Giving thanks...
Count your blessings, name them one by one...
That's a line in one of our golden hymns I sang in my childhood. There are some hymns that have beautiful melodies. And there are others that have inspirational sayings. But there are some which are useful in that it reminds you to do something.
Count your blessings, name them one by one...
One of the things I have found tough in life is to only see the things of the present and easily to forget of the things of the past. I do believe this is one of the weaknesses in human nature that makes us forget so much of God's grace and depletes the happiness in our heart that had been there all the time.
Normally, I have make time in the moment to reflect on life, I think about the most recent events.
Whilst traveling on the train up from Elgin, I was reading Psalm 119 and just the first several verses. And as I was reading, I had begun to realise that I was accumulating golden nuggets of truth and strengthing of my faith and understanding in how to continue my way of walking this path to heaven.
Just to share with you some thoughts on it: "Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek him with the whole heart!" (v2).
This verse has a teaching for me: If you want to find God, keep His testimonies. Why this verse is so relevant in my mind is that I always seek for God's blessings rather than a closer relationship with Him. Its as if my attitude is: having God's blessings is more important than having God Himself. But if I really think about it, having God will ensure I have all the blessings I will ever need! In the way to the source of all blessing is to keep His testimonies. To keep His testimonies is not just a once off thing you do. It is not a prayer that you make, an event that you attend. God's testimony is what He says He will do for you if you keep His word.
Aside from prayer, keeping His testimonies is the way to find God. In other words, if we keep His testimonies then we are drawing near to Him. And when God sees that we want to draw near to Him, then God will draw near to us (Jas 4.8). And it is a matter of time before we know that we will have found God and God is in us and we in Him.
And if we want to draw near to God, we have to do it with all our heart. When we talk about seeking God with all our heart that means there is no room for doubt. Having a little doubt means that we are not seeking God with all our heart. We still have a little of our heart which is not directed at seeking God. And if we do have a portion of our heart that is left behind, James tells us that we ought not to expect anything from God. For God can't be fooled and He will not be insulted.
So the two thing I got from this verse was: First, seek God not just His blessing. Second, seek God by keeping His testimonies. Don't just pray; just keep them. God will draw near to you. You can see how thinking about this verse has renewed my mind (Rom 12.2). To me, that's a true blessing, a life changing blessing.
Another blessing I would like to highlight is how people are able call me and ask me for advise. Just recently a sister could feel comfortable to ask me how the sister fellowship should conduct their first gospel tea party. I was touched that they are embarking in preaching the gospel as well as the bringing back of the lost sheep. Surely it was God's word that moved them to do this.
In the same period of time I got a call from a brother who has a crush on a sister who did not know what to do about it. I taught him how he should distance himself from that person and look at her from all angles. Although I played a prank on him, pretending to take him to the house of the girl he liked, I was so overjoyed that he felt confident enough to confide in me. It was wonderful to know that.
And also, a sister who was weak in prayer and bible reading, was willing to share and confess. And in so doing, did something that was practical by asking me to pray with her in the early hours of the morning. Inadvertently, I myself was encouraged in prayer too. Equipped with strength to do the preaching work.
And again, recently my wife has been having more epileptic fits than usual and has been greatly weakened by it too. She is tired easily and had even the blessing of having a next door neighbour to look after the children for an hour or two. Although her outbursts may have been directly linked to her monthly periods, the outbursts were rather controlled. She does tell me that when she does not tell me how she feels, she still feels upset. She is educating me of her inside world. This is a good thing because for a man he needs really to understand. Then he can become involved in building a stable and blessed family. Keeping that in mind is so basic and fundamental for growth and harmony.
And whilst on the train to Elgin I met one of Alan Shek's ex-school friends Alan MacK. He lives in Inverness and working off-shore in Norway, enjoying two weeks on and three weeks off kind of lifestyle. This is wonderful because at least Alan knows about the church in Elgin. I had the chance to give him a card. I should have spent more time speaking to him though!
The great blessing is that at anytime and anywhere I can kneel before God and speak to Him and Him to me. If only I have my heart open to Him, He will reveal Himself to me as always.
What a wonderful grace for God to guide me into His presence!
