Your Life is Getting Great

The Bridge

2009-12-29T18:09:00.000-08:00

Like what the man did..
Jesus also bridged the gap that separates us from God.

He Is the Only Way to God
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me'" (John 14:6).

This diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf which separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.

We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation
[Christ speaking] "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him"
(Revelation 3:20).

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer
(Prayer is talking to God)

God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:

"Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be."

You have questions?

References:

http://www.jesuswho.org/english/four.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gjMx1drNWs

Recommended books:
Life of Christ
5 Christian Art Prints Jesus Christ/Angel Posters
Jesus Christ: The Jesus of History, the Christ of Faith

Stay alert!

2009-12-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

Stay alert!

Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

1 Peter 5:8

The following keyword will help us stay alert to combat the enemy from snatching our lives.

1. Be alert in what you think
The way you think and feel also largely determine the way you act.

2. Be alert in your emotion
The enemy uses our emotion to make poor choices. So be Alert!

3. Be alert in your Faith to God
people lose hope because they’ve lost faith. Set your heart to trust God in everything, at all times.

Stay Alert!

For the the target of the enemy are not those who already belong to him but instead the child of God.

Recommended Books:

Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day Your Best Life Begins Each Morning: Devotions to Start Every New Day of the Year (Faithwords)
It's Your Time: Activate Your Faith, Achieve Your Dreams, and Increase in God's Favor
Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential

DON'T PUT YOUR TRUST IN MAN, BUT IN GOD ALONE

2009-12-09T04:38:00.000-08:00

Shalom

You may feel disappointed because you expect too much from someone. It maybe your family, your special someone, your classmate, your officemate, your boss, and your friend. And this caused your heart to be in trouble as well your day to be ruined. Then the verse below warns you.

Jeremiah 17:5-10

5 This is what the LORD says:
"Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who depends on flesh for his strength
and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands;
he will not see prosperity when it comes.
He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.

7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.

8 He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit."

9 The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?

10 "I the LORD search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward a man according to his conduct,
according to what his deeds deserve."

God is telling you, Hey my child,

"I am here, I will never let you down.

Trust me, Trust me, and Trust me."

The Saint Must Walk Alone by A.W. Tozer

2009-11-06T17:46:00.000-08:00

Most of the world's great souls have been lonely. Loneliness seems to be one price the saint must pay for his saintliness.

In the morning of the world (or should we say, in that strange darkness that came soon after the dawn of man's creation), that pious soul, Enoch, walked with God and was not, for God took him; and while it is not stated in so many words, a fair inference is that Enoch walked a path quite apart from his contemporaries.

Another lonely man was Noah who, of all the antediluvians, found grace in the sight of God; and every shred of evidence points to the aloneness of his life even while surrounded by his people.

Again, Abraham had Sarah and Lot, as well as many servants and herdsmen, but who can read his story and the apostolic comment upon it without sensing instantly that he was a man "whose soul was alike a star and dwelt apart"? As far as we know not one word did God ever speak to him in the company of men. Face down he communed with his God, and the innate dignity of the man forbade that he assume this posture in the presence of others. How sweet and solemn was the scene that night of the sacrifice when he saw the lamps of fire moving between the pieces of offering. There, alone with a horror of great darkness upon him, he heard the voice of God and knew that he was a man marked for divine favor.

Moses also was a man apart. While yet attached to the court of Pharaoh he took long walks alone, and during one of these walks while far removed from the crowds he saw an Egyptian and a Hebrew fighting and came to the rescue of his countryman. After the resultant break with Egypt he dwelt in almost complete seclusion in the desert. There, while he watched his sheep alone, the wonder of the burning bush appeared to him, and later on the peak of Sinai he crouched alone to gaze in fascinated awe at the Presence, partly hidden, partly disclosed, within the cloud and fire.

The prophets of pre-Christian times differed widely from each other, but one mark they bore in common was their enforced loneliness. They loved their people and gloried in the religion of the fathers, but their loyalty to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and their zeal for the welfare of the nation of Israel drove them away from the crowd and into long periods of heaviness. "I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children," cried one and unwittingly spoke for all the rest.

Most revealing of all is the sight of that One of whom Moses and all the prophets did write, treading His lonely way to the cross. His deep loneliness was unrelieved by the presence of the multitudes.

'Tis midnight, and on Olive's brow

The star is dimmed that lately shone;
'Tis midnight; in the garden now,
The suffering Savior prays alone.

