Dear…
‘Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land;…the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.’
Numbers 14:9
“Insouciance” and “catharsis” were two words that the Lord impressed deeply upon my heart this morning. One general comment from many of you my dear long suffering friends in this weekly journey of words is the urge to look for a dictionary by virtue of my often adding more than a dash of rarely used words in our daily lingua franca. God directs, one follows but let me ameliorate any angst by providing prayerfully the clarification but more importantly the Lord’s intent.
‘I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.’
1 Timothy 2:8
Just last Friday, at the mini art auction cum fellowship that I was blessed to participate in, in half jest and true seriousness, I reminded my Pastor friend sitting next to me in the midst of the auction proceedings, not to lead me in raising my hands to praise the Lord, as Pastors and faithful men of God are predispose to. For I could end up depriving some other kind soul from contributing to charity should I win the bid for the lovely pieces of art on sale, and worse, large paintings are near impossible to smuggle home without the wife noticing.
‘And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.’
Numbers 9:17
“Insouciance” is a French originate word that describes a carefree attitude to lack of concern. This word is not unfamiliar to me, but has long been left in the dark recesses of my repertoire of words till I spotted it in an article in the Financial Times. It was a word used by the writer to describe the irresponsibility of many in the European Union who continues to dither like Nero on the fiddle, while Athens burn(though for Nero it was Rome). And on that, interestingly, Rome is starting to burn as bond vigilantes next target Italy even as I pen this sharing.
‘We remember the fish; which we did eat in Egypt freely, the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions and the garlic:..’
Numbers 11:5
“Catharsis” is a word with a longer history, from the times of the ancient Greeks. It refers to an emotional release that leads to an extreme change in behavior. A cleansing, a purification that modern psychologist think is necessary to release the demon in us. In present modern speak of our children, it is “ranting” or “emo”
‘And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt,…’
Numbers 9:1
It has been 8 years since our Lord lead me into this ministry of sharing the thoughts He placed in my heart. I thank many of you for staying the course with me, and also for the words of encouragement but more importantly, the testimony that God has used such thoughts shared to affirm, teach or even correct issues that He had placed you through. For we sow, but it is God Who brings about the increase.
In giving we receive, and in writing as the Lord leads, I have personally benefited from the many lessons He has allowed me to live through, so the thoughts penned are truly of deep conviction by the Holy Spirit and written with empathy. And in expressing “out loud” to the Lord, the swirling and sometimes perplexing thoughts in my head, the Lord has given me my own “cathartic” experiences, that has allowed me to persevere and stay focused upon Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.
‘If the Lord delight in us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us, their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.’
Numbers 14:8-9
“On the cusp” was the title that popped up in my heart last Saturday and interestingly, the reading the next day in the Daily Bread(Sunday July 10th) shared about “the Israelites being on the cusp of the ultimate blessing that God promised to them.”
“On the brink” was the competing title that also cried out for my attention that same Saturday, and on the brink of turning away from the Lord, is what many of us who call ourselves believers, often find ourselves in when weighed down by both the challenges of life or the distractions of the world. For myself, thanks to the divine intervention of the Lord that wonderful night in Bangkok, there has always been that keen awareness of the need to submit to God, much as I must confess that many a times in serving the Lord or even in my own personal walk, the temptation to just disobey the Lord and to succumb to one’s sinful understanding is never a distant stranger.
‘But all the congregation bade stone them with stones..’
Numbers 14:10
Serving the Lord is often a seeming thankless task, for we often pay from our pockets, are asked to pray as our only form of defense and offense, and we are urged to forge ahead where Christ our Chief Shepherd leads us, much as the sheep might not follow.
And what about self? God will transform us, but going through the fire of refinement is painful notwithstanding it is gainful.
‘Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land;…the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.’
Numbers 14:9
“Entering the Promise Land” was the thought that God placed in my heart in the rudimentary stages of this sharing. Lately, He has brought dear friends who first journeyed with me in the early days of my returning to the faith(back in 1998) back into my life, after a long absence of quite a few years. And He has also brought an individual who clearly was using our faith to mislead and cheat into my path as well. Interestingly, this person epitomized the devil in the sense that just like the devil when he attempted to tempt our Lord Jesus Christ in the desert, this person knew the word of God inside out and could use it to mislead with the apt choice of words and emphasis. But thanks to God, our good Lord used this experience back in year 2001 to jolt me from living our faith based on my own understanding to a determined effort to feed on the Word of God. And in feeding upon the word of God these past decade, He has helped me to grow in Christian maturity.
God indeed often affirms in “threes” in my experience with Him, and in my 13 years since returning to my church, I was invited for the first time to share a short testimony to a baptism class on serving the Lord. And it was like a homecoming for just being in the same room where I had my baptism class back in 1998 and watching the participants lead worship brought back memories of the beginnings of my tentative response to the call of our Lord to return to the fold. And it was especially meaningful to know that a dear friend who has recently come to the faith was in that same group leading worship.
Why is our good Lord showing me a literal “reel” of my life as a believer since He brought me back to the faith 13 years back? And more importantly, the significance of bringing people who mattered in my faith back into my life now that most of us have matured in our faith from part-time believer to desirous follower of our Lord Jesus Christ?
‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’
Romans 12:1-2
Many of us who were blessed to have the veil lifted in our eyes, have unfortunately returned back to the bondages of the Egypt of our lives that God has taken us out of. Yet there are also many of us who are keenly aware of the call of God to follow His leading, who are still struggling in the desert of our own doubts and fears. Would we want to be like the disobedient Israelites of Moses’ time who had to go through another forty years in the desert, before their innocent children could enter the Promise Land?
The present troubles in Europe and USA will not go away. No doubt it can be deferred a little longer but like a bulging water filled balloon, it will burst. Will this literal “catharsis” be the needed release from our present troubles in the global economic system or more likely the prelude to the heralding of the rise of a new economic system that will be presided by the anti-Christ countries of China, and Russia?
God will shelter us till Christ returns. He wants to bring us into the Promise Land, where He will lead us in conquering the “giants” inhabiting our very psyche that has kept us from living a life of joy and peace that He has offered to all who seek Him. The day is near where continued insouciance on our part does not mean one can be indifferent to the upheavals that will surely envelope the world. The choice to be not just a believer but a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ in Spirit and Truth is to be made now.
Rgds and God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(14th July 2011)
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