Children of The Light#50 Rootlessness无根 Restlessness不安(25th December 2017)

 Dear….

…...and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us…..

             Acts 17:26-27

Who are we? Where did we come from and where will we be upon death?

Questions of life that does pop up as an infrequent guests, in our journey of life, and  often left on the back burner as the exigencies of our daily living takes precedence.

There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.

       ( quote attributed to French Mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal)

Quite a surprise to me to chance upon this quote attributed to Pascal. A man or at least his Pascal Theory that I had a brief dalliance with in my secondary school days in Physics.

Pascal died at an early age, but turned to God when he had a near escape from death.

He moved from disbeliever to believer and prayerfully, the wager that he created was a winning one for him.

Blaise Pascal is perhaps most famous for his Wager ('Pascal's Wager'),

"If Jesus does not exist, the non Christian loses little by believing in him and gains little by not believing. If Jesus does exist, the non Christian gains eternal life by believing and loses an infinite good by not believing.”

Only in knowing God and following our Lord Jesus Christ can we have the peace and joy that eludes all?

…...we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding….

Colossians 1:9

These past few days, I have been doing a bit of research on Xiamen, China.

It is a desire planted in my being this past year to make a trip to the hometown of my mother, whose entire family uprooted from a turbulent warlord China in the 1930s and made landfall in Singapore.

I am seeking my roots?

This morning, I chanced upon an article on The Jangmadang Generation in North Korea.

This refers collectively to the generation of North Koreans( now in their late 20s and 30s) who grew up in the devastating famine in the 1990s. Children who were often left to fend for themselves and survived through their entrepreneurial skills in the private markets ( Jangmadang )that popped up to fill the gaping hole that the State once provided.

The hope is that this Jangmadang Generation who were forced by dire circumstances to become individualistic and materialistic, and and owes no obligation to the obtrusive nanny North Korean government will grow into a force for change from within.

The deep barnacles of the overreaching Kim Dynasty, who have through delusion and coercion, might prayerfully be eventually breached.

New roots will spring forth, just like what the world witnessed when the oppressive Iron Curtain of the USSR was torn asunder.

But without God, the joy of being freed from the overbearing religion of godlessness( aka Communism) is temporal. A new restlessness seeps in as many realize that the long longed for religion of materialism( aka capitalism) leaves them equally rootless and wanting. The void in oneś heart remains unfilled.

Witness the growth in spirituality in China today.

We have relatives in Xiamen. There were a couple of visits from them back in the 1980s when the opening up of China also led to the limited freedom for Chinese to travel out.

With the passing of my parents generation, that tenuous link is no longer in existence.

We do have some properties there, from my maternal grandparents time, but no idea as to where and who owns it now.

What will drive my desire to seek out my past? Relationships, history or potential wealth?

Will the past help me to understand my present, and better prepare one for the future?

Bitcoin. Virtual reality, Avatars, Artificial Intelligence …...

Technology has empowered yet enslaved many of us. In the deep, broad yet not fully fathomable reaches of the world wide net, relationships are broad but fleeting.

Dehumanized, many just like Adam and Eve, are enamoured with the Tree of Knowledge and are ensnared from their daily feeding of the fruit ( APPLE or the multi hued fruit cocktail colors of GOOGLE).  A fertile imagination here, but what truly grips your heart?

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel - which means, God with us.

( Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23)

Christmas celebrates the fulfilment of the promise of God and His gift for us.

Earthly presents are temporal. The gift of salvation from God is permanent but it must be accepted.

May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him.

Romans 15:13

God Blesses (Eng Hieang 25th Dec 2017)

Children of The Light#49 Wandering(流浪), wondering(不安) (4th Dec 2017)

Dear…

As I prepare to leave for Japan tonight(28th Nov 2017), a rare situation where I am travelling with my son, without the ladies of the family.  I am already starting to miss my wife.

Lord, what is your purpose for me for this trip in Japan? Till now, He has not shown me, but I am assured, that when we seek God our Father, He knows our heart and at His timing, He will give us the spirit of discernment and the joy of obeying His leading.

Future blessings is contingent upon present obedience.(from the foreword to the Book of Zechariah, New King James Version).

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we keep His commands and do what pleases Him.

John 3:21-22

Indeed God answered my prayers on China wonderfully. A prayer that asked Him His purpose for bringing me back to China in early November, after an absence of two exact years.

God has not just reconnected me with my dear Chinese Christians friends, but is deepening our journey together. And the two years of absence, He was preparing the next phase, which is now in His perfect timing, ready.

