'Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it'
Proverbs 22:6
As I slouched in the taxi and pondered upon the thought that the Lord our God has placed in my hearts these past few days, this was the verse staring right in the face at me, from the walls of the Fairfield Methodist School. I was on the way back from the airport and often, being away, in the quietness of the hotel room or while whiling away the time in the plane or in the taxi, that I seemed to 'hear' the Lord better. Truly, to know God, we have to want to take time with Him, as the verse in the Bible rightly declared God's command to all that we "be still and know His will, that He is God.'
We are often reminded of the need for our faith to be like the innocence of the child. But as a parent, we are also cognizance of the fact that the innocence of our children tend to take on the corrosive color of the sinful world, as our child matures, as they start to exercise their sense of knowledge(no thanks to Adam and Eve for taking the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge), and as the wiles of the devil's world start to make inroads into their thought processes and drive their stakes into their hearts to lay claim to their souls.
'…I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you'
Acts 17:23
Unlike the Athenians of old, whom the Apostle Paul found not wanting in their desire to spend undue time on anything that is new and appealing including this altar to the unknown God(read Acts 17:21), Christians are supposed to know better and rest their belief in the existence of our Divine Father in Heaven and in the resurrection of His only beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and was resurrected to break the bondage of death upon all.
Believers there are aplenty, for man is made to believe in something, be it in our one and only Divine God in Heaven, or as much as the borders of man's fertile imagination will allow, in the countless demi-gods eg the gods of Greek mythology and for some, man replaces God or for the purest cynic, they rather believe in their own understanding or themselves.
'..we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device…'
Acts 17:29
In the West, a significant but no doubt declining percentage of the population still officially classify themselves as Christians. In Singapore and in many other places where an earlier generation has been blessed to know the Lord our God, their offsprings or rather descendants do classify themselves as Christians too.
Question is, how many truly know the Lord our God. To know God, you will have to be desirous of being a faithful and obedient follower of His will. You will have to translate that desire into concrete action, in your responsiveness to His will, as He leads.
'That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us..'
Acts 17:28
A church is a nice place for one to spend time with the Lord our God. A physical location also allows many believers to gather together as a family of believers, for we are asked to encourage each other. A church also bring to form, a clear structure that we can identify with, feel accountable to and as a result, continue to have that discipline to want to come to the presence of the Lord our God.
But truly, the church is where our heart is, for in drawing near to God, God draws near to us and whereever we may be, in whatever circumstances we are in, God is with us, if only we believed.
'Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewesth the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water'
John 4:10
Truly, correction starts with the converted rather than with the disbelieving. And having journeyed with many of you, my friends for the past 4-5 years, having laid bare the well stocked sinful larder that contains my very fears, desires and my very soul, it will be passe to say that I have yet to epitomize the 'ideal, perfect' Christian. Far from one who is fearless, virtuous, patient, immovable in all circumstances and possessing every attribute that Jesus Christ has shown by his life, I, if you care to dwell upon my past sharings, often fall flat on my faith and if not for the grace of God, and His infinite patience and love, would never have progressed beyond that few tentative steps of repentance and belief.
A friend once told me that in allowing your imperfect behaviour to rear its true form, then are you truly human, then can many others who God places in my path, empathize and feel assured that God understands their own imperfections, and that in believing, it is just the beginning of a long period of transformation and refinement. For unlike the false demi-god persona of eg the movie stars, whom many idolize but can never emulate,not just because of the different station in life of the common people, but rather, these are just really packaging than real. God can transform us overnight, but He does not want to take away our free will, and He will rather we through trials and times of experiencing His compassion, learn to exercise that God given free will to be like Him.
In the revolutionary fervency of the first few decades following the founding of communists China,(unlike today, where many are communist in name, but truly free marketers at heart), when Mao was truly everything, and many of his fellow comrades, not only symbolically don on the dull then but now hip green Mao jacket, but spent every observable moment(for spies were aplenty to snitch on the less fervent) diligently reading Mao's little red book and conduct regular individual confessions of their less than ideal Mao defined behaviour, amongst fellow adherents of the communist faith
Am I having too much mao tai and is so drunk in the spirit that I have enjoined myself with this same communal desire to do a self confession, a rather public airing of my innermost fears and imperfections?
