance and integrity. But for many years till my first few years of working, I always got the 贤 written as 番！The latter being the first word for "tomato."
And did I live a squishy life like that of a tomato, full of promise yet easily squashed?
To some extent, yes as a deep sense of insecurity permeates my life, especially when it comes to financial well being.
Did the realization that I had mis-written the last character of my name brought forth an overnight transformation of my emotional made?
A name change some are inclined to believe will lead to a change in one's fortunes. I am not sure about that but I know It takes more than a name change for a realignment of one's heart leading to a transformation unto Christlikeness.
"在洪水中，我要安静，知你是神"
This is a line from a very beautiful worship song "安静“ ( Be still ). See youtube link below
http://youtu.be/-dQELbDA7wU
Interestingly, silly as it seems, I just realized my surname 洪 is "red" as in the "Red Sea," of Moses' famous crossing. It was an expression of God's grace to the fleeing Israelites, yet of His Sovereignty over nature when He parted the swirling waters of the Red Sea.
Yet did Moses and the Israelites ever hesitated or had creeping doubts in their hearts even as they hastened across the dry channel enclosed by the fearsome roaring waters that was miraculously kept at bay?
What about us professed followers of Christ? I know I often struggle to take that step of faith. And I continue to wrestle with my fears even as I walk the paths that God has pointed me to.
Names are interesting. The literati through the ages took great care in selecting the apt name for their offsprings. The illiterate were not as well placed, and in my parents' generation when the typical brood in the family was a dime a dozen, names were ascribed in relation to one's trade ( eg Ah Te, for the butcher's son, or Hei Tua, for Charcoal boy or simply Ah Kow, in line with the stray dog or Ah Ngeow for the feline.)
My wife and I did take time and effort to select meaningful names for both my children. But it was from a worldly context rather than a God led manner for both my children were born before I truly committed my life to follow Christ our Lord.
But God is always graceful. And I am grateful that on reflection, much as it was never intended on my part, that the initials of my daughter is SALT, just like salt to the world though she is still very much a work in progress. And the initials of my son is AARR, to resonate the roar of Christ, the Lion of Judah.
“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
A fertile imagination? Probably but with God, every moment is a joy filled discovery, of His tender loving care upon each and everyone of us He gave the precious breath of life to.
It is not about deciding on the right name, for some who possibly should consider naming themselves "Manna" instead of "Noodle," as the HK actor by the surname "Cheng" used to call himself before changing it to "Ekin"
But rather, it is up to us to want to live out fully the name He gave us all "Christian" - follower of Christ.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
3 April 2014
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Lightness of being #39 God is suffice (30 Mar 2014)
Lightness of being #39 God is suffice (30th Mar 2014)
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
Every breathing moment, swirling in our midst are diverse thoughts with a common intent - to stir the devil in us. Or maybe more appropriately, to bring into overdrive, our inclination to judge, a direct consequence of the eating of the forbidden fruit from the Tree of knowledge by Adam and Eve.
Envy, fear, pride, anger, lust, greed, impatience, selfishness and the whole myriad of emotions made all of us their favorite haunts. And indeed it is no jaunt in the park for these are more than emotions, but evil spirits that not just taunt us, but seeks to lead us down the slippery slope to hell.
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
2 Corinthians 3:5
God is perfect. We are not. Someone recently classified me as religious. The sheen of holiness I might seem to have, but it is ever so easily penetrated from within, whenever my carnal self succumb to the lure of the devil.
Only when we submit to God can we overcome the wiles of the devil.
This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
Titus 3:8
And lately, I have found by the grace of God, this new resolve to always consciously at every fork road of thought, put aside my finite understanding, and instead to take time to rest in our Lord, to know His will.
And knowing God's will is not about Him telling us what to do for every situation, for if we have diligently taken time in His Words, we will know what Christ would have done.
But to the carnal man, such Christlike actions are not the way the world meets her selfish needs. Can we, who are determined to obey God, be in this world, yet not of this world?
Christ will bring about victory in all situations that God put us through.
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
2 Corinthians 2:14
这一生最美的祝福，就是能认识主耶稣, 就是能信靠主耶稣
God blesses
Eng Hieang
30th Mar 2014
An afterthought - Just enough
"Just do it," that's Nike's catchy advertising jingo. "Just enough!" You can be sure that is not the motto of the gnomes of Wall Street.
Being stuck in the confines of the plane, one have plentiful time to read, which I did, savoring over the wealthy class that Forbes magazine promotes as its mantra.
And thinking about one's relationship with God, and why did He put me in not just the cattle class in the plane, but in life?
But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Titus 3:4-6
Thanks be to God, His Spirit residing in me always not just convict me of my sins, but corrects and brings me into His perspective.
Riches of the world I might not have in surfeit, but a richness of life He has blessed me with, since His Spirit fell upon me at age 40. And that is more than enough for me.
Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
I will strengthen thee;
yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isaiah 41:10
My response must continue to be, as shared above, be one of a thankful heart that is fully opened to His Spirit emanating forth from us as His lamp upon which the love of Christ will illuminate the encapsulating darkness upon this world. What a privilege for all who believe and are willing.
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
Every breathing moment, swirling in our midst are diverse thoughts with a common intent - to stir the devil in us. Or maybe more appropriately, to bring into overdrive, our inclination to judge, a direct consequence of the eating of the forbidden fruit from the Tree of knowledge by Adam and Eve.
Envy, fear, pride, anger, lust, greed, impatience, selfishness and the whole myriad of emotions made all of us their favorite haunts. And indeed it is no jaunt in the park for these are more than emotions, but evil spirits that not just taunt us, but seeks to lead us down the slippery slope to hell.
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
2 Corinthians 3:5
God is perfect. We are not. Someone recently classified me as religious. The sheen of holiness I might seem to have, but it is ever so easily penetrated from within, whenever my carnal self succumb to the lure of the devil.
Only when we submit to God can we overcome the wiles of the devil.
This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
Titus 3:8
And lately, I have found by the grace of God, this new resolve to always consciously at every fork road of thought, put aside my finite understanding, and instead to take time to rest in our Lord, to know His will.
And knowing God's will is not about Him telling us what to do for every situation, for if we have diligently taken time in His Words, we will know what Christ would have done.
