My Provider and Shield

I look to the mountains,
where will my help come from?

My help will come from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

He will not let you fail,
your protector is always awake.

Psalms 121:1-3

The Protector

Psalm 124: 1
What if God had not been on our side?

Psalm 124 :4 - 5
Then the flood would have carried us away,
the water would have covered us,
the raging water would have drowned us.

What to worry?

Matthew 6:28-29
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow.
They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his
splendor dressed like one of these.

Everyday, we have something to worry about. Everyday, we live our lives with little hope and little gratitude. We have very little time to give thanks to God. We think He should give us more instead of that little.

Stop!

If this is you, then, think again. Take a few minutes off and look around you, especially the natural surrounding. God is so kind that He clothes every living cell around us. (All non-living things are our creations.) He does not have to ask our permission to colour our lives. He does what He thinks is good for us.

Our daily worries is not going to give us another few hours in a day. Just be grateful that we are still living to see every God's colourful creation around us. We do not have to live in a black and white world. That's already a blessing!

Be grateful with what we have and blessings will pour in. Praise God!

Search me, O God, and know my heart,
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
(Psalm 139:23-24)

Many times, we found ourselves lost materialistically. We fought hard to protect our rights. We had failed many times. We cried aloud and in silence. Desperation and disappointment are not alien to us. We had wanted so much then.

Now, let God decide: What should it be for us in our lives.

Let God decide : What is the best for us.

If we should fail, then, we haven't done enough what is needed.

The parable of the widow and the judge (Luke18 : 2-6)

"............ In a certain town there was a judgewho neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'

For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, Even though I don't fear God nor care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "

No, God is not like the judge in this story.

He wants us to tell him what we want. But, like the judge, He will grant us our wishes as we are persistent and sincere in all our wishes.

Luke 18:7 ... And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones who cry out to Him day and night?

Appreciating the best

"Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old, he will not turn from it."
Proverbs 22:6

Parents have been complaining about their children to me. Actually, after I gave some unfavourable feedback to them. I was rather shocked that most parents are a lot stricter than I thought they would be.

Now I know.

I guess most children these days are a lot luckier. When I was young, we have plenty of time to play, watch TV and do just anything I wanted as long as I finished my school homework.

These days, I can see parents racing here and there sending their children to tuition classes. Best of all, I got to know that none of the children I'm instructing take a bus to school! How horrible.

Their time is filled up with school, school activities and tuition classes, some even with drawing, music, sports and swimming.

I envy them, really. I never have those activities back then!

I just hope these children grow up to know and appreciate what they have! As for their parents, I think they have done more than enough!

Say it out!

Luke 11 : 9

"............. Ask and it will be given to you,
seek and you will find,
knock and the door will be opened ....."

Someone commented in my previous post about prayers. Well, let's just say, God does know what we want. However, if we do not tell Him specifically what we really want, it would only be another prayer.

I have a friend, who years to have a life partner. We told him to pray for it. He said he did. Once, in a prayer gathering, he said like this, "........ Please let me have a 'Miss'....". We almost laughed out.
Yes, he was brave enough to pray out, but the word 'miss' has ambiguous meanings. I guessed he did not know it at that time. Someone pointed it out to him later. A year later, he got married.

So, be very specific with your petitions. It is not that God does not know. He knows your every thought. But, like the verse ............ ask and it will be given.

Faith

Matthew 21 : 21-22

Jesus replied ... "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say this to the mountain, "Go throw yourself into the sea," and it will be done.
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

Most of us have faith before we do something. Yet, when we have done something, we lost the faith to see it through. Sometimes, we are even afraid to start all over again.

Do you pray?

Prayers can help us to unburden ourselves in front of God. We must trust Him to carry us through. If not, what is the use of us praying?

A prayer with faith is a powerful weapon. Use it wisely so that God listens and takes over your mission!

A hopeful seed

From the parable of a sower (Luke8 : 1-15)

".............................v11: The seed is the word of God"
"............................ v15: But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by preserving, produce a crop."

I would like to admit that I am, like one of the seeds,

"v14: The seed that fell among thorns ....... hear but blinded by life's worries ........."

I can understand why I 'm like that. Much as I wanted to be the seed in v15, I'm also chocked by all life's worries. I don't know how and when to let go!

If you are like me, then take a rest from your burden. Lay out all your worries in front of God. Let Him take over. Let Him make over. Allow him to bring the change in us.

Let us be like the butterfly......... bringing new seeds to everywhere it stops. Let us not be trapped by life's worries........... a butterfly never does!

A New Day

Sing to Him, sing to Him;
tell of His wonderful acts.
Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek His face always.
Psalm 105 :2-4

It is already a few days into the new year of 2007. Any new changes or resolutions you want to make this year is another new hope for you.

However, most of us always forget to take in each day fully. We seldom appreciate every day that we are alive. We hurry through each minute, hour and then day, week, month and year. Finally, the whole 365 days are behind us.

The only time we would slow down is, when our health is affected or when there is a death that saddened us. But, do we have to wait for all these to comeby?

Should we live each day fully?

Certainly. Isn't that what God wants us to do? Like the butterflies polienating new plants everyday, He wants us to grow each day, seeking Him out for strength. Bringing joy not only others but ourselves and God as well.

So, live out and in the day!