My Shanghai trip was one of affirmation, as our good Lord provided a series of coincidences, where one cannot but truly acknowledge in wonder, His hands at work. The past 6 months of formal Mandarin lessons which He provided, much as till recently I have no inkling that I will be back in China after an exact 2 years hiatus. Even the equipment in the gym at the China hotel that I stayed in was the exact type in the gym in my residence back in Singapore.

Was going to Japan shortly after my trip to China an affirmation of the hands of our good Lord at work as He now brings my involvement to the next level?   As a bridge for the Christians of both great nations, where repentance on the part of the Japanese and forgiveness on the part of the Chinese, is a necessary prerequisite for the fulfilment of the Great Commission to the once unreached lands of Central Asia and Africa, now made possible by the One Belt, One Road infrastructure initiative.

Christianity spread through the great roads of the Roman Empire. Ditto now with the rise of the Chinese Empire.

He Who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man…...the Lord Almighty  is His name.

Amos 4:13

This trip in Japan has been wonderful. An opportunity to know the geography of the country better, to appreciate the beauty of her environs, yet experience first hand the harshness of the forces of nature.

It was a time to deepen an already close relationship with my son, even as he transits to adulthood. As our role changes, from my being his protector and provider, to now he being my protector, and me for now the provider.

Yet, one thing has not and will never changed. God remains our Father, our Provider and our Protector.

A near accident on the road with a kamikaze local driver hell bent on driving into our path, as well as a separate incident when an unexpected very strong gust of wind blew my car door hard into that of an adjoining parked car, both with the natives of the land, by the grace of God did not end in sorrows for anyone. God by His grace altered the intended script of the devil.

Prayerfully in both situations, we had not dishonored God in our responses to our fellow human beings.

…..See the Lord and live, do not seek Bethel…

Amos 5:4-5

The thought that troubled me a little during this trip to Japan is will an earthquake hit?

Clearly the rumblings in the Kanto region are growing, and Mt Fuji long dormant since the last major eruption in early 1700s is awakening. This trip I had the opportunity to drive round the surrounds of Tokyo. Lovely mountainous areas and coastal routes, all within 2 hours of Tokyo.

Will all these be turned to ash covered waste? Will the world witness a massive migration within the land of Japan from the congested middle Kanto region down South to Kyushu Island, a place God has placed me and many Christians into, to prepare the ground for this relocation?

A shift not just in the physical, but in the spiritual. Where the Christian population of Japan will rise from the official low one percent plus to ten percent as some of us are inclined to believe our Lord will bring about.

But this shaking is not just unique to Japan. It will and is already happening to all of us on Earth.

It is getting late but not too late to turn from our Bethel, and turn to our omnipresent God.

And like all who do so, God will no longer be a figment of imagination, nor a silent God nor is He a stranger or an inept Divine being.

This Japan trip was a deepening of a bond I have with my son developed through the years. Possible because God provided me with the time and the desire to replicate His relationship with me as I with my Heavenly Father.

A life where you seek to respond to Godś desire for you to be in His presence. What a wonderful journey it will be. And like many who have gone down that road, you will attest to this biblical truth

...but let him who boasts boast about this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, Who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:24

It is time to stop wandering every which way except unto the presence of our omnipresent God.

And indeed it is time to stop wondering where God is, but instead start to experience the wonderful ways He has laid out the path of life for each of us who seeks Him.

God has a journey for you to embark on. Do take time to enter His rest, with an open heart.

He will lead you on.

God Blesses

Eng Hieang

4th Dec 2017

Children of The Light#48 Land’s End ( 7 Nov 2017)

Dear…

This morning, what my Pastor shared resonates with me.

He said “it is the journey that matters rather than the destination.”

Running parallel, is this thought that the Bible tells us, “God looks for our obedience, man looks for the conclusion.”

Clearly what drives many of us is quite different from what our Lord wants us to focus on.

As I prepare to travel a little more this month, first to China this week, a place that our good Lord took me out from these past two years, after literally being thrown into the deep end the three years before.

Has the two years hiatus done any good to my Mandarin proficiency? I believe so and I believe God is bringing me back to my second ministry country because it is time.

Then on to Japan in late November. A place I have redirected my energies these past two years, after leaving it two years prior, when my time was more spent in China.

This step in step out, truly it awes me as to the orchestration of our Lord’s precise hands.

But one must be willing to be led along, as He creates the circumstances and as His Spirit prompts us.

