This book, this tapestry, this labour of love - truly God’s handiwork
‘And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.’
John 15:22
Testify we must for indeed God has always been with us throughout this endeavour, to bring man to look beyond the creation, to our Creator, our Sovereign God.
This book came about from a responsive desire by my wonderful sister in Christ and co-partner, Rosanne Chan, whose acquaintance I first made in late April when she sent a beautifully designed card, with a verse to encourage those who are members of the Chinese Snuff Bottle Society.
Man waters, God brings about the increase and this act of love for fellow men and women by Rosanne, happened to be the catalyst that confirmed and ignited plans that our Lord has been showing me at about the same month, that is, to develop further the Ministry of Word that He has led me to on the internet since year 2003, into the printed world.
Beautiful art books there are plentiful. Well written gospel tracts and Christian books by men of faith, God has used. But to marry the two together, to bridge the gap between the secular and the Spiritual, few have attempted and we truly believe now is the time, as the Lord leads.
‘What man is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and an explain it?
Jeremiah 9:12
The book you see today, prayerfully reflects not just the gifts that God has blessed Rosanne, myself and all who have joined us in this journey of faithful obedience and love with, but truly the very hands of our Sovereign God.
To design an excellent book, some can, but to do a book from a passion driven by Christ our Master, I am indeed blessed to have Rosanne join me, for without her enthusiasm, care and skill, we would not have gone so far, so steadily in four months to bring this response to the leading of our Lord from inception to fruition.
‘I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’
John 16:33
In the movies, it has been increasingly popular in the closing credits to show all the fun and spills in the production process. I have always enjoyed that for it gives the audience an inside feel.
In the making of this book, we have truly been blessed for God sent us wonderful people to close out any gaps that might exist. I will like to take this opportunity to thank our fellow collector and brother in Christ, Kong Hoo, whose kindness to meet me at short notice and on a public holiday, almost right after the calling was answered by Rosanne and myself, was the needed inspiration for me to truly move from tentative steps to big steps, for I know that God indeed provided. And much as we thought that we will be leading the way to Christ for our brother, Kong Hoo, who is in fact a child of our Father, he led us to Adam, not that first man of humanity, but the same namesake whose wonderful professional work in this new area of photographing lacquer work and ivory was a blessed achievement. And not forgetting the generosity of my friend, Sam whose kindness in loaning me a couple of his beautiful collection helped complete the pictorial line-up in this book.
Suffice to say, like Rosanne, we will like to thank all her staff at CA Design, especially our brother in Christ, James for responding to the call of our Lord to help us put this book together. And not forgetting Polly, who ably stood in to smoothen out the chinks, while Rosanne was up in Korea for a prayer pilgrimage.
Last but not least, to our respective families for their love and patience, and for me to my wife Janet, and my children, Sarah and Andre, whose quiet support and forbearance, even as I disappeared to the study room for 7 nights continuous to pen my thoughts as the Holy Spirit inspired me. Heaven was made in 6 days, this book was written in 7 nights and truly, all glory to our God.
And less I forget, a heartfelt thanks to all who committed willingly to receiving this book when asked by me these past four months, without even having seen it. And the same for my four charity institutional partners, who were willing to be part of this endeavor. God indeed provides wonderful people in my temporal journey and may it be for eternity.
In closing , God is good and He bless those who truly seek Him. The completed draft design for the finalization of this work of love was emailed to me by Rosanne on Friday(June 19th) near midnight. I did not expect her email but our good Lord awoken me from my slumber to read it at 1a.m., Saturday (June 20th) and prescient indeed, for as Rosanne reminded me, God woke me up in the wee hours of the morning, of my forty-eight birthday, to witness the birth of this blessed new ministry. And forty eight years back, I myself was brought to this temporal world at about this same hour in the morning. All glory to our Father in Heaven.
‘Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it….’
Psalm 127:1
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(20th June 2009)
But can we really close??
In doing this book, we have come to learn that much as “the other side”(not the Red Devils from Man Utd, but the real McCoy) ain’t too happy, but it matters not, for God is truly Sovereign, and if challenges were to arise, it was a time for us to learn about His will and to obey and honor Him in all that we do. And so do let me share just one more testimony about our wonderful God.