'Tis midnight, and from all removed
The Savior wrestles lone with fears;
E'en the disciple whom He loved
Heeds not his Master's grief and tears.

- William B. Tappan

He died alone in the darkness hidden from the sight of mortal man and no one saw Him when He arose triumphant and walked out of the tomb, though many saw Him afterward and bore witness to what they saw. There are some things too sacred for any eye but God's to look upon. The curiosity, the clamor, the well-meant but blundering effort to help can only hinder the waiting soul and make unlikely if not impossible the communication of the secret message of God to the worshiping heart.

Sometimes we react by a kind of religious reflex and repeat dutifully the proper words and phrases even though they fail to express our real feelings and lack the authenticity of personal experience. Right now is such a time. A certain conventional loyalty may lead some who hear this unfamiliar truth expressed for the first time to say brightly, "Oh, I am never lonely. Christ said, `I will never leave you nor forsake you,' and `Lo, I am with you alway.' How can I be lonely when Jesus is with me?"

Now I do not want to reflect on the sincerity of any Christian soul, but this stock testimony is too neat to be real. It is obviously what the speaker thinks should be true rather than what he has proved to be true by the test of experience. This cheerful denial of loneliness proves only that the speaker has never walked with God without the support and encouragement afforded him by society. The sense of companionship which he mistakenly attributes to the presence of Christ may and probably does arise from the presence of friendly people. Always remember: you cannot carry a cross in company. Though a man were surrounded by a vast crowd, his cross is his alone and his carrying of it marks him as a man apart. Society has turned against him; otherwise he would have no cross. No one is a friend to the man with a cross. "They all forsook Him, and fled."

The pain of loneliness arises from the constitution of our nature. God made us for each other. The desire for human companionship is completely natural and right. The loneliness of the Christian results from his walk with God in an ungodly world, a walk that must often take him away from the fellowship of good Christians as well as from that of the unregenerate world. His God-given instincts cry out for companionship with others of his kind, others who can understand his longings, his aspirations, his absorption in the love of Christ; and because within his circle of friends there are so few who share inner experiences, he is forced to walk alone. The unsatisfied longings of the prophets for human understanding caused them to cry out in their complaint, and even our Lord Himself suffered in the same way.

The man who has passed on into the divine Presence in actual inner experience will not find many who understand him. A certain amount of social fellowship will of course be his as he mingles with religious persons in the regular activities of the church, but true spiritual fellowship will be hard to find. But he should not expect things to be otherwise. After all he is a stranger and a pilgrim, and the journey he takes is not on his feet but in his heart. He walks with God in the garden of his own soul - and who but God can walk there with him? He is of another spirit from the multitudes that tread the courts of the Lord's house. He has seen that of which they have only heard, and he walks among them somewhat as Zacharias walked after his return from the altar when the people whispered, "He has seen a vision."

The truly spiritual man is indeed something of an oddity. He lives not for himself but to promote the interests of Another. He seeks to persuade people to give all to his Lord and asks no portion or share for himself. He delights not to be honored but to see his Savior glorified in the eyes of men. His joy is to see his Lord promoted and himself neglected. He finds few who care to talk about that which is the supreme object of his interest, so he is often silent and preoccupied in the midst of noisy religious shoptalk. For this he earns the reputation of being dull and overserious, so he is avoided and the gulf between him and society widens. He searches for friends upon whose garments he can detect the smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces, and finding few or none, he, like Mary of old, keeps these things in his heart.

It is this very loneliness that throws him back upon God. "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up." His inability to find human companionship drives him to seek in God what he can find nowhere else. He learns in inner solitude what he could not have learned in the crowd - that Christ is All in All, that He is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, that in Him we have and possess life's summum bonum.

Two things remain to be said. One, that the lonely man of whom we speak is not a haughty man, nor is he the holier-than-thou, austere saint so bitterly satirized in popular literature. He is likely to feel that he is the least of all men and is sure to blame himself for his very loneliness. He wants to share his feelings with others and to open his heart to some like-minded soul who will understand him, but the spiritual climate around him does not encourage it, so he remains silent and tells his griefs to God alone.

The second thing is that the lonely saint is not the withdrawn man who hardens himself against human suffering and spends his days contemplating the heavens. Just the opposite is true. His loneliness makes him sympathetic to the approach of the brokenhearted and the fallen and the sin-bruised. Because he is detached from the world, he is all the more able to help it. Meister Eckhart taught his followers that if they should find themselves in prayer and happen to remember that a poor widow needed food, they should break off the prayer instantly and go care for the widow. "God will not suffer you to lose anything by it," he told them. "You can take up again in prayer where you left off and the Lord will make it up to you." This is typical of the great mystics and masters of the interior life from Paul to the present day.

