A God-shaped Vacuum

Ask, and it will be given unto you; seek and you will find. 
 Matthew 7:7

French physicist, mathematician, and philosopher Blaise Pascal
 ( 1623-1662) said: “ There is a God shaped vacuum  in the heart of every man which only God can fill through His Son, Jesus Christ.”

We try to fill this inner void for a variety of reasons:

·         We long to be loved.

·         We want to be blessed.

·         We feel empty.

·         We want to be clean.

·         We want to be happy.

·         We long for meaning and purpose in life.

But sometimes we don’t come to God to fill this inner void in our hearts.

We seek in the world not in the word and we drifted away from the source of everything we need in life. We fill our hearts with substitute gods.

It reminds me of my vacuum cleaner. Its job is to vacuum the dust and small particles on the floor. But if I use it to vacuum dirt that it does not suit for its purpose, then it will be destroyed.

And so with our hearts if we fill them with things that should not be there.

God’s love should be in our hearts, not hate, envy, or lust. God will truly fill our God –shaped vacuum with Himself if we truly seek him.

Ask, and it will be given unto you; seek and you will find. Matthew 7:7

O taste and see that God is good

To all who seek his face;

Yea, blest the man who trust in Him,

Confiding in his grace. – Psalter

“Man’s heart was made to be God’s home”

 

JOY

Linking with:

 

                                                                   

Don't you love me?

                        Don’t you love me?

 

Therefore, let those who suffer….commit their souls…in doing 
good, as to a faithful Creator. 1 Peter 4:19

A handicapped girl with leg braces became discouraged with her condition and wished she could quit her physical therapy. One day when her father insisted that she continue, she fell into his arms and asked, “Daddy, don’t you love me just the way I am?” Knowing how she felt, he hugged her and replied, “Yes, honey, I love you the way you are. But I love you too much to let you stay that way.”

If you are like me, then you would probably asked God, our Father the same question.

Don’t you love me?

Why I have pain all over my body?

Why I am always getting hurt?

Why I am not beautiful as others are?

Why didn’t you give me a nice voice so that I could sing beautifully?

Why terrible things happened to me?

Why my prayers are not getting answered?

Maybe you are asking:

Why I can’t find the right man/ woman?

Why I can’t find  a job that suits me?

Why are you not helping me? I am poor, needy and helpless?

Why I am sick?

There are so many whys and then we ask God, “ Don’t you love me?”

What if God asks us the same question to us?

Don’t you love me?

Why are you not obeying my words?

Why are you not helping the needy?

Why are you not appreciating my gifts to you?

Why are you so unfaithful?

Why do you cheat, lie, talk behind others back and hurt them?

Why can’t you trust me?

And the list I believe will be endless concerning how we are in the first place.

Luckily, God loves us just the way we are – imperfections and all. He loves us even though we struggle with sin. He has forgiven and accepted us because we received Jesus Christ as our Savoir. But He loves us so much to let us remain as we are.

The Lord wants to help us, in our struggle with sin and through our sufferings. He desires to develop our character so that we became more like Christ.

So as we face life difficulties, remember that God loves us. He wants us to use the test and trials we are experiencing to make us better persons. We must keep that truth in mind. Commit ourselves to the Lord and continue doing good.

God’s love accepts us as we are,

Yet always seeks our highest good;

His love may let us feel the pain,

Though it may not be understood. D.J.D

So, I say instead “ Thank you Lord for loving us.

  JOY

Linking to :
Mandarin Orange Monday

Whom do you talk about?

This verse got me thinking .... where is my joy? Do I rejoice in the Lord always? In his precense? Or is it just a duty that I read my bible and pray?

To be honest, I can say that my joy comes from many things.

I find joy from all the things I can do.

I find pleasure in reading a good book.

I find happiness in being with family or friends.

I find joy looking at flowers that blooms.

I marvel at sunrises and sunsets.

I find pleasure in food and drink.

I enjoy my job.

What about you? I think you're pretty much just like me. Finding joy in all these things. But where is God in all these? Do we like to talk about him or to him wherever we are? Or do we feel that to talk about God and to God is an old fashioned thing and does not suit this present world?

Are we fond of talking about other people? What they do and not do. Right or wrong. Actually, it comes naturally that we talk about each other negatively or positively.  Judging and praising others for what they do.  We're all guilty because in one way or another we have something to say about other people.  We talk about the injustice, being done by others. We have our own criteria how a person should live. Forgetting that we are not perfect either, and that we are not the judge, but God.

The Bible says: rejoice in the Lord.

But how do we do it? Should we talk about God all day long?  How about all our commitments? Whole day of prayer? I think everyone will agree with me; that it is not the way God meant it to be by those words.

Everyone is busy with his or her own life.  If one is retired, he/she still have many things to do. The days goes so fast that we don't even realize that we are getting older, until we celebrated our birthdays.  But it's good that we are getting older, it means that we are still alive. Some may have pain in many places of their bodies, maybe sick , both those who are still young or the elderly. But, still we want to experience and see things and people that revolves around us. I am 51, but I feel that my life has just started. Many things to do, many places to visit and many people to be acquainted with. 

To rejoice in the Lord, I believe is that no matter what we do, where we are, what we think, what we say, we should be aware of God's presence all the time. 

