Sunday, May 30, 2010

Spring's Promise

After  a long sleep in winter, natural creations wake up to a new day. Once again, colorful vegetation is alive and exudes in fresh beauty. Young plants begin to burst out in an explosion of colors that paint the entire surroundings. The atmosphere gives off a kind of beauty that brings delight to the heart of appreciative humans. To them, the new season is a reminder that there's a loving Creator who put all these wonderful things on earth to make us happy and enjoy our lives.



Such change in season also brings to mind the Creator's promise to make all things new in the future. This old world will be cleansed of all elements that destroy the beauty of this planet, and will be replaced by a new world order where righteous mankind will attain perfection and eternal life. 

 

This is the  essence of paradise. Not just  a beautiful surrounding filled with colorful flowers, but a wonderful place where wickedness, sickness and death are non-existent. It's a place where people can truly enjoy life without any worries at all. (Revelation 21:3-5)

 

Indeed, it's a new beginning, the awakening of all things wonderful...like SPRING.



Friday, May 28, 2010

On Owning Houses With Gardens

Simple houses with lush gardens around them always attract me. I love their grass carpets and their colorful flowers. This photo here is just one of the  many nice houses that I spotted here. Such houses remind me of a prophecy concerning the future of righteous humans. Someday, everyone will have his/her own house with beautiful surroundings. And I believe in the promise quoted below.



"And they will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat [their] fruitage. They will not build and someone else have occupancy; they will not plant and someone else do the eating. For like the days of a tree will the days of my people be; and the work of their own hands my chosen ones will use to the full.  They will not toil for nothing, nor will they bring to birth for disturbance; because they are the offspring made up of the blessed ones of Jehovah, and their descendants with them." 
- Isaiah 65:21-23

Guidance to Peace and Righteousness

Living in true peace and righteousness can  be hard today, especially with all the troubles prevalent in the world. However, God's Word, the Bible, provides us with an updated guidance on how to attain peace and righteousness.  If we desire to have a more meaningful life, we should take time to read this all-time practical book and reflect on its divine messages, which are beneficial for us now and throughout eternity.



"This is what Jehovah has said, your Repurchaser, the Holy One of Israel: “I, Jehovah, am your God, the One teaching you to benefit [yourself], the One causing you to tread in the way in which you should walk. O if only you would actually pay attention to my commandments! Then your peace would become just like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea." - Isaiah 48:17,18



Saturday, May 15, 2010

"When I Am Weak, Then I Am Powerful"

"Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses..... 
For when I am weak, then I am powerful." 
- 2 Corinthians 12:10


The daily pressures, challenges and adversities that we face may weaken and paralyze us. However, these are the times when we need strength to cope with our situation. And where can we get the power that we need? No other than the One who gives energy to the tired ones, the Almighty God, Jehovah. All we need to do is approach Him in prayer and ask for His holy spirit to guide and strengthen us. In that way, the most powerful force in the universe, God's holy spirit, empowers us to deal with difficult situations and succeed in our good works. And then we can confidently echo the expression of the apostle Paul quoted above.

The Truly Happy People

In this world filled with troubles, people often find themselves unhappy. Some who may be happy eventually realize that their happiness is shallow and short-lived. 

However, there are people who feel deep and lasting happiness despite all the adversities that they are subjected to. They are happy because they know that all sufferings and problems on earth will vanish. They have confidence their Father's promise to put an end to all these bad things that are taking place in the world.  To them, this world and everything in it will soon pass away, and real life will be in that wonderful future that God has prepared for them. 

Hence, they are a happy people. Their Father has chosen a marvelous inheritance for them: eternal life in Paradise...soon!



