Dear…
‘Bring my soul out of prison, That I may praise Your name. The righteous shall surround me. For You shall deal bountifully with me.’
Psalm 142:7
With the selective resumption of flights out of and into Europe, we witness the tears of relief as a select few can finally go home, after being holed up for a few frustrating days. Many more however are still lingering in uncertainty as the backlog of flights will take time to clear, much as the volcanoes in Iceland are still spewing ash and threatening to literally imprison the stranded passengers for much longer.
‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace. Who brings glad tidings of good things.’
Romans 10:15
For a man, I do have petite feet, if a small size 6 ½ is the criteria. But throw in spindly legs that my podiatrist thinks will have trouble supporting my upper torso as I age, if I do not now start beefing the legs up. Guess I can empathize with either the ostrich or the giraffe.
Romans 10:15 interestingly was the verse that decorates the reception area of this same Christian podiatrist and I am reminded this morning that much as we are imperfect, our perfect and Sovereign God will use us in our weaknesses, if we are willing to let Him.
So, on four wheels and a few small steps that my much troubled legs can still master, I finally made a visit to the “Helping Hands” this morning. And by God’s grace, with the help of Google Map, I actually made it to the place without having to transcend half of Singapore, for sense of direction geography wise is not a gift I have been given. And thankfully, the Word based sharing and the ministries that God has placed me in these past few years is truly dependent upon His leading, and not mine, or we will all be in dire straits.
‘..for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Matthew 23:39
The “Helping Hand”( http://www.thehelpinghand.org.sg/ ) is a Christian charitable organization that seeks to provide a place for ex drug addicts and released prisoners, who truly desire to have a new start in life, to make right what had gone wrong in their lives. It is an organization that depends not only upon the goodwill of donors, but seeks to generate self sustainable income and a sense of self worth for its constituents by providing employment for them through a range of services from furniture sales, gardening, house removal and computer repair.
“Don’t mind the tattoos” was the banner flying proudly across the facilities of the home. Indeed, much as these men are out of the physical confines of the prison, many of them continue to be imprisoned by their own sense of self worth, a captivity reinforced by the judgmental general perception of many of us “righteous, law abiding” citizens.
‘Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it….’
Psalm 127:1
I was a Pharisee once, that is, I follow the law and rules of society, guided by my own selfish needs and finite understanding. I thankfully now am more desirous of following the leading of the Holy Spirit, and I translate that desire by coming unto the presence of the Lord our God always.
To be a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ is to be desirous of, and actively working on staying grounded upon the Lord our God, to be Christ-like in our daily living, in our very thoughts and every breath.
Reality is, for many of us, even those who call themselves Christians, we are too busy building our own little castles, grounding ourselves upon the ways and whims of the world, storing up the provisions that God has blessed us with instead of dispensing it to those who are in need, and in the process of our walking the ways of the world, we have built a gilt edge prison for ourselves.
In sharing God’s provisions, I am reminded of the five loaves and two fish, or was it the other way round? Matters not, for by man’s understanding, the needs of the world are indeed tremendous, and our resources are finite. And it is true. In my small ministry of sharing the Lord’s blessings, our good Lord has always ensured that I will give from a position of weakness rather than strength. For it is not what we have, but Who God is. Yet God has always ensured that there is more than suffice, much as often it is really my heart that is lacking.
‘I was naked and you clothed Me. I was sick and you visited Me. I was in prison and you came to Me.’
Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?’
………..And the King will answer and say to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Matthew 25:36-40
In giving, indeed we receive. And not just the promise of God’s recognition of our faithfulness when He calls us home, but in giving, we will experience that indescribable joy and peace, that compassion that brings us to a deeper understanding of Who God is and into a wonderful relationship with our Father Who will more than provide for our needs on Earth, much as He uses us to meet the needs of others.
‘….not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer, distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality..’
Romans 11-13
Much as the world, or at least the financial markets and property markets are still trying to reach stratosphere, it is increasingly clear that the steam is fast running out, as the reality sinks in that the fundamentals are lagging quite far behind. A last and dangerous puff there might still be to bring those desirous of reaching the heavens where mistakenly they think mammon exists, not realizing that the devil will soon be consigned to the inner depths. But a trigger to bring the deluded back down to the hard ground of reality is still needed.
Would a prolonged disruption from the incessant spewing of the volcano in Iceland do the trick? Iceland is a timely reminder of what a meltdown can do to the global economy(maybe not Babel, but definitely Babylonian) that is so intertwined and how an “act of God” (as insurance companies and most of the secular world, seem to favor shifting all blame for natural catastrophes to a God they do not acknowledge in dandy times) can truly ground most economic activities, the heartbeat of our present world.
All of us who are now faithful followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, have to go through a series of inflexion points, where we by God’s grace learn to turn back to Him, and to acknowledge His will. It is likely the world has to also go through a series or rather, a few waves of realism before we are prepared to recognize the fragility of an economic recovery that is more financial than structural, a recovery that is fed primarily by debt binges by once fiscally responsible governments. We are on very loose grounds.
Oil is the devil’s brew. It is also the life stream of our present one world global economy. It might not seem plausible now, just as a deflation weaned world seems to believe that inflation is nigh not possible that we will ever enter a similar oil crisis like that of the 1970s and early 1980s.
Man plans, God directs. And yet, it is often the follies and machinations of men that lead us down the path of grief. The signs are there. The Iranians, a major player in the late 1970s political landscape, are increasingly coming to the forefront. Are their Arab brothers itching for a fight with the once mighty Israelites? Past experiences have build a psyche of inferiority as regards military capability in the minds of the Arabs. But to some extent, that superiority of the Israelites have been debunked in the recent mini-conflict in Lebanon.
(see link on Yom Kippur War http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/73_War.html )
The USA has since the 1970s, in the Yom Kippur War of 1973, been a bulwark of unflinching support for Israel. If so, is there a need for the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to recently reiterate publicly this continued unique relationship or is it increasingly becoming a semi-myth? Any wavering on the part of the USA will be an excuse for Iran to test the ground with an armed conflict in the Middle East, for the present Iranian President has publicly attested to his belief that the his savior can only return with the destruction of Israel. (http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/10/26/ahmadinejad/)
Will Syria, Iran’s closest ally in the Arab world be where the conflict will be fought, and the prophecy for the destruction of Damascus, the capital of Syria be brought to fruition?
‘Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city. And it will be a ruinous heap…’
Isaiah 17:1
Are these postulations fully grounded or are they the groundless work of a fertile mind? Prayerfully not, but what matters is not what happens tomorrow, but what you do today. The grace of God is truly suffice for the day, but are we prepared to anchor our lives on the only firm ground in the landscape of our lives, our Lord Jesus Christ?
You can start by grounding yourselves upon His Word and as He leads, as the Spirit of God will surely do so, upon His work.
‘…All flesh is grass. And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers. And the flower falls away. But the Word of the Lord ensures forever.’
Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.’
1 Peter 1:24-25
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(21 April 2010)
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