The River Of Life

Niagara Falls

'Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.' Revelation 22:1

Anyone who visits the Niagara Falls will be overwhelmed by the immense, never ending stream of overflowing water. Long before one reaches the falls, one will become soaked by the heavy mist that arises from the force of the waters spilling over the banks of the Niagara river at the border between Canada and the United States. Visiting the falls for the very first time in 1991, I was so overcome by the sight and sound that copious tears swelled up in my eyes. Some say that it was a natural response to the presence of God in nature.

On 10 May 2020, in a comment on this blog, Lee Soon Ghee shared his inspiration at reading Ezekiel 47: 1, 3-5. 

'I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the the east.....As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits, and then led me through water that was ankle deep. he measured off another thousand cubits and led through water that was knee deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was up to the waist . He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, but now the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in - a river that no one could cross.' 

In this bible passage, Ezekiel saw streams of water coming out from the threshold of the temple. But the streams soon became a gush, then a flood and finally a deluge. The sight facing Ezekiel was of the increasing and overwhelming amount of water with depths at first ankle deep, then knee deep, waist deep and finally over the head requiring the prophet to swim.

Lee Soon Ghee wrote, "This speaks to me about our relationship with the Holy Spirit. It gets deeper and deeper as one matures in the faith. It talks about the need for us to interact with the Holy Spirit in increasing intensity and immersion; being overwhelmed such that we can wade but be carried away by the current/strength of the movement of the river simultaneously. Finally, it talks about letting oneself be carried by the river, swimming along with the Holy Spirit, and perhaps not knowing where it will lead one to, but always trusting and believing."

What a lovely understanding of a life filled with the Spirit. Such waters represent the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ said,

'Whoever believes in me, as Scriptures has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believe in Him will later to receive.' John 7: 38-39

The Holy Spirit comes on us like a river, purifying and cleansing us. Grace flows to and through us who believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. That water is

• Life Saving 
• Life Sustaining 
• Life Empowering

John Wimber, a charismatic preacher and pastor, wrote an excellent song, the 'Spirit Song' about this grace and experience.  In a very gentle and refreshing tune and manner, this song describes the relationship between the Triune God and us. It highlights a certain gentleness in that relationship, a sweet surrender to God. As one listens to the gentle flow of the music, like the gentle flow of water, one becomes immersed in the saving, sustaining and empowering grace of the Holy Spirit.

Oh let the Son of God enfold you

With His Spirit and His love

Let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul

Oh let Him have the things that hold you

And His Spirit like a dove

Will descend upon your life and make you whole

Jesus, oh Jesus

Come and fill Your lambs

Jesus, oh Jesus

Come and fill Your lambs

Oh come and sing this song with gladness

As your hearts are filled with joy

Lift your hands in sweet surrender to His name

Oh give Him all your tears and sadness

Give Him all your years of pain

And you'll enter into life in Jesus' name

Lionel

The Love Of God

A Mural in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem

'For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.' John 3:16

Christians understand the love of God as that love that compels the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for our salvation. While this atoning love of Christ's sacrifice is indeed the greatest love of all, many Christians have a very narrow, almost self-serving understanding of God's love; the love of God is all about us and our salvation. But God's love is far more than just for our salvation. It is timely for us to understand how deep and how wide, how ubiquitous and permeating the Love of God is not only to us but for the whole world.  

Allow me to share with you a remarkably tender video. This past week, my grandchildren were down with Covid. The eldest, James came down with Covid-19 and he kept himself to his bedroom, resting all day. Now the family has two pet cats who are lovingly close to the family, especially with our three grandchildren, James, Eleanor and Luke. The cats seem to know that the children are sick. Auri, one of cats, went to my daughter, meowed and then led her to James' bedroom beckoning her to open the door. She then got on to his bed and started comforting him.

