Fresh Grace Every Day

Matthew 6:34  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

"I am concerned about the big business deal that I have to close tomorrow."

"I am worried about tomorrow's job interview."

"My medical test results will be out tomorrow.  I am afraid it won't be good."

God does not want you to worry about tomorrow.  He wants you to know that He gives you all the help you need for today, and when tomorrow comes, so will fresh help from Him.

This is God's principle even in the Old Testament.  When the children of Israel were in the desert, God gave them fresh manna from heaven every morning. (Exodus 16:13-16, 31)

They did not have to worry about tomorrow because when tomorrow came, there was fresh manna again.  He was their provision every day.

Today, God's manna is the grace He gives you every day.  If you are worried about a situation tomorrow, know that there will be sufficient grace for that situation when it comes.

God wants you to simply rest in His ability to heal, deliver, protect and provide for you every day.

In the Old Testament, when the armies of Moab and Ammon came against King Jehoshaphat, God told the anxious king, "Do not be afraid nor dismayed... for the battle is not yours, but God's... You will not need to fight in this battle... stand still and see the salvation of the Lord..." (2 Chronicles 20:15-17)

When the next morning came, King Jehoshaphat saw how God caused such confusion to come upon his enemies' camp that it brought about their own slaughter.

Amid all that fighting in the enemy camp, God's people merely stood still and saw Him fight the battle for them just as He had promised.

My friend, when you see a problem looming in your tomorrow, don't be afraid or dismayed.  Look to the Lord, and see His grace and salvation deliver you.

God wants you to live a stress-free life, not one filled with worries about tomorrow's problems.  When tomorrow comes, His grace will be there for you as your help, protection, favor and enabling!

Thought For The Day: God gives you all the help you need for today. When tomorrow comes, so will fresh help from Him.

[Taken From : Destined to Reign by Joseph Prince]

USE YOUR AUTHORITY

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10:19 KJV)

Visualize a traffic control policeman, as he stands in the street; every motorist has to respect his authority.  Even the strongest man driving an eighteen wheeler has to STOP when he is commanded to do so.  What happens if someone thinks they are in a hurry and decide to run over the policeman?  There are a number of problems with that; the policeman does not stand there depending on his own power and authority.  There are structures and institutions that are designed as back up to this man’s authority, however tiny or huge, whatever his colour or gender.  If you do not respect the authority that person represents, you are in serious trouble.  Behind that single policeman, there is the whole police force, the army of the country, the cabinet, the president, the courts, the air force and many other structures that are in place.

This is the same with the authority that Christ gave to us as believers.  We have been given POWER to tread on scorpions and over ALL the power of the enemy, nothing by shall any means hurt or harm us.  The above scripture allows us to take hold of our destiny and know the rights that have been given to us.  All this power is within us, surprising many believers go through life without a single clue of this power.  They faint at a single blow from the enemy and do not take authority over the situation.

The above reference has some absolutes that are mentioned in it:

i)  Over all the power of the enemy
ii) Nothing shall by any means hurt you.

The above points us to the fact that whatever strategy the enemy tries to use, it can be foiled by the power that we have received.  From time immemorial, the enemy has been employing different strategies like bringing sickness and disease, discouraging us, attacking us with worry, attacking our businesses and even directly attacking us through other people.  Before the knowledge of this truth, it is easy for the enemy to ride on our ignorance of this inheritance of authority the Lord Jesus gave us.  He will throw everything on us and we will take it as if it was due to us.  The above absolutes however do not leave any room for some of the enemy’s power to hinder us or hurt us.  Nothing is permitted and nothing should be allowed room to even harm us.

Child of God, you can begin to exercise this power.  The enemy knows that if he tries to oppose that authority, you are backed by all the angels of heaven, the Lord Jesus Himself and God the Father.  The word of God is alive and powerful and you can begin right now to speak it into your situation.  You have to exercise that authority over your sickness, your job and your destiny.  That situation that you are facing that appears insurmountable can be subdued by that authority.  Take charge of that situation and remind it of your inheritance in the Lord Jesus.  Before the above verse, the disciples had witnessed that authority at work; demons were subject to them in the name of Jesus. There is power in that name saints, when it is mentioned every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord (Phil 2:11).

Take authority over your overwhelming situations and over all the power of the enemy today.  With this knowledge, begin to address every strategy that the enemy has been using to get to you and your loved ones.

(From the Shepherd’s Desk Devotional by Charles P. Magaiza)

“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]