Seek ye first the Kingdom...

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving holiday if you celebrate the holiday. Mine was good and I spent it with friends. Hope you spent it with people dear to you whether family or friends. The food was good, and had to watch myself that I wouldn't overdo it.

I am thankful that God has done a lot of things in my life, most which I did not understand at the time. I look back now and I am thankful that He allowed certain things to happen which resulted in bitter disappointments. There are many plans and ideas and so forth I have pursued which were not according to His will and so out of mercy, they were major flops. I look back now and I think about how different life might have been, had some of my plans worked out. God was definitely not in the picture and who knows if I would even still be alive if they had all worked out.

I am sure some of you agree with me that life does not always turn out as planned. In fact, it never turns out as we plan it. I, like some of you mapped out a course of how I was going to achieve my heart's desires complete with the plans B to D in case if A failed. A didn't work out and God did not allow B to D to come into effect. So on paper, my plans were good but all failed. Good or excellent as they seemed, they did not work out.

Something was wrong with the picture! They were my plans and God was foreign to me at the time. The things that I planned to achieve would serve not only to foster self-dependence but also to alienate me from Him who was drawing me. I will explain what I mean by self dependence later. I planned according to my will and to fulfill my desires and yet God had a plan to fulfill His desires in my life.

My plans as of most included to become rich, powerful and so forth. They were all about living in the now never considering the hereafter. It was all about what I could see or feel and never about the riches which are real that God desires for me to have which are yet invisible. There are many who plan and labor towards achieving all these things but in the case that they do achieve success are not satisfied and want more or it is short lived.

When God is foreign to us, we labor in vain to achieve the goals we set according to our will as is written:

[3] What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
[8] All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
[9] The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
[10] Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
[11] There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
[14] I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. Ecclesiastes 1:3, 8-11, 14.

All is vanity, when we labor to achieve our plans according to our will not His. Why is it vanity? Because it is written:

[19] Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
[20] But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: Matthew6:19, 20.

The Lord would rather have us desire the true riches which are His that are eternal which can not be stolen or destroyed.

The things we labor so hard for are vain because they never satisfy and are temporary. We can not take them with us when we die as is written;

[21] ...Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away... Job 1:21

All these things are vain because they are temporary, do not satisfy and are illusions. They are illusions because they are not what they seem or what they promise to deliver. Most of us spend our lives chasing these illusions and it is like chasing the wind so to speak. We spend our energy and time, the best of ourselves   chasing vanity, sometimes at the expense of time and relationships with those most dear to us! A mansion owned today can be lost in a foreclosure tomorrow. A car owned today can be repossessed tomorrow. A hard earned education is not a guarantee of a job or success. Climbing up the corporate ladder does not mean the company will be open next month. A world record is broken today and someone else breaks it tomorrow. These are just a few examples of those things some might pursue as ultimate objects of their desires. One can be at the peak of success in life today and die unexpectedly the next day. If life revolves around their achievement, that means there is nothing else to live for if not achieved but I say there's more to life.

God out of His mercy hinders the pursuit of these vanities by causing our plans to flop. The more we are invested in their achievement, the more bitter the disappointment. Do not get me wrong. I am not saying people should not be ambitious or strive to achieve their dreams. All these things can be achieved if God's will but it is unwise to make the life object the achievement of these things. What I am trying to get us to think about is that there's more to life. It is wisdom to realize that nothing under the sun is permanent. If nothing is permanent, should we invest our everything in it or in those things which are permanent, those things which are everlasting? The only things which are permanent and everlasting are God's things. There is no certainty with anything out of God's will but His as is written;

[11] For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11.

There is no certainty in pursuit of anything under the sun but there is an expected end to God's things.

Why is it mercy when God allows plans to flop? It is mercy because it is His hope that we will cease from chasing these vanities and realize His will for our lives. If your plans are the center of your world, they can serve to draw you further and further away from Him, which is not His desire because that's all you see and nothing else. What is God's will for our lives which is the reason for flops in our plans?

[38] For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
[39] And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
[40] And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:38-40.

The Lord's will for our lives is for us to have an expected end, that if we believe on Him, can have Eternal life. God's will is not for us to die but to live Eternally if we believe in Christ that He died for our sins. That is the big picture God would like us to understand. Our plans can serve to distract us from this big picture and they are not worth losing our souls over if everything revolves around them. It is mercy on His part because we are blinded by the desire for our plans to work out according to our will. A good example is the following:

[15] And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
[16] And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
[17] And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
[18] And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
[19] And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
[20] But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
[21] So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. Luke 12:15-21.

