Dear…
'You have sown much and bring in little….Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways! …..You looked for much, but indeed it came to little…..Why? Says the Lord of hosts. "Because of My house that is in ruins, while everyone of you runs to his own house.'
Haggai 1:6-9
Stocktaking is a term most associate with, when your favorite retail shop closes for a couple of days to bring up to speed, the inventory and other administrative matters that have been lagging, in the pursuit of daily sales. Timeout is a preemptive move to ensure burnout does not occur for most of us in this fast moving global society. A time to recharge, reassess priorities which could lead to a life changing decision for some, yet for others, a temporary respite before ploughing back into the runaway train of job or other percuniary interests.
'All flesh is grass….the grass withers, the flower fades But the Word of our God stands forever.'
Isaiah 40:6-8
Ever since I truly took time in reading, studying, reflecting and praying upon the Word of God, my life has been transformed, my mind renewed, and God truly walks with me, through the appropriateness of the right verse(s) that speaks to my very being, or the affirmative power of His words be it coincidental to some doubtful hearts, but for me, it is His very loving hands at work.
These past 7 years, when God moved me from believer to desirous and diligent follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, He also moved me to two wonderful ministries, that have been the mainstay of my work in His will, and which have in my giving, tremendously benefitted me much more.
'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God…'
Isaiah 40:3
The use of the internet as a ministry for me to share and prayerfully through that sharing of my own journey with God, has I believed, blessed and encouraged many whom He has placed in my life, or if not in the body, via the optical fibre lines from which they received my word based experiential "blogging.". Yet, the desire to soak in God's love through this sharing of joy often resides only in those whom God has brought about an increase, as in the lifting of the veil till recently enfolding their very being or those where the Lord has removed His protective but never appreciated hands, and let the potent mix of their own follies intertwined with our sinful world, to bring about the inevitable upheavals and pain in one's life.
'I have planted, Apollos watered; but God that giveth the increase.'
1 Corinthians 2:6
Change in one's focus from the world to a God centred life, on our own strength is beyond any of us. And to change others to be like Christ, much as I have watered faithfully is nigh impossible. But thankfully only God can bring about the increase and He will, at His timing and ways, not ours. This past one week, I have come to realize and recognize that the past one year, our good Lord is steadily bringing about change in the very nature of my work in His kingdom. But He has to change or refine me furthur as the Daily Bread so rightly concluded with the following
"When God starts changing things, He usually begins with changing us" (DB Feb 2, 2010)
And interesting as I came to this Spirit led conclusion in the early light of a fresh morning, some of you might recall, the day's reading of Our Daily Bread(Feb 2, 2010) had the title "Time for a change " and these were the very words staring me in the face, as I spend time with God in His words.
God is wonderful. He never leaves us wandering if we heard Him right, and an incident happened that same day to remind me that indeed it is time for a change in my word based ministry of personal reflection, at least in the delivery platform and in the target audience.
Clearly, as Pastor Francis Khoo shared in his prophetic word for this year, things will escalate. But what has the word "escalate" got to do with the word that God impressed upon my heart at the beginning of this year ie "patience?
For the natural carnal man, change often brings about uncertainty if you are at the receiving end of it, or impatience to wrought it quickly if you are the one fanning the change. Both often bring with it the emotions and behaviour patterns of anger, fear, greed, selfishness, unkindess and the whole litany of woes that God has warned us against.
Change for the Spirit led man is different. The man who seeks after God will learn to take time with our Lord, much as the winds of change can be buffetting them tremendously. Much as we being the imperfect man will also struggle with our self deceiving mind, in taking time with God, we have learned to know the need to anchor our very all in the presence of our God. And learn to be still, to hear the quiet voice of His will. And to do what honours Him, to stay focus on Him even more, much as our swirling emotions demand otherwise.
'For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.'
