In His Presence

'The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His righteousness; every nation sees His glory' Psalm 97:5-6 (NLT)

Ancients watched, often fearful and awestruck, the different phenomena of nature, of lightning storms, whirlwinds, tornados, tsunamis, cloud formations, vivid colours in the night skies. They sense a powerful, supernatural force behind these occurrences and interpret these to manifest the presence of God. These Ancient Ones would acknowledge with reverence and worship the God or gods behind these beautiful, oftentimes fearful but sometimes inspiring sights. Perhaps this was how the concept and worship of God evolved.

Today, understanding the science and nature behind these phenomena, we decry the naivety of these early humans. How wrong can we be? 'All nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres. This is my Father's world.' The wise men of old saw the creator God in all of nature. So should we. 

Even though we now understand the science behind nature does not mean that God is not in the picture; God is making His presence known. The Ancient Ones got it right.

When the Israelites left Egypt and wandered in the Sinai desert towards the Promised Land, God led by way of a pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire by night.

'God went ahead of them in a Pillar of Cloud during the day to guide them on the way, and at night in a Pillar of Fire to give them light; thus they could travel both day and night. The Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night never left the people.' Exodus 13:22

Modern folks are so engrossed with our lives that we hardly notice the presence of God. We are oblivious especially when we are so busy with ourselves, our careers and ambitions that we let many years pass us by without appreciating nor enjoying the Lord's presence.

Moses understood that the Lord's presence underpinned their journey through the wilderness. God was with them through many dangers, hardships and crisis. Moses valued the Lord being in the midst of the people of God very much. He once said to the Almighty, to break off the Exodus and not proceed further unless the Lord's presence was always with them.

  

'God said, "My presence will go with you. I'll see the journey to the end." Moses said, "If Your presence doesn't take the lead here, call this trip off right now. How else will it be known that You're with me in this, with me and Your people? Are You travelling with us or not? How else will we know that we're special, I and Your people, among all the people of this planet earth.' Exodus 33:14-16 (MSG)

Christians realise rather late in our spiritual journeys that the Lord's presence is vital to our Christian growth, happiness, well being. In fact, we cannot escape God as expressed in the Psalms so eloquently.

'Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? 

To be out of Your sight?

If I climb to the sky you're there!

If I go underground, you're there!

If I flew on morning's wings to the far western horizon,

You'd find me in a minute -

You are already there waiting!

Then I said to myself, "Oh He even sees me in the dark!

At night I'm immersed in the light!"Psalm 139:7-12  

In time, we learn that our lives go on but always in the presence of God. Nothing is hidden from God. Indeed God is omnipresent we just need to sense and cultivate the habit of enjoying the presence of God.

• One common way is to take a walk through nature, enjoy its sights, smells and sounds and realise that God is with us. This experience was recorded by William Wordsworth in his poem Tintern Abbey (13 July 1798) on revisiting the banks of the River Wye a few miles above the abbey. He wrote,

 "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 

From this green earth."

• Staring quietly at a beautiful scenery as at waterfalls and colourful canyons or sunsets and sunrises, evokes in us that awareness that God exists and He enables us to enjoy His creations. I experienced spontaneous tearing when I first viewed Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon. Both times it evoked positive emotions of joy and awe. It overwhelmed me, engaged my senses; an appreciation of the beauty of the earth and the glory of the skies. ChatGPT used the term 'Awe' for this response and described it as a complex emotion that involves a sense of wonder, amazement and a feeling of being in the presence of something greater than oneself. For me that was the presence of God and I broke into spontaneous prayer, praise and song.

'The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftmanship. Day after day they continue to speak. Night after night they make Him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard, Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, their word to all the world.' Psalms 19:1-4 (NLT)

• Christian Meditation ushers us into the presence of God. The time of meditation is the time of awareness of God. Keep your body still, your mind silent, then in that stillness and silence just focus on being in the presence of God. With time, discipline and practice, our spirits will co-mingle with the Holy Spirit, in 'prayer without words.'   

