13 For I am the LORD, your God,
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
14 Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob,
O little Israel,
for I myself will help you," declares the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
...
17 "The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the LORD will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
19 I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set pines in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
A while ago, I told a friend that the ministry God has given me brought me the most joy and sorrow at the same time. Despite the end of year, Christmas and the holidays, there is a hole in my heart. Looking at Mississauga, a city of 700,000 and growing. And my guess that only 100,000 Christians in this city (100 churches with an average of 100 members). That means 6 out of 7 will go to hell. Indeed, this is an urgency.
Yet, where is the sense of urgency? Or am I wallow in complacency which I shamefully enjoy....
So who do I turn? Who can I turn to without being a burden to them? Who can feel the anguish and the magnitude of what's going on? There is only One I know. It is the One who sent me to go in the first place.
Today I hang out with some highschool friends. As I walked back to my car, the passage of 1 Peter was very vivid. None of them know Christ and I can really see the difference in our lives. My priorities are re-oriented. It was shifting slowly when I went to church. Now after the pressing desire to go hard being a Christianity, it shifts even more.
And I smile, my actions are different and I do not feel an outcast. For I am a children of God. Elected. And I will be scattered among a stranger on this world. Though I am different and at times of weakness, I want to belong. Yet, I now experience a new Hope which will never decay or perish. And this is not something I discovered. For it was revealed through the Holy Spirit from God's faithfulness.
How can I response to such an everlasting treasure?
I smile more. Reading over Isaiah 41, He is my comforter. His promise is made a long time ago. He won't forsake me. So for what should I be afraid of? For my inheritance is permanently etched in the book of Life. For what should I be distraught? He is the God who promise those who answers to the needy and poor.
Jesus, you are worthy. For knowing You and being called by You is worth more than the gold, the accolades, the accomplishments and the social status in this world combine. And He is the Hope which I long for and seek. Cause all the other hopes...no matter how flashy and attractive they might be...simply do not measure up.
♫ Jesus you are mercy, Jesus you are justice
Jesus you are worthy that is what you are
you died alone to save me, your rose so you could raise me
you did this all to make me a chosen child of God ♫
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