Luke 8:3

There is a legend which says that long ago there dwelt in a royal palace three fair maids. While they were in the wonderful garden one morning with its strong streams and blushing roses, there arose the question as to which of them had the most beautiful hands. Eleanor, who had tinted her white fingers while gathering the luscious strawberries, thought hers the most beautiful. Antoninette had been among the fragrant roses and her hands had partaken of their dewy sweetness. To her they were the loveliest. Joan had dipped her dainty fingers in the lucid stream and as the clear diamond drops sparkled on her tapered fingers she thought her hands the most beautiful. Just then there came a beggar girl who asked for alms, but the royal maidens drew aside their rich robes and turned away. The beggar passed on to a cottage nearby and a woman with sun-burned face and toil-stained hands gave her bread. The beggar, so the legend runs, was immediately transformed into an angel and appeared at the garden gate saying, 'The most beautiful hands are those which are found ready to bless and help their fellowmen."

1 Peter 5:5

"Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is to have no trouble. It is never to be fretted or vexed, or irritated, or sore, or disappointed; it is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when I am blamed and despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord where I go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret, and be at peace, as in a deep sea of calmness when all around and above is trouble."

The world, I thought, belonged to me -
Goods, gold and people, land and sea -
Where'er I walked beneath God's sky
In those old days my word was "I"

Years passed; there flashed my pathway near
The fragment of a vision dear;
My former word no more sufficed,
And what I said was - "I and Christ"

But, O the more I look on Him,
His glory grew, while mine grew dim,
I shrank so small, He towered so high,
All I dared say was - "Christ and I"

Years more the vision held its place
And looked me steadily in the face,
I speak now in humble tone,
And what I say is - "Christ alone"

LAMENTATIONS 3:22-25

THE LORD IS GOOD UNTO THEM THAT WAIT FOR HIM, TO THE SOUL THAT SEEKETH HIM. HIS COMPASSIONS FAIL NOT.

The story is told of a shabby old gentleman who every day at twelve o'clock would enter the church, stay a few minutes, then leave. The caretaker was concerned for the valuable altar furnishings. Every day he watched to be sure nothing was taken, and every day just at twelve the shabby figure would arrive. One day the caretaker accosted him, "Look here, my friend, what are you up to, going into the church every day?"
"I go to pray," replied the old man politely.
"Now come," the cautious caretaker said, "you don't stay long enough to pray."
"True enough. I cannot pray a long prayer, but every day I just come and say,"Jesus, it's Jim." Then I wait a minute, then come away. I guess He hears me though it's but a little prayer."
One day Jim was knocked down crossing the street and was laid up in the hospital with a broken leg. The ward where Jim quite happily lay was a sore spot to the nurses on duty. Some of the men were cross and miserable, others did nothing but grumble from morning till night. Slowly but surely the men stopped their grumbling and were cheerful and contented.
One day as the nurse was walking through the ward she heard the men laughing. "What happened to all of you? You are such a cheerful lot of patients lately?"
"It's old Jim," they replied, "He's always cheerful, never complains, although he is uncomfortable and in pain."
The nurse walked over to Jim's bed where the silvery haired Jim lay with an angelic look on his smiling face. "Well, Jim, these men say you are the cause for the change in this ward. They say you are always happy."
"Aye, that I am, nurse. I can't help it. You see, nurse, it's my visitor. He makes me happy;"
"Visitor?" The nurse was indeed puzzled for she had never noticed any visitor by Jim's bed. The chair was always empty during visiting hours. "When does your visitor come?"
"Every day," replied Jim with the light in his eyes growing brighter. "Yup, every day at twelve o'clock. He comes and stands at the foot of my bed. I see Him there, and He smiles at me and says,"Jim, it's Jesus."

LIFE TRANSFORMING BOOK-THE BIBLE

Has the Bible transformed your life? I heard about a converted cannibal on an island in the South Seas who was sitting by a large pot, reading his Bible when an anthropologist wearing a pith helmet approached him and asked."What are you doing?"

The native replied,"I'm reading the Bible." The anthropologist scoffed and said,"Don't you know that modern, civilized man has rejected that book? It's nothing but a pack of lies." The cannibal looked him over from head to toe and replied,"Sir, if it weren't for this book, you will be in that pot!"

The Word of God has changed his life and appetite.

SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD (MARK 14:8)

Lord, let me do the little things
Which may fall to my lot;
Those little inconspicuous ones
By others oft forgot.

