A Piece of Clay

Are you willing to be shape by God?
In Psalm 139, David describes God as fashioning his tiny body together in the darkness of his mother's womb. [verse 13]

Genesis 2:7 records the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Even as God have shaped us since we are in our mother's womb, let us continue to submit to Him, as he mould us daily in our walk with Him - like clay in the hand of the potter.

We need to regularly read the Bible and pray for the Holy Spirit to help us understand what it says? Nothing is more important than spending time with God each day to allow him to shape us into the person he wants us to be. There is no short cut to spiritual intimacy; ever Christian needs to cultivate a lifestyle of persistent prayer and intimacy with God.

Jeremaiah 18:6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

Warnings !!!

The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death. - Proverbs 13:14

God has provided us with "warnings" for our protection. The book of Proverbs is filled with warnings about evil and it encourages us to seek wisdom. In Proverbs 13, the principal author Solomon, provides God's instructions for His people to deal successfully with the practical affairs of everyday life.
verse 1 - advices us to heed the instructions and rebukes of our father while verse 3 reminded us to guard our mouth. Verses 7 to 11 cautious us not to occupied ourselves with materialistic things and avoid dishonesty.

In Joel 2:12-17, God used the prophet Joel to encourage His people to pay attention to the warning light on their spiritual life. Prosperity had caused them to become complacent and negligent in their commitment to the Lord. Their faith had degenerated into empty formalities and their lives into moral bankruptcy. So God sent a plague of locusts to ruin crops in order to get His people's attention, causing them to change their behaviour and turn to Him with their whole heart.

First John 1:9 reminds us : "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

TO AVOID GOING WRONG, FOLLOW GOD'S LEADING.

TO BUILD A GODLY LIFE, LET GOD BE THE ARCHITECT AND HIS WORD THE BLUEPRINT.

Life and Lifestyles of Godly Man

Matthew 5 : 3-12 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

As Christians, we are to honour God with our righteous character and morally correct conduct, which include adhering to the principles of love, peace and good neighbourliness, even to peoples whose faiths are different from ours. We should never resort to violent actions to promote, propagate or protect our faith as we believe that we are created in the image of God who is holy, loving, kind, compassionate, merciful and forgiving.
We also believe the governing authorities are appointed by God as part of his sovereign design to ensure the proper operation and functioning of the civil society.

We have been taught to submit ourselves to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established (Romans 13:1). Hence, we expect the authorities, to whom we pay tax (Matthew 22:21), to be just, fair, transparent, accountable, and be held responsible for our well-being.

In times of calamities, Christians need only to pray and trust God because He control everythings, as Matthew 8:25-27 recorded.

Metro Tabernacle's senior pastor Rev. Ong Sek Leang said the church did not condone such acts[arson attack] but would forgive those responsible. [The Star dated 09-10-2010]
Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

WE CAN STOP FORGIVING OTHERS WHEN CHRIST STOPS FORGIVING US.

New Wine in New Wineskin

Luke 5 : 36-38 "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. [Matthew 9 : 16-18 & Mark 2:21-23]

Praise God - The theme "New Wine in New Wineskin" is going to be a good start for the year 2010.

New Wine because God is going to pour down new anointing so that we can have the courage and strength to continue His Great Commission. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." [Matthew 28 : 18-20]

New Wineskin as in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Old thoughts, routine ways, normal standard are now God's thought, God's way and God's standard.

So let us trust God for the next 365 days of 2010. Let His Holy Spirit guide us and His Word lead us as Psalm 119:105 said "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."

Open house

We joined many Malaysians from different ethnic backgrounds thronged the Hari Raya open house of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim this morning. This was my first open house visit but the second for the other friends, who visited our former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah previously.

We started at 11-00 am from Penang and travelled to Permatang Pauh in the mainland. We were heading to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim 'rumah terbuka' at Permatang Pauh. The journey and traffc were smooth but we wasted 2 hours searching and asking around for the correct location as we made the mistake of not getting the full address or location but only relied on the publication from newspaper.

After failing to locate the place, we decide to proceed to Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman open house in Penanti constituency. The event was held at Taman Guar Perahu public field. We managed to meet Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim here. Penang Pas Commissioner Mohd Salleh Man and other state exco were also present among the crowd. The myriad of food served included roti canai, roti jala, fried bee hoon, lemang, mee rebus and raya cookies.
The open house truly reflect the 1Malaysia concept where people of various age, race and religion comes together to celebrate.

