This is the last day of 2013. And this is
what I am happy about: I have laid everything before God. On Him I have cast
all my cares. I have thrown in my lot with those who trust in God. And I
believe that He will not disappoint us.
Let me not act in fear. Let me act in
faith. Let me believe that there is a God whose grace is sufficient for me
every day. Let me believe that there is a Christ whose suffering on the cross
erases all my sins and whose blood shed for me washes all my guilt away. Let me
rejoice in being justified in God's sight by the work of Jesus Christ. And let
me give thanks.
Many of us fail to tell others about Jesus
Christ. And someday it is too late for some of them. It is too late for us to
tell some people about Christ because they pass away without hearing about Him.
But we must endeavour to tell people as tactfully as possible about the Lord
Jesus Christ and the importance of committing to Him entirely and believing in
Him entirely. We are saved. And that's not enough. We must think about other
people's salvation as well. There are others out there who need to hear about
Christ.
It feels good to be approved and loved by
people. But when such approval and love do not come hearts can be broken and
aims can appear defeated. It is especially then that we should consider this
fact: we are here because God loves us and approves of us. God's love and
approval should outrank every other thing. And when we have this love and
approval, we don't need anything else. It is best to be aware of this fact
always.
Whatever you do, do not do it in a hurry.
Relish what you do. Consider what you do and be grateful to God that you can do
it.
God may not view time as we do. The Roman
Calendar is in our consciousness. We are aware that a year is about to end and
another year is about to begin. We ask ourselves questions: "What have we
done this year? What have we not done? What should we do in the coming
year?" Our consciousness of the passage of time is good. It makes us think
about our lives and it ultimately leads us to reflect on who we really are.
This is what we really are: the creations of God made to be in union with God.
In this life we encounter trouble and we suffer with weakness. But these are
also what lead us to God and make us cling to Him.
I have served even in my foolishness. I
have served even in my weakness. I have served because of God in me, who works
well despite my foolishness and weakness.
To be purified you must be first made aware
of your utter littleness and thus your total need of God.
All the troubles in my life have greatly
humbled me. Today I realize this terrible truth: I am nothing without God. If
anyone is anything in this world it is only because of God. God blesses
whomever He wants to bless. God chooses the foolish things of the world to
shame the wise and the self-secure. And He shames them to make them realize
that He alone is in control. Today, after many years of wandering in the desert
of pride and conceit, I seek to be among the foolish things of the world. Let
me be a fool and a weakling and let me seek God so that He may notice me and
bless me with His strength.
Thank you Lord. Thank you for what I know
that you have done. Thank you for what I do not know that you have done.
I learned to despise from people. I learned
to appreciate from God.
If God has put something in your heart, do
it today, do it now.
Identify your longings. Know what your
heart craves. And ask God to fulfil your longings in his way.
The first duty to God is to enjoy the life
he has given. Enjoy life, thoroughly enjoy life - this is your ultimate worship
of God.
For every problem the solution is prayer.
Pray to God now. Do not even think about solving a problem on your own.
"Thank you Lord" is the best
thing to say when you are happy. "I believe that you are in charge of my
life. I thank you for the good times" is the best thing to say when you
are sad.
I started as a child of a Hindu. I
started as a God-hater who made fun of God (the God of the Bible),
who mocked God and who mocked everyone who believed in God, and now I have
turned into someone who loves God and speaks for Him.
What we do not understand we try to
explain. We should not try to explain what we do not understand. We should
admit that we do not understand something and just leave it at that until further realization dawns.
God, you bless others through me. I'm glad
that I'm an instrument in your hands. May I yield more to your will.
Along with the list of "What I
Shouldn't Have Done" compile the list of "I'm Glad That I Did These
Things".
The people whom I'd like to meet are those
who search for me.
If you are a child of God will you not be
protected by God? Will a cat that crosses your path have more power than God?
When you are afraid on account of superstition are you not also showing a lack
of faith in God? Above all we have a God who is capable of protecting us. The
Bible says, "Greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world."
So why should we believe the one who is in the world? Let us abandon
superstition and let us adhere to our belief in the God of the Bible.
Let every house of every believer in Jesus
Christ be decorated not with mere ornaments but with God's light and love
during this Christmas season.
