Disasters quadruple over last 20 years: Oxfam
Experts tend to be 'clever' to explain disasters, but we ought to be aware of the times we are living in.
As long as we continue to live with the perspective of the men and women of faith that went before us, we will live circumspectly (Eph 5:15), not as fools but wisely. God has passed judgement on the world and given us the mandate NOT to hang on to the temporal and set our eyes on things above and on the crown awaiting us (Jas 1:12).
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
(Heb 11:13)
http://pursuinghispresence.blogspot.com/2007/10/famine-in-last-days-for-nation-shall.html
http://pursuinghispresence.blogspot.com/2007/09/earthquakes-in-last-days-for-nation.html
God bless,
KW
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071125/ts_nm/britain_climate_oxfam_dc;_ylt=AtCjhC.iGjFuUy87c6Pw55dZ.3QA
Disasters quadruple over last 20 years: Oxfam
Sun Nov 25, 2:50 PM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Weather-related disasters have quadrupled over the last two decades, a leading British charity said in a report published on Sunday.
From an average of 120 disasters a year in the early 1980s, there are now as many as 500, with Oxfam attributing the rise to unpredictable weather conditions cause by global warming.
"This year we have seen floods in South Asia, across the breadth of Africa and Mexico that have affected more than 250 million people," said Oxfam's director Barbara Stocking.
"This is no freak year. It follows a pattern of more frequent, more erratic, more unpredictable and more extreme weather events that are affecting more people.
The number of people affected by disasters has risen by 68 percent, from an average of 174 million a year between 1985 to 1994 to 254 million a year between 1995 to 2004.
"Action is needed now to prepare for more disasters otherwise humanitarian assistance will be overwhelmed and recent advances in human development will go into reverse," Stocking said.
Oxfam wants the UN conference on Climate Change in Bali in December to agree a mandate to negotiate a global deal to provide assistance to developing countries to cope with the impacts of climate change and reduce green house gas emissions.
(Reporting by John Sinnott, Editing by Elizabeth Piper)
Monday, November 26, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
The Crown
Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
(Rev 3:11)
In the prior verse Jesus commends the church for keeping the Word of His patience. The word of His patience is the word that teaches us patience endurance. Not falling apart at the face of temptations (adversity) but He has a promise in store for the overcomer. Holding fast requires action on our behalf in this most holy faith.
To those who overcome He will make us a pillar in the temple (Rev 3:12). Pillars are important as they form the very thing that holds the structure together. Samson pushed the pillars of the temple of the Philistines and the whole temple collapse and scored his greatest victory over Israel’s enemy. Therefore pillars do play a very important role and God’s wants us to be a pillar, to be part of His eternal will and purposes. The temple Solomon built had two pillars named Boaz (‘in strength’, Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary) and Jachin (He will establish) that held the whole structure together. The promise to the overcomer is that God will establish us and put within us His strength. When God establish us we have sure foundation is in Christ that gives us a hope and a future. 2Ch 16:9a ‘For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him….’.
Paul beckons us to run the race (1 Cor 9:24) and to run with the prize in mind. For us it would be the crown of life (James 1:12). We don't run the race to complete the race only, but that we win for the crown. In life if we aim to complete what we set out to do, then we might lose the final aim: The crown.
For example if we aim to complete our job, then it's half done. Our goal is to please whom we are doing he task for and please our Lord Christ for we ultimately serve Him in all things (Col 3:23,24). This will certainly make a difference on our attitude towards our work.
So don't just aim for the finish line tape.
Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.
(Pro 17:6)
As with families, aim for posterity (not prosperity). Same as whatever ministry we serve in. We aim for the next generation and the generation after. As God proclaims Himself as God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob….having the same Godly mind to see beyond the finish line tape…. See and aim at the crown beyond. We are blessed today because of Abraham. For Abraham looked for something beyond human eyes can comprehend, it was an eternal crown. So did the rest of the men and women of faith (Heb 11:13, 16), desiring the ‘better’ and wouldn’t settle for the good. For the good can be enemy of the better. The better carries a sense of eternity, the good is settling down for the ‘now’.
God will crown us with many things as we aim to please God, but the ultimate is still the crown of Eternal Life.
My pastor recently challenged the church on what are the goals we want to achieve. And after some thought this is what I came up with, beyond crossing the final timeline of my physical being:
1) To finally hear Jesus say 'Well done My good and faithful servant, welcome into My rest'
2) That my family will go along with me to Heaven!
Friday, November 09, 2007
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(Mat 5:3)
My son asked me this question about being poor in spirit. I am overjoyed to hear such a question from a 10 year old. May he grow up as Jesus did, in wisdom and in stature; by 12 years old may he be able to astonish the wise by his answers at the critical age of growing into manhood. I learned that in the Jewish culture there is not such thing as a teenager but at 12 or 13 the girl or boy grows into a woman or man taking responsibility for his own actions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Mitzvah_and_Bat_Mitzvah). I don’t think our God who called Israel to be the light of the world since Abraham intended for such a thing as the teenage years. That could be the reason why there are so much issues of teenage pregnancy, mischief, rebellion and other behaviors that cause parents so much heartache these days. May be live God’s way to understand that we train our children in the way they should go and we will not lose them to the world (Prov 22:6).
