Dear...
'Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says ; "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not
harden your hearts....'
Hebrews 3:7
Today during church service, as we sang the closing hymn "Here I am Lord," I
felt an emotion welled up inside me, to a slight tearing. On tearing, an
experience I shared previously, a dear friend wrote to me thanking me for
affirming what she herself felt enough times when in the presence of our Lord,
but had thought could be her own emotions.
As I pen this now, I am reminded that the Spirit of God residing in our hearts
will speak to us, and affirms that inner peace and joy and love that only God by His
grace can give us all, for God is love. And is this not the same sense of gratitude and
compassion and love that many of us experienced when we first believed, when His Spirit lifted the
blindness in our hearts to allow us to "see" and be willing to cross over into
His Kingdom. Did we not shed tears of thanksgiving then when we first believed?
'Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any
of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us
as well as to them, but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being
mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that
rest, as He has said: "So I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest."
Hebrews 4:1-3
Would it not be a rude shock for many who call themselves Christians, to be told that they could possibly be lumped in the same category as that of professed outright non believers, who will all be disbarred from entering the Kingdom of God?
God looks at our hearts, not on the outward. How can we be sure that our hearts are truly circumcised by the Spirit of God,
that we are on track in our walk with God? Can we continue to assume the obvious and remain oblivious to the very real possibility that calling oneself a Christian does not mean that one will enter the Kingdom of God?
In reality, many Christians know about God’s command, for to call oneself a Christian is to profess to be not just a believer but a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. Is it because the fear of God’s wrath from our continued disobedience is not taken seriously by many Christians?
'O Lord, truly I am Your servant. I am Your servant the son of Your
maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer you the sacrifice of
thanksgiving. And will call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the
Lord. Now in the presence of all His people....'
Psalm 116:16-18
Psalm 116 is the verse that was deeply impressed upon my heart this past one
week. Psalm 116:16 reminds us that God has indeed loosened the bondage of Adam's
sins that has encapsulated our very being till now. But like the prisoners whose
once locked prison doors were flung wide open by an earthquake(Acts 16:26), to free the Apostle
Paul, these same prisoners could not grasp the possibility that they were free to walk out of
their confines. Are there not many of us like them, who claim to be Christians, who had
that initial taste of the joy and peace, in the midst of the darkness in our
lives, but choose to continue to find safety not from God, but in the familiar fallen world, within the very cage that has
imprisoned our very being all our lives?
'What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me? I will take up
the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to
the Lord. Now in the presence of all His people.'
Psalm 116:12-14
How can we move out from this inept position to claim the blessings and live out the glory of God that is
given and commanded to all who believed? Gratitude with a responsive attitude of Godly servitude is a good start to us allowing the Holy Spirit of God residing in us to mold us into the qualities of the inhabitants of the Kingdom of God, as described and taught by our Lord Jesus Christ in the sermon on the Mount, “the Beatitudes” in Matthew 5:2-12, and further expanded upon in the Gospel of Luke.
‘I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for mine anger is turned away from him……Who is wise, and he shall understand these things?’
Hosea 14:4,9
A thankful heart is more than a balm that will soothe our fears. It will assure and ensure that we will look beyond our present circumstances and carnal needs, and will ourselves to look to God, and in doing so, He will give us the faith to live out the full measure of a blessed and joyful life that testifies to the grace of God, to be the salt of the Earth, the
platform upon which the light of God will shine forth.
Isaiah 6:8 ‘Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I, send me.’
God is indeed prescient. Isaiah 6:8 was the verse I happened to read as I pondered upon the thoughts that God has placed in my heart these past one week. This sharing has taken me longer than normal and as I waited upon the Lord, to be sure the message cobbled together is truly from Him. It is apt that this message to all of us who ‘dare’ brand ourselves Christians, to be very mindful of the calling to all Christians to follow Christ, for Christian are followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. should close with this verse Isaiah 6:8, upon which the song “Here I am” draws from. A covenant made with God must be honored or the consequences will be unbearable.
And for double affirmation, as I prepared to send this out now, I just received the latest newsletter from "The Helping Hand" a wonderful ministry to help recovering drug addicts and/ex prisoners. And in there, was a testimony by a reformed drug addict who testified of the saving grace of God in the till recently seemingly impenetrable darkness encapsulating his life.
He summed up in a few succinct sentences, what I took two pages worth over two weeks to put together, and this is what he shared :
He said "Faith in the Lord filled my heart with the greatest peace and joy. I began to understand that the most meaningful and joyful aspects of life can only be attained with absolute obedience to the Lord's will, desire to emulate Him and zeal to propagate His love for the world"
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(27th Sep 10)
The Spirit of the Samurai??
The present spat between the two East Asian giants, China and Japan looks like an unequal battle that will result in further humiliation of the very inept Japanese. It is not just the moribund economy of the last twenty years, but the repression of self will since the once aggressive and bold Japanese lost in World War 2.
Much as one would look upon the present bullying by the Chinese as payback time for the abuse of the much stronger Japanese back in the first half of the 20th century, just like the present addiction of the West to Chinese produced goods is a replay of the opium addiction of the Chinese back in the waning days of the Qing Dynasty, clearly we are in the midst of major geopolitical shifts, and much like the more active physical geography of the world, as manifested in earthquakes, we are in for more upheavals on the political and social levels, which will have as much if not greater impact on our sense of well being.
Today, the Iranians just called President Obama the great deceiver. But then name calling is a favorite predisposition of the Iranians who have termed the Americans the “Great white Satan” just like the ex President George Bush junior called Iran part of the Arc of evil.
Why digress into this? The reality is handovers or rather shifts in powers like the Teutonic plates will always have upheavals, and like the earthquakes, it will not be pretty. America not just prints monies, but it will benefit from a push up in agriculture prices as well as rammed up tensions in the Middle East since American weaponry is the top seller in these oil rich lands. Read the papers, we are already witnessing the beginnings of these trends.
The spirit of the sinful world are indeed stirring, leading to more angst and strife as nations and individuals compete for space and dominance. Would these spirits enter into your once cleansed temple and bring you into deeper bondage, because you allow it to by your indifference to the saving grace of God, Whom you once believe but never accepted nor followed?
‘I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore, and repent…..’
Revelation 3:18-22
And in closing, thought I will put in a picture of Harry the crab, to remind us of the fact that most of us are determined for the wrong things in life and only realized that if we had the chance to live life all over again, our focus could be different. And on that, if you care to read more, here is a fresh from the oven article a dear friend sent me on the wishes or rather regrets of the dying
Written by a palliative care worker
Five Regrets of the Dying
By Bronnie Ware Platinum Quality Author
For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives.
People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learned never to underestimate someone's capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.
When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:
1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people have had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.
It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.
2. I wish I didn't work so hard.
This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.
By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.
We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.
It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to themselves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.
When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.
Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.
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