Padang awam Taman Guar Perahu

Our group photo with Penang Deputy Chief Minister I

P/S: too bad we didn't get the chance to take another group photo with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

I have finished the race

For the last 2 weeks, I attended 3 wake services, a relative and two church friends. The youngest was in her early fifties and the oldest were in their early eighties. Death rips apart life's closest bonds, leaves hearts broken, ushers in loneliness, and open floodgates of tears. In the valley of grief, the only way to keep going is to trust the compass and map God has given us. You may think the Bible is too dated and old-fashioned to be of value. But the compass of God's indwelling Spirit and the map of the Bible are timeless - always pointing us in the right direction.

Our Lord is faithful and merciful High Priest (Hebrews 2 : 17) who has tasted death for everyone (2 : 9). He is the One who said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (13:5). His promise to be there for us is the bedrock of our security in an unstable world shattered by grief.

John Brantner writes, "Only people who avoid love can avoid grief. The point is to learn from it and remain vulnerable to love".

John 5 : 24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

2 Timothy 4 : 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Man was not made for the present, and the present was never intended to satisfy man. Man's life on earth cannot and does not fulfill the eternal longings of man. This principle continues throughout his existence and even up to the point of death.

One Body, One Spirit, One Lord

The latest slogan or theme most used is the one made common by the Prime Mnister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, 1 Malaysia - People First, Performance Now.

That 1 Malaysia, a slogan meant to promote unity and mutual respect and trust among the different ethnic communities in Malaysia, has stirred up so much heated rhetoric shows how much the tricky goal of unity in Malaysia is and how it will be a challenge for the Prime Minister administration.

Likewise the churches of today are also facing a lot of challenges such as that recorded in Galatians 5 : 19-21 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious : sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

However, since we [Christians] belong to Christ and live by the Spirit, we should always strive for the fruit of the Spirit that is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control and its gifts that is Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Gift of Faith, Gift of Healings, Working of Miracles, Gift of Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits, Gift of Tongue and Interpretation of Tongue.

Just like the song : PEOPLE OF THE LORD

There is one body, we have one Lord
United in the Spirit, we are going forth
With His praises on our lips
And a sword in our hands
We are marching on with power
As we possess this land
##
We are the people of the Lord
We're a holy nation
A chosen generation
Called to show forth His praise
We are the people of the Lord
We're a holy nation
Believers in Jesus
Lifting up our voices to the Lord

1 Corinthians 12 : 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Ephesians 4 : 4-6 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called -- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Praise God for 52 years of independence, peace and harmony. Praying that the future of this nation will be built upon justice, righteousness, fairness and integrity.

HAPPY 52ND MERDEKA TO ALL MALAYSIAN

Mum's gems of wisdom

Halimahton Yusof, the mother of wayward Mathematics genius Sufiah Yusof will be offering her advice to the Permata Negara and Permata Pintar programmes to help guide gifted children along the right path in life.
She said parents of gifted children should teach them basic values and not concentrate only on academic performance. Among the values she stressed was having respects for others, especially their parents.
[Extracted from The Star dated 25-08-09 written by Yuen MeiKeng]

Dr Alex Tang, a paediatrician in private practice offer the following suggestions for raising a GENIUS child :-
G is for Growing normally
Parents must ensure that their children are healthy and growing well.
E is for Emotional quotient (EQ)
EQ is the ability to know how to distinguish healthy from unhealthy emotions and how to turn negative emotions into positive ones. Emotionally healthy children are generally better learners with fewer behavioural problems, able to resist peer presure while resolving conflicts and building relationship with others. Children's EQ can be improved by bonding and building good relationships with them.
N is for Nutrition
Balanced and sensible diets is important for children.
I is for Intelligent quotient (IQ)
To enhance children IQ, we should expose them to challenging games, hobbies or art.
U is for Utmost potential
Children must be allowed opportunities to develop their gifting and areas of interest to the utmost potential [not utmost expectation].
S is for Spiritual quotient (SQ)
As with EQ, SQ can be developed and improved. As parents, we are to teach our children to read God's Word, how to pray and love other people. We are also to be role model for our children as our children's concept of God comes from their perception of us, especially the fathers.

Psalm 127 : 3-6 Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

Out of Teenagers

For more than 20 years, our home was blessed by the presence of teenagers. But now that our youngest is in her late teens, my wife and I are all out of teenagers.
Those years were full of challenges and demands that sometimes zapped our strength and took all our mental and emotional reserves. We rejoiced the trills of success and struggled through their grieved. As I look back on our experiment in parenting, we noticed some valuable lessons :-

1) Some teens follow life in a straight line, while others zig-zag along life's pathway. It's best to 'zig' with them in love and with courage.
2) Teenagers need unconditional love because they live in a conditional world.