As the book was sent to the printers, everything went as per the color proofs except for the cover page. The bright and sunny cloud as per our proofs came out dark and gloomy(as per photos in this blog showing original box). And poor Rosanne, for the entire day, could not figure out the reason. Was it the work of the dark forces who decided to steal our thunder, or more like a diabolical attempt to black out the light of the glory of God?
In the midst of our time spent with the Lord on this, no solution was in sight for two days, but the Lord brought me to Ezekiel 43. If you were to read Ezekiel 43, you will read about the description of God’s entrance entering the gates of the temple from the East. Look at the cover of this book when you received it, interestingly, the light representing the glory of God is truly on the East, and it is symbolically shining into the hearts of men, who are all the temple of God.
‘...write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations. This is the law of the temple. All the surrounding area on top of the mountain will be most holy. Such is the law of the temple.’
Ezekiel 43:11-12
Indeed, if you look at the same cover picture, the travelers are on the slope of the mountain, and above it are the bright clouds. And indeed, all are holy ground. How can we allow it to be dark and gloomy, much as costs ,time and expediency dictates otherwise?
But it is more than symbolic. All through this journey of faithfully doing this book as the Lord leads, there were ample opportunities to do things our own way. But God is good. He has deeply ingrained in both Rosanne and my heart, the need to honour Him in all that we do, and we pray and know that in our obedience, He has allowed us to be used by Him to be a testimony to many who has co-journeyed with us on this brief but wonderful journey.
And this is not the end, but the beginning, where we believe that if your are faithful, God will use you to touch the lives of others HE places in your path, and may this book be a tool that He has provided you with, in His work.
God indeed blesses
Eng Hieang
(20th Aug 2009)
Acknowledgement:
And thanks to the generosity and faithfulness of the following Bible publishers from whom the majority of the verses in this book "Reflections - A Traveler's Muse" are drawn from - Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
- Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973,1978,1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT
- This book "Reflections - A Traveler's Muse" is to be given free to whoever God places in my path. And much as we are open to requests from anyone intending to make copies, part or totality of the material in the book for non-commercial purposes, as a matter of prudence and stewardship, I will still reserve all copyright(20th June 2009) to this work and related materials.
Kindly write to me at hieang88@yahoo.com attn: Mr Ang Eng Hieang for written permission before using any of the above materials in any form for non commercial purposes only.
Permission will not be granted for any intended commercial purposes.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Reflections for the moment #32 Desire (12 aug 09)
Dear…
'…for their heart went after their idols.'
Ezekiel 20:16
This morning, as I accompanied my father to the hospital for his medical checks, I felt this strong desire to want to spend time with him(and my mum), time that I have not used well all these past years. God is good. I count myself not just blessed that both my parents are still alive, but that I will meet them in eternity, for thanks to the faithfulness of my sisters, in faithful obedience to our faithful God, almost my entire family are now believers, a far cry from the days when ancestor worship and secularism were the prevalent navigators of our lives.
'But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols. I am the Lord your God, walk in My statutes, and keep My judgments, and do them. And hallow My sabbaths....'
Ezekiel 20:18-20
This morning, as I was on the road to fetch my father, after dropping both my kids in school, I did felt this desire well in me,for my children to communicate more with me, to share their thoughts, joys and woes. A desire that they love me as much as my wife and I do, with no expectations other than that the love is reciprocated unconditionally. Children are by nature "selfish" for they have not moved from dependency to being a provider, from being provided to deprivation. their very attitudes have not been fully conditioned nor balanced by the harshness and inequalityof life. What they take for granted, as provided unconditionally by their parents, will not be longed for till it is taken away. Does this not mirror our own relationship with our Sovereign God?
'Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me, they walked not in My statutes, neither kept My judgments to do them…..'
Ezekiel 20:21
A few mornings back, just before the Lord awoken me, He left a deep impression in my heart with the thought "that He is with me" and followed by the other thought " His Word"
God has and is indeed always with me. In believing, I acknowleged His very presence. In following, I am willing to submit to His Sovereignty. Yet, being imperfect, the heart might be willing, but the flesh is not and often, I find myself distracted by the many diversions of the world, only to be matched by my still alive and kicking varied and sinful desires.
'…We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone..'
Ezekiel 20:32
Our heart is the tablet upon which the words of God will be inscribed upon. Our very countenance must reflect the glory of God in us. To desire to be like Christ, we must be willing to resolutely let go of all other desires( or more like lusts).
