Celebrate What's Right with Your World

There's so much beauty in this world God created. When was the last time this thought crossed your mind? Well, I had the delightful opportunity to have my senses recharged and my tired mind refreshed once again after watching a short video called, "Celebrate What's Right With The World". This is the vision statement of National Geographic, a magazine few of us will have in our range of interests. Through a wonderful collage of images and shots, photographer Dewitt Jones captures beauty so pure and simple, in nature and in people. I'm challenged about my vision, my perceptions and my world view. All these colour my world.

We're caught so often in trying to fix what's wrong with this world, we fail to celebrate what's right with it. Do we believe people can change? That things can change? For the better, of course. If we believe it, we will see it.

Can we do that this week? Celebrate what's right with your world.

"He (God) has made everything beautiful in its time. He has set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." (Ecclesiates 3:11)

How Can I Keep from Singing

When was the last time you burst into song? You know what I mean... not just because you have to sing but because you want to sing. And it has nothing to do with whether you have a good voice or whether you have an audience listening. It's a song from your heart -- an expression of gratitude, of joy and delight.

Some of us have stopped singing. Maybe you're going through troubled times, maybe you've lost your step, maybe you're just too tired to try again... but you know what? God gives us songs even in the night (Job 35:10). He knows what you're going through and He does not forget His Word and His promises. That's why we can still sing.

Chris Tomlin's song expresses it well with this chorus...

"How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your praise
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing"

May the Lord "put a new song in your mouth, a hymn of praise to our God." (Psalm 40: 3)

What's on your mind?

I'm so glad that Senior Pastor is challenging the church to memorise scriptures. Not just a verse or two but whole chapters of Psalms. With a few skipped verses here and there, I have been able to memorise some of my favourite Psalms like Psalm 1, 8, 16 and 23.

I have since been inspired to add Psalms 63, 84, 90, 91 and 103 to the storehouse of my memory. What about Psalm 119? I think I need another big dose of inspiration from hearing Senior Pastor recite all 176 verses from this longest Psalm! But let's take up the challenge of memorising Scripture.

Psalm 16:8 says, "I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. "

How can we set the Lord always before us?

Memorising scriptures help us keep God's Word with us all the time. We are thus able to meditate on it day and night, with or without the Bible at hand with us (Joshua 1:8). This is the key to successful Christian living.

Let's revive the interest in scripture memory. It is an indispensable discipline in spiritual formation for a young Christian.

After 40 Days

40 days of corporate spiritual discipline, of fasting, prayer and reading the Word of God. No games, no TV, these were but samples of the "toys" that frequently threaten to eat up our time.

We gave God total freedom in the one hour set aside each day for Him, shutting out every other competing agenda. This was so that we would begin to develop a taste and appreciation of the fundamental building blocks of Christian life.

So what's next after 40 days? What will our schedules look like after the "corporate campaign"?

Our hour of devotion time is just what we set aside as non-negotiable - we will give it to God, no exceptions. Yet it is important to open our calendar and ask God, "Holy Spirit, tell me what I should do with the other 23 hours?"

The truth of the matter is, ALL of our lives belong to God - every second of it. We do not segment our lives into blocks of which belong to God, and which belong to us. We learn to ask God what we need to do for every second we breathe.

Sleep? Play games? Sure! Let's do it with freedom as we seek God's agenda. We should not live life in a legalistic manner.

Psalm 90:12 says, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

As we prepare for the new week ahead, let's open up our calendar and go to God in prayer first to organise our days for us.