Dear…
‘That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried away with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive..’
Ephesians 4:14
At dinner last night with a friend from Down Under, he passed me a copy of the Australian National Museum annual report, and in there, amongst their recent acquisitions was a painting from Persia depicting the scene of Noah’s Ark amidst the great flood.. The accompanying comment in the report was that it was a worthwhile acquisition as Noah’s Ark was depicted across the art of the major religions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. It is a fact that there are indeed overlaps in the characters of the Bible in the books of the other two faiths.
‘And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.’
Revelation 12:15
But let me restrict my meanderings to an area that I prayerfully might make less mistakes on in my understanding, where the world now increasingly finds itself in the same boat, literally. And this is the great flood of cheap monies that is fast building up and where less indebted countries that are on a firmer footing find themselves also under increased pressure to either release the monetary taps in their own backyards, so as to literally raise the floating platform that they are on, to be able to flow with the rising tide of fiat monies to be competitive export-wise or to put on more sandbags of capital controls to keep out the flood of cheap monies from damaging their economies.
In all floods, fast moving flotsams can do plenty of damage, and it is likely that the world is already witnessing the “flotsam of protectionism, xenophobia and social unrest” as competitive devaluation negates any hoped for benefits and yet, brings in its wake, the rising specter of inflation, and with it, the possibility of stronger economies finally pulling the plug in the bathtub, by raising interest rates to suck out the liquidity awash in their economies. If this happens, it would the very painful experiences of stagflation, per se that of the 1970s be resurrected and eventually do lasting damage to the psyche of the present generation?
What can and should we do in this rising tide?
'Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.'
Revelation 3:10
If the sports arena is where carnal men vent their primeval instincts in a civilized society, the global economy is where proxy wars are fought amongst nations for dominance and national interests, and much as the USA is the publicly maligned main culprit of this easy money policy, is it also the unseen force behind the fast rising prices of agriculture(the US being a major food exporter) as well as key beneficiary of arms sales ongoing in a simmering Middle East and an uneasy India/Pakistan standoff ? But the same could be said for any of the other major countries as each jostle for influence, no different from a tribe of gorillas, where the ordained leader weakens with age, and more youthful and energetic usurpers make their moves.
Imaginative minds one might have, but is this not the inherent sinful judgmental nature of men, often behind the innocuous posture of curiosity? The recent news that hog our papers on perceived sexual indiscretions in our schools has brought me many an inquiring question, for some do perceived incorrectly that I have an inside track. Truly, as Christians, we are reminded to put our carnality aside and put on the Spirit man. And in such situations, it is better to ask our Lord in our prayers, what He would want us to pray for the people involved, rather than speculate on the “what ifs” of the rumored indiscretions. A little digression in my thoughts here, but I thought it important to remind all to learn to rein in one's carnal desire to contribute to the flood of opinions that not only does no good to edifying a fellow brother, but brings oneself into an act of disobedience to our Father in Heaven, for an untamed tongue is dangerous for others and ourselves.
‘If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness.’
Isaiah 58:10
God commands us to seek Him with our all and to love our neighbors as ourselves. And God blessings will be upon those who seek to obey His command, for in giving, we do receive.
‘And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones, and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’
Isaiah 58:11
Flood of the physical nature is devastating. The Yellow River in China is not just the believed source of Chinese civilization, but a perpetual river of sorrow whenever its banks overflow. As a Christian, God wants to use us as the instrument upon which His love will flood through and so overwhelm a resistant yet thirsting world, that many will no longer see any reason for not acknowledging the grace of God.
Last night, the Lord placed this deep conviction in my heart. Which is, as professed followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must be willing and determined to live out our faith, the way God commands us to. And which is, to be a holy and living sacrifice for His glory. And what does that entail on a practical level?
- To always look at all issues from God’s perspective, that is, how would our Lord Jesus Christ look at it?
- And to deal with all issues the way Christ would.
‘But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea….and unto the uttermost part of the earth.’
- Acts 1:8
Men of faith can point us to God, but it is the Living Word of God as encapsulated in the Bible and the omnipresent Holy Spirit residing in our hearts that will be our guide and teacher. But we must be a willing and determined disciple always being engaged in a relationship with the Spirit of God residing in us. And as we take time in the presence of God, His Spirit will sanctify, assure and lift our very being, and gives us that indescribable joy and peace, a release from the delusory yet very real dam placed by Lucifer upon our being, that has long held us back from being the child of God that He wants us to be.
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(20th Oct 10)
‘And it shall come to pass that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die, but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried, they shall call on My name, and I will hear them, I will say, It is My people, and they shall say, The Lord is my God.’
Zechariah 13:8-9
It is not the flood that will destroy the world, but the fire that will. Would it not be better now to go through the fire of refinement under God’s loving hands, and be there with Christ when he returns, than to be left behind and be destroyed by the eventual fire of His wrath upon sinful men?
'..their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet. Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets. And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths. It shall come to pass in that day That a great panic from the Lord will be among them..'
Zechariah 14:12
As I reflect upon this verse, which seems to cannily reflect the eye witness accounts of the aftermath of the Nagasaki atomic bomb in the closing days of World War 2. I was in Nagasaki early this year. A beautiful place, now rebuilt from the horrors of the atomic bomb. Yet it need not have to go through this if only the Japanese leadership of pre World War 2 would pay heed to the warnings that God sent to them, through a faithful Korean lady, on the fire that will destroy them if they persist in their evil ways. Is the present world making the same mistake?
The difference is that flood waters might recede, but for sinful men, the fire will burn in eternal damnation
'But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.'
Revelation 21;8
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