Children of The Light#37 With less, we can do more (18 Dec 2016)

Dear…

Matthew 4:4 is the fourth verse of the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. ... 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds. out of the mouth of God.'"

This version of Matthew 4:4 I plucked from Wikipedia. Interesting because of the two 4s highlighted by Wikipedia. 和数字说话。For the Cantonese, it means double death.

Can and should one truly trust in what the Lord our God has commanded us?  Is it not suicidal in the eyes of the world to feed on His Words rather than the produce of our own efforts and understanding?

I have just crossed a year of being a free independent traveler(FIT). Independent from corporate life, burdensome as it is, yet there was the perceived assurance of bread on the table.

I have learned to feed on His Word every morning of my new season, and indeed our good Lord has provided for my needs as I depend upon Him more and more.

Less materially I have this past one year, but could I and did I actually do more?

This phrase With less, We can do more, was cobbled together in a discussion with a couple of fellow brothers in Christ in our prayer meeting last Saturday.

More efficient in the usage of my time and material resources I believe I have become.

The question then is What does doing more mean?

In the context of the command of God, to be the salt and light to the world, to be the lamp upon which His light shines forth, to shepherd the sheep to Christ our Chief Shepherd.

On this count, this year has been a great year

• More coverage of fellow journeymen I have done with the time and opportunities our Lord provided.
• And much as I was only in Japan twice this year, I have met more Japanese this past 8 months than I did my entire life. Our good Lord sent most of them to me in Singapore, and it was a great opportunity to share on the vision for Japan.
• Clients as in the commercial business was more than I had envisaged, but more importantly, the inevitable challenges that came along was a great opportunity for us to live out our faith as our good Lord tested us.

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba,Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

       Matthew 8:14-16

What about next year, ie year 2017?

Is this not the same question lingering in the minds of many of us, even as we take time off work to take a well deserved rest with the family and friends this festive period.

My work today is a hybrid of corporate life intertwined with ministry, what i term as Business Ministry. Using the marketplace as the platform for engagement to live out and share our faith.

Should I not be concerned about the need for continued commercial success next year in order to sustain my ministry?

Our Lord looks for our obedience, much as we the imperfect man often look at conclusion as the measure of success.

I have come to learn that indeed every day is not just a new day, but a daunting day. But thanks be to our Sovereign God, His grace is indeed suffice for the day.

God knows and always take care of my needs. What is needful from me is to rest and abide in Him, and move only when His Spirit leads, with boldness and the empowerment of His Holy Spirit. And to always honor and acknowledge Him in all my ways.

Is it not wonderful. One no longer need to dwell too much into forecasting the budget for the year ahead, for which many spend undue hours and time, yet in reality becomes a burdensome weight on oneś countenance through the year.

But can one truly achieve much with so little thought and resources?

Having stepped out of the prison of oneś own understanding and instead being determined to follow the leading of our Lord.

I have come to learn that come what may, nothing will hinder me from experiencing the wonderful hands of God at work in the path that He has already laid for each and everyone of us.

And how did I manage to achieve so much? By feeding on His Word. And by letting go and letting Him. Less of me and all of God.

God Blesses

Eng Hieang (18 Dec 2016)

An afterthought

Much as I left the perceived comfort of corporate life by choice. In reality it was after much struggle. And if not for the divine intervention of our good Lord, I will probably still be too afraid to walk into the unknown.

Yet the reality of the present global cyclical and structural disruptions have meant that many more today are out of a job not by choice.

Can one truly think of ministry when one is not even sure of meeting oneś own daily needs?

And for those who are materially better provided, can they truly find the right purpose that God has for them, and the apt platform to execute that obedience?

Each situation is unique, but I have come to know this truth.

That God is the same faithful God for all of us. And difficult as it may seem, the first and always step is, we must be determined to take time with Him and He will indeed provide.

Children of The Light#36 In awe (28 Nov 20176)

Dear…

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror  and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

     James 1:23

Just yesterday, I finally made a momentous decision. Decided to order online a few bottles of Thayers Witch Hazel cleansing toner. I guess my narcissism got the better of me.