Let me not strive today. Let me rest. And
let me wait.
All that we have today as followers of the
Lord Jesus Christ is the grace of our God. And that is enough. Let us believe
that. Let us declare that. And let us continue to declare that despite how we
feel.
Our lives are not perfect. There is
something missing. There is something that troubles us. There is something that
refuses to go away no matter how much we pray about it, and how much we believe
in God. There is a certain suffering that refuses to go away.
Those who want miracles must be willing to wait.
To feel like God you must be comfortable
with being ignored most of the time.
Maybe our great trouble is a great blessing. Maybe God is about to do something great in our lives. Let's hang on to this thought.
Cling to God alone in your pain. Cry out to
God alone for your relief. Hope in God alone for your health and salvation.
Pray to God alone and believe that you have already received what you are
desperately praying for. And God will not reject your pleas.
God does seem to disappoint sometimes. God
does seem to fail sometimes. But this is only what seems to us. We must believe
that God will never disappoint and never fail us, even if it appears that our
prayer has been rejected and our hope has been dashed to pieces. We must
believe in the goodness of God and His faithfulness to us. He makes all things
beautiful in His time. And He works for the good of all those who put their
trust in Him. We need to be reminded of this all the time.
It is the privilege of all Christians to
love those who hate them. Christians, don't fail to exercise this privilege
today.
You have been tested much. But hang on to
God. That's the only way we overcome evil. The going gets tough. And it seems
like God is not doing something to improve the situation when we need Him to.
But this is only how it seems. God does help. I know this well. Even recently I
faced a major trial in my life. And a huge mountain of difficulty presented
itself. I was troubled but I held on to hope. And God didn't disappoint me. He
sent me a great help, which revitalized my hope in Him.
I will not let this Christmas slip away
without my enjoying it to the full. Despite distractions and problems I will
drink deep of Christmas this time.
The God in me recognizes the horror in
human life. Without God I will not be able to recognize evil.
If we love Christ we must love what He
stood for, and what He still stands for. And what He stands for is the people of this world. We
must stand for all people, especially the worst of them. We must love others despite their faults and regardless of
their reactions to us.
Troubles make me pray. And prayers bring me close to God. So troubles are good for
me.
I know that God is with all His children
and is especially close to those who are suffering terribly. My prayer is that
God alleviates or removes the suffering of His people as soon as possible. Yet
God's ways are different from Man's ways, and God's thinking different from
Man's thinking. It is in accepting this difference and being reconciled to it
that we learn the hardest lesson in faith. I hope we learn that lesson.
Celebrate what you have and don't think
about what you do not have. Rejoice in what you have even if what you have is
only little.
O Lord, do not forget your needy children
today. They are waiting on you and hoping in you. Attend to them soon.
Refrain from anything that bolsters your
ego. Welcome anything that humbles you in your own eyes. It is good for a man
to know his own littleness.
God is the only constant in life. Every
human being fails. Wise is the human who not only recognizes this but also
depends on God every moment in life.
Thank you Lord for what I have received.
And I have received much.
When you consider how you lost your temper,
remember especially the moment when you finally controlled it.
The drama of life is greater than we can
even guess. Our joys are ultimately little flimsy things. Our sorrows too are
nothing compared to the great tragedy that has befallen the world, which is
fundamentally flawed and doomed to destruction.
I think it is impossible to be utterly
selfless. But it is desirable that one is as unselfish as possible. It is
desirable that one seeks God's goals instead of one's own goals. This is the
realization that God has brought me to after much self-involved wandering.
There was a time in my life when I thrived
on complexity. Complex sentences, long circuitous expressions and strange words
captured me. Now all that I seek is the very minimum of expression, in the most
direct manner with the most familiar vocabulary. I now desire simplicity.
Face it. Don't be scared. God is with you.
It is when you focus on the positives in
life that thanksgiving is possible.
Someday we will know the truth and then we
will know what God has done.
Be willing to take another look in another
way.
This is the season for me to be thankful.
So I consciously discard every negative thought and worry today and focus on
the good that still remains in my life
In weakness I cry out to God: "Let not
weak desires rule me today. Let your strength empower me to do your things, to
speak your words, to think your thoughts." Sometimes I despair of being
weak always. But I also know that along with my weakness there is a powerful
desire to meet and know God. Is this weakness therefore what keeps me
unceasingly seeking God? I don't know that. But I know this. When I am weak, it
is then that I am strong.