The poor in spirit are those who realize that their spiritual need to be fulfilled by non other than God. Most people, even Christians seek fulfillment in things that can be grasps in the physical therefore a success of a man or woman is found in their physical wealth. But our God looks at the heart and not the exterior values. In fact there is blessed-ness or happiness about those who are needy or seek spiritual riches where moth and rust don't destroy. Seek heavenly treasure and not earthly ones, for the former will last for eternity (Matt 6:19,20). We know that we are in danger of laying up earthly treasures when we start to yearn for physical things. Psalms 73:12 warns us that it is often that the ungodly prosper in the world as oppose to Luke 6:20 where Jesus raised His eyes and said that the poor are blessed for they receive the Kingdom of God. I suspect that these verses are not popular with the prosperity gospel preachers. God gives us power for making wealthy (Ecc 5:19), but if we trust in our richest more than God than we are in serious trouble.
Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
Pro 11:4
All of us today are considered rich as compared to the early church where most Christians were poor and some were even slaves who owned little or nothing at all. In our situation of living rich lives (good food on the table, change of clothes everyday, shelter, etc), we should remember that that we serve or worship a Living God and not riches (Matt 6:24). In other words, don’t be a slave of riches but as the Apostle Paul did to claim himself as a slave of Jesus Christ. This means that He knew and experienced the Lordship of Christ. We have to ask ourselves if He is Lord of our finances or not. Can we truthful say that we are more blessed to give than to receive?
Basically being poor means that we are in need. This is a good frame of mind (being poor in spirit) to be in need because this reflects our humility before God. For God resist the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
James 2:5 talks about the poor being rich in faith. He is saying that we that are willing to be contented physically (willing to live with lesser things) in whatever circumstances, will have much to gain in faith. Heb 11:6 talks about the impossibility to please God without faith. For He will personally reward those who come to Him knowing that there is no other save God alone that can satisfy our needy spirit. Realizing that there is no other source of fulfillment is the key to receiving from God. But our part is to be diligent is seeking God.
I personally believe that richest of heaven are many but it begins with firstly believing that He is (the only existing One, no other source will we seek); secondly to be in the state of realization that we need to be satisfied spiritually as our aim; thirdly that we need faith that pleases Him and lastly to be humble before God and man (for the meek shall inherit the earth and gain peace, Psa 37:11). Our journey to spiritual riches starts with these as our first steps.
(Mat 5:3)
My son asked me this question about being poor in spirit. I am overjoyed to hear such a question from a 10 year old. May he grow up as Jesus did, in wisdom and in stature; by 12 years old may he be able to astonish the wise by his answers at the critical age of growing into manhood. I learned that in the Jewish culture there is not such thing as a teenager but at 12 or 13 the girl or boy grows into a woman or man taking responsibility for his own actions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Mitzvah_and_Bat_Mitzvah). I don’t think our God who called Israel to be the light of the world since Abraham intended for such a thing as the teenage years. That could be the reason why there are so much issues of teenage pregnancy, mischief, rebellion and other behaviors that cause parents so much heartache these days. May be live God’s way to understand that we train our children in the way they should go and we will not lose them to the world (Prov 22:6).
The poor in spirit are those who realize that their spiritual need to be fulfilled by non other than God. Most people, even Christians seek fulfillment in things that can be grasps in the physical therefore a success of a man or woman is found in their physical wealth. But our God looks at the heart and not the exterior values. In fact there is blessed-ness or happiness about those who are needy or seek spiritual riches where moth and rust don't destroy. Seek heavenly treasure and not earthly ones, for the former will last for eternity (Matt 6:19,20). We know that we are in danger of laying up earthly treasures when we start to yearn for physical things. Psalms 73:12 warns us that it is often that the ungodly prosper in the world as oppose to Luke 6:20 where Jesus raised His eyes and said that the poor are blessed for they receive the Kingdom of God. I suspect that these verses are not popular with the prosperity gospel preachers. God gives us power for making wealthy (Ecc 5:19), but if we trust in our richest more than God than we are in serious trouble.
Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
Pro 11:4
All of us today are considered rich as compared to the early church where most Christians were poor and some were even slaves who owned little or nothing at all. In our situation of living rich lives (good food on the table, change of clothes everyday, shelter, etc), we should remember that that we serve or worship a Living God and not riches (Matt 6:24). In other words, don’t be a slave of riches but as the Apostle Paul did to claim himself as a slave of Jesus Christ. This means that He knew and experienced the Lordship of Christ. We have to ask ourselves if He is Lord of our finances or not. Can we truthful say that we are more blessed to give than to receive?
Basically being poor means that we are in need. This is a good frame of mind (being poor in spirit) to be in need because this reflects our humility before God. For God resist the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
James 2:5 talks about the poor being rich in faith. He is saying that we that are willing to be contented physically (willing to live with lesser things) in whatever circumstances, will have much to gain in faith. Heb 11:6 talks about the impossibility to please God without faith. For He will personally reward those who come to Him knowing that there is no other save God alone that can satisfy our needy spirit. Realizing that there is no other source of fulfillment is the key to receiving from God. But our part is to be diligent is seeking God.
I personally believe that richest of heaven are many but it begins with firstly believing that He is (the only existing One, no other source will we seek); secondly to be in the state of realization that we need to be satisfied spiritually as our aim; thirdly that we need faith that pleases Him and lastly to be humble before God and man (for the meek shall inherit the earth and gain peace, Psa 37:11). Our journey to spiritual riches starts with these as our first steps.
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