If, like the Master, I can give
Myself for those I love.
Rich joy and peace shall come to me,
Sweet rest in heaven above.

I know not when the day shall close;
But when life's curfew rings,
I want my Lord to find me then
Still doing little things.

LUKE 22:26

It is so little I can do! It is so little I can say!
Nay, but what God demands of you, Is just that little; Hear - obey.

A kind word of praise, of sympathy, of encouragement; it would not cost you much, yet how often does pride, or envy, or indifference prevent you from speaking it? The cup of cold water, the barley loaves, the two farthings, how often are we too wretched and too self-absorbed to give even these! If we be in the least sincere, in the least earnest, let us be encouraged. The little gifts of our poverty, the small services of our insignificance, the barley loaves and fishes of the Galilean boy on the desert plain, the two shillings of the poor woman are despised by the world. But they are also dear. They are accepted. They will be infinitely rewarded to Him who gives the conies their homes in the rocks, who knows every sparrow's fall; who numbers the very hairs of our heads; who builds the vast continents by the toil of the coral insect, and by His grains of sand stays the raging of the sea.

MATTHEW 7:7

Ask, and you shall receive. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and the door shall be opened to you.

Reflection: This word is like a 'gift' from God's treasure! It makes a magnificent promise to those who pray with a faith as solid as a rock, seek with filial humility, or knock with constant patience.

They will always experience that God keeps His word. For He is ever faithful.

Prayer: My God, I give You thanks with all my heart for Your promises. Grant that they may be fulfilled in me. Amen


Dear readers, I find this verse challenging. God wants us to take that step first before His promise come. Ask, then get what you want. Seek, then find what we are looking for. Knock and then He will open up doors! When we are lost and looking for the right direction, we are seeking. Then we see someone and we ask for directions and we will be shown the way! We must take that first step!

GALATIANS 6:1-4

....for if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

A little seed lay in the ground, And soon began to sprout. "Now, which of all the flowers around," It mused, "shall I come out?"

Then the little seed said to itself, "I don't want to be a lily, for lilies are so cold and lofty. I don't want to be a rose, for the rose is rather loud in colour, it dies quickly, its edges wilt and it isn't very practical. I don't want to be a violet, for the violet is too small, too dark and grows too close to the ground."

The little seed was like some people we all know. It was critical. It was critical of everything around it. It found fault with all its neighbours. It didn't like the colours of some, the perfume of others, the size and shape of others. It had nothing constructive to offer, even in its own behalf.
The whole theme of its life was criticism. And so it criticized each flower, this supercilious seed, Until it woke one summer hour And found itself a weed!

Humbled the little seed was!

Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee

Psalm 9:10

One cold winter many years ago, the people of a certain town were in great trouble. A hostile army was marching down upon them and they had little doubt the cruel soldiers would destroy their homes. In one family there was an aged grandmother. While the others were fearing and worrying, the grandmother was praying that God would protect them, and that He would build a wall of defense round about them.

During the night they heard the tramping of many feet and other fearful sounds, but no harm came to them. In the morning they found that just beyond the house the drifted snow had built a wall that had kept the soldiers from coming to their home.

"See," said the grandmother, "God did build a wall around us."

Numbers 6:24 The Lord keep us......
Psalm 34:7 The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them

GALATIANS 4:10

YE OBSERVE DAYS, AND MONTHS, AND TIMES, AND YEARS.

A little clock which had just been finished by the maker was put on a shelf in his wareroom between two older clocks, who were busy ticking away the noisy seconds.

"Well," said one of the clocks to the newcomer. "So you've started on this task. I'm sorry for you. You're ticking bravely now, but you'll be tired enough before you get through thirty-three million ticks."

"Thirty-three million ticks!" said the frightened clock. "Why, I never could do that!" And it stood still instantly with despair.

"Why, you silly thing," said the other clock at this moment. "Why do you listen to such words? It's nothing of the kind. You've only got to make one tick this moment. There, now, isn't that easy? And now another, and that is just as easy, and so right along."

"Oh, if that's all," cried the new clock, "that's easily done, so here I go." And it started bravely on again, making a tick a moment and not counting the months and millions. But at the year's end, it had made 33,000,000 vibrations without knowing it.

MINUTE MEDITATIONS FOR TODAY

Matthew 9:37 The harvest is indeed great, but the labourers are few.

