Children of The Light#5 Safe Habor (18 Nov 2014)

Dear....

Can a woman forget her sucking child,
that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
yea, they may forget,
yet will I not forget thee.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands;
            Isaiah 49:15-16

Expressionless I might not be, but for the past one month, I did not feel led by the Holy Spirit and produced thoughts so insipid that it did not warrant them seeing the light of day.
Everything is indeed at God's timing, and as I showered this evening, He reminded me of His prescient provisions from the moment I responded to His call to produce my art book( using art to share the Gospel) back in year 2009.  He had indeed availed everything that was necessary for me to complete the tasks He had called me to.  And the only thing that came from me was the willingness to be steadfastly obedient, and in Christlikeness. God has indeed brought me far, using the books I published to minister to the people of the lands He has foretold for me back in year 2009. Never did I imagine giving books on Japanese art to the non believer Japanese 5 years later. Nor did I envisaged that Thai Buddhists would be the first recipients of my art book back in year 2009.

Indeed, when God moves, everything falls into place. I wanted to pen the above thoughts right away,but His Spirit impressed upon me to first start with a worship song.
"I want to follow You" (我要跟住你).
This is a new song to me. And interesting, a one liner song with the same words as the title.
And with one compelling verse from Isaiah 49:16 "See, I have not forgotten you, I have carved you on My palm."

"Safe harbor," like most, that was what I have been seeking from our good Lord.
We want no troubles, be given plenty of roubles, and the only wobbles in our blissful life should be lapping waves in our life of leisure by the beach.
But is that not what Satan promised Jesus Christ when he tempted Him?

"Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me."
                  Matthew 4:8-9

In our fallen world, there is no safe harbor. At least not that which is based on how man envisaged it. Adam and Eve thought that they did not need God. With the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, they can be God. Today, we the seeds of the fallen couple in seeking our own comfort zone, is not just not trusting God, but is seeking the devil. No wonder we are not at peace.

"How does one die so that Christ can be our all and all? It usually takes a crisis of significant proportions for most people to relinquish the control of their lives. It means we come to the end of ourselves and our striving to control the events in our lives and we finally come to the place where we can say, "Lord, I surrender. Please take full control of my life."
( 2 nov TGIF Os Hillman)

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord;
         Psalm 33:12

Let go and let God. Only when we totally cut lose whatever is anchoring us to the delusions of the devil, will we truly receive the peace and joy that God promises all who believe and seek Him.  Rudderless in the great ocean might seem daunting. And it is. But God not just provide the sun and the stars to guide the seafarers of past, but as Christ has shown, even the stormy waves are subservient to Him.

'..... that my hope comes from You, not from my circumstances.'
(Daily Bread Nov 14, 2014)

'The anchor of God's faithfulness holds firm in the strongest storms'
(Daily Bread Nov 14, 2014)

God not just have us graven upon His hands. He has authored for each of us a wonderful journey of getting to know Him, as He prepares us for His return. The nice gentle breeze is quietly nudging us to set sail. Or do we need a strong tempest to blow us out of our misconceived safe harbor?

除你以外，有谁能带给我安慰?

God blesses

Eng Hieang
16 Nov 2014






Sent from my iPad

Children of The Light#7 Tomorrow (30 Jan 2015)

Dear....

'For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.'
    2Corinthians 5:1

What does tomorrow holds? For the slained NYPD police officer Ramos, he is now with our Lord.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/12/26/thousands-expected-for-wake-for-fallen-officer-rafael-ramos/

'I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
        John 12:24

Indeed his seed fell onto the ground, and from it springs forth new shoots of faith.
His Christlike life has sowned wonderfully, his death has brought forth an outpouring of tributes that will bring about an increase in the number of faithful.

'For we are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.'
       2 Corinthians 5:8

The Apostle Paul categorically stated his desire to go home to be with our Lord.
What about me? What about you?

Much as I find the world burdensome, and much I as I believe being taken out of it would be wonderfully blissful, I cannot let go. And in fact, I often remind and plead with our good Lord that it 
is not time yet.

Is it because of our treasures(including our loved ones) on Earth? Or is it because we are not ready to face the judgment seat? Or simply because we trust not the promises of our Lord?

'Father, if You are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
        Luke 22:42

Christ as man struggled at Gesathame.
But he at the end of it submitted in total obedience.

To give up our last breath voluntarily might be a bridge too far for most of us to just leap across, much as the wonderful realm of eternity awaits us.

God understands and knows our limits.

But He wants us to take and continue to take the small steps of faith. To seek to be in His presence now. To be willing and desirous to let His Spirit transform us.

Focus on Him now. Tomorrow will take care of itself, for come tomorrow, God will still be with us, be it on Earth or in Heaven.

Let God decide when we are ready.

But we can and must now decide on wanting to let Him  made us ready.

Then can only we be willing to go where He wants to bring us, because we know and trust Him.

Every story has an ending. Every life lived is like a book. For us who believed, God gave us a new blank book of life to start with.

In seeking to live a Christlike life, we are allowing the Holy Spirit to pen for us a living testimony of God's grace and love upon our lives.

A legacy that the watching world can read and mirror against their own lives.

And that God will use our lives to shine forth into the darkness encapsulting their lives. So they they can also rewrite their journey of life His way.

And no matter whether our book of life is a one pager or runs into several thousand pages, happiness does not just start at the end of our story. But rather, joy and peace is what we wear with us now, and always, when we seek to follow  our Lord.

但願使人有盼望的神，因信將諸般的喜樂、平安充滿你們的心，使你們藉著聖靈的能力大有盼望。
因為神的國不在乎吃喝，只在乎公義、和平，並聖靈中的喜樂。 

God blesses
Eng Hieang
28 Dec 2014