Dear....
'And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.'
Romans 13:11
Blessed
Chinese New Year to all and sunder. This morning our good Lord gave me
two reminders that in this new season, there is no time to monkey
around.
In today's Daily
Bread reading, the author shared about her sin in being impatient with a
wayward motorist. God knew I did the same late last night.
Admonished I am but it is a reminder that He watches over us. And indeed the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
Just
moments later, surprise and sadness reverberated through my being when I
chanced upon the obituary of a friend whom I had just bumped into the
day that I had finally responded to His call to leave my last job 3
months back.
But
the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the
heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt
with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall
be burned up.
2 Peter 3:10
Time
is money. But utopia will be when one has a surfeit of both. But even
for the privileged few who seems to have both, alas life is finite. And
to compound it, money buys temporal happiness but not permanent peace
and joy. A chasm only God can fill.
'All the labor of man is for his mouth. And yet the soul is not satisfied.'
Ecclesiastes 6:7
Time that is a precious commodity I seem to have better control of, in this sabbatical.
Money,
or rather the active generation of the present means of purchasing
power, that is now put on hold. How much is financially suffice before
one is willing to allocate the perishable and precious commodity that we
call "time" away from creating financial wealth and instead put it to its intended use, to invest in the Kingdom of God?
Can a machine take over the need for human endeavor to create "purchasing power" as what "Bitcoin" could possibly lead to?
Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But
God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded
from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
Luke 12:18-20
As
I prepare to move out from the 3 months of waiting upon our Lord, a
time of refreshing, refinement and realignment, a crossroad I now find
myself in. What will be the correct of the two paths to take?
The Word is indeed the lamp of God and His Words to me were clear in all brevity
- step out of my last employ
- and start with Japan
And on the strength of His Words, I now know which path to take to fulfill His commands.
It's not about what we want to do or can do but what is the will of God.
But often one gets fearful of what lies ahead. "The Giants dwelling in the lands one is about to enter."
God is good. He brought me to this video lesson ( The Faith Factor ) from my spiritual mentors.
And the key truth is that one draw comfort and strength from not just the Word of God, but
- His character, His Sovereignty and His power.
All of which those who seek to follow Him have experienced so wonderfully in the past, as will be for the future.
So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said.
Acts 27:25
Thank You Lord.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
10 Feb 2016
An afternote
And indeed when we take the next step of faith God affirms. Yesterday, Feb 9 daily Bread reading brings us to John 4:31-38.
Our food is to do the will of God and to finish the work given to us.
And more reassuring, God reminded me that the harvest is ready, the sowing has been done by others. It is time for me to reap.
And
as I prepare to mail out these thoughts, God double affirms as He
always does when it is truly from Him. Archippus, a stranger till
recently but very much in my life these past few months. Today 10 Feb,
as I came to the closing verses of my morning reading, our Lord brought
me to this verse of exhortation for me and for you, the present day
Archippus.
'Tell Archippus; "See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord."
Colossians 4:17
