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

Children of The Light#45 The swell in my heart (8 Sep 2017)

Dear…

‘....but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.’

Romans 4:20

The great wave off Kanagawa(present day Yokohama), an iconic Japanese woodblock print by famous Ukiyoe( world of floating art) artist, Hokusai, is one of the most recognizable images of Japanese art.

(http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/images/h5/h5_JP1847.jpg )

Not a tsunami, but the painting depicts a large rogue wave that swells up in a curl.

‘.....because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.’

Romans 5:5

Like me, there are moments in your life, as you take time in the presence of the Lord our God that you would have experienced this outward flow of emotions that seems to emanate from within your very being. A welling of the heart, that evokes a sense of gratefulness and joyful thankfulness, not explainable by our mind, but a communion of our spirit with the Spirit God.

At this moment, we feel His encapsulating love. 环绕.

How does one come to such a close and intimate communion with God our Abba Father? Our omnipresent God.

‘And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.’

Jeremiah 29:13

Of mortals and immortals, this was the the title of a television drama of pugilists with supernatural powers.

Mortality or rather mortal death, is a thought our good Lord impressed upon my heart these few early mornings, as He awakens me.

The Psalmist in Psalm 119:109 says

‘My life is continually in my hand. Yet I do not forget Your law.’

It is true. Most of us live our life as if we are in control of the herewith and the thereafter. Striving for a great future, in strife to defend our turf, and striving in the ways of the world. Yet in truth, we are but a breath away from mortal death, and when will that happen?  Only God knows.

But if we work on our salvation, we can determine where and who in eternity we will be spending our time with.

The Word of God is indeed a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, the path that we must take to be prepared in Christlikeness, to be made ready for eternity in Heaven with God.

DL Moody, the famous late preacher of the early 20th Century, reminded his audience in one of his sermons, “to seek God while He can be found.”

Do take time to reflect upon the following gems of truth from him

- And he said, “every time the clock ticks, a soul passes away.”

- “But, thanks be to God, Christ can be found now. I firmly believe every reader can find Christ now, if you will seek for Him with all your heart. He says, "Call upon me."

- I cannot find any place in the Bible where it says you may call tomorrow.

"Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation."

当大海翻腾破浪汹涌.

Coming back to “surging waves.” Sadly most of us tend not to experience the encapsulating joy of the Spirit of God upon our very being.

But rather, the waves of anxiety from the inevitable storms in our lives. It is often in such dire straits, that in the midst of our flailing anxieties which find no solid base to anchor upon, some might consider seeking God.

It might be too late for some, as the removal of the barnacle encrusted hearts that holds them back from letting go and letting God, demands time, time that might no longer be available.

God Blesses

Eng Hieang

8 Sep 2017

An afterthought - Of bucket shop and bucket list

Bucket shops, the term for setups with intent to fleece the greedy and gullible of their savings. In that context, Satan must be the biggest bucket shop operator, with his offerings of the riches of the temporal world.

Bucket list. A to do list before one departs this world. Not sure if it is because my age meant that the people I meet are older and nearer their expiry date. Bucket list only makes sense if there is no eternal life to prepare for.

If the dead do not rise, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die

1 Corinthians 15:32

But truth is

...Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ( 1 Corinthians 15:20 )