Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength

What is the purpose of God's law or commandments? The Pharisees prided themselves in the knowledge of the law and their ritual requirements. They made it a life-time practice to study the 613 precepts of the Old Testament along with the numerous rabbinic commentaries. They tested Jesus to see if he correctly understood the law as they did. Jesus startled them with his profound simplicity and mastery of the law of God and its purpose.

Our love for God is a response to his exceeding grace and kindness towards us

What does God require of us? Simply that we love as he loves! God is love and everything he does flows from his love for us. God loved us first and our love for him is a response to his exceeding grace and kindness towards us. The love of God comes first and the love of neighbor is firmly grounded in the love of God. The more we know of God's love and truth the more we love what he loves and reject what is hateful and contrary to his will.

Faith and hope strengthen our love for God

What makes our love for God and his commands grow in us? Faith in God and hope in his promises strengthens us in the love of God. They are essential for a good relationship with God, for being united with him. The more we know of God the more we love him and the more we love him the greater we believe and hope in his promises. The Lord, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, gives us a new freedom to love as he loves. Do you allow anything to keep you from the love of God and the joy of serving others with a generous heart? Paul the Apostle says: hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us (Romans 5:5). Do you know the love which conquers all?

We love you, O our God; and we desire to love you more and more. Grant to us that we may love you as much as we desire, and as much as we ought. O dearest friend, who has so loved and saved us, the thought of whom is so sweet and always growing sweeter, come with Christ and dwell in our hearts; that you keep a watch over our lips, our steps, our deeds, and we shall not need to be anxious either for our souls or our bodies. Give us love, sweetest of all gifts, which knows no enemy. Give us in our hearts pure love, born of your love to us, that we may love others as you love us. O most loving Father of Jesus Christ, from whom flows all love, let our hearts, frozen in sin, cold to you and cold to others, be warmed by this divine fire. So help and bless us in your Son.

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East

Hope, Peace, Joy and Love this Christmas Season

gif image source: WWW.REDDIT.COM

HOPE

1 Peter 1:3-5

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God�s power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

PEACE

1 Peter 3:10-12

For �He that would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile; let him turn away from evil and do right;let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those that do evil.�

JOY

1 Peter 1:6-9

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy. As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls.

LOVE

1 Peter 1:22-23

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brethren, love one another earnestly from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

Storms in our lives, never give up, put all hope and trust in God. Seek Him and Call upon Him

Trials and difficulty are the storms in our life and will happen in our lives from the day we are born and breathed our first breath, as in the Job 14:1-2, "Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble. They spring up like flowers and wither away, like fleeting shadows, they do not endure."

There are 3 stages in the storm of life.

1. Those are heading into the storm, trying to avoid it but are sucked into it.

2. Those in midst of the storm, fighting our lives to overcome and get out of it.

3. Those survive out of the storm, thanking God, smiling and victorious over the storm.

When we realise that we are heading towards a storm that is beyond our avoidance, we should call upon the Lord as we love Him and trust in His will as He is our creator, "I will rescue him, I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him." (Psalm 91:14-15).

When we experience our storms of life. In these times we seek God and cry out to Him for His mercy, "Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed" (Psalm 57:1) and again when they cried, He save them, "they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress." (Psalm 107:28).

Trust, and get on my knees, and cry out to the Lord as David did, God is always faithful and steadfast in our storms, "He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me, God sends forth his love and his faithfulness." (Psalm 53:3). God works all His wonders through Jesus His Son, find Jesus above your storms, seek Him and ask Him to pray for you to the His Father God. God is in the storm with us. You�re in the storm with His presence and you�re in the storm for his purpose, therefore He will bring you out of the storm.

God has promise that He will be with us and to deliver us in our storms, "For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear, I will help you." (Isaiah 41:13). Again God promises, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze." (Isaiah 43:2). God has a blessing for you even in the midst of your storms!

On overcoming and surviving our storms, we must thank, praise and glory the Lord for all He has done, as it is by His will we are saved, "I will praise you, Lord, among the nations, I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens, your faithfulness reaches to the skies." (Psalm 57:9-10)

"Praise You In This Storm"

~ Casting Crowns ~

I was sure by now

God You would have reached down

And wiped our tears away

Stepped in and saved the day

But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear Your whisper through the rain

"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

[Chorus:]

And I'll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are

No matter where I am

And every tear I've cried

You hold in Your hand

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

I remember when

I stumbled in the wind

You heard my cry to you

And you raised me up again

My strength is almost gone

How can I carry on

If I can't find You

But as the thunder rolls

I barely hear You whisper through the rain

"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

[Chorus]

I lift my eyes unto the hills

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

The Maker of Heaven and Earth

[Chorus x2]

Writer(s): Bernie Herms, John Mark Hall

Copyright: Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, Word Music LLC, Banahama Tunes

A psalm of Hope and the Joy that follows ~ Psalm 126

1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,

we were like those who dreamed.

2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,

our tongues with songs of joy.

Then it was said among the nations,

�The Lord has done great things for them.�

3 The Lord has done great things for us,

and we are filled with joy.

4 Restore our fortunes, Lord,

like streams in the Negev.

5 Those who sow with tears

will reap with songs of joy.

6 Those who go out weeping,

carrying seed to sow,

will return with songs of joy,

carrying sheaves with them.

God Is Our Hope

God is our hope and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be moved,

and though the hills be carried into the midst of the sea;

Though the waters thereof rage and swell,

and though the mountains shake at the tempest of the same.

There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God,

the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

~ Psalms 46: 1-4 ~

When we can hope to see the Papal Conclave's decision white smoke?

Tuesday, 12 March 2013 has been announce by Vatican as the date for the conclave to begin elect the Supreme Pontiff, the successor to Benedict XVI. 77/115 votes is required by the cardinal candidate to be the new successor of the Chair of St. Peter.

1st Ballot - 3.00 AM Malaysian Time, Wednesday

2nd Ballot - 6.30 PM Malaysian Time, Wednesday

3rd Ballot - 8.00 PM Malaysian Time, Wednesday

4th Ballot - 1.30 AM Malaysian Time, Thursday

5th Ballot - 3.00 AM Malaysian Time, Thursday

6th Ballot - 6.30 PM Malaysian Time, Thursday

7th Ballot - 8.00 PM Malaysian Time, Thursday

8th Ballot - 1.30 AM Malaysian Time, Friday

9th Ballot - 3.00 AM Malaysian Time, Friday

10th Ballot - 6.30 PM Malaysian Time, Friday

11th Ballot - 8.00 PM Malaysian Time, Friday

12th Ballot - 1.30 AM Malaysian Time, Saturday

13th Ballot - 3.00 AM Malaysian Time, Saturday

Malaysia is 7 hours ahead of Vatican City.

Below is the Vatican insignia representing a the "sede vacante" (vacant see). The emblem is used between the death of a pope and the election of a new one, this period is known as the interregnum.

We pray that the conclave will be able to make a decision vote soon to fill the vacant see.

Hoping for Something More

�Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise.

�At present we are on the outside� the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the pleasures we see. But all the pages of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so. Someday, God willing, we shall get �in�� We will put on glory� that greater glory of which Nature is only the first sketch.

We do not want to merely �see� beauty�though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words�to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.

C.S.Lewis

Hope when in Crisis

Psalm 27:4-5
4 One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.

Mark 5:35-36
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. �Your daughter is dead,� they said. �Why bother the teacher anymore?�
36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, �Don�t be afraid; just believe.