But to the carnal man, such Christlike actions are not the way the world meets her selfish needs. Can we, who are determined to obey God, be in this world, yet not of this world?
Christ will bring about victory in all situations that God put us through.
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
2 Corinthians 2:14
这一生最美的祝福，就是能认识主耶稣, 就是能信靠主耶稣
God blesses
Eng Hieang
30th Mar 2014
An afterthought - Just enough
"Just do it," that's Nike's catchy advertising jingo. "Just enough!" You can be sure that is not the motto of the gnomes of Wall Street.
Being stuck in the confines of the plane, one have plentiful time to read, which I did, savoring over the wealthy class that Forbes magazine promotes as its mantra.
And thinking about one's relationship with God, and why did He put me in not just the cattle class in the plane, but in life?
But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Titus 3:4-6
Thanks be to God, His Spirit residing in me always not just convict me of my sins, but corrects and brings me into His perspective.
Riches of the world I might not have in surfeit, but a richness of life He has blessed me with, since His Spirit fell upon me at age 40. And that is more than enough for me.
Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
I will strengthen thee;
yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isaiah 41:10
My response must continue to be, as shared above, be one of a thankful heart that is fully opened to His Spirit emanating forth from us as His lamp upon which the love of Christ will illuminate the encapsulating darkness upon this world. What a privilege for all who believe and are willing.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Lightness of being#38 When God calls (16 Mar 2014)
Lightness of being #38 When God calls (16th Mar 2014)
Dear...
Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you,
I will make known my words unto you.
Proverbs 1:23
It has been close to 14 years since the bursting of the dotcom bubble. It has also been about that time since our good Lord sanctified my very being and realigned my wandering heart back to His. It has been a wonderful adventure and the only constant was the joy and peace of experiencing the love of our Sovereign God upon my life, and that of others He placed in my path as fellow sojourners.
Proverbs 1:23 is a stranger to me. This is the first time that this verse captured my attention. Yet it is a very special verse, as if God is drawing me back to the still vivid memories of the night 14 years back when He brought me across the chasm of doubt and gave me the faith that was always just beyond my grasp.
And I said, This is my infirmity:
but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.
I will remember the works of the Lord:
surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
Psalms 77:10-11
Proverbs 1:23 in all precision describes the defining moment in my life, when the Spirit of God fell upon me that one wee morning in Bangkok. God woke me up at 4am to reproof me for my lack of faith. Alway being thankful after the fact, and even then only fleetingly. "Why can't I thank Him even before I see the conclusion?" He asked.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
His Spirit fell upon me twice that fateful night. The first was one of deep cleansing the moment I repented and decided to entrust my all to Him. The second was this indescribable joy and peace that brought my very being into this intimate communion with my Abba Father.
There was no longer any doubt about the truth of God's omnipresence.
Because I have called, and ye refused;
I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
Proverbs 1:24
The word God gave me after He lifted the veil upon my heart was a simple rebuke from the Book of Psalms "stop questioning and start following."
Thanks be to God, His Spirit imbued in me that night the great love of God for me that by His grace and empowerment, I have and continue to grow in desire to respond to His leading,
主告诉我如何献上我的生命，带希望入人群中
And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
Matthew 10:1
As I closed this segment, was I missing something. Twelve Apostles I am not, and neither did I cast out demons, nor did I partake in any physical healing.
But our good Lord impressed upon me that as His faithful servants, He has and will continue to use us to bring about spiritual healing. Physical and emotional ailments are but the manifestation of lives lived in misalignment from the will of God. With agape love, the Spirit of God empowers us to cast out the oppressive and delusive evil spirits encapsulating the very being of many.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
16th Mar 2014
An afterthought - 'Allo, 'Allo !
And he said, Draw not nigh hither:put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
Exodus 3:5
Borrowed from the title of an old British sitcom set in occupied France in World War 2, it did strike me that when it comes to communion with God, many erroneously assumed that God will engage in a spoken conversation with me when I tell them that He spoke to me.
God spoke to Moses through a burning bush. And God told him that he was standing on holy ground. Did God speak to Moses via the audio senses or was it through the heart?
God has and continues to speak to me not via the audio route that humans are well acquainted with but through
- His Words in the times I immerse myself in His living word
- people and circumstances that clarifies or affirms the thoughts in my heart
- visions though I prefer to call them dreams because it happens in my non waking hours
- impressions upon my heart. A conviction by the indwelling Holy Spirit
Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary:
who is so great a God as our God?
Psalms 77:13
直到我在祭坛哪里得着命定，无怨无悔我在这里
This was a line from a worship song in Mandarin. It expresses an unqualified willingness to wait upon our Lord in His sanctuary till God shows us His will.
Indeed, the Bible exhorts all to seek God with our all, to be still and know His will.
The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart;
and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Psalms 34:18
God will and in fact is speaking to all of us this very moment. But truth is, most if not all only tune in when they find themselves in humbling circumstances, and even then, God's communion with us has greatest resonance when our hearts are truly contrite.
For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found:
surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
Psalms 32:6
,
Dear...
Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you,
I will make known my words unto you.
Proverbs 1:23
It has been close to 14 years since the bursting of the dotcom bubble. It has also been about that time since our good Lord sanctified my very being and realigned my wandering heart back to His. It has been a wonderful adventure and the only constant was the joy and peace of experiencing the love of our Sovereign God upon my life, and that of others He placed in my path as fellow sojourners.
Proverbs 1:23 is a stranger to me. This is the first time that this verse captured my attention. Yet it is a very special verse, as if God is drawing me back to the still vivid memories of the night 14 years back when He brought me across the chasm of doubt and gave me the faith that was always just beyond my grasp.
And I said, This is my infirmity:
but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.
I will remember the works of the Lord:
surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
Psalms 77:10-11
Proverbs 1:23 in all precision describes the defining moment in my life, when the Spirit of God fell upon me that one wee morning in Bangkok. God woke me up at 4am to reproof me for my lack of faith. Alway being thankful after the fact, and even then only fleetingly. "Why can't I thank Him even before I see the conclusion?" He asked.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
His Spirit fell upon me twice that fateful night. The first was one of deep cleansing the moment I repented and decided to entrust my all to Him. The second was this indescribable joy and peace that brought my very being into this intimate communion with my Abba Father.
