Dear...
'For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.'
1 Corinthians 2:16
Every year, in the run-up to the Lunar New Year, we are peppered with advices(like in today's Sunday papers), paid or not, as to how best to position oneself for the new year ahead and it is during such times that one is reminded of the close kinship that many professed to have with the beasts of the world. Last year turned out to be a bullish year in the stock-markets, but my only participation in that bullish phase was that I was a bear that happened to be born in the year of the ox, some cycles back.
Sentiments and the general economy are definitely much better now, though one should bear in mind that much as the Tiger is perceived to be one of strength and resourcefulness, and hence some has equated this new Lunar year to be an excellent year, the tiger is also an animal of cunning, a loner by habit or is it due to selfishness, hence the need to mark out its territory by leaving droplets of its urine, and the tiger devours all, at least for those of us who grew up watching the wonderful black and white Malay films that featured the Harimau(ie tigress) often transformed into a kindly old lady chewing not nuts, but bones of wayward children.
'Whom having not seen, ye love; in Whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.'
1 Peter 1:8
Love is also in the air, this being Valentine's day as well, but love for most is based on what we see on the outward, and it takes time for one to fully comprehend the inward workings of one's object of desire. Love should be a daily expression rather than a one day event orchestrated by those with commercial interests, at least that is my justification for not buying my wife flowers today. Not exactly sure who coined the term "tigress" to denote our better but fiercer half, but a "lioness" seems more complimentary, for it implies a wife who is of good stature, almost regal.
'In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.'
Ephesians 1: 13
A menagerie I am not trying to create, so it is time to move on and what better way to do that than to truly wish all not just the usual good health, great wealth and all material blessings that the finite men believe is what makes fellow men happy, but rather, my prayers for you is that you will, with the passing of another year, not just take stock of your life but more importantly to take time to think about your relationship with the very visible God and that in acknowledging His grace, His Spirit will fall upon you, and like in 1 Peter 1:8, you be filled with this great and indescribable peace and joy, that will truly mark a turning point in your life.
'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 12:2
Geek is good, if you happened to be Bill Gates, making billions from Microsoft. Greed is good, at least that was what Gordon Gekko( played by actor, Michael Douglas) in the 1980s film "Wall Street" proudly pronounced. Guess many of my generation were more impressionable and they took it to heart, from reel to real life, and the world today is still reeling from that single minded focus on wealth accumulation at all costs.
But is Greek good? An ancient civilization, Greece has definitely had its halcyon days, and like the Middle Kingdom(ie China), Greece has its fair share of myths and icons, and a couple of years back, some Greeks did try to reinvigorate the desire in their fellow citizens to go back to the days of pagan worship, when awesome King Zeus, the curious Pandora, the mighty Atlas and other mighty Greek gods supposedly reigned supreme both in Heaven and on Earth.
Greece unfortunately is in the news for all the wrong reasons, being one of the sub-letters in the soon to be infamous acronym "PIGS" for European countries that are heavily indebted and possibly on the brink of default.
Is it any comfort to the Greeks that while Spain(letter "S" in PIGS) had the rock of Gibraltar, and that Italy has the mafia and spaghetti, while Portugal other than the footballer Ronaldo, would be hard pressed in other areas, the Greeks still have Heracles(or Hercules to the Romans) to call on, if he is real. Yet, real or not, the European Commission will have a pretty tough time cobbling a viable long term plan for politics, personal interests and deeply ingrained biasedness are hurdles that can be insurmountable even for the gods from Mt Olympus.
'...Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falleth..'
Luke 11:17
As a finite mortal, I do recognize my inability to predict about the next second, much the year ahead. So I will leave that futile attempt to those who think that they can. But God does give us markers of His plans not for us to place ourselves on the pedestal as far-sighted clairvoyants, but to remind us of His faithfulness in an unfaithful world, to give us that boldness and assurances as we learn to let Him lead us in this present End Times intensified.
I believe in our present generation, we are already witnesses to the beginnings of the One World. And Western Europe to be able to eventually resolve the issues of the PIGS,(primarily Southern Europe) as well as that of its poorer but till recently practicing Christian bastions of Eastern European neighbors, will have to truly move into one Sovereign nation, in all aspects, that is, fiscal, political, social and not just the present unworkable monetary union. And the very much secular Continental Europe has to include the till now fiercely independent but bankrupt British Isles for United Europe to bear fruit and for the one Supreme leader, the anti-Christ to appear to lead the world into further delusion.
'And that, knowing the time, that now, it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.'
Romans 13:11
And what about Asia, the most populous and poorest continent in the world. Africa is poor but not as populous, and at the rate the Chinese are exploiting resources in the Dark Continent, it might be a colony of China soon.
The resurgence of the once dormant Chinese dragon has clearly brought growth in many ways, but is has also quickened the damage to the world's environment, depleted our finite resources that much faster, forced everyone to cling on to the need to sacrifice all to or lose their material lifestyle to the new and hungry Chinese consumers, and not forgetting that China's voracious appetite for energy is leading to the sprouting of nuclear plants within the Middle Kingdom, as well as in the rest of the world. God did say that He will not drown out the sinful world but He did mention that the world will be destroyed by fire and even little red dots like us is considering joining this man-made ring of fire.
'For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.'
Galatians 1:12
Quack I hoped I am not, for ducks have no place in the Lunar calendar nor in the sharing of God's message of peace and hope. Vision or some great revelation I received not from our Lord for these meanderings. But clearly, God is patient for HE wants all to be saved. But God will not wait for us forever, while we continue to move year in, year out, living out our lives as determined by fellow men's interpretation of our destiny from a combination of the elements(ie wood, fire, earth, water and metal) and the twelve animals of the Zodiac.
The devil is on the prowl, just like the cunning tiger in this present jungle of our lives. Satan is aware of the times, hence his desire to ensure that you continue to be blinded by him and not be aware of God's love and offer of salvation to all.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah has already broken the grip of sin and death upon all humanity. It is no myth, not like the Merlion that dons the waterfront of my beautiful Lion City, Singapore.. It is real, this spiritual battle for our souls and hearts and the battleground is across the world, in each and everyone of our hearts, and not just in my beloved Lion City.
In the old Tarzan movies, the lion always emerges victorious over the tiger. The fatherly lion moves regally with its pride, it has a complete family. The sinister tiger works alone, it moves in the dark, and it is determined to have you as its next meal, just like Satan would love you to join him in eternal damnation.
'I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.'
Jeremiah 15:21
It is time to recognize yourself for who you are, a child of our Sovereign God Who loved us all. Lets leave the pigs, the tigers, the snakes, the goats, the ox and the rest of the animals to those who profess a desire to be other than the child of God. And this being a long weekend, do take time to read Psalm 16, for this is one Psalm that speaks to me, on my relationship with our Sovereign God.
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(14th Feb 2010)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment