Do your thoughts, speech and actions reflect your dependence and faith on God? Introspectively, my answer is no. Challenges and trials easily bring worries and doubt to my prayers and thoughts which leads to speaking negatively to my situations. To my dismay, the more I try to push the bad thoughts away, the more the doubts amplify and there goes my negative speech again despite my awareness.

The Bible writes in Luke 6: 45 – “…The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” When your heart is fully trusting and dependent on God’s Sovereign power, your speech will reflect the audacious faith outwardly which will also impact your thoughts and actions.

​Like a person expecting for a harvest, you would look forward to it with joy and elation. Oppositely, if you are expecting a drought, you would be dejected and sink into the mud of negativity. When you cultivate a trusting heart in the Lord, doubt and fear will still come but your inner-man/faith will be undeterred as you know the source of your strength and miracle comes from the Lord. God is the One who would strengthen you and He is the One who promises that He will not test you more than you could bear.

If you are relying on your own strength, let this be a reminder that you could involve the Lord and trust He would enable you to go forward further and work through you. Cultivate a trusting heart and may your speech flow with grace and faith expectant of harvest and triumph.
 
Luke 6: 45 NIV
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

1 Corinthians 10: 13
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

- Irene Soon

When would you say you have enough? When you finally land that higher paying job? Owning the latest car? Bigger house?

Luke 12: 15 writes, "Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own." Heed the wisdom of the Bible for the Lord has walked the earth and experienced the same seasons of our lives.

​Writer GK Chesterton also notably wrote that there are 2 ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more, the other is desire less and less. We could stop and ask ourselves if we feel sincerely blessed and that we have enough? God is the One who oversees us, we have enough.

Our societies are constantly possessed by more possessions and constantly looking, wishing and buying stuff with more bells and whistles, we could stop and ponder on the truth God has given us. The Lord is not against us to get more but He is mindful that things could become an idol in your life.
Heed His truth for where your treasure, there yor heart will be also (Matthew 6: 21)

- John W.

Charles Spurgeon wrote beautifully referencing the promise that the Lord has made in Isaiah.

"See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." (Isaiah 49: 16)
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In Spurgeon's active preaching years , it is said that He loved to preach on Isaiah 49: 16. It is a wonderful - wonderful promise and Spurgeon painted a visual reference for us whereby Jesus' wounds were engraved by nails, fastened to the Cross by thuds of hammers that His people will be truly engraved on the palm of His hands.

If and when we are plagued by doubts and thoughts that Jesus has forgotten us, we can look to our palms and remember Jesus' wounded engraved palm for us. Our names have been engraved on the palm of the Lord. He has put a permanent lasting mark on His palm for us, our walls are ever before Him; it is Jesus' way to say He loves you and me and He will always go before us; making a way and He will not in any way forsake us. Amen.

Deuteronomy 31: 6
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

- Irene Soon

I have ever read that the saddest human words is “if only”.

​The writer believes that many are trapped by regrets and they beat themselves up by lamenting on the mistakes made and spend their life saying, “if only…”, “if only I tried harder”, “if only I was truthful”, “if only I made time…” What if instead of saying “if only”, we choose to say, “I will”.
“I will try harder next time,”
“I will be truthful”,
“I will make time” and so on.

Notice the hopeful anticipation that arises with the change of words and perspective.
The Bible speaks of “A wholesome tongue and a tree of life but perverseness in it breaks the spirit” – Proverbs 15: 4 NKJV. “Death and life are in the power of tongue and hose who love it will eat its fruit” – Proverbs 18: 21.

These scriptures confirm that our words bring life and death into our space, into our world and into our atmospheres so instead of speaking defeat and speaking our regrets and mistakes, let us  start speaking of an active resolute action; changing our perspectives therefore, no perverseness will break our spirits and no death will reign in our atmospheres.

- Irene Soon 

In physics, the butterfly effect is a theory that describes on how a tiny momentum or changes i.e such as the flap of a butterfly’s wings could affect the weather thousands of miles away. There will be times when you feel insignificant, metaphorically like a small butterfly and you find yourself saying whatever you do will not matter much when you are facing trials.

As a child of God, there is much you could do. Like the butterfly effect, your words, your faith, your perseverance, your prayers, deeds and kindness could activate the heavenly forces no matter how small they may be. In the Bible, we have seen how the Lord uses things that we consider insignificant to bring miracles, things such David’s slingshot to bring down Goliath, a boy’s lunch box to feed multitudes, Samson’s donkey’s jawbone that slew thousand Philistines. What you do, could bring changes or influences to people around you and your own circumstances.

It is not about the size of seeds or actions you could do but it is about our God who could facilitate that mustard seed faith to grow. It is not about the number of prayers you pray but it is about the Lord who answers prayers of His children, He leaves no one behind and that is the beauty of His grace. He rejoices in your beginnings no matter how small, begin your butterfly effect.