Reflection: The plentiful harvest of God will necessarily be damaged if there are no people to gather it! Have I myself not let pass precious moments to win souls for God? Have there not been times when God expected from me the fruits of His Divine grace in vain?

Prayer:Merciful God, forgive me all abuses of Your grace. Give me watchful eyes for the inspiration of Your Spirit, so that I may not hinder but foster its actions.

Luke 12:4
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but can no nothing more after that.

Reflections:Those who are afraid of human beings will lapse into submission to them and will not serve God's Kingdom. However, those who fear God above all else are truly wise and nothing can disturb them even if they should have to suffer and die.

Prayer:Lord, give me the strength to abandon all human fear and to serve You only.Amen

THE MASTER'S PET

Matthew 15:27

While Jesus was ministering in Tyre and Sidon a woman came to Him asking that He heal her daughter. According to His wisdom He hesitated until her persistent pleading drew from Him these words:"It is not right to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs."

Both the humility and the quick, eager faith of this woman appear in her response. "Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." She was not offended by the figure our Lord had used. She was willing to be as a little dog under the Master's table. The children were first served, and then the pieces they let fall belonged to the dogs. And even the crumbs from that table were enough for her, more than the richest dainties from any other table.

Thus both humility and faith were shown in her answer; and in both she is an example to us. We should come to the lowest place. It is such a precious thing to be permitted to take even the crumbs from the Master's table, that we should exalt in the privilege. The crumbs of His grace and love are better than the richest feasts of this world.

God's way

This morning, we were doing Numbers 1-10. Our God is a God of details, he does not leave anything to chance. The number of Israelites that came out of Egypt is quite big, it may be about 2-3 million people. Logistically, it is quite difficult to lead such a huge group of people. We were sharing about the many difficulties they might encounter while on their journey to the good land, eg. answering to the calls of nature, eating, drinking, sleeping, disputes and settling of disbutes etc

In chapter 2, we see that God instructed Moses to organise the people into their tribes and also the location of each tribe around the tent of meeting. We also see that the Levites were set apart for God's work and also their specific duties.

It impressed upon me that our God is very particular, He wants his work and his worship done His way and by his people. Nothing is left to our own imagination.

Things I need to learn is am I willing to be organized and disciplined and let God be the centre of my life.

MINUTE MEDITATIONS FOR TODAY

Luke 10:29

And who is it that is my neighbour?

Reflection:A disciple of Christ cannot ask:'Who is my neighbour?' He must ask:'Whose neighbour am I?' 'Who needs my help?' If someone is in need, I must seek to help him/her without asking any other question.

Prayer:Lord, be my Teacher. Give me open eyes and a compassionate heart toward the needs of others, that I may always fulfill Your commandments of love.

Jeremiah 10:6

O Lord, You are great, and Your Name is great in power.

Reflection:God's almighty power is visible even today. If it is hidden from you it is because you are far away from God. The closer you are to a mountain, the bigger it looks to you!

Prayer: Lord, make me recognize Your greatness and power so that this knowledge may benefit my life. Amen

I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST JESUS

A young man went to an aged saint one day and asked him to pray for him, saying, "I find myself give way to impatience continually. Will you please pray for me that I may be more patient?" The old man agreed. They knelt together and the man of God began to pray:"Lord, send this young man tribulation in the morning, send this young man tribulation in the afternoon......." The young man nudged him and said, "No, no, not tribulation, patience" "But," said the old saint, "it is tribulation that worketh patience! If you would know patience you must have the tribulation. If you would know victory, you must have conflict. It is impossible for anyone to talk about having a victory when they have never been in a conflict.You must be prepared to enter into the arena with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and He will give you lessons day by day. But I warn you, you will have to be quite prepared to pay the price. No one can enjoy victory without paying a price, even in the ordinary realms of life. If you want patience, then it is tribulation - if you want victory, it must be conflict." (Philippinans 4:13)

JESUS HEALS THE PEOPLE

Hi dear readers, I love reading the Gospels because these are stories about ordinary people with lots of problems - just like us. I can relate to them, their anxiety, their unbelief, their lack of faith etc. Today as I read about Jesus in Mark chapters 8 and 9, I ponder about the reactions of these people - and will I react in the same way?

Mark 8:23-25

And taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes, and laying His hands upon him, He asked him."Do you see anything?"

And he looked up and said,"I see men, for I am seeing them like trees, walking about."

