#174 Snuffed out (25feb08)

'In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you'
1 Thessalonians 5:18

As I found myself doing a less than pretty landing, face first, when my ginger steps on what I thought was a puddle of water, turned out to be illegally dumped leftover grease from some restaurant kitchen, led to the inevitable flailing hands, disentangled legs and arched bodies as I found myself an inch from the greasy carpark floor, it is hard to be thankful, when your clothes are grease smeared, you tie took on an extra tone, my attache bag had an unwanted new water-proof coating and my watch took the brunt of the impact.
Yet, there are many things to be thankful for. I did not bump my head, or you would have seen the last of my emails. I could have slided right into an on-coming car and I might have ended paying for a dent on the undecarriage of the expensive Ferrari that might have come my way, ie if I have not been turned into an inanimate crepe.
(see sample photos of scene of my performance)


'For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape..'
1 Thessalonians 5:2-3

Save for a few sores here and there, my whole is still in one piece but it is a good reminder of how events can catch us beyond our surmise and truly, how God's hands have always been there for those who trust in Him.
Length of life should not be a determinant of God's blessings and grace, for the Apostle Paul said, he would rather be with God in Heaven. Still, till our Maker brings us back, He knows our needs and He ,

'God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble'
Psalm 46:1

Moving away from the possibility of one's life being snuffed out, let me digress and divert to an inanimate object of great interest to me. An indulgence whose original owners would have passed on, but their collections have also indeed been passed on to subsequent new collectors

The Chinese of old, more specifically in the Qing Dynasty which was more receptive to foreign presence in their lands(unlike the isolationist Ming Dynasty), used to call the Caucasians foreign barbarians or devils.
Still, the Chinese, at least in the upper echelons of Qing society were quite enamoured with all things Western, be it the new fangled technology of that era like cannons, clocks and in the arts(where the Jesuits were skilled in enamelling).
Opium might be the addiction of the masses, but for the well-heeled, tobacco was the indulgence of choice and what more refined way to expressing that decadent lifestyle than through the use of a beautifully crafted snuffbottle(see attached picture), which serves its purpose as a receptacle of the tobacco powder while acting as a piece of conversational delight.
The British aristocrats have their stiiff upper-lipped and stuffy nose, the Chinese use their flatter nose to sniff through the slim spoon-like receptacle placed at the mouth of the snuff-bottle.


Would the founding fathers of the great warrior class, the Manchus turned in their graves at such indulgences. A tribe of the northern plains of China, beyond the Great Wall, who achieved the conquests of a much bigger and historically stronger civilization, the Han people and who literally climbed the wall of resistance(albeit with some assistance from within) that was built to keep their forefathers out of the fertile and rich lands of the Middle Kingdom.

Has such a fearless class of warriors degenerated to the 'softie' lifestyle of the conquered?

Snuffed out is not a way of sniffing the tobacco powder, but rather in plain English, it refers to the extinguishment of something.
In the early days, when the humble candle was used as a source of lighting in more abodes rather than a modern lifestyle accessory, households snuffed out the flickering flame of the candle when it was time to go to bed.

What has snuffed out got to do with our spiritual life?

Now comfortably ensconced in the material well-being of our modern society, the fire that the Lord our God lit in our hearts, in our darkess moments when His love and grace brought hope and reassurance, where the flicker of a candle shone forth brightly in the overwhelming and dire conditions that we might have been in, the passion to seek the Lord our God has indeed waned for many.
And for some, it has long been snuffed out.

Are you a Christian in name, but in your heart, is in reality far from being a believer and faithful follower of Jesus Christ?

'…How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word'
1 Kings 20:21

A beautiful and exquisite piece of art speaks to our soul. It brings out the finer side of our character as we appreciate the quality and maybe the rarity of the materials used. And of greater importance, the pinnacle of skills honed through many years of training and angst of the artist, never to be repeated again, for every piece will be different even from the same artist and with the passing of time, the demise of the artist will enhance its rarity and value.
Indeed with men, not all things are possible, but with God, all things are possible. God has cleansed us all of our sins and will refine and sculpt us in His likeness, if we will let Him.
But, for many who have accepted the grace of God, have sadly wallowed back into sin and yet expect our Lord Jesus Christ to die on the cross again for them??