This man was blind to the fact that we live by God's power and will as is written:

[28] For in him we live, and move, and have our being;

He forgot that it was not because he was so smart or such a good farmer that he yielded plentiful harvests. He forgot that to be alive at that moment was a gift from God. He accredited his success to himself instead of giving credit where it was due. He thought he had it made and unfortunately did not know that that day would be his last. He was rich in his own eyes and poor in God's eyes. This is that self-dependence I mentioned earlier. All his success he attributed to himself and forgot that God had made it all possible as is written:

18] But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth. Deuteronomy 8:18.


The people of old like Abraham were wealthy. Jacob, even Job were all very wealthy, but they understood the big picture as is written:

[10] For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:10.

As wealthy as he was, he did not let the present distract him from the big picture that all he had at the time was temporary, the real riches he looked forward to were the city in the hereafter whose builder and maker is God. He did not allow present achievements or successes divert him from the real goal which was to make it to this city. He understood that all he achieved and accumulated while walking this earth was temporary, that he was just a pilgrim passing through on his way to this city. All these men walked according to God's will and understood the big picture. It is this understanding that led Job when he lost all his children and wealth to say:

Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. Job 1:21.

This applies to us also. There is nothing wrong with wealth, influence or any of these things which most of us seek after, as long as they are in God's will. Joseph rose from being a slave to governor in Egypt, but he never lost sight of God the whole time and God put him in the high position to achieve his will. He did not seek the high position but God put him there. The same with Daniel who rose from being a young slave in Babylon to being the King's advisor. He did not lose sight of God and served in the capacity God had placed him in and God was glorified in the process. It is when we make these things the object of our existence that we are in trouble. It is wisdom to understand like Job that just as God gives all these things, He can also take them away.

God blesses us but often times we lose sight of Him being the source of blessing. When He decides to take away what He gives us we become bitter and angry and might even curse Him. The more attached to the blessings, the more disconnected we become to the source of the blessings, and the more bitter we are at losing those things. The more detached from these blessings and cognizant of His hand in all of life's affairs, the  more we understand that just as He gives, He can also take them away. Nothing is permanent under the sun. We don't own anything. We manage what he gives us but don't own anything. We are stewards and manage what he gives us. But the big picture is:

[39] And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
[40] And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:39, 40.

The big picture is our salvation. God will allow things to happen in our lives if they can help us to understand His will for our lives, which is for us to live. He will do whatever it takes and that might mean plans flopping, losing jobs, homes, wealth if any of these things prove to be distractions in the fulfillment of his plan in our lives. Once we understand that we live, move and have our being in Him, and that He desires one thing which is for us not to perish but to live, that is the beginning of real wisdom as is written:

[10] The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Proverbs 9:10.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to stay happy thanksgiving! Thankful for all God has done in my life and all you the people He has allowed me to come across and get to know. Thankful for the poeple who have touched my life and those God may have given me the privilege to touch.

God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving!!

The privilege of prayer!

I was thinking to myself how difficult it is for an average person like me to get to talk to say, the mayor. I can not just go straight to his house and talk to him out of the blues. I can imagine I have to schedule an appointment and go through certain steps before I can actually meet him. The higher you go whether it's local government, state or federal government, it becomes increasingly difficult for an average everyday guy like me to meet the higher-ups. The higher you go, the more hoops there are to jump and the more procedures there are to follow and the more important the issue to be talked about has to be. I can't just go straight to the Governor just to meet and have a cup of tea or something. 

We have to go through all these things just to see another human being like us. They are different from the average person because of status in society or accomplishments, but they are still human. They still err like us and in fact the more exalted the position, the more the expectation from society. But they are still human and not very far from you and me with the position, status, accomplishments and so on put aside.

Now think about God! The Head of the Most High, Everlasting Government which was and always will be! What kind of hurdles do we have to jump to talk to Him? None!

[16] For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
[17] And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. Colossians 1:15, 16.

The God who created everything as we know it and even those things which we can't see, the one who put even the thrones with which the heads we can not speak to directly, we can reach anytime and at will without any hurdles to jump.

