All things for good and Scottish Metrical Psalms - Psalm 147

Dear Friends,

Thanks for stopping by. Thanks for your prayers and encouragements.

I am thankful to God for working all things for His glory and our good.

I just reread this short except and felt much encouraged to remember God's love and faithfulness in working all things for His glory and our good even when we don't understand it. Our faith is based on Truths that are revealed in the Words of God. God is unchanging and His Words stands forever.

Hope this excerpt taken from Thomas Watson’s “All Things For Good”, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1991, 1st Published 1663, pages 25 to 26 will encourage you too:

To know that nothing hurts the godly, is a matter of comfort; but to be assured that ALL things which fall out shall co-operate for their good, that their crosses shall be turned into blessings, that showers of affliction water the withering root of their grace and make it flourish more; this may fill their hearts with joy till they run over.

“We know.” It is not a matter wavering or doubtful. The apostle does not say, We hope, or conjecture, but it is like an article in our creed, WE KNOW that all things work for good.

Hence observe that the truths of the gospel are evident and infallible. A Christian may come not merely to a vague opinion but to a certainty of what he holds. The Spirit of God imprints heavenly truths upon the heart as with the point of a diamond.

We have arrived at a holy confidence. Let us not rest in scepticism or doubts, but labour to come to a certainty in the things of religion. It concerns us to be well grounded and confirmed in it.

So all God’s providences, being divinely tempered and sanctified, work together for the best of the saints. He who loves God and is called according to His purpose, may rest assured that every thing in the world shall be for his good.

The result of the text is this. ALL THE VARIOUS DEALINGS OF GOD WITH HIS CHILDREN DO BY A SPECIAL PROVIDENCE TURN TO THEIR GOOD.

“All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant” (Psalm 25:10). If every path has mercy in it, then it works for good.

May God enable us to praise Him always as we remember His love, goodness and mercies to us daily and how He is working all things for His glory and our good, and all His paths are mercy and truth.

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD's name is to be praised. Psalm 113:3
(my friend, Sau, took this lovely picture at Saipan)

Hope you enjoy this lovely video on Psalm 147:1-11 posted on Youtube:

Psalm 147:1-11

1 Praise ye the Lord; for it is good
praise to our God to sing:
For it is pleasant, and to praise
it is a comely thing.

2 God doth build up Jerusalem;
and he it is alone
That the dispersed of Israel
doth gather into one.

3 Those that are broken in their heart,
and grievèd in their minds,
He healeth, and their painful wounds
he tenderly up-binds.

4 He counts the number of the stars;
he names them ev'ry one.
5 Great is our Lord, and of great pow'r;
his wisdom search can none.

6 The Lord lifts up the meek; and casts
the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord, and give him thanks;
on harp his praises sound;

8 Who covereth the heav'n with clouds,
who for the earth below
Prepareth rain, who maketh grass
upon the mountains grow.

9 He gives the beast his food, he feeds
the ravens young that cry.
10 His pleasure not in horses' strength,
nor in man's legs, doth lie.

11 But in all those that do him fear
the Lord doth pleasure take;
In those that to his mercy do
by hope themselves betake.

If you are in Singapore, please come and visit my Church, Pilgrim Covenant Church, for worship and fellowship: https://pilgrim-covenant.com/

Details for worship services:  https://pilgrim-covenant.com/#view-2-service

Or you can join us online for Morning and Evening worship services: https://pilgrim-covenant.com/join-us/online-links/

Thank you for stopping by. Have a blessed day! 

Best Regards

Nancie

8 November 2008

Thank God for the joy of serving God

Dear Friends,

Thanks for stopping by. Thanks for your prayers and encouragements.

Thank God for seeing us through another week.

♥ I am so thankful to God for giving me the joy of enjoying nature and photography. About 1 year ago I began brisk-walking for health purposes. By God's grace, I began to enjoy flowers, plants, birds, nature, etc in many wonderful ways. I started to use a digital camera to capture some of these beauties of God's creations. They remind me of what a mighty God we serve!

♥ I am thankful to God that I can serve Him by making some Homemade Gifts for my friends as well as to sell on my Homemade Bookmarks, Cards and Gifts website.

Here are some samples of the Homemade Gifts that I am selling. 

Cards




















Bookmarks






































Calendars 2009












Thank God that I can have the joy of serving Him in little ways like these.

♥ I am thankful to God for providing precious people in my life ie. my family, church, friends and blogging friends who love and care for me in their very wonderful ways. These are tokens of God's love for me and I treasure very much.

♥ I am thankful to God once again for all of you, my dear blogging friends and visitors. I have been so greatly blessed by all of you and I thank God upon every remembrance of you. It is wonderful to read of how God is guiding and blessing you in your walk with our Lord and it encourages me in my walk with God too. Thanks again for your prayers and encouragements.

May God continue to bless you with His love and mercies in many wonderful ways every day :)

If you are in Singapore, please come and visit my Church, Pilgrim Covenant Church, for worship and fellowship: https://pilgrim-covenant.com/

Details for worship services:  https://pilgrim-covenant.com/#view-2-service

Or you can join us online for Morning and Evening worship services: https://pilgrim-covenant.com/join-us/online-links/

Thank you for stopping by. Have a blessed day! 

Best Regards

Nancie

6 November 2008

Lessons from a storm - the voice of Jesus in the storm

Dear Friends,

Thanks for stopping by. Thanks for your prayers and encouragements.

I am thankful to God that I can continue to serve Him through this blog. One of my mission is to encourage others by sharing God's goodness and blessings and also encouragements from God's Words.

Trust you have had a good weekend :-)

I am very thankful to God for blessing my worship and fellowship in church yesterday. I was greatly ministered to by the Word of God. A visiting minister from Australia, Pastor Coleborn, spoke to us on "Lessons from a Storm" (Matthew 14:22-33).

Matthew 14:22-33 is the passage on how one day the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ found themselves in the midst of a storm. They were in a ship in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves. It was surely a very frightening experience. Our Lord Jesus Christ came in their hour of need and fear and assured them of His presence with them. He said those very comforting words in verse 27 "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." Then the Lord recounted to us the well-known passage on how Peter walked on the water when he saw the Lord. But along the way when Peter saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, "Lord, save me" v30. And immediately our Lord Jesus Christ stretched forth his hand, and caught Peter, and said unto him, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" v31. The Lord then calmed the storm.

Pastor Coleborn exhorted on the following 3 encouraging points:

1. There are storms in our life.

In life we may face various challenges, difficulties and troubles. These are part and parcel of living in a fallen world.

We experience stress, disappointment, quarrels, sicknesses, deaths, etc.

We also have remaining corruptions in us and various temptations to sin which we battle with daily.

The storms in our life are real.

There will be storms in our personal life, our family, our work, our church and even when serving God faithfully. So even the disciples found themselves in a storm one day.

2. But we are not alone.

The One Who is Mighty comes among us and is able to keep us and care or us and watch over us.

He sees all that we are going through and He has never leave us even for a moment (Hebrews 13:5).

3. There is a Mighty Helping Hand with us.

Peter cried out to the Lord to help him when he was sinking (v30).

Likewise, we must learn to cry out to the Lord in our troubles. Our Lord is able to help us. He can calm any storms in our life.

Our Lord Jesus Christ has died on the cross to give us peace, good will and good cheer. He has overcome the world and death. His death is not in vain!

We need to look beyond our troubles and our difficulties to the One Who is in control and Who has the power to calm every storm.

When we forget the Lord and see only our circumstances then we will find ourselves sinking like Peter.


Thank God for this very comforting and encouraging sermon. How thankful I am that the Lord is with me in the storms of my life which are many!

I am thankful to God for the assurance that He has loved me with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3.

He has promised that He will never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5).

He bids me to come to Him when I am weary and laden of sins and burdens in this life (Matthew 11:28-30).

He promised that His grace is sufficient for me (2 Corinthians 12:9).

In His mercies, He is working all things for His glory and my good even when I don't see it or understand it that way (Romans 8:28).

I am thankful to God for the comfort of His Words and His presence with me daily. Thank God that He gives me great joy in waking up each morning, to commune with Him and to live for Him and serve Him.

Are you going through some difficulties right now? Are you facing terrible storms in your life? Fear not, the Lord is with you! Call upon Him and He is able to work His ways for you or preserve you through the storms so that you will emerged more than a conqueror through Him Who loved you and died on the cross for you.

May we continue to find God our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1) at all times and especially during the storms in our life. May we know more and more of His love, mercies and faithfulness. May He deepens our love and devotions to Him each day and enable us to live gratefully for Him and serve Him joyfully all the days of our life until He calls us home to be with Himself where there will be no more tears, sicknesses, pains, sufferings, etc.

Matthew 14
22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.

25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

If you are in Singapore, please come and visit my Church, Pilgrim Covenant Church, for worship and fellowship: https://pilgrim-covenant.com/

Details for worship services:  https://pilgrim-covenant.com/#view-2-service

Or you can join us online for Morning and Evening worship services: https://pilgrim-covenant.com/join-us/online-links/

Thank you for stopping by. Have a blessed day! 

Best Regards

Nancie

3 November 2008

Enjoying nature and photography : My therapeutic hobbies

Dear Friends,

Thanks for stopping by. Thanks for your prayers and encouragements.

♥ I am so thankful to God that I am able to go for an outing today with 2 church friends. We went to Changi Airport to see some flowers exhibition. We had a good time of fellowship.

♥ Thank God for the joy of enjoying His creations. God's creations always remind me of His majesty and power. He Who creates us will also take care of us.

♥ Thank God for giving me the joy of photography and to be able to capture some of the beauties of God's creations. These are the flowers I took at the exhibition today.

♥ Thank God for His love for us and His instructions to us on how we are to reflect His love in 1 Corinthians 13.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (KJV)

4 Charity suffereth long,
and is kind;
charity envieth not;
charity vaunteth not itself,
is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly,
seeketh not her own,
is not easily provoked,
thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity,
but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things,
believeth all things,
hopeth all things,
endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)

4 Love is patient,
love is kind.
It does not envy,
it does not boast,
it is not proud.
5 It is not rude,
it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
6 Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth.
7 It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.