I did down a full bottle of red wine with a client last week in Bangkok, but trust me, even in that less than steady state, for wine does imbide in us strange behaviours, my thoughts were still near clarity.
The Lord has in the past few days, placed this thought in my heart, the thought that while I have spent the past 5 years, going through the regular cycle of allowing my imperfect self to surface first and foremost in every situation, and only after a period of struggle, that I allow myself to come to Him and with furthur struggle, I finally let go and let Him and than truly experienced His wonderful grace as I see His perfect hands at work, is not time that my faith must now be upgraded and that the uncertain faith that I have exhibited for so long, has to move to a faith that in no uncertain terms, is always certain, in all season?
For faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.
''And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise and be not afraid'
Matthew 17:7
A verse that the Lord brought me to last week provided a vivid reminder of an experience I had with Him, you could say one of my rare visual/audio experiences with the Lord our God.
(see my sharing #12 'to be like Joseph" in http://www.hieang. /word_of_god.html ).
It was a time when my desire to move from believing to following was in its rudimentary stage. Every experience with God is a blessing and a time of great joy. But it is also a time for correction, for refinement and for our responding. That experience on hindsight was the Lord's command for me to spend time in prayers, something I hardly do then, something I do more today, for truly prayers brings us into close communion with the Lord our God.
God has indeed been far from an invisible God in my life. He has been very real, a God who truly is prescient in His timing in my life, who is perfect, walking with the imperfect me and you.
If you were like me to truly sit down and jot down the major moments in your life, where you could attest with certainty, that God was with you in those moments, like me, you will look back with not just wonder, but deep shame that we continue to allow ourselves to digress so often in our behaviour, and worse, to forget so easily His very presence and by our own uncertain faith, be a less than affirmative witness of a very present God.
God has reminded me that it is time for me to move on and up the curve of faith's journey. To live a faith that is certain, to speak of His grace with boldness, a boldness that comes from a deep reassurance of knowing Him and experiencing His very presence in my every moment.
The time for dithering and tottering is over for me and for many of you who know Him, because you have seek Him with all your heart, soul and mind and have always acknowledge Him in every way.
We are asked to love others like ourselves. WE want ourselves to be made ready, when Jesus Christ returns, We want to take our God given place in Heaven.
It is time that we expressed that certainty of our faith the way that God wants, so that others whom He placed in our paths will know His love when they see the love of God expressed in us.
Mortal life is brief and I was reminded of how abrupt it can end, by the recent experience of a friend who could have lost his, if not for the grace of God.
Time in hell is eternal and while God will soften the hard ground of disbelief, He still gives all a free choice. He can and often used those who know Him to affirm a right decision of faith by a new believer, who is still unwilling to fully let go, and let God, by clinging on with one last finger, to the familiar hands of the devil.
Our certain faith could be that final jerk they needed to pry open the grip of the devil upon their hearts and for them to truly let go of the familiar evil for the 'invisible but certain' net of God's love.
Is it nice to be like Peter, who by words affirm his faith for Jesus Christ, but by action did otherwise not just once, but thrice?
'..Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night,before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice'
Mark 14:30
or worse would you rather be a mice like Jonah, who scurried in the opposite direction when God called?
'But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord…..'
Jonah 1:3
As I end this self confession, and yet affirmation of the Holy Spirit's conviction of a sinful and fearful heart, the Lord brought me to the verse on the great Biblical hero, Joshua, who without the bat of an eyelid, did what the Lord commanded him to do. Which is, to walk round the enemy fortress for seven days, silly as it might seem for anyone trying to fight a proper battle(see Joshua 6:1-17)
Today, many of Harry Potter's entranced fans would love to do an abacadabra, but for men of faith like Joshua, they know their Abba Father well and trusted him with all their heart and soul and mind.
Time to come not just into the light, but be that bright beacon of faith that God wants us to be.
God Blesses
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