The same God who as is written:

[12] Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
[13] Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counseller hath taught him?
[14] With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
[15] Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance:... Isaiah 40:12-15

It is amazing to me that such a Great God can be humble enough to know the most seemingly minute details of our being as is written;

[30] But the very hairs of your head are all numbered  Matthew 10:30

If He is so great and yet He knows the hair on your head by number, and approachable by anyone from any walk of life, that is Awesome I think, as is written;

And the common people heard him gladly Mark 12:37

I would think that being so awesome, God would be so complicated so that only the learned and traveled would understand Him, great as He is. Yet anyone should be able to understand Him. Any attempts to meet a head of state would be vain, especially if you are an average person like me. As people, it seems that "birds of the same feather flock together" and the important keep company with those like them. Though there are exceptions, normally one has to be of a high stature in order to mix and mingle with those alike. 

But God is the opposite. He created all things and yet anyone can approach Him! Does not matter who you are, where you are from, what you have or how much you know. Anyone, and I mean anyone can approach Him. There are no protocols, procedures or stages in the process of talking to God and you or the matter you want to talk to Him about do not have to be important. Anyone can approach God and you can talk to Him about even the things most might regard as unimportant. There is nothing too small that He thinks it is unimportant. That's what really shows how awesome God is.

Being so great yet He knows the number of hairs on your head. As human beings, the more exalted our position in society, the more we think we are important and that certain things are beneath us. The greater we become, the more proud we become and yet God is the opposite. The more unimportant, helpless, irrelevant, weak, poor you might feel you are He sees the opposite as is written;

[26] For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
[27] But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
[28] And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
[29] That no flesh should glory in his presence. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29.

So it is a great privilege to be able to talk to God who created all things, and yet allows us to approach Him and even can relate with our condition and what we go through as is written;

[14] Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
[15] For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
[16] Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16.

As human beings, the higher the stature in society, the harder we are to reach or to mingle with. I thank God that He is not like us, otherwise as Mighty, Great, Powerful, Important as He is, none and I mean NONE of us would be able to reach Him if He treated us the way we treat each other. And since we have such a great privilege to talk directly to the Most High, let us please use it as much as we can.

You ask and receive not because you ask for the wrong things

I am back! I hope you are well. It's been a while since the last post and as always things come up as I was busy on the road a lot and also taking my last exam and hopefully I pass it.

Have any of you ever prayed for or about something but did not get a response or did not seem to get a response from God? I've done that and I am sure you have too. You pray, and pray, and pray again, and yet nothing happens or something else happens other than what you actually ask for. Or maybe He does answer the prayer but not when you "need Him to". He answers in His own time or according to His timetable so it seems. Do you ever wonder why this is? I used to but I have come to realize something.

[3] Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. James 4:3.

We ask but why do we not receive what we ask for? According to the verse above ask but do not receive what we ask for because we want to because we are asking based on our desires. Our desires stem from our will and this will might not necessarily be according to God's will.  He has given us the promise that whatever we ask for He will give us, if we ask for the right things as is written;

[7] Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
[8] For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
[9] Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
[10] Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
[11] If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Matthew 7:7-11.

If we ask for the "right" things, He has promised to give us what we ask for. It is when we ask for the wrong things that He seems to not take heed to our prayers or might delay because it is not time yet for Him to grant those things which we might be asking for that might also be good things that He would have us to ask for. So you ask for a good thing but He delays because it is not time yet or He does not answer your prayer altogether because it is prayed according to your will not His. 

Praying according to His will means that we ask for things according to His will not ours. A lot of times I do this and I'm sure a lot of you do this too, to ask for something you want knowing that God does not approve or trying to bend Him to approve a plan that you know he is not going to approve. I have done this many times and it is frustrating because it seems that God is indifferent and yet by not answering our prayers, He is doing it for our own good.

If we being evil know how to give good gifts to our children, what more our Father in Heaven who is perfect, what kind of gifts is He capable of giving us. If you have a child and they ask for bread, will you give them something else like a stone instead? If they ask for a good thing like bread, you will no doubt give what they ask for. 

Those of you who have infants know that if left unattended, they will put anything in their mouths because it all looks like food to them I guess, they don't know. If you see them putting a harmful object in their mouths, you will quickly take it away from them and even take precautions to make sure that there is nothing within reach which might harm them in case you might not be able to attend them. So as parents you will not give them harmful objects and if possible eliminate as many opportunities for them to hurt themselves as possible.