“God’s timing is rarely our own, but it is always worth waiting for.’

(Daily Bread Monday Nov 6, 2017)

King Solomon prayed for wisdom. It pleases God and it was granted him. Unfortunately, that wisdom from God was eventually superseded by man’s wisdom, and King Solomon sinned.

In taking foreign wives, he thought that was the way to bring peace to Israel, and he ended up corrupting himself and Israel.

“Help me to live a life that pleases You Lord.”

Like many, I too come to our Lord every early dawn, with my needs. God hears us and will answer at His timing and His way.

But more importantly, I want to hear God and live my life according to His will. And that is the prayer I asked of Him, every new morning. To live a life that indeed pleases Him.

One concern that I used to have, and it does surfaces often enough though it no longer grips me is the fear of flying. Being up on the air, defying gravity somehow makes me more worried about my personal safety. It is natural then that like most, I will pray for a safe flight for me and my loved ones.

But life is finite till Christ returns. One is but a short breath away. It’s just a question of how that final breath is snuffed out.

What truly matters then is

• Has one lived one’s life in this temporal world God’s way?  For to do so would mean we will know Him and has and continue to experience a life of joy and peace as He wants us to.
• Have we pointed others to Him not just by mere words, but by the way we lived our life?  For all who profess to be a follower of Christ has this privilege to be used for His glory
• What will God say to us on Judgement Day?

Land’s End(in Cornwall)  is the most westerly point of England. Beyond it is the watery graves of the Atlantic ocean. Not exactly a pleasing sight for landlubbers like me.

As I reflect on friends who have since reached their Land’s End, especially pertinent this All Saints’ Day, as we remember those who we believe have reached Heaven’s Gates, and those who might have not (All Souls’ Day)

The one and only true destination of our finite life is when we all meet our Lord and knows that He has a place for us.

And all the seemingly important worldly milestones in our finite life, that many pursue at much grief and costs, will mean nothing when the gates of Heaven or Hell beckons.

And the fact is, one need not wait till our final breath to meet our Lord. For throughout the journey of life, you will always meet our Lord, if only we just be willing to seek Him.

(主和你共同度此生）

But I will sacrifice to You. With the voice of thanksgiving: I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.

Jonah 2:9

God’s Blessings

Eng Hieang

7th Nov 2017

Children of The Light#47 Is God a delusion? (21 Oct 2017)

Dear…

‘I cry out to God Most High, to God Who fulfills His purpose for me.’

          Psalm 57:2

As a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, it does not mean that we will always be on cloud nine, where nothing seems to daunt us, and in fact, life is a breeze.

Reality is there are enough occasions where a reversion to our old worldly self seems quite compelling, no different from the complaining Jews, who lamented that Egypt with all her bondages seem to be a better option, than the desert that Moses has brought them to.

‘Now I commit you to God and to the Word of His grace, which can build you up.’

Acts 20:32

Is God a delusion? Even if He is not, is being of the world better than to be not of this world?

By His grace, I am at this point of my faith where my heart does not allow such thoughts to sink its roots in.

Can one be truly contented and thankful for the richness of life God has blessed the faithful, then to look longingly at the illuminating lights of the riches of the world?

‘Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.’

Ezekiel 36:25

This verse speaks to me of the time that the Spirit of God fell upon me, when I wept so loud in the still quiet Bangkok nite of my hotel room in Grand Hyatt Erawan back in year 2001. It was a sense of cleansing of my inner man by our Lord.

‘..because God ….chose you for salvation through the sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.’

2 Thessalonians 2:13

His Spirit fell upon me a second time, and wept again I did. But there was this indescribable joy and peace.  The encapsulating love of God. At that moment, I truly know God, for my spirit man was in communion with my Father in Heaven.

‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.’

Ezekiel 36:26

And indeed a new heart He gave me for I was never the same ever again.

I was not just determined to move from believer to follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, but God gave me that something extra, that somehow never existed in me. Falter I still do, struggle I often wrestle with, yet though it all, thanks be to God, what has never left me is that

determination to seek Him and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit now residing in me.

‘........his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.’

Psalm 112:7

An afterthought : The long wait

‘How long, Lord must I call for help?’

Habakkuk 1:2

I rarely read books other than the Bible. Very unlike my younger days when I was a vociferous reader of books, with Enid Blyton being my favorite author.

