The 'How to' & 'Necessity Of' Daily Time Alone with God!

Shut the noise around you! Be quiet, be still, listen to the Lord, and put your focus on God.

Psalm 46:10 

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Philippians 4:7 

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:6 

For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace.

Isaiah 26:3 

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Take the time to praise our Lord. “God I came just to say thank you.” Praise and Thanksgiving will chase the enemies of your soul away. Satan will not be able to come near you as long as you are truly praising and thanking God for everything in your life. Also, God will turn around what was meant for evil, to your advantage, for your good. Trust me on this.

Psalm 150:1-2 

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!

Psalm 117:1-2 

Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 22:3

Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

Genesis 50:20

As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.

Talk to God about everything at home, at work or at school, while driving, in the shower, while cooking, while exercising, even while studying and playing, etc. He’s a great listener, great helper, and more than a best friend.

Psalm 62:8 

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. 

1 Chronicles 16:11 

Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

Colossians 4:2 

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Ephesians 6:18 

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Spend time with the Lord by getting to know God intimately in His Word. 

Joshua 1:8 

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

Psalm 119:147-148 

I rise early, before the sun is up; I cry out for help and put my hope in your words. My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.

Consciously spending time in His presence every moment of your life, leads to knowing God's will and plan for your life.

Proverbs 16:3 

Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed.

Matthew 6:33 

But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

 

The dangers of never reading God's Word now and never making time for the Lord:-

One day you will seek God's Word but you will not be able to find it. 

Amos 8:11

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.

When it is too late, God will say, “I never knew you. Although you went around thinking you did my bidding but it was never my will for you. You never spent time with Me. You were never in My presence. I never really got to know you. The Day of Judgement is here and it’s too late to get to know Me now, depart from Me.”

Matthew 7:21-23 ESV

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [22] On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' [23] And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

So please spend quality time getting to know Jesus and seeking God's will, through God's Word now.

Adapted from the following link:-

https://biblereasons.com/spending-time-with-god/

Blessings in the name of Jesus!

Mary Augustine✍

22nd September 

1. Are we prepared enough? 2. Is our trust rightly placed?

Hey Family & Friends! 👋

Here are 2 questions to think through for today:-

1. Are we prepared enough?

2. Is our trust rightly placed?

We are living in unpredictable times now. There is a world wide pandemic which never seems to end and there are wars, natural  disasters, economic upheaval, terrorist attacks on the innocents, etc happening all around. Those living in most places of this world, never know if we will come home in one piece if we step out of our homes. Anything can rob us of our lives, Covid-19, vaccinations, accidents, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, anything!

In Singapore we are naturally care free and feel safe always because we know we live in a safe zone. Our government takes care of us by putting laws in place to ensure our health and safety. Therefore we trust our system to protect us. Ladies even dare to go out alone at night and reach home safely without fear of any attacks. 

Yet, just today we received a warning of a possible terror attack in crowded places from the Japanese Foreign Ministry to its citizens living in Southeast Asia, including Singapore! 

(The following news is from ST Singapore, published just today on 15th September 2021 at 12.06pm. I have extracted the main relevant points and presented them here.)

With regards to (Quote)'advisory recently issued by the Japanese Foreign Ministry to its citizens in South-east Asia, including Singapore, warning of a possible terror attack in crowded places', (Unquote) :-

(Quote) 'The Internal Security Department (ISD) said on Tuesday (Sept 14) it has seen no specific nor credible intelligence of imminent terrorist threat to Singapore.

But the department urged members of the public to remain vigilant and promptly call the ISD counter-terrorism hotline on 1800-2626-473, or report via the SGSecure app, when they come across suspicious persons or activities.' (Unquote).

Although the ISD said that there is no imminent threat, it has urged the public to be vigilant, nevertheless. 

Are we prepared in case something like that, unfortunately, happens? Are we prepared in case this Covid pandemic gets worse as our government has predicted? How prepared are we? 

How prepared can we be, when most of us are so busy immersed in our own thoughts or glued to our hand phones while travelling or even at home and at work?

In case some unfortunate threat does happen, then, we who might be caught in the midst, will most probably perish. If we succumb to the Covid virus or succumb to the side effects of the vaccinations we will also die. Those who unfortunately get caught in natural disasters like floods, fire or storms will most probably meet their end too. Even in natural settings when age catches up or when we fall sick we will breathe our last. Every human born on earth will die one day. Only the circumstances of our death will vary. Then what? Where will our soul go to when our body perishes? 

As Christians we know that all will either go to heaven or hell when one dies. All of us have sinned and are headed towards hell unless we receive the redemption which God offers us  through the blood of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. We will meet Jesus and be in heaven, if we have walked in faithful relationship with Jesus and truly lived humble, repentant lives pleasing to Father God and bearing fruit.

Are we truly prepared to meet Christ Jesus? If we die now, are we sure we will be with Him in heaven? If not let's get prepared lest we regret for all eternity!

My second question is, 'Is our trust rightly placed?'

Most of us place our trust in the systems of this world and in people. We trust our ISD to protect us from all imminent threats. The IS Department comprises of skilled men who are only human. They can fail any time. We trust our health systems to protect us from fatal illnesses. These systems may fail too.  No one and no system is perfect or flawless. 

Instead of placing our trust on anyone or anything we must learn to put our trust in our Creator God Who never fails us. He is sovereign and He is in control of all. He is all powerful and all knowing. Nothing ever happens without His permission or His knowledge. 

Yes, disasters do happen in the world and we may ask why God allowed it. Yet we will never know the answer, we will never see the big picture, until we go to be with Him.

Albeit, we know that when we obey His laws and live lives rooted in Christ Jesus and put our trust solely in Him, we will never need to be afraid of any threat whatsoever. We will know that the final moment we close our eyes on earth  we will be home with Him in heaven, in an instant. 

Blessed is the one who obeys God and places his trust in Him, for he will never be dismayed.

Isaiah 40:28-31 ESV

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. [29] He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. [30] Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; [31] but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

So let's always be prepared to meet God and live eternally with Him and let's put our trust only in Him. 

As we meditate on the above today, let those of us who simply know about Jesus, but do not know Him personally, strive to get to  know this Wonderful Saviour, Who is the Prince of Peace. Believe me, your life will never be the same again when you truly get to know Jesus.

John 3:16-18 ESV

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. [18] Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Be blessed!🙌

Mary Augustine✍

15th September 2021