These past few months, I have been struggling. Knowing the word and clear commands of our Lord, yet often succumbing to my carnality.

The opening introduction to the Book of James in my Holman Bible says

Faith understands temptations. It will not allow us to consent to our lust and slide into sin. Faith obeys the Word. It will not merely hear and not do.

In our Lordś prayer that Christ taught to all, one line that stands out for me this period is Lead us not to temptation.

It will be easy if God just take away from us all possibilities of temptation. But truth be it that while God can do that, He gives us a free will to exercise the right to submit to Him and flee from temptation.

but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;  and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

     1 James 1:14-15

I now put this verse in my smartphone, the modern day Tree of Knowledge. And like the proverbial fruit that Adam sinned in taking from this Tree, today, the internet is both a great source of knowledge as well as temptation.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

        Psalm 73:25

Desire. If my desire is for the world, then it is only natural to succumb to temptations that the devil lays in our path.

I realize the way to overcome temptation is to have only one desire, for the Lord our God. Then whatever the devil throws at us, will have no traction.

How can one not be in awe of the grace and omnipresence of our Lord.

Just last nite, my boy with his friends were stuck in the desolate forest of the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. Their car broke down.

Yet in half an hour, our Lord send an angel in the form of a passing couple who gave them a lift back to their hostel, 45 minutes away.

And this morning, what looks like a 6 hour journey back to Melbourne via public transport, as the car rental company was not very helpful, was no longer necessary.

They found the source of the problem for the car and now they can drive back safely.

Why thank God for something that could be pure luck?

The first instance for the couple to pass by late in the evening in an isolated place is no luck but by the grace of our ever present God.

And God always affirms. This morning as we were praying for what looks like a difficult situation yet I have never doubted that God is in control and has a greater purpose for allowing it.Someone who does not know about our present issues sent me an article extract below

Today is the day …

to commit problems to God.

God never intended for you to be controlled by the problems in your life.

That is why He took so much care to let you know that you can place your trust in Him.

He is the One who cares for you.

He does not promise that things will necessarily turn out as you expect them to.

But He does say with certainty that He will take care of you in every situation you encounter.

You will not have to face the problems of your life alone.

God will be there to see you through.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

           Psalm 28:7 NIV

Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.

     Proverbs 16:20 NIV

A few minutes later, my son text me to tell me that they have resolved the issue.

A computer chip attached to the car key was missing and that was the reason for the stalled car.

By His grace they just found the chip

In my weakness, I have often succumbed to my carnal desires, and sinned, much as I know the Word of God and I know God is watching. What a foolish and irresponsible behaviour on my part.

Yet God is forbearing. He knows my limits and imperfections, and He allows much as He corrects.

... let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

       Hebrews 12:1-2

May His grace allow me now to be resolute to be Holy, for He is Holy

To move forward resolutely, we must be very mindful that God is indeed omnipresent and one must hold Him in awe and not dare to muck around. For the fear of our God is the beginning of wisdom, and the love of God gives us every reason not to disappoint Him.

God Blesses

Eng Hieang

16 Nov 2016

Children of The Light#35 There is a God (8 Nov 2016)

Children of The Light#35  There is a God ( 8th Nov 2016 )

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.

    James 5:13

This morning I received a text msg from my property agent in Japan. She said that she will monitor the situation and let me know if there is a need for evacuation. An incomplete message can create fear and trepidation. But thanks to our Lord, extrapolated fears are a thing of the past for me, for I know that our good Lord is Sovereign over everything.

A quick check on the internet solved the mystery. It seems a huge sinkhole was created just in front of the main train station in Fukuoka City. A mere few streets away from where my apartment was.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/08/huge-sinkhole-japanese-city-fukuoka-railway-station

If it was like the unstoppable mudflow in Indonesia, then by the time you read this, my apartment should have been swallowed up by now. But by the grace of our dear Lord, it has not. And my initial assurance of His Sovereignty is now expanded to a thankful heart. Indeed God shelters me once again.

