This is the Lord's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes!

Dubrovnik In The Morning

'This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.' Psalm 118:23-24

This picture of Dubrovnik, in the morning, captures some interesting colours of the city and clouds painted by the rising sun. It is one of the most charming cities we have been to. The sun has just arisen and the old town, a fortress and a harbour directly in front of us, glistened in the light. Against such a background, it is refreshing to spend our Quiet Time and read the Bible.

On the 20 Sep 2005, I was sitting on a balcony overlooking this morning sunrise in Dubronik. I was reading from “Make Me a Instrument of Your Peace” (Ref 1) by Kent Nerburn. It is a simple commentary on the prayer of St Francis of Assisi. The book was described as ennobling by a reviewer. I knew what this meant at once. Mr Nerburn has a gift of commenting on life in a most endearing manner, linking profound truths to ordinary encounters and even the mundane events of daily living. He draws soul-deep lessons in a simple, easy to read, manner. I like his writing. It has encouraging perspectives and insights.

The Kent Nerburn style is the way we ought to read the Bible. We could annotate each reading with a life-event commentary, drawing soul-teaching and spirit-enriching lessons. Can we learn to experience life and interpret the truths that each ordinary event is teaching us? Can we draw insights from the unfolding scenes life presents to us whether mundane or significant? What is the Bible teaching us? Can we “see” God?

I was reading from Isaiah's commentary on King Hezekiah's near death experience. On the same date in 2003, Pat was reading from the same passage  a passage of Scripture in Isaiah 38:1 to 40: 31 in Grenoble, France sitting on steps of the cathedral. This was another beautiful city set near the French Alpine region.

That piece of scripture informs us that the good things in life are the Lord’s doing. The passage in Isaiah relates to Hezekiah, who was struck by illness at the prime of his life. He was instructed to put his house in order because he was to die soon. There was some resignation as he prayed and asked God, to recognise that he had "walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and done what was good in Your eyes". 

The Lord spared Hezekiah and added another 15 years to his life. In a subsequent prayer, Hezekiah recalled his petition in his dying moments. Isaiah 38:15 noted that it dawned upon the king that sparing his life was entirely God's doing, only by God's grace. Hezekiah wrote "What can I say? He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this. I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul. Lord by such things men live; and my spirit finds life in them too".

I understand that these were the same words Queen Elizabeth I of Great Britain uttered when on 17 Nov 1558, a messenger arrived from London with the long awaited news that she is to be crowned Queen. "A domino factum est mirabile in oculis nostris – This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvellous in our eyes."

So what does a near death experience and a coronation have in common? What about reading the scripture in Croatia and France? 

The common thread is in the phrase, "There by the grace of God, go I." Life events are lived and experienced entirely by God's grace, be it a re-living after a near death experience, ascension to a throne or recalling of more simple and less dramatic experiences. Both are the Lord’s doing and it is marvellous in our eyes. 

There is an Christian song I learned in the 1970s written by Jimmy Owens, 'Illusive Dream' which always reminds that we live in reality by the grace of God and not in illusion. It is only by God's grace could we have enjoyed the lives we live and experience.

Where might you be going this fine day, my friend

Off along an aimless road that soon must end

Chasing an illusive dream that shines so fair

But when found, isn't there

I can understand your weary sigh, my friend

There, but for the grace of God go I, my friend

Come and let Him lead you to your journey's end

So come along and walk with Him

If without the grace of God your life should end

And before the face of God you'd stand, my friend

What would your illusive dream avail you then?

So come along and walk with Him

Like Hezekiah and Elizabeth I, let us recognise that all that are happening to us is the Lord's doing. We walk with Him and live by His grace. It is marvelous. 

Lionel

First published 3 Sep 2007

Ref 1: Kent Nerburn. Make Me An Instrument Of Your Peace - Living in the Spirit of St Francis. HarperOne, 1999

How Great Is Our God

Butterflies Will Soon Be Free

'Great Is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom. One generation commends Your works to another; they tell of Your mighty acts. They speak of the glorious splendour of your majesty.' Psalms 145:3-5

These are uncertain times. When will the Covid pandemic end? Can we return to the normalcy of pre-Covid days? When will we be able to travel? Will the vaccinations confer adequate personal and herd immunity? Can we eradicate the Coronavirus from the face of the earth? 