What do you think of it? My first thought was that of reciprocal love. Pets are capable of empathy and often return the love and care expressed to them. Pets are especially sensitive and endearing towards their caring owners. Love and care received translate to love and care returned.

Another lingering thought is that this gesture by animals show the love of God expressed in all creation. So like all of God's creatures, humans are also capable of expressing God's love in the most loving and tender-hearted manner. Unfortunately. it is most tragic that sin prevents some of us from expressing that innate love of God.

The Psalmist extolled the Love of God manifested in all creation; inanimate and animate, physical and biological Nature

'Your unfailing love, O Lord, is a vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is Your unfailing love, O God. All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings. ' Psalms 36:5-7

O the depths and the ramifications of God's love. Thus, to see this love only from the perspective of salvation, however important it may be, is to miss this love altogether. We need to unpeel the camouflage that Satan and sin imposes on this love. We need to realise that The Love of God Is Greater Far than we can ever conceive.

The love of God is greater far

  Than tongue or pen can ever tell.

It goes beyond the highest star

  And reaches to the lowest hell.

The guilty pair, bowed down with care,

  God gave His Son to win;

His erring child He reconciled

  And pardoned from his sin.

O love of God, how rich and pure!

  How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure

The saints’ and angels’ song

When hoary time shall pass away,

  And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;

When men who here refuse to pray,

  On rocks and hills and mountains call;

God’s love, so sure, shall still endure,

  All measureless and strong;

Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—

  The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
  And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
  And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
  Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
  Though stretched from sky to sky.

This love is anchored in us and St Paul boldly said that nothing can separate us from God's love.  

'For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' Romans 8:38-39 

We have come in full circle, the Love of God seen externally and beyond us eventually leads to the Love of God felt within us; leading to our full salvation

'Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should how wide, how long, how high and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.' Ephesians 3:17-19 (NLT)

Lionel  

Look On Nature

‘When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?  And the son of man, that thou visitest him?’  Psalms 8:3-4 (KJV)

Bishop Robert Solomon opined that one of the spiritual disciplines is to train the soul by immersing oneself in nature like taking quiet walks in the picturesque countryside.

We had a family holiday in Wales once, Pat, Debbie, John and I in Oct 2004. I insisted on making a detour to visit the ruins of Tintern Abbey. I needed to see the hills that rise up from the valley of the River Wye. This was the nature scene that captivated the poet William Wordsworth when he wrote the poetic essay ‘Tintern Abbey.’ I studied the poem in school when I was 15 years old. It so inspired me that I had an urge to stand in awe of the natural surroundings, as viewed from the ruins of Tintern Abbey.

Since reading ‘Tintern Abbey,’ I have learned to view nature enrapt by worshipful thoughts and attitudes. Wordsworth wrote:

“For I have learned

To look on nature, not as in the hour

Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes

The still, sad music of humanity,

Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power

To chasten and subdue. And I have felt

A presence that disturbs me with the joy

Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime

Of something far more deeply interfused,

Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,

And the round ocean and the living air,

And the blue sky, and in the mind of man;

A motion and a spirit, that impels

All thinking things, all objects of all thought,

And rolls through all things. Therefore am I still

A lover of the meadows and the woods,

And mountains; and of all that we behold.”

The Bishop and I know the secret that God is present in nature. Let us go out of our way to find those sublime moments that awaken our hearts and reach our souls. When surrounded by the simple beauty of the woods or the splendid panoramas of the Grand Canyon we will sense the subtle presence of God. It is a sweet and gentle presence. We come out of that experience matured, elevated, chastened and subdued.

When nature confronts us, we also sense the infinite gap between man and God; just how miniscule we are and how infinitely great God is. Like the Psalmist who contemplated the cosmos, we are left to wonder just why God would even consider us. 

"Reading about nature is fine, but when a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he experiences more than what is gathered from books, for they speak the voice of God." This quote from George Washington Carver, repeats the same realisation as found in Job, 

'But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.' Job 12:7-10

Yes, nature brings the realisation of the presence of God so we can confidently declare, "All things bright and beautiful; all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all!” Listen to this lovely song by John Rutter!

