Dear ...
I was a little hesitant about penning this, for to flood you with three sharing from last Sunday to this Sunday might be a little too overwhelming. But as the Spirit leads, I will.
Full of vigor you might think I have, but truth is further from reality. Drained physically is my present state. This sense of being totally washed out seemed to creep upon me as I finish my regular workout at the gym this Friday evening and raring fit I might not be, but I am no frail flower either and this inexplicable physical lethargy was a new and unique experience for me.
It was in this state of stupor that I immersed my very being in the nightly half hourly video lesson in the biblical course 'Heart of the Shepherd.' The lesson shared was on "The high ground of love,' and I must confess that while my spirit is willing, the flesh is weak and I find myself often transcending into the realm of blissful sleep. But thanks to our Lord. His Spirit cut through the miasma encapsulating my very being and left a thought though not searing, but suffice to re-energize me.
God is love. All of us are quite familiar with this fact. And for most, our understanding of the expression of love is one of unqualified kindness, gentleness and unselfish sacrifice. Such perceptions of what love means is indeed closely aligned with what Christ has taught and lived by example. And clearly quite different from the carnal world's misinterpretation of lusts for love.
'...to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God.'
Ephesians 3:19
The finite man shows love by a series of actions. God pours out His love upon us to the point of overflow.
The love of God is expressed through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our very being. The sanctification that not just awash our all, but followed by this indescribable joy and peace that uplifts the spirit man in us, to a level of intimate communion with God our Father.
Is this what Heaven will be like? God by His grace gave me a foretaste of His empowering love that unforgettable night in Bangkok a decade back. And that infilling of His Holy Spirit upon me that brief few minutes was the defining moment in my till then tentative faith. I am what I am today because my very soul wants to respond to this great outpouring of His love upon me.
'The spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners...'
Isaiah 61:1
God knew that the deeply insecure me needed that final push across the chasm of faith. I have never since experienced this same intensity of the outpouring of His love. He has also placed me back into the hard realities of terra firma from the bliss of Heaven. Imperfect I still am, but with this God imbued faith, much as time does make vague once deep memories, I have been able to grow from strength to strength in my walk with our Lord. And His presence and His love is ever-present but in more subtle yet equally impact-full ways.
'No man hath beheld God at anytime: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and His love is perfected in us.'
1John 4:12
God is love. And while the finite us will not be able to express love the way our wonderful Father does. In loving others the way Christ has taught us, God will use us as the vessel upon which the world will get a sense of Who He is. And He will place that desire in a fully watered but still parched soul to take that small but important step unto His presence, the spring of life. And in acknowledging the Sovereignty of our Father in Heaven, you will be sanctified by this great outpouring of His love.
'...because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you,"
Hebrews 13:5
'Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, bu grievous, nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby..'
Hebrews 12:11
Like me, there are times we feel tired physically, emotionally drained or even spiritually overwhelmed. And much as good meaning Christians would and should give you not just an encouraging shoulder, but minister to you in words and in works, there is but one important truth that all who know the Lord must remind ourselves of. Do cling on to the Lord our God with your all, come what may and you must wait upon Him. And in acknowledging Him, He will draw near to us and His love will awash us with this joy and peace that will not just strengthen us, but bring us strongly forth. God will not just meet our needs, but He will use you to meet the needs of others. And only in experiencing His love can you live out His commands to all who call themselves Christians, that you be willing and able to minister to the needs of others, much as our once carnal self and the deceitful world demands otherwise.
'He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.'
Psalm 147:3
Rgds n God blesses
Eng Hieang
(11th Sep 2011)
From love to hate
Much as happened over the past few days. Egyptians have ransacked the Isrealite Embassy, quite reminiscence of the Iranians occupation of the American Embassy back in the late '70s. The embattled Syrian regime are fully into the arms of their Iranian brethren, and what mischief will they do to Israel in the near future to bring about the Biblical fulfillment of the destruction of their capital, Damascus? Turkey is fast working hard on dispelling any lame duck notion of its namesake bird, and would the planned sending of warships to protect the flotilla bringing aid to Gaza lead a skirmish with Israel. And not forgetting the rebel rulers of Libya has amongst its rank, a notable terrorist as her chief of security.
With US fast relinquishing its role as the world's policeman, and Continental Europe about to seize up, once pent up hatred long subdued by repressive oligarchs in the Middle East, and prosperity that paper over long hidden xenophobic fault-lines in Europe, are springing forth.
What can a little love from us who know God do in this rising sea of hatred? Not much if it depends only upon us. But with the enabling grace of God, all things are possible. But the days are with us now, there is no room for fence sitting Christians. Either you are with the Lord, or you are with Lucifer. Do take time with our Lord for the times are now with us.
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