At such times, Christians turn to God holding on to the promises God has given us. We reflect on the greatness and goodness of God, convincing ourselves that in the end God is greater than the Covid-19 pandemic and he will deliver us from this scourge. 

In a virtual format, the Charis Methodist Church choir sang a lovely hymn, extolling the promises of God, The Hymn Of Promise. Drawing on God's creative powers, this hymn reminds us, even in these uncertain days, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, for at last will come a victory.

In the bulb, there is a flower

In the seed, an apple tree

In cocoons, a hidden promise

Butterflies will soon be free

In the cold and snow of winter

There's a spring that waits to be

Unrevealed until its season

Something God alone can see

There's a song in every silence

Seeking word and melody

There's a dawn in every darkness

Bringing hope to you and me

From the past will come the future

What it holds, a mystery

Unrevealed until its season

Something God alone can see

In our end is our beginning

In our time, infinity

In our doubt, there is believing

In our life, eternity

In our death, a resurrection

At the last, a victory

Unrevealed until its season

Something God alone can see

With the uncertainty of these times in mind, our choir director, Rosalind Goh, made these comments in introducing this hymn,

 

"Against the bleak background of an uncertain future, we, God’s children, can rest securely on His unbreakable promises. God’s promises reflect His limitless power as Creator God, His loving faithfulness as a caring Father and His omnipotent rule as Sovereign God.The assurance that God fulfills His promises in His season, is our blessedness and enduring hope."

Rosalind explained that in a surprisingly gentle and flowing manner, this hymn that celebrates the Greatness of God which is  

• Evident in the activity of creation 
• Unravelled in processes of nature
• Displayed in the turning of the seasons
• Secured in the fulfillment of every promise
• Experienced in the resurrection after death

Those who have eyes will see the greatness of God and enjoy His goodness. Isaiah 40:25-31 declared:

 

"To whom will you compare me? 

Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One. 

Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? 

He brings them out one after another, 

calling each by its name. 

And he counts them to see that none are lost

 or have strayed away. 

O Israel, how can you say 

the LORD does not see your troubles? 

How can you say God refuses to hear your case? 

Have you never heard or understood? 

Don’t you know that the LORD is the everlasting God, 

the Creator of all the earth? 

He never grows faint or weary. 

No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; 

he offers strength to the weak. 

Even youths will become exhausted, 

and young men will give up. 

But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. 

They will fly high on wings like eagles. 

They will run and not grow weary. 

They will walk and not faint.

Do we worry about the uncertainties, pain and suffering of the Covid crisis? 

While in prison facing the uncertainty of death the apostle Paul recalled his personal deprivations and hardships, wrote:

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 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  

God is a God of Promise. How great is our God!

Lionel

Three Scores and Ten

Painting by Tan Soh Beng

 

"What is your life? You are like a mist that appears for a while and then vanishes. In the morning it springs like new but by evening it is dry and withered." James 4:14 and Psalm 90:10  

Today is my 70th birthday. I have reached the Biblical watershed of Age, three scores and ten. I do not feel old yet and believe that there will be many more good years of service for God and the church. Consider James 4:13, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live. 

I hope I have lived well. Scripture describes living well as a person who is like a tree planted by the waterside. 'Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God. Instead, they find joy in obeying the law of the Lord and they study it day and night. They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time and whose leaves do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do. Psalm 1:1-3

A man's life is valued by how close he has walked with God, the family he has brought up and the friends he has made and kept through many years. One does not leave behind any great legacies, only lasting memories. On that score, I am a very fortunate man, as this video of birthday greetings will attest, I have many faithful friends.

So what lies ahead? J I Packer in his book, Finishing Our Course With Joy wrote "Some grow old gracefully, meaning, fully in the grip of the grace of God. Increasingly they display a well-developed understanding with a well formed character: firm, resilient and unyielding, with a firm sense of proportion and abundant resources for upholding and mentoring others." (Ref 1)

Packer introduced the idea of Spiritual Ripeness. He wrote, "Spiritual ripeness is worth far more than material wealth in any form, and that spiritual ripeness should continue to increase as one gets older. The Bible's view is that aging, under God and by grace, will bring wisdom, that is, an enlarged capacity for discerning, choosing and encouraging." 

