Gracious living

Finally there is a time I can do my blogging now; it has been a long time because there are a lot of things in my mind nowadays. I have this bad habits, which is do my thinking and thoughts on rough paper, then I just chunk them away, including the sermons I copied. Today is Saturday and there is no BB, because of the polling day. So I managed to find some time to tidy up the "paper work" I have.

In the mids of tidying up the paper work, I found this sermon, and I find that it is really good, and do not want to keep into my stash of good stuff, and here is the sermon.

By Rev Dr Ngoel Foong Nghian,
Psalms 1:1 - 6

In everyday of our life today, there is a lot of advertisement in self-improvement, like diet, facial, spa and lots more, the targeted group is also corporate people, and successful in the business aspects, another targeted group is studies.

The people don't care about the cost they are just so willing to pay for it, these programs does not educate the inner self or being improvement. In Christian improvement are very important aspects, despite of interior or exterior. In verse 3, God paint us a gracious living and stability in life, not in terms of material wealth, is about prosperity, it means peace and joy.

2 keywords to 'planted' and 'rooted'. Quality of life is how well you are planted and rooted, which is righteous and knows the wicked. The righteous is these who wanted to follow God's instruction for the wicked are those who deny it.

Psalms is address to the believers of Christ and telling us to take faith in life.

Everyday we have to make a choice not to go the wrong way; it takes a discipline and the determination to go to the right way. How can we follow the right way? The answer is to take note that how you are planted and rooted yourself

Socialize:
Socalise needs to be careful and watch for those wicked influence. 3 questions to think

1. Those mock the church, blasphemy the church and mock at your faith.

2. Are there those peers, you keep who encourage you to compromise with God and let you and temp you to sin against God.

3. Are there coy you keep have no good things to say about people and judgmental to people, no good of confirmation and they are like to tear people apart

You must be watchful to those people, do not reject them , just be watchful as those can influence you.

Be Rooted well
We need to make TIME for reflection, we need to disengage ourselves for the world, and get away for the voice of the world, the world has a lot of stuff contradict to the God's word. When we meditate and pre-occupy with thoughts and nature of God, from Philippians 4:8, shows that we should meditate the law of Lord, and tell us to think our mind in all those things and that let God to enter our life to shape our souls.

When we meditate the goodness of God, we are refreshing. In Singapore we are so drive to the wall, and some times we get the wrong things to refresh. We just need that quietness to be fresh. In life we step in the mine filed of wrong decision if we listen to God's field, we will step less into the wrong decision, and have gracious living and happy and meaningful. Even thought these are bad decision.

In the TIMES magazine, really dovetail the happiness in life and to the Philippians

1. Count your blessings.
2. Practice acts of kindness to one another
3. Enjoy it, enjoy everything, don’t rush it, and just enjoy it.
4. Thank your mentor
- Those who teaches you directly and indirectly, who shapes you and make difference in your life.

5. Learn to forgive.
- Don't carry your bitterness
- 9 out the e10 who hurt you, does not know that they hurt you.
- Let it go
- Delete the bad things, just like the computer.
- Move on in life

6. Invest time and engage in friends and family
- A man says that he have a lot of faithful friends. They are the one who is with you.

7. Look after your body, physical and mental health.
- Trust in the lord, and give your worries to the Lord, because God will give you wisdom.

8. Develop strategy to take care your stress
- Life is not a bed of roses, so plan the upcoming stress.
- Before Jesus die, he is there to equip the disciples.