There was no longer any doubt about the truth of God's omnipresence.
Because I have called, and ye refused;
I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
Proverbs 1:24
The word God gave me after He lifted the veil upon my heart was a simple rebuke from the Book of Psalms "stop questioning and start following."
Thanks be to God, His Spirit imbued in me that night the great love of God for me that by His grace and empowerment, I have and continue to grow in desire to respond to His leading,
主告诉我如何献上我的生命，带希望入人群中
And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
Matthew 10:1
As I closed this segment, was I missing something. Twelve Apostles I am not, and neither did I cast out demons, nor did I partake in any physical healing.
But our good Lord impressed upon me that as His faithful servants, He has and will continue to use us to bring about spiritual healing. Physical and emotional ailments are but the manifestation of lives lived in misalignment from the will of God. With agape love, the Spirit of God empowers us to cast out the oppressive and delusive evil spirits encapsulating the very being of many.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
16th Mar 2014
An afterthought - 'Allo, 'Allo !
And he said, Draw not nigh hither:put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
Exodus 3:5
Borrowed from the title of an old British sitcom set in occupied France in World War 2, it did strike me that when it comes to communion with God, many erroneously assumed that God will engage in a spoken conversation with me when I tell them that He spoke to me.
God spoke to Moses through a burning bush. And God told him that he was standing on holy ground. Did God speak to Moses via the audio senses or was it through the heart?
God has and continues to speak to me not via the audio route that humans are well acquainted with but through
- His Words in the times I immerse myself in His living word
- people and circumstances that clarifies or affirms the thoughts in my heart
- visions though I prefer to call them dreams because it happens in my non waking hours
- impressions upon my heart. A conviction by the indwelling Holy Spirit
Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary:
who is so great a God as our God?
Psalms 77:13
直到我在祭坛哪里得着命定，无怨无悔我在这里
This was a line from a worship song in Mandarin. It expresses an unqualified willingness to wait upon our Lord in His sanctuary till God shows us His will.
Indeed, the Bible exhorts all to seek God with our all, to be still and know His will.
The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart;
and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Psalms 34:18
God will and in fact is speaking to all of us this very moment. But truth is, most if not all only tune in when they find themselves in humbling circumstances, and even then, God's communion with us has greatest resonance when our hearts are truly contrite.
For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found:
surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
Psalms 32:6
,
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Lightness of being #37 Thirst (5 Mar 2014)
Lightness of being #37 Thirst ( 5th March 2014)
Dear...
'....But the rebellious dwell in a dry land."
Psalm 67:6
After the exceptional lovely breezy December, weather has taken a decided turn for the worse right about Chinese New Year. The heat is stifling and this prolonged drought has resulted in an increased proportion of Newater added to our reservoirs to make up for the shortfall.
Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.
Proverbs 26:11
Forbid the thought, but truth is we are literally drinking the discharge of many humans.
Is that a reminder to be mindful that we reap what we sow?
'The earth shook; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God...'
Psalm 68:8
And is the dry weather an indictment of our continued disobedience to God Who has blessed our island nation? Is the lack of rain a reflection of the absence of God in the hearts of many in our nation?
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“when I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.
Amos 8:11
Sinful and lustful thoughts often look for opportunities to proffer itself to "weak in the flesh" types like me. And with technology, the opportunities to hook up with complete strangers for that quick fling is now the prevalent trend. This is new to me, not the dalliances, but the availability of such social apps, for the closeted dinosaur that is me.
How does one flee from the bewildering array of temptations that floods our daily living?
Submit to God, then can we overcome the devil.
'Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law......My soul is consumed with longing for Your laws at all times.'
Psalm 119:18,20
你是我心里的满足，你是我唯一的喜乐
Indeed, as I take time on a daily basis, to dwell upon the words of God in the Bible, in listening to hymns in Mandarin( part of my efforts to ratchet up my Mandarin proficiency), and just in a quiet moment of communion with our Lord, one's desire for the world pales into oblivion, in the sanctifying presence of our Lord, in His Words.
I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary:
who is so great a God as our God?
Psalms 77:12-13
God blesses
Eng Hieang
5 Mar 2014
An after thought - Take time
And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east,
they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
Amos 8:12
The world is in a hurry. Or at least evil is. With the Western Governments keenly imposing gay rights on the rest of the world, be it in Arizona or Uganda, and with US big business providing the economic 'gunboat diplomacy,' we are indeed heralding the inevitable return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is increasingly absent from the public arena and even more so in the privacy of many lives. Imagine a world without God, or rather not just the lack of the Bible, but an unfamiliarity with the good news of the Bible.
I am not referring to the great indoctrination of the communist regimes of past or the present repressive North Korea. But rather, the insipid but very real indoctrination of the present world, especially our next generation.
The internet and its wares have distorted and numbed many to the value system that defined civil society of past, and created the presentself centered law of the jungle attitude.
Indeed, the mark of the beast is already upon us, for many are manifesting the behavior of the denizens of the jungle.
It is not too late to take time with our Lord. It is not for us to turn this creeping tide of godlessness on our own strength But God will. Question is, which side will you be on?
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee:
my soul thirsteth for thee,
my flesh longeth for thee
in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
To see thy power and thy glory,
so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
Because thy lovingkindness is better than life,
my lips shall praise thee
Psalms 63:1-3
Dear...
'....But the rebellious dwell in a dry land."
Psalm 67:6
After the exceptional lovely breezy December, weather has taken a decided turn for the worse right about Chinese New Year. The heat is stifling and this prolonged drought has resulted in an increased proportion of Newater added to our reservoirs to make up for the shortfall.
Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.
Proverbs 26:11
Forbid the thought, but truth is we are literally drinking the discharge of many humans.
Is that a reminder to be mindful that we reap what we sow?
'The earth shook; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God...'
Psalm 68:8
And is the dry weather an indictment of our continued disobedience to God Who has blessed our island nation? Is the lack of rain a reflection of the absence of God in the hearts of many in our nation?
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“when I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.
Amos 8:11
Sinful and lustful thoughts often look for opportunities to proffer itself to "weak in the flesh" types like me. And with technology, the opportunities to hook up with complete strangers for that quick fling is now the prevalent trend. This is new to me, not the dalliances, but the availability of such social apps, for the closeted dinosaur that is me.