That's a line in one of our golden hymns I sang in my childhood. There are some hymns that have beautiful melodies. And there are others that have inspirational sayings. But there are some which are useful in that it reminds you to do something.
Count your blessings, name them one by one...
One of the things I have found tough in life is to only see the things of the present and easily to forget of the things of the past. I do believe this is one of the weaknesses in human nature that makes us forget so much of God's grace and depletes the happiness in our heart that had been there all the time.
Normally, I have make time in the moment to reflect on life, I think about the most recent events.
Whilst traveling on the train up from Elgin, I was reading Psalm 119 and just the first several verses. And as I was reading, I had begun to realise that I was accumulating golden nuggets of truth and strengthing of my faith and understanding in how to continue my way of walking this path to heaven.
Just to share with you some thoughts on it: "Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek him with the whole heart!" (v2).
This verse has a teaching for me: If you want to find God, keep His testimonies. Why this verse is so relevant in my mind is that I always seek for God's blessings rather than a closer relationship with Him. Its as if my attitude is: having God's blessings is more important than having God Himself. But if I really think about it, having God will ensure I have all the blessings I will ever need! In the way to the source of all blessing is to keep His testimonies. To keep His testimonies is not just a once off thing you do. It is not a prayer that you make, an event that you attend. God's testimony is what He says He will do for you if you keep His word.
Aside from prayer, keeping His testimonies is the way to find God. In other words, if we keep His testimonies then we are drawing near to Him. And when God sees that we want to draw near to Him, then God will draw near to us (Jas 4.8). And it is a matter of time before we know that we will have found God and God is in us and we in Him.
And if we want to draw near to God, we have to do it with all our heart. When we talk about seeking God with all our heart that means there is no room for doubt. Having a little doubt means that we are not seeking God with all our heart. We still have a little of our heart which is not directed at seeking God. And if we do have a portion of our heart that is left behind, James tells us that we ought not to expect anything from God. For God can't be fooled and He will not be insulted.
So the two thing I got from this verse was: First, seek God not just His blessing. Second, seek God by keeping His testimonies. Don't just pray; just keep them. God will draw near to you. You can see how thinking about this verse has renewed my mind (Rom 12.2). To me, that's a true blessing, a life changing blessing.
Another blessing I would like to highlight is how people are able call me and ask me for advise. Just recently a sister could feel comfortable to ask me how the sister fellowship should conduct their first gospel tea party. I was touched that they are embarking in preaching the gospel as well as the bringing back of the lost sheep. Surely it was God's word that moved them to do this.
In the same period of time I got a call from a brother who has a crush on a sister who did not know what to do about it. I taught him how he should distance himself from that person and look at her from all angles. Although I played a prank on him, pretending to take him to the house of the girl he liked, I was so overjoyed that he felt confident enough to confide in me. It was wonderful to know that.
And also, a sister who was weak in prayer and bible reading, was willing to share and confess. And in so doing, did something that was practical by asking me to pray with her in the early hours of the morning. Inadvertently, I myself was encouraged in prayer too. Equipped with strength to do the preaching work.
And again, recently my wife has been having more epileptic fits than usual and has been greatly weakened by it too. She is tired easily and had even the blessing of having a next door neighbour to look after the children for an hour or two. Although her outbursts may have been directly linked to her monthly periods, the outbursts were rather controlled. She does tell me that when she does not tell me how she feels, she still feels upset. She is educating me of her inside world. This is a good thing because for a man he needs really to understand. Then he can become involved in building a stable and blessed family. Keeping that in mind is so basic and fundamental for growth and harmony.
And whilst on the train to Elgin I met one of Alan Shek's ex-school friends Alan MacK. He lives in Inverness and working off-shore in Norway, enjoying two weeks on and three weeks off kind of lifestyle. This is wonderful because at least Alan knows about the church in Elgin. I had the chance to give him a card. I should have spent more time speaking to him though!
The great blessing is that at anytime and anywhere I can kneel before God and speak to Him and Him to me. If only I have my heart open to Him, He will reveal Himself to me as always.
What a wonderful grace for God to guide me into His presence!
posted by preacherswpshek at 12:43 PM
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