'For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And he have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come.
If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame..'
Hebrews 6:5-6

My son recently did his English test paper and one phrase that he was asked to explain was "lend me your ears." He was half-right to say that it mean't "I am telling you something" but he missed adding on "I need you to listen"

'Who among you will give ear to this? Who will hearken and hear for the time to come?'
Isaiah 42:23

In an increasingly inclusive world, a result of men's desire to promote perceived harmony amongst diversity, Christianity has increasingly been accused by its detractors to be an exclusive religion
Religion it is not, exclusive it is also not, for God wants the gospel of salvation preached to all.

Christianity is exclusive not because it doesn't want others to know about our faith, nor does it mean that it should be intolerable of different belief systems of others, but rather, our exclusivity stems from the fact that our focus and our love is upon the One and only Sovereign God. We cannot compromise our faith and the will of God. However, as Jesus Christ has shown, we should never impose our will nor judge others, but rather, we live our faith, we show love and concern to all irregardless of their beliefs and we continue to pray in the privacy of our environment and always in the presence of our Lord for those who have not seen the light of God's grace.

A sole dependancy upon God rather than upon the finite understanding and imperfect human being is the only way towards achieving the noble and genuine desire amongst many for love and peace amongst men, something that has never been achieved if dependent upon men's understanding, be it in perfection nor longevity. Witness the history of the Balkans(including present day Serbia). The history of animosity is repeating itself through the centuries and an all inclusive approach would ultimately lead to a compromise at the lowest level, where the free rein of pluralism would be the perfect foil for anarchy.

God is love and to know God, we have to live a life of love, for Him and for others. Compromise on these two commandments we cannot, yet we will never impose on others.
The reality of the world is that the forces of Satan's world are determined to snuff out and impose their sinful will upon the world, including believers. And this is often couch in the language of the finite understanding of the world, which appeals to men's sense of control.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are asked to take up the burden of the Cross for being in this sinful world but not of this world, and often this would place believers in the chains of persecution. Yet we are reminded of our part, which is, to love God and our fellow beings. An unwillingness to compromise on this could and has often subjected believers over the centuries to persecution by the forces of evil who are out to snuff out the faithful. Yet ii is often in times of challenges that truly, the faithful see the reality and truth of the Lord's promise to men of past and the present

'Ye shall not need to fight in this battle; set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you……fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them; for the Lord will be with you'
2 Chronicles 20:17

As the perfectly sculptured plans of men driven by pride and greed start to totter and stumble, as fear begin to grip with increasing speed the previously seemingly unshakeable confidence of men, be it in the alchemy of finance, which below its golden glitter, is proving to be no better than loose mud and as the years of deflation seem now a distant memory and the long forgotten dragon of inflation rears its ugly head.
What is to stop men's fears and greed from leading to a degeneration into hoarding of food, raw materials and even creating selfish barriers to free trade. Most major wars started from a competition for resources, driven by insatiable greed or irrational fear. World War I started from the assassination of the Grand Duke of the once great but crumbling Austrian-Hungarian Empire. World War 2 had its origins in the aftermath of a much deprived and maligned Germany paying the price of hyperinflation from its unsuccessful adventures in World War 1. And correlating that was a resurgent Meiji Japan whose desire for modernization placed it squarely in the realization that they will need to get the resources that sits with the sunset British Empire.

As Uncle Sam tries to deny its pain of an increasingly grid-locked financial system, a manifestation of a deeper ill in a once God blessed society, that has increasingly turned away from the source of its blessings.
As the self centred European secular society sniff their nose and looked at disdain, the struggles of the Yankees, without recognizing the morass in their own backyard, the world that we know today, or rather the old order that we are all used to since the end of World War 2 looks like increasingly at risk of going through a titanic shift.

Would the world that has moved from a duopoly of the Cold War, to its present monopoly of one great or was great superpower to a likely oligopoly of USA, Russia, India, and China??
Rather than speculate or worry about what might be, will it not be better to rest our assurance in the Lord our God. Would it not be apt to come to our Lord while He is still there for us?

An opportunity missed might just not appear again, and of greater consequence is that missing that chance will lead us to eternal grief.

'…for a living dog is better than a dead lion'
Ecclesiastes 9:4-5

In closing, a little snippet on snuff bottles. Attached is a photo of a beautiful Qing Imperial bottle. Not to long ago, like in the early 1980s. One could be had for a couple of hundred US dollars.
Today, even with the devaluing US dollars, you will need to add several zeros to obtain one, ie a couple of hundred thousand dollars

What about the priceless salvation offered to all by our loving Father. It is indeed nothing to sniff about.

Rgds and God Blesses

Eng Hieang