#187 Of rumblings and ramblings (20may08)

'Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind by in you which was also in Christ Jesus'
Philippians 2:4

In the midst of sorrows, it oft springs forth human goodness and the present seismic shakeout in Sichuan, China has brought forth a groundswell, both within and without, of attributes of generosity, bravery, kindness and selflessness that the hardened world has conveniently forgotten in the pursuit of personal goals. Prayerfully, such intense display of what makes us humans and not beasts will not disintegrate too quickly like a sudden sunbursts. For Jesus Christ to the day He left us has never fallen short on living out the life that God wants Him and all of us to live, a life grounded upon love, for God is love.

'Do all things without murmurings and disputings…'
Philippians 2:14

'…for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God'
1 John 4:7

What about Myammar? Does the present insecure ruling junta, even with a change of name(from the old Union of Burma) and a change of capital city, from Yangon("shining light") to a forsaken place, Naypyidaw("Abode of Kings"), carved out of mosquitoes infested jungle, epitomises the callousness of a perverse heart who have chosen a path away from God towards the familiar stomping ground of the "red tailed" one, ie Lucifer?

'For all seek their own,not the things which are Jesus Christ'
Philippians 2:21

Much as we might want to judge, to make a comparison of two comparable natural disasters that are juxtaposed not just in terms of proximity of time, but also in geographic location, would it be fair on causal observation to state categorically that the Chinese leadership has shown greater compassion than the dithering generals of Mymmar?
Would our own understanding and concern with the stewardship of resources channelled towards helping out in these two disasters be the hurdle towards us giving more for no one wants their generosity to be abused, in lining the already bulging pockets of the elite that is clearly fiddling while Rome burns or more like Mymmar drowns or even in China, where age old habits of self enrichment might be a greater pull than human love?

'…without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world'
Philippians 2:15

As Christians, we are often castigated for being too wordful and not workful. It is true that many of us stay at prayers and never move beyond that. It is also unfortunate that we often hide behind the façade of prayers when dealing with issues for eg. "Lets pray about it and that was it."

'Sit ye here, while I shall pray'
Mark 14:32

Prayers is what our Lord Jesus Christ showed by example every moment of His life. Even in very difficult and compelling situations eg at Gethsemane before His cruxification, He took not just time but gave his heart out in prayerful obedience with His Father, our Sovereign God.

'I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus'
Philippians 3:14

What is the difference between prayers as exemplified by our Lord Jesus Christ, and prayers by most of us?

- Is your heart right with God when you come into His presence?
- Are you truly being still and listening to the Will of God, or you just cannot sit still and cannot wait to give your list of demands to God, even if it is couched in prayerful postures?
- Are you willing to respond in faith, even if your finite understanding begin to question the logic of what seems but is in fact God's commands to you?
- Are you prepared to keep going back to God and to keep looking towards Him even it seems such a struggle to do what He wills?
- Even if you thought you heard God wrongly, would you still be thankful for all situations, that you would live out fully the fruits of the Spirit, of love, kindness, perserverance, patience,selflessness even if your innate sinful self demands otherwise?

'And the people spake against God, and against Moses. Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread'
Numbers 21:5

Rumblings of discontent, eventually to be personified by acts of disobedience was the hallmark of the life of many Israelites throughout the records of the Bible. God sent Moses to set free His people, whose groanings from the burdensome life of slavery imposed upon them by the Egyptians, was heard by God. The freed Israelites were thankful in all brevity and silly as it might seem, they were clamouring to be back in the bondage of their ex-masters, the cruel Egyptians, just because "goo"(at least that is what my son call equivalent of pig swill) was more certain than to trust God for His provisions by the day.

'…whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing'
Philippians 3:15-16

Like the disobedient people of the past, are we even as believers, whom God has brought forth out of bondage from sin, often ensconced in the same position of wilful groaning and moaning, never thankful for His grace, always grumbling and rumbling about the "what ifs"?

'Is not the Lord your God with you? And has He not given you rest on every side? Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God. Therefore arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God…'
1 Chronicles 18-19

A thankful heart is a good start to setting the compass of our hearts in the right focus upon the Lord our God. Thankfulness help point our hearts in the right direction. It enables us to look from God's perspective and move on with Him, rather than be inextricably entangled with affairs of our sinful heart and finite understanding.
But rare is the man who can disengage from the desires of his own hearts, who is willing to move away from his own imperfect understanding until he is forcefully shaken free from the tentacles of the sinful world. Not necessary as impactful as the tsunami or the present Myammar cyclone or the Kobe and now the Sichuan earthquakes, but it is often always in times of great rumbliings and tumblings in our lives that impact us on a personal level that many would finally be prepared to reflect upon the very purpose of their existence.

'Thus says the Lord, set your house in order for you shall die and not live'
Isaiah 38:1

If one is told that your last breath will be a month away, would not your rumblings of discontent cease or at least seem quite irrelevant, and your disconcerted self once settled, be keen to 'walk right' given the precious few grains of time left?
For many of us who have been blessed to be shaken out of our delusions, the desire and response is to want to walk right with God. How does one translate that desire into a faithful journey with the Lord?

'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord……and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths….'
Isaiah 2:3

Rambling on a positive note, is the almost carefree manner of roaming or wandering in an idyllic countryside, soaking in the warm sunshine of a cool British summer, where the only sense of purpose is to relax and where one's senses is more reactive than proractive.
Rambling in the more negative sense is like me, in speech and writing, a tendency to depart from the main point or to cover too wide a range of subjects, but prayerfully if not amusingly digressive, at least align with the will of the Lord our God.

'…come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord'
Isaiah 2:5

'He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night'
Psalms 105:39

Just like my writings, I have learnt to move away from the 'human way' ie we are taught to have a specific theme and build our story around that theme. With God, the only plan I have is to look to Him and let Him lead. In letting Him lead, He has brought me to wonderful new thoughts and self-discovery as led by Him and in all my sharings, the words, the verses chosen, the title or even the focus are never preconceived, but flows along as the Lord leads.

As a believer in our Lord Jesus Christ, it is not that we are no longer driven or purposeful, as some are apt to think, but rather, the only driver in our lives is the Lord our God. Not the most perfect anaology, but like trekkers in the wilds, we trudged along, we bounced along, but we never would want to question the experienced guide who lead us through territory familiar to him, but not to us. And we are thankful that a large part of our load and provisions are carried by him.

'And He brought forth His people with joy, and His chosen with gladness. And gave the, the lands of the heathen; and they inherited the labour of the people. That they might observe His statutes, and keep His laws. Praise ye the Lord'
Psalms 105:42-45

God hath provided. Would it not be better to focus on walking right in His will, every moment of our lives with Him rather than quibble over our rights??
For no one is saved by trying to do what is right or good in our eyes, but by trusting in Him

'By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,not of works, lest anyone should boast'
Ephesians 2:8-9


God Blesses

Eng Hieang
#248 16th May 2008