Hello and how are you? I would like to share some of my thoughts with you if you do not mind.
I believe that we are here to express our heart true desires and it's reflection. I believe that we are here not to prove to God of who we are but to our self for God can see our heart true reflection. I believe that our one and true religion is life without it we would not have anything to believe in. Life can be influenced by many things but our heart will accept and reflect things that it truly desires and that would not change regardless if we believe that God exists or not.
I think, most of us get hurt more not by others but by our self's by allowing sin to influence us with sin. Please do not let sin to influence you with sin but with understanding of it.
I think, that we are judging ourselves every time by what we do or don't do, say or don't say. Our judgment is based on our beliefs. So what we do is based on our judgment influenced by our heart desires .It looks like we already judged our self's and at the end of our life we will see our heart true reflection. Thank you and I am sorry if I offended anyone including you with my beliefs.
The Puritans wisely sought to connect all of life to its source in God, bringing the two worlds together rather than dividing them into sacred and secular. They had a saying, “God loveth adverbs; and careth not how good, but how well.” Adverbs describe verbs—our words of action and activity. The proverb implies that God cares more about the spirit in which we live than the concrete results.
Pleasing God doesn’t mean that we must busy ourselves with a new set of “spiritual” activities. As the Puritans said, whether cleaning house or preaching sermons, shoeing horses or translating the Bible, any human activity may constitute an offering to God.
We spend much time immersed in the mundane. “But we have the mind of Christ,” Paul reminds us (1 Cor. 2:16). That truth is to guide everything we do. Caring for an elderly parent. Cleaning up after a child. Sitting on a porch with a neighbor. Fielding a customer’s complaint. Filling out patient charts at a nurses’ statio n. Sitting in traffic. Sawing lumber. Reporting tips. Shopping for groceries.
We need faith and the mind of the Lord Jesus to recognize something of lasting value in even our most ordinary tasks. —Philip Yancey
In the common round of duty Lift thy heart in praise; For the Lord hath surely promised Strength for all thy days. —Tovey
The world crowns success; God crowns faithfulness!
Today story is "Locked In".Jean-Dominique Bauby's memoir,The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,describes his life after a massive stroke left him with a condition called "Locked-In-Syndrome".Although he was almost completely paralyzed,Bauby was able to write his book by blinking his left eyelid.An aide would recite a coded alphabet,until Bauby blinked to choose the letter of a word he was dictating.The book required about 200,000 blinks to write.Bauby used the only physical ability left him to communicate with others.In 2 Timothy we read of Paul experiencing a different kind of "locked-in syndrome".Under house arrest,the apostle learned that his execution might be immeninent.With this in view,he told Timothy:"I suffer trouble...even to the point of chains;but the Word of God is not chained"(2Tim 2;9).In spite of his isolation,Paul welcomed visitors,wrote letters of encouragement,and rejoiced at the spread of God's Word.For some of us,circumstances may have isolated us from others.Lying in a hospital bed,serving time in a prison,or being a shut-in can make us feel that we are experiencing our own "locked-in syndrome".If this is true,why not prayerfully reflect on some ways you can still reach out to others.No deed is too small when done for Christ.I can relate.
Today story is "Widening Your Perspective".A missionary and I were invited to lunch David,a man in his late seventies who generously supported the missionary's ministry.David was not able to visit the missionary's country,but as he gave thanks for the food,he prayed with complete ease for the people,places,and situations there.Having prayed regularly for that ministry,he had no trouble mentioning specifics.David had a perspective on missions that extended beyond his own country of Singapore.Our Lord Jesus commanded us to have a worldwide perspective on missions.When He said,"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you"(Matt28vs19).He was not asking us to buy an around the-world ticket to do His bidding.We may not have the opportunity to travel much beyond our own birthplace,but we can be involved with what's going on in the world without leaving our hometown.But how?Is there an international student living near you? A family from another country who is trying to cope with life in a new country? Or just a lonely person whom you can cheer up?Sharing Jesus' love with them is your way of crossing the oceans with gospel.If you look through the eyes of Jesus,you'll see a needy world.
