Posted in Future, God's Power, Hope, tagged Deuteronomy 31 on October 24, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. – Deuteronomy 31:6
My professor of Prayer and Spiritual Life at Asbury Seminary had a saying that has stuck with me over the years:
“I may not know what the future holds,
but I know who holds the future
and He holds my hand” – Dr. Thomas A. Carruth, 1979
Posted in Assurance, Belief, Happy, Hope, Quotes, Shawn Achor, tagged Proverbs 15, Psalm 118, Romans 08 on September 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »
“All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.” — Proverbs 15:15
Secular thinkers have discovered an important fact known by the sages long ago — Happiness is found before not after “success”.
“The formula is clear: Work harder, then you’ll be successful, then you’ll be happier. When I asked some of my Harvard students, their answer was easy: “I’m working … now so I can be happy when … [fill in the blank with a six figure banking job, make a scientific breakthrough, get into medical school, etc.].”
But here’s what these brilliant students often forget: Getting into Harvard was supposed to make them happy….
It’s hard to find happiness after success if the goalposts of success keep changing.
Now for the good news … If you reverse the order of the formula, you end up with greater happiness and greater success rates … If you cultivate happiness while in the midst of your struggles, work, at school, while unemployed or single, you increase your chances of attaining all the goals you are pursuing, including happiness.” — Shawn Achor in “5 Ways to Turn Happiness Into an Advantage (Read Shawn’s full article “here.)
Christ provides what we really need to be happy — complete acceptance, an enduring purpose, and bright future.
“[W]e know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose … What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” — Romans 8:28,31b / Psalm 118:6
— fritz@langgang.com
Posted in Hope, Hymns, Trust, tagged Matthew 10 on July 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »
But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore” – Jesus (Luke 12:7)
Personal experience informs me that number of hairs on my head is changing! And that’s exactly the point.
Jesus is bringing us back to a simple fact. If God is so aware of the least significant is he not also aware of what is most important in my life — my spouse, my work, my children, my loved ones, etc? Though, as with my hair, I don’t always like the results, I know God is involved and working the events of my life to my good and his love. And since I trust him, it is enough.
As the chorus of Civilla Martin’s 1905 hymn says,
“His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.”
— fritz@langgang.com
Patrikin - Kinship through The Father 