Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, And prove Me now in this" says the Lord of Hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it," And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," says the Lord of Hosts'
Malachi 3:10-11
It seems almost cliché but truly the Lord prompts and affirms, as we respond. Lately, I have been quite a 'dangerous driver.' Some focus their mind not on the road, but on the party on the other line that they are so engaged in animated conversation with, that the world seems to flow by without them batting an eyelid. For me, my mind was on the road, but the Lord placed this thought in my heart about how blessed I am. That truly, like Joseph, I am blessed to have 7 good years in the aftermath of the last internet bubble burst. And the 7 good years was not just materially, but spiritually, for that period also marked the next phase in my journey with the Lord when I truly moved from believer to follower. And the Lord reminded me that truly, now is the time to unlock not just our hearts, but the granary of diverse gifts that He has stored in us, to be used to translate His love into action, for those He placed in our lives, for while the macro-climate might be harsh,("the next 7 bad years") many hardened hearts are being softened, being made ready to receive His Spirit.
And the Lord indeed affirms, for Malachi 3:10-11 was the verse in a letter a friend sent me, which I read upon arriving at the office this morning.
'And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.'
1 Corinthians 13:3
A balanced life is what many attest to, as the way to cope with an unbalanced world. And a more moderative lifestyle is what many have come to recognized as necessary, or more often out of necessity, as the good times gives way to the harsh times.
But as a true follower of the Lord our God, the only thing certain about our daily living is that it must always rest exclusively upon the Lord our Rock. We cannot and must not allocate time and obedience to the will of God, as part of the overall balance of life, factoring in our own needs, family, career, and other diverse distractions.
'Charity suffereth long, and is kind, charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. Doeth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own,is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth. Beareth all things , believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth…'
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Charity is not just about material giving or even the giving of our time and talents. Charity is living like Christ, as led by the Holy Spirit from the heart.
'And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity.'
1 Corinthians 13:13
Faith is God's love at work through us. What about hope? It is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. Hope comes from God's love at work in us. And charity is our response to living out the God imbued faith.
'For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud,yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, siath the Lord of hosts that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.'
Malachi 4:1
The "American Dream" was the term this recent unemployed Mexican immigrant to the USA espoused when sharing his enthusiasm( with CNBC in their investigative programme "The House of Cards") and great fortune in coming to the land of the free, where literally, by courtesy of the nice mortgage broker, he got himself a very nice house with next to nothing down payment, and indeed the rising value of the house allowed him to have extra cash on leverage, for spending as well as start-up capital for his business.
Of course, just like Dr Faustus, materialism does not come free, for Dr Faustus had to give up his soul to the devil. For our poor émigré, his dreams turned into a nightmare, and with foreclosure by the banks, he and his family are back to reality, sharing a borrowed garage space from a friend as their new abode.
'Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.'
Malachi 4:5-6
For many, the great and dreadful day seems to be with them already. Painful as it is, there is a distinct possibility that we might have hardly started and more painful financial experiences await many of us. This is the period where everyone loses materially, but some will gain spiritually. What is plain is that wealth is temporal, and with the impending nationalization of many institutions in the global system, more pain awaits. But is there truly a grain of truth to what we who know the Lord our God has been professing, that the grace of God is suffice for the day and nothing can come close to the love of God.
'(love) Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.'
1 Corinthians 13:7
Living by the day is truly a new if not necessary experience for many of us. Yet, the day can be wonderful if we truly allow the Lord our God to be our all in all. More than suffice is truly the experience we will savour as we learn to let go and let God. And the Lord wants to use us Whom His light shone upon in the darkness of this world, to go forth and be the lamp upon which His light will shine forth.
But thou shalt remember that thou was a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence, therefore I command thee to do this thing…'
Deuteronomy 24:18-19
The world is not just hungry materially, but very starved spiritually. The keys to opening the granary to sate the hunger rests in a willing heart, for the Spirit of our God resides in us and it is time we allow Him to not just unlock our hearts, but to work through us mightily, to allow the world and ourselves to see and receive the bountiful grace of the Lord our God
'…Peace, be still, and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?'
Mark 4:39-40
In the midst of the masses who seek to see Jesus Christ, our Lord went into the wilderness to pray. For all of us, in this increasingly difficult and uncertain world, we must truly want to come unto the presence of God, for only in drawing near to Him will we not just have that inner peace and deep assurance but the confidence to move boldly forth, not on what we have but Who God is.
''I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you…'
John 14:18
God has never left me comfortless all these years. And God has never been that close to me these past couple of years. I guess, when one is undergoing challenges in life, one tend to want to seek Him more, and He is just there waiting for us.
'I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty; why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?'
Ruth 1:21
A client told me last week. If you have some money, you will definitely lose some this past one year. I lost an arm, and I am thankful. Many have lost not just all limbs but are walking dead, literally wiped out financially, in this financial tsunami cum earthquake cum hurricane. I am even more thankful not just because of my better relative position, but that the Lord our God allowed me to pick up a couple of bruises here and there, like Paul said, perplexed but not crushed, for pain is gainful for it keeps one close to God and fully aware of our own limitations.
'Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee, so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live'
Jeremiah 38:20
Instead of extrapolating our fears into the bleak future, or moaning over what we have lost, would it not be better to be thankful that we know God, and that we still have the provisions, albeit lesser. Would it not be better than to distribute these provisions amongst people God placed in our lives, for them to see God's love in action, for souls are at stake. To ignore our calling is to ignore God's calls and will eventually lead to an ignominable conclusion for the disobedient. Do use the provisions be it material, your talents, time or whatever that God bless you with, while you still have it.
Is it possible to lose the rest of what is really a pittance remaining of one's once bountiful assets? I believe we have not seen the worse. For even as we read, Eastern Europe beckons like a siren, just waiting to bring down their brethren in the West and maybe, soon the East.
The Lord often affirms and Jeremiah 38:20 appeared twice here because it was the last verse that I read this morning, which He placed in my heart to add on to conclude this most recent journey.
And it was a surprise but yet not unsurprisingly to see this same verse already appearing in the last line of this sharing in my computer, a verse I put two weeks back and totally forgotten about. But God is always prescient, so do take time to be still and hear His will.
'…Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live….'
Jeremiah 38:20-23
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(28th Feb 2009)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment