#34 When the Earth shakes(30mar2005)

...that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed...'

Romans 13:11



Not too many years back, when the Iron Curtain first came tumbling down, two things were supposed to happen.



Lange and Sohne, located in Dresden, East Germany one of my favourite German watches was rejuvenated and could now recapture its past glory in horology.

And the world was supposed to live in peace and harmony for posterity, now that Comrade Gorbachev has led the fearsome Red Guards to embrace the virtues of capitalism.



Yet, reality is

- the world seems to be more at war than peace today

- people are more troubled by diseases(madcows to birdflu), economic upheavals(Asian crisis, Mexican tequilla..), social dislocations(Rwanda to the Balkans).

The earth shakes even more than before and many in the world now knows that tsunami is not a Japanese sushi dish.



Why??



'Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,..

Thus saith the Lord God,........I am against thee, and I will stretch out My hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.

I will lay thy cities waste, .........and thou shalt know that I am the Lord'

Ezekiel 35:1-4



For those who believe in and are experiencing a close walk with the Sovereign God, it is not for us to fully understand, doubtfully question nor through sheer finite human effort try to fathom what is beyond us mere humans. It is for us to fear the Lord, for He is our maker.



'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God'

Hebrews 10:31



The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the Lord bless those who fear and love Him.



What about the rest of humanity??

- some count this discussion as irrelevant for it does not affect them as yet.

- others are searching for an answer, but an answer that is pre-determined by them.

- yet even more are comfortable with their divergent beliefs, there is no need for God, for we have our own.



Till the elixir of life is found, and man are still trying, the fact is



'And it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgement'

Hebrews 9:27



Who is right??



As a believer, we are called to

- live a Christlike life, to reflect the love of God in our life

- to share the good news of God's love and our living experience with God

- not to judge nor impose, but to be there when God places someone that He wants you to journey with



'Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed.....'

2 Corinthians 6:3-4



Thankfully, it is not who we are, what we do or say, that determines another person's salvation.

For man is sinful and imperfect.



'Only God can look at the heart'

1 Samuel 16:7



To know God, you have to believe in Him



'Don't be unbelieving but believing'

John 20:27



Many will claim that they will believe when they see God and see His awesome powers displayed



'Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed'

John 20:29



God answer prayers



'For with God nothing will be impossible'

Luke 1:37



Question is, when God answers, you might not like it



- we have tsunamis in places least expected, earthquakes(and interestingly coming furthur down south towards us all), global AIDS for the lustful(and not global aid for the destitute), illnesses that are not new but is unique that it reaches those whose time are not due.

Go visit any specialist oncology to get a foretaste of the growing popular trend.



- many people whose lives are directly or indirectly affected do innately sit up and relook at their whole basis of existence.

Sadly, though, this tends to be a momentary phase for many and life resumes in the devil's grip till the next and possibly last shake-up for some



Only God can decide



'So then it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but of God that showed mercy'

Romans 9:16



As one who believes , it does not mean that we will not go through the storms that will buffet all of us, but it means that we know that we will not walk alone, but with God, our Father and Maker.



'...be ready always to give an answer to every men that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear....'

1 Peter 3:15



God Blesses



Eng Hieang



Note: Did God erase the gallstones for my wife??



Last Monday, my wife visited a urology specialist to get a 2nd opinion. The medical report from her first doctor had indicated gallstone on her. By God's grace, the more experience specialist can't seem to find any indications of gallstone on her. She is going for a 2nd scan today to be sure.

When good things happen, we attribute it to luck or human error. I believe it is the grace of God.

The grace of God is sufficient for the day