Today story is "Always With You". The highway that winds around the southern shore of Lake Michigan can be treacherous in the winter.One weekend as we were driving back to Grand Rapids from Chicago,a buildup of snow and ice slowed traffic,caused numerous accidents,and almost doubled our drive time.We were relieved as we eased off the expressway onto our final road.It was then that my husband said out load,"Thanks,Lord I think I can take it from here".Just as he finished saying the words,our car spun around 180 degrees.As we came to a stop,hearts pounding,we could just imagine God saying:"Are you sure"?Why do we sometimes try to go it alone in life when at every moment we have access to God?"(Gen28vs15).And he assures us:"I will never leave you nor forsake you"(Heb13vs5).Scottish mathematician,theologian,and preacher Thomas Chalamers(1780-1847) wrote:"When I walk by the wayside He is along with me.When I enter into company,amid all my forgetfulness of Him,He never forgets me...Go where I will,He tends me,and watches me,and cares for me".What a comfort to know that God is always with us-we don't need to go through life alone!God's presence always brings great comfort.
Today story is "Treasure Hunt". On January 1,2008,Keith Severin and his 7-year-old son,Adrien,agreed that they would spend at least 15 minutes every day that year.Carlos Alcala's article in the Sacramento Bee described how they went out each day in every kind of weather to see what they could find.A year later their collection of coins,golf balls,recyclable bottles and cans,and various other items had yielded more than $1,000.In the process,they enjoyed many hours of companionship and fun.If we decided to spend 15 minutes a day searching for treasure in the Bible,what would we find? Solomon wrote:"If you seek[wisdom] as silver,and search for her as for hidden treasures:then you will understand the fear of the Lord,and find the knowledge of God...Then you will understand righteousness and justice,equity and every good path"(Prov2vs4-5,9).Growth won't happen all at once.But gradually,day by day,we will be changed through reading God's Word and obeying Him.And think of the privilege and pleasure of spending time with our heavenly Father.It begins with willing commitment,continues with exciting discoveries,and leads to the treasure of wisdom and life.Rich treasures of God's truth are waiting to be discovered.
Today story is "Point Of No Return".Longtime California pastor Ray Stedman once told his congregation:"On New Year's Eve we realize more than any other time in our lives that we can never go back in time.We can look back and remember,but we cannot retrace a single moment of the year that is past".Stedman then referred to the Israelites as they stood on the edge of a new opportunity.After four decades of desert wanderings by their people,this new generation may have wondered if they had the faith and fortitude to possess the Promised Land.Their leader,Moses,reminded them that they had seen "every great act of the Lord which He did"(Deut11vs7)and that their destination was "a land for which the Lord your God cares;the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it,from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year"(vs12).On New Year's Eve,we may fear the future because of events in the past.But we need not remain chained to our old memories because we can move ahead focused on God.Just as the Lord watched over the land and His people,so His eyes will be upon us.God's faithful care will extend to every day of the new year.We can count on that promise.The "what" of our future is determined by the Who" of eternity.
Today story is "Bad Idea?". The former althlete had neglected his body for too long,so he began an exercise routine.The first day,he did several push-ups and went for a light jog.The next day,more push ups,a few sit-ups,and a longer run.Day 3: exercises and a mile-and-a-half training woke up with a sore throat.Then he did more exercise:He jumped to the conclusion that exercising was a bad idea.If all he got out of his huffing and puffing was sickness,it wasn't for him.Let's examine another scenario.A Christian,realizing he has neglected his relationship with God,begins a new spiritual routine of Bible-reading and prayer.But after a few days,some problems arise in his life.What does he conclude?Like the ex-athlete,should he decide that his spiritual quest was a bad idea and that it didn't do any good? Certainly not.We don't pray and read the Bible to get a perfect,trouble-free life.Pursuing God is not cause and effect.We do it because it draws us closer in our relationship with the One who is perfect.The pursuit of godliness will not exempt us from trouble(2 Tim3vs12).But a life dedicated to loving and pursuing God (Heb10vs22) is always a good idea-no matter what happens."Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith"(Heb10vs22).The roots of stability come from being grounded in God's Word and prayer.
Today story is "In Which Realm Do You Live"?.I was working with a petroleum company in Singapore when an inspector from another country visited.He came to check on a cargo of oil destined for his country,which was at war.When he heard the shriek of fighter planes overhead,he instinctly ran for cover.Embarrased,he explained,"Sorry,I thought I was back home".He did what he would have done he had been in his war-torn country.For the Christian,it's easy to dive back into old ways of sin out of sheer habit because of the many temptations in this world.Even though we are "in Christ Jesus" as Romans 8vs1 says,we sometimes live as if we are "in sin".God paid a very heavy price to take us out of the realm of sin.He did so by "sending His own son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering"(vs3).We are now to be governed by "the law of the Spirit of life",not by "the law of sin and death"(vs2).The apostle Paul urges us to "set" our mind according to "the things of the Spirit"(vs5).This means that that we take our direction from God's Word as guided by his Spirit.When you're tempted to dive back into old sinful ways,will you instead allow the Holy Spirit who resides in you to help you live more consistently with your standing "in Christ"? Romans8vs2 "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.When you are born again,you become a citizen of heaven.