This is exactly what our Father in heaven does. Most of us are infants spiritually and unable to discern when we are asking for the wrong things or even that what we ask for might be harmful to us. Infants will put anything in their mouths not because it is food but maybe because it is attractive and colorful or just because it is strange and new to them. And if you take away the object of their desire, they will throw a tantrum hoping that you will give it to them. Just as infants are unable to realize that what they want to eat is a stone and not bread, we for the most part don't realize that what we want might not necessarily be good for us. We, like infants then throw a tantrum and complain to God that He is not answering our prayers by granting what we asked for. But just as a parent would, He does not give you what you want which though it seems good might actually be harmful, and will even take measures to eliminate all possible options of getting this object of your desires. Infants get so mad and if they had the strength would probably tear the parents apart for not granting their request. We do the same with God. If we had the power, I can only imagine the great lengths to which the power would be exercised to get the objects of our desires.

So, us being sinful know how to give good gifts to our children, what more our Heavenly Father? Us, sinful as we are know not to harm our children by giving them harmful objects they might be oblivious to. What more our Heavenly Father? Definitely He will not grant us those things which might harm us that we are oblivious to! Sinful and human as we are, we are incapable of always granting the things our children might need when it is good for us to do so. Our father in Heaven however is more than capable of supplying those things which are good if we ask for them as is written;

[19] But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19.

So asking for the wrong things means that our requests will not be granted. What seems right to us is not always what's right in His eyes. We can only hope that we ask for the right things but even when we pray and ask for the wrong things:

[26] ...the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

[27] And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26, 27.

So even when we pray about the wrong things unaware, the Spirit translates the prayers and tells the Father what we actually should be praying for. It is a blessing that even when we are set in our ways and might continue to pray for the wrong things, the Spirit makes up for this interceding on our behalf about things which are according to God's will which we might not know we are needful of. Something else happens instead of what we pray for and it is because the Spirit corrected our prayers upon delivery to the Father and things then happen according to His will, not ours.

So I hope that this helps some as my realization of this has helped me. I will end here and God Bless.

Have you ever received a gift you didn't like?

It's the season of thanksgiving and so we have a lot of things to reflect on and be thankful for. Christmas is also around the corner and so a lot of activity as people run around to get gifts for loved ones. It's a time for the giving and receiving of gifts. Thanksgiving, we are thankful for all that God has done throughout the year and even in our whole lives. 

Where I am from, we do not have the Thanksgiving holiday and Christmas we treat it more like Thanksgiving is here. It is a time to gather and see family, extended family and so on and eat and be thankful for the ability to gather like that with relatives driving from all over the country. Christmas is not as commercial as it is here. For us it has the Thanksgiving spirit to it which I miss.

Now given that I am here in the US, I have been slowly acclimatizing to the culture, though not without resistance. I do not particularly like the fact that it seems to be more about Santa Claus, who is not real versus the Son of God, Jesus Christ who it is supposed to be about. We push the real out of the picture for the unreal. There are a lot who get into some serious debt because of the Christmas season because it has become more cultural or traditional to give gifts and...to expect to receive gifts at this time of the year. It can be really stressful because you don't want to forget anyone or...to be forgotten.

I look at past Christmases and I remember a few gifts I did not particularly like. It might not even be Christmas but it can be any occasion like a birthday and I know there are some of you if not most, who have received a gift they were not particularly fond of. Maybe you had so much anticipation when you opened the present but it was all blown to bits once you saw the gift. Maybe it came in a big package but was a little thing and one you did not like at that.

It got me thinking about things though. Some gifts are given out of formality because it would be the right thing to do in the situation but not so much about the gift itself and much less about the person receiving it. This time of the year, it becomes a chore to give gifts, and though many partake in this activity, I doubt if much of it is done out of a true giving heart. I am not exempt from this. I have given gifts out of formality just for the sake of doing it because of "peer" pressure. 

So why then should i be disappointed if I receive something I do not particularly like when I myself give others gifts they might not like? What gives me the licence to be disappointed when I myself disappoint others with my gifts? It's one thing to do your very best with every single gift you give away but you and I know that is not true. Some gifts are better than others and the rest are given out of formality, because it would be improper not to give any gift. I don't put as much effort in giving of gifts compared to the anticipation in the receiving of gifts, but we are told:

[35] It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20;35

Now Christmas has become more about receiving gifts and giving of gifts, and about Santa Claus instead of Christ who is supposed to be the center piece, the cornerstone of the whole holiday. In the giving of gifts we are stressed out because of pressure to have to do it, in the receiving of gifts we are disappointed when we receive gifts that might not necessarily like. More time is spent on decorating the tree with Santa and his dear deer, and presents and so forth and Christ is swept under the rug so to speak. 

