A Prayer for Help

Psalm 71 : 1 - 2

In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
Rescue me and deliver me in your
righteousness;
Turn your ear to me and save me.
Be my rock of refuge,
To which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.

Have you been praying hard? Most of us have. God listens. He knows. He is waiting for the right time to grant us our wishes.
I remember a long time ago, I heard someone said ..... "Patience is a strength. To wait is a strategy."
So, in your prayers, always be patient. Be ever ready to receive the answers. God does not disappoint us. Only we, who will disappoint Him.

Judging Others

Matthew 7 : 1-2
"Do not judge or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Do you like to give others a good first impression? The truth is, all of us do. Even children are able to behave well in front of strangers!

As children of God, we are taught not to judge. However, how many of us remember this?

Yet, when you start to count your own blessings, then you will know how blessed you are. This, hopefully will remind you to stop judging others.

I started to recount my blessings years ago. I have already forgotten how to measure others, because I always remind myself ..... that poor and bend beggar could be me. I know how I measure others will always be used against me .... on earth or on Judgement Day.

Only God has the right to judge us. Yet, He has reserved the right to do so. He allows us to repent and gives us many chances to do so. If God has not in any way judged us, what right do we have to judge others?

Where your heart is .....

Psalm 84 : 1 - 2

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.

Whenever I feel overwhelmed by the troubles I face, I will definitely remember these verses. There is also a song based on the verses. I can remember it well because I can feel the heavy burden on my shoulders being taken off everytime after meditating on the verses.

Yes, finding a shoulder to lean on is rather difficult now, especially when everyone has his own responsibles. Nobody cares to give you even two minutes of their time. The most anyone would ask is, "How are you, dear?" But, they never take the time to listen
to your answer.

However, I still have God to listen to me. His Words are precious ....... Amen .....

Who Is The Greatest?

Matthew 18 : 3 - 4
"........ unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whorever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven ..."

How can we be little children again? Many years ago when I first read these verse, I used to wonder aloud. Then, I began to observe littele children. Yes, they do have the innocence. The way they trust and follow their parents' and teachers' advices really amazes me. They really believe in everything people they trust said. Any child is humble and innocent.

In the East, children who go to school are taught to reverend and respect their teachers. Every time I see children greet their teachers, they will make a small bow. That is a show of reverence. However, these beautiful gestures are not seen after they grew up.

I think that is why the Lord says, "....unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven ......" It is not our physical He means, but our minds. Life fills us with lots of worries and false hopes .... and we sometimes even lost faith in God. Isn't it time to change and become child like again ..... for the sake of the kingdom of heaven as promised by God?

His Requirement

Micah 6 : 6
With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow before the exalted God? ...................
Micah 6 : 8
.............. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

Many of us prefer to walk our own ways, instead of following God's way. We think as He is with us, He would allow us to do so. We have forgotten how much He has done for each of us to help us sail through safely. We always think God wants so much from us, yet read again the last verse, His requirement is .......... so simple!

Only He can do this

Habakuk 3:17 - 19

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the field produces no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God, my Saviour.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
He enables me to go on heights!

In a depressed mood? I know that. Why not let God know about your feelings now? He will renew us and help us find a way out. He is our strength and only He can do this, if we let Him!

What are you seeking?

......... But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. ......
(Matthew 6:33-34)

We always wonder if we would be alive tomorrow, whether we would be richer tomorrow, ...etc.
We also worry about our daily lives, necessities, wealth, relationship and a host of other things. We rant, grumble and do lots of things, except to let go and let God handle them.

Even after we pray about our problems, we would continue to worry. These worries will seriously effect our relationship with God. As we never let them go, God will not be able to take over. As He can't take over, well, these problems are not really solved. So, that's when we start blaming God for not helping us.
I always ask myself this question: What am I really seeking? Material or Spiritual? The world or God?

Who are we in front of God

All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rugs;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Isaiah 64:6

We may be great achievers in this life. We all yearn for praises and recognitions from our fellow men. When we received all those, we yearn for more.....
But, is God please with our achievements?
Do not forget that we are nobody when we are right in front of God. We will be back to square one ..... the sinful ones.
There are so many things we should and ought to do to for God while we are working our way to be at the top, yet, we miss them.
When the day comes, we are just sinners in front of God.

Little Faith

Matthew 8 : 24 - 26
"Without a warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord. save us! We're going to drown!"
He replied' "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm."

Mark 6 : 47 - 51
"When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out because they all saw him and were terrified.
Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, ................"

We are just like Jesus' disciples. We claim to know Jesus, but we are still in doubt whenever there is a difficulty in front of us.
How many Easters do we need to get out of this doubt that Jesus will not leave us alone in stormy weathers ?1
Do we need to hear Him rebuking us again and again,

"You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"

The Light

"Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes aye good, your whole body is full of light. When they are bad, your body is also full of darkness. ........ See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you."

Luke 11 : 34 - 36

Do we have enough light in us to be considered as light of the world?
Are we willing our lives to be lights of the world?