Author: Sis Mhay

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Psalms 103:11-12

David was a shepherd before he became a king. During his days as a shepherd, he had to lead his flock searching for green pasture. Some places that he led them to were really far from where they lived, so he had to stay overnight there. While in the open space during night time, he probably laid down on the grass, and when he looked up into the sky would have seen all the little stars twinkling; during day break he could see the sun rising and setting during the evening.

David was amazed how beautiful the physical world is, but his imagination went deeper than that. He realized the world is God’s creation, which reflected His glory. The world is a reflection of God’s attribute and our lifetime experience can be enriched by what’s happening in this world. David likened the extent of God’s love to the height between heaven and earth, and the distance between sunrise and sunset.

The nearest planet to earth is moon, which is no less than 450,000 km away while the star nearest to the sun is 40 trillion km. Indeed, it is a distance that we cannot fathom! In perspective, the sunrise-sunset phenomena is caused by the earth rotating round the sun rather than the actual movement of the sun itself. It is hard to imagine if one can measure the distance from one edge of the sky to another edge!

It is important to remind ourselves of the extent of God’s love; He forgives our sin, He provides us with a refuge and is our fortress, and bless us with many gifts even though we are not worthy of them. He loves us while we are still sinners and gives us a chance to be reconciled to Him. The magnitude of His love can never be physically measured. While David used the height between heaven and earth, and the distance from east to west to illustrate the breadth and depth of His love.

As Christians, we experience the full extent of His love at the cross. At the cross, where Jesus was crucified; He willingly took upon Himself our sin so that we can be redeemed from eternal death. We can only understand God’s love for us through His revelation and not by our own human understanding. By faith, we have received the love of God. As we walk closely with Him, let us continue to abide and experience His endless love.

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

Those ordinary people like us who study the life and works of Paul will be amazed by how patient he was when comes to handling physical and emotional hardship. His determination to persevere through hard times, and at times through life-threatening situations was due to his unwavering dedication to do God’s work. Some of Paul’s team members who could not withstand the severity of the hardship eventually left him but Paul fought on; although he felt disheartened but he did not surrender and called it quits!

We know about three groups of people; the first are trouble-makers, the second are those who run away from problems and the third are fighters who confront troubles head-on. The third is a rare breed but those with such an attribute will be very successful in life. What makes Paul so special and different from other people? Is he really boasting when he said he “could do all things”? In fact when he was making such a remark, he was really in deep trouble. Paul said, “I can do all things through (Jesus) who strengthens me.”

God’s grace and mercy are sufficient for each and everyone who trusts Him. He will not lead us into a situation which is too tough for us to handle nor is he leaving us to fight a battle all by ourselves. He leads us into difficult situations so that we can come to appreciate His mightiness; it is when we become powerless we realize God’s limitless power and wisdom. Let us therefore remind ourselves that we serve a God who is omnipresent and omnipotent; nothing is impossible for Him.

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

We leave behind our old lives and are entering to our new lives. All of us will be embarking on another journey and to some, such journey will be a new experience and a journey into the unknown. This sort of encounter is liken to one attempting to drive in a foreign territory and find himself in unfamiliar surrounding. Indeed, we do not know what lies ahead; the road can be treacherous, either steep or happens to have a sharp curve round the corner, or bumpy with a lot of potholes and is accident-prone.

But Christians with God’s leading will not be daunted and anxious because we can claim His promise, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Even though we still do not know the way and what will happen next, we know for sure the person who leads us and will be helping us if we stumble. He is God, our provider!

What must we do then in order to live a fruitful and purposeful life? First and foremost, we need to know what we are aiming for and set our priority right; embarking on a journey without knowing the final destination is like a rudderless ship in the middle of the ocean, drifting aimlessly and is at the mercy of the wave and tide. In perspective, one who is without any principle in life will be easily influenced by the pattern of the world, values of which are contrary to God’s way.

Secondly, once we have set our goals, we ought to know how to reach there. However, a lot of people will do the opposite; they do not know what is their final destination and whatever they plan for will go to waste because of a lack of pre-set objective in life. Thirdly, one who is morally excellent will invariably have a lot of success in life. As a result, it is important to be virtuous by having such attributes as trustworthiness, faithfulness and humility.

Fourthly, seek God’s leading. Just like the Israelites who had the pillars of cloud and fire as well as the ark of covenant to lead them, we Christians have the word of God as the lamp to light our path. The more we spend time with God in prayer and personal devotion, the clearer we see the path leading towards spiritual maturity. Fifthly, be patient and persevere, never stop trying but press on towards the finishing line. Let’s forget about the past and look towards the future. Whatever we think and say, it should be with the future in mind.

Pray ye therefore for God’s blessing to be upon each and everyone. Indeed, the best is yet to come and this new year will be the year God makes us fulfill our fullest potential.

“What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all you have is from God, why act as though you are so great, and as though you have accomplished something on your own?”

1 Corinthians 4:7 (TLB)

We’ve talked about how trusting in God’s goodness helps you face life’s struggles.

But what happens when you start thinking you earned the good things in your life, forgetting goodness comes from God?

In Luke 12, Jesus tells the story of a rich man who was very successful but didn’t give God any of the credit for his prosperity. And so God tells the rich man, “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?” Jesus finishes the story by saying, “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God” (Luke 12:20-21 NLT).

Prideful ingratitude is the sin that got Satan kicked out of heaven, and it’s the source of all sins. When you stop being grateful to God, you get into trouble: “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused” (Romans 1:21 NLT).

The problem with some self-made people is that they end up worshipping themselves. They may think, “Wait a minute; I built this business with my bare hands.” But who gave you your hands? They say, “I thought up the business plan totally by myself.” But who gave you your mind? They claim, “I worked for where I am today by the sweat of my brow.” But who gave you the ability to work so hard?

Everything you have in life—the ability to see, hear, and eat, your freedom and thoughts—you owe to God. You would not take your next breath if it weren’t for the goodness of God.

Ingratitude is one of the roots of atheism too; when you’re ungrateful, you start dismissing or even denying what God has done. And that’s just a short step from denying that God even exists.

Yet the truth is you can see the presence of God everywhere you look: “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God” (Romans 1:20 NLT).

If you start to doubt God’s goodness, just take a step outside your door and look around. You can see God’s goodness throughout his creation!

Malachi 3:6 (WEB)
“For I, Yahweh, don’t change;
therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

As we begin a brand new year, it is important for us to be reminded of this simple truth… The Lord our God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Every promise that He has made is secure and will last forever. Since we live in a world that is constantly changing, the promise of our Father’s rock-solid commitment to us is very reassuring.

Today is a new day of a new year for us to be able to experience the Lord’s continued faithfulness in our lives. He will never leave us or let us down. He loves us with all His heart and each one of His promises that is true today will be true in a million years from now.

I pray that this truth will bring a deeper level of comfort and security to each one of us. May we look forward to all of the ways that our Father will show Himself faithful to us in this New Year. May this new year be blessed beyond imagination for you!