Dear….
'Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places….'
Habakkuk 3:17-19
Grace is God's love at work through us. God is love and as we come unto His presence, much as we will be edified, the more compelled must we be willing to be the conduit upon which His love comes upon others, . Love is patience, love is kindness, love is compassion, love is encouragement and forebearance. Love is living out the fruits of the Spirit. But love is not dependent upon our own finite understanding or strength, but love is God at work through us.
'Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches. But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and rightouesness, in the earth, for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.'
Jeremiah 9:23-24
Most of us do not know God very well. If we do, angst and fears and all other human imperfections will have less a grip on us, because we will not just know Who to lean upon but will without any hesitation or dithering, always go to the source of all comfort and grace, our God. And in today's economic context, nothing is more telling than to have harried Christians(in good times) move to worried Christians but with the Lord no where in sight for our mind and hearts are still far from Him.
'Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men.'
Isaiah 29:13-14
But God knows our limitations and it is a question of progressive growth in faith, step by step, as He gently loosen our grip on things of the world, to enable us to learn to grasp His hand. Bigger steps do come along when He knows we are ready or just maybe, we might just need that slightly larger tremor to not just draw our attention to our follies, but to bring us back into focus.
'O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O Lord, correct me, but with judgment; not in Thine anger, lest Thou bring me to nothing.'
Jeremiah 10:23-24
Abraham took a wrong step by choice, in not believing that the Lord will still bring forth a son for him in his twilight years. The Lord forgave him his imperfections, but it seems that the ramifications of that disobedience is still being lived out today, on the world stage. The Jews and the Arabs today are at least agreed on one issue, both claim Abraham as their forefather. The day might come, implausible as it may seem, that Israel and the Arab world might truly make a more lasting peace treaty in the face of common interest or more like a common threat, if the Persia of old ever resurfaces. Postulations this is, but with man, nothing lasting is possible, with God all things are possible. Not sure if anyone can claim to have foretold the collapse of the Berlin wall, and with it, the bondage of communism on millions of lives, where faith was repressed, but strong amongst many underground Christians, but with the liberation of man's bondage, faith instead of flowering forth, actually wilted as many got distracted by the materialism of the free world.
God will deliver on His promise always, question is will we the imperfect man remain steadfastly faithful?
'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.'
'By faith he soujourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country….'
Hebrews 11:8-9
Many of us in our prayeres and time with God, has asked for salvation of our loved ones or even people God has placed in our lives. We have often also prayed for our own desire to be the child that God wants us to be, to be Christlike in our lives, as a living testimony of God's love.
God will answer all prayers asked in His Will. That is our reassurance. He has answered our prayers today, as the ground gets soften, as aptly expressed in the popular media, which reported church attendance rising, hits on on-line sites for prayers increasing, and latest survey showing that priorities have changed, the 5Cs of life matter less now, than the more mundane matters of family, health and peace of mind.
But the timing and form of answered prayers only God knows. God does not fit His will to our will.
As a believer and follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must remind ourselves that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. Come what may, we must be like the Greek sailors of old mythology(in Odysseus) who tied themselves to the ship's mast or waxed their ears, as they sailed passed the rocky and treacherous islands of the alluring Sirens, cling on with our all and all to the Lord our God, for then can we in submitting totally to God, be able to resist the wiles of the devil.
Yet God knows our limitations, and our faith is not a blind faith, for God will show us His ways, so wonderful that we know that He is real and Sovereign, for the conclusions to our particular issues of life will always shine forth so wonderfully, that our best efforts on our own strenght, would have paled in comparison.
'Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He hath charged me to build Him an house at Jerusalem…'
Ezra 1:2
In his first few days in office, President Obama has provened to be quite decisive. And his actions seems to be fleshing out the complaints of the man in the street, who are rightly disgusted with the sense of injustice and continued unrepentance of the protagonists of the world's present financial woes.
Prayerfully, the Lord will continue to lead him and provide him with the boldness, strength to do as God wills and that the Lord will smoothen the paths and remove hindrances which will inevitably come.
Just as our prayers are for President Obama to lead an America that has lost its moral footing, back to what makes it great, a country blessed by the Lord and whose founding fathers entrusted their destiny to the Sovereign God, and a country that had once seek to live our their faith from their hearts and not from their lips, what about the rest of us??
'But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.'
Hebrews 11:6
One reason the world is in its present mess today is because the original sensible approach to being a good steward of our God given resources have degenerated into greed and fear. The rush for the largess of astronomical financial rewards have overwhelmed the need to balance that with risk, ethics and social responsibility. A corporate chieftain who is paid millions start to believe in his or her own indispensability and has no qualms to continue to enrich himself or herself, even as the boat that he or she commands is lurching over. Just imagine how many more jobs could be saved furthur down the foodchain, if the leadership does the honorable thing and take a pay cut. Servant leadership as exemplified by our Lord Jesus Christ has no place in the ivory towers of leadership in our present world, but thankfully, God is Sovereign and the unrepentant will have to face His wrath.
'For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men'
Titus 2:11
Judgement has to be left to the Lord our God. What about us who have been blessed to have the blindness lifted in our hearts?
The Lord our God reminded me these past few weeks that submission to Him is total and not to be balanced with our needs in this present world. But He knows our needs, and He will more than provide and we must be prepared to obey His leading much as it might go against our finite understanding.
Certainty of job is no longer given for most. And worst, going forward, the world is clearly a lot more uncertain than ever before, not just economically wise, but politically, socially, healthwise and not forgetting the more regular seisimic activitiy on our terra firma.
'My soul cleaveth unto the dust; quicken thou me according to Thy word…..I have stuck unto Thy testimonies; O Lord, put me not to shame. I will run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou shalt enlarge my heart.'
Psalms 119:25-32
The Lord reminded me and all who are certain of our faith, that we must now seek to live out our faith, that the world will see the grace and glory of God in our lives. That in the enhanced state of awareness of the ever present darkness in their lives, that the humbled heart will finally be contrite enough to want to seek the only real source of all comfort and grace, our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the secular world that we are in, our lives must no longer be driven by the values of the material world. Does it mean that all will now go into service in the Church. Some yes, but for many of us, the church is wherever God places us.
If you still have a job in the corporate world or a business to run, you must work hard with the gifts that God gave you, leaning not on your own strength but upon Him. The driving factor must no longer be about personal enrichment, but to enrich the lives of others that God places in our lives, by living out a life that is rich in the fruits of the Spirit, by leading by example God's command to us to be contented(thankful for all situations) and good stewards(dependency upon God) of the provisions He has place in our lives.
'Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes, and to keep His commandments, as at this day.'
1 Kings 8:61
Like Abraham, we must now learn to move out from our till recently comfortable tentage and come unto the promised land that God has given us. And what is that land? It is a land where comfort is no longer defined by what man thinks based on their sinful understanding, but rather a land where God resides in our very hearts and where our fellow travellers see Christ in us, be it in the green grass of home or the present harsh deserts of the moment.
'Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art My God, The Spirit is good, lead me into the land of uprightness'
Psalms 143:10
Difficult times are often God's allowance to help us ease into His will. Times are indeed tough and will get tougher. But unlike the popular one liner about how the tough gets going on their own strength, for us who trust in the Lord our God, it is time to translate that trust into action by truly letting go and letting Him.
Lets not wait to be literally let go in our present employ to truly understand our true vocation in life
'If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?'
Jeremiah 12:5
'And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land….'
Jeremiah 12:15-16
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(Jan 30th 2009)
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