imakelar

Gratitude

Gratitude is an act that expresses a state of heart that is happy before God. God always takes care of every human being. The act of gratitude is contagious to those around him. Humans rejoice to see each other grateful, and hurt and restless in the midst of a community of people who are always complaining.

Lack of gratitude gives rise to various forms of evil and keeps him from living a righteous life. Thanksgiving should be wholeheartedly and not just a way of life practiced by habit with the excuse of “shame if you are not grateful”.

Gratitude only happens if the people who are there are righteous, because that is where gratitude is expressed. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in all things express your desires to God in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.”

Don’t Focus On The Little Dot.

One day a wise teacher was talking to a group of his students. He then took a wide piece of paper and made a black circle in the center of the paper using a marker. Then, he spread the paper in front of his students and asked about what they saw.

One student immediately replied, “I saw a black dot.” “That’s right,” replied the teacher. “What else are you guys looking at?” Silence soon spread. “Didn’t you see anything else besides this black dot?” he asked. The students answered “no” in unison. “I’m surprised,” said the teacher again. “You guys don’t see the most important thing, which is the paper itself.”

Often times we are deceived by small disappointments and easily forget the many blessings we receive from God. Like that piece of paper, the good things in life are often easily sidelined by the misfortunes that occupy all of our attention.

Instead of focusing on the trials in life, we should start counting the blessings we have received. Count blessings and not difficulties. If we faithfully praise Him, we will not be fooled by the small “dots” that exist in life.

“You have done many things, O LORD my God, Your wonderful deeds and Your purposes for us. Nothing can compare with You! I want to proclaim and say, but the numbers are too great to be counted.”

The Angry Neighbor

“My neighbor seems mad at me,” thought one man. “It seems I’ve done something to annoy him.” Not wanting to drag on, he went to his neighbor to ask what made him like that. When the man asked if he had offended him, the neighbor replied “No!” roughly. The man said to her, “I don’t want any bad feelings between us. If I have done something to offend you, I apologize.”

Since then things have calmed down again. Someone once said, “The more I know humans, the more I love my dogs.” Dogs are loyal, dependable, loving, and quick to forgive and forget. Don’t we wish humans were more like that? But sometimes, even though we’ve tried our best to maintain a good relationship with someone, it just doesn’t work.

There’s a saying, “As much as possible, if it depends on you, live in peace with everyone.” Notice the expression “if it depends on you.” We knows that there are some human problems that cannot be solved. It takes two people to fight; it takes two people to make peace. If we’ve done our part and the problem persists, there’s still a plan to work on.

Do not harbor hatred or retaliate with silent “weapons”. Try to overcome evil with good, and let God solve the problem. The best way to conquer the enemy and anger is with the weapon of love. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink! By doing this you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be defeated by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Survive The Evil World

Everyone admits that the conditions of the world are not getting better day by day, shaking after shaking occurs everywhere, “The nations are noisy, the kingdoms are shaken…” Human behavior is getting out of control because they no longer have a God-fearing heart.

Should believers be carried away by the currents of this world “Therefore we must pay more attention to what we have heard, so that we do not get carried away.” If we try to be like the world, our lives will no longer have any influence, aka fail to be the salt and light of the world.

It is precisely in the midst of such shock and moral degradation that people who dare to make a difference are needed. Indeed, to be a different person is not easy, there are many pressures and challenges that always try to block our steps.

How can we survive and stay safe Always cling to God. “For if you will keep the commandments that I have commanded you to do, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in all the ways he shows, and by sticking to him” then “there is no who will be able to stand against you”.

The Game Of Dominoes

We all know the game of dominoes, maybe even play it often. Domino games are one of the favorite games when you gather with friends.

Something unusual in domino games is that we can win even if we lose. To win, we must discard our cards. Whoever spends all the cards first wins. We have to give to receive, throw away to get, and spend all the cards we have in order to reach the peak of victory.

It’s not like other games that prioritize the high number of values or scores as a determinant of victory. In a game of dominoes, the first person to run out of all his possessions will win.

In general, people have the principle of “Reach for all that you can achieve.” While spiritually mature people should have the principle of “Give all you can give.”

In life, we must first become “meaningless” in order to become “meaningful”. Seeds stored only in barns will mold and rot, but those “thrown” into the ground will grow 30, 60, and 100 times over. “Behold, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains only one grain;”

A Good Hearted Repairman

A father and his young son went to a repair shop to repair a rake. When it was finished, he asked the fare. But the workshop owner replied, “You don’t have to pay. I’m happy to do it for you.”

Feeling bad for receiving such kindness, the father kept pressing for the payment note. On the other hand, the workshop owner kept on refusing. Finally, when the man’s patience was running out, he exclaimed, “Couldn’t you let me do something that makes me relieved?”

The humble workshop owner’s reply was short, but good advice, that joy and happiness can come from “the soul.” relieved.” We too can follow the example of Walter Frederic Adeney who wrote, “When practicing generosity, we must begin with the pain that arises because of the self-sacrifice. But believe that the pain that arises will in turn bear the fruit of peace and joy in our hearts. ”

Let’s always spread love and be generous to others. When we do, we will see that doing good will bring good to ourselves as well as to others. That is a beautiful way to soothe our souls. “A generous person does good to himself, but a cruel person torments his own body.”

Soul That Finds Peace

“Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and your souls will find rest. what I have put on is good and My burden is light.”

A life of carrying too many burdens will make him tired and it will be a relief to have someone to help lift the burden. Lifting can mean removing the existing burden but it can also mean sharing with the existing burden. It could be that life is not strong enough to bear the burden because it is his soul that is not calm.

Everyone can be in the same situation but certain people can panic while others stay calm. The load is light but the yoke on which it is placed or tied is not comfortable, so it is difficult to carry it; felt hurt. Don’t burden your life and others with bad things. A good yoke but too heavy a burden makes a weary, restless soul.

Continuous working time for a long time, even though the work is light, can be a burden in life. In God is not promised a life without a burden and a yoke is not needed, but a calm soul is obtained from the assurance of a comfortable yoke and a light burden — real readiness to work and great strength.

“Didn’t I command you: be strong and be firm in your heart. Don’t be discouraged or discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Who Sow Who Reaps

“He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”

It is undeniable that in this life the law of sowing and reaping applies: whoever sows, he will reap; what is sown will also be reaped. If we sow goodness, we will surely reap goodness. If we sow bad things, we will also reap bad things.

A concrete example of sowing is the act of giving: giving offerings to God or giving something to others. In terms of giving the attitude of the heart must be considered. Do not let us give simply because we expect a return or reward.

After all, the act of giving is like sowing a seed that will one day bear fruit. So the act of giving is not a wasted or useless act, it is a good and appropriate action. “Let us not become weary of doing good, for when the time comes, we will reap, if we do not become weak. Therefore, while there is still opportunity for us, let us do good to everyone, but especially to our friends. faith.”

Never procrastinate to do good. Let the goodness continue to flow from day to day, so that “…the kindness of your heart is known to all.Giving must be willingly: it does not mean giving at will, but giving according to the blessings of God that we have received.

But it is not an easy thing for people whose hearts are attached to money and possessions. Get rid of the stingy, selfish and materialistic nature in us, and be a blessing to others, because what we sow will never be in vain.

The Story Of Two Women

The two women had both been great pianists. Now both live in a stroke care center. The heart attack paralyzed the right side of the first woman’s body, while the second woman suffered from paralysis of the left side of her body.

Seeing the talent of these two women, the head nurse had a brilliant idea. The two of them were invited to play the piano together. The first woman plays with her left hand and the second woman with her right.

It was difficult at first, but with intense practice, they succeeded. Both are able to play beautiful music. They also become close friends and feel life becomes meaningful again.

To do great things, everyone must work together. We are not designed by God to live alone. We are given flaws to depend on and complement each other. Each person is a unique, have different roles and functions, but none of them are made complete, and must work together.

To achieve cooperation, there are two attitudes that need to be avoided. First, low self-esteem. Feeling “I’m useless” because it doesn’t count. Second, the attitude of wanting to live alone. Feeling “I don’t need you” then walk alone.

Let’s live together and help each other. We will experience the beauty of life! “But God has given the members, each in a special way, a place in the body, as He wills.”

A Lifetime Warranty

A woman bought a suitcase with a lifetime warranty. “Whoever breaks it,” said the luggage man, “we’ll either fix it or replace it for free forever.” It’s been 3 years since the woman bought the suitcase. And sure enough, as promised, She has got 2 times free service.

But a few weeks ago she heard that the company was heading for bankruptcy so its future was in doubt. If the company is in doubt, so is the warranty it provides.

Although in this world we can’t always trust human guarantees, there is one promise we can trust. In the Scriptures we find that God promises to be with His people. In Deuteronomy 31 there are words of Moses that reassured Joshua: “For the LORD, he himself will go before you, he himself will be with you, he will not forsake you nor forsake you; do not be afraid, and do not be discouraged.”

This promise is repeated in the New Testament: “For God has said: ‘Never will I forsake you and I will never forsake you.’ Therefore we can confidently say: ‘The Lord is my Helper. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me”.

The promise of God’s endless presence is the key for us to live with confidence and satisfaction. No matter how many promises humans have broken, God’s promises remain valid for all time and forever. Because He is an eternal God, He can give us an eternal guarantee.