"Happy is the nation whose God is Jehovah,
The people whom he has chosen as his inheritance."
-Psalm 33:12

Friday, May 14, 2010

When the Whole Earth is a Garden

I never expected that I would come across this tulip garden in the picture. It's like a dream come true for me to be with my dream flowers. In the past, I just looked at them in the pictures, magazines and movies. Now, I'm face to face with them. I can touch them, smell them and drink in their fresh and exquisite beauty. Walking in such a garden transports me to paradise.

This is truly a gift from above. "Every good gift and every perfect present is from above, for it comes down from the Father of the [celestial] lights, and with him there is not a variation of the turning of the shadow." - James 1:17


What if the whole earth will be a garden full of colorful lovely flowers? Not a remote possibility. The Giver of such gifts is so generous and He will give us the desires of our hearts. In fact, he is now very close to the point of fulfilling His promise that this whole earth will be turned to Paradise. Soon, righteous mankind who put faith in our Creator's promise will walk forever in a much lovelier garden.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

God's Wondrous Works

Someone reads our hearts and minds; He sees everything we do; He can follow us wherever we go. He cares so much about us, and He wants to keep us away from harm.

This music video tells us who He is and how we should feel about Him.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Finding Refuge In These Calamitous Days

Recently, calamities have been striking the whole world, leaving thousands of dead and injured people in their wake. Bible prophecies show us that world condition will become worse in these last days. Calamities and wickedness keep on escalating  and battering mankind. Many people are now living in fear. They become hopeless and unsure of the future. Hence, we all need to find refuge somewhere.

This video will help us to see where to find refuge, comfort and hope.

Life Is Short, But We Can Make It Last Forever

This video shows how we can make our life count now and extend it throughout eternity.

 

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Worship That God Approves

Are all religions pleasing to God?
How can we identify the true religion?
Who are God’s true worshipers on earth today?


The way we worship God means either life or death for us. Read more by following the link below.

http://www.watchtower.org/e/bh/article_15.htm

God's Kingdom - The Government That We Need

Monday, May 3, 2010

What Real Treasure Is

"I saw all the works that were done under the sun, and, look! everything was vanity and a striving after wind."
-Ecclesiastes 1:14

Thus observed the wise King Solomon of old. The same situation goes on even now in these modern times. Many people strive to work so hard  in order to acquire material possessions, prestige and power, but to what end? Do such acquisitions bring them true happiness and satisfaction? Do their hard works extend their lives on earth?

Just like what this adage says, "everything is vanity and a striving after wind." For as soon as man thinks he  has acquired so much, he would start going downhill to the grave. And he hasn't even got to enjoy the fruits of his hard works because he was too busy working the whole time until death has overtaken him. So he worked hard for nothing.

 It's better to have a simple life and enjoy every moment of it with our loved ones. For then, we can truly say that we have lived a good life.


In line with this, here is what the Greatest Teacher wisely taught us:

“Stop storing up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break in and steal. Rather, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
- Matthew 6:19-21

These are spiritual treasures that we would rather store up because they will last forever. By doing good works, serving our Creator and our fellowmen and living a godly life, we store up treasures in heaven which will give us a truly satisfying and successful life now and an eternity of wonderful life in the new world that will come very soon.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Clothed in Beauty



"Also on the matter of clothing, why are you anxious? Take a lesson from the lilies of the field, how they are growing; they do not toil, nor do they spin; but I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. If now God thus clothes the vegetation of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much rather clothe you....?" - Matthew 6:28-30

This is one of the series of lessons that the Greatest Teacher taught his disciples when he delivered his Sermon on the Mount. He directed his listeners' attention to simple natural creations and showed them what lessons they could learn from them.


In these particular passages, he emphasizes on people's anxieties about what to put on. He stressed that God knows all that we need, including our clothings, and so we should not worry too much about such things because He willl provide for us much more than He provides for His inanimate creations. All we have to do is to  seek  the Kingdom first, and then He will give us whatever we need in due time. And we must also have strong faith in His promise to provide for our necessities. It is also important to keep a "simple eye", not desiring or asking for more than what we essentially need in order to survive.