Weeks 45 & 46 (10) - Blessings of Divine Guidance

I was up early on Sunday morning, sitting in my comfortable serviced apartment and watching a beautiful sunrise. My next day job still has not materialized and I was praying and seeking God.

Then I read the e-mail of my dear friend Dr. Johan Combrinck, Founder of AFnet. AFnet was started some 25 years ago and it is a ministry that is blessing the churches in Africa through the training of thousands of pastors and is blessing the continent through various social programs.

Below is an extract from the AFnetAid website www.afnetaid.org :

AFnetAid is not just slapping a temporary superficial bandage on a huge underlying problem, HIV/AIDS in Africa. The AIDS pandemic is killing an entire generation of fathers and mothers and leaving millions of children without the physical and emotional support of parents. Our aid brings healing from within as we reach out to these children so a new generation can break the cruel and seemingly hopeless cycle of poverty and disease. AFnetAID seeks to inspire hope for the future as we take AIDS orphans off the streets and give them back their childhood, equip them with the skills they need to thrive rather than just survive, and provide compassionate care to meet their physical needs of food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention. Band-aids represent healing, but also love and caring. You can help us wipe the tears, kiss the boo boos, and treat the wounds. Hope and healing is happening!

For Only US$35 a month, you can ensure a child receives:

- Tuition and a uniform for school

- Day care for younger siblings

- Meals before and after school

- Care packages for extended family

- Medical care access

- Educational and legal assistance

- Grief and trauma counselling

- Vocational training

I was humbled by the passion and love my dear friend has for God and the people of Africa. It changed the perspective of my own situation and my mission for God.

It reminded me of the following scriptures:

[Matt 25:31-40 NIV]

31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.

32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,

36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?

38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?

39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Our Lord God is much bigger than our problems. Let us reflect upon the love of God and what He has done for us. Let us roll up our sleeves, fix our eyes on Jesus and start doing the will of God. Whatever we do on this side of eternity, make sure that we will end up on the right side of God!

Indeed God has been faithful in all these years I have known Him. I want to “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD……I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation……..This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. O LORD, save us; OLORD, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you…….You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. [Ps 118:1,19-29 NIV]

In my search for my next job, I have been evaluating various opportunities. I am looking for confirmation and want to make sure that it is from God. God’s warning to His people is loud and clear. "Woe to the obstinate children," declares the LORD, "to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; who go down to Egypt without consulting me; who look for help to Pharaoh's protection, to Egypt's shade for refuge. But Pharaoh's protection will be to your shame, Egypt's shade will bring you disgrace……..because of a people useless to them, who bring neither help nor advantage, but only shame and disgrace." [Isa 30:1-5 NIV]

Jesus has shown us how to resist the temptation of the world. “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'" The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" [Luke 4:1-13 NIV]

I will continue to seek God’s guidance through studying His Word and listening to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair — every good path.” [Prov 2:1-15 NIV]

Amen and amen!

Weeks 43 & 44 (10) - Blessings of Divine Guidance

Follow on from my last message on the story of the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped over 600m below ground for 69 days, I can see that that they faced it with determination and strong will (or faith?). One of them ran the equivalent of 5 km a day, pulling a heavy weight behind him. Instead of focusing on the problem, the hopeless situation of waiting to be saved, they practiced positivity.

In these past 2 weeks in particular, I have been learning to wait upon the Lord. I have also been trying to comprehend the meaning of God’s Word in [Ps 127:2] “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat — for he grants sleep to those he loves.”

I praise God that while I am waiting for my next job, I did not lose any sleep. Indeed God grants sleep to those He loves :o)

But I am also digging deeper in my faith – “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” [Heb. 11:1]

Daniel in the Bible was a man of integrity with no weak spots, no scandals, and no sins that his enemies could identify. And when King Darius came into power during Israel's 70-year captivity, he relied on Daniel's wise, insightful counsel. Yet there were others who didn't like this Hebrew prophet.

Because Daniel had a habit of praying openly every day, his enemies convinced King Darius to foolishly sign a law that would prohibit prayer to anyone except the king. The penalty for breaking this law was being thrown into a den of lions. Sure enough, Daniel prayed as he always had, and it was reported to Darius. The frustration for the king was that as powerful as he was, he couldn't change a law that he himself had set into motion. So Daniel was sent to die in a den of lions. Yet the Bible tells us that Daniel slept while the king was up all night. I find it interesting that the child of God in the den of lions slept peacefully, while the faithless man in the palace with all its luxuries was up and worried and stressed out. Yes, God gives rest to his loved ones.

And so it is for the person who puts his or her trust in God. When we are worrying, we are really saying that God isn't in control, that God is not paying attention. When we worry, we are not trusting in the providence of God.

And what is the providence of God? It is the belief that God is in control of the universe. And specifically as Christians, it means we believe there are no accidents in our lives. Nothing touches us that has not first passed through His hands.

Although I have a number of job opportunities, the waiting is not over yet. Besides, I want to be sure it is from God.

In the meantime, I practice positivity:

1) I do 45 min. of prayer jog plus aerobic exercise every morning.

2) I rented an office space and launched the BBC (Building Biblical Churches / Building Bridges for Christ) school last Saturday

Along the way I had a couple of pleasant surprises:

1) HSBC sent me HK$550 worth of SOGO gift certificate for being a good customer

2) A good Christian friend and business owner offers to pay me to help him with a small engineering project

While I am waiting for God to open the right door, I shall continue to “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” [Ps 118:1]

I can relate to the Psalmist when he said, “I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the LORD:"O LORD, save me!" The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The LORD protects the simple hearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living. [Ps 116:1-9 NIV]. That is my kind of worshipper!

It would be very sad if this is what God think of me and my worship. “The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish." Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and think, "Who sees us? Who will know?" You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "He did not make me"? Can the pot say of the potter, "He knows nothing"? [Isa 29:13-16 NIV]

When Jesus contemplated on the cross, he also had to dig deep in his faith. His human body simply could not cope. “……..Jesus….began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch." Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." [Mark 14:32-42 NIV]

Even the wisest and richest of al kings felt hopelessly inadequate and unworthy in front of the Almighty God. King Solomon couldn’t help but confessed “ "I am the most ignorant of men; I do not have a man's understanding. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? Tell me if you know! "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.” [Prov 30:2-6 NIV]

Amen and amen!