I guess the above verse James 5:13 is an ambivalent verse for me. Because I was on the edge of the precipice yet not there. A joyful prayerful praise that resonates from a grateful heart.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/2016-kumamoto-earthquake/

It was just 7 months back, in April this year when an unexpected and unprecedented double earthquake hit Kumamoto, the prefecture next to Fukuoka City, both being in Kyushu Island, Japan.

90% of the buildings in Kumamoto were damaged. Again save for a tilted window pane, my apartment was in good shape. God truly shelters His children.

The past one year of walking out of the prison of corporate life, and throwing away, albeit with much reluctance,  the golden handcuffs, has been a new and sometimes challenging journey. Being the imperfect human being, my soul sometimes seek affirmation from our Lord for this sacrificial obedience. Affirmation God gave me aplenty, but not the way our carnal man desires. The latter being wealth, status, pride.

You save the humble,

but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.

     2 Samuel 22:28

Humble I thought I was, but God knew in my subconscious, there was a further layer to be cleansed, and He did, and thankfully, struggle sometimes I do, but come what may, I clung on to Him.

Yet God knows our limits, even as He refines us. Today has been a wonderful day, with my apartment near but not in the sinkhole. And a surprise added bonus as this wonderful year comes to a close, from a dormant investment that I thought has already given me a fair return.

Richness of life God gives us in our journey of following Him. But He also provides riches of wealth when He knows we will not be corrupted by it.

Am I ready to be a recipient of the inevitable transfer of wealth in these End Times intensified?

I know not, but it is better to focus on Him, depend upon Him, and with His given wisdom, use the resources He has blessed us with today well His way.

The Lord Almighty is with us;

   the God of Jacob is our fortress.

     Psalm 46:7

God blesses

Eng Hieang

8 Nov 2016

Children of The Light#34 Time for eternity?? (4th Oct 2016)

Dear…

Let not your hearts be troubled

       John 14:1

God gives us time to prepare for eternity. Indeed our good Lord knows our every heartbeat.

Money now I have less, but time I have. I have been pondering, am I truly doing the right thing?

This morning our good Lord brought me back into perspective. He has given me time to be made ready and as He leads, to help others to be made ready for eternity with Him.

You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” ( Luke 12:40 )

Are most of us using the time HE has given us well? In the pursuit of material riches, do we not give a thought to what comes after when it is time to go home. To eternal damnation or eternity with our Lord?

When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them.

          Psalm 146:4

Dr Faustus might be a fictional character. But does the misguided doctor not epitomize many of us today. Implicitly, most of us have made a deal with the unseen devil. We strife for the material riches of the world, the status and power and concomitant pride. But not just at great cost to our health and relationships, with no consideration to the reality that we are but just one breath away.

Dr Faustus might not be keeping time. But the bad devil was and came calling for Dr Faustus soul when the agreed time was up.

My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

John 14:2

Is it true that when oneś soul departs from our shell, whether it is Christ or the denizens from Hades waiting for us would be a function of who we believe and how we live our life in the run up to this inevitable day of reckoning.

Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:

For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

Luke 16:27-28

Sometimes in my quiet moments, I do ponder upon what was the experiences of my departed friends. Did they go through the same scenario as painted in the story of Lazarus and the rich man?

Like all, we will  know the yonder when our soul departs. Yet, we can go with confidence that can be attained now by knowing Christ, our Saviour and Redeemer.

God Blesses

Eng Hieang

4th Oct 2016

An Afternote - The 3 Vs

Today sermon in my church from the guest speaker was very apt.

He talked about the 3 Vs

• Valuation
• Volition
• Vision

Valuation

There is a price for everything. Relentless pursuit of material success comes with a costs to health, family and peace of heart.

Is following the call of God something that one values, regardless of what one has to let go of?

Moses gave up a princely life because he has seen the invisible God. Moses valued the relationship with God more than what the world can offer.

