SundaySnippets 8 Poignant (17 jan 2010)

Dear...

'Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, because He was angry...'
Psalm 18:8

This verse is written by godly men, inspired by God centuries back, but it is as evergreen as ever, and could pass off easily as a media report of the present earthquake in Haiti.
The rudimentary days of January 2010 has not been quite inspiring, and though we are still a couple of years away from year 2012, if Hollywood and the Mayan calendar are to be believed, is the extreme weather conditions in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere and the clinical precision of the destructive earthquake in Haiti an indication of things to come when the Chinese Tiger year comes roaring in?

Mythical the latter might be, but there is no delusion in the minds of the continued desire of the unrepentant financial gnomes of the Western world, to continue to lay their grubby hands on the largesse of their trade, no doubt aided by the generous assumption of risks by governments, in the continued provision of liquidity that has been primarily used for speculative trades rather than real business.

'The great day of the Lord is near. It is near and hastens quickly.....'
Zephaniah 1:14

Not everyone might give much thought nor care two hoots about the Biblical warnings, but for the chap or rather dead chap, who was unceremoniously evicted from his coffin by a looter in Haiti, a photo of which appeared in today's Sunday newspaper, one wonders, what was his life like before ground zero hit? Was he a relative of the once rich and powerful Papa Doc and his equally cruel and corrupted son Baby Doc Duvalier, once all supreme rulers Haiti, where voodoo and his sinister henchmen, tonton macoute helped ensured no dissent?

Assumptive it might be, but to have such a fine coffin, the gentleman must be of some wealth, in the general sea of poverty and deprivation that permeates the once ramshackle city of Port Au Prince.

'Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath....'
Zephaniah 1:18

The word "poignant" might be used to describe a heart rending situation. Physical Death for all is inevitable, for that is the price of sin, and for many of us who have lost loved ones, be it family, friend or even pet-dogs, it is painful but can it ever be gainful?

'I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. My God, my strength, in whom I will trust....I will call upon my Lord, Who is worthy to be praised...'
Psalm 18:1-3

Funerals tend to be pretty detached for most, unless you happen to be a close friend or family member. But funerals for Christians who truly seek the Lord till their last breath, can be a joyful one, much as our imperfect selves will still tear, but the heart moans not too long, for we know where the departed has gone to, and we will meet again. But will we??

I was at a healing service yesterday. It was a good experience, for in the midst of many with varied ills, is the knowledge that God will heal, and indeed, quite a few testified to God's healing in their lives, be it illness, financial or other woes.
Life is indeed a journey, or rather, a series of journeys. For many if not all of us, we only truly begin our walk with the Lord our God, we only truly begin to fix our eyes on Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, only when the accumulated dross of disobedience in our sin-filled lives, causes us to keel over, to be shaken out of our delusion, in our moment of poignancy, to begin to realize that life is indeed finite, and wealth and other material pursuits not only does not heal the aching emptiness in our hearts, but it can deal a fatal blow to our very present being. And what about eternity?

'The fool says in his heart, there is no God'
Psalm 53:1

There is indeed no gods of our imagination, but there is a Sovereign God. Our Father in Heaven, Who loves us, Who wants to shake us out of our self deceived stupor in this sinful world, controlled by the delusions of the devil.
In days of ease and plenty, most would be like the men in Noah's time. Too busy to prepare their Ark, for eternity seems so far away. The old Roman city of Pompeii was encased in volcanic ash in a few short moments. A large number of people died within the few vibrant moments of the haiti earthquake. The tsunami of a few years back was no different, and the same could be said of the Szechuan earthquake or the Myammar typhoon.

'For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be..'
Matthew 24:38-39


A crisis in one's life can indeed be heart rending, but if it leads one to think about and refocus one's life back to our ever-present Lord, to move from a believer to a determined follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. That cognizance of the ongoing battle for not just our very soul, but that of our loved ones, that we have been so blissfully been unaware of, is cause for joy and not sadness.

The journey to the renewing of our mind, to be like Christ, often comes when what we hold dear in this world, are in near tatters. Poignant it might seem, but
true poignancy is when like the rich man who realized too late, upon his death, that indeed eternity in damnation is a reality, and he can only live in eternal pain and regret, for not responding to the outstretched hands of our everpresent God.

'lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died'
John 11:32

God is here. But is your heart far from him?



God Blesses

Eng Hieang
(17 Jan 2010)