Today story is "Power To Persevere". Professional golfer Paula Creamer had worked all year long to earn a berth in the 2008 ADT Championship,the year's final tournament on the LPGA tour.When the event began,however,Creamer was suffering from peritonitis,a painful inflammation of the abdominal wall.Throughout the four days of the tournament,she was in constant pain and unable to eat.She even spent a night in the hospital because of the condition.Still,she persevered to the end and,amazingly,she finished third,Her dermination earned her many new fans.The challenges and crises of life can tax us to the very end of our strength,and in such times it is easy to want to give up.But James offers followers of Christ another perspective.He says while life is a battle,it is also a blessing:Indeed we count them blessed who endure.You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord-that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful"(James 5vs11).In Job's example,we find encouragement and the power to pesevere in life's darkest hours-power rooted in God,who is compassionate and merciful.Even when life is painful and hard,we can persevere because God is there.His mercy endures forever(Ps.136).God provides the power we need to persevere.
Today story is "Good Riddance!".A shredder ate hundreds of pieces of paper and other items in New York City on December 28 last year.Organizers of the second annual "Good Riddance Day" encouraged people to bring to Times Squares their bad memories and suffering of 2008 and feed them into the industrial-strength shredder or toss them into an extra-large dumpster.Some participants shredded pieces of paper with the words "the stock market" or cancer".Others destroyed bank statements,and one person shredded a printed e-mail from a boyfriend who broke up with her.We long to "shred" memories of bad things that others have done to us or difficult circumstances we're going through.The apostle Paul wanted to relief from his present suffering,an infirmity that made him feel weak(2 Cor12vs7-10).But God said to him,"My grace is sufficient for you,for my strength is made perfect in weakness".God didn't take away the problem.Instead,He gave Paul the grace to deal to live with it.Difficulties burden us as we mull them over in our minds,affecting our relationships and our outlook on life.We as believers in Christ have a place to take these burdens.First Peter 5vs7 tells us,"Cast all your care upon the Lord,for He cares for you".God gives enough grace for whatever we face.
Today story is "When atheistic communism was a world-menacing power,it proclaimed that there is no God and that faith in any future life deceptive illusion.Leonid Brezhnev had been the Soviet dicator,the embodient of Marxist unbelie.But something happened at his funeral that contradicted atheism.George H.W. Bush,then vice president of US,was the country's official representative at the solemn,formal ceremony.He reported that while the casket was still open,Brehznev's widow stared motionless at her husband's body.And just before the soldiers were about to close the lid,she reached inside and made the sign of the cross over his chest.What a desperate and significant gesture! That widow evidently hoped that what her husband had vehemently denied might somehow be true.Thankfully,we can have hope beyond this earthly life!All we need to is embrace by faith the saving message of the cross:Jesus died for our sins and rose again so that might live eternally with Him.Do you believe?Then join with the apostle Paul in affirming that "we trust in the living God,who is the Savior of all men,especially of those who believe"(1 Tim4vs10).Galatians 6vs14 "God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ".Calvary's cross is the only bridge to eternal life.
Today story is "Mary's Christmas". It was anything but an idyllic,silent night on that cool Bethlehem evening when a scared teenager gave birth to the King of kings,Mary endured the pain of her baby's arrival without the aid of anything more than the carpentry-roughened hands of Joseph,her betrothed.Shepherds may have been serenaded in nearby fields by angels singing praises to the Baby,but all Mary and Joseph heard were the sounds of animals,birth agony,and the first cries God in baby form.A high-magnitude star stone in the night sky above the outbuilding,but the manger scene was a dreary place for these two out-of-town visitors.As Joseph laid the infant in Mary's arms,a combination of wonder,pain,fear,and joy must have coursed through her heart.She knew,because of an angel's promise,that this tiny bundle was "the Son of the Highest"(Luke 1vs32).As she peered through the semidarkness into his eyes and then into Joseph's,she must have wondered how she was going to mother this One whose kingdom would never end.Mary had much to ponder in her heart on that special night.Now,over 2,000 years later,each of us needs to consider the importance of Jesus' birth and His subsequent death,resurrection,and promise to return.God came to live with us so that we could live with Him.