 

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colours,

He made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountain,

The river running by,

The sunset and the morning,

That brightens up the sky;

The cold wind in the winter,

The pleasant summer sun,

The ripe fruits in the garden,

He made them every one;

He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell

How great is God Almighty,

Who has made all things well.

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

Lionel

Updated article. 1st Published 27 Jul 2009

Financial Security is not Eternal Security

Rembrandt 1627,  The Parable of the Rich Fool

'Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.' Luke 12:15

There is a unique slang in the Hokkien dialect which has come into use in the Singaporean-Malaysian Chinese community to welcome prosperity, 'Huat Ah!' It has also become a greeting among friends, much like the US battle cry 'Hooah!' We now use 'Huat Ah!' when we toss the customary Chinese New Year dish/salad, 'Yu Sheng.' 

Yu Sheng is a dish made of ingredients with symbolic meanings to usher in prosperity at the start of the Chinese New Year. It is served on the seventh day of the New Year which is everyone's birthday renri (人日everyman’s birthday). Because this dish is so popular, it is now served from the eve to the 15th day of the New Year. The symbolism and meaning of the ingredients, unfortunately, may underlie our obsession with material wealth. 

• The greetings at the start of dish gongxi facai (恭喜发财 wishing you wealth and good fortune) and huat ah (prosperity)
• Raw fish with the words which nian nian youyu (年年有余 abundance through the year)
• Dried orange peels over the fish daji dali (大吉大利 which is luck and auspicious value)
• Liberal dash of pepper and 5-spice powder over the ingredients zhaocai jinbao (招财进宝  greater prosperity and fortune)
• Pour oil, circling the ingredients with words yibenwanli (一本万利)and caiyuan guang jin (财源广进) to wish profit and money flowing in from all directions.
• Add carrots and green and white radish to the fish, indicating hongyun dangtou (鸿运当头 ), feng sheng shui qi (风生水起), bubu gaosheng (步步高升) to bring blessings of good luck, prosperity in business and promotion at work
• Dust ground peanuts on the dish, jinyin manwu (金银满屋 a household filled with gold and silver)
• Sesame seeds follow, symbolising growth in business shengyi xinglong (生意兴隆)
• Finally abundance of pillow-shaped deep-fried flour crisps to literally mean that the whole floor would be filled with gold, biandi huangjin (遍地黄金)

In an age of affluence and plenty, want has become need and luxury a necessity. Although the Chinese may be very dramatic in their wishes for wealth and materialism, it is the same for almost all the modern cultures living in cities. Enticed by consumerism and fueled by avarice, we buy and spend much much more than we need. 

Jesus Christ warned, a man may store up things for himself but is not rich toward God. We are in danger of becoming the rich fool mentioned in the Gospel of Luke.

'And He told them this parable. The ground of a rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, "What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops." Then he said, "This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones and there I will store my surplus grain. And I'll say to myself, You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat drink and be merry." But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" This is how it will be for whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.' Luke 12:16-21  

Like that rich fool, misled by the comforts and satisfaction riches can bring, we equate financial security with eternal security. That would be a mistake.

A man who understood what it means to live life depending on God’s faithfulness rather than financial security was Thomas Chisholm. Rev Chisholm wrote more than 1200 poems, many were written into hymns including Great is Thy Faithfulness.

In a letter dated 1941, Mr. Chisholm wrote, “My income has not been large at any time due to impaired health, but I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulness.”

Thomas Chisholm, living in a state of “just enough” learned a lesson of dependence on God’s faithfulness which the rich fool in the parable did not.

Why is that farmer in Jesus' parable such a fool?

• He sacrificed living for God by living for himself.
• He confused surplus for security
• He lived for time and not eternity
• He assumed he had lots of time

In contrast, we should live our lives dependent on the blessings of God, a useful lesson as we step into 2022.

