…...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)
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