Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.'
John 14:27
I had a wonderful dream last night. I saw myself walking down a five-foot way, flanked by a row of 2-storey shophouses. It was happy because I got invited into 3 of these units, one by a group of university students who formed a club there, no ordinary club, but a Christian fellowship. Another was by a bunch of policemen. Not too sure if it was a police station, but the police were having a great time in Christian fellowship. And the 3rd I can only vaguely recall was another Christian fellowship.
Since my walk with the Lord became a more determined process on my part, the things that pleases me seem pretty at odds with what pleases the more worldly me in the past. In the past, it was what satisfies my personal needs. Now, it always bring me greater joy to see others, be it family, friends or even strangers come to know the Lord our God.
'One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet. His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow.
And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure.
They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them'
Job 22:23-26
Brutally frank as it might seem, reality is that while differentiation might be a matter of life or death for many in their lifetime, in death, all are equal, for dust is dust, irregardless of the symbolism that one erects to represent one's past. But is 'afterlife' the same for everyone??
'……how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.'
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10
If our belief that our Lord Jesus Christ will return is not a fruitless hope, it is not based on hearsay, but rather a faith that is built on an ongoing relationship with the Living God, then we must work to be fruitful in living a life of faithful obedience in our days on Earth. For can we face our Maker with a basket filled only with our acts of disobedience?
'For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty….'
1 Corinthians 1:26-27
God will worked wonderfully through us in the areas that we might have thought to be our achilles heel. Equiping to do the Lord's work comes from Him, not via our own efforts. God looks for a responsive and obedient heart, not for resplendent in our basic make. In the secular world, it is often about the Law of Comparative Advantage, you do what you are perceived to be most equipped at. In the way of our Lord, it is wherever He places us, for it is Him who works through us, and not us that matters.
In the same self-oriented world of ours, it is often we who decide who we want to deal with, in the Lord's way, it is who He places in our paths.
'I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians, both to the wise, and to the unwise………I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile'
Romans 1:14-16
Till the past few years, one would never imagine that our dialect speaking parents would ever feel comfortable stepping into a church service. The increased resources channelled to dialect outreach did help but it is the mindset that Christianity is a Western religion and has no place in the Asian pysche that has now truly undergone a sea change. My mum goes to a Mandarin service every Sunday. She tells me that she might not understand everything but yet, she faithfully attends the service. Is it due to the tireless efforts and encouragement of my sisters. It helps but I truly believe that in coming to the Lord's presence, He speaks to my mum's heart.
For the Gospel is the power of God released in the life of the believer. It is God doing what we could never do ourselves.
'For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith'
Romans 1:17
For righteousness ie a right relationship with God comes from God. But we must want to respond to His calling.
'….thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me'
Isaiah 47:10
A couple of weeks back, I read in one of the more respectable British newspapers(meaning not the tabloids) an interesting headline that said "May God do Africa a favour.' The writer was responding to the still kicking octogenarian ruler of Zimbabwe, aka Robert Mugabe's proclamation that only God can remove him, from his seat of power in anarchic Zimbabwe. Do not call upon the name of the Lord our God in vain. Guess both gentlemen are doing the same thing, from opposite side of the spectrum.
'And He said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon My people………….'
Amos 8:1-2
Rhodesia('the former name of Zimbabwe) and South Africa, were till recently, the bulwark of white supremacy in the Dark Continent. There are indeed moral issues with the rights of the black majority being subserved by the interests of the minority ruling Whites. Just like communism, autocracy would reach the point where suppression can no longer contain the expression of resentment of the underprivileged.
The Rhodesia that Robert Mugabe inherited or won, was till then, a key breadbasket of Africa. Today, it has become a basketcase, with millions of the wrong kind, ie refugees in South Africa fleeing the repressive regime, and inflation running into the million percentages.
'And I will turn your feasts into mourning……………..
Behold, the days come, siath the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord'
……they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it'
Amos 8:10-12
The world the next five years is likely to be a 'wonderful' place. That is, if you happen to ensconced in the islands of prosperity and material riches as the world's rich converged upon such safe havens, seeking refuge from the the other world that will be racked by increased poverty and social unrests, and where starvation will be the norm and governments will be hardpressed to cope with satisfying the basic needs of the general population. But will you be genuinely happy, at peace and truly secure??
'There will be trouble….'
?? 2:9-10
'Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee'
Isaiah 47:13
Are we on the cusps of those days, when many a shakened life starts to look for the true meaning of life beyond the temporal and in fact to look for the source of all comfort and grace, our Sovereign God.
I believe that God truly wants our attention, for many are at very real risk of losing their soul to the devil. But the response has to come from us and lets not leave it to too little too late, for our Lord Jesus Christ will return and when He does, as He surely would, do we meet Him with a basketful of the wonderful fruits of the Spirit harvested from living a God centred life, or do we barely dare to lift an eyelid to look at him, for having lived a life bereft of any desire to obey His commands has left our soul barren.
'Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence, a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people. Gather thy saints together unto Me, those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice……'
Psalm 50:3-6
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
14 Jul 08
Note
With this latest sharing, it concludes my days of "Walking with the Lord our God." It is not that I have left to be with the Lord our God, at least not as yet, but rather, our Lord has placed this desire in me to run that much faster with Him. The days of a sedentary journey with our Lord is over, at least for me. The brith pangs of End Times have increased in intensity and the need for us to allow the Lord our God to help us 'finish the race' has taken on added urgency.
My journaling will still continue, but it will take on a new title "Running the race." My personal website http://www.hieang.com is still available till the Lord shows me otherwise. However, I have just started a blog
http://www.hieang.blogspot.com and all future archives will be placed in this blog. I am in the midst of transferring the previous entries into this blog as well.
You are free to place comments on the blog, but prayerfully, it should be God led. Also, I have left my personal email address on the blog should some of you do decide to communicate with me on a personal level.
Advice from man is at best dangerous. But to be left to our own vices, without God is fatal.
Posted by Eng Hieang Ang at 3:42 AM
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