The Secret of Happiness
02 Sep 2009 13 Comments
in Because Jesus lives I can face tomorrow, Life
The Secret of Happiness is something that has eluded human beings since the dawn of time. It is something that we all wish we had the answer to but only few have an inkling of what it is really about. While pursuing this secret, it has caused many people to cause harm to others, a lot of evil and doing stupid unimaginable acts.
A friend sent me this via email from pravsworld.com and I wanted to share it with y’all… Do you think it is this simple?
There once was a very wealthy and successful man. He had more money than he could ever spend and he was admired and looked up to by his community. Still, he knew that something was missing in his life. He wasn’t happy. All his life he had pursued happiness and strived for happiness but had never been able to find it.
Then one day he heard about a hidden temple in Nepal that had a special room that contained the secret to happiness. He immediately sold all that he owned and set out to find this hidden temple. After many years of searching and countless hardships he arrived there. He was weary and pennyless, but he knew that none of that mattered now that he had found the temple.
He asked a wise, smiling monk if he could enter the special room. The monk agreed and showed him the stairs leading to the room. He climbed them with legs shaking with anticipation and slowly opened the door. He stared into the room with sunlight streaming through the window and saw what he had come so far to find. There hanging on the wall was the secret of happiness. The man gazed at his reflection in the mirror and laughed.
It is time that we all realized that we are the secret to our own happiness. Happiness is a choice that we make within. God loves us and gives each one of us the ability to fill our lives with love, joy, peace, happiness, and oneness with Him. We need only choose to do so moment by moment and day by day.
It doesn’t matter what our outer circumstances are either, because the Kingdom of Heaven is within us. Don’t spend the rest of your life searching the world for happiness then.
Just look in the mirror and laugh. Just let the happiness flow from your heart, mind, and soul until it fills your life and the lives of all those around you.
Sacrifice of Praise
22 May 2009 7 Comments
in Because Jesus lives I can face tomorrow, God is good all the time
There is a Christian song which has the verse, ‘We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord…’. I never really understood what that meant until I heard Pastor Joel Osteen preaching about it. I tried to write a post about sacrifice of praise but it didn’t really come out the way I wanted it to. But the Pastor was able to put it very well.
“Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name”
(Hebrews 13:15, AMP).
The Bible tells us there are many ways to praise and worship God— but have you ever thought about what it means to offer a sacrifice of praise? It means that we acknowledge God above our circumstances. We live our lives in such a way that we honor and glorify Him no matter what is going on around us. We rejoice in all things.
For example, when somebody offends you and you feel like giving them a piece of your mind, but instead you just smile, do you know what you just did? You were saying with your actions, “I am living at a higher level. I am acknowledging God in every circumstance.” On the freeway, when someone cuts you off and you’re just about to tell them what you think, but instead you look over and smile, that’s giving a sacrifice of praise.
Remember, God promises to dwell among the praises of His people. When you continually offer up praise, you are inviting God’s presence and power into every area of your life!
Enjoy the weekend blogren.
Easter…
09 Apr 2009 13 Comments
in Because Jesus lives I can face tomorrow, God is good all the time
Easter is finally here. A time for us to enjoy a long 4 day weekend but more importantly, a time for us to joyfully remember that God sent His only Son to die for us and if we accept Him as our Saviour, we shall have eternal life.
Enjoy the Easter holiday everyone.
Anger…
02 Apr 2009 14 Comments
in Because Jesus lives I can face tomorrow, God is good all the time, Thoughtful
“And don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry”
Ephesians 4:26, NLT
When I get angry or upset, I tend to lash out at the world. Especially if I am ‘scratched’, which may not necessarily be someone actually deliberately provoking me but something small. Like Rhys may decide to act stubborn and decide to write on the walls with his crayons 2 days after the house has been painted. Boy does he get the fill of my wrath at that point.
I hate doing this so I learnt long time ago, that at such times I need to first cool down before doing anything about it. The other thing was that getting angry or upset would mean you giving the person who caused it control over you. And I love to be in control so I learnt that dissipating it as fast as possible was the only way to get the power back. The techniques: breaking glass, watching a cartoon, listening to music, talking to someone who cares especially him but most importantly prayer. How do you deal with your anger?
This is some inspiration from Joel Osteen concerning anger:
Do you realize how much energy it takes to be bitter or hold a grudge? We only have a certain amount of energy for each day. If we use it for the wrong purposes, focused on the negative, dwelling on who hurt us, we’re not going to have the energy we need for the right purposes. We’re not going to make the best decisions. We’re not going to be as creative. We’re not only doing ourselves a disservice, but we’re doing our family and our friends a disservice.
Remember, you can’t control what people do or say. You can only control yourself. If you’re allowing others to upset you, then you are giving away your power. The Scripture says, “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” The reason many people have no joy or enthusiasm is because they go to bed every night with anger and unforgiveness. When you go to bed like that, with a cluttered mind, focused on the negative, you wake up with the same negative emotions. Don’t let anger and unforgiveness block God’s blessing in your life. Choose to let those things go so you can live in the peace, joy, and power the Lord has for you.
Nothing Can Hold You Back
19 Jan 2009 19 Comments
in Because Jesus lives I can face tomorrow, God is good all the time
“The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree…” (Psalm 92:12).
Have you ever seen a palm tree in the midst of a great storm or hurricane? That tree may be bent so far over that it’s almost touching the ground, but when the wind finally stops, that palm tree bounces right back up. And do you know that while that palm tree is hunched over under the pressure of the storm, it is actually growing stronger?
The reason God said we’d flourish like a palm tree is because He knew there would be difficult times. He knew things would come against us to try to steal our joy and victory. God said, “You’re going to be like a palm tree because the storms of life will come, the winds will blow, but you are going to come right back up again stronger than before.” Nothing can hold you back! No weapon formed against you will ever prosper. No matter what’s happening in the world around you, keep standing. Keep praying. Keep believing. Your brightest days are right out in front of you, and God’s plan is to bring you blessing and victory all the days of your life.
Inspiration from Pastor Joel Osteen
Living Under the Rain of God
19 Dec 2008 12 Comments
in Because Jesus lives I can face tomorrow, God is good all the time
I have been going through a number things lately that have been putting me down but God is good all the time and He is faithful…
This inspiration hit home for me and thought I would share it… again. Continue to praise and worship God and be thankful even through the hard times. I’ve known that for a long time but a reminder is needed once in a while.
God longs for us to be like a well-watered garden, flourishing, full of joy, always in blossom, even during times of famine. In the Bible, the prophet Elijah experienced an extreme drought for three and half years. Even though his circumstances could have easily kept him discouraged, he activated His faith through praising God and thanking Him for all He had done. It wasn’t long before the heavens opened up and provided rain for the people in the land.
When you are in a dry spell, decide to be like Elijah and continue to give God praise. The key to staying flourished and keeping vitality in our lives during dry times is to send up praise. By praising God at all times, what happens naturally with rain accumulating in a cloud will be the same spiritually in our lives. When you keep sending up praise, that cloud, like a rain cloud, can only hold so much before it releases and comes bursting down. It’s a cloud of God’s blessing raining down favor, keeping you protected, giving you good breaks, and making sure you are always in blossom.
When times grow difficult and thoughts of “It’s never going to change” come into your mind, that is when it’s time to switch over into praise and say, “Father, I want to thank You that You’re changing things in my favor.” Remember, God has promised to prosper us even in the desert!
Inspiration from Pastor Joel Osteen