Actually, it is a reassuring thought that God is with us every minute of our lives. For we do not have to worry when we are in dangerous situations. Because the strongest one is with us. When we are in darkness, God's light shine through, to push the darkness away. When we are hurting, we find relief and help from him in various ways. If we go through fire and water, he still with us. When we think with God, we think only nice thoughts about others. When we see with his eyes, we do not judge others and ourselves. When we feel with his heart, we can love our enemies. When we are connected with God, he reminds us of the blessings he gives us each day and how we can be a blessing to others. And when we look at his creation, we can see the creator behind it. In fact, when we are experiencing His love towards us, it comes automatically that we seek him in prayer and yearn to read his words and to be in his presence. Why? Because we find  strength, wisdom and life from God's words. And if we feels God’s love and loves God in return, we take pleasure being with Him.

For my part, I need to acquires strength from God's words every day. I'm addicted to hear what he says to me in every area of my life and which way I should go. Without God, I don’t think I can manage my life in such a way that it benefits me and others. And I think that God likes it when we are dependent on him. Likes to be our everythingJ 

Paul said in Philippians 3:7-8 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I lost all things.

Do we have to lose everything for Jesus sake? Sounds difficult?

I believe it means to surrender everything in God’s hands and let him lead the way. For me, it is the best thing that could have happened to a man. Because when we have Jesus, we have everything that needs to fight the fiery dart of the enemy. And in addition, we will never be alone. Then we can “rejoice in the Lord always.”

                                            JOY

A love that won't let go!

                                                     source

An elderly man lay in the hospital, with his wife of 55 years sitting at his bedside. " Is that you, Ethel, at my side again?"  he whispered.
" Yes, dear," she answered. 
He softly said to her, " Remember years ago when I was in the Veteran's hospital? You were with me then. You were with me when we lost everything in a fire. And Ethel, when we were poor- you stuck with me then too." The man sighed and said " I tell you, Ethel, you are a bad luck!"

It's only a humorous story, but it reminds us how we can twist the facts and fail to recognize the love and loyalty of someone who cares about us. 

Sounds familiar? We too can blame God for every misery or hardship in our lives. 

My childhood was a miserable one and I used to blame God for being unfair to me and the rest of my siblings. Why and why? I thought that God didn't care and that he was the one who caused all our sufferings. Little did I know that he was just forming me to be a woman that he wanted me to be. In hardships, God taught me to endure , to hope and trust. When I had no one, he reminded me that I have him. That our lives is like a wheel. Sometimes we are up, sometimes we are down, but we have to keep rolling to get to our destinations. The roads can be rough or smooth, but we have to keep on wheeling.  In addition, the wheels will probaly get punctured, like us, but God is there too, to mend us together again. To infuse some air ( strength) that we needed so that we can continue going. And the reward? "No eyes have seen and no ears have heard yet, " Jesus said.

How can we blame someone who is actually the one who is helping us?  But it happens everyday.
Good thing is that God is a forgiving and understanding God. If we have strayed from Him, we can always come back to Him. 

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,

In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail;

Thy mercies how tender! How firm to the end!

Our Maker, Defender; Redemer, and a Friend. -Grant

A CHILD OF GOD IS ALWAYS WELCOMED HOME.

JOY

Awesome works of God!

I am always amazed by sunrises and sunsets. And when I see awesome shots like these, I feel that my spirit be lifted up on high.  It is like handpaintings of God. 

These magnificent pictures were taken by Ole Johnny Male, my hubby's co- worker ombord the ship. He let me borrowed them and shares to you too:) So enjoy the beauty and the words that goes with them:)



Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? 




Who may live on your holy hill?

He whose walks is blameless and who does what is righteous,





who speaks the truth from his heart 
and no slander in his tongue,






who does his neighbor no wrong
and cast no slur on his fellow-man,






who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the Lord,

who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,

who lends his money without usury




and does not accept a bribe from the innocent

He who does these things




will never be shaken.




Breathtaking pictures and words from above.

Psalm 15: 1-5


                                                                   JOY

My desires!

       Father

Let your desires be ours

Let us dream your dreams

Let us love as you loves

Let us bring glory to your name

Let your wisdom be imparted in us

Let your light be our guide

Let your words quench our thirsty soul

Let us be humble in all our ways

Let us see with your spiritual eyes

Let us be compassionate, as you had shown compassion to us

Let us forgive the unforgivable

Let us love the unlovable
Let us believe the impossible
Let us trust you in unknown paths

Let us give with a merry heart

Let your anointing flows freely through our mouths

And Father,
let us be healed body, soul and spirit

let us be filled with your strength, power and might.

To reach for the lost, the needy and helpless in sight.
Yes Father, these are desires of my heart.

                                 JOY

Search for meaning!

What is the meaning of life? I wonder...... 

Is it to have wealth?

Is it to to be famous?

Is it to be recognized?

To gain friends?

To have a happy family?

To be healthy?

To live longer?

To write a book?

To paint a  masterpiece?

Or to be what God created us to be?

The I asked myself:  Is what I am living for, worth dying for?

Then I realized that if I am living just for myself and not for God and the people whom he entrusted me to care for, then my life is useless. I might just live in an uninhabited island and be with myself. What a terrible life it will be. Talking to myself, listening to myself , create something for myself, looking at myself and so on. That is why God created Adam and Eve. It should be «we» not « I».

There is a saying " No man is an island". And that is the truth.

So want to have  a happy life?

Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13

Fearing God and obeying God's words brings us to a place where we don't have to worry of anything because we know that God will be with us during life's turmoil and will lead us to victory.  

The meaning of life for me are:

To enjoy the the beauty of God's creation.

To learn to trust God in the midst of the storm.

To be thankful for all the blessing and to be a blessing.

To give life to this dying world. God's gift of life.

To be a light in the darkness. God's light through me.

To forgive, just as I was forgiven.

To inspire and to be inspired.

A meaningful life!

JOY