And yet what did Christ do for us? He gave himself a perfect gift for us out of a pure heart so that we could be saved. He gave us the best gift imaginable and it is unconditional. We give expecting to receive but He gave Himself for us not expecting anything in return from us but to believe on His blood for the remission of sins and be saved. We give "good" gifts to those who are good to us but we are told to:

[42] Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
[43] Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
[44] But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
[45] That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
[46] For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
[47] And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Matthew 5:42-47.

Christ gave us the best gift when we were yet His enemies as is written;

[20] And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

[21] And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled Colossians 1:20, 21.

[8] But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
[9] Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
[10] For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Romans 5:8-10.

All we have to do is believe and that's how we accept the gift as is written;

[16] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
[17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:16, 17.

We don't owe Him a gift in return or some great thing because what can we do to please God with a man made gift or through our own efforts? 

[11] To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. Isaiah 1:11.

You don't have to do some great righteous works in return for the gift of His life as is written;

[5] Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Titus 3:5.

All you have to do is to believe and that pleases Him as is written;

[6] But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6.

By faith or believing in Him is how we give back to Him because by faith we are saved. He gave Himself for us that we might be saved and so by believing in Him and that He died for our sins, we are saved and that is our gift to Him. That is the only gift that can please Him but even when we choose Him by believing in Him, it is not out of necessity. He does not force us to choose Him. He gave Himself for us out of love and our gift to Him is a choice not of necessity. Our gift to Him is for our benefit because we are saved in the process so we win either way. We get the gift of Christ's blood, God Himself in the flesh and our gift to Him is us believing in Him that we can get life. He gave His life for us that we may have life, if we believe on His blood and confess our sins. Though we are all sinners and far from perfect, by believing we allow Him to work in us so that we can be presentable to Him when He returns, a perfect gift to Him. So by believing in Him we are not only accepting Him as our Saviour, the Perfect gift from God but we are also giving Him the gift of our lives and if we hold on in faith, He even perfects us that He accepts us a perfect gift unto Himself as is written;

[25] Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
[26] That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
[27] That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5:25-27.

Just something to think about. Hopefully during this season of thanksgiving, giving and receiving of gifts we are thankful of the fact that Christ gave Himself for our sins to reconcile us to God and to give us a chance again to live eternally with Him.  That we think of the gift in the form of His sacrifice for us when we did not know or appreciate it. That our gift to Him is believing in Him and letting Him transform our lives and our reconciliation to Him.

Thanksgiving

Sorry for being absent for a while. I have been very busy making preparations for my last exam which is next Friday and Sunday. I just came back from Raleigh North Carolina where i spent some time with friends studying for this last exam.

I thank God that I am able to write this today, that I had a safe trip to and from NC. I passed the last 2 exams which I took in September. They were tough and I was honestly a bit nervous. Maybe " a bit" is an understatement. They are tough and expensive time and money-wise. God truly was with me because they were tough but I survived them by His will.

It's only fit for me to talk about thanksgiving because it is that time of the year again. We get to reflect on all the good things God continues to do for us. Though it is the season, I wish I and all of us could be more thankful like this all year long, not just in November. We have so much to be thankful for and even for me to be writing this and for you the reader to be reading this is something to be thankful for. We have been instructed to:

[6] Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6.

[8] Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.
[34] O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. 1 Chronicles 16:8, 34.

Think about the food we eat everyday! We eat because God provides rain thus giving us food not only to feed us but even livestock which we in turn eat also as is written:

[17] Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. Acts 14:17.

  We get so used to seeing food in the stores like Wal-mart and forget that it is not grown there. It takes rain for us to get the food we eat everyday. I confess that I take it for granted at times and forget that if it doesn't rain for years like it did in Elijah's time, for 3 and a half years, we will be in trouble. These are things that I get so used to and I assume you do too and we take them for granted. We have so much food here and take it for granted and yet there are millions starving to death, who don't know where their next meal is coming from in some parts of the world. These souls know what living by God's grace is first hand. So much food we throw away here and don't even think about it. We have shelter, warmth and comfort. There are some on the streets and it is God's grace that they survive the winter months. They know what it is to live by God's grace first hand.