Romans 5 : 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
3) A love of God's Word is vital to successfully transfer faith from one generation to the next.

4) Teens need to develop a relationship with Christ that is based not on rules but on a deep love of Jesus.

John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Proverbs 22 : 6
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
Psalm 128 : 3
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table.

DON'T MERELY SPEND TIME WITH YOUR CHILDREN - INVEST IN IT.

Man's Choice or God's Choice

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To err is human .....

Who can hurt us more deeply than those with whom we have created bonds of affection ? They, our siblings, our best friends or even our parents are almost part of us. We idealise them and consequently raise our expectations of them. It's natural to want our lover (or loved ones) to understand, appreciate, and make us feel secure by their commitment and constant presence.

Nothing is quite so painful as being betrayed by someone we hold in high regard - a spouse who cheats, a friend who runs us down, the colleague who unfairly takes credit for our contribution.

There's no doubt that abuse between people who have a responsibility to love each other can be counted among the cruellest and most reprehensible of offences.

Forgiveness that doesn't fight injustice, far from being a sign of courage and strength, shows weakness and false tolerance. It encourages the offender to perpetuate the crime. Forgiving is not the same as excusing them from their moral responsibility. How can we even consider forgiving when we are continuously subjected to abused ?

When someone close hurts our physical, moral or spiritual integrity, we feel assaulted, bruised, violated ... the offender's malice touches the most intimate parts of our being. The offence shakes our innermost peace and harmony, shatters our tranquility and threatens our diginity. Our shadow side emerges.

Emotions we thought we had under control suddenly begin to run amok. Our first reaction may be revenge or to build a wall to dull our self against the pain.

It's impossible to go back after we've been wronged. Either we try to make ourselves believe nothing happened, in which we re-establish the relationship in the context of a lie, or we take advantage of the conflict to review the quality of the relationship and renew it on more solid footing. Can we do this if our partner feels no remorse ? What does pardon consist of ? Not making someone pay. Decision made not out of grim determination, but because we want to heal and grow. We choose to believe in the dignity of the person who hurt, oppressed, or betrayed us.

Behind the spiked veil, we see a fragile person ... like ourselves, capable of changing and evolving. That's why I think forgiveness is the rainbow connecting humanity and the Divine, impossible without Spirit.

To free our offender, we must be free ourselves. What do we forgive ourselves for ? For putting ourselves in situations where we let ourselves be hurt, for putting ourselves down by buying into our attacker's insults, for feeling vulnerable and wanting to stay in love.
[Extracted from Sunday People by Tessie Lim dated 28June 2009]

Philip Yancey listed 3 pragmatic reasons to forgive :-

First - Forgiveness halts the cycle of blame and pain, breaking the chain of ungrace.
Second - Forgiveness loosens the stranglehold of guilt in the perpetrator.
Third - Forgiveness creates a remarkable linkage, placing the forgiver on the same side as the parity who did the wrong.

Matthew 6 : 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

He is Enough

In Christ, God proclaimed once more that the good life He wants for us is not about rules or material possessions but a relationship.
While having wealth is not condemned in Scripture as long as priorities are in order and the needs of others are addressed, those of us with relative wealth must remind ourselves that Jesus - not riches - sustain us.
The purpose of blessing from God is so that we can be the channel of blessing to others.

God's love does not keep us from trials; it helps us get through them.

God hasn' t promised to keep us from problems & trials BUT He has proven that He is always " for us " as Christians by what He did through Jesus (Romans 5 : 8-9). Nothing, not even death, can separate us from His love (Romans 8 : 35-39).

Does God Hate ?

You may have read that " God is Love " [1 John 4 :8 ].
But did you know that God also hates ?

God loves people, but He hates their wicked deeds.
He hates seven things, and these things are :-
1) Pride
2) Lying Tongue
3) Murder
4) Wicked Thoughts
5) Mischief
6) False Witness
7) Troublemaking

Proverbs 6 : 16-17 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him : haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

Monk with the 5C's

A Buddhist monk for 25 years, former Ren Ci Hospital chief, Ming Yi [a.k.a. Goh Kah Heng] who is on a criminal trial achieved the Singapore dream of the five Cs. He had cash - at one stage, he had S$570,000 (RM$1.39 million) in his personal bank account, credit cards - at least nine from various banks and condominium units - he bought and sold at least six private properties in Singapore and Australia over 20 years.
He had cars - he bought at least three BMWs in six years and a prestigious country club membership.