Like time with our parents or our children, we will stay fixated at desire, and not realize till too late that time has passed us by, for they will pass on, just like we will over time, if we do not translate that desire into a response. As finite humans, our responsive relationships with our loved ones might often be imperfect. But with our Divine God, our response will be transformed from our imperfect will to His will, but we must be willing to take that first step and continue to stay in step with the leading of our Lord.
'Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God.'
Ezekiel 20:36
And how does one start to response? In reading His word, in doing His work as He leads and always staying close with our Father in Heaven, in prayers.
A newly made acquaintance and sister in Christ told me when I offered her a copy of my soon to be published book "Reflections - a travelers' muse" that she was just told by a doctor friend that everyone should write at least one book before they depart their physical body to be with our Lord. And this lady is in all probabilities in her 70s, based on her insistence that she is indeed very old, though her voice is not, for her heart is forever young with the Lord in residence.
How true it is. And our hearts are indeed the very tablet upon which the grace and glory of God in our lives will be inscribed upon, for all to see and understand the very love of God for all mankind.
Is it not time to let God fill up the pages of your life by living every moment of your life in seeking and obeying Him? God has by the sacrifice of His one and only beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, wiped clean the once tainted slates of our heart, it is indeed time to let Him be the author and finisher of our lives.
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(12th Aug 09)
Note
------
By the grace of God, the fruit of the expanded ministry of word that our Lord has placed in my heart in April 09, to extend my testimonies of His grace from the internet to the written form is by faith, about to fully ripen.
By faith, because truly, God is with myself, my key partner in faith, Rosanne in Hk and all involved in this wonderful calling of His, for without His everpresence and love, I believe that the end product will never be a testimony of His grace. It is indeed His handiwork, we are just privileged and blessed to be used by the Lord upon which His glory shines forth.
I will like to invite all on this mail-list to do drop me an email with your mailing address if you will like a copy of this book. I have printed 800 copies, and by faith, I know our good Lord will place it with lives He so desires. The book is free, but only request is a commitment that you will commit to make a direct minimal donation of Singapore fifty dollars to any one of four charities listed in the book. But more importantly, to commit to spend some quiet reflective moments with the Lord our God, and may He use this book to "speak" to your heart, to bring you back into focus to Him, to renew your desire for only Him and if He so leads, to pass on this book to the next person that He places in your life.
A friend did suggest that we do a little official launch, some food, some small gathering. But this work is truly from the Lord and what better way to launch it then by sharing a testimony that documents His very presence and care for all of us involved in this 4 months project. Will soon place on my blog at http://hieang.blogspot.com Reflections for the moment #33 titled "Reflections - a traveler's muse" that prayerfully, is a sweet offering to the love and grace that God has encumbered all of us with, in answering His call. Will also email to all on my mail list, this testimony as the next sharing after this.
'…for their heart went after their idols.'
Ezekiel 20:16
This morning, as I accompanied my father to the hospital for his medical checks, I felt this strong desire to want to spend time with him(and my mum), time that I have not used well all these past years. God is good. I count myself not just blessed that both my parents are still alive, but that I will meet them in eternity, for thanks to the faithfulness of my sisters, in faithful obedience to our faithful God, almost my entire family are now believers, a far cry from the days when ancestor worship and secularism were the prevalent navigators of our lives.
'But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols. I am the Lord your God, walk in My statutes, and keep My judgments, and do them. And hallow My sabbaths....'
Ezekiel 20:18-20
This morning, as I was on the road to fetch my father, after dropping both my kids in school, I did felt this desire well in me,for my children to communicate more with me, to share their thoughts, joys and woes. A desire that they love me as much as my wife and I do, with no expectations other than that the love is reciprocated unconditionally. Children are by nature "selfish" for they have not moved from dependency to being a provider, from being provided to deprivation. their very attitudes have not been fully conditioned nor balanced by the harshness and inequalityof life. What they take for granted, as provided unconditionally by their parents, will not be longed for till it is taken away. Does this not mirror our own relationship with our Sovereign God?
'Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me, they walked not in My statutes, neither kept My judgments to do them…..'
Ezekiel 20:21
A few mornings back, just before the Lord awoken me, He left a deep impression in my heart with the thought "that He is with me" and followed by the other thought " His Word"
God has and is indeed always with me. In believing, I acknowleged His very presence. In following, I am willing to submit to His Sovereignty. Yet, being imperfect, the heart might be willing, but the flesh is not and often, I find myself distracted by the many diversions of the world, only to be matched by my still alive and kicking varied and sinful desires.