The weakness of so many modern Christians is that they feel too much at home in the world. In their effort to achieve restful "adjustment" to unregenerate society they have lost their pilgrim character and become an essential part of the very moral order against which they are sent to protest. The world recognizes them and accepts them for what they are. And this is the saddest thing that can be said about them. They are not lonely, but neither are they saints.

Prayer Request at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

2009-11-01T20:45:00.000-08:00

by Jeff White

HolyLandPrayers.com introduced a new service in early 2009 providing devout Christians around the world the ability to light a candle or make a prayer request at the holiest place on Earth: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. HolyLandPrayers.com is located in Jerusalem, just steps from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior was crucified, buried and resurrected.

HolyLandPrayers.com was inspired to provide this prayer request service after meeting American Christians visiting Jerusalem with their church. These new friends said they had been saving money for many years to walk in Jesus’ footsteps and felt a sense of accomplishment when they prayed at the Stone of the Anointing and lit a candle outside Jesus’ tomb. But not everybody is fortunate enough to be able to make it to Jerusalem, so HolyLandPrayers.com has created a prayer request service bringing the holiness of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to all Christians around the world.

The experience of being physically inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre cannot be replicated, but HolyLandPrayer.com hopes with their prayer request service they can bring the same hope and solace the Church offers into your home. Walking through the Old City of Jerusalem, inside the city’s walls and the maze of markets, passing numerous churches and the 14 stations of the cross along Via Dolorosa you then enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and are immediately taken in by the sense of spirit, faith and healing in the air. Men and women of all ages, all colors and from all countries are moved to tears while they pray at Jesus’ tomb. Not every Christian can make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but you can still connect to the holiness of the site of Jesus’ last moments.

At the Stone of the Anointing where Jesus was prepared for burial visitors place their hands, personal items and crosses on the Stone as they pray over them. HolyLandPrayer.com will take your prayer request, print it out on their special stationary, place it on the Stone and take a picture for you. Around the corner at the walls outside the tomb that encompasses the place where Jesus was buried, they light your candle in honor of your requested person, place or thing and take a photo for you. Each prayer request is guaranteed with a Certificate of Authenticity and they even donate a portion of each order back to the Church for the care and upkeep of the Church. You may not be able to physically make it to spot considered closest to God and Jesus, but your prayer request can get there through HolyLandPrayer.com.

The website has monthly prayer request specials, photos of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and comments from users. The website also has a new shop showcasing special holy relics including holy water, oil, rosary and crosses directly from the Holy Land. Put your prayer request in their hands and let them help you connect with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior at the holiest place on earth.

Typhoon Ondoy In Manila As Reported on CNN

2009-10-02T06:12:00.000-07:00

September 26, 2009

Many are left dead. Most of them are children and Elderly. The Philippines is shock of this unexpected calamity.

Let us all pray together:

Dear Lord, we fervently pray for your mercy ad protection so that our nation will be spared from another threatening typhoon. Our suffering people have Not recovered from Ondoy's wrath. Please prevent Pepeng from hitting any of our islands. Save us from further calamities by embracing our country with your protective grace and merciful blessings. Amen

PLEASE PASS ON TO START PRAYER BRIGADES

HOW TO HELP:

http://www.aethen.com/2009/09/help-victims-of-typhoon-ondoy-operation.html

You Do The Math

2009-10-01T06:17:00.001-07:00

other option in viewing this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP0Oz8SmU-U

Albert Einstein - Does God Exist?

2009-09-29T05:53:00.000-07:00

This video amazed me.

Recommended Books:
The Maxwell Daily Reader: 365 Days of Insight to Develop the Leader Within You and Influence Those Around You
Today Matters: 12 Daily Practices to Guarantee Tomorrows Success (Maxwell, John C.) Relationships 101 (Maxwell, John C.)

Video: I love my Life

2009-09-27T22:44:00.000-07:00

Very Inspiring video..

Inspite of his condition, He became a blessing to others.

Watch it and you'll not regret

other option to watch the video..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8ZuKF3dxCY&feature=player_embedded

Fears – Whit Criswell

2009-08-02T05:58:00.000-07:00

I was on a flight one day when all of a sudden, our plane started shaking. We had hit an awful storm! Our plane shook for thirty minutes. I knew I had gone pale. When I got off the plane, I immediately knelt down and kissed the ground.

