Verses from Psalms

我自出母胎就倚赖你，把我从母腹中领出来的就是你，我要常常赞美你。

神啊！我自幼以来，你就教导我；直到现在，我还是宣扬你奇妙的作为。神啊！到我年老发白的时候，求你仍不要离弃我，等我把你的能力向下一代传扬，把你的大能向后世所有的人传扬。(诗篇 71:6, 17-18)

By You I have been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother's womb; My praise is continually of You.

O God, You have taught me from my youth, And I still declare Your wondrous deeds. And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come. (Psalms 71:6, 17-18)

As we celebrate our birthdays each year, we are also reminded that we are growing older. It might not be a nice feeling for many. The psalmist here reminds us though to remember His faithfulness throughout our growing up years no matter what happened. And to remember that we are growing nearer to Him as well. Birthdays are actually a blessing!

Verse from Psalm

耶和华啊！你为敬畏你的人所珍藏的好处，为投靠你的人在世人面前所施行的恩惠，是多么丰盛。(诗篇 31:19)

How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who fear You, Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, Before the sons of men! (Psalms 31:19)

Blessings, come in different sizes and shapes. In fact, we don’t always recognize them. Even when we are doing everything we think God wants us to do, we may still experience suffering. We are sometimes surprised that God does not answer the way we want or that His timing appears to be tardy.

We see this in Joseph’s life. From a human perspective, we would think that God had forgotten all about him. For more than a decade, Joseph experienced suffering. He was tossed in a pit, sold into slavery, falsely accused, unjustly put in prison. Finally, however, God’s faithfulness to him became evident to all as he was lifted up as a ruler of Egypt and saved many people from famine (Gen. 37–46). C. S. Lewis wrote: “When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place.”

God had always had His hand of blessing on Joseph, as He does for all who trust Him. 

True happiness is knowing that God is good.

Verses from Psalms

不要因作恶的人心怀不平，不要因犯罪的人产生嫉妒。因为他们好象草快要枯干，像即将凋萎的青草。你要倚靠耶和华，并要行善；你要住在地上，以信实为粮食。你要以耶和华为乐，他就把你心里所求的赐给你。

你要在耶和华面前静默无声，耐心地等候他；不要因那凡事顺利的，和那恶谋得逞的，心怀不平。你要抑制怒气，消除烈怒；不要心怀不平，那只会导致你作恶。(诗篇 37:1-4, 7-8)

Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass And fade like the green herb. Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. (Psalms 37:1-4, 7-8)

In a world of injustice and with so much evil going around us, whether it affects us directly or not, it's easy to get swept up and handle things in our way when our anger gets the better of us, let us remember that God hates evil so much more than we do, and learn to leave it in His hands, He will deal with it in His own ways, in His own time. 

Verse from Ephesians

我们在他爱子里，借着他的血蒙了救赎，过犯得到赦免，都是按着他丰盛的恩典。(以弗所书 1:7)

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7)

"There are some things money can’t buy—but these days, not many” according to Michael Sandel, author of What Money Can’t Buy. A person can buy a prison-cell upgrade for $90 a night, the right to shoot an endangered black rhino for $250,000, and your doctor’s cell phone number for $1,500. It seems that “almost everything is up for sale.”

But one thing money can’t buy is redemption—freedom from the stranglehold of sin. 

Jesus’ death on the cross was the high cost of delivering us from sin. And only He could pay that price because He was the perfect Son of God. Money can't. 

Verse from 1 Corinthians

所以，我亲爱的弟兄们，你们务要坚固，不可动摇，常常竭力多作主工，因为知道你们的劳苦，在主里面不是徒然的。(哥林多前书 15:58)

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Chinese proverbs are common and often have stories behind them. The proverb “pulling up a crop to help it grow” is about an impatient man in the Song Dynasty. He was eager to see his rice seedlings grow quickly. So he thought of a solution. He would pull up each plant a few inches. After a day of tedious work, the man surveyed his paddy field. He was happy that his crop seemed to have “grown” taller. But his joy was short-lived. The next day, the plants had begun to wither because their roots were no longer deep.

In 2 Timothy 2:6, the apostle Paul compares the work of being a minister of the gospel to that of a farmer. He wrote to encourage Timothy that, like farming, making disciples can be continuous, hard labor. You plow, you sow, you wait, you pray. You desire to see the fruits of your labor quickly, but growth takes time. And as the Chinese proverb so aptly illustrates, any effort to hurry the process won’t be helpful. 

Let's learn to be patient when we are helping others in their lives, it takes time to see the results of our work. 

Verses from 1 Chronicles

你们要称谢耶和华，求告他的名，在万民中传扬他的作为！

他仆人 以色列 的后裔， 他所拣选 雅各的子孙哪，你们要记念他奇妙的作为和他的奇事，并他口中的判语。(历代志上 16:8, 12-13)

Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.

Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgments from His mouth, (1 Chronicles 16:8, 12)

According to a prominent Duke University Medical Center researcher, “If thankfulness were a drug, it would be the world’s best-selling product with [health benefits] for every major organ system.”

For some, being thankful means simply living with a sense of gratitude—taking time to recognize and focus on the things we have, instead of the things we wish we had. The Bible takes the idea of thankfulness to a deeper level. The act of giving thanks causes us to recognize the One who provides our blessings (James 1:17).

Let's learn to give thanks instead of non stop complaining

Verses from Joshua

你们的妻子、孩子和牲畜，都可以留在约旦河东边、摩西赐给你们的地上；但你们所有英勇的战士，都要拿起武器，在你们的兄弟前面过河去，帮助他们；等到耶和华使你们的兄弟可以和你们一样安居，同样得着耶和华你们的神要赐给他们作产业的地，你们才可以回到你们所得的地，以它作你们的产业，就是耶和华的仆人摩西在约旦河东边日出之地赐给你们的地方。”(约书亚记 1:14-15)

Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but you shall cross before your brothers in battle array, all your valiant warriors, and shall help them, until the LORD gives your brothers rest, as He gives you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God is giving them. Then you shall return to your own land, and possess that which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise." (Joshua 1:14-15)

It's easy to look out for our own needs first, however let's learn to look out for the needs of others, not just ours.