How does one flee from the bewildering array of temptations that floods our daily living?
Submit to God, then can we overcome the devil.
'Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law......My soul is consumed with longing for Your laws at all times.'
Psalm 119:18,20
你是我心里的满足，你是我唯一的喜乐
Indeed, as I take time on a daily basis, to dwell upon the words of God in the Bible, in listening to hymns in Mandarin( part of my efforts to ratchet up my Mandarin proficiency), and just in a quiet moment of communion with our Lord, one's desire for the world pales into oblivion, in the sanctifying presence of our Lord, in His Words.
I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary:
who is so great a God as our God?
Psalms 77:12-13
God blesses
Eng Hieang
5 Mar 2014
An after thought - Take time
And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east,
they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
Amos 8:12
The world is in a hurry. Or at least evil is. With the Western Governments keenly imposing gay rights on the rest of the world, be it in Arizona or Uganda, and with US big business providing the economic 'gunboat diplomacy,' we are indeed heralding the inevitable return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is increasingly absent from the public arena and even more so in the privacy of many lives. Imagine a world without God, or rather not just the lack of the Bible, but an unfamiliarity with the good news of the Bible.
I am not referring to the great indoctrination of the communist regimes of past or the present repressive North Korea. But rather, the insipid but very real indoctrination of the present world, especially our next generation.
The internet and its wares have distorted and numbed many to the value system that defined civil society of past, and created the presentself centered law of the jungle attitude.
Indeed, the mark of the beast is already upon us, for many are manifesting the behavior of the denizens of the jungle.
It is not too late to take time with our Lord. It is not for us to turn this creeping tide of godlessness on our own strength But God will. Question is, which side will you be on?
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee:
my soul thirsteth for thee,
my flesh longeth for thee
in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
To see thy power and thy glory,
so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
Because thy lovingkindness is better than life,
my lips shall praise thee
Psalms 63:1-3
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Lightness of being #36 The grand bargain (26 Feb 2014)
Lightness of being #37 The grand bargain (26 Feb 2014)
Dear....
I love the Lord, because he hath heard
my voice and my supplications.
Because he hath inclined his ear unto me,
therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
Psalms 116:1-2
The "Grand Bazaar," that famous marketplace in Istanbul. My daughter was in Istanbul last week, but had no opportunity to experience the touristic sights. Our good Lord decided that airport hotels and police holding cells would provide a deeper transforming experience than the usual gawking areas.
The "Grand Bargain,", a deal struck in 1945 by US President Franklin Roosevelt with Saudi King Ibn Saud. It is widely believed that in exchange for American recognition and protection, the House of Saud, the ruling family in Saudi Arabia will ensure a steady supply of the devil's brew to whet the voracious energy appetite of the great Satan( at least that is what the Iranians call America).
But with the natural shale gas boom, an increasing oil independent USA is today, decidedly less enamored with its Saudi bedfellows, as seen by President Obama's dalliance with the Ayatollahs from Iran. This could open the door for a new Middle East war in the near future.
Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it:
except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
Psalms 127:1
Adam, in disobedience to God's command cut the very first deal for all humanity.
Dr Faustus might be a work of fiction. But he epitomizes the sorry state all humanity continue to find themselves mired in. The pursuit of temporal treasures of this sinful world, in exchange for our soul, which will be vested together with the devil in eternal damnation.
It is no wonder life is troubling for all of us, for we have been dealt a poor card by the devil.
The sorrows of death compassed me,
and the pains of hell gat hold upon me:
I found trouble and sorrow.
Then called I upon the name of the Lord;
O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
Psalms 116:3-4
I will take the cup of salvation,
and call upon the name of the Lord.
Psalms 116:13
我一生只听随主声音，你是大牧者
God in all His grace has forgiven us our sins. He wants to restore us back to the relationship of God dependence, for only then will we have the elusive peace and joy.
Every breathing moment, I want to seek God.
Every thought and action I strive to honor Him by being holy, and in loving my neighbor.
(See Matthew 22:37-40)
Where will this lead me to? Heaven on Earth.
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good;
and what doth the Lord require of thee,
but to do justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God?
Micah 6:8
Dependency upon God does not mean we live a life of a sloth. In fact, as stewards of God's blessings, we are to be even more diligent and wiser than the world.
The difference is we
- no longer let our finite understanding lead us, but we follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit resident in us.
- think not of our own needs, but focus on the needs of others. And in giving, we will be freed from the grip of Satan, who uses man's selfishness to hold sway over us.
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Genesis 3:5
God will and has provided. And your faith will grow as you will experience the power of the gospel at work in your life.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
26 Feb 2014
Dear....
I love the Lord, because he hath heard
my voice and my supplications.
Because he hath inclined his ear unto me,
therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
Psalms 116:1-2
The "Grand Bazaar," that famous marketplace in Istanbul. My daughter was in Istanbul last week, but had no opportunity to experience the touristic sights. Our good Lord decided that airport hotels and police holding cells would provide a deeper transforming experience than the usual gawking areas.
The "Grand Bargain,", a deal struck in 1945 by US President Franklin Roosevelt with Saudi King Ibn Saud. It is widely believed that in exchange for American recognition and protection, the House of Saud, the ruling family in Saudi Arabia will ensure a steady supply of the devil's brew to whet the voracious energy appetite of the great Satan( at least that is what the Iranians call America).
But with the natural shale gas boom, an increasing oil independent USA is today, decidedly less enamored with its Saudi bedfellows, as seen by President Obama's dalliance with the Ayatollahs from Iran. This could open the door for a new Middle East war in the near future.
Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it:
except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
Psalms 127:1
Adam, in disobedience to God's command cut the very first deal for all humanity.
Dr Faustus might be a work of fiction. But he epitomizes the sorry state all humanity continue to find themselves mired in. The pursuit of temporal treasures of this sinful world, in exchange for our soul, which will be vested together with the devil in eternal damnation.
It is no wonder life is troubling for all of us, for we have been dealt a poor card by the devil.
The sorrows of death compassed me,
and the pains of hell gat hold upon me:
I found trouble and sorrow.
Then called I upon the name of the Lord;
O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
Psalms 116:3-4
I will take the cup of salvation,
and call upon the name of the Lord.