Volition

Will we be consciously willing to move from knowing the call to actually taking action.

Moses did by voluntarily giving up his princely status in Egypt.

Are you willing to follow the call that God has impressed so strongly upon your heart. And live out the truth of what faith means. The certainty of things hoped for, yet the evidence unseen.

God desires our obedience, much as we rather He shows us the conclusion first before we move.

Vision

Following is never easy. It means a total surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Literally we are to spit out the sinful fruit of self understanding that the first man Adam ate in disobedience to our Lord.

Keep our eyes on Jesus Christ. Moses did that throughout his journey of faithful obedience, much as he had to deal with challenges both within and without.

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8

Children of The Light#33 Power of prayer ( 17th Sep 2016)

Children of The Light#33  Power of prayer  (Sunday 11th Sep 2016)

Dear…

For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 10:13

This evening I was watching the dubbed Mandarin version of Nicky Gumbelś Alpha course. The topic was on Godś healing. Nicky shared that God will heal us spiritually for eternal life. As to physical healing, sometimes He does, sometimes He does not.
But it should not stop us from praying.

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him….
2 Chronicles 16:9

Prayers might not be answered our way, but God will always answer prayers asked in His will, His way. But our hearts must remain fully committed to Him, much as we seem not to be getting the answers that we desire.

As I penned these thoughts, a news flash from ChannelNewsAsia just popped up in my handphone. There are now 8 pregnant women diagnosed with the Zika virus.
Will we be committed to pray, much as we might not get the desired result. And will we trust in Godś way?

Victory comes through faith in God and obedience to His Word

A book I read eons back on the trials of a Korean woman of faith in Japanese ruled and oppressed Korea pre World War 2 had this important truth. God might not always take us out of our circumstances but He will always prepare us for the refinerś fire, and He will be with us through it, and victory is assured, His way, not ours.

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God
Romans 10:17

Many times, it is in the desert of life that our parched soul will thirst for our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is also in the stillness of the arid desert that we seek and connect better with our omnipresent God.




For my heart is steadfast I will sing praise to the heavens
      Psalm 57:7

Time with God in His Word, time of communion in prayers with Him, a thankful heart much as we are encapsulated by an oppressive and burdensome cloud, this will to do what our Lord has taught us, this submission to His will. Then can we overcome.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Romans 12:1

Rise with the Oriole. These were the words of a resonant and thunderous voice that I heard as I felt myself lifted up from my sonś bed . Oriole is a bird of colorful plumage that I knew. But as I consulted the dictionary the next morning to be sure. Juxtaposed next to Oriole was this unfamiliar word Orison. To pray, and indeed since that eventful night, a night that I truly experienced the verse described in Ezekiel, the voice of our Lord like the roaring waves of the sea, Prayer ministry has been where our good Lord has placed me. Something that I had never envisaged being involved in that fateful night back in early 2000.

and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.
           Ezekiel 43:2

And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.
            Ezekiel 43:5

Why continue to pray even when we seem not to be getting the results that our finite self desire?
Most if not all of us when we pray, we tend to prescribe to God how things should be. Is that prayer or a shopping list for our Lord? We define to God our needs, when we should be willing to be refined by Him.

Prayer is an act of faith. It is also a living sacrifice to our omnipresent God. That we will trust and obey and that we believe that He is Sovereign, and His ways are always better than ours.
On bended knees, how well that symbolizes what prayer truly means, an act of submission to our Sovereign and Almighty God.


God Blesses

Eng Hieang
11 Sep 2016(Sunday)



An afterthought (Sep 12th Mon)

This morning, as I take time to read my Daily Bread. I was reminded that my reading on Sep 11th was on the topic of prayers. Interesting often God affirms by preparing us, but it only dawn upon us much later.

Be my strong refuge. To which I may resort continually. You have given the commandment to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress.
         Psalm 71:3

Indeed, we often pray to God for our desired conclusion. God wants us to seek Him in obedience. And in seeking Him in prayers, He comforts us, and sustain and strengthen us, much as He makes us wait for His saving grace, His way.
For in all circumstances, He is in control. And He is refining us.