'May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.' Psalm 19:14 (NLT)

This article was inspired by my niece, Mrs Lynette Teo, who recently recorded her voice and piano accompaniment to Sandi Patti's  'In His Presence.' She sent it to both Pat and I to encourage us. Unfortunately I could not use Lynette's recording in this post; so please use this Sandi Patty's original recording as you reflect in God's presence.

In the quiet of this hour

As we kneel before You now

I believe Your promise to be faithful

I don't always understand

What Your perfect will demands

But I learned to trust You more

In Your presence, Lord

In Your presence, there is comfort

In Your presence, there is peace

When we seek to know Your heart

We will find such blessed assurance

In Your holy presence, Lord

There can be such sweet reward

When we wait upon the Lord

As we take the time

He gives His perfect wisdom

To be found in Him alone

All our deepest secrets known

We're surrounded by His grace

When we seek His face

In Your presence, there is comfort

In Your presence, there is peace

When we seek my fathers heart

We will find such blessed assurance

And ever open door

To know our Savior more

In the presence of my Lord

Lionel

Updated 1st Published 28 Jan 2024

Into Thy Presence Lord

Jonkers' Street Melaka, Hokkien Huay Kwan

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way." Hebrews 10;19-20a (NLT)

Door posts in different parts of the world are ornately decorated according to the different cultures and traditions. The most striking ones are found in Chinese houses. One example is this elaborately carved and painted door which fronts the Hokkien Huay Kwan Association along Jonkers’ Street, Malacca.

The two large warrior figures, Qin and Yuchi are known as 'door gods'. Door gods are supposed to keep evil spirits from entering the premises. This custom originated during the Tang Dynasty (618- 907 AD).

Two Tang dynasty generals, Qin Shubao and Yuchi Jingde were ordered by the emperor to guard the door of his bedroom chamber. Apparently, a ghost was harassing the emperor, causing him to have sleepless nights. With Qin and Yuchi on guard, the emperor had a blissful sleep. The next day, the emperor, not wanting to trouble his two generals, ordered their portraits to be hung on either side of the door. Qin Shubao, who is most often seen carrying swords, has very pale skin (often depicted as red), while Yuchi Jingde has much darker skin and wields one or several batons. These door gods, Qin and Yuchi are meant to ward off unwelcomed visitors. 

Rev Soh Guan Kheng writing an article for Lent (Ref 1) pointed out that the design of the Jewish Tabernacle was not so welcoming either, 'The two sections, called the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, and the curtains that separate each section, were places of highly restricted access—only the priests were allowed into the Holy Place, and not without a prescribed liturgy of sacrifice for sin. Only the High Priest was allowed into the Most Holy Place and only once a year, with the prescribed blood sacrifice for sin. No one else was allowed into these Holy Places.' 

The design implied the inaccessibility of God. Rev Soh posited, "The message was clear—God is holy, and sinful humanity had no access to Him except by His grace and on His terms." He asked, "Whenever we gather for worship, do we “barge” into God’s presence unprepared—in a hurry, flustered by frustrations and worries, too casually dressed, or with an attitude that says: “I have a right to be here”, or “I’m doing my spiritual duty for the week” or even, “what am I doing here”? Are we ever struck by the awe and wonder of God calling us into His presence?

It is a Christian's privilege to be able to enter into God's presence. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and cleansing of our sins, for those who believed, ushers us into God's Holy Presence. Christ has done for us what the Tabernacle and the ancient rituals could not provide, the ability to worship in God's presence, unfettered and unencumbered.