Without a doubt, we live in a world of fear. According to psychiatrist James Reich, in the Journal of News and Mental Disease, 3% of the population in the United States experience panic, 6% agoraphobia, 3% generalized anxiety, more than 2% simple phobias, and nearly 2% social phobias. More than 13 million people are affected.

Donald Maderos stated in his book, Children Under Stress, that 25% of children said they are afraid they might get hurt when they leave the house, and 60% of children between ages seven and eleven are afraid someone might break into their house and hurt them. Psychology today polled its readers and found the greatest fear was death, then fear of a serious illness, and then financial worries.

Denis Witley, in his book, Seeds of Greatness, tells of a study done in the University of Michigan on fear in relationship to reality. The study indicated that 60% of our fears are totally unwanted, because they never come to pass. Twenty percent of our fears are out of our control. Ten percent of out fears are so petty they don’t make any difference at all. Of the remaining 10%, only 4-5% are real and justifiable.

Whether real or imagined, fears plague everyone. Fear is a reality. It goes back to Adam when he said to God, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid….” (Genesis 3:10 NIV)
Babies are born with only two basic fears: The fear of loud noises and the fear of falling. So if we only have two fears when we are born, then that means we can unlearn all other fears.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:4 NIV

Here are some ways we can overcome fear:

1. Choose Faith instead of doubt

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Remember you have a choice: "Attitude is 10%" of what's happening to you, but it's 90% of the way you choose to react."

2. Turn to God's word for strength

Genesis 26:24
And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake."

Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 34:7
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

1 john 4:18
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Psalm 56:3
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

Psalm 56:11
In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

3. Find peace in the prayers of others
You pray for yourself and others. You can also ask people to pray for you. Courage is defined as fear that has said its prayers. God is never late when His Children call out!

4. Ask God to deliver you from fears
If it’s any encouragement to you, Jesus had fears too.

Matthew 26:36-42
God already knows your fears. Ask Him to extend a calming hand to you right now.

Try God

When troubles are deep and your world is dark,

Don’t give up hope, “try God”

When life turns sour and you’ve lost your way,

Don’t give up hope, “try God”

When fears stack up and you’re sure no one cares,

Don’t give up hope, “try God”

Source: Unknown

Being Wise in Your Relationships - Whit Criswell

2009-07-19T19:34:00.001-07:00

Every person you work with is unique. Each is a complex blend of background, temperament, and giftedness. This is the root of most relational conflict.

Uniqueness causes all kinds of communication problems – we often simply don’t understand each other! We may use the same words, but with different meanings.

Wise managers recognize and value differences in people…and they relate to individuals in customized ways, rather that relating to everyone in the same style. They understand that it takes “different strokes for different folks.”

Would you like to be wise in relating to people?
The bible tells us what true wisdom is:

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

James 3:17-18

From these verses we learn six ways to be wise when we deal with others:

I WON’T COMPROMISE MY INTEGRITY (“Wisdom is pure”)

I’ll be honest with you. I’ll keep my promises and commitments to you.

I WON’T AGGRAVATE YOUR ANGER (“Wisdom is peace loving”)

I’ll work at maintaining harmony. I won’t push your hot buttons.

I WON’T MINIMIZE YOUR FEELINGS (“Wisdom is gentle”)

I may not feel as you do, but I won’ ignore or ridicule how you feel.

I WON’T CRITICIZE YOUR DECISIONS (“Wisdom is gentle”)

I can disagree with you without being disagreeable.

I WON’T EMPHASIZE YOUR MISTAKES (“Wisdom is Full of Mercy”)

I instead of rubbing it in, I’ll rub it out!

I WON’T DISGUISE MY MOTIVATIONS (“Wisdom is always sincere”)

I’ll be authentic with you. I won’t con or manipulate you.

10 RULES OF EVERYDAY LIVING

2009-07-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 13:10

Today's scripture vs.10 says:"only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom."Discipline yourself to daily practice the 10 rules below and you will never dwell in the crowd.

The 10 rules for the well-advised:

1.Count your blessings; not your bleedings!

2. Today and everyday, deliver more than you are paid to do.

3. Whenever you make a mistake or get knocked down by life, don't look back at it for too long. Hear Summer Redstone:"Success is not built on success. It's built on failure."It's built on frustration. Sometimes it's built on catastrophe."

4. Love yourself! Always reward your long hours of labor!

5. Build each day on a foundation of pleasant thoughts. Reject depression/heaviness. Forget yesterday!

6. Live this day as if it will be your last. Preach Christ! Live holy!

7. Mistakes are normal! Laugh at yourself and at life. Learn and move on.

8. Never neglect the little things.

9. Welcome every morning with a smile.

10. Search for the good in every adversity.

Note:
One day you might see yourself walking alone on a new path. No one seems in sight. No one seems to have walked it earlier. Do not give up mid way. You are on a right track. Go on reach your dreams. The reason why you do not see anyone is because the world is following you. The well-advised carry wisdom. The 10 rules of daily living will make you uncommon!

You Are the Best Proof of God

2009-07-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

When we look at ourselves, what do we see? Chances are we are looking at hairstyles, complexions or body fat. Every time we look in the mirror, we probably want to know whether we are attractive or not. But these things don’t define us. God wants us to look into the significance of us as His creation because hope comes from our identity.

In this way, the best proof of God is you. One designer made you; He made you perfect. You show His creativity. When people talk about diversity, God deserves a royalty for use of that word. You are God’s unique work for which nature is a sketch. You are more valuable to Him than the Moon. God would rather see the Moon fall out of its orbit than have you live and die without knowing Him because the Moon is just a rock. You are His child. Because you are His child, you bear His image in how you were made.

Have you ever landed in a big city at night and seen the lights of all the cars flowing in opposite directions down arterial lines? They almost look like they should be advancing to the rhythm of a heartbeat, as though they were blood circulating in vessels throughout our bodies.

If your own blood vessels were laid out end to end along a highway, what is a reasonable guess at their length? How far would the highway of your blood vessels stretch? For 60,000 miles. The blood vessels inside your body would circle the Earth two times. Your lungs, if spread out, would cover the surface area of a championship tennis court. Picture a piece of origami like that unfolding from out of your chest.

There are delicate bones and membranes in your ears that pick up invisible sound waves. These sound waves are then changed into human thoughts and emotions. These intangible things are interwoven into something even more mysterious called your consciousness. All this is somehow connected, but not just limited to, the living matter in your brain. When you ask yourself a question, how is the answer found? When two thoughts connect, do those two thoughts somehow become one? Where is the index of thoughts kept? Better yet, who is operating that index of thoughts if not us? We know next to nothing about our great brains.

Do you know how much your body is worth in raw materials? Approximately $20. It is fascinating that God made something invaluable out of something that costs less than a sack of groceries. The reason is because your body is not the sum of its parts. It is purposeful organization on a massive scale condensed in an almost infinitely powerful code called DNA.

One person says to God in the Bible, You poured me out like milk and curdled me like cheese. That is basically accurate. We don’t eat liver and then somehow have our liver grow inside us. We eat vegetables, fish, dairy and peanuts and somehow liver cells grow. They organize into an organ that cleans us out of all the toxins we take in. What tells these cells to do this and shows them how? Do our brains exercise this control? No—the code is called DNA and one complete set of it is inside each of the trillions of cells that make us up.

Do you know that you are not as old as you think you are? With a few exceptions, most of your physical body, is probably only a few years or even months old. Cells are constantly dying off and being replaced. In this way, we are kind of like a fountain. The water keeps changing but something preserves the form. God is the preserver of that form. It is not us.

DNA is how God effects His arrangement in us. Picture you have a strand of DNA on the top of your head. It is coming out of you like dental floss in a container. If DNA were pulled out of you, how far would your DNA stretch?

If you look up in the sky and see an airplane at 35,000 feet, would the DNA inside you reach that airplane? What if behind that airplane you see the morning Moon? Would the DNA inside you reach all the way to the Moon? Yes, it would. In fact the DNA inside you would unravel until it reached the Sun, 93,000,000 miles away.

Then, it would come back. There is still enough DNA inside of you to make the return trip, and then, depending on the geneticist you ask, there might still be enough left over for another one-way trip to the Sun or round trip to the Sun and back. The next time you see the Sun, consider that you could touch it with your DNA. The information God put inside of you is measured by Astronomical Units of interplanetary space. God has made you and you are the most complex thing in the universe, except the universe itself. But His glory is shown more through you than through all the stars in space. Each of them has been numbered by Him, but He has given you a name.

Because of this, you are the best proof of God.