…..This I know: God is for me. …..In Him I trust. I shall not be afraid..…..For God has delivered me. …...That I may walk before Him in the Light of Life.
      Psalm 56:9-13

Children of The Light#32 As you are (1 Sep 2016)

Dear...

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.

      Colossians 3:23

Humans are a strange lot. We have moments of happiness,and undue periods of unease and dissatisfaction.  Emperor Qin Shi Huang seek the elixir of life, us lesser mortals just want permanent joy and peace. And we misconstrued that to mean an ideal set of circumstances as determined by us will provide that result.

With the haze, the lingering sense of being oppressed is back, and while the air filters and aircondition do provide some relief, it is never complete. How one long for the clear blue skies of past yonder and the crisp clean air of New Zealand.

And with the news just in that Singapore has an ever ballooning cases of confirmed Zika infection, soon one has to decide between Zika or heatstroke, from oneś attire of choice.

https://youtu.be/Ey0PZRsyPg4

You raise me up - a song by Josh Groban, that always stir up that emotional reconnection in me with our Lord. What about a version in Japanese? Go to the above link and listen to it.

You might not understand the words, but Godś love transcends our understanding.

Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.

         Psalm 71:20

Is this true? It is for me, these past 55 years of my life.

Does this apply to all of us who believe and seek to follow our Lord or are there the few whose life seem to be on the continuum of downward spiral?

God never leave us to walk alone. Peace and joy is from the grace of God, given to a heart that seeks after Him and not the world.

Today, I felt a little unsettled. I am blessed with control over my time. But my spiigot of financial plenty has reduced significantly. I now give financially from a position of just enough rather than from plenty.

It is humbling, yet liberating. It is not what the world values, yet what God validates.

Many of us have enough of the burdensome and immoral behaviour of our worldly masters.

And the desire to break free from the golden handcuffs permeates across many of us.

But can we truly give up the riches of mammon that Satan promises Christ and all in return for our subservience?

Like the Jews of Christś time, we all know that God will provide. But just like the Jews of old, our perception of Godś salvation is couched in the benchmark of the finite and sinful world.

The Jews were disappointed and could not accept a lowly carpenter as their Saviour, much as Christ performed many miracles.

Today, many of us are unwilling to go where God is showing us, because it meant giving up the accoutrements that define our place in society and learning to depend upon the Lord our God.

And God does not give us His  blueprint for us in advance.

And success in ministry is very different from success as the world defines it.

Is always going to God and resting in Him and moving only when He moves us logical?

Has one become lazy and incapable? For the world values initiative, drive and strife.

If the Lord our God was just an inanimate idol carved from oneś imagination, then indeed this approach will end in grief for us.

But God is an omnipresent, divine and Sovereign God.

Everything at His timing and way. Like Peter who walked wonderfully on water. It is exhilarating if we learn to focus on Christ our Lord. It is downright daunting if we choose to look away.

God will work through us as we are. It is our heart that needs to be prepared, to only have a place for Him and Him alone.

God Blesses

Eng Hieang

1 Sep  2016

An afterhought

• Something I just received from brothers doing mission work in China. If we are not spiritually right with God, ministry will be a slog.  The need to stay close to our Lord is imperative for all who seek to be His vessel of grace, for we are in the forefront of the battlefield.
• And God work through us, not we work for Him.

Hence the need to focus on letting His Spirit transform us unto a holy and acceptable   

Vessel before He moves us  forth.

And indeed God affirms this truth, as He led me to the Book of Joshua which spoke to me these words

• Victory comes through faith in God and obedience to His Word, rather than through military might or numerical superiority.

What does this mean in practical terms?

• In the ways of carnal man, we seek to do by our own understanding
• In the ways of God, we seek Him first, in His Words and in Prayers. And move only when He shows us. And for me in this journey of following, time with Him, in His Words and Prayers underlines my every day that HE grants me.