My buddy, Edmund Lee introduced me to a song by Alan Jackson entitled 'The Older I Get'.  

The older I get

The more I think

You only get a minute, better live while you’re in it

'Cause it’s gone in a blink

And the older I get

The truer it is

It’s the people you love, not the money and stuff

That makes you rich

And if they found a fountain of youth

I wouldn’t drink a drop and that’s the truth

Funny how it feels I’m just getting to my best years yet

The older I get

The fewer friends I have

But you don’t need a lot when the ones that you got

Have always got your back

And the older I get

The better I am

At knowing when to give

And when to just not give a damn

And if they found a fountain of youth

I wouldn’t drink a drop and that’s the truth

Funny how it feels I’m just getting to my best years yet

The older I get

And I don’t mind all the lines

From all the times I’ve laughed and cried

Souvenirs and little signs of the life I’ve lived

The older I get

The longer I pray

I don’t know why, I guess that I

Got more to say

And the older I get

The more thankful I feel

For the life I’ve had, and all the life I’m living still

In a country and western catchy tune we are told that Aging with God should be the principle of our next lap. Like Alan Jackson, J I Packer gave three advice:

First, live for God one day at a time. We should acquire the habit of keeping God informed every morning and reviewing before God as each day closes.

Second, live in the present moment. Packer said to get into the way of practicing God's presence. Get God into the picture of our day and cultivate divine companionship moment by moment.

Third, live ready to go when Christ comes for us. As far as we can put our lives in order and get right with God day by day. Then we will always be prepared. 

And so I hope to journey on under the guiding hands of God. This is God's promise. (Proverbs 2:5-6 and 9-11)

'Then you will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God.

For the Lord gives wisdom; 

from His mouth come knowledge and understanding

Then you will understand what is right and just and fair

- for every good path

For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge

will be pleasant to your soul

Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you.'

 

Lionel

Ref 1: J I Packer. Finishing Our Course With Joy - Guidance from God for Engaging with our Aging. Crossway 2014

The Blame Game

Straits Times Illustration: Miel

'Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?' Job 2:10

Who takes responsibility for the Covid-19 pandemic? In the anniversary of the pandemic it has devastated public health, hospitals and economies around the world. By 14 Mar 2021 it has claimed 120,033,813 victims and 2,658,861 lives. There were plenty of blame -  countries blaming countries, people blaming governments, citizens blaming each other. Was it a failure of public health? We are all playing the blame game. 

The modern world seems unable to accept disasters. We see ourselves as being able to improve the world, able to control its destiny. We see God as being obligated to arrange things for the good of this world to everyone's benefit. Hence when things go wrong some blame God. Every new major tragedy evokes the same kind of public questions and challenges to faith; questioning God and even blaming Him in the face of the disaster. 

It may be easier for many of us who are bystanders to the Covid Pandemic to just become oblivious to it although we may realise that it has changed society and the way we live. But for those who were infected or who have lost loved ones, the suffering is real. 

Considering the experience of Job, Charles Swindoll (ref 1), wrote 

• There are days too dark for the sufferer to see light
• There are experiences too extreme for the hurting to have hope
• There are valleys too deep for the anguished to find relief. 

No wonder people lay blame for their difficulties and some blame God.  

The disastrous experience of Job and his family, evoked Job's wife to enter into the Blame Game. She said to Job, "Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!" Job 2:9

The self righteous friends of Job posited that Job's suffering was his fault, Job was not right with God.  

Job replied to these accusations with a profound question, "Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?" Job 2:10. The suffering was so hideous that Job came close to blaming God and he questioned His Maker but he eventually refused to lay any blame on anyone, least of all on God.

But the whole world will still ask questions of this plague and finding fault. 

In the book 'Walking with God through pain and suffering' (Ref 1) Timothy Keller introduced the position of Peter Berger that every society and culture must make sense of the suffering and disaster inflicted on them. 

Peter saw in the Bible two ways of resolving this inner and eternal struggle:

• The Suffering of Job. Here we have the most difficult and severe truth, that in the face of disasters and suffering in this world we cannot question God. When Job, attempting to find a reason for the calamity, asked God to explain the sorrows and griefs that had come upon him, God's response was Job had no right to pose the question in the first place.