An Interview: Rick Warren

2009-07-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, 'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California . In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said: People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal.

God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness. This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems: If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72. First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free. We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD. If you do not pass it on, nothing will happen. But it will just be nice to pass it on to a friend....just like I have done. God's Blessings

5 Powerful Influences of The Tongue

2009-07-08T06:16:00.000-07:00

by Vanes in Quotes & Thoughts

The tongue is one of the critical, most influential part of the human body. And all through out God’s Word, He teaches us its purpose and warns us of its use.

Influences of the tongue:

1. The power to control one’s own actions. It has the power to control your whole life. Learn to control your tongue because if you can control your tongue, you can control the entire body.

2. The power to affect one’s response. If you speak rashly, it will incite anger, but if you speak gently, you’ll win a friend.

3. The power to build or destroy one’s life. Not only you, but anyone who is in contact with you. Gossips, degrading words and expressions, etc. may break relationships or may put your life in danger. Dwell on encouraging, polite, kind and loving words with a right motive in mind.

4. The power to expose one’s own heart. Your reactions and words reflects what is in your heart. There are some cases that you may purposely deceive others with it, but you can never hide what is in your heart forever.

5. The power to reveal one’s own character and maturity. The tongue reveals who you really are and your words measure the level of your maturity.

The appropriate use of the tongue is also important in building up a godly character. Remember the tongue reveals your character and character is a choice. It begins with deciding upon either to use your tongue to edify, encourage, and build up others and be wise or use it to gossip, degrade, destroy and deceive and be a fool. What is it going to be friend?

How to Build up your character

2009-07-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

Posted on 14. May, 2009 by Vanes in Quotes & Thoughts

Many of us neglect the value of having good character. Roughly 1-2 out of 10 people will consider to live an honest and moral life. Just take a look around you. You see beggars begging for food or so it seems. Some of them use your alms for drugs. How about your young neighbors? Party all night huh? Drinking sessions anywhere and everywhere probably leading to street fights or better yet, unplanned pregnancies. And how about organizations you pay taxes to? Is the money you’ve contributed benefit the society or the org leader’s pleasures?

Poverty is like a disease, corruption is rampant, violence is entertainment… And the list goes on, all results of poor decision making. Decisions we thought only affected us but truth is, one poor choice may lead to other people’s suffering also.

4 things about character:

1. Character defines a person. Character reflects who we really are when nobody’s looking or when we are alone. Other people may think of you in their own view but that may not be who you really are.

“Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it, the tree is the real thing.”
- Abraham Lincoln

2. Character determines success. When we think of character, we think of integrity, honesty, loyalty, dilligence, excellence… etc. We think we need to have this or that characteristics to be able to achieve levels of personal and/or business success or we do it the other way around. Be lazy, unfaithful, cheater, liar, impatient… and live a life of defeat.

“Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.”

- Sam Ewing

3. Character endures. You can’t control things in life such as beauty - we can’t help it to become old and wrinkly, riches - one false move and all your wealth are done for, fame - one day you’re famous next thing you’re not… But character, good or bad, will last.

“Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wing, and only character endures.”
- Horace Greeley

4. Character is a choice. Though there are things we can’t really decide upon like what we look like or our God-given talents or maybe positive or negative situations we experience. It is only a matter of how you respond that reflects the choice you made.

“Men of genius are admired, men of wealth are envied, men of power are feared; but only men of character are trusted”

Author Unknown

Dear friend, the world is changing and the decisions our forefathers and we have made in the past are reflected today. But you can turn it around with a choice you make. Desire what is right. Make a difference. Build up a godly character. You probably made a little or huge mistakes in the past, but dear friend there is still hope for you.

Independence Day: A memorable Day

2009-06-30T05:30:00.000-07:00

At last, I am here..
back to my old lifestyle
My comfort zone
My happiness..

hmmm..at last
the moment, I've been longing for
this is it!

The day, I am free was
the12th day of June year 2009
the day I returned to my home sweet home
Thank God Indeed..

My FamiLy

2008-12-26T17:36:00.000-08:00

This is my family

Purple Letter

2008-12-26T04:04:00.000-08:00

++ ANGER MANAGEMENT TIPS ++

2008-11-14T20:45:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest obstacles to personal and career success is ANGER.

