“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
Do not let the shadow of sin continue to shade our future. We can all have the future God has planned for us if we choose to repent and turn to God so that our sins may be wiped out —if we choose to grow and develop a relationship with God, the times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
When the unhelpful past calls, switched it off – delete it. We may need to accept some finite disappointments, but never to lose infinite hope – make it a point to let the disappointments fashion and shape us into a resilient and stronger person for the future; the responsibility for our future is upon each of us and is impacted by our actions going forward, and with the help of God, we will triumph. We do not need the approval of others especially when what they approve of is wrong, and when what we have done is right in the light of the revealed word of God.
Philippians 3:13, “…this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,”
Let’s not be shackled by the past, cut it loose and press forward towards the future!
Forgiveness of sins by God
God is rich in love and mercy. The confessing our sins before God alone and repentance is the key to being forgiven.
It is God’s deep desire to see you turn to Him and receive forgiveness for your sins! “Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.” Isaiah 30:18
Read more of what God said in the passages as quoted from God’s manual for mankind:
“…..Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” Jeremiah 31:3
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
“He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13
In John 8:3-11, an actual story is narrated where a woman was caught in the very act of adultery and they brought this woman before Jesus. Jesus said unto them in verse 7,
“He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
In verse 7
So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”
In verse 9 –verse 11
9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
“He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:19
Titus 2:14 “who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
Jesus told us a parable to demonstrate how our heavenly Father God wants to love, accept and forgive us when we turn to Him. In the parable, Jesus told of the son who took half his dad’s money and ran away, then returned home bankrupt and his father saw his son and was moved with compassion.
Luke 15:20, tells us how the father received his son, .. “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. ..”
That is how God, our heavenly Father sees us, welcomes us, forgives us and loves us even after we’ve really messed up, and then turn back to Him! He is moved with compassion and welcomes us with open arms.
“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.” Isaiah 43:25
“And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Hebrews 10:17
AGAIN… God is rich in love and mercy. The confessing our sins before God alone and repentance is the key to being forgiven.
DO not let the past defines your future. Learned from and leave the past behind – change & be transformed and forge towards the future. ~ Cheong Kok Weng
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:11-12
“But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.” Psalm 103:17-18
“It is a broken spirit you want—remorse and penitence. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not ignore.” Psalm 51:17
East and West will never meet. This is an illustrative portrait of God’s forgiveness – when He forgives our sin, he separates it from us and will not remember it. We need never wallow in the bygones – God has wiped our record clean, when we have a remorseful and repentant heart – putting our trust and faith in Him.
God is the Lawgiver and Judge. God knows our human condition, but our weakness should not be used as a justification for sin. God is merciful, compassionate and is concerned for us. At the Cross of Calvary – when Jesus died for us, God’s mercy and justice met. We need to repent, trust & believe God – His mercy takes everything into account and He will then deal with us compassionately.
……..
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.” James 3:13
Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the good things of the land;
but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Isaiah 1:18-20
God is the God of the second chance and has condescended to come down to our level and asked us to reason with Him (the all wise God – the Infinite God invited us to reason with Him.) If we are willing and obedient , in other words REPENT, He will forgive our sins, if we continue to sin – resist & rebel we will be destroyed. God has spoken, we MUST take heed.
It has been said that a wise man proportions his belief to the evidence. We all have the rights to our own opinions; however facts remain factual even if they were to go against our opinions. God who endowed us with the mind – with sense, reason and intellect among others – has meant that we use it to arrive at the right verdict by weighing all the relevant evidence. Refusing to believe something in the face of facts is not skepticism, it is the height of credulity or if you prefer gullibility. Credulity is belief against evidence, facts and truths. Let us stride forward towards freedom (Jesus said in John 8:32″ And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”) as God has intended– governed by the light of reasons, evidence, knowledge, facts and truths and not live in the shadows of credulity concerning creations around us . Through all of Creations, God’s wisdom, power and majesty is proclaimed clearly and it reverberates loudly (if only we care to listen) throughout the corridors of time. ~ Cheong Kok Weng
The great difficulty is to get modern audiences to realize that you are preaching Christianity solely and simply because you happen to think it true; they always suppose you are preaching it because you like it or think it good for society or something of that sort. Now a clearly maintained distinction between what the Faith actually says and what you would like it to have said or what you understand or what you personally find helpful or think probable, forces your audience to realize that you are tied to your data just as the scientist is tied by the results of the experiments; that you are not just saying what you like. This immediately helps them realize that what is being discussed is a question about objective fact — not gas about ideals and points of view. ~ C.S. Lewis
The flying gurnards are a family, Dactylopteridae, of marine fish notable for their greatly enlarged pectoral fins. The pectoral fins are normally held against the body, but when threatened the fins are expanded in to scare predators. Their name is derived from the French word ‘gurnard’ meaning to grunt, for the grunting sound this fish makes. Since they cannot literally fly though and as they have heavy, protective, scales and another alternative name given by some is – helmet gurnards.
The Rainbow Lorikeet which takes the scientific name of Trichoglossus haematodus, is a species of Australasian parrot. Rainbow Lorikeets are among the most colourful of parrots – a fitting name for these multicoloured birds.
DO click here –>> Rainbow Lorikeets interesting clip.
Rainbow Lorikeets do not have any immediately discernible sexual dimorphic traits. There is little to visually distinguish between the sexes, however to a keen observer of their colouring and behaviour, their dimorphism may be apparent and it is possible to determine the sex of a Rainbow Lorikeet. This process is made infinitely easier when one observes them in pairs.
[Sexual dimorphism (the occurrence in an animal or plant species of two distinct types of individual) is a phenotypic (from Greek phainein, ‘to show’ + typos, ‘type’) difference between males and females of the same species, meaning that there are obvious differences between the male and female of the species.]
God’s creations encircle us. And these wonders reveal much about our Creator. Through creation we have a glimpse of His power, care, wisdom and His majesty. Creation is speaking and crying out to those who will listen…
The flying squirrel cannot fly. Instead, it glides with two furry membranes, called patagia, loosely stretched between its wrists and ankles. The membranes act as a parachute to support the squirrel while jumping from tree to tree.These gliding leaps can exceed 150 feet (46 meters). The flying squirrel also has a flat, furry tail that it uses as a rudder while gliding. The squirrel uses both its tail and membrane to steer to the left or right.
The northern flying squirrel equals in size to a red squirrel, and the southern species is comparable to a chipmunk. Nocturnal mammals, they have large, dark, bulging eyes that are well adapted for night vision.
More than 200 squirrel species live all over the world, with the notable exception of Australia. Squirrels have four front teeth that never stop growing so they don’t wear down from the constant gnawing.
The vital aspect in life is the vital decisions in life. The most vital decision in your life is the most vital aspect in your life – the eternal choice before you is of utmost importance. ~ Cheong Kok Weng ……DON’T exchange your soul for the world.
As JESUS said -what does it profit a man if he gains the world and loses his soul? Our Creator asked us the most vital question in life for us while we are alive on planet earth.
Jesus accomplished the work of creation. He is Preeminent in all of creation, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, as the CREATOR.
Colossians 1:16 says of Jesus – For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
God the Father as saying to His Son, [God the Son is of the same essence as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. God the Father and God the Son in the TRINITY shows us the relational dimension within the Godhead.] in Hebrews 1:8-10
But to the Son He says:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
And:
“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
“You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands”.
.. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:36-38 #Jesus asked and
said.
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