> Dear..
>
> ‘What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visiteth him?’
>
> Psalm 8:4
>
> God knows the very thoughts in our minds. And His Spirit resides in the hearts of believers. And it always amazes me how He often affirms the very thoughts that swirls in the inner sanctum of my being, that no one is privy to. And I am sure this wonderment one has with how God truly knows every strand of our thought processes and the personal interest He takes in affirming, teaching and correcting the meanderings of our hearts is a familiar experience for many of us.
>
> ‘Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly, or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work..’
>
> 2 Corinthians 9:7-8
>
> And what thoughts were my heart and mind enmeshed in?
>
> ‘He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack; but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.’
>
> Proverbs 28:27
>
> “Old Mother Hubbard” was one of the nursery rhymes from a hand-me down 1950s English textbook that was my first introduction to the wonderful world of the English prose. I still have vivid memories of the drawings that accompanied the various rhymes and I guess in the materially more deprived days of one’s childhood, such books were indeed treasures to be savored. And do take time to read the first stanza below :
>
> Old Mother Hubbard
> Went to the cupboard,
> To give the poor dog a bone:
> When she came there,
> The cupboard was bare,
> And so the poor dog had none.
>
> It seems this dear lady truly loves her dog. But there was nothing available in her bare cupboard to satisfy the hunger of her pet or more like friend. God is love, and His command to us all who love Him is to love the people He will place in our paths. And love is not just via words, but by deeds and our Lord Jesus Christ reminded the Apostle Peter thrice to “feed the sheep.”
>
> I know that our Lord has blessed me in many ways. And much as I have been increasingly desirous of following His will, I do often wrestle with the sense of inadequacy, be it in sufficiency of provisions, or more often than not, in the fear of running bare a well stocked larder. Of course, there is also the sinful wish to cumulate a greater surfeit much as the present is suffice for the current needs of self and others.
>
> ‘For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.’
>
> Ecclesiastes 7:20
>
> The corporate man tend to believe that “doing good” is a form of collecting credit points, that will enhance our standing with the Lord when judgment day comes. And maybe that can be used to offset any acts of disobedience on our part and still give us a net credit balance in the eyes of our Lord. Our relationship with God is not a transactional arrangement but rather a transformational journey with a graceful God. It is not about what we have done right in our own eyes or that of the world, but rather, have we walked right in total obedience to the will of the Lord our God? And that sums up the way we must look at our journey in this difficult world. Many of us strive and strife to stock up on the largess of the devil’s offerings, for what is truly a temporal time on Earth. And yet most of us pay short shrift to God’s call to be made ready for His return. And to be made ready is not just about allowing the Spirit of God to transform us,but to be used by Him to journey with lives Whom He is bringing about the increase.
>
> ‘Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before Him: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he feareth not before God.’
>
> Ecclesiastes 8:12-13
>
> And does obedience entail an emptying of a cupboard full of the delusions of the devil in exchange for a spirit filled closet? Does it mean that all of us must be in sack cloths and go on a diet of gruel, more watery than what Oliver Twist had survived on? Are our rewards only redeemable in Heaven and all of us who profess to live out our faith will go the way of the poor hungry dog in the 2nd stanza of this nursery rhyme? Or just maybe we might be fine like Old Mother Hubbard, but our sheep whom God placed in our care might lose that desire for our Lord, as their embers of faith is snuffed out by the siren call of the Egypt from which they had fled from and the ongoing harshness of the desert they have entered into?
>
> She went to the baker's
> To buy him some bread;
> When she came back
> The dog was dead!
>
> I know not what state we will be tomorrow, nor even the next moment but I know we will experience the enabling grace of God if we let Him, and the sanctifying joy and peace that His Spirit will imbue in us that will sustain us, the bread of life that God will feed us with.
>
> ‘’Behold these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency……Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I their end.
>
> Psalm 73:12-13, 17
>
> Indeed I do know and all who seek to walk after the Lord will attest to that reality that God has provided, and like Asaph, when we are willing to come unto His presence, it matters not anymore the station in our life, for His grace is indeed sufficient for the day. And do enjoy yet ponder upon this third stanza and the rest of this delightful rhyme (
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Mother_Hubbard)
>
> She went to the undertaker's
> To buy him a coffin;
> When she came back
> The dog was laughing.
"to live is Christ, to die is gain" It is not about what we have, nor what we can achieve, for the sinful man looks at his provisions, and pines for a conclusion his way. The obedient man looks only to our Faithful God, and walks every step God's way, with God given confidence and trust.
>
> God Blesses
>
> Eng Hieang
>
> (7th July 2011)
>
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