• The Solution of Christ. Against the harsh reality of Job's experience which many would be unable to understand nor withstand, there is a second position, Jesus Christ who came to suffer for all. In this suffering, Christ provided empathy, sympathy and comfort for all subsequent sufferers so that we can withstand and understand the disasters that may befall us.

Timothy Keller wrote, 'The book of Job rightly points to human unworthiness and finitude and calls for complete surrender to the sovereignty of God. But taken by itself the call might seem more than a sufferer could bear. Then the New Testament comes filled with an unimaginable comfort for those who are trusting in God's sovereignty. The sovereign God Himself came down into this world and experienced its darkness. He personally drank the cup of suffering down to the dregs. And He did it not to justify himself but to justify us, that is to bear the suffering, death and curse for the sin that we have earned. He takes the punishment on Himself so that someday He can return and end all the evil (and plagues) without having to condemn and punish us. God voluntarily become weak and plunges Himself into vulnerability and darkness out of love for us.' 

God is with us in this pandemic.  How Great Thou Art! 

Lionel

Ref 1: Charles Swindoll. Job, A Man of Heroic Endurance. Thomas Nelson 2004

Ref 2: Timothy Keller. Walking with God through Pain and suffering. Hodder and Stoughton 2013

   

Value Of A Life

'For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.' Psalms 139:13-14

It was tragic and shameful, that a Singaporean woman would abuse her domestic helper to point of killing the poor young woman. The perpetrator admitted to repeated beatings, torturing and starving of the maid, eventually causing death. It was a national embarrassment that such cruelty could be inflicted by one human being upon another in a civic society of Singapore. The irate Minister of Manpower exclaimed, "Let me be absolutely clear. There is no place for abuse against foreign domestic workers in Singapore."

Singaporeans are enraged. How could such cruelty exist in our modern, successful and orderly community? We are angry not only at the particular household but also at ourselves for breeding such behaviour. 

Singaporeans are embarrassed. Where is the kindness towards another person? Did the poor girl not share in the very air that we breathe and the vibrancy of our community?

Singaporeans are ashamed. Did we not teach our children to value life? That every single life is sacrosanct and every single person, a child of God?

Now is the time for us to assess how much we value life. How much do we believe that every human being is created by God? 

If Christians believe in the dignity of life and the intrinsic value of every person, we should defend this position rigorously. We are stewards of the life God has given and we are to uphold its sanctity from conception to the grave.

God values Life. King David understood this, when wrote the Psalm 139.

• God made us. You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:13,14

• God knows us. You know me. You know when I sit down and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Psalm 139:1-3 

• God pursues us. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. Psalm 139:7-8

• God guides us. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139: 9,10

• God sanctifies us. Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23,24

David did not only write this about himself, he knew that this is God's design for every person.  A song by John W. Petersen, 'In the Image of God' can help us appreciate this. 

In the Image of God

We were made long ago

With a purpose divine

Here His glory to show

But we failed Him one day

And like sheep went astray

Thinking not of the cost

We His likeness had lost

But from eternity God had in mind,

The work of Calvary 

The lost to find

From His heaven so broad

Christ came down earth to trod

So that men might live again

In the image of God.

Now that I have believed

And the Saviour received

Now that I from the cry

Of my guilt am relieved

I will live for the Lord

Not for gain nor reward

But for love, thinking of

What His grace has restored!

I’ll never comprehend redemption’s plan

How Christ could condescend

To die for man

Such a Saviour I’ll praise

To the end of my days,

As I upward, onward trod,

In the image Of God

What is the value of Life? It is not to be measured in wealth, success, age even health. In a hedonistic society we only value ourselves. In a caring and kind society, the weakest among us will be respected. Addressing the recent concern and disgust felt by Singaporeans, years ago Joni Eareckson Tada advised 

'If you truly believe in the value of life, you care about all of the weakest and most vulnerable in society.'