When we fail to control our anger, we suffer several blows:

Anger impedes our ability to be happy, because anger and happiness are incompatible.
Anger sends marriages and other family relationships off-course.
Anger reduces our social skills, compromising other relationships, too.
Anger means lost business, because it destroys relationships.
Anger also means losing business that you could have won in a more gracious mood.
Anger leads to increased stress (ironic, since stress often increases anger).
We make mistakes when we are angry, because anger makes it harder to process information.

People are beginning to wake up to the dangers of anger and the need for anger management skills and strategies. Many people find anger easy to control. Yes, they do get angry. Everybody does. But some people find anger easier to manage than others. More people need to develop anger management skills.

For those who have a tough time controlling their anger, an anger management plan might help. Try these self-help anger management tips:

ANGER MANAGEMENT TIP #1
Ask yourself this question: "Will the object of my anger matter ten years from now?" Chances are, you will see things from a calmer perspective.

ANGER MANAGEMENT TIP #2
Ask yourself: "What is the worst consequence of the object of my anger?" If someone cut in front of you at the book store check-out, you will probably find that three minutes is not such a big deal.

ANGER MANAGEMENT TIP #3
Imagine yourself doing the same thing. Come on, admit that you sometimes cut in front of another driver, too ... sometimes by accident. Do you get angry at yourself?

ANGER MANAGEMENT TIP #4
Ask yourself this question: "Did that person do this to me on purpose?" In many cases, you will see that they were just careless or in a rush, and really did not mean you any harm.

ANGER MANAGEMENT TIP #5
Try counting to ten before saying anything. This may not address the anger directly, but it can minimize the damage you will do while angry.

ANGER MANAGEMENT TIP #6
Try some "new and improved" variations of counting to ten. For instance, try counting to ten with a deep slow breathe in between each number. Deep breathing -- from your diaphragm -- helps people relax.

ANGER MANAGEMENT TIP #7
Or try pacing your numbers as you count. The old "one-steamboat-two-steamboat, etc." trick seems kind of lame to me. Steamboats are not the best devices to reduce your steam. How about "One-chocolate-ice-cream-two-chocolate-ice-cream", or use something else that you find either pleasant or humorous.

ANGER MANAGEMENT TIP #8
Visualize a relaxing experience. Close your eyes, and travel there in your mind. Make it your stress-free oasis.

"If ever I am angry towards some other people, I've learned not to just utter bad words but rather I write on a journal all what I could have said to somebody and after going through it again and again I sort of get relieved and forgive and forget what the other person did to me. That has saved me a lot."

"I am one of those people who pour everything they think and feel into my journals. I also write out my frustrations and anger and when it is all out of my system, i burn the pages,purging not only the journal of the negativism, but also myself......... I don't have to relive the event, or the feelings for they are gone and no longer a part of my life. I leave my journals with a raggedy edge here and there, and i know that i must have had a bad day, but that it passed and i moved on to the rest of my abundantly happy and fulfilling life."

BIBLICAL INSIGHTS

"In your anger do not sin" : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. - EPHESIANS 4:26-27

A FOOL gives full vent to anger, but a wise man keep himself under control. - PROVERBS 29:11

The Bible doesn't tell us that we shouldn't feel angry, but it points out that it is important to handle your anger properly. If vented thoughtlessly, anger can hurt others and destroy relationships. If bottled up inside, it can cause us to become bitter and destroy us from within. If we nurse our anger, we will give Satan an opportunity to divide us.

Are you angry with someone right now?
What can you do to resolve your differences?
Don't let the day end before you begin to work on mending your relationship.

TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY...(",)

10 Ways to LOVE

2008-11-09T05:30:00.000-08:00

LOVE...

1. NEVER QUITS!

2. Celebrates the successes of others.

3. Helps out others, even if it's inconvenient.

4. Is not happy when someone gets hurt.

5. Is patient with others, even when they are annoying.

6. Is not conceited.

7. Does not tear down others.

8. Does not "keep score" of the bad things that others do.

9. Believes the best about others.

10. Does not say, "Me first!"

My Challenge:

When is the best time to LOVE?

NOW

What is the best way to express your LOVE to someone?

TIME

Where's God When It Hurts?

2008-11-04T04:55:00.000-08:00

by Philip Yancey

I'm wearing a neck brace because I broke my neck in an auto accident. For the first few hours as I lay strapped to a body board, medical workers refused to give me pain medication because they needed my response. The doctor kept moving my limbs, asking, "Does this hurt? Do you feel that?"

The correct answer, the answer we wanted, was, "Yes. It hurts. I can feel it." And thankfully, each time, that was my answer.

