Peace be with you

I just meditated on these verses earlier.  We have so many challenges and trials these days and we need to stay focused on what God has commanded us. 

Philippians 4:4-9 (NIV)

 ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 ⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. 

These are commands from the Lord. They are meant to be taken to heart and strictly followed.

To "rejoice" is to feel joy; to experience gladness in a high degree; to have pleasurable satisfaction; to be delighted. Yes we rejoice whenever we receive blessings, when our prayers are answered and we have everything we need.  But God said, rejoice in every situation even in times of troubles.

"Gentleness" is not only to be mild or soft, amiable or tender.  It means having patience in all situation by trusting God no matter what. (I must admit that I am really struggling to be gentle!) Gentleness means knowing how to wait patiently upon God's perfect timing and then we will be closer to Him.

So we should pray with thanksgiving all the time, focus on things that are pleasing to His sight and peace that solely comes from Him will be with us.

Below are some inspiring thoughts and biblical principles from Matthew J. Slick of Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peace of mind is something that we all want.  We all want to be able to rest, to not have to worry, to feel free to enjoy life, family, friends, work, church, hobbies, entertainment, etc.  We want to be able to enjoy ourselves and not be burdened down with worries that rob us of vigor, life, and purpose.

Sometimes when we can't find peace of mind, we get depressed.  We often get angry and lash out at God or someone else near to you.

What do you do to get peace?  I mean real peace in your life.  Where do you start? What do you do?

Well, the best place to start is with God.

In  Philippians 4:6-9,

1. God wants you to have true peace by having you not worry - about anything (act of thinking)
   1. Worry is sin.  It means you are not trusting in God.
   2. God says in verse 6, "Do not be anxious about anything."  That means don't worry.  The word for "anxious" in the Greek here means to be troubled with cares
   3. He hasn't given you that command without you being able to carry it out.
      1. He said to the man with the withered hand, "Stretch forth your hand" (Mark 3:5)
         1. But the man could not -- yet He obeyed and did it!
      2. Because the Holy Spirit is in you, you are able to live by faith, and not worry... no matter what happens.  Because the Spirit empowers you to be faithful, to trust, to yield to the Lord's will.
      3. With the Spirit you are able to trust God beyond your ability to know what will happen in your life.
   4. Matthew 6:25,27,31-34 ~ 25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?  31 So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?'  32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.
   5. 1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety (same word) on him because he cares for you. (NIV)
   6. John 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in me. (NIV)
   7. God doesn't want you to worry because worry means you do not trust God, that you are not taking Him fully at His word. 
2. God wants you to have true peace by praying - about everything (act of doing)
   1. v. 6 "But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
   2. All things in your life are of concern to God
      1. The big and the small: where to move, who to marry, what job to get, even your hobbies, and leisure times.
   3. The peace that God gives you will guard your minds.
   4. The peace that God gives you will strengthen you.
   5. Because of the cross you have access to the throne of God.
      1. which is why it says "with thanksgiving," because of the cross, the proof of God's faithfulness.
      2. In the presence of God there is peace.
      3. Romans 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
      4. Psalm 16:11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
      5. Practice the presence of God - pray!
         1. In prayer you are transformed
         2. By praying you will intern want to think about holy things. That is why... (next point)
3. God wants you to have true peace by meditating on what is holy (act of thinking)
   1. Your minds have been set free from slavery to sin.
      1. Romans 8:6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; (NIV)
   2. God wants you to fill your heart with what is good.
      1. Phil. 4:8, "whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent worthy of praise.  Let your mind dwell on these things." (NASB)
   3. God wants you to think, to meditate on truth, purity, and excellence.
      1. Psalm 119:78 "...I will meditate on your precepts."
      2. The precepts of God, the Word of God, is truth, purity, and excellence.
      3. Meditate on the Word of God so that you might be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
4. God wants you to have true peace by putting into practice what you have learned. (act of doing)
   1. He wants you to...
      1. trust Him for everything
         1. Philippians 4:6a "Don't be anxious for anything."
      2. pray to Him for anything
         1. Philippians 4:6b "but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (NIV)
      3. meditate on what is holy
         1. Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things. (NIV)