May God continue to bless you with His love in many wonderful ways every day :)

If you are in Singapore, please come and visit my Church, Pilgrim Covenant Church, for worship and fellowship: https://pilgrim-covenant.com/

Details for worship services:  https://pilgrim-covenant.com/#view-2-service

Or you can join us online for Morning and Evening worship services: https://pilgrim-covenant.com/join-us/online-links/

Thank you for stopping by. Have a blessed day! 

Best Regards

Nancie

30 October 2008

Finding meaning in loving others and helping them

Dear Friends,

Thanks for stopping by. Trust you have had a good weekend.

I am late this week to post my Mission4Monday but here I am anyway :-)

I am thankful to God for giving me strength to walk with Him and serve Him.

Having bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness) means I am more prone to mood-swings than the average person. I am still learning to recognize early symptoms and how to manage my condition better so that I can be more functional.

But whenever symptoms or suspected symptoms surfaced, there can still be fears and discouragement. I have been feeling very very tired the last few days. I tried to rest but I also couldn't help doing certain things. Especially when it comes to serving God and His people :-)

But I know that I must really learn to slow down and pace myself more moderately. I know from painful experiences that if I do not pace myself carefully, I may over-strain and burn-out, and then clinical depression will follow. A burn-out servant is of little use!

I am thankful to God for encouraging me through His Words as I seek Him during devotion every morning and evening. I also pray and talked to our Lord throughout the day. Thank God that He is with us always!

I am thankful to God for enabling my friend, Marja Bergen, to write her experiences and God's goodness to her in her book "A Firm Place to Stand".

I found the following excerpts very encouraging and trust she will not mind me sharing these portions with you.

It is encouraging to remember that each new day brings an opportunity to pick ourselves up, by the grace of God and move ahead. Nothing that has happened yesterday is so bad that we can't leave it behind and press on in our journey.

I am thankful to God that I can continue to serve Him through this blog as I journal God's goodness and mercies to me daily in managing bipolar disorder and the other challenges in my life.

The knowledge that God loves us and is working all things for His glory and our good, brings great comfort to me personally and gives me courage to face each day no matter how good or how bad it may be. Learning to love others like the way God loves me brings me greatest satisfaction and enable me to find meaning in life, just like the way Marja did. May you too find great joy and satisfaction in God as you seek to do His will and rest in His faithfulness, love and mercies.


Excerpts taken from Marja Bergen's "A Firm Place To Stand":

"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.Philippians 3:13-14

Each new day brings an opportunity to pick myself up and move ahead. It's a fresh start, a clean slate. The past is history.

Nothing that happened yesterday is so bad I can't leave it behind and, at least for today, look to what is ahead. I don't want to look way out into the distant future. The next few hours are all that matter now. What will I do today? How will I live today?... This is the day the Lord has made....

As I go about my daily activities, I thought endlessly about what was important in life and how I would like to use my time. I decided to give instead of take; I wanted to make instead of use. I reached the conclusion that I wanted the world to be a better place after I died because I had been there...

Once I had found God and my spiritual journey had begun, my outlook in life quickly changed. My new discovery of how God loved me and had a purpose for my life gave me a great joy. It filled me up.

I learned from my Bible readings how God wanted me to love others as He loved me. This was my desire. I wanted to give to others what God has given to me. I felt called to follow Jesus' model.

During my morning prayers, I asked God to fill me with his love and help me share it with others.

Jesus said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive' (Acts 20:35). This was true for me. Giving of myself was healing, and I became happier. Eventually, God's love led me to a life I could never have imagined possible in my early years as a Christian. Jesus gave me opportunities to serve that, at one time, would have been far beyond me.

And, I made another discovery: heirlooms made of cloth and yarn do not compare to caring for those around us. I didn't have to do anything grand. I didn't have to be famous or make a lot of money. Keeping Christ's love in my heart as I spent time with others and worked for their welfare was enough.

I learned to understand that whatever I do for others, I do for God. And when I give to others, I'm no longer in the victim's role.

I found meaning in having compassion and helping others. I often look back at what Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30: 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.' I have found the rest Jesus spoke of, and today I carry the burden of Jesus of supporting and encouraging others. This has given my life deep meaning.

I walk with God and let God lead. The unfolding adventure is a beautiful thing, one long mystery tour. I don't know where God will take me next, but I don't need to be afraid. 'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.' Jeremiah 29:11. My life is in God's hands."

If you are in Singapore, please come and visit my Church, Pilgrim Covenant Church, for worship and fellowship: https://pilgrim-covenant.com/

Details for worship services:  https://pilgrim-covenant.com/#view-2-service

Or you can join us online for Morning and Evening worship services: https://pilgrim-covenant.com/join-us/online-links/

Thank you for stopping by. Have a blessed day! 

Best Regards

Nancie

28 October 2008