Don't Just Pray

Proverbs 30:7-9

“Two things I ask of you, O Lord;

do not refuse me before I die;

Keep falsehood and lies far from me;

give me neither poverty nor riches,

but give me only my daily bread.

Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you

And say, ‘Who is the Lord?’

Or I may become poor and steal,

And dishonor the name of my God”

It takes a lot of built-up courage to say this prayer. Who doesn’t like riches? As long as one knows the way; who cares where the money comes from.

However, life isn’t necessarily about riches. There are other things more important than money. Living honestly is not only an option, it is an obligatory.

When we have too much, we would forget the pain and hardship we had experienced. We would not want to remember what we had prayed and promised God. We believe that we are ‘great’, maybe greater than God himself.

On the final day, we put the blame on everyone else, except ourselves.

Be careful what you say in your prayer. You are talking to God, the Omnipotent and the One-Who-Creates and Knows-All. This is very serious.

Don't just pray, act it out!

Letting Go

Luke 12:32-34

“… Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

When we hold on tightly to our worldly possession, we have a problem of letting go.

The truth is letting go is not so easy (especially when we have much more than is needed). However, remember that our possessions in this world do not really belong to us. Not even our lives and family members. They are all just a loan from God to make our worldly life complete.

Yet, when it is time to let go, we must do so.

As humans, we all have our selfish wants and needs. Yet, God accepts us despite all our shortcomings.

Nobody can perceive when, why, what or how events we deemed ‘bad’ will happen. Only God does. That is why He says, “…….Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Know What You Want

“… And do not set your heart on what you eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world run after all such things and your Father knows that you need them. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well…….”

Luke 12:29-31

How true! We are always running after things we thought are important to us. We are always worried what we should eat, wear and buy. We all like to show off, even a little, believe it or not.

We put in so much effort to make sure others envy us. We care so much for things that we do not really need. We care not for things that can help us to grow, spiritually.

God knows our needs …. In the Lord’s Prayer ….. ‘Give us today our daily bread’ … which also means God will provide what is enough to fill us. He gives more if we care to seek His Kingdom ….

God’s Kingdom is not a matter of words. Not everyone can enter. Those who qualified had already sacrificed not only their worldly possessions, but also themselves.

Decide What Is Important

Luke 12:29-31

“… And do not set your heart on what you eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world run after all such things and your Father knows that you need them. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well…….”

How true! We are always running after things we thought are important to us. We are always worried what we should eat, wear and buy. We all like to show off, even a little, believe it or not.

We put in so much effort to make sure others envy us. We care so much for things that we do not really need. We care not for things that can help us to grow, spiritually.

God knows what we need …. In the Lord’s Prayer ….. ‘Give us today our daily bread’ … which also means God will provide what is enough to fill us. He gives more if we care to seek His Kingdom ….

God’s Kingdom is not a matter of words. Not everyone can enter. Those who qualified had already sacrificed not only their worldly possessions, but also themselves.

He Is There

“Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in his entire splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith! ……” Luke 12:27-28

Read these verses. There is so much assurance in just a few words. The Bible contains many promises and assurances, if you care to read and ponder.

As a believer, I have to confess that I am also one of them …. with little faith. However, God’s Words and assurances are always there to help me through.

As a freelance photographer, I know how beautiful the nature is. It is God’s wish that we appreciate His handiwork. Just look at the beautiful wild flowers, one will always wonder who takes care of them.

Since God cares for them, He will care for us too. Didn’t He send His very own son to die for us, the sinful ones? We sometimes forget that God is with us when we care too much about ourselves.

The first thing we must do is ….. to be grateful. God is there, everywhere and is always ready to help whenever we ask.

Acceptance

“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. …. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or fall. And he will stand for the
Lord will make him stand." Romans 14: 1, 3-4.

We are not talking about food here. These days, what we eat is a matter of choice and supply. If we can afford more expensive food, we would surely like to eat them too.

Faith is like the food we eat. Some people suspect that certain foods are harmful to their health. Let them be. God has accepted them. We should too. We just don’t go around and criticize people because they don’t eat the same dishes as we do.

Judging others is becoming quite a habit. We judge not only others, but people around us. Yet, we have forgotten to judge ourselves. We like to be among the crowd. For this matter, we have forgotten that the crowd may not accept us. The crowd may not even suit us.

God has accepted all to be His children. As His children, we are all equal. Since God does not judge, we shouldn’t too. He loves us all equally. It is always us, who make lives complicated.

Return of Investments

2 Corinthians 9: 6 - 8
"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you to you, so that in all things at all times, having all you need, you will abound in every good work."

Do you count how much return every time you give away something?
If we keep on thinking how much we gain from our giving, God will not be pleased. After all, we have already been rewarded, why should we receive any rewards from God?

A happy giver expects nothing in return.
A cheerful giver hopes his gifts will cheers other.
A generous giver hopes his gifts will help others.

No matter what the amount you give, God knows and will reward you more!

God is Faithful

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
1 Corinthians 10 : 13

None of us will be left in a lurch. God is forever faithful. His help is always timely.

However, we have to ask ourselves, if we are faithful too. Whenever we face with temptations, we tend to give in ........ how embarrassing! Yet, God does not let us down. He will still protect us despite all our weaknesses.

How great is our faith in God?

We love because He loves us first

John 15 : 12 - 15
".......My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ....."

Have you done anything that you think will please your friends? Well, in real life, we all do. We buy things for them, help them out when they are in distress .....etc. The reward? None. We did so because they are our friends. The bond is sealed as that.

However, most of us are unhappy because we found that most of our friends are still not happy! It is always not easy to please others!

Jesus had made it a point to die for us, because we are His friends. He had sacrificed Himself for our sins. I believe there are many fine samples of good friends out there who emulated Jesus too.

Look at us, the so-called 'friends' of Jesus. We are not happy too, despite all what Jesus did.

My verdict?

Do all you can for your friends. Their inner feelings are theirs. Even if they did not appreciate your friendship, God knows.

Jesus taught us to be loving. We love because Jesus loves us. The spark will be passed on.

Calming The Storm Inside You

Mark 4 :35 - 40
That day when evening came, He said to His disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, They took Him along, just as He was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.
The disciples woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be Still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to His disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

Most of us have forgotten that there are certain times we cannot handle things on our own. Of course, this does not mean that we are weak. But, we still need help.
We have gone through storms in our own lives, big or small. We know very well that there are many to come.
We waded through the storms not because we are intelligent, it is because the grace of God.
It is also faith in God that helps us to calm the storms in our lives.
Keep your heart quiet and be still to listen to God's voice.