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.

Do You Believe?

Matthew 21:18-22
Early in the morning, as He was walking on His way back to the city, He was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then He said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered.
When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked.
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 to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

I believe in my prayers. What about you?
Someone told me some time ago, if we don't believe in our prayers, then it is better not pray!
I think that someone is right, in fact, it is a good advice!
I have faith in God, first because He is the creator of every single thing in this universe. Next because He created me .....who, may be just another small, unimportant creature. Yet, He does not leave me to survive on my own.
You, too ...... must believe in your prayers. God is listening. Even if your faith is only as small as a mustard seed, believe in it too.

Have Faith

Isaiah 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Many years ago, I heard a preacher shared a story about faith. He said .... "Faith is like driving along a lone dark road, you have nothing to guide you but the headlight of your vehicle. All you need to do is to drive on where the light shines on."

Many of us have forgotten that walking along the lone road of faith needs lots of encouragement as well as motivation. When these are not available around you, the Word of God is still there. There are millions of people who made the same journey and are always within reach through the church!

Walking in faith is not easy. However, we still have the light to guide us. This comes in the form of the Word of God as well as our prayers. Travellers like us make simple steps and enjoy every step we made, because we have faith in our Maker.

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!