That is his journey of faith ! Then what is ours ?

I believed as a follower of Christ, ours should be Conversion, Communion, Conviction, Contentment and Character.
We are converted to have communion with God our Creator. We must always have the conviction of sins beside being contented with the blessing bestowed on our lives. Lastly, our character should be always improving to be more Christ-like as we journeyed on.

The treasures of Egypt [Hebrews 11:26] such as Cash, Credit Card, Car, Condominium and Club Membership [Prestige] are just temporal in nature. They can be destroyed by moth and rust, and also stolen by thieves. [Matthew 6 : 19-20]

The temporal promises as we journey on earth are to bring us closer to God. It is not wrong to have it but it is no longer important as we set our focus on God.
James 1 : 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

There is nothing good coming to us without God being the source.
Job 1 : 21 "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

[Extract from article written by Carolyn Quek]

Is internet addiction real ?

WHAT IS INTERNET ADDICTION?
Internet Addiction - are essentially terms that have been applied to those that spend excessive amounts of time online at the expense of and to the detriment of other aspects of their lives. The obsessive behaviour takes the form of particular activities, and might include any or all of the following :
• Relationships: spending excessive amounts of time starting and maintaining online friendships
in chat rooms, which replace real-life friends and family.
• Money : compulsively gambling online, trading online, and partaking in online auctions.
• Information searching : compulsive web surfing or database searches.
• Gaming: obsessive computer game playing, including multi-user games.
• Sex : addiction to adult chatrooms, cyber sex or pornography on the Internet.
There has been an increasing amount of attention given to this phenomenon, and attempts to quantify the problem have produced some staggering statistics: for example, figures suggesting that as many as 6-10% of the 189 million US Internet users have a dependency on the Internet, and there are as many as 1 million German Internet addicts. There have also been cases recorded of addiction to texting on mobile phones. [© Childnet International 2006.]

While Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia terms internet addiction disorder (IAD), or more broadly Internet overuse, problematic computer use or pathological computer use is excessive computer use that interferes with daily life.

Psyciatrist, Dr Muhammad Muhsin Ahmad Zahari, deputy chief coordinator at University Malaya Centre of Addiction Sciences defined internet addiction as a maladaptive use of the internet that leads to social and functional impairment.

Internet addiction is on the rise in the world's largest Net market, and now Chinese doctors have officially defined it as an ailment.
Users who spend six hours or more per day online, and exhibit at least one symptom including difficulty sleeping or concentrating, yearning to be online, irritation, and mental or physical distress are classified as meeting the definition of addiction.
Being hooked on the Internet has been considered a problem in Chinese society as early as 2005, when the first clinic dedicated to Internet addiction opened in Beijing. It began accepting patients who exhibited dependency symptoms for those of substance abuse.
China also has "boot camps" designed to help addicts kick the habit by helping to change their routine.
About 10 percent of China's 253 million Internet users exhibit some form of addiction to the medium, and 70 percent of those people are young men, an official Xinhua News Agency report said.
So is internet addiction real ? Yes, I believed it is.

So to avoid this addiction why not get addicted to JESUS instead. Because only Jesus can fill any vacumn that you have in your life.

Old and abandoned

The Sunday Star "Old and abandoned" highlight the rising cases of forsaken seniors in government hospitals. In the first five months of this year, Kuala Lumpur Hospital topped the list, registering 134 such cases against 120 cases, a 12% increased while Penang Hospital reported 114 cases for the whole of 2008.

Children who could or would no longer bear the cost of taking care of their aged and infirm parents are treating hospitals like a 'dumping ground' because food, shelter and medication are provided by the Government. And it saves them the hassle of applying for places for their parents in government-run welfare homes.

Good family values like filial piety must be inculcated from young, said Health Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai while experts advise parents to nurture a strong bond with their children from young to avoid being abandoned later.

But there are also cases of parents not loving their children leading to them [the parents] being abandoned when they are old and their health deteriorating. Parents need to sow love and care to their children when they are still young and the bible promises that they will reap abundantly of it when they are old. For ever action there has a reaction.

Galatians 6 : 7 Do not be deceived : God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

The bible recorded in Exodus 20 : 12 and Deuteronomy 5 : 16 to "Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you."

Ephesians 6 : 2-3 Honor your father and mother — which is the first commandment with a promise that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.

Can we end our own lives ?

