'…you almost persuade me to become a Christian'
Acts 26:28
Over the weekend, there was an article on the intense competition amongst students in Singapore for places in the local university. The writer commented on how students of all colors and shades were clinging on to their amulets, rosaries, their parents, their hopes or whatever straw that they may cling on to as they await with great trepidation their high school results.
'Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness; they shall be driven on, and fall therein, for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord'
Jeremiah 23;12
In a similar vein, would not the gnomes of the financial world be willing to cling on to any 'gods' who could appease the savagery of the systematic erosion of their wealth, as the markets enters into the next phase of the slippery road of their own making, a road oiled by greed and more greed, but now turned from the self-denial and delusory stage into a more dangerous fear driven crisis of confidence.
The alchemy of finance, no different from the days of old, when supposedly brilliant wizards try to turn base metal into gold, but to fall flat on their wizened nose when their scams and shams took a hard fall back to the realities of mother earth.
'If ye were of the world, the world would love his own….'
John 15:19
One indirect benefit of the love by the American consumer for profligate spending was that my trip to HK/Macau last week was decidedly cheaper, in terms of exchange rate, for the HK dollar being pegged to the increasingly rubbery looking greenback, will ride along downwards, though not too sure if the power that is in Beijing will be too keen to see the HK dollar fall over the precipice with Uncle Sam. But then, they might be too preoccupied with Tibet to bother, or maybe, to keep Uncle Sam away from their interfering ways, they will cut the moorings from the US$ and let it drift like a timebomb towards the great American heartlands.
'His eyes are on the ways of man, and He sees all his steps.There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves'
Job 34:21-22
The fact remains however that inflation is no longer a spectre, but a very alive monster sucking up the strength of our purchasing power and weak currencies can only do so much to offset the overall costs of my trip and for that matter, for all of us as cost of living escalates. But difficult times do have its periphery plus points. It cuts across all spectrum of society. For while the materially better endowed will feel less pain from the effects of inflation, the associated market volatility could inflict real damage on their networth, especially if discipline was lost on the way up and leverage was the norm.
'And lest your heart faint and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land…'
Jeremiah 51:46
Fear not just absorbs, it can literally overwhelm and take ownership of what was till recently, a self confident, and rational mind. Some might remember the greed initiated but was to degenerate to fear driven panic buying/hoarding of basic essentials of the past, when fact gets confused with fiction, and the reactive human mind is driven to scramble for essential supplies.
Would we ever come to that scenario??
'Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein?
Amos 8:8
This is a year of great reversal, as one prophetic minister shared in his sermon for year 2008. Clearly, for the objective secular man, the economic system was already showing clear signs of stress, what with banks going on a wild spree of credit creation, with a devil may care attitude of the consequences of irresponsible lending and goaded along by governments who saw it as a painless way to avoid recession.
With the glam of big deals and high payouts, it was hard for anyone(unless they truly fear the wrath of God and trust in His providence) to do the 'right and sensible' thing
'Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither temteth He any man.
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed'
James 1:13-14
In recent days, many have jumped onto the commodities bandwagon or rather, literally in a rush to exchange an increasingly weak paper money(namely US$) for some real hard stuff(like gold, diamonds and very soon whatever one can feel and hoard at home), My fertile mind is often tempted to do the same, for by my own understanding, the momentum of fear is self-prophesying and fear driven investments tend to be right for the short term, but very wrong in the inevitable correction.
'Little children, let no man deceive you………..'
1 John 3:7
The Lord gave me a series of 3 dreams this past 3 day(ie Friday, Sat, and Sunday). Is this a balm for a troubled mind, or rather, it feeds on my troubled mind?
'..Your gold and silver is cankered……..Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days'
James 5:3
The first dream I had was the Lord telling me about the 10/90 rule. As Christians, we are asked to tithe a portion of our blessings, usually around the 10% mark. For many, as their blessings increased, the absolute amount of that 10% balloons and can be quite a challenge to a giving heart. I used to have an issue with that but thankfully, by the grace of God, has long left it behind. Yet, like some, my fears of sufficiency for the future do rear its ugly head ocassionally.
The Lord will keep us faithful and He does that by bringing us into focus before sin has a chance to dwell deeper. The Lord reminded me that my needs are more than met by the 10% He has provided. The extras are for His kingdom, and be it a balance 90% or even a lower percentage than that, it is suffice for He will provide, as He hath provided for those who trust in Him.
We must trust and depend upon the Lord, and not upon our own understanding nor upon His blessings.
'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord'
Isaiah 55:8
The second dream was on something close to my heart. I saw myself finally laying my grubby hands on a beautifully lacquered Japanese writing box. The box had flower motifs on it and with the thrill of acquisition came the need to release some of it in the washroom. I left the box on a desk in a classroom, full of fellow students of boys my sons' age rather than mine. I returned in jiffy, but my box was gone.
The first thought that crossed my mine was that it was stolen by this Caucasian looking boy. But then, as I looked around, there were even more exquisite lacquered boxes strewn all over the floor, that belonged to the same felon in my mind. Talking about recalcitrance, I was feeling quite justified to lay my same grubby hands on a couple of boxes that laid in my path, for my warped thoughts were that one should return unto others what others return unto thee.
Even as we seek to be like Christ, we will be subjected to our imperfections, which will challenge us even more in such difficult times. We must be cognizance that being human is no justification for our continued sins, especially if we know God. The cleansing has to start with us first, but God is good. He keeps us from sins.
'By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went…'
Hebrews 11;8
The third dream which was fresh from the oven, ie last nite saw me quitting my place of employ. In my dream, I saw myself busy clearing my files, certain of my decision when my assistant reminded me that while I might have a firm offer from another employer, I have yet to sign on the dotted line. Fear of not hedging my position gripped me and that was when I awoke at 5am. It was a dream but it was so real that the temptation to call my present boss tor retract my letter of resignation was very compelling.
It has been 5 years since I had a series of dreams(see). The psychologists would say that troubling times, lead to troubled minds and dreams that manifest our inner fears. Some would think that it is prophetic and could portend the difficult times just around the corner, as the world enters into a crisis of confidence, that if not properly addressed, could lead to loss of confidence not only in financial systems, but in political governance. This could eventually be a prelude of a new world order.
Still. God do speak to us in the quietness of His ways and I am reminded of what it means to know God. The Lord brought me to Hebrews 11:8 twice this morning(again in 2 separate readings from 2 different Bibles).
As we enter the likelihood of a new financial coundrum, as the world could be possibly heading towards an unprecedented great unknown, whose only certainty is volatility, where fear and mistrust will grip the very soul of most(last witnessed in the Asian crisis ten years back), but possibly on a more global scale. The reassurance is that the Lord is with us and like Abraham, we must cling on to the faith in the Sovereign Lord as we journey through the storms and go where He leads us, even if it means letting go of the seemingly certain moorings of our life.
And besides clinging on to the Lord, we must be prepared to obey His commands, even in our seemingly difficult conditions, which is
'Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?'
Isaiah 58:6
'Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation'
Habakkuk 3:18
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
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