'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.' Lamentations 3:24

Thomas Chisholm's lyrics were derived from Lamentations 3 and were set to music by William Runyan. From the heart of a Methodist minister, 'Great is Thy Faithfulness' has inspired countless believers to trust their faithful God.

'Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.' Lamentations 3:21-23

Great is Thy faithfulness O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changed not, Thy compassions, they fail not 

As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside! 

How many times have we stood in church and along with the congregation sang this great hymn? Did we not feel warmness of heart and realise that our life is abundant only by God's great faithfulness?  

Lionel

Updated 1st Published 19 Mar 2007

A New Day Dawning

A New Day with Vivid Colours

'Your new day is dawning. The glory of the Lord shines brightly on you. the earth and its people are covered with darkness, but the glory of the Lord is shining upon you. Nations and kings will come to the light of your new dawning day.' Isaiah 60:1-3 (Contemporary English Version)

Today, 1 Feb 2022 is the first day of the Chinese New Year. Following tradition most Chinese would wear new clothes, usually in red. We will give away as gifts 'Ang Pows' or red packets containing fresh new crisp dollar notes. The children are especially excited as they don their new Chinese-styled garments (most times only worn once), make their CNY greetings to receive the ang-pows.

Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival, an excitement is in the air as in the rural farming area, the farmers eagerly wait for the Spring to sow and reap a bountiful harvest. It's a new cycle of new beginnings.

The same is true of Christianity. When we first become Christians, there is a crisp freshness to life. This is the sheer joy of being restored to a relationship with the creator God through Jesus Christ, His Son. It is very aptly expressed in this song, New! Ev'ry Morning It's New, which we sang in our youth fellowships 

New! ev'ry morning it's new!
The love of God to me is wonderfully new!
New! ev'ry morning it's new!
The mercy of the Lord is wonderfully new!
Great is His faithfulness,
Constant is His love,
Great is His saving pow'r
Coming from above!
New! ev'ry morning it's new!
The mercy of the Lord is wonderfully new!

New! ev'ry morning it's new!
The love of Calvary is wonderfully new!
New! ev'ry morning it's new!
The mercy fresh outpoured is wonderfully new!
He is our daily strength,
He's our daily guide
If we will wait on Him
And in Him abide!
New! ev'ry morning it's new!
The mercy of the Lord is wonderfully new!

Unfortunately I am unable to locate a video of this song on the Internet. But just looking at the lyrics with its many exclamation marks indicate the exuberance when we first received salvation. There is a freshness of spring and there is rejoicing every morning as the love and mercy of God flow towards us.

Kevin and Lynette Teo wrote in their article New Beginnings (Ref 1), there is a new road to travel.

'Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.'  Isaiah 43:19 

• A Restored Relationship.  'Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory. ' Romans 5:1-2 (New Living Translation)

• A Renewed Vision. 'I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called - His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance.' Ephesian 1:18 (NLT)

• A Revitalised Life - 'For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.' Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

The Apostle Paul declared

'Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.' 2 Corinthians 5:17

The Prophet Isaiah also spoke of this transformation as a new day dawns,

'Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your healing (restoration, new life) will quickly spring forth. Your righteousness will go before you, the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.' Isaiah 58:8 (Amplified Bible)

In the celebration of Chinese New Year, we recognise the dawning of a new day with the freshness of Spring. We celebrate the Chinese New Year with exuberance, with feasting and lion and dragon dances.

In that same way we can celebrate our new life in Christ! King Solomon declared  

'How pleasant to see a new day dawning' Ecclesiastes 11:7 (NLT)

Indeed enjoy this piano solo 'New Every Morning' composed by Cindy Berry and use it for your early morning reflections. 

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Happy New Year!

Lionel

Inspired by articles posted by Kevin and Lynette Passion with Purpose New Beginnings (A New Day Dawning) Jan 2022