Today story is "God's Special Place". As a young girl in the late 1920s,Grace Ditmanson Adams often traveled with her missionary parents through inland China.Later,she wrote about those trips and the crowded places where they stayed overnight-village inns full of people coughing,sneezing,and snoking,while babies cried and children complained.Her family put their bedrolls on board-covered trestles in a large room with everyone else.One snowing,they arrived at an inn to find it packed full.The inn-keeper expressed his regret ,then paused and said,"Follow me".He led them to a side room used to store straw and farm equipment.There they slept in a quiet place of their own.After that,whenever Grace read that Mary "brought forth her firstborn Son,and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths,and laid Him in a manger,because there was no room for them in the inn"(Luke 2vs7),she saw the event differently.While some described the innkeeper as an example of uncaring,sinful mankind who rejected the Savior,Grace said,"I truly believe that Almighty God used the innkeeper as the arranger for a healthier place than the crowded inn-a place of privacy".Through eyes of faith,we see God's provision for Mary.Look for the ways He provides for you.Those who let God provide will be satisfied.
Today story is "Can You Spare A Dime? In her insightful book the Forgotten Man,Amity Shlaes provides fascinating stories about what life was like during the Great Depression in the US.At the center of that economic drama was "the forgotten man",a term used for the countless individuals who were thrown out of work.A popular Depression-era song poignantly expresses their story:They used to tell me I was building a dream,with peace and glory ahead.Why should I be standing in line,just waiting for bread?Once I built a railroad,I made it run,made it race against time.Once I built a railroad;now its done.Brother,can you spare a dime? As the lyrics remind us,an economic downturn changes everything for hard-working people who lose their jobs.When that happens,we as Christians should do what we can for people in need.In Galatians 2,Paul and Barnabas were reminded to evangelize and to "reminded the poor"(vs10).We can see that Paul did just that-preaching the gospel and encouraging financial aid to those in need(Acts 11vs29-30;1 Cor 16;1-3).During tough economic times,we too should help people in need-spiritually and physically.A dime doesn't go far these days,but a generous attitude does.Proverbs14vs21"He who has mercy on the poor,happy he is".Good exercise for the heart is to bend down and help another person up.
Today story is "God Alone". On May 29,1953,New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide,Tenzing Norgay,became the first people to reach the peak of Mount Everest,the highest mountain in the world.Since Tenzing did not know how to use a camera,Edmund took a photo of Tenzing as evidence that they did reach the top.Later,journalists repeatedly asked who reached the summit first.The expedition leader,John Hunt,replied,"They reached it together,as a team".They were united by a common goal,and neither was concerned who should get the greater credit.It is counterproductive to try to determine who deserves the most credit when something is done well.The church at Corinth was split into two factions-those who followed Paul told them,"I planted,Apollos watered...Neither he who plants is anything,nor he who waters"(1 Cor3vs7).He reminded them that they were "God's fellow workers"(vs9),and it is God who gives increase in ministry(vs7).Our concern about who deserves the credit serves only to take away the honor and glory that belong to the Lord Jesus alone.Jesus must increase;I must decrease.
Today story is "Make A Joyful Shout".Duke University's basketball fans are known as "Cameron Crazies".When Duke plays archrival North Carolina,the Crazies are given these instructions:"This is the game you've been waiting for.No excuses.Give everything you've got.Cameron[Stadium] should never be less than painfully loud tonight".Clearly,Duke fans take allegiance seriously.The songwriter of Psalm 100 took his allegiance to the Lord seriously and wanted others to do the same."Make a joyful shout to the Lord! he exclaimed (vs1).His people were to freely express their praise to him because He was the covenant God of Israel,the God over all other so-called gods.They were called to focus all their energies on Him and His goodness.God's goodness and grace should motivate us to freely express our love and allegiance to Him with shouts of joy.This may mean that those who are more reserved must push back the boundaries of restraint and learn what it means to be expressive in their praise to God.Those who are so expressive that they miss the beauty of silence may need to learn from those whose style is more reflective.Worship is a time to focus on our Creator,Redeemer,and Shepherd,and celebrate what He has done.Our thoughts about God should lead us to joyful praise.
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