Dear…
'Therefore say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says : None of my words will be delayed any longer, whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign Lord.'
Ezekiel 12:28
Poignant was the word the Lord led me to share in my previous thoughts in my blog http://SundaySnippet.blogspot.com and life this year, indeed seems increasingly full of this emotional sadness, the so called missing sin, from the list of familiar seven sins formulated during the sixth century : lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, vengeance, envy and pride(Daily Bread Jan 25th, 2010).
The total loss of lives from the air-crash of an Ethiopian airplane yesterday, might seem rather distant for most of us, but tragedy can and do strike at our very inner sanctum when we least expect and who knows, the next Haiti might be waiting round the corner for some of us.
But is crisis, at least its subset, ie death not given, for we live in a sinful world, and the price of sin is death? Much as the long and very dead Qin Dynasty Emperor, Shi Huang Ti, had searched to no avail for the elixir of life, the reality is that mortal death is inevitable, and most of us understand that, though never giving much thought to it, and when it nears, we wish for an extension or we desire to pick the preferred route to the inevitable.
'These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.'
John 16:33
The calm before the next storm is not exactly a desired phrase of choice, with Chinese New Year round the corner. Prophetic is a gift I am not anointed with, but looking beyond the hype or hyperbole of the movie 2012,, the world indeed has some increasingly serious issues, not just in the physical environment, but in all aspects, be it political, social and economic. Detente is now a long forgotten word, but it was the "in word" to describe the uneasy standoff between the two superpowers of the world in the Cold War Era, aka USA and USSR. Today, the world order is a lot more complicated, for not only are there many more behemoths(the BRIC countries of China, India, Brazil and Russia) in the unlevel playing field, the competition is no longer confined to politics, but to economics, for unlike the communist era, whose one true benefit, at least for the rest of us in this selfish world, is that wants of the depressed population of the communists countries stay repressed, thus ensuring that the world's finite resources are shared amongst fewer.
'Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.'
Matthew 11:27-30
Is there truly a place for God in our hearts, in this already cluttered world, that is not just distractive, but saps our very being, as many strive and strife to stay ahead, if not afloat?
Prayers is not about time out of our oppressive environment, but about time in with God. Prayers is not a laundry list of needs and wants, but it is about taking time to commune with God, to allow us to learn to be still and know His will. It is about us learning to let go, to let God transforms us unto His likeness, through the renewal of our minds, through the infilling of His Holy Spirit, that will give us this indescribable joy and peace and faith, that much as our needs are still not inconsequential, it begins to truly matters less..
'So rend your heart, and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and merciful. Slow to anger, and of great kindness. And He relents from doing harm.'
Joel 2:13
Prayers is a ministry that the Lord our God placed me in these past 8 years. Prayers is an exercise of faith, that till recently,I am most uncomfortable with, to display boldly in the public platform, but in my weakness, God has chosen to use me as a conduit for His grace and glory. Many years back in 2003 at the early ears of my following God, the Lord gave me a vision, an experience which is best described in Ezekiel 43 "behold the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east, His voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory…' As as I awoken from that vision, God left me a word, "to rise with the Oriole" And Oriole are birds with colorful plummages. But interestingly, below the word "Oriole" in the dictionary that I checked the next morning was not the word "Orion" which most tend to associate with the prominent constellation in the night sky, but the word "Orison" which means to pray. Pray is what God has led me to wonderfully, but what about "prey" for that is the symbolism of the word "Orion" a hunter in Greek mythology?
'Who knows if He will turn and relent. And leave a blessing behind Him ….'
Joel 2:14
For me, and for my wife, these past few weeks have been one of joy, yet sadness. Joy because those we love are moving closer to God, sadness because the desire to cling on to God is often associated with a dire challenge in one's lives, be it health, wealth or matters close to one's heart. Pray it is not an indictment, for I don’t want to be like Job's good intentioned but sinful friends, who started to examine the possible wrongs in Job's life for his present predicament. But rather, the sadness comes from an empathy for the distress and pain a loved one is undergoing. But a greater and deeper sadness comes from recognizing the reality that all of us, myself more than others, are imperfect and often, much as my mouth seeks God, my hearts strays away and for me, without distress, I seek God less.
Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.' Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?"
John 16:30-31
Prayers is not soley for personal edifcation. The Lord reminded me in my recent sinful moments that to be able to pray in tongues would be wonderful, for it will bring me to a more intimate level with our Sovereign God. But to be able to pray with clarity in simple language, so that those who are being prayed for will understand and be encouraged is more important and that is His will for me.
I am thankful to God that the past 8 years of active involvement in the various prayer ministries He has placed me in, has been a great period of preparation for me, the not just untrained, but the unwilling and unsure
.
'…whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.'
Mark 11:24
This year, I have come to understand that the upheavals already prevalent in many lives will go through an even greater escalation, God is making provisions to use us, who seek Him, to journey with many whose orientation to the world, are now being painfully but gainfully reset to focus no longer on the natural sinful world, but on the spiritual, on the ever present but long ignored Sovereign God.
It is a journey often fraught with doubts, fears and distractions, from us the flawed child of God. And much as the years of time in the Lord's presence has taught me to be patient, to let go and let God work His plans, for us, plans more wonderful than our greatest hopes, plans that are based on His will and not on our finite understanding, in my moments of weakness, I do wish for immediate answered prayers to an immediate need, for with miracles, the unsure will have all doubts removed.
'Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me…'
Psalm 51:10
God is faithful and do provide miracles for the moment. But the fallen man is faithless and will need a period of refinement, to be transformed into Christ-likeness. Answered prayers in the form of resolution of what ails us are often dealing only with the outward manifestation. It might be what we want, but is this what God wills? God looks at our total healing and transformation, and it will often entail going down to the very causal roots of our lives. That takes time, simply because man takes time to let go and let God.
The last part of the prayer of St Francis of Assisi ends with "It is in dying That we are born to eternal life"
A phrase I pondered upon very much longer than normal before even sharing with those whom God has placed in my life to minister to. This reticence comes from the seemingly almost insensitivity especially in the light of the troubled people we are praying for. Yet, as one spends time with God, one will realize and learn that God looks at the eternal, men looks at the temporal. That eternity is where we must now invest our temporal all on,and not forsake the eternal for the temporal delusions of the devil.
God can and do heal many of their physical ailments or other natural needs. But there are also many whose prayers are seemingly not answered. Only God knows. But God will heal us all spiritually, if we let Him, and if eternity with Him in Heaven or bedfellows with the devil in eternal damnation is the crux of life's journey, then truly our assurance is that God will heal us and give us a place in His kingdom.
'And the prayer of faith will save the sick……'
James 5:15
Prayers might not bring about the desired results we want, for what man wants, need not be what God wills. But prayers will bring us into that communion with God, and as we begin to draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. And as we continue to cling on to our Abba Father, He will give us that faith, that assurance and knowledge that truly
'…we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.'
Romans 8:28
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(26th Jan 2010)
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