“Come and rest with Me.”

I care deeply for you, My child.  There is nothing that you feel or experience that I don’t also experience as I carry you through life.  My hand is upon you, and nothing will take you away from My love.  Quietly wait on Me, and you will feel my nearness.  You will hear Me whisper into your soul, and My peace will descend upon you.

My little one, there is a hiding place you can find in Me.  The shadow you see over you is the shadow of My wings.  It is not a shadow of confusion, but a shadow of My hiding place where I will place you next to My heart.  For I have taken you from troubled waters and brought you up on high to rest in My presence.  No matter how dark the night and how fierce the trial, My kiss of mercy will keep and protect you.

No one says in My presence, “I am afraid.”  It is never heard in My glory, “I am poor.”  For I have given you all things that will strengthen your life and prepare you for eternity.  In My presence all cry, “Glory.”  Come into the shelter of My shadow, where all My lovers are washed, robed, crowned, and seated with Me.  I care deeply for you and nothing can disturb you in the hiding place of My glory.  Come and rest with Me.”

[Excerpt From I Hear His Whisper: 52 Devotions (The Passion Translation) by Brian Simmons]

THE POWER OF GENTLENESS

THE POWER OF GENTLENESS

Do you remember the old fable about the contest between the wind and the sun?  It seems they got into an argument over which one of them was the most powerful.

An elderly man in a tattered coat came walking down the path.  The wind challenged the sun to see which one of them could get the man’s coat off.

Confident in his own strength, the wind went first.  He began blustering and blowing with all his might, ripping at the edges of the tattered coat.  But the poor old man ducked his head, hunched his shoulders, and pulled the coat more tightly to his chest.

When at last the mighty wind gave up, it was the sun’s turn to shine.  The sun slipped out from behind the clouds and beamed down on the old man so gently—and warmly— that the man immediately removed his coat and folded it over his arm.

This story always reminds me of the truth of Proverbs 15:1: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”  In our relationships with others, we often take an aggressive posture.  Like the blustering wind, we try to win the point—or the argument—by overpowering and intimidating the other person.  We blast him or her with the full force and strength of our sharpest words.  But seldom does this approach produce the results we’re looking for.  Often we achieve the exact opposite!

The Scripture tells us there is a better way.  Whether we’re giving or receiving constructive criticism, settling an argument, or addressing a sensitive situation, we’d do well to remember the wisdom of Proverbs 15:1 and the power of a “gentle answer.”

Take It To Heart!

Can you think of a problem or circumstance in your life that was exacerbated by harsh words?

How could it have been handled differently?

What about a situation where a gentle answer saved the day?

Pray that God will give you gentle answers for the difficult people and circumstances that come into your life today.

Read James 3:3-18. Write down the areas that you need to work on.

Taken from : Take it to Heart by Christin Ditchfield

A Heart To Know Him

God has sworn by an oath to give us a new heart—one that is inclined to obey.  “I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart” (Jeremiah 24:7).  “Then I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).


God promises not only to give us a new heart, but to write on our hearts His commands.  In other words: He promises to cause us to know Him.

Again, the Holy Spirit is the one who accomplishes this work in us.  He teaches us about the Father’s nature and way—and in the process, He transforms us into Christ’s divine image.

Our Lord has sworn a sovereign oath to be merciful to us in our struggles against sin.  Until full victory comes, He will be patient and loving with us, never casting us aside.  He promises, “No matter what I demand of you, I will supply you with all the power you need to accomplish it.  I will not ask anything of you for which I have not made provision.”

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead—and enabled Him to fulfill God’s law through a perfect, sinless life—now abides in us.  God’s own Spirit is alive in us, providing all power over every work of the enemy.

When the enemy comes flooding into your soul, enticing you toward an old lust, call upon the Holy Spirit.  Listen to His every whisper, and obey His every command.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

[Taken from : God is Faithful by David Wilkerson ]

Labour Day Outing at Tanjong Bungah beach

 Labour's Day picnic at Tanjong Bungah beach with two other families after few months of Movement Control Order.

A Wounded Heart

For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded and stricken within me.—Psalm 109:22

Is it wrong to have a wounded heart?  No, a wounded heart is not wrong, but you need to get it healed and go on.  In Old Testament days, if a priest had a wound or a bleeding sore, he could not minister.  I think today we have a lot of wounded healers.  By that I mean there are a lot of people in the body of Christ today who are trying to minister to other people but who themselves still have unhealed wounds from the past. These people are still bleeding and hurting themselves.