Even Christians are vulnerable,
particularly Christians are vulnerable to evil and immoral ways.Therefore there
is this need for every Christian to be watchful and to pray so that he may not
fall into temptation. But if a Christian should fall into temptation, let him
take strength from the fact that there is a mediator in heaven called Jesus
Christ who speaks on behalf of every sinner who has cast himself on God.
Our lights may be fading, but we still have
life in us to tell someone else what and Who makes us purposefully alive. As
those who have been given a purpose in life let us desire that others may also
live so purposefully.
If I find rest in anything it is not in
statistics. It is not in any asset that I may possess. I find rest only in God
and in what I can do through Him. Without Him there is no me.
A new day brings a new blessing. But before
it does that it will certainly present a new challenge. But great is the
faithfulness of God who walks along with every one who is dependent on Him.
I can wait for every blessing because I
know it is coming.
2000 years ago Jesus did the most
inconvenient thing for us. He died a terrible death to save us from eternal
destruction. Can we who have much to thank Him for not tolerate a troublesome
person or two during this season of Christmas?
Who can guide us home except the one who
calls us home? In our search for Him, in our attempt to go home, we get lost
and distracted and confused. It is at that time we need to believe in Him. We
need to pray that He would guide us home.
Walls and doors do not protect me. God protects me.
My Lord will provide. I know that.
To hurt people is easy. To love people is
difficult.
I will ask God and He will help me. I shall
not attempt to do this in any other way.
Show love especially to those who do not know love.
We are grateful to God for sending Jesus to
us. In Jesus lies our salvation, our peace and our joy. In Jesus lies
everything that we need to live this life victoriously.
Christ is not our secret, a privilege
reserved for ourselves. We are told to share Jesus Christ with every one who
does not know Him.
Trouble never comes at a convenient time.
Do not talk about it. Pray about it. Pray
first. Pray soon.
It is in a desperate condition that a man
knows his God.
There's only one thing that matters.
There's only one thing that we should desire. We should continually seek God
and desire His grace for without Him we are nothing. And this we should do
knowing that we are nothing and acknowledging to be so.
What are the things we hang on to? What are
the things we prize? What are we disappointed about? If we consider these
questions we will know ourselves better.
If I had nothing to be terrified of, would
I need God?
If God is in this it will happen. If God is
in not in this it will not happen and I will not be bothered by this.
I plan things one way. But God wills it
another way. I trust in God and His purposes for me. So I will not be
disappointed by the way things have turned out. I still love God and I still
desire His will. This is most important to me.
Do something good today even if it seems
out of the ordinary and irrational.
The point of life is to feel gratitude for
what we have received and to find that Person to whom we should grateful.
Desire God's will. Accept whatever happens
later.
People are not easy to love. If we were
called by God to love only those people who are easy to love, then such a task
is not worthy. But the Lord Jesus Christ, when He called us to love one another
as He loved us, knew well that He was asking us to do something difficult and
even impossible in human strength. Yet He desired that, for we ourselves are
loved by God when we have nothing to merit that love. We must love others as
God loves us.
Be grateful even for a little thing. Just
be grateful always.
God has His own way of answering prayers.
This I have learned through much confusion and disappointment.
If you have desires that draw you away from
God and His way, then choose those other desires that keep you firmly in God
and His way. The choice is neither easy nor swift. But it does become easier in
time as one draws closer to God. Consciously seek God. Desire His presence and
knowledge. Above all desire His ways or as He Himself put it, His Kingdom and
His righteousness. And He will lead you in the paths that will bring you closer
to Him. So do not be disappointed in yourself today.
If you want something be willing to wait
for it as long as it takes.
It may not be possible to do great things.
But there are small acts of love waiting to be done. We can offer a smile to
someone who is lonely. We can offer the love of God to someone who is emotionally
damaged. We can take care of an injured animal. We can water a plant. Let us
not be so intent on doing something great that we miss out on what is simple
and maybe more urgent.
When people reveal their ugliness will I
still be able to love them? This is the test to know if Christ is in me.
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