by Admin | Sep 26, 2015 | Joseph Leong, • Timely Word •
The fall of Jerusalem and exile to Babylon assaulted Daniel’s very sense of identity and place in the world. He had been brought up believing that God Himself had called Abraham and promised to Israel the land that they lived on. He would have been taught that God laid down His holy law through Moses. The Temple built by Solomon in Jerusalem was at the centre of the worship of Yahweh. The land, the law and the temple’s priesthood and sacrifices were at the centre of a nation built on the worship of the one true God.
So the desolation of Jerusalem and the nation, and the mass deportation of exiles to Babylon was not just a matter of going to live in a strange and foreign land. Without the Temple, without its priests and sacrifices, with the nation scattered, without Jerusalem, the people seemed to have lost their spiritual core. The exile shattered the very foundations of how a devout Jew like Daniel saw himself and the values by which he would live.
“How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!” Psalm 137:4,5
The dilemma for Daniel would have been what to hang on to – his core – amidst so much that he had lost. Daniel and his friends did not stand against the tide on everything. If that were so, they would not have even stayed on in the palace to serve a pagan empire and king who considered himself equal to God. They might have even tried to escape back to Jerusalem. Instead, they subjected themselves to the purposes of Babylon, and Persia later. They were part of the exploited en masse “brain drain” and “foreign talent” policy of pagan powers, and served faithfully and with distinction in the courts of their kings.
But they stood firm on their core amidst this tide – their identity, their values, which was centred on the one true God they knew sat above all kingdoms and all of history. They were given Babylonian names not just to blend in, but to signal their change of allegiance from Yahweh to Babylonian gods. (Their Jewish names were Daniel: “God is my judge”, Hananiah: “Jehovah is gracious”, Mishael: “who is like God?”, and Azariah: “Jehovah helps”). But they hung on to their Jewish names because it was who they were. Their very names proclaimed how they saw themselves, with God at the centre of who they were. This core gave them perspective and orientation amidst turmoil.
Their values flowed from this God-centred core identity. The nation and the temple may be gone, but they found their anchor in their inner faith in a sovereign God. It was as if they would not only hold on to the law, but would set up temples to God in their bodies and minds. So Daniel and his friends negotiated so they could observe the dietary laws God had laid out.
It would not seem like much to others, but they would observe the law of Moses as much as they could. The three friends refused to worship the image the king erected. And Daniel continued to pray with his windows open to Jerusalem even when it would threaten his life. Daniel himself pronounced God’s judgments on Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, speaking truth to power when he knew that they could very well have punished him over a message that challenged their self-conceptions of absolute supremacy. These were not deliberate public displays just to show defiance and accentuate differences, because they knew and heeded the advice of Jeremiah:
“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:7)
Instead, their actions were an outworking of the core of their values and their identity. And what sustained them would also have been the living hope of a greater promise that they held within each of them:
“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope… I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” (Jeremiah 29:10-14)
May we too find our core of identity and values in our God when things seem to change around us. And as we seek the welfare of the places that God has placed us, may we also find hope in knowing that God has His plans and a future for us. There will be a time too when God will gather us home from the nations. May He find us faithful.
By Joseph Leong (YCKC Bulletin 26&27 September 2015)
by Admin | Aug 30, 2014 | Joseph Leong, • Timely Word •
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1)
Worship is the rightful response of all that we are to all that God is and does. This response to God, in spirit and in truth, is what makes it possible to know and enjoy fellowship with our Creator, as He created us to do. And by conquering sin, Jesus made it possible for man to worship God freely and directly again. Sin no longer prevents us from approaching Him, worshipping Him and enjoying a deep relationship with Him. We were created and saved to be able to worship Him!
But worshipping God is more than just about attending church services or following a devotional discipline. If we reduce it to this or fixate ourselves on this, we are missing out. It is possible to be faithful in rituals, attendance and even enjoy the “emotional high” of music during worship services, and yet not be worshipping at all.
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6)
God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)
God does not insist on rituals, clergy, and buildings when it comes to worship. Of course, used appropriately, these things can help, but they are not necessary for true worship, nor do they define what worship is.