'…We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone..'
Ezekiel 20:32
Our heart is the tablet upon which the words of God will be inscribed upon. Our very countenance must reflect the glory of God in us. To desire to be like Christ, we must be willing to resolutely let go of all other desires( or more like lusts).
Like time with our parents or our children, we will stay fixated at desire, and not realize till too late that time has passed us by, for they will pass on, just like we will over time, if we do not translate that desire into a response. As finite humans, our responsive relationships with our loved ones might often be imperfect. But with our Divine God, our response will be transformed from our imperfect will to His will, but we must be willing to take that first step and continue to stay in step with the leading of our Lord.
'Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God.'
Ezekiel 20:36
And how does one start to response? In reading His word, in doing His work as He leads and always staying close with our Father in Heaven, in prayers.
A newly made acquaintance and sister in Christ told me when I offered her a copy of my soon to be published book "Reflections - a travelers' muse" that she was just told by a doctor friend that everyone should write at least one book before they depart their physical body to be with our Lord. And this lady is in all probabilities in her 70s, based on her insistence that she is indeed very old, though her voice is not, for her heart is forever young with the Lord in residence.
How true it is. And our hearts are indeed the very tablet upon which the grace and glory of God in our lives will be inscribed upon, for all to see and understand the very love of God for all mankind.
Is it not time to let God fill up the pages of your life by living every moment of your life in seeking and obeying Him? God has by the sacrifice of His one and only beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, wiped clean the once tainted slates of our heart, it is indeed time to let Him be the author and finisher of our lives.
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(12th Aug 09)
Note
------
By the grace of God, the fruit of the expanded ministry of word that our Lord has placed in my heart in April 09, to extend my testimonies of His grace from the internet to the written form is by faith, about to fully ripen.
By faith, because truly, God is with myself, my key partner in faith, Rosanne in Hk and all involved in this wonderful calling of His, for without His everpresence and love, I believe that the end product will never be a testimony of His grace. It is indeed His handiwork, we are just privileged and blessed to be used by the Lord upon which His glory shines forth.
I will like to invite all on this mail-list to do drop me an email with your mailing address if you will like a copy of this book. I have printed 800 copies, and by faith, I know our good Lord will place it with lives He so desires. The book is free, but only request is a commitment that you will commit to make a direct minimal donation of Singapore fifty dollars to any one of four charities listed in the book. But more importantly, to commit to spend some quiet reflective moments with the Lord our God, and may He use this book to "speak" to your heart, to bring you back into focus to Him, to renew your desire for only Him and if He so leads, to pass on this book to the next person that He places in your life.
A friend did suggest that we do a little official launch, some food, some small gathering. But this work is truly from the Lord and what better way to launch it then by sharing a testimony that documents His very presence and care for all of us involved in this 4 months project. Will soon place on my blog at http://hieang.blogspot.com Reflections for the moment #33 titled "Reflections - a traveler's muse" that prayerfully, is a sweet offering to the love and grace that God has encumbered all of us with, in answering His call. Will also email to all on my mail list, this testimony as the next sharing after this.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Reflections for the moment#31 Flummox (6aug09)
Dear…
'Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert…'
Isaiah 43:18-19
This was the verse that Reverend Francis Khoo of Covenant Vision shared in his prophetic word for year 2009. You can read his message on the following link http://www.covenantvision.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=242&Itemid=81(. Men by themselves, cannot predict, but God can and do use men and women of faith to forewarn and prepare His flock on His future plans.
But are our hearts cognizance?
I read Rev Khoo's message at the beginning of year 2009, and it affirmed what the Lord has placed in my heart, that this is the year of great delusion, and unless we are grounded upon the Lord our Rock, none of us will escape the wiles of the devil and our own self-deceiving finite mind. And since the same verse Isaiah 43 pop up in my radar again just yesterday, when I was reading the Antioch Mission latest newsletter on their work in China (http://www.am-ccsm.org) and their sharing on this same verse from Isaiah as the word that God placed in their hearts these past few months, it is prayerfully an opportune time and may it be truly the leading of the Holy Spirit for me to expand upon this very significant verse, as a reminder that man plans, truly God directs.
'…weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning.'