Zechariah 4:10 NLT
Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…
 
- John W.

When we are faced with an unfavourable situation, the thought that is often the loudest in our mind tends to be why.

Life is like being in a boat and when we accept Him as our Lord and Saviour, we can and should be assured that we have Him in the boat with us.
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At times we think that having Jesus, the sail would be easy. Then the waves hit, the storm rages, we think this should not be happening. Jesus is in us, with us and for us but why is this happening? Everything is against me, I am overwhelmed, why Lord, why?
 
Remember what Jesus says in John 16: 33
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.
 
Yes, we have trials and sorrows but His promise is that He has overcome the world for us. This is where our faith in Him and His promises matters. Our faith in Him navigates through the waves and storm of our life. We are never alone and we have Him in the boat with us. It means that even though the storm hit, it will not sink our boat.
 
Practice to say His promises rather than the usual whine and why. A good skipper will defend his/her boat when the storm hits. We must also have the same stance and deny the influence of problems in our lives.

- Anonymous

Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
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Faith is not working up by will power or mustering some sort of certainty that something is coming to pass, but it is choosing a belief as an actual fact that God has said that this shall come to pass and lifting praise rejoicing to affirm the promise and entering an active rest when doubts constantly attacks because we choose to believe God has won the battle for us.

Faith turns the promise into a prophecy. While it is merely a promise, it is dependent upon our co-operation; it may or may not be. But when faith claims it, it becomes a prophecy and we go forth feeling that it is something that must be done because God cannot lie.
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Faith is the answer from the throne saying, “It is done.” Faith is the echo of God's voice. Let us choose to believe, speak boldly of God’s promises, and go out to triumph in His glorious power.

Hear the answer from the throne,
Claim the promise, doubting one,
God hath spoken, “It is done.”
Faith hath answered, “It is done”;
Prayer is over, praise begun,
Hallelujah! It is done.

- Writing of A Simpson

This is a reminder that our God is a living Saviour. He has won wars over the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world; the mighty powers of the dark world.

The devil has been against you since the day you were born, he is always out to kill, steal and destroy. He studies you, knows what angers you, your weaknesses and he knows when to attack when you are at your most vulnerable state. He does all these to deviate you from one simple truth; he fears that you will know how truly powerful being a child of God is. This is why he plans custom-made strategies to crush even a shred of faith or hope within you.

The Lord however, has promised victory over these. Ask the Holy Spirit to protect you against all the devil’s strategies, admit your vulnerability and weaknesses to the Lord and proclaim victory over all. The Lord is above your enemy, no weapon formed against you shall prosper. These are the heritage of the servant of the Lord (Isaiah 54: 17). Yes, this the truth the devil doesn’t want you to know and profess.
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Isaiah 54: 17
no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the LORD.

- Irene Soon

Many would have heard the name George Muller as a man who prays and received many miraculous provisions through prayers. Faced with many overwhelming needs to run his orphanages, he turned every need to the Lord in prayer.
 
“I was at peace when worries come because I believed the truth of God’s promises, His Word and His everlasting unchanging character that loves us unconditionally.” Muller goes on saying, “I believe God is able and willing to deliver me.” Such display of faith has surely gone through the darkest nights yet seen through brightest sunshine after the billowing gush and storm that destroys.
 
Muller’s life has displayed his dependence on God’s Word and him meditating on the word to create an inner peace sanctuary within himself; the place that ensures him that God is willing and surely deliver Muller from his troubles.
 
Just as a daily good nutrition strengthens us physically, so is studying, proclaiming and standing on God’s Word will strengthen us spiritually. We will not be able to avoid troubles or worries life may throw our ways but if we seek the Lord daily and put all of our petitions in prayers, we will be able to overcome trials and rest in the peace God has gifted us through His sacrifice on the cross.
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Romans 8: 32
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
 
- Irene Soon 

As we have just celebrated Thanksgiving recently, let it not only be a practice on that one day. A life of gratitude expands goodness that the Lord has provided to us, a smile breeds another and a thankful speech delights another soul. 
  
The Bible shows the miracle of giving thanks when Jesus faced a lack. Jesus did not fret when He did not have enough to feed the multitudes. He did not heed the requests of the disciples to send the multitudes away instead, He gave thanks to His Father in Heaven for the little He had and we knew the rest of the story about the miraculous multiplication that left twelve basketful of food and the 5000 people fully fed.

In another words, Jesus did not listen to the negativity of the disciples, he did not walk away from the trials, instead He focuses on what He already has and He gave thanks. The Bible did not record any lengthy prayers either. Everything God did, He does it with purpose and faith in His Father’s love for Him.

Let us embrace a thankful and grateful approach to all lacks, stir ourselves to praise the all-knowing Lord and avoid complaining or murmuring. Surely, He will not let His children fade away.
 
Psalms 100: 4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

- John W.