An Anxious Heart

This morning after delivery goods to my customer, I attended  my goddaughter's SIL  funeral... It was a sad time, but today 1st reading said that there is a time for everything, it 's all in God's time... I have a heavy heart, even though I know that we are only a pilgrim on earth, when the room is ready for us, God will call us back !  and the following message let me think about what I am feeling now:

 In the message "Consistent Trust" we were encouraged to "trust in the Lord with all your heart" (Proverbs 3:5). We saw how a consistent trust ought to invade all areas of our life; we must be able to trust God for our eternity as well as our daily walk. A good measure of our trust (or lack of trust) is in our level of anxiety.

Being anxious, or having anxiety, is defined as being mentally troubled with worry or concern. Unfortunately, we have all been battling anxiety ever since Adam ate the forbidden fruit and tried in vain to hide from God; "I heard You in the garden, and I was afraid" (Genesis 3:10). The negative effects of anxiety were understood three thousand years ago when King Solomon wrote his proverbs of wisdom; "An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up" (Proverbs 12:25).

Anxiety remained a necessary topic as Paul preached the Good News of Jesus. Almost in the same breath that he gave instruction to "Rejoice in the Lord always!" (Philippians 4:4), Paul taught on removing anxiety from our life; "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6).

When we find ourselves being overly concerned or mentally troubled about ANYTHING, we must go to God (with thanksgiving) and give our burdens to Him. This doesn't mean we ignore our problems, but we must learn to view the things of this world against the backdrop of eternity. The concerns of this life always fade as we compare them to the eternal glory of His Kingdom.

Matthew 6:25,34
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry {or be anxious} about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

When we feel weighed down, pressured, or stressed - when concerns are coming in fast motion from all directions and we don't know where to begin - we must stop and take a long, deep breath! We must refocus on Jesus and His Word. We must be reminded of eternity in the presence of a loving God and diligently seek His Kingdom; "make every effort to enter that rest" (Hebrews 4:11).

As we draw closer to our Heavenly Father, our eyes become adjusted to His light and we see He has already given all we really need. As we love Him more, all fear is removed: "perfect love drives out fear" (1 John 4:18). And as we trust Him more and more, we will receive His gift of peace and no longer live with the burdening weight of an anxious heart.

http://gdwm.org/index.php/resources/

Continue In Prayer

He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray, and not give up.

Luke 18:1

Many people get discouraged in praying because they don't get an answer straight away. First, know this, that God always hears our prayers when they are sincere, and that He will always send an answer although it may not always be the answer we are hoping for. He never despises nor disregards the cry of one of His children; but sometimes for wise reasons He delays His answer. Perhaps it's not the right time. God's plans are far-reaching and He works slowly -- not because God is slow, but because everything has its own time. Look at Joseph in Egypt - a slave, then a prisoner. No doubt he was praying every day for release; and he may have thought at times that the answer was a long time coming. But when it came, he could see that one reason for delay was that all things might be first set in place. It took years to prepare the answer that came at last with such blessing.
Sometimes the reason for God's delay may be to draw out our faith and to increase our need of Him. The story of the Syrophenician woman illustrates this (Matthew 15:21-28). At first Jesus “answered her not a word;” but it was for her sake that He kept her waiting. She received a far better answer at last than she could have received at first. Suppose she had “fainted” after her first apparent rejection, think what she would have lost.
No doubt thousands of prayers are never answered because men give-up when God delays. Perhaps you too have lost hope before the answer came. A little longer patient perseverance would have brought you a great reward. After spending thousands of dollars in drilling for oil, the operator became discouraged and sold the land for a bargain. The new owner started the drill, and in six hours found a flowing well. We see what “fainting” cost the first owner. Many Christians lose heart just when the answer is about to be given.

Today... The lesson today is "Don't give up!". Keep praying faithfully, believing that God will come through for you at the right time.

http://www.thevinetoday.com/devotional/cya/0922

Home cook dinner

Last night I thought of cooking dinner, but P will not like my cooking, he is so used to his own cooking, so he had some fried chicken for his dinner, and I cooked for S and myself...It is such a luxury to do my own cooking, it might not taste the best, but it was good...my menu: Fried xiao bai chai, pork chop, tomato and egg omelet, nice nice...

Life

Panicking serves no one - not yourself, not the people who are suffering, and not the planet. Allow yourself to trust that there is a larger purpose and that it may not be necessary for you to know that purpose at this time. Allow yourself to have faith that ultimately, all will be well..


 via God wants You to Know.

The above message really comfort me, and remind me that God is with me whatever is happening around me, I just have to hold on to His hand and keep walking...Praise the Lord !

God send roses to me, this plant bloom very often, this is the 4th rose in two month...

Fruits of the Holy Spirit

Novena Church celebrating Mother Mary birthday with the theme fruits of the Holy Spirit..

                       Our Lady of Perpatual Help

        Praying at the foot of the crucific

Spiritual Blindness

By Dr. James R. Miller(modern English version by The Vine © 2011)

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.

John 9:1

The blind man illustrates everyone's natural condition. For one thing, he had never been able to see. So men are born in a state of sin. Whatever we may say about the sweetness, innocence, and purity of childhood, the Scriptures plainly teach that no one is born by natural birth in the kingdom of heaven, but that all must be born again to enter it.

Another point of analogy is, that this man's blindness excluded him from a whole world of beauty. There were lovely things all around him - green fields, attractive flowers, blue skies, bright sunshine, shining stars -- but he never saw any of these things. So there is a whole world of spiritual beauty lying about the unregenerate and above him - the love of God, Divine promises, blessed hopes, the heavenly kingdom, all the joys of salvation; but he sees nothing of all this glorious world.

It is said that a lady looking at one of Joseph Turner's paintings, examining some scene of nature, said to the artist, “Mr. Turner, I cannot see in nature what you put in your pictures.” The artist's quiet answer was, “Don't you wish you could, madam?” People in the world look on at what goes on in the Christian faith and Christian hope, and read the good news of Christian experience, and then say with a sneer, “We cannot see anything worth getting excited about in this religion.” The only proper answer is, “Don't you wish you could?” It takes the artist's eye to see the glory of nature; it takes the opened eye of Christian faith to see the glories of God's spiritual kingdom.

For another thing, this blind man's condition was incurable. In this, too, his case illustrated the condition of every sinner. The sinner is incurable, and none but Christ can remove his spiritual blindness. “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”                                                                

Today... You were once blind but now you see. This is how God has showered you with grace and mercy.                                                              

http://www.thevinetoday.com/devotional/cya/0904