Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. I would seek unto God,
and unto God would I commit my cause: Which doeth great things and unsearchable;
marvellous things without number.
Job 5:7-9
Troubles are the necessary impetus that will drive many to seek God. And God will allow a wrong to be used to lead to a right. And much as our world is fallen, clearly evil in men has taken on new extremes.
"America the beautiful" is a lovely patriotic song written in the 19th century, when USA was on the cusps of greatness come the 20th century. The 2nd stanza had these wonderful words of thanksgiving
"America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,"
Today, the words from the 4th stanza below seem increasingly appropriate, in an America that has increasingly lost her way, be it in the unfettered greed in Wall St, the proliferation of murderous rampages from a surfeit of guns, and the deviant sexual orientation that is moving to mainstream life. And not forgetting the wholesale hallucination with the spreading legalization of marijuana.
America! America!
God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American epic war film set during the Vietnam War, directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando. Will the rooster come home to roost, and "the great Satan"( that is what the late Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini called America )be enmeshed in an apocalypse come year 2013?
And would the catalyst be from the push to make America energy independent through the extraction of shale gas?
New York City and Washington D.C are located near the largest shale formation in USA.
"This tectonic history created the environment for hydrocarbon development and the trapping mechanisms to accumulate economic quantities of oil and natural gas. Figure 2.1 displays the orientation of the Paleozoic rocks in NewYork."
( from report titled FRACTURED SHALE GAS POTENTIAL IN NEW YORK)
A report today showing that shale fracking (or frakking) causes earthquakes, albeit minor for now, the British Geological Survey says that the two earthquakes in Lancashire were indeed caused by Cuadrilla Resources’ exploratory shale gas wells (Forbes magazine)
When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
Deuteronomy 4:30-31
A fertile mind I have, but it ends here, for only our Lord knows what is ahead. But from experience, most only turn to God when circumstances overwhelm them. But thankfully, it is a fact that God will respond to a humbled and contrite heart
For thus saith Jehovah unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live;
Amos 5:4
Financial freedom, the means to live well materially, the lifting of the burdensome yoke of the need to make a living, this is the aspiration of many.
"The borrower is a slave to the lender,"(Proverbs 22:7) this was the thought that our good Lord impressed upon me at the break of dawn. Am I stating the obvious to the oblivious?
But as the Spirit prompts, I must not desist.
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
1 Peter 2:11
Indeed, what grips many of us, and puts us on edge is the palpable tension that encapsulates our very being when we commit into decisions that could mean being nearer that elusive day of financial freedom, if things don't go awry. Today, the "free" drug of easy monies and low interest rates is leading many to taking on more brick and mortar, and with it, even greater debts, with their eyes fixed on mammon and her delusory promise of financial freedom. Owning multiple properties is increasingly the norm for a growing minority who have convinced themselves that they needed to ensure that their offsprings will have a home to call their own. But have we forgotten that our only focus should be on building the House of our Lord. Individually we are the temple of God, collectively we are the church.
And have we exchanged inner peace and joy for perceived and temporal happiness?
Have we forgotten that it is dependency upon God that truly matters.
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
Luke 21:34
For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
Luke 21:35
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Luke 21:36
Imagine if the tremors from a future earthquake in Sumatra was a lot stronger. What if a few buildings were to collapse in Singapore. The very foundational belief in properties will undergo a sea change. Many of the seriously rich lost great wealth during the sub prime crisis not because they were just imprudent, but exogenous factors occurred which was beyond their wildest expectations.
A Pastor friend shared with me, 6 months back, of his concerns for churches in Singapore, whose funding comes primarily from a largely middle to upper income congregation, many of whom are enamored with properties. What if a tsunami of fear of an economic or possibly political nature was to lead to a wobbly property market and a destruction of wealth. Will our churches be impoverished, just as the world are converging upon our blessed land, when we should be ministering to them with our God given provisions?
Contentment is not about being happy with 1,2, 3 or 100 properties. It is about being thankful to our Great God in all circumstances.
Stewardship is also not about being careful and rational in our investment choices. It is about total dependence upon the grace and leading of The Lord our God.
It will be wise to take a step back from stacking on more mortgages on one's sagging shoulders and instead, take time with our Maker. Contrary to the popular notion that God will give us more material riches when we ask, it is the richness of life that comes from seeking Him with our all, that He will bless us with.
Question is, like most, will you need the houses of cards that you are busy pursuing to come crashing down before you will begin to avail yourself of this truth?
But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
Deuteronomy 4:29-31
Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
Deuteronomy 4:39-40
God blesses
Eng Hieang
30th Dec 2012
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