Dear...
'Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.'
Romans 6:13
This is in all probability my last Reflection for year 2009, and if God so desires, I will still saunter into your life come year 2010. Two things just happened today. My dear assistant has just given birth this evening, much as the intended date was more likely to be early to mid January next year. But none can hold back a baby desirous of seeing the light of the world. The other was my son, also a December baby, just barking out his mother's orders for me to cut the pricey Philippines papaya before it becomes over-ripe. Yield one must, and so to the flesh I must obey for we know who is the boss at home, but I will be back in a flash!!
'Therefore, brethren, we are debtors , not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God...'
Romans 8:12-14
I am back and indeed, the papaya looks pretty delectable, could be from the rich volcanic soils around the now rumbling Mayon volcano. Much as men know the potential destructive powers of earth's hot-spots, it is indeed hard to resist the richness of the fertile soil, and much as nature ultimately will reclaim its destructive right to the land, who can resist what the sinful world has on offer?
The term "yield" this year is what troubles the hearts of many. For in the aftermath of the financial meltdown, very low global interest rates was the inevitable price of the massive liquidity pumping by the major governments, in their present efforts to re-float the global economy. Many have had a tough time looking for decent yields ie a stable and regular income on their cash. And frustration is natural if one looks at one's seemingly unenviable position from the natural rather than the spiritual. One might be a lot more at peace if one could just look from the perspective that one's capital is still preserved, no doubt with very little regenerative returns compared to the shell that underlines the once beefed up wealth of the hurt rich.
'But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.'
Psalm 37:11
If you were one of those enterprenerial and very hard working traders on the black market in communist North Korea, will you yield willingly to the recent measures by the government, who in one clean regulatory sweep, has just made most of your hard earned savings worth literally pennies. You might more than grumble, for resentment could boil over the inherent fear of a repressive regime, but reality is to stubbornly resist will soon see you end up in the Korean Gulag, not a holiday resort, unless one desires deprivation as the means to knowing God.
'O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps....'
Jeremiah 10:23
I just gave a dear friend a book titled "Half Tim." A thought provoking book from a Christian perspective about what should we do about the 2nd half of our life, assuming there is a 2nd half!! I am sure I am quite past half time, and thankfully, for if at 49 next year is just half time, not too sure if I want to stay within my run-down shell at 98 when one could be with the Lord our God in eternity.
But what I have truly learned this past 48 plus years? Or at least these past 8 years as a more committed follower of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Letting go and letting God is a concept or more like Biblical truth that has been the first word of wisdom that was given to me by my small group leader a decade back, when I first returned to the Lord. And even after a couple of years of wondering everywhere except following our Lord Jesus Christ, until the Spirit of God filled me up that one time in Bangkok 8 years back, since then, a near full tank I might be as a desirous follower of Christ, but I have till now never been able to yield totally to His leading.
'Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit, through deceit, they refuse to know Me, saith the Lord.'
Jeremiah 9:6
The world is indeed living under a delusion, the illusions of the Prince of the air, the devil. But hasn't the light of God already shone through the darkness unto my repentful and thankful heart? So how can I, not a Bible waving, but a diligent Bible reading believer, who tries to be diligent in living out my faith, be grouped together with those who clearly refuse to know or yield to the will of our sovereign God?
'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 lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.'
Jeremiah 9:23-24
I might know God a little better than most, because I seek Him more than most. But if I truly know Him, I should be able to not just discern His leading, but be willing to follow without being held back by my sinful understanding. God looks for obedience, not sacrifice. In yielding totally to His will, we will reap a yield beyong our wildest but finite understanding.
So what is my year 2010 resolution? To stay resolute without the need for resolutions? ?
The secular world values a resolute spirit for they believe it will yield great material success. Resilience based on one's strength and human will might indeed achieve temporal success for some but at what costs?
In God's kingdom, it is the inverse. A heart that is willing to yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit will grow into an assured heart that stays resolute in trusting our lord because, in yielding rather than resisting, we have come to know God.
'Saying, Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless not my will, but Thine, be done.'
Luke 22:42
Christ in moments with God, before his arrest by the Jews, struggled knowing that to follow the will of God his Father will mean a painful death on the cross. But he resolutely obeyed because he trusted God with his all.
Can we be like Christ? Most of us find it easier to yield to the demands of the sinful world, because the world will impose on us. God leads but He give us a free will. He will not impose His will upon us. His Spirit falls upon us when we are ready and willing. He will know when we are ready to be filled with His Spirit. But to be ready, we must be willing to be made ready. A heart that seeks to yield to the leading of His Spirit, every moment of our life, is a necessary step towards being made ready.
Are you willing??
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(29dec09)
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