Psalms 116:13
我一生只听随主声音，你是大牧者
God in all His grace has forgiven us our sins. He wants to restore us back to the relationship of God dependence, for only then will we have the elusive peace and joy.
Every breathing moment, I want to seek God.
Every thought and action I strive to honor Him by being holy, and in loving my neighbor.
(See Matthew 22:37-40)
Where will this lead me to? Heaven on Earth.
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good;
and what doth the Lord require of thee,
but to do justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God?
Micah 6:8
Dependency upon God does not mean we live a life of a sloth. In fact, as stewards of God's blessings, we are to be even more diligent and wiser than the world.
The difference is we
- no longer let our finite understanding lead us, but we follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit resident in us.
- think not of our own needs, but focus on the needs of others. And in giving, we will be freed from the grip of Satan, who uses man's selfishness to hold sway over us.
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Genesis 3:5
God will and has provided. And your faith will grow as you will experience the power of the gospel at work in your life.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
26 Feb 2014
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Lightness of being #35 Who, not what is in front (16 Feb 2014)
Lightness of being #35 Who, not what is in front of you? ( 16th Feb 2014)
Dear.....
I have set the Lord always before me:
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Psalms 16:8
"Always put God in front of you, not behind you, then can you move forward."
These were the words of wisdom a brother in Christ gave to me as he felt led by our Lord to do so when we met two weeks back.
It is always a joy when God affirms His will for me. And unlike the fifth Olympic ring at the Sochi Winter Olympics that failed to spring forth as planned, God will always be prescient in His affirmation.
The Book of Psalms, I have make acquaintance of through the years. But just two days after that meeting, Psalms 16:8 which was for me part of the fleeting scenery in my Bible readings all these years, sprang forth like an exuberant puppy that makes one wonder how could I have missed it?
Why do we struggle with life? The Bible says man is born to trouble. And indeed we live in a fallen world, compounded by our reliance on our finite understanding to navigate through its treacherous paths. And worse, it is a world controlled by the master of deceit, the devil, for Adam gave up his birthright granted by God.
It is God that girdeth me with strength,
and maketh my way perfect.
Psalms 18:32
If God was placed between us and the world, things would be very different.
Darkness is the absence of light. If God is placed in front of our all, we will bask in His glory and darkness has no room to creep up upon us.
And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses 'face shone:and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Exodus 34:35
What about our sinful inclination to be self reliant rather than God dependent?
I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
Psalms 116:1-2
The Spirit of God will sanctify, assure and lift us up if we are willing to submit to His glory, and life will never be the same after that.
For we will walk in joy and peace in all circumstances, and the world will indeed see the glory of God upon us, a restoration of the relationship that God had intended, but man made asunder by their disobedience.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
In closing, it is good to remind ourselves that we are but the lamp, not the light.
I oft struggle because I tried to be the light. If indeed this is so, it is no wonder I struggle for I am of finite power!
God and only God is the Light. Recognize that and our focus is to
- allow His light to be in our presence always through immersing in His Words, communion with God in prayers and in thanksgiving for all He has done and will continue to do,
- and seek to be a holy vessel as His spirit mould us and work through us
Only when we are holy, will the light of God emanate forth in all His glory.
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( read also Psalms 25)
And much as carnal man desires conclusions quickly, God wants us to wait upon Him. For
- His Spirit to convict and cleanse us of our inequities.
Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
Psalms 26:2
- For the renewed us to know His will
- then only can we move forth fully empowered when His Spirit lifts us up
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
除你以外，在天上我还能有谁
除你以外，在地上我别无眷恋
God blesses
Eng Hieang
16 Feb 2014
An after thought - The joy of self surrender
( do watch this half hour video and be blessed by it)
http://youtu.be/G-8-gHjq0rQ
If we learn to put God's will and the needs of others before ours, we will experience the joy of self surrender.
God knows our needs. He will meet our needs. But will we be willing to entrust that to Him and instead focus our all on obeying the two greatest commands of Christ
- to love God our God with our all and acknowledge Him in all our ways
- to love our neighbors as much as ourselves.
Be willing to do this and witness the power and grace of God at work in your life and your surrounds.
Dear.....
I have set the Lord always before me:
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Psalms 16:8
"Always put God in front of you, not behind you, then can you move forward."
These were the words of wisdom a brother in Christ gave to me as he felt led by our Lord to do so when we met two weeks back.
It is always a joy when God affirms His will for me. And unlike the fifth Olympic ring at the Sochi Winter Olympics that failed to spring forth as planned, God will always be prescient in His affirmation.
The Book of Psalms, I have make acquaintance of through the years. But just two days after that meeting, Psalms 16:8 which was for me part of the fleeting scenery in my Bible readings all these years, sprang forth like an exuberant puppy that makes one wonder how could I have missed it?
Why do we struggle with life? The Bible says man is born to trouble. And indeed we live in a fallen world, compounded by our reliance on our finite understanding to navigate through its treacherous paths. And worse, it is a world controlled by the master of deceit, the devil, for Adam gave up his birthright granted by God.
It is God that girdeth me with strength,
and maketh my way perfect.
Psalms 18:32
If God was placed between us and the world, things would be very different.
Darkness is the absence of light. If God is placed in front of our all, we will bask in His glory and darkness has no room to creep up upon us.
And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses 'face shone:and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Exodus 34:35
What about our sinful inclination to be self reliant rather than God dependent?
I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
Psalms 116:1-2
The Spirit of God will sanctify, assure and lift us up if we are willing to submit to His glory, and life will never be the same after that.
For we will walk in joy and peace in all circumstances, and the world will indeed see the glory of God upon us, a restoration of the relationship that God had intended, but man made asunder by their disobedience.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
In closing, it is good to remind ourselves that we are but the lamp, not the light.
I oft struggle because I tried to be the light. If indeed this is so, it is no wonder I struggle for I am of finite power!
God and only God is the Light. Recognize that and our focus is to
- allow His light to be in our presence always through immersing in His Words, communion with God in prayers and in thanksgiving for all He has done and will continue to do,
- and seek to be a holy vessel as His spirit mould us and work through us
Only when we are holy, will the light of God emanate forth in all His glory.