Then again He laid His hands upon his eyes, and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.

I ask myself,"Why does Jesus need to lay His hands on the blind man twice?" More importantly, will I respond just like the blind man if I still can't see the first time?

Mark 9:22-24

"And it has........But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!"

And Jesus said to him."If You can!" All things are possible to him who believes."

Immediately the boy's father cried out and began saying,"I do believe, help my unbelief."

As parents, we are very concerned about our children. This father must have seek the help of many priests and doctors, yet his son is not cured. Even Jesus' disciples cannot heal his son. Thus his desperation drove him to say 'If you can' to Jesus as a last resort. I find his response to Jesus' rebuke is very interesting - also very contradicting. Will I respond to Jesus just like this father?

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

Read about the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:11-34
verse 30: and after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

Read about the Jews on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-41
verse 37:Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,"Brethen, what shall we do?"

Read about Saul of Tarsus in Acts 9:1-18, Acts 22:3-16 and Acts:26-10-20
Acts 22:10 "What shall I do?"

Don't be surprised if the answers are all different!

The Philippian jailer was told in verse 31 "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved.....
The Jews were told in verse 38 "Repent, and let each of you be baptised in the name of Jesus ....
Saul was told in Acts 22:v16 "And now why do you delay?Arise, and be baptized.....

It's not different answers to the same question, but a different response to according to where our spiritual walk is with the LORD!

JESUS HEALS A PARALYTIC MARK 2:1-11

Dear Readers, I am sure you know this story very well. I have read this story many times too.The most recent time I read this, I was amazed by v.5, Jesus says:"My son, your sins are forgiven."

Four friends, full of faith, lowered him from the roof on a pallet. Jesus, seeing the faith of the 4 men forgave this man's sins. I notice that this man did nothing - no confession of sins, no pleading, no nothing, and all his sins were forgiven! Isn't God awesome?

Lesson learnt: 1 God forgives us based on His character, His grace. Nothing we do can earn this. God is love.
2 Jesus looks at the heart. He knows the heart of this sinner, the spiritual condition of his heart. (a softened heart, not a stubborn one nor a hardened one)

REST AT NOON

Song of Solomon 1:7

The art of resting at noon has been lost, and therefore many are succumbing to the strain of life which is being lived in 'high gear'. Rest is not a sedative for the sick, but a tonic for the strong. It spells emancipation, illumination, transformation! It saves us from becoming slaves, even to good works and deeds.

It is not possible for many to have holidays and vacations at seashores or in mountain glens. We are a busy folk, and we must learn the blessed secret of resting just where we are.

Impatient hearts want action - now!
We fear God's time will be too late;
How prone we are to rush ahead-
When God says, "Wait!"

God's schedule always runs on time,
Though years seem days or days seem years;
But happy he who moves God's pace
And has no fears.
Not fast nor slow God's timepiece is,
So let us set our time with His.

SILENCING VOICES FROM THE PAST

A famous zoo in Germany purchased a great brown bear from the traveling circus. Until this point, this magnificent but abused creature had lived in misery. For the duration of its life the bear had been locked up in a tiny cage about 12' long. Every waking hour this bear took 12 steps forward and 12 steps backward in his prison. Finally he was sold to the zoo, freedom at last! But the bear refused to come out no matter how the zoo keepers tried to set him free. Eventually, they set fire to the cage so that the bear had no choice but to escape the fire by coming out. Even though his new compound consisted of acres of lush green grass with plenty of trees and sparkling pools of drinking water complete with other bears for companions. the bear was not interested. He started pacing 12 feet forward and 12 feet back - the exact dimensions of his cage!

Some Christians find themselves in a similar dilemma. Having become so accustomed to certain thought patterns of defeat and failure in some areas of their life, they convince themselves that things will never change and they remained locked in an invisible mental prison. They still listen to the voice of the past and the enemy's voice though they have been set free by Jesus. (Romans 8:1-2) God wants us to silence those voices of defeat so that we can hear from Him. Loren Cunningham, founder of YWAM says that he has found three simple steps that have helped him and thousands to hear God's voice :-
1) Submit to His Lordship (2 Corinthians 10:5,Proverbs 3:5-6)
2) Resist the enemy in case he tries to deceive you (Ephesians 6:10-20)
3) Expect an answer from God (John 10:27,Psalm 69:13,Exodus 33:11)

MINUTE MEDITATIONS FOR TODAY

Psalm 37:5

Commit your way to the Lord; put your trust in Him, and He will act.

