Zephaniah the prophet - the calling of discipleship

God raise up Zephaniah as a prophet when young Josiah had started to be the King of Judah. As different from the other prophets, Zephaniah was a royal blood and a great-grandchildren of King Hezekiah. He is a person of considerable social standing in Judah. His name means 'hidden God' or 'The Lord hides (protect)', probably refer to God's protection of him during the infamous reign of the wicked King Manasseh (as Manaseeh execute prophets, including Issiah, and sacrifice royal child to foreign God). God has protect and reserve Zephaniah as a prophet, so that he has a part to play for the upbringings of the the Josiah - the last good King of Judah, and to propheised against the prevalence of wicked practise left by the reigns of Manasseh and Amo. Approaching the end of Zephaniah ministry, the book of Law was found in the temple, and Josiah started to initiate the reform to reverse the evil trends of the society.

God raise up Zephaniah as a prophet when young Josiah had started to be the King of Judah. As different from the other prophets, Zephaniah was a royal blood and a great-grandchildren of King Hezekiah. He is a person of considerable social standing in Judah. His name means 'hidden God' or 'The Lord hides (protect)', probably refer to God's protection of him during the infamous reign of the wicked King Manasseh (as Manaseeh execute prophets, including Issiah, and sacrifice royal child to foreign God). God has protect and reserve Zephaniah as a prophet, so that he has a part to play for the upbringings of the the Josiah - the last good King of Judah, and to propheised against the prevalence of wicked practise left by the reigns of Manasseh and Amo. Approaching the end of Zephaniah ministry, the book of Law was found in the temple, and Josiah started to initiate the reform to reverse the evil trends of the society.
The image of discipleship start to linger in my mind. Together with the High Priest at the time during the early reign of Josiah, Zephaniah . Sometimes our life went on hiding intentionally or unintentionally, like Zephaniah under the shadow of the wicked King and hostile environment. Yet, God will keep us and his vision store in our heart will never fades, and according to His timing we have to stand up to fight for Him in a way that God has called us to. God has call Zephaniah to prophesy to the whole nation and to bring a positive influence to Josiah.

I can relate to Zephaniah. Though at this moment I have to hide for a while to concentrate on my PhD, and cannot stand in the frontline in the fellowship, yet it is His calling that for me to focus on a more personally work to disciple and to exert a positive to young leaders or new believers, so that one day another Josiah will be raised up to transform the nation.

Lord, may you keep me and let me experience you more during this time, and may you preserve my calling so that one day according to your timing I can respond to your call.

Habakkuk 2:18-20 - Idolatry in life and presence of God

Idolatry is not just bowing down to idols; it is trusting and worshipping in what one has made, and therefore, in one's own power as creater and sustainer. Idols cannot provide guidance, have no real power, and there is no breath and lives in it. They are empty, and cannot answer to us no matter how we seek them and pray to them. Yet our Lord is in His temple, we worship and come to him in silent awe, great respect and reverence, to hear what he has to say.

After the failing of certain job interviews, I saw my weakness and I am hunger to raise my games to let myself to be more competitive. I want myself to be a capable person. It is understandable to have a desire to progress, but there is always a danger that I trust in too much to the secular though of how to make oneself competitive and capable so that these guiding thoughts will become my 'idol'. Many times peace have departed from me and worries come.

But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him (Habakkuk 2:20)

O Lord, you are here, help me to worship You and come to you in silent awe, great respect and reverence, to listen to your voice and to follow what you want to be. You are the one who gives live, You are the one who holds the future, and You are presence around us. Help me to realise your presence, and help me to place my trust soley in You only, not the things offer in the world.

Habakkuk 2:6-17: Injustice

'Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself weallthy by extortion!' (v.6)
'Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain to set his next on high, to escape the clutches of ruin!' (v.9)
'Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by crime!' (v.12)
'Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbours, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies.' (v.15)

'unjust' according to Aristotle may mean from gaining the advantage of oneself
1. by seizing what belongs to other, his property, his reward, his office, and the like, and
2. by denying a person that which is due to him, the fulfillment of a promise, the repayment of a debt, the showing of proper respect , and so on.