Ephesians 4:12
God has impressed upon my heart to continue my Word based personal journey for He is bringing about an even greater increase in the numbers of lives that are now turning back to Him. For in turning back to God is not the end of our journey of faith, but the beginnings of walking the God chosen route. And many who are starting to now hunger for spirit food, will need to be fed and encouraged, for the world is still a sinful place and we are still imperfect. Yet, the change that I felt that the Lord is leading me to is in the target recipients of this ministry, which will no longer be to everyone who said yes with their mouths but not with their hearts. God's love will only be fed to the willing and desirous, for the fruit of the Spirit can only grow forth abundantly in fertile soil, not hardened or unwilling hearts.
It does not mean an abandonment of the latter, for God wants all to be saved, but rather, the approach will be different, for prayers and how we live our lives could be more effective than words of joy and love and in this world where anything thing related to our Sovereign God is increasingly not just politically incorrect, but taken to be offensive, is God leading us the faithful in a re-orientation in terms of emphasis in our ministries and the way we minister to seeds resting on different grounds?
'..For He is the living God, And steadfast forever. His kingdom Is the one which shall not be destroyed. And His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescue…'
Daniel 6:26-27
I do have shifting interests, as some of you might have surmised, if you had the chance to glimpse the "toys" in my art book "Reflections." The 2nd book, which is w.i.p(not work in progress, but rather waiting in prayers) will confirm that habitual nuance, with photos of other interests added in. But thankfully, my one and only girlfriend, now my wife who is my rock at home, I never plan to change, and prayerfully, by God's grace will never ever or rather she will not "cut loss" on me!!
What about God? He is faithful even when we are faithless. In the same daily bread reading on "Time for change", the author talks about how Christ challenged the long establish self righteousness of the Pharisees.
I like to think like most who seek to do the will of God, we are not self righteous. But fact remains that we are imperfect and that the devil is always waiting to lead us into delusion.
Change often need not be because we have strayed. But God can lead us to new seasons for it can pre-empt us from being a future victim of our own success in ministry, so much so that we either replace God as the source of our success, or we no longer feel the desire to lean on God, and instead prefer to stay within our comfort zone.
Just as the world is getting more sinful, and as much as the ramifications of that disobedience are reflected in the natural world looking more unnatural in so many ways, God is also bringing lifting the veil enfolding the very hearts of many.
Most of us turned to God when we have a need, rather than because we just want to know Him. We value God because we think He can add value to our lives, not because we value Him for Who He is.
There is need for this chasm in perception to be closed, and this is the 2nd change that God is bringing to my ministry. To now move out of my comfort zone in the fathers prayer group that He has blessed me with, and to reach out to men wherever He places me, who are either ready to move more boldly from believer to follower or to men who are still at that point of searching, but have no fellow men to show them the way, to God our Father.
What about you? Is God bringing the beginnings of change in your ministry, even your very daily living or your very being, that you should be paying greater attention to?
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(5th Feb 2010)
Note
'My son, keep My words. And treasure My commands within you. Keep My commands and live. …..That they may keep you from the immoral woman. From the seductress who flatters with her words.'
Proverbs 7:1
As I asked the Lord to give me a word, if it was the right time to do the above sharing, He brought me a peace of heart, which for me has always been key to being still, so that truly it is the Spirit of God Who is leading me in my reflections. God also brought me to this verse. A familiar verse, but meaningingful as financial markets after the last week or so of slow drift down, is picking up speed on the downside,as the problems of Greece spreads to bigger but equally vulnerable European countries like Spain, Italy and Portugal. The Sirens on the Rocks is a slice of the Greek mythology, and truly, the past one year of relentless recovery in non-productive financial and property prices, notwithstanding that real economy is still insipid, and many know it, but increasingly find it difficult to resist, no different from the sailors of old lured into the treacherous rocks that the alluring voices of the Sirens permeate from.
Is the world reverting back to the horror days of near collapse just one year back? I doubt it for we are in a different season of extremities but not collapses. But no one truly knows.
The only given in this even more uncertain world is that God is faithful, will we remain steadfast and unchanging in our clinging on to Him?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment