Wednesday, 15 April 2020

Proverbs 15:15 – For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast. (NLT)

“Woe is me!” or “why me?” Have you ever heard someone say that? Life is full of troubles; family member gets sick, the car breaks down, and the roof leaks. Sometimes our complaints begin with “If only I had…” and so on. The list of woes can be endless. Many times, there is a reality for our wishes. However, if we allow our hearts to wallow in all the complaints, we put ourselves on a path of becoming continually discontented. The word “despondent” has the meaning of “in low spirits from loss of hope or courage.” Christians know that God hears the pleas of the believers. He understands our troubles and provides in time of need. In fact, God reminds us through the Bible that every day has trouble in it. This is part of life since the fall of man. But if our hearts are hopeful and joyful, the verse says, “life is a continual feast.”

Apostle Paul taught the believers how to achieve the joyful heart in the Book of Philippians;

4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9 NLT)

A heart that only think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise is a grateful heart. Because when we submit to GOD and are thankful for what He has done, our hearts will learn not to be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, we present our requests to GOD knowing that our good Father knows best. A heart that submits to God and righteous before GOD will help us to have good wisdom to guard our words, attitude, and actions. How we look at our troubles makes all the difference in the world. Do we complain about them, feel bitter toward them, blame others on them, and imagine a few extra? Do we allow the devil to drag our spirit down to the pit of despair and live a defeated life? Even bring others to fall along with us? Or do we set our eyes on God and in prayer, thanking Him for the numberless blessings HE has graciously given, and trusting Him to deliver us from all troubles – the righteous may have many afflictions, but the Lord delivers him from them all (Psalm 34:19).

Let us Pray:

Dear Jesus,
We confess if our hearts have not been submitting to You, though we know that You love us so much and You want us to live a cheerful life. You, O Lord, sovereign in our troubles and affairs. Please, Lord, forgive us if we forget the truth and need to be reminded. Lord guides us daily on how to submit to You in order that we may live a joyful life in Christ. As we know that all things work together for good to those who love You, to those who are called according to Your purpose as written in Romans 8:28, so we say, “In everything … give thanks — no matter what situation we face.”
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Ps. Wallace Ong

xxx

每日灵粮
15/4/20
作者：王振威传道
箴15:15
困苦人的日子、都是愁苦．心中欢畅的、常享丰筵。

“我真是不幸！”或“为什么是我？”你有听人如此说过吗？生活总是充满了烦恼；家庭成员生病，汽车发生故障，屋顶漏水。有时，我们总是如此的抱怨“只要我有……”等等。麻烦的清单可能是无止境的。但是，如果我们让自己的心沉溺于这些抱怨中，那么我们就会陷在无尽的不满的道路中。 “失望者”一词的含义是“由于失去希望或勇气而情绪低落”。基督徒知道上帝听到信徒的恳求。祂了解我们的麻烦并及时提供帮助。实际上，上帝通过圣经提醒我们每天都会有麻烦。自从人类堕落以来，麻烦已成为我们生命中的一部分。但是如果我们的内心充满希望和喜乐，那么就会如这句经文所说的：“我们的生命就常享丰筵”

使徒保罗在腓立比书中教导信徒们如何获得喜乐的心。

腓立比书 4:4-9
4你们要靠主常常喜乐．我再说、你们要喜乐。5当叫众人知道你们谦让的心。主已经近了。6应当一无挂虑、只要凡事借着祷告、祈求、和感谢、将你们所要的告诉　神。7神所赐出人意外的平安、必在基督耶稣里、保守你们的心怀意念。
8弟兄们、我还有未尽的话．凡是真实的、可敬的、公义的、清洁的、可爱的、有美名的．若有甚么德行、若有甚么称赞、这些事你们都要思念。9你们在我身上所学习的、所领受的、所听见的、所看见的、这些事你们都要去行．赐平安的　神、就必与你们同在。

一个感恩的心就是一个经常思想值得赞美的事物的心。因为当我们顺服神并为祂所成就的事而感恩时，我们的心就学会一无挂虑，并且在任何情况下，我们会借着祷告,祈求和感谢，将我们所要的告诉　神。因为我们知道我们的天父最了解我们。在上帝面前顺服上帝和义的心将帮助我们拥有最高的智慧来保守我们的言语，态度和行为。我们如何看待自己的问题将使世界变得与众不同。我们是否抱怨别人，对他人有苦毒的心，责难他人？我们是否允许魔鬼将我们的灵魂拖到绝望的境地，过着失败的生活？甚至把别人也一起绊倒？抑或我们注目于上帝，并祈祷，感谢祂所赐予的无数的祝福，并相信祂能将我们从所有的麻烦中拯救出来-义人多有苦难．但耶和华救他脱离这一切。（诗篇34:19）。

让我们祈祷：
亲爱的耶稣，
我们承认，我们的心没有降服于你。尽管我们知道你是如此爱的我们，并且你希望我们过一个喜乐的生活。耶和华啊，你是掌管我们所有的问题与事情的主。主啊，求你原谅我们，如果我们忘记了真理并需要你的提醒。上帝啊，求你每天指导我们如何降服于你，好使我们可以在基督里过着喜乐的生活。就如罗马书8：28所说的“我们晓得万事都互相效力、叫爱　神的人得益处、就是按他旨意被召的人。”所以，“凡事谢恩-无论我们面对任何的境遇。”
我奉耶稣的名祷告，阿们。