Dear...
'...from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, "You
shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away
your hearts after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love........and his
heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David'
1 Kings 11:2-4
"Dark clouds in the horizon," this is the recent message our present leaders in
government are bringing to the attention of the general population in Singapore.
And indeed, it is good that in the midst of plenty, that many be reminded that
good times do not last forever, and this is of particular importance given that
an inordinate portion of the population could be leveraging both their
lifestyles as well as asset investments, and not many will escape unscathed from
the double edged sword of leverage when it is thrust in their direction.
But is this message also for our leaders as well, a message that King Solomon the wisest man in the world chose to ignore at great costs to himself and Israel?
'Then Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab...And he
did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to
their gods.'
1 Kings 11:7-8
Prescient it might seem, or is it because some of our political leaders have had the
chance to read Reverend Francis Khoo's prophetic word for year 2011, which I
referenced to in my previous sharing(#47 Spiritual Compass)? In his sharing,
Reverend Khoo shared about a vision that God gave him showing dark ominous
clouds starting to gather in the month of May 2011, a prelude to a time of
correction for a nation that in the pursuit of prosperity, has moved away from
the source of their comfort and grace, our Almighty God and has neglected His
command to look after those with less.
'So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the
Lord God of Israel, Who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him
concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods, but he did not
keep what the Lord had commanded.'
1 Kings 11:9-10
"Repentance" is a word that is used often enough in the Bible, and in Christian
evangelism as we seek to encourage, but not impose upon non-believers on the need to turn to God and
receive His saving grace with a humble and contrite heart. But in the present
heat of political campaigning, the word "repentance" has been used to remind
voters in the most widely contested district that an incorrect choice of
candidates would possibly mean a lengthy 5 years for remorse and regret.
But again, would this word “repentance” not be an opportunity for our leaders now that they have the hindsight experience of witnessing the negative ramifications of decisions taken, be it our fixation upon scholastic ability as a narrow measure of a man’s worth, the opening of the floodgates to an immorally more liberal lifestyle just to make our nation attractive to the world, or the seedy side of the glamorous casinos, to revisit the same decisions and be bold enough to make the necessary corrections for the long term good of the nation? For history has shown that a nation with a weakened moral fiber and dysfunctional family structure will disintegrate.
Apolitical I must stay, and let me write within the confines of the thoughts that the Lord
has placed in my heart and what my and possibly your response should be as a
follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, much as we are all caught in the swirl of
political events enveloping our lives.
‘…God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.’
James 4:6
"Servant leader" was also another recently used word by our political leaders to describe
the humility that the governing must show in their relationship with the
governed. And is this a forewarning of creeping dangers of an ongoing transformation from the self sacrificing first generation leaders to the self interest that often permeates successive generations as seen in human societies, when the first generation builds, the second maintains, and the third destroys.
‘….the hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live…’
John 5:25
“Voice or more precise “an alternate voice.” That is the clarion call of the opposition members who urge us to vote them in, to ensure that they can be the check and balance to the ruling party, a “co-driver.” In all debate, efforts will be made to appeal to our understanding and/or emotions and to try to sway us in the direction intended. But are the promises realistic and achievable or are they just for the moment? Wise I might think I am, but reality is, I know not a man’s heart nor can I foretell tomorrow. Is it not more correct to take time to be still and listen to the “voice” of God and to respond in all obedience, for the Holy Spirit residing in our hearts is the compass that we must follow?
‘For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.’
James 4:15
My attention is piqued, what with politicians of all colors generously using ‘words’ that are usually confined to the Christian faith. What does it truly mean? Is the Spirit of God drawing our attention to the dangers that lie ahead if the blessed us continue to have our heads up in the clouds, pitch dark or azure blue, it matters not. We must turn back to God and take time to know His will.
‘The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Howl ye, Woe worth the day! For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen. And the sword shall come upon Egypt….They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down….’