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( read also Psalms 25)
And much as carnal man desires conclusions quickly, God wants us to wait upon Him. For
- His Spirit to convict and cleanse us of our inequities.
Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
Psalms 26:2
- For the renewed us to know His will
- then only can we move forth fully empowered when His Spirit lifts us up
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
除你以外，在天上我还能有谁
除你以外，在地上我别无眷恋
God blesses
Eng Hieang
16 Feb 2014
An after thought - The joy of self surrender
( do watch this half hour video and be blessed by it)
http://youtu.be/G-8-gHjq0rQ
If we learn to put God's will and the needs of others before ours, we will experience the joy of self surrender.
God knows our needs. He will meet our needs. But will we be willing to entrust that to Him and instead focus our all on obeying the two greatest commands of Christ
- to love God our God with our all and acknowledge Him in all our ways
- to love our neighbors as much as ourselves.
Be willing to do this and witness the power and grace of God at work in your life and your surrounds.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Lightness of being #34 Clutter (2 Feb 2014)
Dear...
Be still, and know that I am God:
I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalms 46:10
For most, the only time when one is truly still is when you breathe your last. By then it will be a mite too late, for you can no longer avail yourself of the salvation and the concomitant transformation unto Christlikeness that God offered to all.
A sober truth it is, much as most will prefer to delude themselves with whispers of fulfillment of their carnal desires. Satan was the first perpetrator of such messages of deceit, and Adam and Eve have set the precedence as gullible recipients for all of us after them.
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Genesis 3:5
"Clutter," I spent the past few days spring cleaning. Never bemuses me to see the amount of junk one can accumulate over time.
What about spiritual clutter? These has kept us from sensing the prompting of the Holy Spirit , thus depriving us of the joy and peace of walking with our Lord.
And for many who do seek to be in the presence of our Lord, we do know the will of God but what is keeping us from following fully in obedience?
For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
Philippians 1:23-24
Apostle Paul knew that being with Christ in Heaven was the better option. But as God wills, he remained in the fallen world to minister to people God placed in his path.
For many of us, Christians included, our dilemma is less about being desirous of Heaven, but more about an unwillingness to let go of our temporal treasures on Earth.
I am the vine, ye are the branches:He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:for without me ye can do nothing.
John 15:5
How can we revert to the relationship that God intended before Adam and Eve sinned?
"Let go, and let God," the Bible is clear about the way forward.
But why do I and I believe most of us who know this truth find it so difficult to let go, not just of our earthly treasures and desires, but also in leaving our troubles with our Lord?
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
James 4:7-8
Most of us come to God with our needs and our desired solution.
On the contrary, James 4:7-8
- tells us to take time with our Lord to know His will.
- to focus on doing what honors Him
But wait a minute. Is God not going to listen to my petitions?
God will listen to our supplications. In fact, He already knows our needs.
But will we wait upon Him and trust in His solution, His way, in His timing rather than cling on to ours?
But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
2 Kings 5:11
Like the mighty Syrian General Naman, who felt compelled to question the logic of God's command, we cannot let go because we are not willing to let God.
The Adamite approach is to be in control and only let God into our lives when we feel in control.
The way of Christ is to go to God in prayers, to know His will, not ours and to do as He leads. We focus on God rather than on our needs.
I continue to struggle with letting go. A brother in Christ, an anointed man of God who God has used to speak to me at critical breakthroughs of my spiritual journey, had this truth for me. I must put God in front of me, as I continue to move forth in His work, and not put God in my rear.
And in plain speak it means
- every new morning, to come unto His presence, to be sanctified and to know His will
- to do what honors Him, be it a specific prompting or often, when He is silent
- to be thankful and be at peace in all circumstances, for we know God is Sovereign.
We can draw upon His words and enter into His rest in prayerful communion always
Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
1 Peter 4:19
An after thought - 4 horses and red blood moon
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Revelation 6:12
This being the year of the horse, all of us are inundated with positive messages built around it. And in Revelations 6, we not only have one, but four horses in four choice colors - white, red, black and deathly pale. But these horses are not purveyors of glad tidings but correction for a depraved world.
Is the nonchalant attitude of the world towards the emerging market crisis no different from the lax attitude of the early days of the subprime crisis or that of the Asian crisis?
Is it not the same in terms of present men's attitude towards the return of Jesus Christ.
http://www.wnd.com/2013/10/
The intensity of God's shaking will increase. Revelations 6:12 talks of the moon being red.
According to an article a friend sent me, this year and next will witness a rare phenomenon.
A cycle of 4 blood moons, that is, 4 lunar eclipse with a solar eclipse in between.
The article claims that whenever this occurs, the Jews will be involved in a earth shattering event. The last being the 1967 six days war in the Middle East where the outnumbered Israelites defeated the combined Arab armies. And in 1492, when the Jews were expelled from Catholic Spain, the predominant power in the Old World, the same year America, Israel's present protector, was discovered by Columbus, who was funded by Spain.
Nice such snippets of information. But what matters more is
- the realization that Christ can return anytime
- the need to be made ready for His return
- the awareness of the fulfillment of God's reminders of His return, to keep us focused on Christ and not be distracted by an increasingly disorientated world.
- the need for a determined response our our part to live out 1 Peter 4:19
Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
1 Peter 4:19
Be still, and know that I am God:
I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalms 46:10
For most, the only time when one is truly still is when you breathe your last. By then it will be a mite too late, for you can no longer avail yourself of the salvation and the concomitant transformation unto Christlikeness that God offered to all.
A sober truth it is, much as most will prefer to delude themselves with whispers of fulfillment of their carnal desires. Satan was the first perpetrator of such messages of deceit, and Adam and Eve have set the precedence as gullible recipients for all of us after them.
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Genesis 3:5
"Clutter," I spent the past few days spring cleaning. Never bemuses me to see the amount of junk one can accumulate over time.
What about spiritual clutter? These has kept us from sensing the prompting of the Holy Spirit , thus depriving us of the joy and peace of walking with our Lord.
And for many who do seek to be in the presence of our Lord, we do know the will of God but what is keeping us from following fully in obedience?
For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
Philippians 1:23-24
Apostle Paul knew that being with Christ in Heaven was the better option. But as God wills, he remained in the fallen world to minister to people God placed in his path.