Lionel

Carpe Diem, Seize the Day

 

Sunrise over Corfu

'Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. But exhort one another everyday, as long as it is called today. We have come to share in Christ ' Hebrews 3:7,13 and 14

In the 1960s, there is a song written by Randy Sparks and sung so meaningfully by John Denver entitled Today. It speaks of making the best use of the opportunities sent our way, not procrastinate and waste the chance. Those lovely blossoms on any spring day will not last forever and the song encourages us to seize the day.

Today, while the blossoms still cling to the vine

I'll taste your strawberries, I'll drink your sweet wine

A million tomorrows shall all pass away

'Ere I forget all the joy that is mine, today

I can't be contented with yesterday's glory
I can't live on promises winter to spring
Today is my moment, now is my story
I'll laugh and I'll cry and I'll sing

While in the desert of Sinai, the Israelites cowardly took a decision not to make use of an open door presented to them by God. After sending spies out across the Jordan river, the report that came back was the Canaanites were giants and impossible to overcome. The Israelites did not venture forward. The result of missing an opportunity was to backtrack into the wilderness and wander around for another forty years. They squandered their days in a morass of spiritual apathy; a loss of confidence until the next generation plucked up enough the courage to enter into God's promise. 

Both Isaiah and Peter in the the Old and New testament proclaimed that all of us are like grass. We are limp and fragile, easily influenced by temptations in an increasingly hedonistic world.  Like the Israelites, we turn our backs on God. That is why Paul warned in Ephesians 5:15-17, to make use of every  opportunity that presents itself to live according to God's will and not by the ways of the world.  

'Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.'

Putting across this opportunity comes, opportunity goes happenstance in life,  poet Robert Herrick (1591-1694), in 'To the Virgins, to make much of Time', introduced the familiar first verse:

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

Old Time is still a-flying;

And this same flower that smiles today

Tomorrow will be dying. 

Watch Robin Williams teach the lesson in a most inimitable way in the film Dead Poets' Society,

 

Solomon the Wise (Ecclesiastes 12:1) reminded all young people growing up:

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them.

 

Jesus Christ calls us to seize the day. He gathers us to Him. When He calls do not resist but make the most of the opportunity. God tends 'His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to his heart.' Isaiah 40:11.  

All we like sheep have gone astray

Each of us turning our own separate way

We have all sinned and fallen short of Your Glory

But Your glory is what we desire to see

And in Your presence is where we long to be

O Lord show us Your mercy and grace

Take us to Your Holy place

Forgive our sin and heal our land

We long to be in Your presence once again

Taking our sickness, taking our pain

Jesus the sacrifice Lamb has been slain

He was despised, rejected by men, He took our sins

Draw us near to you Father through Jesus Your Son

Let us worship before You cleansed by Your blood.  

TODAY, 'Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.' Isaiah 55:6

Lionel 

In The Belly Of A Whale

Whale (Pastel painting by Christine Lee, Feb 2021)

'Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn his fierce anger so that we will not perish.' Jonah 3:8-9

On the 27 Jan 2021, the Internal Security Department disclosed that a 16 year old Singaporean Protestant Christian was arrested for plotting to attack two mosques in Singapore. He was influenced by online antipathy towards Islam. The Singaporean protestant community was in for a rude shock, that in our midst there may be individuals who have such radical views as to plot harm against our fellow Muslim citizens

Timothy Keller in the book The Prodigal Prophet (Ref 1) on the book of Jonah explained that such Christians have shallow identities resulting in some being racists. These professing Christians have a self-righteous image, blinded to their flaws and sins; hostile to those who are different.

Jonah the prophet was like that, he was a nasty and self-righteous person. He could not believe that God would save those he considered to be irredeemable. He had bias and negative views of people who are racially and religiously different from him; a toxic disdain of people with different faiths. So when God ordered him to preach to the people of Nineveh in order that they could repent and turn to God, he was flabbergasted and defiant. He simply refused and sailed away in the opposite direction. 

God punished him. While at sea a raging storm broke. What followed was a seemingly implausible event. Jonah was thrown into the sea during that severe storm and was swallowed by a big fish. In the belly of the whale, Jonah prayed, "In my distress I called to the Lord and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help and you listen to my cry." Jonah 2:1-2. Three days later, that big fish vomited him onto a beach.  