Psalm 30:5
History it might seem, in the present intensified market exuberance, but just a short few months back in Mar 09, the world was on the verge of financial collapse. And today, it looks like we have left the winter of despair behind and have entered not just a new spring, but one that might just boil over into an overflow of great optimism, though as of now, it looks more like a vat of frustrated greed and fear of being left behind.
I remember in Mar 09, in the mood of a seemingly bottomless pit of despair, fear and pessimism, that a colleague managed to extract some rather long dated financial data, stretching back all the way to the Great Depression, of the late 1930s.
As I reviewed this morning, the penciled-in notes that I wrote in Mar 09, two possible scenarios was painted from my finite observation then.
One, that the Dow Jone Industrial Index, which had fallen 52% from a peak of about 14,000 points to present 6547(9th Mar 09), would if it was like the Great Depression of the 1930s, would have another 32% to fall, to a level of 3800 points
Or Two, if the scenario was like that of the stagflation days of the 1970s, then the Dow Jone Index was at the short term bottom as of Mar 09, and was due for a big spurt up of about 100%, just like what transpired back in the 1970s, when a combination of currency devaluation, IMF rescue of the UK as well as liquidity pumping by Central Banks floated the listing global financial markets to almost its previous peak in a short one year.
If it had not been the Lord Who was on our side, when men rose up against us. Then they had swallowed us up quick….then the waters had overwhelmed us….'
Psalm 124:1-5
Today, on 6th Aug 09, much as most are baffled and increasingly frustrated by the illogical and relentless rise in global stockmarkets and property prices(at least in Singapore and Hk), it is a reality. Yet for many whose wealth have been decimated by banks' forced selling to repay loans, at the lows in Mar 09, or by their own sheer panic, what was lost will not be recoverable. And so, for many, it is a crossroad again, back from the brink to the towering heights, and having not participated, should they now go on this new endeavour of sheer folly or feat?
Flummox is a term that describe something incomprehensible and beyond understanding, and that is the state of emotion most who uses their brains will be in. A state of flux.
'Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: Thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness… O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto Thee for ever.'
Psalm 30:11-12
If one measures one's relationship with our Sovereign God by the prescience of one's timing in selling high in July 2007 and buying low in Mar 09, then one will be a thoroughly disappointed and disillusioned Christian, for this financial tsunami would have not differentiated much between one's spiritual affiliation. Yet, in the midst of this systematic destruction, those who draw near to God will understand His ways, and will see indeed that God did shelter us, much as we might not have been in full obedience.
'Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.'
Psalm 73:24
I believe by God's Divine intervention, I have found my peace with myself by turning to God, and my focus is no longer on growing wealth but on investing in His kingdom, for HE has provided and will provide.
Much as the haze from Indonesia, is unfortunately back with us, a recurring consequence of the push for biofuel, fueled by the profit oriented desire to plant more palm oil, in itself driven by the stockmarket madness of the previous years to reward this haphazard theme of alternative fuel. I am no longer in a dizzy daze like many might still be, nor am I faze by whatever the world has and will continue to surprise us with, and with this greater clarity of heart, the Lord showed me an interpretation of the vision that Reverend Khoo shared in his year 2009 prophetic word.
'Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path….I have inclined mine heart to perform Thy statutes always, even unto the end.'
Psalm 112:105-112
Rev Khoo had a vision of a very strong bull, joined by a bear running stride for stride. And as both ran, the floor beneath their hooves or paws popped up to reveal treasures, for men dressed in white to garner. It just struck me these past few days that the bull could represent the exuberant financial economy(stocks and properties), while the bear represents the still insipid real economy(where unemployment and business failures are still very real and running quite high). No wonder those of us who use the past proven experience of learned knowledge totally missed out the market moves. Only consolation is that almost everyone was using the same watermark. Like what God said in Isaiah 43 above, He is bringing us into a new thing, in fact, who would imagine a spring of hope in the desert of despair all were in just in Mar this year?
'My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth….The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.'
Psalm 121:1-8
What about the future? All of us who have assets and have not been forced sold or panicked in Mar will by now have seen a more than decent recovery in values. Yet, will you not be willing to be like the men in white( I count myself like these men) who seek the Lord even in our own imperfections, to be blessed to be reminded by the Lord, that now is the time to garner those recovered values, which in the lows of Mar, was seemingly impossible to imagine. We should be picking up the "fruitful droppings" as the bull surged ahead, instead of trying to run in front of it, like many are beginning to, in terms of entering into new investments at current "crazed" valuations or are they not? And what about the bear? There are indeed things of value left behind in this frenzied chase, for us that the Lord will show us, in preparation for what is ahead, be it possiby high inflation or not.