Am I saying such people cannot minister?  No, but I am saying they need to get healed.  Jesus said that the blind cannot lead the blind; because if they do, they will both fall into a ditch. There is a message in that state- ment.  What is the use of my trying to minister victory to others if I have no victory in my own life?  How can I minister emotional healing to others if I still have unresolved emotional problems from my past?

In order to minister properly, we need to go to God and let Him heal us first.  I think we need to wake up and realize that God is not looking for wounded healers.  He wants people with wounds He can heal who will then go and bring healing to others.  God loves to use people who have been hurt and wounded, because nobody can minister to someone else better than one who has had the same problem or been in the same situation as that person.

If we are still bleeding and hurting from our own wounds, we are not going to be able to come against other people’s problems with the same kind of aggressive faith we would have if we had already worked through that problem ourselves. The bottom line is that we need to let God heal us so He can use us to bring healing to other people.

[Source : New Day New You by Joyce Meyer]

Kafe Tsunami Village

Fellowship dinner with the Cheah's family at Kafe Tsunami Village, Tanjong Bungah.

Hiking from Sungai Ara Hindu Temple

Sungai Ara Hindu Temple to Coconut Farm Loop is a 13.5 kilometer lightly trafficked loop trail located near Bayan Lepas that features a great forest setting and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking and mountain biking.

THE LEADER AND STRESS

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. [PSALM 23:1]

Have you discovered the differences between problems and facts?  Problems are things we can do something about; we can solve problems.  Facts are things we can do nothing about; therefore we do well not to worry about them.

We should apply energy only to those things we can change.  When we do, we can feel peace and act with poise, because we no longer beat our heads against an unbreakable wall.

Psalm 23 reminds us of what God alone can control and what we can control.  It distinguishes between problems and facts. It defines God as . . .

Our possession
Our provision
Our peace
Our pardon
Our partner
Our preparation
Our praise
Our paradise

In your life, have you been treating a fact as a problem?

[Leadership Heart 365 Devotion by John Maxwell]

Humility is concerned with what is right

James 4:10 - Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (NIV)

James reminds us of an important biblical principle that is found throughout the pages of Scripture, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." James lays out the criteria on living a humble life that honours the Lord in chapter four of his epistle.  He lists a series of commands that will not only keep us in close fellowship with God but encourage us towards humility of heart and gentleness of spirit.

Humility is a fruit of the Spirit that should be exhibited in every believer’s life, but there is much misunderstanding about biblical humility and what it means to humble oneself before the Lord.  Humility is not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking of ourselves less.  It is understanding ourselves properly considering who God is and who we are and living accordingly.  This humbling of oneself is not meant to be forced, but instead should be voluntary in a willing action.

James gives us a challenge that demands us going against our current day of self-exaltation culture.  He encourages us to appropriately humble ourselves before God.  When we recognize who we are apart from the Lord, the only response that can come from us in the presence of God is humility.  True humility grows in the heart of someone who is submitted to God, growing in grace, and maturing in the Christian faith.  The reward of true humility is exaltation from God - He will lift you up.  The exaltation from God is far greater than the exaltation of the world.

Gossip

In Ancient Greece, Socrates had a great reputation of wisdom.  One day, someone came to find the great philosopher and said to him:

- Do you know what I just heard about your friend?
- A moment, replied Socrates.  Before you tell me, I would like to test you the three sieves.
- The three sieves?
- Yes, continued Socrates.  Before telling anything about the others, it's good to take the time to filter what you mean.  I call it the test of the three sieves.  The first sieve is the TRUTH.  Have you checked if what you're going to tell me is true?
- No, I just heard it.
- Very good!  So, you don't know if it's true.  We continue with the second sieve, that of KINDNESS.  What you want to tell me about my friend, is it good?
- Oh, no!  On the contrary.
- So, questioned Socrates, you want to tell me bad things about him and you're not even sure they're true?  Maybe you can still pass the test of the third sieve, that of UTILITY.  Is it useful that I know what you're going to tell me about this friend?
- No, really.
- So, concluded Socrates, what you were going to tell me is neither true, nor good, nor useful.  Why, then, did you want to tell me this?

"Gossip is a bad thing. In the beginning it may seem enjoyable and fun, but in the end, it fills our hearts with bitterness and poisons us, too!"

- Pope Francis