God Blessing

God's intention is to bless men  [Genesis. 1:27-28  So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.   God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.  Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”]

 -  then why are people not bless?

a)  because they do not know (ignorant) about it

b)  because they do not want it (choose not to be bless)

c)  because of their "status" - from being a child of God to a child of the devil.

                                         - from blessing to curse because of man's sin.

Malachi. 2:2

If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings.  Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.

Blessing can not be obtained :-

a)  by grabing or snatching

b)  by doing good deeds or earning it through good speech BUT

c)  it is given (or bestowed) by God.

Galatians. 3:13-14  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”  He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Real blessing cannot change and will last. With this blessing there is no worry or stress but peace and joy.  It is given by God - Proverbs. 10:22  The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it.

Mother

"A mother's love is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, it never fails or falters, even though the heart is breaking" - Helen Rice

A mum is the one who believes in you - even when you have trouble believing in yourself.

She's the teacher who, more that anyone else, teaches you how to live.

She's the friend who's there when other friends walk away.

She's the nurse that nursed our pains and cheered our gains.

She's our chef, our maid, our chauffeur, our biggest fan,  and our best friend.

She's struggled for us, cried over us, fought for us, put herself second for us, hoped the best for us and has driven herself insane with worry for us but never has she asked for anything in return because she loves us and did it all on love alone!

Most of us take our Mums for granted but there are people who have lost or have never even seen theirs.  If you have a loving Mother who did all of this for you, you are very lucky, never devalue her worth because one day, you'll wish you hadn't!

A CHRISTLIKE EXAMPLE IS THE GREATEST GIFT PARENTS CAN GIVE THEIR CHILDREN

Prayer

Prayer is simply opening our lives to God, acknowledging our total dependence on Him. Prayer is not limited to a segment of our lives or to a scheduled event in our days.  It is an attitude of receptivity and openness which permeates our lives and to which God responds eagerly.  It is living in the presence of God, always in the process of being reshaped and re-created by Him.

The purpose of prayer is not to change God, but to allow Him to change us.  It is to discover and do God's will, not to obligate Him to do ours.  The purpose of prayer is that God's splendor will be displayed on earth as it is in heaven.

[Extracted from "The Praying Life" by Jennifer K.Dean]

The numbers of prayer rally taking place recently due to the coming GE13 is a good sign of Christians unity in Malaysia.  Groups of individual and churches have been holding prayers for peace and righteousness to prevail in our beloved country never seen before.  This is a good sign of better things to come.  Christians are now more aware of their moral responsibilities .

The Bible says a lot about believers' duties as citizens.  We are citizens of two kingdoms: one temporal and earthly, the other eternal and heavenly.  We are called to participate in both the culture and politics of The City of Man, as this world was called, while primarily focusing on the Kingdom of God.   "When Moses commanded the Israelites to appoint God-fearing leaders, he wasn't just talking to a handful of citizens who felt like getting involved ...  And modern Christians are under the same obligation to choose leaders who love justice ...  Today, in our modern democracy, free citizens act as God's agent for choosing leaders, and we do it by voting.

Prayer is not the believer moving the heart of God, but God moving our heart.  When our prayers are full of worship, they are like sweet smelling incense before God.

Worship is not limited to singing praise songs.  It is simply, ascribing worth to something, and this, we can also ascribe worth to God through our prayers.

Gracious gift of Sabbath

The Sabbath is not about just doing nothing all day.  It is not about sleeping in and doing no work.  It is about active resting: a rest that helps us reflect on and recognize who God is and what He has done, a rest that renews us as we participate and enjoy God and the life He has given us.  It is a rest that is centered on worship of the living God.

John Pipers states, "God's purpose for us on the Sabbath is that we experience the highest and most intense joy that can be experienced, namely, that we 'take delight in the Lord'"  

"The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." Mark 2:27

[Extracted from LIVING Life -June 2012]

Care Cell

The cell is the basic structural, functional and biological unit of all known living organisms.  It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing and is often called the building block of life.

The word  cell  comes from the Latin  cella, meaning "small room". [Wikipedia]

Invited a brother to share at our monthly home cell today.  At this gathering, we were able to learn about God  (Psalm 119:105) and meet with God  (Hebrew 13:5).  A healthy community can also be established through fellowship with one another  (Hebrew 10:24-25).