'Keep your lives free from the love of money and be contented with what you have because God has said "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.'
Hebrews 13:5-6
Amazed we all are by God's grace in His provisions. But if we do not turn to Him now, we will find ourselves entering a maze of our own sinful lusts, a maze that many will find impossible to get out of, should truly the 1970s be repeated, for after the one year of liquidity fueled recovery, the markets went for a 15-20% correction, to allow fundamentals to catch up. But as some might recall, the mullahs of Iran did not play according to plan, and with the second oil crisis, investors and real businesses found themselves caught in a tizzy, and with interest rates at 24% for US$ and 12% for Singapore dollar deposits, the picnic was not just over(just like the many nonchalant who were trampled by both bull and bear in Rev Khoo's vision), but for many years, till one Ronald Reagan and her damsel across the Atlantic, Mrs Margaret Thatcher,entered the picture in the 1980s and with his "Star Wars" theory, and her iron fist that beat the the trade unions into a wimp, the world never regained its taste for fantasy.
Will the past repeat itself. Only our good Lord knows, for He is the Apha and the Omega.
And so, instead of mulling over the low to near zero interest you are receiving, and racking your head over better return investments, why not leave it to the Lord's leading and let the ground lie fallow, and use the blessings that God has returned to us, the undeserving for His kingdom as in
'..don't forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.'
Hebrews 13:16
Rgds and God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(6th Aug 09)
'Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert…'
Isaiah 43:18-19
This was the verse that Reverend Francis Khoo of Covenant Vision shared in his prophetic word for year 2009. You can read his message on the following link http://www.covenantvision.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=242&Itemid=81(. Men by themselves, cannot predict, but God can and do use men and women of faith to forewarn and prepare His flock on His future plans.
But are our hearts cognizance?
I read Rev Khoo's message at the beginning of year 2009, and it affirmed what the Lord has placed in my heart, that this is the year of great delusion, and unless we are grounded upon the Lord our Rock, none of us will escape the wiles of the devil and our own self-deceiving finite mind. And since the same verse Isaiah 43 pop up in my radar again just yesterday, when I was reading the Antioch Mission latest newsletter on their work in China (http://www.am-ccsm.org) and their sharing on this same verse from Isaiah as the word that God placed in their hearts these past few months, it is prayerfully an opportune time and may it be truly the leading of the Holy Spirit for me to expand upon this very significant verse, as a reminder that man plans, truly God directs.
'…weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning.'
Psalm 30:5
History it might seem, in the present intensified market exuberance, but just a short few months back in Mar 09, the world was on the verge of financial collapse. And today, it looks like we have left the winter of despair behind and have entered not just a new spring, but one that might just boil over into an overflow of great optimism, though as of now, it looks more like a vat of frustrated greed and fear of being left behind.
I remember in Mar 09, in the mood of a seemingly bottomless pit of despair, fear and pessimism, that a colleague managed to extract some rather long dated financial data, stretching back all the way to the Great Depression, of the late 1930s.
As I reviewed this morning, the penciled-in notes that I wrote in Mar 09, two possible scenarios was painted from my finite observation then.
One, that the Dow Jone Industrial Index, which had fallen 52% from a peak of about 14,000 points to present 6547(9th Mar 09), would if it was like the Great Depression of the 1930s, would have another 32% to fall, to a level of 3800 points
Or Two, if the scenario was like that of the stagflation days of the 1970s, then the Dow Jone Index was at the short term bottom as of Mar 09, and was due for a big spurt up of about 100%, just like what transpired back in the 1970s, when a combination of currency devaluation, IMF rescue of the UK as well as liquidity pumping by Central Banks floated the listing global financial markets to almost its previous peak in a short one year.
If it had not been the Lord Who was on our side, when men rose up against us. Then they had swallowed us up quick….then the waters had overwhelmed us….'
Psalm 124:1-5
Today, on 6th Aug 09, much as most are baffled and increasingly frustrated by the illogical and relentless rise in global stockmarkets and property prices(at least in Singapore and Hk), it is a reality. Yet for many whose wealth have been decimated by banks' forced selling to repay loans, at the lows in Mar 09, or by their own sheer panic, what was lost will not be recoverable. And so, for many, it is a crossroad again, back from the brink to the towering heights, and having not participated, should they now go on this new endeavour of sheer folly or feat?
