Reflections for the moment #27 Handouts(19jul09)

Dear…

'These wait all for Thee. That thou mayest give them their food in due season. Thou givest unto them, they gather. Thou openest Thy hand, they are satisfied with good…'

Psalm 104:27-28

Not too sure if those bite size tidbits of prayerfully Spirit led thoughts in my two sharings back, "Food for thought #25" were more easily digestible, but here is the concluding attempt at brevity.

A dear relative of mind told me recently that a common friend of ours( All three of us did not even know the connection till recently) has been encouraging him to consider being a Christian. My relative told me that he will not mind being a Christian if it means that he will have the same "materially comfortable" and seemingly carefree life as this Christian friend of ours.

'That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.'
1 Peter 4:2

Food on the table for most of us is just a question of what you have stored at home, from purchases made from the markets or supermarkets. This is quite unlike men of old, who needed to make a fresh catch every day, when hunting precedes the agrarian society, and industrialization was unheard of.

Does being a believer and follower of our Lord Jesus Christ mean a rewinding of the clock, even furthur back, where like the disobedient Isrealites of old, God provided manna, suffice for the day, and in between, the Isrealites spend the day or rather the next 40 years wandering in the desert, as the Lord leads?

Is life purposeful if one spends time doing "nothing" of great utility as measured by the world, for in the eyes of the world, time with God is no different from one wandering in the desert, seemingly aimlessly, when life in our present world seems to have so much to offer?

'But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.'
1 Peter 4:7

Prayer is an activity I have come not just to value, but hunger for every day. Reading the Lord's word and pondering upon the thoughts He placed in my heart encapsulates a large part of my day as well. And you might not have read everything I sent you, but my prodigious efforts at writing earns me no income, but it is a response as the Holy Spirit prompts. One writes not to assuage one's conscience for the many undeserved blessings from the Lord, but rather, it is a response to the call of our Lord. For there are indeed many things to do in the desert of this sinful world that we are all in.

'As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.'

1 Peter 4:10

Is it the horse before the cart, or the other way round? We the imperfect are living in a fallen world. Yet in believing, Heaven is with us, for the Spirit of God resides in us. But Heaven is not the lust driven utopia that the devil presents. Heaven is truly knowing that God provides, that beyond the provisions is our Provider. If we understand and believe in the promise of our Father, we will start and live through the day not worrying nor wanting, but rather waiting upon the Lord.

Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled, Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth Thy spirit, they are created: and Thou renewest the face of the earth.'

Psalm 104:29-30

The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever; the Lord shall rejoice in His works.'
Psalm 104:31

And it is not about handouts to meet our carnal needs, but rather, to trust in the Lord to cut us out in His mould. And if it means doing things that seem contrary to our finite and imperfect understanding of what constitutes a good day's work, so be it.

For the Isrealites had to wander, seemingly aimlessly for forty years, before God brought some of them into the promised land. Should we be different and spent much time ado about what is really temporal?

'Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord your God giveth you.'

Deuteronomy 12:8-9

'All go unto one place, all are of the dust, and all turn to dust…..Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion, for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?'

Ecclesiastes 3:20-22

God Blesses

Eng Hieang
(22th July 2009)

And what about financial markets?

Like in March, most are dying. Difference is that in March, most were being buried by their past overzealous optimism. Today, most are dying from frustration of missing out on the big moves in the financial markets as well as the property markets. But are we truly worse off in missing out? Reality is, many of us have recovered a substantial portion of the value of our present material worth. Should we not be thankful and while we wait upon the Lord's leading, that we take the lead in honoring God's grace by sharing some of these recovered fruits?'

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