Feb 10th, 2022: The Beauty of Smiles


Many people have told us that we do not see many smiling folks in stores lately. People are stressed out and cranky. This quote is quite fitting.


What does the Bible have to say about smiling and being joyful?


Romans 15:13

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”


Having faith in the power of God will make us smile even though we might face a challenging time ahead. Sometimes we can be exasperated by what we see around us. We need to remember that the power of God will overcome the deception of men.


Ecclesiastes 2:26

“To the person who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness, but to the sinner, he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”


We are happy and live our lives wisely when we seek to please God. Pleasing and being afraid of men can only bring about more meaninglessness in life. Being wise is having the desire to live our lives to please God.


Proverbs 10:28

“The hope of the righteous will be gladness, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.”


Our hearts will be glad with God when we know that we are right with Him. We expect nothing less than what God has intended for the world. We need to discern the schemes of the prince of darkness so we are not be compromised and perished.


We will indeed smile the day we meet our Creator and Redeemer. We smile in knowing that God welcomes us home.

 

Popular posts from this blog

Sept 4th, 2024: Praying in Images

Image
It has been a rough few days. Living in immense pain does not allow us much energy to think about anything. I ended up praying in images, and not many words came out of my mouth. Most of the images were of people I know. God knew that I was praying for them as their faces came to my mind. I did not need to mention the circumstances or situations of their lives—He knows. My heart was at peace as I ended my days with these images. He will take care of my body, and I know this because I was able to get some sleep. Tomorrow is in His hands.
Read more

Aug 31st, 2024: Confession

Image
Dealing with pain sometimes affects our ability and flexibility. A physiotherapist friend gave me a set of home exercises to help with that. They are simple yet intense at the same time. Dealing with our human brokenness sometimes affects our ability to see and hear God. Our commitment to spiritual disciplines must be at the core of our relationship with God. One of the disciplines I have been trying to embrace more fully is confession. It’s not just about recognizing where we have gone wrong; it’s about how we have chosen to live our lives independently from God. It’s about whether we truly want God to be part of our lives. The absence of meaningful confession will damage our freedom to experience intimacy with God. "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." - Proverbs 28:13
Read more

May 18th, 2020: Why Forgiveness?

Image
  A young man called me last night and he was tormented by his relationship with his mother. It is not because she was a horrible mom. It was unresolved grief that is caused by his dad's suicide a few years ago. Emotionally, he blames parents for his father's death although he knows intellectually that it is not right. I knew the father a bit because his mother and her family came to see me for help when they first arrived in Canada. He was a brilliant physician and who was quite loved by people of a small northern town in Alberta. He was awkward in some ways and very uncomfortable in social conversations. This young man has had many conversations with me ever since the suicide. His father's death has been a major topic of our time together. Most of our conversation yesterday was about forgiveness. We were talking about forgiving people who never ask or haven't got a chance to ask us to forgive them. The question is whether we can forgive without being asked. His father...
Read more