Flummox is a term that describe something incomprehensible and beyond understanding, and that is the state of emotion most who uses their brains will be in. A state of flux.
'Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: Thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness… O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto Thee for ever.'
Psalm 30:11-12
If one measures one's relationship with our Sovereign God by the prescience of one's timing in selling high in July 2007 and buying low in Mar 09, then one will be a thoroughly disappointed and disillusioned Christian, for this financial tsunami would have not differentiated much between one's spiritual affiliation. Yet, in the midst of this systematic destruction, those who draw near to God will understand His ways, and will see indeed that God did shelter us, much as we might not have been in full obedience.
'Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.'
Psalm 73:24
I believe by God's Divine intervention, I have found my peace with myself by turning to God, and my focus is no longer on growing wealth but on investing in His kingdom, for HE has provided and will provide.
Much as the haze from Indonesia, is unfortunately back with us, a recurring consequence of the push for biofuel, fueled by the profit oriented desire to plant more palm oil, in itself driven by the stockmarket madness of the previous years to reward this haphazard theme of alternative fuel. I am no longer in a dizzy daze like many might still be, nor am I faze by whatever the world has and will continue to surprise us with, and with this greater clarity of heart, the Lord showed me an interpretation of the vision that Reverend Khoo shared in his year 2009 prophetic word.
'Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path….I have inclined mine heart to perform Thy statutes always, even unto the end.'
Psalm 112:105-112
Rev Khoo had a vision of a very strong bull, joined by a bear running stride for stride. And as both ran, the floor beneath their hooves or paws popped up to reveal treasures, for men dressed in white to garner. It just struck me these past few days that the bull could represent the exuberant financial economy(stocks and properties), while the bear represents the still insipid real economy(where unemployment and business failures are still very real and running quite high). No wonder those of us who use the past proven experience of learned knowledge totally missed out the market moves. Only consolation is that almost everyone was using the same watermark. Like what God said in Isaiah 43 above, He is bringing us into a new thing, in fact, who would imagine a spring of hope in the desert of despair all were in just in Mar this year?
'My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth….The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.'
Psalm 121:1-8
What about the future? All of us who have assets and have not been forced sold or panicked in Mar will by now have seen a more than decent recovery in values. Yet, will you not be willing to be like the men in white( I count myself like these men) who seek the Lord even in our own imperfections, to be blessed to be reminded by the Lord, that now is the time to garner those recovered values, which in the lows of Mar, was seemingly impossible to imagine. We should be picking up the "fruitful droppings" as the bull surged ahead, instead of trying to run in front of it, like many are beginning to, in terms of entering into new investments at current "crazed" valuations or are they not? And what about the bear? There are indeed things of value left behind in this frenzied chase, for us that the Lord will show us, in preparation for what is ahead, be it possiby high inflation or not.
'Keep your lives free from the love of money and be contented with what you have because God has said "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.'
Hebrews 13:5-6
Amazed we all are by God's grace in His provisions. But if we do not turn to Him now, we will find ourselves entering a maze of our own sinful lusts, a maze that many will find impossible to get out of, should truly the 1970s be repeated, for after the one year of liquidity fueled recovery, the markets went for a 15-20% correction, to allow fundamentals to catch up. But as some might recall, the mullahs of Iran did not play according to plan, and with the second oil crisis, investors and real businesses found themselves caught in a tizzy, and with interest rates at 24% for US$ and 12% for Singapore dollar deposits, the picnic was not just over(just like the many nonchalant who were trampled by both bull and bear in Rev Khoo's vision), but for many years, till one Ronald Reagan and her damsel across the Atlantic, Mrs Margaret Thatcher,entered the picture in the 1980s and with his "Star Wars" theory, and her iron fist that beat the the trade unions into a wimp, the world never regained its taste for fantasy.
Will the past repeat itself. Only our good Lord knows, for He is the Apha and the Omega.
And so, instead of mulling over the low to near zero interest you are receiving, and racking your head over better return investments, why not leave it to the Lord's leading and let the ground lie fallow, and use the blessings that God has returned to us, the undeserving for His kingdom as in
'..don't forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.'
Hebrews 13:16
Rgds and God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(6th Aug 09)
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