Some of us experience dry, clinical spiritual lives precisely because we rely excessively on such external, routines and “emotional stimulants”. With the sophistication of today’s church programs and services, it is easy to forget that the act of worship is first and foremost an inward one, responding and communing deeply with our God. So how can we cultivate an inner habit of worship?
A simple man who lived in the 17th century, known as “Brother Lawrence”, had useful practical advice. He lived a humble life and is remembered simply for living the reality that we should be worshipping God in all that we do and with all that we are. He suggested that:
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We must “school our souls” to find joy in the companionship of our Creator. We must be in constant conversation with Him. He is with us, within us, always there and within reach. We need not go or look anywhere else, but within each of us.
- We must find moments, as often as we can, to search for God “in the depth of our being”. You can talk to Him, think of Him, dedicate what you are doing to Him, and more. This goes on inside us, and it is just between you and God, nothing else is needed but the reaching out of our inner beings to Him.
- Our every action can and should be acts of communion with God. In everything you do, whether it is work, school, family or play, entreat Him to bless and prosper the work of your hands, and the words of your mouth, for His glory. You can do this while busily engaging in your life’s activity.
Whatever the form, all that is needed is the authentic inner response of our spirits to God. It can be done anytime, in many ways, and in many forms.
Lawrence calls these acts collectively “the practice of the presence of God”. Cultivate these habits, so we may catch a glimpse of what it means to worship continuously. And find life’s deepest fulfillment by communing with our Creator and friend.
By Joseph Leong (YCKC Bulletin 30&31 August 2014)
by Admin | Sep 28, 2013 | Joseph Leong, Linda Leong, • Timely Word •
I volunteer as a pastoral care teacher at my son’s school’s parent support group. Not too long ago, the pastoral staff collected prayer requests from the Primary 6 boys. To our surprise, the prayer requests were not merely for the up and coming PSLE. Instead, a substantial number of prayer requests were for the well-being of their families – for parents not to quarrel, not to have affairs nor get divorced.
It is sobering for a Children’s Day bulletin message to start on such a note, but we must never forget that our children’s welfare and happiness are tied to the marital union and codes for the family which God instituted. In Ephesians 5:22 – 6:9, Paul gives instructions to the Christian household. First, 5:21-24 reminds husbands and wives to submit to each other out of reverence to Christ. Next, 5:25-33 emphasizes the bond of love and respect in the family and at length reminds Christian spouses that they’re on the same team (5:31 is specific that even in-laws do not share in that most intimate of bonds). Only after these instructions on how the family should be led are there comparatively brief, but equally important, instructions for parent-child relationships and relationships with household staff.
How we raise our children must be seen in the context of God’s order for the family. How we live as a family must be seen in the context of God’s order for marriage. And how we live as husband and wife must be seen in the context of God’s order for our relationship with Him.
The above passages raise two lessons for children to grow up well. First, there is a clear hierarchy in the household – Christ, spouse, children, staff. If this hierarchy is out of order, the household falls apart. The structure makes sense and this hierarchy must be maintained. Second, a household is built on love and respect. If love and respect for Christ and for each other do not exist, it is a house divided. And as Christ reminded us, a house divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:25).
In living out these principles, there are of course challenges faced by every generation and every society. There are two we seem to struggle with in today’s Singapore.
First, the struggle with priorities. In the quest to provide for our children, we as parents need to be watchful over our priorities. Children require much toil, time and attention, but this must not come at the expense of time and attention to our spouses. There is a tipping point where if we are honest with God, we must admit that our secular work or even the day to day running of the household and children, have overtaken our spiritual lives as well as the physical and emotional needs of our spouses. When that happens, we expose ourselves to the evil one, who will seize a foothold for temptation.
Second, the struggle with sin. Do not be deceived and do not deceive yourself. We are all prone to be tempted. When we give way to temptation, sin enters the family in the form of addictions, lies or adultery. It is like trying to keep a smouldering coal under the carpet. Suspicion, defensiveness, weariness at keeping up appearances will burn a hole through the carpet. Ultimately we end up hurting the nearest and dearest to us, our family, our children, and most of all, we grieve God.
We need to pray and be vigilant to uphold our children, our families, our marriages, and our precious relationship with our Heavenly Father who underwrites it all.
By Joseph and Linda Leong (YCKC Bulletin 28&29 September 2013)
