Near to the Heart of God

dear gracious Lord,

these present afflictions are not worthy as compared to the revelation of Your eternal glory when I see You face to face.

fearing for their souls which will perish in the lake of fire and brimstone.

thereafter, there will be life no more.

Lord, change their cold hearts and melt them with Thy Heavenly Love.

+ + +

“He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.” Isaiah 40:11

There is a place of quiet rest

Near to the Heart of God

A place where sin cannot molest

Near to the Heart of God

O Jesus, blest Redeemer

Sent from the Heart of God

Hold us who wait before Thee

Near to the Heart of God

There is a place of comfort sweet,

Near to the Heart of God

A place where we our Savior meet

Near to the Heart of God

There is a place of full release

Near to the Heart of God

A place where all is joy and peace

Near to the Heart of God.

Cleland B, McAfee

1866-1944

Story

Cleland B. McAfee is known for this one hymn. It is a “one-hit-wonder”. Mr. McAfee wrote the hymn Near to the Heart of God in 1903, after two daughters of his brother Howard died of diphtheria within 24 hours of each other. The choir of Park College went to Howard McAfee’s quarantined house and sang it outside the window to encourage the grieving family.

hymnpod

If you are reading this post, I covet your prayers for my family's salvation. Thank you!

Desires

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It is a safe thing to trust HIM

to fulfill the desires which He creates.

-Amy Carmichael

Thanksgivings

God is good!

Guess what?

By God's grace, He has granted me the endurance to stick to my Bible Reading Plan for the month of January and I have completed the book of Joshua (24 chapters!)

However, I would need to revise to recollect what I have learnt and most crucially, to apply the spiritual truths and see that the Lord is at work in my life today as He was in the lives of the Israelites back then.

I particularly love how the book of Joshua ended.

"...ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that NOT ONE thing hath failed ALL of the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you: ALL are come to pass unto you and NOT ONE THING hath failed thereof. Therefore it shall come to pass that as ALL GOOD THINGS are upon you which the LORD your God promised you..." Joshua 23.14-15

Echoing the Old Testament, God's faithfulness and promises are "yea" and "amen" in Christ Jesus in the New Testament as well. So long God is leading and writing the Script of my life, all things will come to pass.

"... your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt, and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season... NOW therefore FEAR the LORD and serve Him in SINCERITY and in TRUTH: and PUT AWAY the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve the LORD. And it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, CHOOSE you this day whom ye will serve... ye cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God..." Joshua 24. 7, 14,15 and 19

"NOW therefore put away, said He, the strange gods which are among you, and INCLINE YOUR HEART unto the LORD GOD of Israel" Joshua 24.23

God has given each a free will so we may choose. Serving the LORD and inclining my heart unto Him is a choice as well.

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Had a lovely meet-up with Sis Dolly after a year!

(Time is really ebbing away.)

We patronised the freshly-opened Clementi Mall and last evening marked our maiden trip to the shopping centre which opened in September last year.

Concluded the mall looks great- even better with the yummy food awaiting our stomachs!

After dinner, we had desserts at a Hong Kong Cafe on the basement level.

I LOVE DESSERTS....

especially those made-in-HK. ;)

The two bowls of paste were definitely a treat to our gastronomic juices.

ah bo lings in sesame paste

almond and sesame paste

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Dear Lord,

Life is fleeting on earth, help me to serve You in sincerity and in the light of Thy truth. Help me by Thy grace to put away the strange gods- tangible or intangible. "If any man serve Him (Christ), him will my Father honor." John 12.26. May you have the rightful place in my heart!

Taking up My Cross

Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for He is thy Lord; and worship thou Him.

Psalm 45.10-11

Repentance is a new life of denying self and serving the Savior as king in self's place.

+ J. I. Packer +

To love a holy God requires grace, grace strong enough to pierce our hardened hearts.

+ R. C. Sproul +

God gets leftovers...We tend to give Him that which we don't need instead of giving Him that which we need.

