Walking with the King

Relevant Bible Verses:-

1) 1 John 2:16 The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and vainglory of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.

2) 2 Cor 12:1 must go on boasting…, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.

3) 2 Tim 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.

4) Rev 19:16 …KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
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Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays celebrated by all the Chinese around the world. It is also known as the Lunar New Year especially by the people in the mainland China and Taiwan.

A reunion dinner is traditionally held at the home of the most senior member of the family on the eve of the New Year where members of the family, near and far away come together for this auspicious celebration. Red packets (“angpows”) are often distributed to the younger unmarried immediate family members during the reunion dinner. These packets contain money that reflects good fortune, prosperity and honorability.

It was indeed a very joyful and merry atmosphere when we had our reunion dinner in my house. I could observe non-stop dialogues, the “catching-up” conversations and exchanging of ideas between family members. It seemed like everybody was talking and no one was listening around the dining table. It was rowdy. Issues of life, children, schools, career path, holidays and other life in general were discussed. But there was one particular discussion or topic that really caught my attention. It has prompted me to think about our current position being a Christian.

The discussion was about a strong charismatic devoted pastor who divorced his wife, left his children and turned into a very successful businessman. Apparently the separation compensation for the wife ran into millions of dollars. In a friendly casual conversation with one of my family members, this ex-pastor was boasting about his boundless high profile networks and proudly mentioned that he walked along with the king of Malaysia in one of the official ceremonial events. One of the many comments out of the reunion dinner table that night that hit the nail on the head triggering me to write this article was, “he has forgotten once he was walking with the King of kings”! How timely and appropriate?

What could possibly go wrong? Is the situation that bad? Temptation must be strong? Life must be good and better in the circular world. I asked quietly.

1 John 2:16 mentioned that the lust of the eyes and vainglory of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. Materialism is the lust of the eyes. These are the “finer things” in life people of this world yearn for (see article “Humility”).

God has mentioned for centuries now, that the fundamental problem with man is his own very heart that’s twisted, almost demonic within the heart of man. The insatiable human heart desires to have plenty causing the misalignment of the heart with God’s great economy and plan. How deceitful and desperately wicked is the human heart? (Ps 36:3). Bible called this sin.

We need Christ for us to overcome the wickedness and craftiness of our human heart. We must, with persistency and single mindedness, focusing on the visions and revelations from the Lord. Praying faithfully and consistently that we would not be tempted (Matt 6:13). So that we can ultimately be proud to proclaim, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

We do not want to wake up in the morning standing in front of the mirror and seeing nothing!