Past few days, I finally picked up a book a dear brother gave me. The testimony of an old couple from my church who served in a remote part of East Asia. The grace of God upon their lives as they seek to answer His call, the prescience of His ways, is this not my own constant experiences and the testimonies of countless other man and woman of faith?

Yet, there are many Christians out there who remain as indifferent believers, caught up with the world.  Mao Tse Tung and his rag tag Red Army did the Long March, hotly pursuit by the then ruling Kuomintang. Mao had one purpose for him and his men, to escape the encirclement of their enemies.

When would you break free of the entrapment of the devil upon your heart?

Is God speaking to you right this moment? If so, wait no longer, but take time to draw near to Him. And He will draw near to you. And your life will never be the same again.

Not just because you will give up the wants of your once material world, but what awaits you is a life walking in tandem with our Father in Heaven, as He leads you on a journey of discovery of His love and Sovereignty.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you

Seek Him while He can be found.

Children of The Light#46 Coming off the perch(23rd Sep 2017)

Dear…..

“Freedom in Christ means freedom to produce the fruits of righteousness through a Spirit-led lifestyle.” ( from Holy Bible NKJ version, opening remarks in the Book of Galatians)

How wonderful the life of a follower of Christ, to be used by Him in the ripening field of great harvest before the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But to be able to partake in this blessed endeavour, we must first be prepared to come off the perch.

Many of us are stuck up in the ivory tower of our own desires, and much as we often bemoan our situation, most are afraid or unwilling to come down to terra firma, and be grounded upon the Lord our God.

For to do so would mean

• Giving up what we hold dear as necessary for our present station in life, be it income, status or pride.
• Resting less on the paucity of our diminishing provisions and trusting in God our Provider
• Being sure about the direction God has shown us, yet having no clarity as how to execute it and with no assurance of success as we see it.

But when it pleased God,.........to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood…’

Galatians 1:15-16

The reticence in most of us is understandably justifiable, when we look at a situation based on our own finite understanding. Following God is about total dependency on Him.

When God moves us out of the prison of our fears, He will put us through a necessary period of resting and abiding in Him. To cleanse us, to strip us of whatever accoutrements of the world that till now define us the carnal man, and make us ready as the spirit man of God, to be a willing and submissive lamp upon which His light will shine forth.

Our Lord Jesus Christ went through a 40 days fast in the desert before He started His Galilean ministry.

Apostle Paul after his defining moment on the road to Damascus, did not go immediately from persecuting Christians to preaching the gospel in Damascus. He entered a period of rest in our Lord for 3 years in Arabia.

Moses spent years as a shepherd in Midian before he was called to service. His ministry to bring the Israelites out of Egypt started from a position of lowliness, as a shepherd, instead of the Prince of Egypt that he once was.

Yet God was training him, for Moses was to shepherd the flock in Egypt.

Are you at this point in your life, where either the void in your heart seems unfillable by the things of the world, or even better, there is this stirring in you to want to seek a deeper relationship with our Lord?

Do continue to seek the Lord our God in His Words, in prayers, in praise, and in fellowship with fellow Christians, and if God so lead, in His works.

The day is coming when God will move you out of your perch.

Do not let the fear that there seems no clear road to fufilling His call to you stop you from letting God push you out in your step of faith?

‘For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.’

Ephesians 2:10

An afterthought - Affirmation

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything, But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

Luke 5:5

How wonderful our life would be if we could just be like Simon who trusted and obeyed Christ, much as his human understanding point otherwise. And in responding in faith, He experienced the Sovereignty of God, and his life was transformed.

Truth is most if not all of us will rather be like Jonah, who will not just ignore but flee from the command of God. It took a fish, or rather time in the belly of a big fish for Jonah to learn to submit to our Lord.

One wonderful and edifying part of my life since I moved from believer to determined follower of our Lord Jesus Christ was to be able to both testify as well as listen to the testimonials of fellow followers of Christ,  of how God has strengthened our faith and transformed our lives through the prescience of His ways.

How so many of us tend to ignore the word or thought that God places in our hearts, yet He never gave up on us. And through a series of “coincidences,” He leaves us no room but to acknowledge that He is in control and that His will we must submit to, not because of fear, but because of His love for us.

Is God affirming through people, events, words, thoughts, or visions a tapestry in your life this very moment, His call to you?

Do not resist, but surrender your will to His. And experience the transforming love and glory of our omnipresence Father.

Do enjoy the sabbatical between the time you step out in faith and the time you step into your new season in faith.

God Blesses

Eng Hieang

23 Sep 2017