Reflection:Try to make your way pleasing to God. He will then make everything work for your good. What He does may not necessarily be in accord with your ideas. But it will always be better than you could have hoped or deserved.

Is my way pleasing to God?

Prayer:Lord, guide me in everything. Grant that I may always follow the way of Your Divine will.

A MAN WITH LEPROSY

Matthew 1:40-42

A man with leprosy came to Him and begged Him on his knees."If you are willing, you can make me clean."

Filled with compassion,Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. "I am willing."he said.

I read this story many times and always come up with the question 'Why did the leper said if you are willing?' His faith is obvious because as a leper he came out of isolation to seek out Jesus, believing Jesus can help him. So why did he doubt Jesus' willingness to heal him?

As I read this passage again, it dawn on me that this leper must have approached many priests and teachers of the law before, but they must have responded unfavourably, perhaps even shooing him away because the man is a leper and may pass the 'sickness' to them. This leper must have been disappointed many times and so even this time, he need to ask Jesus whether Jesus is willing or not because Jesus is also a teacher of the law!

Thank You Father that as we seek answers, You will teach us things that we never know before.

Health Tips to Decrease Stress

We all know that Stress can be a motivator. When you are stressed out, it motivates you to work harder to get your work done on time. However, too much stress is bad for health. It can potentially raise our heart rate and weaken our immune system. Poor decision making is always done when we are too stressed out. We are unable to think logically and consider the consequences of the choices we made.

In the Book on Bible Cure for Heart Disease, Don Colbert offerred some health tips which are useful.




1. You can decrease stress by meditating on the Word of God, especially scriptures about peace like this one: "Let the Holy Spirit fill and control you. Then you will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, making music to the Lord in your hearts. And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 5:19-20).

2. Another way to reduce stress is by living more for others. Taking up a less me-centred existence means less worry and a less controlling approach toward life's events. Paul lived a life crucified to self: "I myself no longer live, but Christ and not myself?". Take the focus off yourself and your problems and fix your eyes on Christ (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Remarks: I know of a sister who experienced many ups and downs in her life: her son's marriage was called off, the recent death of her in-law and also something happened to her sister. Yet despite all these circumstances, she is still full of energy and strength and she is always on her look out to help others.

RETURN OF THE FATHER AND SON'S HEARTS

Today in church, the speaker talks about the happy family. Papa God desires that we have a happy family here on earth first before we join the big happy family in heaven! The speaker also shares with us some pointers that are helpful towards attaining this goal.

1. Be gracious - honour one another (of course children to parents)

2. Share (not only material things, but deep emotional heart-felt feelings etc)

3. Listen (most of us have lost the art of listening. Just listen and empathize)

4. Encourage (remember the 3 Es)

5. Say sorry(some people find it hard to do this sincerely)

6. Forgive (let go, let God)

7. Embrace

I like to highlight on embrace which what the speaker wants us to do at the end of the service.

She wants us to hug (really hug) each other and show us the hug that makes a difference.
Don't give the greeting hug (we see lots of these at the airports), don't hug and pat people's back (like we are forgiving the other party) but really hug long and sincere telling them how much they mean to you or say sorry how we have not valued them. When we do that, the Holy Spirit is able to work in us, reconciling the two parties, letting all hurts and bitterness melt in the Father's love. Malachi 4:6

I WILL NOT PASS THIS WAY AGAIN

MATTHEW 10:42

It isn't the thing you do, dear
It's the thing you leave undone,
That gives you the bitter heartache
At the setting of the sun;
The tender word unspoken,
The letter you did not write,
The flower you might have sent, dear,
Are your haunting ghosts, dear.

The stone you might have lifted
Out of your brother's way.
The bit of heartfelt counsel
You were hurried too much to say;
The loving touch of the hand, dear
The gentle and winsome tone,
That you had no time or thought for,
With troubles enough of your own.

These little acts of kindness,
So easily out of mind,
These chances to be angels,
Which even mortals find -
They come in nights of silence,
To take away the grief,
When hope is faint and feeble,
And a drought has stopped belief.

For life is all too short, dear
And sorrow is all too great,
To allow our slow compassion
That tarries until too late.
And it's not the thing you do, dear
It's the thing you leave undone,
That gives you the bitter heartache,
At the setting of the sun. By:Adelaide Proctor