Here, God dislike the greedy persons who plunder and what belongs to others to get themselves rich , and use this unjust gain to climb to power on the back of others. They use every illegal, unethical, cruelest means to destroy the others while pursuing their goal, and they dehumanize, exploit and shame the others while they are in a powerful position.

Sometimes in my heart I complaint on God. It seems that it is these greedy and arrogant people who are likely to achieve success and progress upwards the social ladder than the christian. Is it foolish to hold on the our christian faith and ethical standard? I never understand the dynamics and the rule of games in the society, especially when we are working. Sometimes I also feel discouraged as it seems that I am not as competitive as others, and I blame God for it. Maybe it is because when working christians fix their eyes on how to success in the world that they backslide and conform to the standard of the world, and I may tempt to follow this pattern as I also want to achieve success in worldly standard. Yet, God has its rule, and it is never his will to enrich oneself by unjust gain and become arrogant to exploit and destroy others. We should strive our best to progress, but not on the back of the others. It's difficult, but as His promise - the righteous will live by his faith.

O Lord, Help me to live by faith and conform to the world standard even though I have go through my failure in my life. Help me to uphold your integrity and to live a just life, and protect my heart so that I will not become greedy, arrogant and cruel. Help me to work hard and to do my best in my life, but only under your hand.

Habakkuk 2:2-5 - but the righteous will live by his faith

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3)

Evil and injustice seems to have the upper hand in the world where we belong. Yet God saw it, and He promise that one day He will deliever justice to judge and punishing the sinful practise people have committed according to Him plan and perfect timing, even though we don't understand why the injustice still prevails in current time. Yet we have to be patient and to hold on our hope.

See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright - but the righteousness will live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4)

The arrogant people are not upright and trust in themselves only. For us as a christian, we will live by His faith, to place our trust in Him, in order to live through the difficult times at this moment even though we don't see a sign of 'hope'. There is something better in the future, that God is directing all things according to His purpose, and one day Jesus will come again to judge the world.

It is a consolation and encouragement for all of us who are perplexed about life. God is just. The reality of life, especially in our working place, make us easier to conform to the standard of this world. It seems that it is those who don't follow the rule triumph, and being a christian seems to make us less competitive and fall prey to the others. Yet in the end, God will see what we did and He will judge.

O Lord, grant me faith so that I can follow your principle to trust in your way of doing things, and to uphold your justice and standard, and to keep following you even though times are difficult.

Habakkuk 2:1 - Watching for His answer

I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me and what answer I am to give to this complaint (Hab. 2:1)

Last week there were several incidents that disturb me. The first is the critical illness faces by Lord Chan. It was very sudden. He is in intensive care and going to die soon (if no miracles happened). I am not familiar with him, but I know that God has greatly used him in the chinese ministry in UK. He can connected to the english speaking congregation in the church, and God has put him in a strategic political position in the House of Lord to speak for the Chinese. There is already not enough christian workers serving Chinese, somehow just wonder why God is going to take another one away when the harvests are many but the workers are few.

The second was my interview. My performance was not good. It was my problems rather that His problems. Yet, in my low time, I complaint to God about my uncertainties facing me.

The third was the Israel-Palestine conflict. I have read from the news that Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke that he no longer could resume his work as the prime minister. This have create a lot of uncertainty and instability in the future for the peace process that has just begun to restart again.

Utimately in our heart, there is so many questions in life that we don't know how to answer. We feel reluctant to place our total trust in Him. We can't see the future. Maybe God will do something new. So as Habakkuk, who was standing at the watchtower, hoping to find out God's messager while they are in a distance, and waiting for God's answer to his complaint.

O Lord, help me to station myself to wait upon your answer. Help me have the faith to hold on to you while I am waiting, and open my eyes and ears so that I can see you face to face in my daily work, and to hear your voice through your Word and the Holy Spirit. Don't let my heart be hardened, that make me seperate from you.