Ezekiel 30:1-6
Much as this General Election seems to be about basic secular needs of cost of living for some, and for others further up Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it is about displeasure with policies being shoved down the general populace, there is an issue that is deeper that God wants us to pay attention to? We are looking at the temporal while God wants us to pay attention to the eternal, and in our being enamored with the temporal, we have allowed the forces of evil, an entry into our very being. We might be Solomon, but reality is, Sodom is at our gates. And it is not that Sodom has Gomorrah with he/she, but the barbarians pushing at the gates to our and our children’s hearts include the demons of pride, greed, selfishness, impatience, non-forgiveness, envy and all that will please the devil. In dealing with the storms of the secular world our finite way, we as a nation have allowed the spiritual forces of evil to gather and ‘cloud’ our view of the Lord our God.
'For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a
building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.'
2 Corinthians 5:1
Looking at the numbers attending the opposition rallies in the General Election in Singapore, it does seem that many including myself do take an active interest to hear out the opposition candidates vent out
some of our chief grouses on our behalf. Will it translate into actual votes for
the opposition? I am not too sure for Singaporeans are in general fairly
practical, they would like their friends to vote for the opposition on their
behalf, but they, for reasons of self interest, might quietly do the opposite. And things can be fluid in the run up to this Saturday what with Osama Bin Laden’s death being a good reminder to all that present disagreements become irrelevant when greater threats come to the fore.
'Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through
us, we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.....'
2 Corinthians 5:20
Truthful politicians are a rarity, for most go the way of the Dodo bird. But to be fair, needs are aplenty and can never be satisfied by men. Yet Christ is the spring of life that will satisfy our spiritual thirst. But more importantly, Christ must be the Rock upon which we must anchor our very being as the Mother Earth groans from the excessiveness of men and the Babylonian ship that our global economic relationships have rested upon starts to keel over.
‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you….’
James 4:7-8
It is not about who we should vote for, but rather, what is the will of God? And for us to exercise that act of obedience wherever God places us, for His plans are greater than our finite minds can fathom.
And to know the will of God, to vote the way He wills, we must take time to come to our Lord in prayers, to be still in His presence, much as many rather be engaged in the rough and tumble of the many ongoing election rallies or be involved in animated if not heated discussions hearing out their own wisdom.
God has a purpose for our nation. The right to vote is less about us affecting the destiny of our nation, but it is about our willingness to let God work His ways for us, to make right what we as a nation have done wrong and will we be willing to cast that vote of obedience in the way He will lead you to vote this Saturday?
‘Make hast to help me, O Lord!’
Psalm 70:1
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(3rd May 2011)
'They will throw their silver into the streets. And their gold will be like
refuse. Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day
of the wrath of the Lord......'
Ezekiel 7:19
And on dark clouds, as I pen this, the cloud is indeed looking pretty dark outside. And one that is forming has to do with our Big Brother the United States of America.
The "Great Satan" at least this is what the Iranians first coined the term to
describe their arch enemy, the United States of America in the throes of the
Iranian revolution nearly three decades back. It is still a term used today but interestingly, seems more
appropriate given the great irresponsibility of the USA in exporting their
troubles to the rest of the world through flooding the global economic system
with cheap greenbacks. Gold and silver and its proxy, the Australian dollar have
increasingly pick up their momentum of appreciation as many investors look to
reign in the erosion of their purchasing power with heightened inflation as
rising commodity prices reflect the cheapening US dollars, upon which global
trade is still primarily based upon.
Is "Noah's Ark' truly made of gold and silver papered over with Australian
dollar and Swiss Franc? And unlike Biblical times, there is no orderly movement
of sets of animals and a family of eight humans into the boat, but rather, it
seems to me that in the next couple of months to next few weeks, the world will
witness an unprecedented rush into this same boat as Uncle Sam open further the
tap of easy monies, no doubt prodded along by the need to reconstruct in the
broad swathes of tornado afflicted areas.
'Now He Who has prepared us for this very thing is God, Who also has given us
the Spirit as a guarantee.....'
2 Corinthians 5:5
Anyone who has ever carried more than two dozen one oz gold coins in their
pocket will agree that it can be quite a burden. And indeed none of us as death
nears, will be able to muster the strength to lug our worldly treasures to
wherever we think we could be going. Not a perfect analogy, but the point is in
the perfect storm that is coming our way, will the safe haven of precious
metals and currencies truly preserve one's wealth? And for that matter, can man with their finite wisdom be able to deal with challenges that are from the principalities? I doubt it, if the recent painful losses for those who bought silver these past one week is any indication.
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