Another thing which we take for granted is our health! When we are healthy, we have the strength to work hard, we have the strength to enjoy life doing all kinds of activities with loved ones. Without it, all the wealth in the world means nothing. It can not be bought but it is a gift from God just like life itself. It is a gift from God to  get out of bed and do things without assistance. I confess that I take it for granted and don't consciously think about these things on a daily basis. There are so many who wake up and go to sleep in chronic pain so much that death seems a relief for them. So many who are struggling with physical problems that make being alive a heavy burden to bear.


Some who do have emotional problems like depression which suck the very life out of them. Burdened by guilt for one reason or another, or maybe isolated from those who love them, or whatever it may be. We have those who love us who are always there for us. We take them for granted sometimes or maybe even most of the time. When they are there with us, we take them for granted but when they are gone we regret not having talked to them more or shown our love more through our actions.

It is a great temptation for us to take credit for all the great things that happen in our lives. If I pass an exam, I am tempted to say it was because of the hard work and long hours that i put in and might even cherish the feeling that because of my effort, I deserved to pass. Yet God in His mercy helps me to understand during the studying and brings those things that I studied to my remembrance. It is His mercy that I even study what is coming in the exam. Have you ever put in so much effort and studied the wrong material or stuff which was not even on the test only to get that which you didn't study? I have, and I put long hours while at it. It is even God's mercy that I can put the right answer on the scantron even when I know that it is the answer. I don't know about you, but I have taken tests where I know the answer to a question that it was say C, but when I got my results back I put D, even though I know when I was shading in the answer I was sure I put C. I am using myself as an example just to show how we can do absolutely nothing, even the tasks which appear to be simple without God's helping us to do them. There has been times when I put in long hours and felt I understood the material and got to the test and blacked out remembering little of what i had read. It was because I trusted completely in myself and the "long hours" I put in and not in God who helps with the whole process; by helping me to read the material that will actually be on the test, by helping me to understand, to remember those things in the test, and to put the correct answers on the answer sheet.

It is tempting for us to attribute our successes to our personal effort and for us to take all the glory when God does something wonderful in our lives. Maybe you get promoted at work, start getting more money and everything is good. It is very tempting to say " I did it" when it is actually God's blessing. It is grace when God does something good in our lives. There are others who are deserving but might not get the same success. They are diligent, hard-workers and just as deserving but might never get the same opportunity. The health to work hard and impress enough to be promoted comes from God. To even be noticed when there are so many other employees who might be working just as hard and be deserving also comes from God. 

I used studying as an example but you know how your life is. We leave home to go to work or school but there is no guarantee we will return home that night. It is a gift to come back home at the end of a long day and to see loved ones. Sometimes we complain about work and how monotonous it gets sometimes, which is true, but we ought to be grateful because there are thousands who are being laid off and have lost their jobs. Lost their homes, cars, even their families and health as a result of these things. So when we you have a job you don't particularly like, be grateful because it is paying for your gas, bills, even the house you might be living in and the food you eat for you and your family. To even have health enough to work is a gift, a real blessing. Some have stopped going to work because of health issues at the peak of their careers when everything is going right. 

We ought to be grateful for even being able to wake up. God out of His mercy will be giving us a chance to get things right with Him. There are some who do not get that opportunity and do not wake up having gone to bed as usual with nothing out of the ordinary. 

Our relationships might not be perfect. But let's be thankful that even though we might not always get along with those around us as perfectly as we would wish, at least we have those people in our lives. There are some who are lonely and have no family or friends, no one to turn to or to confide in. It is a gift and a blessing to have relationships. To have parents, siblings, church family, friends, and spouses. Imagine how life would be without anyone at all? That's how it is for some.

So I hope you and I, all of us, we can be more thankful and grateful for the good things God continues to do in our lives. Little things like bending over to tie shoe laces are a gift and blessing because not everyone you come across is able to do these things. To see, to hear, to taste, to smell, to feel, to move, to be alive, all these things are a great gift from God if we just recognize as it is written:

[28] For in him we live, and move, and have our being; Acts 17:28.

No matter how dire the situation, how grim the outlook, we should always be thankful. To be alive no matter how bad the situation is a blessing. It is an opportunity to get things right with Him. Even on a deathbed, in those last moments God gives the opportunity for us to reach out to Him and even at that moment He can heal  a soul. Even at the last moment, those last breaths are a gift and can help to determine where one ends up. So it is something to be thankful for to know that even at the deathbed, God can give us a chance to be forgiven of our sins no matter how wretched the life was and to cleanse us and make us clean as He did the thief on the cross at his dying moments, if we ask Him to forgive us our sins and to cleanse of all righteousness and to believe that He has done just that.