Conclusion

These things are written to you so that the God of peace will be with you.  Not simply peace... but the God of peace will be with you.  Ultimately this is about God dwelling with you.  He wants you to be holy, pure, right.  Will you trust Him and not worry?  Will you pray about everything in your life? Will you meditate on the Word of God?  And finally, will you practice, will you do, what God calls you to do?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He Knows My Name"

I am writing this post for my dear friend Jovy. Just last week, her 5 year old son RJ was diagnosed with Leukemia. I was really sadden when I read her FB status.

 

RJ's Condition

BAD NEWS: a) positive for leukemia, ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) type Precursor b) treatment is 3 year chemotherapy with 5 months intensive treatment c) estimate cost 500k for the 1st month 
GOOD NEWS: a) ALL Pre B is the curable type of leukemia common in children b) Doctors consider his case good prognosis with 70% of survival and cure c) RJ has a God who loves, heals and provides for his needs...

 

The pain of a mother especially when it involves her children is unexplainable.  I exactly know the feeling because I've been in the same situation when I gave birth to my first-born son and he had a congenital spine defect. Our family has been through a lot but we survived. All I know is that I was able to rise above my fears because of the support of our family and friends.  They have bombarded God with their prayers! More importantly, Jovy and I shared a common denominator. We have the same God who is loving and merciful to His children.

Mark 11:24 "Therefore I say to you whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." Surely this includes healing for RJ.  The Lord can and He will heal RJ in His own perfect time.  He will provide for all of your needs just as he promised His children.

Jovs, it's your birthday on Friday, November 18 and I pray for God to strengthen you and Popo during this very difficult time. Let me share with you one of my favorite worship songs. 

He Knows My Name

I have a Maker

He formed my heart

Before even time began

My life was in his hands.

I have a Father

He calls me His own

He'll never leave me

No matter where I go

He knows my name

He knows my every thought

He sees each tear that falls

And He hears me when I call.

We belong to God and no one can snatch us from His hands. I may not be able to be with you physically but I will always remember you in my prayers. Happy birthday! Hugs to you :) 

Do not worry

It was a hot and lazy afternoon. I have already picked up the kids from school. I usually give Matt an hour to recharge before we start doing his homework. I was about to take a short rest when I saw this envious sight from our window.

This cat is not ours.  He's a stray cat that kept on coming back to our house.  More than once did we put him in a plastic bag, leave him somewhere far within the village but he still managed to find his way back to our place!  I learned that our maid gave him food once and since then he did not bother to find another place to stay. I hate cats because they scatter their litter anywhere but this cat knows how to handle himself properly.  Until now, he's still with us waiting patiently for our excess food. It's better than throwing them away.

I get more envious of his next position. I smiled to myself. I would love to sleep like that for many many hours!  No worries, no problems!

I was reminded of one of my favorite verses in the Bible...

 Matthew 6:25-34     

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

      ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 

The pictures of the birds and flowers above were taken during our recent trip in the US. They are God's wonderful creations. Indeed He has clothed the flowers splendidly!

I must admit I am a worrier.  I really can't help it especially when it concerns my children.  My son is a special child.  I can't totally erase my fears that when we're gone who will be taking care of him. If only I could be there for him all the time.  But I have a God who is greater than everything and I am sure that He is the One protecting my son today and forevermore.

Times are harder now. We are faced with so many trials and challenges in life. I find encouragement in my husband's strength and positive outlook in life.  He's a very patient man and very cool in handling things. We hold on to God's promises that He will always provide for our needs. He is our Father in heaven who very rich and very generous to His children.

Thank you Lord for blessing us everyday. Increase our faith and teach us to trust in You completely. Amen.