For many of us, Christians included, our dilemma is less about being desirous of Heaven, but more about an unwillingness to let go of our temporal treasures on Earth.
I am the vine, ye are the branches:He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:for without me ye can do nothing.
John 15:5
How can we revert to the relationship that God intended before Adam and Eve sinned?
"Let go, and let God," the Bible is clear about the way forward.
But why do I and I believe most of us who know this truth find it so difficult to let go, not just of our earthly treasures and desires, but also in leaving our troubles with our Lord?
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
James 4:7-8
Most of us come to God with our needs and our desired solution.
On the contrary, James 4:7-8
- tells us to take time with our Lord to know His will.
- to focus on doing what honors Him
But wait a minute. Is God not going to listen to my petitions?
God will listen to our supplications. In fact, He already knows our needs.
But will we wait upon Him and trust in His solution, His way, in His timing rather than cling on to ours?
But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
2 Kings 5:11
Like the mighty Syrian General Naman, who felt compelled to question the logic of God's command, we cannot let go because we are not willing to let God.
The Adamite approach is to be in control and only let God into our lives when we feel in control.
The way of Christ is to go to God in prayers, to know His will, not ours and to do as He leads. We focus on God rather than on our needs.
I continue to struggle with letting go. A brother in Christ, an anointed man of God who God has used to speak to me at critical breakthroughs of my spiritual journey, had this truth for me. I must put God in front of me, as I continue to move forth in His work, and not put God in my rear.
And in plain speak it means
- every new morning, to come unto His presence, to be sanctified and to know His will
- to do what honors Him, be it a specific prompting or often, when He is silent
- to be thankful and be at peace in all circumstances, for we know God is Sovereign.
We can draw upon His words and enter into His rest in prayerful communion always
Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
1 Peter 4:19
An after thought - 4 horses and red blood moon
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Revelation 6:12
This being the year of the horse, all of us are inundated with positive messages built around it. And in Revelations 6, we not only have one, but four horses in four choice colors - white, red, black and deathly pale. But these horses are not purveyors of glad tidings but correction for a depraved world.
Is the nonchalant attitude of the world towards the emerging market crisis no different from the lax attitude of the early days of the subprime crisis or that of the Asian crisis?
Is it not the same in terms of present men's attitude towards the return of Jesus Christ.
http://www.wnd.com/2013/10/
The intensity of God's shaking will increase. Revelations 6:12 talks of the moon being red.
According to an article a friend sent me, this year and next will witness a rare phenomenon.
A cycle of 4 blood moons, that is, 4 lunar eclipse with a solar eclipse in between.
The article claims that whenever this occurs, the Jews will be involved in a earth shattering event. The last being the 1967 six days war in the Middle East where the outnumbered Israelites defeated the combined Arab armies. And in 1492, when the Jews were expelled from Catholic Spain, the predominant power in the Old World, the same year America, Israel's present protector, was discovered by Columbus, who was funded by Spain.
Nice such snippets of information. But what matters more is
- the realization that Christ can return anytime
- the need to be made ready for His return
- the awareness of the fulfillment of God's reminders of His return, to keep us focused on Christ and not be distracted by an increasingly disorientated world.
- the need for a determined response our our part to live out 1 Peter 4:19
Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
1 Peter 4:19
Friday, January 24, 2014
Lightness of being #33 Are you ready? (24 Jan 2014)
Lightness of being #33 Are you ready? (24th Jan 2014)
Dear...
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! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
Romans 10:15-16
Many years back, I visited, on a morning, a dear friend who was on the throes of death. Her bodily system was shutting down, and much as the look of death was on her face, she was struggling to stall for time, to wait for the resolution of an unresolved family matter, that has marked her entire life. Thanks be to God, she left in peace later that same day, having witnessed her long wished for family reconciliation.
It has been more than a decade since I watched my friend enter her last day in this fallen world. But our good Lord gave me the privilege of saying goodbye to a dear brother in Christ just last Thursday. Though both my now departed friends were committed believers, the scene was quite different. This brother was at peace, and he seems to be waiting upon our Lord, in his quiet manner, for Him to take him home. He has run the race well and was ready.
I believe the reason God changed my visit to my friend at the Hospice from the planned Friday morning, to Thursday morning, was not just to allow me to say goodbye to a dear brother in Christ( who departed on Thurs night), who has been a mentor to me, but to use me to pat him on the back twice,
I had patted him because his condition had left him with little ability to converse. But now as I pen this, our Lord placed the thought that the two pats were to assure my dear brother that his life was lived well in the service of our Lord, even as it was time to go home to be with Christ.
'.....you have hoarded wealth in the last days.'
James 5:3
Mortal death, an inevitable but often conveniently subsumed reality. As shared, it has made its presence felt in my circle of human contacts just these past 3 days. I am not referring to the wealthy Chinese billionaire who died in a helicopter crash while on a celebratory flight to inspect his newly acquired vineyard. Though it does bring to mind the parable of the rich man with his overflowing barn.
But to people whom I have relationships with who either suffered a fatal heart attack, was diagnosed with late stage cancer or was near terminal phase in their illness.
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Romans 13:11-14
Our good Lord is always prescient. He not only
- impressed upon my heart the sense of urgency on the need to focus on today, to be made ready, as shared in the previous sharing "Surrendered life,"
- He has brought to close quarters, 3 people I know where the end is nigh, much as Christ has yet to return. And this is the reminder that we must be prepared not just for our Lord Jesus Christ's second coming, but the possibility of our being called home prior to that.
'But the end of all things is at hand, therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.'
1 Peter 4:7
- and today, He has brought me to 3 verses ( Romans 13:11-14, 1 Peter 4:7, and Malachi 4:5-6) with the same message on the need for all of us to be ready, for the times are near. And for added affirmation, the 3rd verse, from the Book of Malachi, was the exact verse I was sharing with a brother just this afternoon. And Malachi was the verse that stared at me, when I first randomly penned the Bible this evening for my time with our Lord.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children,
and the heart of the children to their fathers,
lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Malachi 4:5-6
生命有限，时光也会走。如果你不珍惜，机会难留
Life is not just finite, but fickle. All of us often forget that every breath we draw is by the grace of God. For my departed brother in Christ, every breath he took was precious, for he need the aid of an oxygen tank.