+ A. W. Tozer +

God is not silent. It is the nature of God to speak. The second person of the Holy Trinity is called "The Word".

+ A. W. Tozer +

You can see God from anywhere if your mind is set to love and obey Him.

+ A. W. Tozer +

His kingdom can never be realized in my life until my own selfish kingdom is deposed.

+ AW Tozer +

If you cannot worship God on Monday, then you did not worship Him on Sunday.

+ AW Tozer +

An honest man with an open Bible and a pad and pencil is sure to find out what is wrong with him very quickly.

+ A.W. Tozer +

No man has a right to offer advice who has not first heard God speak.

+ AW Tozer +

The Bible was written in tears, and to tears it yields its best treasures."

+ A.W. Tozer +

Friday Quotes

'We must learn to measure ourselves, not by our knowledge about God, not by our gifts and responsibilities in the church, but by how we pray and what goes on in our hearts. Many of us, I suspect, have no idea how impoverished we are on this level. Let us ask the Lord to show us.

Second, we must seek the Savior… It is [those] who have sought the Lord Jesus till they have found Him—for the promise is that when we seek Him with all our hearts, we shall surely find Him—who can stand before the world to testify that they have known God.”

+ Knowing God, J.I. Packer +
“The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains proves he has no brains of his own.”
+ C.H. Spurgeon +
"There comes a point when we choose to be intentional about our thinking, so that we grow in what we see and understand. If we don’t choose to think harder, we settle for an adolescent level of understanding the rest of our lives."
+ John Piper +


I ought to think more. Hmm.

superfoods

Deuteronomy 8:8
1. wheat

A diet rich in whole grains is also thought to increase your energy level and lower your risk of type-2 diabetes, gallstones, and other health issues.

2. barley

High in fiber, barley is good for intestinal health and can lower cholesterol and reduce your risk of colon cancer and type-2 diabetes if eaten regularly. Barley also contains trace amounts of copper, which have been shown to help reduce the symptoms of arthritis.

3. grapes

Rich in antioxidants, grapes may provide protection against cardiovascular disease, particularly in women.
4. figs

They are also high in dietary fiber, which may help you lose weight, and they are a fruit source of calcium, which can help preserve bone density. Fig leaves, which are not typically eaten but can be made into an extract, are thought to help lower insulin levels in diabetics.

5. pomergranate

The fruits are rich in antioxidants, which prevent LDL cholesterol from doing its damage, and it helps prevent blood clots by keeping blood platelets from clumping together. Pomegranates may also help reduce the risk of breast cancer and lessen the symptoms of arthritis.
6. olive oil

High in vitamin E, olive oil also is thought to protect against colon cancer, and it is helpful in fighting gastritis and other stomach ailments
7. honey

It is thought to have tumor-fighting properties, and may help prevent colon cancer. The daily consumption of a spoonful of honey is said to increase antioxidant levels in the blood, and is the healthiest sweetener for type-2 diabetics. Honey also may have wound-healing and muscle-regenerating properties.

http://www.beliefnet.com/Health/2009/05/Super-Foods-of-the-Bible.aspx?p=8

Revolution in World Missions

"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body."- II Corinthians 4:8-10

"

Rochuga Pudaite says, "Eighty-five percent of all Bibles printed today are in English for nine percent of the world who read English. Eighty percent of the world's people NEVER owned a Bible while Americans have an average of four in every household."

Religion, I discovered, is a multi-billion dollar business in the US. Entering churches, I was astonished at the carpeting, furnishings, air-conditioning and ornamentation. Many churches have gymnasiums and fellowships that cater to a busy schedule of activities having little or nothing to do with Christ. The orchestra, choirs, "special" music- and sometimes even the preaching- seemed to me more like entertainment than worship...

The saddest observation I can make about most of the religious communication activity of the Western world is this: Little, if any, of this media is designed to reach unbelievers. Almost all is entertainment for the saints.

"

- K.P. Yohannan