Doese the church constitute double standard problem on several social issue in HK

Having read several articles whether HK church leaders when dealing with several social issue. While they signs a petition to the government against laws that is related to homosexual (Sodo) and gambling, they stay silent regarding the policy report on constitution reform (i.e. related to democracy in HK and its timetable). Some argue that this constitute a double standard, and question the meaning of 'seperation of state and church'. Some argue that the church should get more involvement, while some argue that the church shouldn't get involved as a collective group, and leave it to individual christianity. Some of their response clarify my thought in this area.

The difference response & reaction of the church community towards different social issue reflect their understanding about fundamental principle of christianity. For those who perceive that the fundamental value of christianity is the authority of the bible and moral issue, they will against the law that may legalise homosexuality (Sodo) & gambling, or at least not against it. For those who perceive that the fundamental value is human rights, they will against the political reform that hinders or slow down the process of democracy; Otherwise they will stay silent on this matter.

Whether there constitute a double standard depends if there is a generally united and agreeable view on each social issue. The church are divided over the issue of the democratic process, so it is quite understandable and wise for not to get involve in a collective manner. It seems that there is a generally agreeable view for the evangelical christians on the matters related to legislation regarding homosexuality right and gambling, and so they involve in a collective manner. However, if the church are divided over this issue homosexuality and gambling, then the double standard argument for arbitragely intervening in one social affairs (homsexuality and gambling) but not the others (democratic process) holds.

Yet the topics 'seperation of state and church', and whether it is justified for the church as a collective body to intervene in social affairs is in a grey area. Sometimes the church were doing too little, sometimes they have overstepped.

Habakkuk 1:5-10: The irony of God's answer to our prayer

When Habakkuk complaint for the wickedness of His nation, God did answer his prayer by raising up the Babylonians to judge the Israeli, though the Babylonian is the people of a greater evil.

When we pray, God did answer our prayer, but in His way, not in our way.His answer is very difficult for us sometimes to perceive and understand, and we may have experience certain unpleasent circumstances' due to His inperceivable answer at this moment. I pray that God will do something for my parents. He did, but in a way not in my view. I pray for His guidance on boys-girls relation. Again, in a way that is different from my view. However, the irony is that God is answering my prayer.

'For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told' (Habakkuk 1:5b)

Sometimes maybe we can't perceive His work. Sometimes maybe we just choose not to believe. Image for events happening in the world, SARS, Tsunami, poverty etc. God has its purpose on all this events, yet it is difficult to perceive and hard to swallow those people who was inflicted by these plague.

Oh God, help me to have faith in you even though your answer seems hard to perceive and swallow. As you are the God of creation and you control the history, you already have a plan in our life. Help me to be obedient in your plan.

Habakkuk's 1:1-4; Complaint in our life

Why does God allow evil to triumph and injustice prevails in this world. At the time during the Habakkuk ministry, he prophesied Jerusalem will be fallen to Babylon. Yet Babylonians are a greater evil, so why did God allow this to happen, to allow evil people triumph and goes unpunished. In the world where I belong, it is the evolution thought - the survival for fittest - that dominant and rules. Because of the competition between man, and because for the basic instinct to survive, violence, injustice and wicked things prevail.

We christian are the one who witness our Lord in our world. Yet many times when we stand firm to our faith and to be nice to others, we suffer. God seems didn't answer our prayer to change our situation and plight. We saw many injustice happen in our working place. In this world, we are sadden sad to see the truth was being twisted and nowadays many issue are fallen into a grey area. Injustice prevails and evil triumph. We want to change it, but we are powerless.

Maybe it is this background that Habakkuk's complain to God, and maybe also this is the reason we doubt His and lose our faith in Him.

Thanks God that He tolerate us to doubt Him and to question Him. He allow us to speak to Him face to face to grumble God has His planning and purposes. He allow us to live in the world of realities so that we can grow to be mature. Many times I have to admit that I don't understand His plan and I don't have an answer. Yet God is the Lord of all mankind, He judged. It is this heavenly hope and promise that one day we will saw Him face to face, and it is the realisation that He is in control, that allow us to have the courage to move on to follow Him in this world.

My prayer:
Our Father in heaven. Hallowed be your name. May your kingdom come. May your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Father, even though sometimes we don't understand, help us not to lose heart, and help us to fix our eyes on you, and have the faith and courage to follow you.