Fellowship Is God's Way of Accomplishing His Plan of Glorifying Christ

Dragon Fruit at Green Haven

^Daytime

Daytime - bud

Night time

Night time

Bud - Night time

Taken on 15 March 2013

The splendour of God's beautiful creation -
Dragon fruit from the bud to a beautiful flower.

The Dragon fruit flowers will literally bloom in a matter of hours, so if you're patient, you can witness the entire process.

On March 15, we noticed this flower bud 'standing' upright and we believed it is getting ready to bloom.
On March 16, we went out again and saw the flower had started blooming.  At about 1030 pm, we started snapping photos of the flower partially bloomed.  At 11-30 pm, the flower bloomed was at its fullest.

At 11-30 pm 16-March-2013

From a beautiful flower into a
glamorous fruit
         On 12-April-2013

Ripen fruit on 14-April 2013

The Poison of Bitterness

Nobody's life is perfect.  We will all encounter broken relationships with friends or family at some point in our lives.  Satan will try to sow bitterness into our lives through some means.  Once bitterness takes root in our lives, it grows like weeds.

Many people we encounter in our lives will inevitably hurt us.  When we are hurt, we have two choices: forgive, or become bitter.  When bitterness takes over our life and we are overcome with sorrow, there is no other way but to turn to Jesus.  Bitterness cannot be sweetened by sugar or honey - they can only be sweetened by the tree of life, the cross of Jesus, the manifestation of dying love, the application of atoning blood of Jesus.

Christ admonishes us in Luke 17:3-4 to always offer forgiveness to those who hurt us.  We must trust in the power of Christ and remember that He wants what is best for us.  Believing that we can go on living with the heart wounds of bitterness is foolish and dangerous.  Let's forgive today, trusting in the love and power of Christ.

[Extract from Living Life -April 2012]

   

The Power and Blessing of Living in Unity

It brings constant joy and delight to God when His children live together with purpose and in unity.  The gift that we receive from living in unity with one another is the holy anointing of oil upon our lives.

We love because Christ first loved us, and we forgive because Christ first forgave us.  A life of unity is impossible when things are always about us.  A life of unity comes through laying down our lives for one another and focusing on others first.  We need to stop living for ourselves and start focusing on Christ's love and how we can show that in our relationship.

Fellowship builds us up and binds us together.

In Ephesians 4:4-6, Paul reminded us;  "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."
 

Psalm 133: 1-3  How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!  It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down on the collar of his robe.  It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.  For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

Submission

Submission is defined as the acknowledgement of the legitimacy of the power of one's superior or superiors.[Wikipedia]

The word "submission" often comes with many negative connotations.  People often think that it means to be forced to do something against one's own will by someone more powerful.

Do we at times want something so badly that we submit to doing anything to get it?  Are we submitting to admiration?  Possessions?  Self?  Food?  Money?  Pleasure?

This is not what God calls us to do when He calls us to submit.  In his epistle to the Romans, Paul said, "to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves" (Romans 6:16)  Consider Romans 12:9-21, Submission is nothing short of love.  We do not submit for our own sake, or even for the sake of others, but because of our love for our Lord.  We submit to every ruler and authority, regardless of who they are, because by doing so, we express the love of the Gospel.

Submission is not a call to weakness but to strength.  As Anne Dutton states,  "Nothing like faith in God's love to us, as His dear children in Christ - strengthens our spirits to endure afflictions patiently to His glory and our joy."

TRUE FREEDOM IS NOT IN CHOOSING OUR OWN WAY, BUT IN SUBMITTING TO GOD'S WAY. 

Choosing Joy

A joyful countenance has nothing to do with one's age or education or even one's good looks or circumstances.  Joy is a choice!

Joy is a matter of attitude that stems from one's confidence in God - that He is at work, that He is in full control, that He is in the midst of whatever has happened, is happening, and will happen. - Charles Swindoll

Every choice we make creates a ripple effect on our lives as well as on the lives of others.  The choices we have made throughout life determine where we are and what we are becoming. 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 - choices that emanate from a heart fully committed to Jesus.  He stated that :- "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,"  Phillippians 1:9-10

When choosing between options one must make judgments about the quality of each option's attributes.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20  See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.  For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.  But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.  This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Joy is deep and consistent - the oil that reduces the friction of life.

Regardless of how severely the winds of adversity may blow, we set our sails toward joy - Charles Swindoll