Each sensation of pain gave proof that my spinal cord had not been severed. Pain offered proof my body remained whole.

It's normal to regard pain as a negative, but as I learned on that body board, pain is a mark of life. Remember that as you cope with pain. Don't try to numb it. Instead, acknowledge pain as an affirmation of life.

All Things Redeemed

We all feel pain. I would like to promise you a long, pain-free life, but I cannot. Rather, the Christian view of the world says this: The world is good. The world has fallen. The world will be redeemed. That's the Christian story in a nutshell.

God has promised a time when evil will be defeated, when events like the shootings at Nickel Mines and Columbine and Virginia Tech will come to an end. Until then, he's promised that the scars we accumulate from pain will be used, somehow, for good. They will be a mark of life.

As the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8, all things can work together for your good. Paul spells out some of the things he encountered, which included beatings, illness, imprisonment, shipwreck and kidnapping. As he looked back, he could see that somehow God had redeemed even those crisis events in his life.

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us," Paul concluded. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:37–39, NIV).

But in the midst of the pain, it's hard to see the good. It's easy to question God: Why did you let this happen? Where are you when I hurt?

After my accident, my chances of living didn't look good. It was a difficult time. But

I see now the good God was able to do through it. As I was strapped to that body board, I realized how much of my life focused on trivial things. I didn't think about what kind of car I drove (it was being towed to a junkyard anyway) or how much money

I had in my bank account. All that mattered boiled down to four questions: Who do I love? Who will I miss? What have I done with my life? And am I ready for what's next?

Ever since that day, I've tried to live with those questions at the forefront.

Out of my pain came good—a new focus, a new life. This pain proved what was most important.

Where Is God?

Ten days before the shootings at Virginia Tech, Christians around the world remembered the darkest day of human history. That was the day evil human beings violently rose up against God's Son and murdered the only truly innocent human being who ever lived. We remember that day not as Dark Friday, Tragic Friday or Disaster Friday—but rather as Good Friday. That awful day led to Easter, an early glimpse of God's bright promise to make all things new.

When you read through the Gospels, you'll find only one scene in which someone addresses Jesus directly as God: "My Lord and my God!" Do you know who said that?

It was doubting Thomas, the last disciple to believe the incredible news of the Resurrection.

Thomas believed because of Jesus' scars. "Feel my hands," Jesus told him. "Touch my side."

In a flash of revelation, Thomas saw the wonder of Almighty God, the Lord of the universe, stooping to take on our pain. He saw scars that had been used for good. He saw that tear-streaked face of Jesus.

So where is God when it hurts? We know where God is because he came to Earth and showed us his face. To see how God responds to our suffering, you need only remember how Jesus responded to the tragedies of his day: with comfort, healing and compassion—which simply means "to suffer with."

Where is God when it hurts?

He's right there with us.

Yesterday is a History, Today is a Gift and Tomorrow is a Mystery

2008-11-03T05:50:00.000-08:00

A great note for all to read it will take just 37 seconds to read

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their
wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it. In his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.

She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

Epilogue:

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.
Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.

If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.

"Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present."

WINNER vs. LOSER

2008-10-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

The Winner is always part of the answer;The Loser is always part of the problem.
The Winner is always has a program;The Loser always has an excuse.
The Winner says,"Let me do it for you;The Loser says;" That is not my job."
The Winner sees an answer for every problem;The Loser sees a problem for every answer.
The Winner says," It may be difficult but it is possible";The Loser says,"It may be possible but it is too difficult."
When a Winner makes a mistake, he says," I was wrong";When a Loser makes a mistake, he says," It wasn't my fault."
A Winner makes commitments;A Loser makes promises.
Winners have dreams;Loser have schemes.
Winners say," I must do something";Losers say,"Something must be done."
Winners are a part of the team;Losers are apart from the team.
Winners see the gain;Losers see the pain.
Winners see possibilities;Losers see problems.
Winners believe in win/win; Losers believe for them to win someone has to lose.
Winners see the potential;Losers see the past.
Winners are like a thermostat;Losers are like thermometers.
Winners choose what they say;Losers say what they choose.
Winners use hard arguments but soft words;Losers use soft arguments but hard words.
Winners stand firm on values but compromise on petty things;Losers stand firm on petty things but compromise on values.
Winners follow the philosophy of empathy: "Don't do to others what youwould, not want them to do to you";Losers follow the philosophy, "Do it to others before they do it to you."
Winners make it happen;Losers let it happen.