'But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn everyone from his evil way, and fromt the violence that is in their hands.
Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from His fierce anger, that we perish not?'
Jonah 3:8-9
Now that we have been pulled back temporarily from the brink of the abyss, would the sighs of relief lead to a
- recovery of whatever wealth was lost in the frenzied mayhem, not likely for many ever
- return of the good old roaring days of bullishness, not likely for sometime but maybe not never
- an honest reflection of one's purpose in life and if there is a place for God in our lives, prayerfully so?
'And should I not spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons, that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?'
Jonah 4:11
In my sinful moments, albeit thankfully briefly, I felt like Jonah, a sense of angst with God for not letting things go over this Monday. Is that not what He wanted me to say just last Sunday, where for once, I felt truly the need to be precise, almost prophetic in my choice of words and though I resisted, for who can predict, I felt the need to obey the promptings in my heart.
Monday has come and the world instead of going over the brink, was pulled back and many believe that we have seen the worse.
Like Jonah, I question God. Would not have unfulfilled punishment lead to a sense of déjà vu amongst the many unrepentant sinners, who can now continue to subscribe to the belief that either God is all bark and no bite, or He loves us too much to truly let us go over.
'…for I knew that Thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest Thee of evil.'
Jonah 4:2
God knows our limits. He will not impose His will upon us. In stretching us that far,yet without pushing us beyond the point of no return, He hopes that we will turn back from our sinful ways to Him. Just like Nineveh was not destroyed, the lives of its inhabitants were never the same. Many repented and came unto the presence of God. What about us? Will your lives ever be the same again? For some, the material damage might be irreparable, but the soul can be saved, for God forgives.
God has shown me and you His mercy, even in His anger. This period we have entered now is a period of reprieve. It is a time for us to "clean up our lives and come unto His presence."
I have come to realize in moving out of my God sheltered situation these past couple of days, to talk to and to observe not just people whom God places in my path, but the general state of the world, that many are already on their edge, emotional and health wise, not to mention financial for some, and if last Monday the world had gone over the brink, many might have died literally and in actuality. Or at least, will suffer an emotional breakdown that will make it difficult for them to start the journey of healing with God, for God respect our free will and some will no longer be in that proper mental state to exercise that free will if the world had fallen over.
'Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.'
John 4:35
Many Christians unfortunately have often come across as 'pushy know all' and almost always ready to condemn if one do not meet up to their spoken standards. And for the poor souls who were just looking for some encouragement in their time of need, besides being beaten to a pulp and make to feel very small and sinful, the so called propagators of our faith, then proceed to break all the rules of good living that they have just forced fed upon their poor victims.
Just like the devil, you might believe in God and know that Jesus Christ exist, but just like the devil, you are not a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. For God is love, and to be Christ-like is to be like Christ, starting with ourselves first. And to be like Christ, one has to know Him, and it is a reality that there are many believers who stopped at having heard of our Lord Jesus Christ, but have never really entered into the on-going relationship that God commands us all to every moment of our lives.
God is Spirit and we must worship Him in Spirit and truth. But reality is, many of us call God by our lips, but He is far from our heart. For how many of us truly spent time unto His presence, in His Words, in prayers and praise and in in His works? And in our sinful world, grey is the color of choice, but with God, there is no room for variations of the truth. And what fruits are we harvesting, of the Spirit or of the world?
'Then said Jesus unto him, 'Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.'
John 4:48
Some of us became believers because we witnessed God's grace in our lives, be it a miracle in an earth shattering experience or more likely simply that indescribable joy and peace when the Spirit of God fills our parched inner soul.
How is this possible? Because we have seen the very visible presence of God in the lives of followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through observing the Spirit filled lives of these faithful men and women that God placed in our lives, in our moments of great distress, we will be just encouraged to want to come unto the presence of God, just like in moments like now, when the very foundations of our comfortable world gets shakened.
Faith is a series of steps, and not usually one big leap across unlike the proverbial leap of faith. Faith comes from God, not from us, but we have to be willing to come unto His presence.
The day we are borne, God is preparing us for our return to Him. He uses circumstances and people to bring us that nearer to coming unto His presence.
Catcyclsmic events like this present financial upheaval just push things that bit further, but the choice is still ours. To not take up the salvation offered freely to all, is to subject ourselves to the next bigger seismic shake in our lives, for God wants to bring all of us back.
'..Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.'
John 5:14
For those of us who are blessed to see the light during this latest round of catastrophic financial upheaval, welcome to the Kingdom of our Lord. But till our Lord Jesus Christ return, belief is just the beginning of your journey of transformation in the likeness of Christ, as we worked out our salvation, to be made ready for the return of Jesus Christ. And for those who said yes to God before, and has since gone back to their old secular ways, it is time to resume this same journey of transformation, for to continue to dither, when you know God, is to tread on dangerous grounds.
'Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live'
John 5:25
Use well these days of relief to be right with God, for brief it will be, and the days of darkness looms. The world will shake even more intensely, but it is only upon the Rock our God that we will not be shaken.
'For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain'
Philippians 1:21
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(15oct08)
Note
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'Be still, and know that I am God.'
Psalms 46:10
Now into my 3rd day of a simple fast of skipping one meal, the lack of sugar is either giving me hallucinations and hence these foolish doomsday gibberish or God is giving me greater clarity of thought, for I seem to sense His promptings better. These past few months have been a challenge, but I know God has sheltered me and provided and prepared me well. I have felt less the full brunt of the potent mix of fear, emotional angst and real losses materially than most who are in the midst of this present cauldron. But these couple of days, I have had the opportunity to observe at first-hand the extent of the emotional damage lingering in many and while I sense no fear, for God is with me, I do feel this great dread upon me this morning, that something is about to give way and there is that sense of urgency for all of us to truly come back unto the heart of worship, with God, for only He can shelter us from what is to come.
'God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way..'
Psalms 46:1-3
''And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace'
Luke 8:48
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