What is needed to get us all cognizant of the need to look beyond the temporal and instead, pay serious attention to and be very determined to prepare for eternity?
We often only react when we believe and may the words shared be used by our Lord to awaken the many who are spiraling towards eternal damnation, for God loves us all, and He wants you to grasp His outstretched hands, before it is too late.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17
God blesses
Eng Hieang
24 Jan 2014
An after thought : Of horse heads and bull heads
Many of us grew up somewhat traumatized( at least for me) from watching too many Chinese dramas where the newly deceased are escorted by the guards from Hades, to brought to the different levels of hell, depending upon one's sins.
I am not sure if every escort from the less desirable realm is either a horse head with the torso of a man, or that of a bull head on human torso, but I do believe when we breathe our last, there will be someone waiting for us. But who??
According to a dear sister in Christ of mine, her now departed father had this experience to share. Her father was a non believer who was in the ICU at the hospital, when he went into a spasm. Throughout the period that the doctors were frantically trying to save him, he found himself, presumably his soul in a different world, where sinister looking beings were pulling him with them. Her father in his desperate struggle cried out to Christ for help. A man in all morning glory appeared, and the forces of darkness vanished.
At this moment, my friend's father was revived. He lived a few more months but became a believer before he returned home to our Lord.
How did he know that he should call on Christ? It was because my friend lived her life as a believer, talked to him about the gospel, and she read the Bible and sang hymns to her dad even when he was in a state of semi comatose.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17
Indeed, in our being determined to be made ready, God will use the faithful to help make ready our loved ones as well as whoever He will place in our lives.
Then can we be confident, when the sands in the hour glass of our life or that of our loved ones peters out, that we know Christ awaits at His Father's mansion.
Dear...
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! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
Romans 10:15-16
Many years back, I visited, on a morning, a dear friend who was on the throes of death. Her bodily system was shutting down, and much as the look of death was on her face, she was struggling to stall for time, to wait for the resolution of an unresolved family matter, that has marked her entire life. Thanks be to God, she left in peace later that same day, having witnessed her long wished for family reconciliation.
It has been more than a decade since I watched my friend enter her last day in this fallen world. But our good Lord gave me the privilege of saying goodbye to a dear brother in Christ just last Thursday. Though both my now departed friends were committed believers, the scene was quite different. This brother was at peace, and he seems to be waiting upon our Lord, in his quiet manner, for Him to take him home. He has run the race well and was ready.
I believe the reason God changed my visit to my friend at the Hospice from the planned Friday morning, to Thursday morning, was not just to allow me to say goodbye to a dear brother in Christ( who departed on Thurs night), who has been a mentor to me, but to use me to pat him on the back twice,
I had patted him because his condition had left him with little ability to converse. But now as I pen this, our Lord placed the thought that the two pats were to assure my dear brother that his life was lived well in the service of our Lord, even as it was time to go home to be with Christ.
'.....you have hoarded wealth in the last days.'
James 5:3
Mortal death, an inevitable but often conveniently subsumed reality. As shared, it has made its presence felt in my circle of human contacts just these past 3 days. I am not referring to the wealthy Chinese billionaire who died in a helicopter crash while on a celebratory flight to inspect his newly acquired vineyard. Though it does bring to mind the parable of the rich man with his overflowing barn.
But to people whom I have relationships with who either suffered a fatal heart attack, was diagnosed with late stage cancer or was near terminal phase in their illness.
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Romans 13:11-14
Our good Lord is always prescient. He not only
- impressed upon my heart the sense of urgency on the need to focus on today, to be made ready, as shared in the previous sharing "Surrendered life,"
- He has brought to close quarters, 3 people I know where the end is nigh, much as Christ has yet to return. And this is the reminder that we must be prepared not just for our Lord Jesus Christ's second coming, but the possibility of our being called home prior to that.
'But the end of all things is at hand, therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.'
1 Peter 4:7
- and today, He has brought me to 3 verses ( Romans 13:11-14, 1 Peter 4:7, and Malachi 4:5-6) with the same message on the need for all of us to be ready, for the times are near. And for added affirmation, the 3rd verse, from the Book of Malachi, was the exact verse I was sharing with a brother just this afternoon. And Malachi was the verse that stared at me, when I first randomly penned the Bible this evening for my time with our Lord.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children,
and the heart of the children to their fathers,
lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Malachi 4:5-6
生命有限，时光也会走。如果你不珍惜，机会难留
Life is not just finite, but fickle. All of us often forget that every breath we draw is by the grace of God. For my departed brother in Christ, every breath he took was precious, for he need the aid of an oxygen tank.
What is needed to get us all cognizant of the need to look beyond the temporal and instead, pay serious attention to and be very determined to prepare for eternity?
We often only react when we believe and may the words shared be used by our Lord to awaken the many who are spiraling towards eternal damnation, for God loves us all, and He wants you to grasp His outstretched hands, before it is too late.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17
God blesses
Eng Hieang
24 Jan 2014
An after thought : Of horse heads and bull heads
Many of us grew up somewhat traumatized( at least for me) from watching too many Chinese dramas where the newly deceased are escorted by the guards from Hades, to brought to the different levels of hell, depending upon one's sins.
I am not sure if every escort from the less desirable realm is either a horse head with the torso of a man, or that of a bull head on human torso, but I do believe when we breathe our last, there will be someone waiting for us. But who??
According to a dear sister in Christ of mine, her now departed father had this experience to share. Her father was a non believer who was in the ICU at the hospital, when he went into a spasm. Throughout the period that the doctors were frantically trying to save him, he found himself, presumably his soul in a different world, where sinister looking beings were pulling him with them. Her father in his desperate struggle cried out to Christ for help. A man in all morning glory appeared, and the forces of darkness vanished.
At this moment, my friend's father was revived. He lived a few more months but became a believer before he returned home to our Lord.
How did he know that he should call on Christ? It was because my friend lived her life as a believer, talked to him about the gospel, and she read the Bible and sang hymns to her dad even when he was in a state of semi comatose.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17
Indeed, in our being determined to be made ready, God will use the faithful to help make ready our loved ones as well as whoever He will place in our lives.
Then can we be confident, when the sands in the hour glass of our life or that of our loved ones peters out, that we know Christ awaits at His Father's mansion.
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