World renowned orchestras conductor, Sir Edward Downes and his wife, Joan decided to die together two weeks ago at a Zurich clinic run by the assisted suicide group, Dignitas. They drank a small amount of clear liquid and died hand-in-hand with their two adult children by their side.
Sir Edward was almost blind and growing deaf while his wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer. After 54 happy years together, they decided to end their own lives rather than continue to struggle with serious health problems, said a statement from the couple's children.
In Britain, people are now debating whether they should be allowed to help ailing loved ones end their lives. I think we should not play God but let God be God. It is God that gives lives and man have no right to decide when to end it unless God say so.
Job 34 : 14 - 15 If it were His intention and He withdrew His spirit and breath, all mankind would perish together and man would return to the dust.
Job 1 : 21 Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."
Job 33 : 4 The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Benefits of Laugher

All of us seek for happiness in our life. Other than love, the most powerful form of joy is laughter.
This hilarity is part of our body system but the sad part of it is that many of us are ignorant of it and instead we frown more than we laugh daily.

Often we hear people complaining of having worries, tensed muscles, void in their heart or having a heavy heart, angry, unhappy and other wellbeing issues not realising that a jolly good laugh can ease these problems.

Laughter is cheap and easily available within us and is a form of energy of which the more of it is spent the more of it remains.

We laugh or smile (smile is regarded as silent laughter) at some point of time in a day and often we find that it is not easy to pinpoint what exactly provoked the funny sensation but we feel good about it.

According to a medical research, which measured extensively the movements we make on our face and also our entire body when we smile and when we laugh is that all 600 muscles in our body play some form of "internal exercise" involving internal organs.

As laughing brings joyful experience to many people, Dr Madan Kataria, an Indian physician in Mumbai established the first laughter club in 1995.
Reader's Digest, a monthly publication magazine also have a section Laugh ! it's really the best medicine, because of the benefit of laughing.

According to Chan Yuen Li, a certified laughter therapy instructor, laughter therapy enhances ones emotional intelligence. Did you know that scientific studies show that children and babies can laugh up to 400 times a day ? And yet most adults laugh only four times a day ?

But the Bible written more than 2,000 year ago recorded cheerful heart [joyfulness] as a good medicine and to rejoice always.

Proverbs 17 : 22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Philippians 4 :4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

{Extract from The Star Sunday Metro written by T Selva dated 3 August 2008}

Rejoice Always

God is Good All The Time, and once again He sent His servant, Rev. Lawrence Seow from Singapore to share His Word and remind us to focus on Him and Him alone.

1 Thessalonians 5 : 16-18 tells us to - Be joyful always ; pray continually ; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

We need to be joyful, not only in time of happiness but also in time of tribulation and trials. To be joyful and not happy, because happiness can only be found in good time while joy can be found both in good and bad times, as it comes from the Lord.
To pray continually not because God do not know our needs, but because we need to humble ourselves and admit that God is God and He is in control.

Isaiah 55 : 8-11 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

To give thanks in all circumstances, in good times and bad times ; when we are happy and also when we are sad.

The Law of Sowing & Reaping

Paul captured the same idea in the universal law of sowing and reaping. He said, " Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." [Galatians 6 : 7]

Our choices often have a reach and impact that we could never imagine. Thus the apostle's words remind us to choose wisely. The choices we make today produce the consequences we reap tomorrow. Its far better to avoid sin in the first place than to struggle to overcome its consequences.
God's prophet Hosea preached this principle to the people of Israel. They had sown seeds of wickedness and trusted in their own way instead of God's. Now they were eating the bitter fruit of lies, especially the lie that their safety and success came from their own military strength Hosea 10 : 13. Hosea pleaded with Israel to go God's way - to break up the sin hardened soil of their hearts and to seek the Lord (Hosea 10 : 12) if they would sow seeds of righteous, they would reap the Lord's mercy and He would rain blessing on them.
We can't expect to experience the fruit of God's blessing if we don't recognize the important of doing our part.

My son when through a time of disappointment and was spiritually down. We, as parents tried to counsel him and encouraged him to share his heart out but he was not able to. As days passed, he became more closed up and was not able to eat or sleep well. He began to have negative thoughts. We tried to talk to him and counsel him, but was not able. We were so loss, despite counselling many non believers and friends, we as parents are not able to counsel our own son. We prayed and surrendered him to the Lord.
After two days, God sent a couple to talk and counsel him. We were so relieved and blessed as God once again reminded us that He Cared and Loved each and eveyone of His children. Even though, he is not back to his normal self yet, we trust and believed that my son will be stronger and wiser after this trials and the Lord will used him more for His Glory in the future.

Thank God for sending the brother and sister in time of need to counsel and share a listening ears. Even as we sow our time for others in their needs, others will also sow their time for us in time of our needs.