ear...
'And he took their king's crown from off his head..............'
2 Samuel 12:30
King David had the crown of the vanquished King Rabbah of Ammon placed on his victorious head. In the old cowboy movies, the victorious Red Indians collected the scalps of the out of luck white settlers as their prize from a hard fought battle.
Sunday tend to be not just a lazy, but rather frivolous day of rest, not just for the tired body, but a near shutdown of one's gray matters, if some of the articles one read are any indication. Crowning glory often refers to one's once luxuriant patch of hair, and till recently, most men either try to dye away the silvery signs of age and/or stress, while others either make do with a brand new toupee(if one's green fingers yields poor return on one's patch).
Of course, some are quite happy to literally "shoe-shine" their pate but if the writer of today's article is to be believed, it seems many men out there are not just joining the Eve's in removing the obvious follicles but also in areas once reserved for the eyes of the privileged few!!
'I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake.'
1 John 2:12
In some Eastern religions, to be shorn of one's cabbage patch is a sign of repentance and a desire to move away from the desires of the world. I don't think the subjects discussed in the newspaper article are of the non worldly type. On the contrary, if one reads the writer's slant, it seems to be part of the accouterments amongst those who seek and lived an alternative lifestyle.
To each their own, but what about those who professed to follow our Lord Jesus Christ? Are there some behavioral patterns or even physical manifestations that clearly define who we are, ie not just believers but followers of our Lord Jesus Christ?
For those who are less acquainted with our faith, to read or hear that when we believe, the old man in us die, and we put on the new body, seems quite drastic, for the closest analogy is not about shedding one's follicles, but like the snake, shedding one's skin. And to confuse matters further, Christ talked about old and new wineskin. Is it little wonder that not just the non-believers but many of the professed Christians often get confused by the semantics and get caught up with interpretative entanglements that often lead to personal and corporate discord.
"O God, we pray for unity, give us guidance from above. In our differences unite us, in the circle of Your love"
( a prayer from a Christian bookmark)
Like many, I often asked for God's guidance in not just the momentous moments, but in every moment of my life. Some decisions are quite obvious as to the choice, but difficult to implement for it means going against our interests or ingrained thoughts. Yet, the more difficult ones are the ones where our intent seems right, but is it truly what God wills?
I am no science student, but I do recall from my limited knowledge, and also read in the same article today that our follicles enable us to better sense the environment around us. For those who are more clean cut than a fully shorn sheep, your inability to sense God's will is not a direct result of your foolishness to rid yourself of what nature provides, for this inability to know God's will apply to most.
'Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.'
1 John 3:21
In the days before I truly seek the Lord our God, where I rarely read His Word, nor bother to commune with Him, nor do I give a care to doing His work or even try to understand what Christ-likeness meant, peace of heart or the lack of it is often a function of what my carnal mind thinks rather than that feeling in the heart. Even that sinking feeling in my heart is often a direct result of the distraught juices in the gray matter working overtime.
Like all today who is diligent, (sounds politically better than fervent in this politically correct secular world of ours where whenever a loving Christian shares God's love is deemed unwarranted imposition of one's faith), that is, determined to seek God with our all and to acknowledge Him in all our ways, the Spirit of God who resides in the hearts of those who truly believed, do indeed speak to us the follower of Christ. Speak yes, but we must still want to respond. Indeed, one affirmation of my hearing and following correctly God's will is the peace in my heart, a peace which permeates my very being, beyond the rational human mind.
'And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.'
1 John 4:14-15
As I ponder today upon a decision that I finally made this morning, as some of you might be aware, much as I am sure that it was the right decision, but is it truly aligned with the will of God.'
My heart was at peace. So one correct tick in the box of decisions. But suppose I was wrong? Would I not disappoint my God whom I professed to spend more time than most to know better?
A few years back, when guilt was the over-riding emotion that underlines such profusion of dilemmas in my rudimentary follower of Christ days, God brought me to a verse in the Bible which reminds me that as long as one's heart is right, God will always make all things right.
So it is not about right decisions from us at every crossroads of our life, but rather, the need for us to want to start to live and continue to live a life that is right every breathing moment of our finite life on earth, in the presence of God our Father.
Do reflect upon this very purposeful verse
'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
For indeed our heart does matter, but our mind will have an equally important role in our walk with God, but only if our mind is renewed, for then it is no longer driven by the sinful natural,but by the Spirit of God who resides in our hearts. And what about your follicles, remember, the outward body is temporal, and lets not tarry too much with such airy fairy or hairy matters, or end up irrelevant like Adonis or worse, the self loving androgynous Lucifer.
And am I today writing something as frivolous as such a lazy day warrant in our Sunday read. I pray not and I asked God for a verse of affirmation before I press the "send" button, and what did our good Lord brought me to, but this
'if my brother be waxen poor.......'
Leviticus 25:25
'But if he be not able to restore it...."
Leviticus 25:28
A little literary liberty I might have exercise here in using these verses but not with ill intent. But interestingly, wax is how you remove your follicles, but no guarantee it will be restored.
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(31 Jan 2010)
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