What are you thankful for?

It’s tempting to complain about the many things that are not quite right in our lives. Our boring jobs, the spouse who is not as helpful as we would like, the children that seem determined to make us go insane, the annoying boss, the annoying friend… just about everything has a way of robbing our joy, if we let it.

Just as I am, thou will receive

Regardless of our shame, our pain, or our fears, we can confidently approach God’s throne because there is no judgement in His eyes, only love. He alone knows the rejection we have faced, He alone knows the abuse of our past, He alone knows the number of tears we have shed, He alone knows what troubles we face. He has walked in our shoes, and totally understands why we do the things we do.

Who are you listening to?

We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with information. It seems everyone has an opinion on how we should live our lives and the decisions to make. The society, our family, the government, religious organizations, friends, …everyone seems to have ideas on what we need to do in this life. It can sometimes become quite tiring and confusing to make right decisions. 

Beyond the confusion of our decisions lie the consequences. If the information you are listening to is not right for you, you can end up making poor choices and wind up pretty frustrated. Just because the information is coming from reputable sources doesn’t always mean it is appropriate for you. Just because others have done the same thing doesn't make it suitable for you either.

Finish well

I read 2 Chronicles chapters 14 to 16 the other day and I was saddened by how tragic the once great King Asa ended. You see this man was the great great-grandson of King David and must have heard stories of how well his ancestor ruled Israel by the power of God. He also started well, he feared God and made sure no idols were allowed in the kingdom. When an enemy nation attacked his kingdom, he cried out to God and God delivered him and the Kingdom of Judah from their more powerful foes. Because he feared God and served Him well, his kingdom enjoyed peace for many years.

Unfortunately in his 36^th year reign, he was threatened by another kingdom. And instead of depending on God like he had done before, he trusted human reasoning and decided to become allies with them. For this act, God tried to correct him through Hanani a seer. But the king refused to heed correction, he was so angry he even had him imprisoned. Eventually this once great king who feared God had an infection in his feet; despite the severity of his ailment he still refused to seek God. He died two years later.

Am I good enough?

The other day as I sang the song “How great thou art”, it struck me that this beautiful Christian song is quite simple. The lyrics and music are not complex or requiring complex musical arrangement. No, it is just a simple honest song sang to the melody of an old Swedish folk song. It was written in 1885 by a lay minster called Carl Gustav Boberg. 

He must have heard classical Christian music from the likes of George Frideric Handel and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach who lived before him. I wonder what he thought about his simple song compared to the music these great composers made. Or maybe he didn’t even bother comparing his song with theirs, he just concentrated on writing a song based on his own experiences. I think that is probably what happened.

Why is life so unfair?

We all grew up reading fairy tales, and in all of them, the good guy always gets rewarded at the end, and the bad guy gets punished. It seems fair and right. 

But life, as I have come to realise, is no fairytale. Sometimes life doesn’t appear to be fair at all: the good man sometimes suffers. And this confuses us, it makes us shout “ God, this is so unfair!”

Some weeks ago I wrote a post titled “Heart of Gold”(Click Here). In that post, I talked about a young man called Anthony Michael, who risked his life to save a crying baby from a burning building. He suffered horrific burns as a result of his bravery and was hospitalised.

Not another blog please!!!

I never intended to write a blog. I was one of those who wondered why 'everyone' seemed to be blogging all of a sudden. And because I try not to follow trends, I banished the thought when a friend innocently asked me to start one, about two years ago.

So what happened? 

 

Well, I enjoy visiting some some blogs and websites. But they seem to focus on either entertainment news, government blunders, or crime. After a while I started getting tired of celebrity gossip and scandals as well as stories of the government’s inabilities and unprovoked criminal attacks. I noticed I was getting really fearful and critical and my attitude was affecting my life. And I wasn’t the only one. Many of the visitors who comment on these websites seem the same. Thankfully I started listening to more positive messages online and I began to think better and act better.