The Bible says that, “The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.”  (Luke 11:34NKJV).

So, “if your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. And of your eye is bad, your body will be full of darkness!”.

What does this mean? Simply stated, a good eye sees the right things, allowing light and goodness to enter, making the person full of light ! On the contrary, if you don’t see well, you allow bad things and darkness to enter your life and make you full of  darkness !

An example in Genesis chapter 13 in the story of Abraham and Lot. 

Lot have bad eyes, he see things wrongly (from wrong perspective) and his life became full of darkness ! His bad eyes caused him to choose wrongly. On the other hand, Abraham have good eyes, he sees things correctly (from right perspective) and  filled with righteousness, goodness & light! Hence Abraham was able to see the right things and choose well.

As a result, Abraham did not choose the “good & fertile” Land but he chose What God has planned for him. As a result, God blessed him with all the good land ! But Lot chose the wrong land and landed in Sodom & Gomorrah! Lot’s life and his family is filled with trouble & evil!

Do you have good eyes? We need to have good eyes :

1)to see the right things

2)to be full of light (& not darkness)

3)to make the right choices In life

4)to please God and attract His favor and be successful In our life.

Is your life full of darkness? If you have bad eyes! You will see the wrong things and cause darkness to fill your life! And in darkness, you will not see very well and as a result you will make the wrong choices!

You can make a change today! Choose to apply the ointment of the Holy Spirit to your eyes, choose to allow God to clean and purify your eyes so that your eyes become good.

“So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. Revelation 3:18NLT

Scripture for Further Reading:

Genesis 13:14-17 (KJV): 

[14] And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: [15] For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. [16] And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. [17] Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

Are you under siege? Are you living in famine? Are you are running short, pressurised from every side. Nothing seems to work ! You don’t feel that you have the strength, or the capacity to hang on and pull through your circumstances! Everything seems to be stack up against you! But hold on, don’t give up. There is hope for you! 

In this story in 2 Kings chapter 7, the people of God was completely defeated, besieged, locked in, walled up in fear, running short of food. Some will die soon. There is no hope. But suddenly the prophet of God, Elisha burst on the scene, declaring  that deliverance is coming. Help is nearly here! By tomorrow, the famine will be over, declares the Lord! Therefore, be strengthened! Be encouraged! The Lord’s help is near. Keep believing and don’t give up. By faith, all things are possible!

“Elisha said, “Listen! GOD ’s word! The famine’s over. This time tomorrow food will be plentiful—a handful of meal for a shekel; two handfuls of grain for a shekel. The market at the city gate will be buzzing.”         2 Kings 7:1 MSG

Teks: ‭Kejadian‬ ‭3:9‬ ‭TB‬‬

 “Tetapi Tuhan Allah memanggil manusia itu dan berfirman kepadanya: “Di manakah engkau?””

Di manakah engkau di Tahun Baru 2017? Ada kah kamu jauh dari Tuhan? Adakah kamu gembira dengan keadaan hidup kamu? Tuhan Allah mencari kamu seperti Dia mencari Adam dan Hawa. Mungkin dosa atau kesilapan dan kesalahan telah membuat kamu tidak selesa untuk mendekati Tuhan kerana kamu merasa bersalah! Percayalah, hati Tuhan ialah untuk memulihkan kamu, untuk mengampuni kamu dan memulihkan perhubungan kamu dengan Dia. Jangan tertipu oleh iblis yang senantiasa cuba mengutuk dan membawa kesedihan dan memusnahkan hidup kamu.

Pada hari ini, apabila kamu memdengar suara Tuhan, jangan keraskan hidup kamu sehingga kamu tidak dapat respond kepada kasihnya. Keputusan terletak hanya di tangan mu.

“Sebab itu, baiklah kita waspada, supaya jangan ada seorang di antara kamu yang dianggap ketinggalan, sekalipun janji akan masuk ke dalam perhentian-Nya masih berlaku. Karena kepada kita diberitakan juga kabar kesukaan sama seperti kepada mereka, tetapi firman pemberitaan itu tidak berguna bagi mereka, karena tidak bertumbuh bersama-sama oleh iman dengan mereka yang mendengarnya. Sebab kita yang beriman, akan masuk ke tempat perhentian seperti yang Ia katakan: “Sehingga Aku bersumpah dalam murka-Ku: Mereka takkan masuk ke tempat perhentian-Ku,” sekalipun pekerjaan-Nya sudah selesai sejak dunia dijadikan.”  ‭‭Ibrani‬ ‭4:1-3‬ ‭TB‬‬

“Jadi sudah jelas, bahwa ada sejumlah orang akan masuk ke tempat perhentian itu, sedangkan mereka yang kepadanya lebih dahulu diberitakan kabar kesukaan itu, tidak masuk karena ketidaktaatan mereka. Sebab itu Ia menetapkan pula suatu hari, yaitu “hari ini”, ketika Ia setelah sekian lama berfirman dengan perantaraan Daud seperti dikatakan di atas: “Pada hari ini, jika kamu mendengar suara-Nya, janganlah keraskan hatimu!””‭‭Ibrani‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭TB‬‬

Kesimpulan:

Sambutlah Tuhan, dan terima lah rencana Tuhan untuk hidup kamu! Tuhan sedang memanggil kamu! Tuhan mahu menjadi Bapa kepada kita, Tuhan mahu kamu tinggal di dalamNya supaya hidup kamu diberkati! “Tinggallah di dalam Aku dan Aku di dalam kamu. Sama seperti ranting tidak dapat berbuah dari dirinya sendiri, kalau ia tidak tinggal pada pokok anggur, demikian juga kamu tidak berbuah, jikalau kamu tidak tinggal di dalam Aku.”  (Yohanes‬ ‭15:4‬ ‭TB‬‬) Janganlah kita menjauhkan diri daripadanya. Beranikanlah diri untuk membuat keputusan pada hari ini. Buatlah keputusan pada hari ini, untuk mendekati Dia! Amalkan lah Tabiat membaca firman Tuhan (alkitab) setiap hari untuk mendekati Tuhan!Jangan menjauhkan diri. Beranikanlah diri untuk membuat keputusan pada hari ini. Buatlah keputusan pada hari ini, untuk mendekati Dia! Amalkan lah Tabiat membaca firman Tuhan (alkitab) setiap hari untuk mendekati Tuhan!

 Read the Bible daily using S.O.A.P

One of the habits we want to cultivate is the habit of praying and reading the bible every day. A proven way to get more out of your time in God’s word is by using the S.O.A.P method.

All you need is you, your Bible, and 5-10 minutes, and you’ll be able to dig into God’s word and discover the truth for yourself! S.O.A.P stands for S-Scripture, O-Observation, A-Application and P-Prayer!

S – Scripture

Write down the Bible passage you’ll be studying.This can be one verse or several. Writing or typing it out helps us focus on each word individually and on the passage as a whole. It also helps us to soak it in and meditate on it. This really helps hone our focus on the task of studying Scripture!

O – Observations

Examine the text and write down what you notice.

• What jumps out at you in the passage?
• Who is it written by? Who is it written to?
• What’s one thing you didn’t notice before?
• What seems interesting or unusual?
• What comes before and after the text?
• Is there repetition, comparison, or contrast?

These observations may start with the obvious, but will gradually become deeper.

A – Applications

Apply God’s Word to your life in a practical way.This is the part where you personalize your study of Scripture. As you read over the text, how does it apply to you? Is there a specific action you need to take or a confession you need to make? Is there a scripture you need to obey?

If it’s an action, try to make it SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-based!

P – Prayer

Respond to God’s Word with your own words.Accumulating head knowledge about God is of little use; it’s heart transformation He’s after, and that’s only possible through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Pray that the seed (the Scripture you just studied) falls on good soil in your heart, so that it will take root and produce fruit. Praise God for His attributes revealed in the passage. Confess any sin that has come to light during this time of studying.
Thank Him for His Word and His care. And ask the Holy Spirit to continue growing you into a disciple of Jesus.

As we start the New Year, most of us would be looking to change our Lives for the better. Hence, many people make New Year resolutions. Let’s look to the Bible to see what we can expect, hope for or believe God for in the New Year!

I Have A Future & Hope

As a child of God, the Word of God encourages us to look ahead to the future with sure hope.  The bible says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV).

God Hears Our Prayers

As we begin the New Year, let’s begin the year by seeking God. If we seek Him, He promises to hear our prayers when we call on Him, “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” Jeremiah 29:12 (NKJV)

You Can Find God

If you are hungry and thirsty for God, you will find God.  The Creator of the universe, God wants you to walk with Him. He wants to fellowship with you. He wants to relate with you. Will you reach out and accept His Call today? “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah29:13NKJV)

It is worth to know the main drivers in your life before jumping into making another New Year resolution. And to change the drivers if you want to change your life. Make pursuing and finding God your #1 goal in 2017! Do not be satisfied with Christianity as just a religion. God wants to have close ellowship and relationship with you.

God Will Set You Free and Bring You Back to Your Promised Land

“I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.” Jeremiah 29:14 (NKJV)

You may have lost your way in life. We may be in “captivity” in situations and circumstances that have imprisoned and bound you. God is reaching out to you, willing you to believe that He has a plan and purpose for your life! A plan to give you a future and a hope. He wants to set you free and bring you back to your promised land! God promises us eternal life not only for after death but the divine quality of life for our life now.

 Conclusion

He wants to give us His Peace, His Joy, His Love, His goodness, His mercies, His loving kindnesses, His grace, His power, His Anointing to enable us to live our abundant and fulfilling life right now on earth. He wants us to have a part in His divine nature and give us all things that pertain to life and godliness! [“as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”  2 Peter 1:3-4 (NKJV)