Overcoming greed

Money is not everything :-

Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Proverbs 23:5

Jesus is my wealth:

This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches" Jeremiah 9:23

Be Careful

Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God... Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 8:11-14

The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
You have power over your mind - not outside events
Your life is what your thoughs make it.

If money is your highest goal,
The thing you long to gain,
Its power will enslave your soul,
And cause your life much pain - D.De Haan

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's." Exodus 20:17 [The last of the Ten Commandments]

THE BEST REMEDY FOR GREED IS GENEROSITY.

Real love - The LOVE of God

Every year without fail on February 14, the world takes delight in celebrating Valentine's Day - a day in which people celebrate and express love or feelings for each other. It is also the time to develop a sense of belonging and friendship.

To love and be loved by someone is the most beautiful and fulfillng experience.

True love knows no bounds and consists of great sacrifice and care. It also embraces compassion, kindness, respect and thoughtfulness.

Real love comes with a lot of responsibility, commitment, understanding, tolerance, acceptance and humility.

The word love appears in Scripture more than 500 times. The essence of the gospel is love, as we see in John 3:16. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)

The Bible gives us some practical suggestions about becoming the person who demonstrates the love of Christ. We are to give preference to one another (Romans 12:10), edify one another (Romans 14:19), care for one another (1 Corinthians 12:25), serve one another (Galatians,comfort one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11) and pray for one another (James 5:16).

5:13), bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2), forgive one another (Colossians 3:13)

It is always better to give others a piece of our heart than a piece of our mind.

TO KNOW LOVE, OPEN YOUR HEART TO JESUS,.

TO SHOW LOVE, OPEN YOUR HEART TO OTHERS.

LOVE is an expression

LOVE IS AN EXPRESSION - My wife received this bouquet from a senior member, aged 80 years after a sharing this morning. She was sharing in a senior group gathering numbering about 70 people at a local church.

This gift is truly an expression of God's love, expressed through this uncle even before the world celebrated Valentine Day on the 14th of February.

To know that you are cared for by someone is one of life's greatest gifts - David Roper

Faith or Hope

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrew 11:1) KJV

There are two main ways in which faith differs from hope.

Firstly, hope is directed towards the future, but faith is established in the present. Hope is an attitude of expectancy concerning things that are yet to be, but faith is a substance - a confidence, something real and definite within us - that we possess here and now.

Secondly, hope is anchored in the realm of the mind; faith is anchored in the realm of the heart.
But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

Notice that faith - together with love - is found in the region of the breast, that is, the region of the heart.  But hope is pictured as a helmet, in the region of the head, or mind.  Thus, hope is a mental attitude of expectancy concerning the future, faith is a condition of the heart, producing within us here and now something so real that it can be described by the word substance.

[This excerpt is taken from Foundational Truths For Christian Living by Derek Prince]

God's great "medicine bottle"

God's Word is so varied and wonderful in its working that it provides not only spiritual health and strength for the soul but also physical health and strength for the body. In Proverbs 4, God's promise perfect healing and health to every believing child of God. God's great "medicine bottle" is contained in Proverbs 4: 20-22.

My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.

They are four fold :

1. "Give attention to my Words."

2. "Incline your ear."

3. "Do not let them depart from your eyes."

4. "Keep them in the midst of your heart."

[This excerpt is taken from Foundational Truths For Christian Living by Derek Prince]

The Right Kind of FAITH

My faith is not in my ability to control my own destiny.
My faith is not in my good name and good living.
My faith is not in my church or its ceremonies.
My faith is not in my ability to improve myself.
My faith is not in my ability to push all negative thoughts out of my life.
My faith is not in my own sincerity.
My faith is not in my power to tap some inner, godlike resources.
My faith is in Jesus Christ.

[This excerpt is taken from Do I Have The Right Kind Of Faith? 2001 RBC Ministries.
Read it online at www.discoveryseries.org/q0603]

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, former pastor of London's Westminster Chapel said: "Faith is holding on to the faithfulness of God and, as long as you do that, you cannot go wrong. Faith does not look at the difficulties..... Faith does not look at itself or at the person who is exercising it. Faith look at God..... Faith is interested in God only, and it talks about God and it praises God and it extols the virtues of God.

Steamboat dinner

We were invited and blessed with a steamboat dinner at 'Zi Wei Yuan Steamboat' along Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth yesterday. The restaurant is situated opposite the busy 'Apollo" open market. The place is spacious and there are wide varieties of choice.

There were also a good company of friends to share the good food.

CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP BUILDS US UP AND BINDS US TOGETHER.

Musical Performance

We were blessed when we attended our first musical performance at PenangPac
, Straits Quay, Tanjung Tokong, Penang on 12 January 2012.

MALAYSIAN GIRLS show us the existing world of a beauty pageant. It is full of catchy songs and explosive dance moves on high-heels together with glitzy costumes and high energy performance. The music is a bold fusion of iconic and equally captivating numbers.

Fostering Strong Family Ties

DAP national chairman Karpal Singh wants the government to enact a law making it a crime for children to abandon their aged parents.

He said this in view of a latest survey, conducted by the National Malaysian Population and Family Survey which showed that 675,000 citizens, or one out of three people, aged 60 and above, have been abandoned and do not receive financial support from their children. The survey based on the 2010 Population and Housing Census included senior citizens abandoned in hospitals and those living in welfare homes.

He proposed the government to enact a Maintenance of Parents Act to protect parent’s rights from callous children. He also highlighted the high penalty imposed on children in other countries which have implemented similar acts where the punishment included hefty fines or imprisonment.

In India, children who fail to provide monthly allowance as ordered by court can be punished up to three months in prison or imposed a Rs5,000 fine (RM305.50) while in Taiwan those who abandoned their parents may face up to a year in prison or a fine up to $200,000 (around RM20,740).

In Singapore, the Maintenance of Parents Act 1995, states that parents are entitled to make maintenance claims from their children. The punishment for failure to provide maintenance, included a maximum fine of S$5,000 (RM12,200) or up to six months imprisonment.

A healthy relationship between parents and their childen can only take place through the power of love, not by enactment of law.

In the Ten Commandments which are divided into two tables, the first lays the foundation of all duty in our relation to God, while the second rears the superstructure in the various offices of love between man and his fellow.
God honours his own ordinances, the family. He gives parents rank next after himself. Filial love stands near, and leans on godliness. Love to parents ranks next under reverences to God.
Honouring thy father and mother is an ornament of solid gold.

Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. NIV

Honoring our parents has no age limit.

Mother Teresa said : "Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty".

Our time on earth is limited

Time and tide wait for no man.

The relentless ticking of the clock reminds us that our time on earth is limited. Despite the joys and pains of life, time always marches on. For the believer, our time on earth is an opportunity for gaining wisdom.
" Let's ask God to "teach us to number our days" (Psalms 90:12) so that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

One way of numbering our days and make good use of our spare moments is to ask :-
How can I become more Christ-like?
Am I reading the Word of God regularly?
Am I devoting time to prayer?
Am I meeting together with other believers?
Am I sharing the gospel with other pre believers?

The psalmist wrote : "LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee." (Psalm 39:4-7 KJV)

Don't spend your time - invest it.