Upclose Whale-Watching@Merimbula, NSW Australia-5 Sep 2008

People who debate whether this is a real story or a fairy tale will miss the real miracle behind the Jonah story, the wonderful grace of God. Despite the incorrigible nature of the Ninevites, Jonah was sent to these people to preach repentance and a return to God. Unexpectedly, they heeded Jonah's warnings, God showed them mercy and the city of Nineveh was saved. Thus, Jonah's shameful behaviour helped demonstrate God's grace for people beyond the Christian community. God saved the city just as He rescued Jonah. 

The Book of Jonah shows how much God desires us to be peacemakers, to build bridges across different communities and faiths. It was very heartening that the day after the troubling news broke, Muslim and Christian leaders met to singularly condemn this terror plot and to reaffirm mutual trust. Thereafter the newspapers carried articles of the necessity to maintain religious harmony and respect for different races and religions.

Are there bigoted people like Jonah around, imprisoned by the narrowness of their self-righteous prejudices? God's grace can turn them around. God's love can build bridges across many communities and help maintain the harmony between the various races.    

There is a old familiar song, Wonderful Grace of Jesus which clearly states what this Grace has done and will do for all of us.

Wonderful Grace of Jesus, greater than all my sin;
How shall my tongue describe it,
Where shall its praise begin?
Taking away my burden, setting my spirit free;
O the Wonderful Grace of Jesus reaches me!

Wonderful Grace of Jesus, reaching to all the lost;

By it I have been pardoned, saved to the uttermost.
Chains have been torn asunder, giving me liberty;
O the Wonderful Grace of Jesus, reaches me!

Wonderful Grace of Jesus, reaching the most defiled;
By its transforming power,
Making me God's dear child,
Purchasing peace and Heaven, for all eternity;
And the Wonderful Grace of Jesus, reaches me!

Refrain

Wonderful the matchless Grace of Jesus,
the matchless Grace of Jesus,
Deeper than the mighty rolling sea;
the rolling sea;
Wonderful Grace, all sufficient for me, for even me
Broader than the scope of my transgressions,
Greater far than all my sin and shame
my sin and shame,
O magnify the precious name of Jesus,
PRAISE HIS NAME!

Lionel

Ref 1: Timothy Keller, The Prodigal Prophet - Jonah and the Mystery of God's Mercy. Hodder and Stoughton, 2018.

People Hearing Without Listening

"The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land - not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD." Amos 8:11

Amos is also known as the prophet of doom. Living in the 8th Century BC, he was the first to have accurately foretold the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel. He lived in a period of relative peace and extreme wealth for both the Kingdom of Judah and Israel. However, beneath the affluence, the two kingdoms were morally corrupt and spiritually destitute. Amos warned of an impending 'Day of the Lord' when God judgement will descend but the people would not listen. 

In Amos 8:12-13, he wrote "Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. In that day the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst.” He warned of the danger of a famine of the hearing the words of the Lord. This may well be the case also for our times 

It is not that there are no bibles. The Bible has been the a best seller for centuries. Each Christian household usually has more than 2 bibles of differing translations. At times and places where the Bible was banned Christians have been known to smuggle bibles into these countries. This happened for China in the 1960s-80s until we realised that more bibles are being printed in China than in any other country in the world. 

It is not a famine of preaching and preachers either. Today many sermons can be downloaded from the Internet. We can search for sermons or Christian writings by key words. There is such a deluge of material that people tend to ignore or simply gloss over them. 

 

It is not that there are no churches. In Singapore, there are more church attendees today than at anytime in our church history. Unfortunately many flocked to churches attracted by the entertainment mode preaching or by lively praises and not for true worship. It seems we have no time nor patience to listen to God's words being preached if we cannot be entertained. Given the competition for attention in advertisements, entertainment, internet in an info-deluge world, dull preaching is given no time of day

These are circumstances similar to Amos' days. At that time, a pseudo-religiousity was introduced by King Jeroboam. 1 Kings 12:25-31 recorded that Jeroboam set up the trappings of religiosity and false religion in Bethel and Dan. He made idols, ordained priests and set up his own holy calendar but lacked the religious truth. In the same way we look for the trappings of religion today not the truth within. 

Is there something plastic in our spirituality that we listen and yet not hear, hear and yet not listen? Is there a famine in the midst of plenty? We may end up be searching for God’s words but at all the wrong places and we will not find Him. Amos warned that there is going to be an unquenchable thirst which can be dreadful. 

