Life of Sorrow

Our journey on this earth is full of sorrow from the day we are born to the day we died. The journey we are facing now is part of our life on this earth, every second we hear of people dying from different kind of sickness and illness. Widows are totally forgotten by the community and their love ones, our senior citizens are looking for more care and affections from their family. The Bible teaches us to take part of their sorrows.

We only realize the importance of a person when he/she is dead and we give our all to glorify the person by memorial services.

But to those who knew GOD our sorrows is incomparable from the day he was crucified in the cross of Calvary to be the living sacrifice to redeem us from our sins. His love endures the pain, his passion overcomes the defeat, and his greatness declares victory over death.

Our responsibility now is to be more passionate for those who needs help and love, declaring sorrow defeated in Christ. We are brothers and sisters in Christ let us shine and be part of every ones sorrow for our GOD is always with us in times we are down.

Embrace Wisdom

The Bible speaks of two kinds of wisdom—that which comes from above and that which is of this earth (James 3:15-17). There are some benefits in the hard-won wisdom that experience and pain has bought, but there are far greater and more lasting benefits when we learn and apply God’s wisdom before the pain.

Proverbs 4:7-9 tells us that when we embrace wisdom, we will have a crown of glory and honor. The trick is to embrace wisdom early in life.

King Solomon had the chance to embrace godly wisdom—but fell back on the seemingly easier worldly wisdom. Not only did it cause both Israel and himself continual pain, but Solomon additionally dug a hole so deep that he could not get out.

Embracing wisdom means recognizing and applying wisdom. Our emotions and feelings get in the way. They, too, are one of God’s gifts to the human race, but they are gifts that need to be controlled. That is character. And to know what to do and to be able to do it—that is wisdom.

Lack of Knowledge

It is absolutely amazing to have lived during the last 50 years and seen the changes that increased knowledge has brought. The more recent generations cannot conceive of a time when world travel was rare, TV and computers did not exist and college education was uncommon. We as a people have made huge strides in understanding our environment, and we have improved the living standards for much of the world.

Yet there remains a lack of knowledge about why we were created and what the destiny of mankind really is. That lack of knowledge is just as destructive as the ignorance that has led to famine, disease and war in the past. Ignorance is still with us on earth, and a byproduct is misery.

Our minds are the most wonderful gift God has given us. Using them, however, is up to us. The knowledge we now have in science has always been true—we just had not discovered it yet. The Bible is more available now than ever before, but few will discover the truth inside its pages. Will you?

Truth and Freedom

Jesus said the truth would set us free (John 8:32)—but truth of and by itself does not give freedom, because we have the uncanny knack of hiding from truth every time it diverges from our expectations. That means, in order to be free, we must understand and accept the truth.

Jesus made sure to practice what He preached. Just before He was captured and nailed to the cross, He asked God if there was any other way (Matthew 26:39). The truth was that this was the only way. Jesus accepted and faced that for all of us.

The path Jesus walked is the path we, too, must walk if we are to share eternity with Him. He not only died for us, He also set the footsteps we are to follow (1 John 2:6). Truth does not waver and change—it remains constant. We must acknowledge it and incorporate it into our thoughts and into our lives.

Once we have the habit of seeking and following truth, we will be on the road to eternal life—and what a beautiful highway to be on.

Feeding the Senses

The book of Ecclesiastes recounts King Solomon’s search for contentment and meaning in life—which led him to conclude that obeying God’s laws was the only way to live (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Solomon, during one part of his search, tried finding enjoyment in living life to the fullest and exercising his senses to the maximum. It didn’t work, and he learned the hard way that the consequences of some errors are irreversible.

God does not give us everything so that we may enjoy life; He gives us life so we may learn to enjoy everything the right way—the way that produces good for everyone. Not only that, but His offer of eternal life means that this joy, once found, will neither fade nor fail. The gift of eternal life requires the right steps in the here and now. Paul said to be content with what we have (Philippians 4:11). Learn to live so that you please God and help others enjoy life—that is the right path.

Make Me Happy!

Most people really do want to be happy. Our definition of what it means to be happy, however, is one important variable in that goal.

We sometimes think that if we had a million dollars we would be happy—but others who have the million have proven that the money alone does not make people happy. Sometimes we think if we had a more understanding mate we would be happy, or if we lived in a different part of the world—and so on and so forth.

We in America live in one of the most blessed nations on earth. People from other lands seek entry by desperate means—just to be here. We have freedom, plenty, peace and opportunities of all sorts. But the truth is, nothing will “make us happy”—that is something we choose to be by learning to be thankful and appreciative of our blessings (Psalm 100).

Johnson Oatman Jr. once wrote in a hymn, “Count your blessings, name them one by one; count your blessings, see what God hath done!” Happiness is a choice—and it’s up to you.

Turn! Turn! Turn!

In the 1950s, Pete Seeger composed a song which The Byrds—and American rock band—would popularize some 10 years later: “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season).”

The lyrics of this song are taken almost entirely from the text of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, the introduction of which states, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”

We in America have been greatly blessed. We can build and we can break down, we can dance and we can mourn. But will this last? As a country, we have not been obeying our Maker.

We call evil good and good evil. God’s commandments are no longer being upheld—but there yet remains hope. In Jonah 3:8-9 we read, “Let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?” And God did relent and spare ancient Nineveh.

We pray that our country will turn away from evil and return to obey our God. And if not our nation, then at least we as individuals can change.

Enemy Number One

Once we reach adulthood and are able to make decisions on our own, we have a responsibility to search out hindrances to a happy life that may lie in our way. Enemy number one (for almost everyone) stares back at us from an unlikely hiding place—the mirror.

We choose what to do and where to be. We choose to remain in sorrow and self-pity or search for an escape. The first place to look for the source of any woes we may have is within ourselves.

Paul encouraged people to examine and test themselves (2 Corinthians 13:5). This is easier said than done. None of us wants to find the warts and bumps we carry, so they go ignored and untreated.

It is easier to blame other people, circumstances or things for our woes. That never brings a solution—it is like discarding the mirror.

Rather than do that, our first response should be to take a good, long, honest look in that mirror and be willing to change the flaws we see—otherwise, our enemy wins.

Eat Those Words

We have all experienced times when we wish we had not said what we said! As Adlai Stevenson once put it, “Man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them.” How much more beneficial for our digestive system if we have fewer of those words to eat—especially the bitter and angry ones?

James said, “No man can tame the tongue” (James 3:8). Although that means words will make up part of our diet throughout our lives, with God’s help we can learn self-control and we can practice thinking before we speak.

In that way, fewer of our words will slip onto our dinner plates. Once we have learned to admit fault and have developed tact in our conversations, our diets will improve greatly—as will our lives.

Wasted Worry

We all have worries from time to time, and there are great lessons we can learn from them. If a problem can be solved, there is no need to worry about it. If there is no way of solving the problem, what is the use of worrying? Our anxiety will not make the problem go away.

Jesus gives some great advice in Matthew 6:27-34. He tells us that worry does not help in our concerns of life—actually worry detracts from healthy efforts toward solving problems. Learning how to handle concerns and therefore worries is a great benefit. We become stronger and grow in inner peace.

Ron's pen

"Happy New Year!" That greeting will be said and heard for at least the first couple of weeks as a new year gets under way.