Into Thy Presence Lord, I Bring My Heart In Praise

I Give My Life To Thee, My Hands I Raise

And As I Worship Thee, I Feel You Close To Me

Lord Make My Eyes To See Thee Face To Face

Within Thy Presence Lord, I Bow My Heart In Praise

I Give My Song To Thee, The Song You Gave

For On The Cross For Me, You Poured Out All So Free

And I Now Worship Thee, My Lord And King

The New Testament writer, Jude declared,

'To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.' Jude 1:24-25

Lionel

Updated 1st Published 10 April 2022

Ref 1: Rev Soh Guan Kheng Access in Christ into the Holy Places in Up From The Ashes Hope Will Arise - Daily Devotions For Lent 2022 Sowers Publication

For the Beauty of the Earth

Aurora Borealis, Alta Norway 26 Oct 2019

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." Psalms 19:1 

On a cruise up the Norwegian coast to the Arctic Circle, Pat and I  were fortunate to see the  Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. It was a spectacular display on the night sky. It is visible as dancing white-green clouds but if seen through the screen of mobile phones, IPad, using special camera apps, the colours become more vibrant with tinges of yellow and red in a largely green spectral background. 

I discovered that the Northern Lights experience is very unique to earth. The solar winds/storms emanate from the core of the sun and hurtle through the universe passing through the various planets as strong electromagnetic waves. However when reaching earth, these waves are deflected by earth's thin magnetic field, pass the earth by  and then are re-deflected backwards to the north and south poles.

Deflection of the Solar Wind

These re-deflected  waves now become visible in the visual spectrum especially the colour green. If the strong solar winds are not deflected it could cause havoc to earth's electronic and electrical systems as well as causing deleterious health effects. 

After  witnessing the Northern Lights, I cannot help but appreciate God's grace in enabling us to see the beautiful colours while at the same time protecting us from harmful effects. How fortunate for us! What a joy to be God's people and creation.   

Indeed when viewing these wonders of nature, we are confronted with an undeniable fact, how great is our God! God is ever present. We experience intertwining relationships, God with us and we with His creation, the good earth. We are reminded of two fundamental affirmations (Ref 1)  

    

• The earth is the Lord’s by creation

'The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.' Psalm 24:1

• The earth is given to the human race by delegation

'The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth He has given to mankind.' Psalm 115:16

·    Nature can teach us many things.

 

Psalms 19:2 states "Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night night they revealed  knowledge." 

T   William Wordsworth understood this revelation. He wrote in "Tintern Abbey", 

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. 

     Wordsworth found God in the inspiration of nature, the Beauty of the Earth

For the beauty of the earth

For the glory of the skies

For the love which from our birth

Over an around us lies

Over and around us lies

Lord of all, to Thee we raise

This our joyful hymn of praise

For the beauty of each hour

Of the day and of the night

Hill and vale and tree and flow'r

Sun and moon and stars of light

Sun and moon and stars of light

For the joy of human love

Brother, sister, parent, child

Friends on earth and friends above

For all gentle thought and mild

For all gentle thoughts and mild

For each perfect gift of Thine

To our race so freely given

Graces human and divine

Flow'rs of earth and buds of heav'n

Flow'rs of earth and buds of heav'n

      
   Lionel

       Updated 1st published 28 May 2023

   Ref 1: John Stott, The Radical Disciple, Inter-varsity Press, 2010

U

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

Let Everything That Has Breath Praise The Lord

'The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.' Psalms 19:1

No one can ever look at the beautiful sunset and not recognise the God behind that beauty. Yes beautiful scenes in nature often causes us to be uplifted and praise God who is the Creator. This realisation, this moment of inspiration can be so breathtaking that it can bring tears to our eyes!

The Hebrew word, Kavod which is translated as glory, splendour or beauty actually means rich or heavy. The Jews would say a rich man is 'heavy with wealth' in the same way we might say a rich man is 'loaded.' The idea behind kavod is that when we experience God's glory, we are experiencing the weight of His goodness, the weight of His beauty, the weight of His mercy and the weight of His compassion. A beautiful sunset at a beach is an example of the richness of God's beauty. Ref 1

I love to travel and experience, firsthand, the wonders of the earth, the beauty of God's creation and feel an affinity to them. These are moments of closeness to God, a recognition that behind the spectacular field of daffodils is God's handiwork. William Wordsworth recognised this sublime and creative presence when he wrote:

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Nature is a gift. Nature informs us who we are, the more we appreciate God's creation the more we will know ourselves. We become aware of the preciousness of life. Look At The World, a song composed by John Rutter celebrates this:

Look at the World: Everything all around us

Look at the world: and marvel everyday

Look at the world: So many joys and wonders

So many miracles along our way

Praise to the O Lord for all creation

Give us thankful hearts that we may see

All the gifts we share and every blessing

All things come of Thee

This realisation that God gives us the beauty of His creations invokes a emotional drive to praise and Christians surely love to praise. In recent years the Praise Worship as taken a life of its own; driving up the Christian music industry. But engaging in praise is not new,  in 1221, St Francis of Assisi wrote this canticle:

All creatures of our God and King,

Lift up your voice and with us sing,

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

And praise the Spirit, Three in One!

In 18th Century England, William Wilberforce wrote, "When engaged in worship, our souls seemed to become ignited with rapture" (Ref 2). It's spontaneous and often happens when we perceive a wonder of nature and then we can emphatically state, "Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord!"

Lionel

Ref 1: Dave Adamson. 52 Hebrew Words, Every Christian Should Know. Christian Arts Gift

Ref 2: William Wilberforce. Real Christianity, 1797 revised and updated by Dob Beltz Regal Books 2006. 

Updated. 1st Published 30 Aug 2020

Our Hymn Of Joyful Praise

As The Waters Cover The Sea

"For the earth will be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea." Isaiah 11:8

I had the opportunity to enjoy a morning’s freshness, staring out into the far horizon of the Adriatic Sea from the balcony of a cruise ship. The huge cruise ship seemed so puny when set in the vast expanse of water. Looking at the sun rising out of the distant horizon against the deep blue colour of the sea, I was deeply moved by the thought of the greatness of God. God made this wonderful and vast Blue Planet, Earth, on which we live. 

A New Year has dawned, a new world is expected. Man will expect to shape this new world. The advances in science and technology will astound us beyond all imagination. This world will become an easy a place to live in. That is when humanistic tendencies will get the better of us and we will pride ourselves with the greatness of Man. Encouraged by discoveries that will unravel the mysteries of nature and inventions that improve our lives, some of us may go so far as to posit that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or god. 

Nothing can be further from the truth. Whilst the achievements of the human race deserve some recognition, we should be careful not to leave God out of the equation. For despite all the advancements in science and philosophy, we have not solved the inherent problems of the human nature; of pride, greed, selfishness and brutality. To some extent, man can punish faults and write new laws. Hopefully, society can hope to become more egalitarian by community effort and education. However, in the end, all these will still fail because the human heart is deceitful and inherently wicked 

'The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9

and will corrupt all noble intentions. 

There are tragic stories of human excesses committed on innocent victims. I remember one in 2002, a sad story of a young Indian girl who was brutally gang-raped in New Delhi. In Singapore, we are fortunate to be shielded from the violence and gangland behaviours that often pervade the inner cities of some of our neighbouring countries. Nevertheless, this particular tragedy struck home because the poor girl died in one of our hospitals. The Indian government had referred her for medical management in Singapore in view of her critical condition but to no avail. Alongside India, all of Singapore mourned this needless death and repudiated the senseless violence and the depravity of the men who perpetrated this heinous crime. Yet these gang rapes continue unabated in India.

Our saving grace is that God is present. This is still 'our Father's world'. God made it. Another ancient voyager once wrote 

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?" Psalm 8:3-4. 

So, as I contemplated the vast expanse of the Adriatic Sea and realising how small we humans are, I prayed that "the earth will be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea" The Bible tells us that this reverential fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. 

We need to look to God. Can our fear and knowledge of God change our hearts? Can we live as friends, brother, sister, parent, child? This should be the prayer for the new year. John Rutter put it better in his canticle 'For the Beauty of the Earth'.

For the beauty of the earth

For the glory of the skies

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies

Over and around us lies

Lord of all to thee we raise

This our hymn of joyful praise

For the joy of human love

Brother, sister, parent, child

Friends on earth and friends above

For all gentle thoughts and mild

  

Happy New Year!

Lionel

Updated. 1st Published on 1 Jan 2020