Let us turn to the discourse between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:7-13. This woman saw that significance of the water from that well was attached to popularity of Jacob. But she could not see beyond the mere cult popularity of Jacob to the significance of the water she was drawing for Jesus. 

What did Jesus offer? Jesus taught her that there is a NEW water which He shall provide. This water will be a cure for thirsty people. Jesus, the Living Word of God, provides water that shall make us never thirst again, the drinking of which will well up to eternal life. 

So often, Jesus would preface his preaching with, "He who has ears, let him hear." Jesus the Living Word brought us Wonderful Words of Life, it will do well for us to listen.

 Sing them over again to me,

1. Wonderful words of life;
   Let me more of their beauty see,
   Wonderful words of life.
   Words of life and beauty
   Teach me faith and duty;
   • Refrain:
     Beautiful words, wonderful words,
     Wonderful words of life;
     Beautiful words, wonderful words,
     Wonderful words of life.
2. Christ, the blessed One, gives to all
   Wonderful words of life;
   Sinner, list to the loving call,
   Wonderful words of life.
   All so freely given,
   Wooing us to heaven;
3. Sweetly echo the Gospel call,
   Wonderful words of life;
   Offer pardon and peace to all,
   Wonderful words of life.
   Jesus, only Savior,
   Sanctify forever;
4. 
   

Let's strip away all forms of religiosity, which are false and come back to Jesus the Word of Life. Come back to the Fountain whose water when we drink, shall never make us thirst again?

Lionel

Updated from previous article published June 2006

O Death Where is Thy Sting?

Michelangelo's Pieta at the St Peter's Cathedral Rome

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?" 1 Cor 15:55.

This past week a friend from my 1964-69 Raffles Institution cohort died. He was an ardent Christian in his university days and early career but somehow had backslidden in recent years. However he maintained a testimony of a good friend and generous person. The cohort rallied behind him as he lay dying in hospital because we valued this friendship. So many of us went to see him in hospital that there was a waiting list just to get into the ward.

His Christian friends ministered to him, showing love and care and comforting him with singing of hymns and praises at his bedside. He responded positively; his family and we were convinced that like the prodigal son, he returned to God the father.

He died very peacefully and with great dignity.

Chairing the funeral wake, I remarked that while Christians would suffer with dignity the passage of death, at such Christian funeral wakes we celebrate the successes of life. Why? Because death has lost its sting and the grave its victory. It is not that we are somehow immune from and unaffected by the pain of grief and loss when a dear friend or relative dies, instead it means that we have a hope in something eternal that goes beyond life and death and that hope sustains us in difficult time. 

In the mourning and weeping there is also comfort and a sense of rejoicing as we recall the testimony of a good Christian life and give God the glory for the examples of dearly departed. That is the victory over the grave, the assertion that by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, all Christians have secured victory over death. For Christians, death is not the termination of life but the gateway to life. This dogma has given the early Christians courage to face persecution and martyrdom and this courage has been one of the hallmarks of the Christian witness ever since.  

As John Stott put it, "But death holds no horrors for Christian. True, the process of dying can be messy and undignified, and the decay which follows it is not pleasant" (Ref 1). But we are secured when we face death that "..our saviour, Jesus Christ, has destroyed death and has brought life and in immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Tim 1:10). 

Indeed, Christians are not afraid of Death. Life and Death are intertwined in the Christian belief and experience. Jesus taught that the mustard seed must die in order that it might produce good fruits. The writer to the Hebrews wrote that Jesus shared in our humanity 'so that by His death, He might break the power of death - that is, the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.' Hebrews 2: 14-15.

The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, wrote a hymn 'Be Still My Soul' taken from a short and serene section of his famous symphony Finlandia.

 Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side

bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

leave to thy God to order and provide;

in ev'ry change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heav'nly Friend

thro' thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake

to guide the future as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;

all now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know

His voice, who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,

and all is darkened in the veil of tears,

then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,

who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.

Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay

from His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hast'ning on

when we shall be forever with the Lord,

when disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,

sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,

all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

This is a hymn extolling the dignity of death and the hope beyond the grave.

Lionel