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
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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.
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