Do you feel fulfilled? If you have spent time trying to find fulfillment in material possessions, in traveling and sightseeing, in good food and fine clothing, in fame and power, have you been able to find what you're looking for? If not, do you know why not?
Delicious food leaves us patting our bellies, while partying with our friends helps us forget our troubles. Our great possessions make us proud, and we enjoy showing them off. But when our stomachs are full, does that fill the void in our hearts? When our friends leave us after a long day of conversation, don't our problems and pressures come back to haunt us? And if fire burned all that we possess, what would be left for us to show off?
So where can we find true, lasting fulfillment that is solid? My friend, we can find it in Yahweh God Almighty.
If we want to fill the void in our hearts, we must know God. When our friends leave us for the day, God will stay with us (after all, He needs no rest or sleep!). When fire or a natural disaster has taken everything away, we still have the best thing to brag about: that we know and have a relationship with God.
Why know God for fulfillment?
What is created has been created from nothingness, and can therefore return to nothingness; and those who have entrusted their livelihood to material wealth can well attest to this when fire destroyed all they had. On the other hand, since Yahweh is the Creator, only He is real, unchanging, stands forever; therefore, only He can provide the only solid reliance in life, Someone we can hold on to now and forever after our resurrection.
Thus, God is what makes our lives complete, as Anna Williams, the director of operations of Appalachia Mission of Hope, says: "God Almighty makes life complete. He will be your Counselor, your Confidant and your most faithful Friend. He will shelter you from the storms of life and lead and guide you through the difficult times that come your way. He is the hope you cling to when you need to feel loved, cherished or nurtured. He loves unconditionally and that assurance allows you to work through situations and circumstances that would otherwise shatter your life."
When we know Yahweh, our knowledge and intimacy with Him helps us align our walk with His perfect will, fulfilling our purpose as part of His overall plans. We will have peace of mind, knowing we are moving in the correct direction with the right support. Otherwise, we would be like travelers in the wilderness without maps and a compass to guide us onto the right path to our destination.
Author Zohra Sarwari agrees: "It is important to know about the Creator, because that is what motivates us to do the right thing, and stay away from the evil things in life, to follow His guidance that He sent down to us. We all know that if you create something you must give it a manual so people learn how to use it. The Almighty did the same for mankind; He created us then told us to follow a certain way of life, and if we do that we will be successful; if we don't do that we will fail the test of life."
Alya Nuri, 11-Year-Old Author and Speaker, echoes Zohra: "By knowing God, you know Who to turn to when you are stuck in life and you feel like you can't get out of the situation that you were put in. God teaches us to pick right from wrong, and it is our choice to pick right, and reject wrong. Lastly, by knowing that God will judge all of our deeds on the Day of Judgment, it makes me want to listen and obey Him more and be a better person."
Alya adds, "It is important to know God, because He gave us everything: family, food, health, wealth, and much more."
That takes us to the most important reason to know Yahweh: to fulfill what is most right and just: our responsibility in rightfully crediting our Designer.
Every product in the supermarket displays the manufacturer on its label and packaging; every automobile we drive is emblazoned with its company's name; and every article of clothing we wear bears a tag that shows its brand name. When every manmade product has been credited to its maker, should not the most awesome creation--our universe and all it contains--be especially credited to our Creator as well?
We are grateful for the moment when our children first learn how to talk, for the kisses and hugs we share with our lovers, and for the delectable dishes on our tables; but without our Creator giving us our lives, we would not have had the privilege of enjoying any of these in the first place! Therefore, let us thank Him for honoring us with life, so we may delight in all His creations!
Yahweh deserves our full and deepest worship, our praise, our love, every minute of our lives, for we owe Him our very existence, and because He is love. All wonderful things bloom from love, so when Yahweh is love, all goodness comes from Him. And as Aaron Taylor, author and missionary, says, "The way to know love is to know God. And the only way to truly know God is to know His Son Jesus Christ, who demonstrated His love for us by bearing our guilt, our shame, and our suffering at the cross. As I read through the four gospels, I'm left with one inescapable thought. If God is like Jesus then He can have my heart!"
Jennifer Maggio did just that: she gave her heart to God, and has experienced the power of God's love ever since. She says, "Having been molested, beaten, and malnourished as a child, I did not feel God would ever care about me or that I was worth of Him caring about me. I hit rock bottom in my teen years. I finally desperately sought some type of validation in my life. Knowing God took me from homeless, unwed teen mom with no hope or future to successful corporate executive full of joy and hope. As I learned more about God, I learned more about my need and desire for Him. I could not ever be a whole person without His guidance and wisdom. My faith has now led me into full-time ministry for a Single Moms Ministry."
Becky Harmon, CTA, CLC, feels the same way. She says, "From a theological point of view the reason it is important to know God is because without knowing Him, we cannot experience peace, righteousness or joy. Because He is a just God, our sin separates us; but through believing in His Son, Jesus Christ, by faith, we are joined with Him. For me personally, I have continually experience His supernatural provision that has translated me out of continual self sabotage and into His presence where I alone am loved for know other reason then His grace. It has truly been life changing to receive so much affirmation and pure love. I owe Him my whole existence and for that I will be eternally grateful."
Got an empty heart? Then give it away!
To whom? To Yahweh and Jesus. Give your heart to God and His Son to embrace complete and total fulfillment!
Yahweh's Word says, "He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17, WEB) Jennifer and Becky have accepted God's invitation to freely drink in His water of life, and have been refreshed and filled. Will you be next? To take the water of life, simply embrace Yahweh and His Son Jesus in your heart, and experience total fulfillment. Come, quench your thirst, today!
~*~Q&A with Dr. Shirley~*~
Question: What will life on Earth be like after the future resurrection?
Answer: There are two phases of life after the future resurrection. The first phase lasts one thousand years when Jesus will rule on Earth as God's appointed King over us. This period is called the Millennium. During this period, Jesus and his co-rulers (people chosen from God's most faithful Christians) will restore the Earth's spiritual condition as it was originally meant to be: overflowing love, peace, joy, security, justice, holiness, etc. The following conditions will also characterize this time period:
a) People will have a lengthened lifespan, living as old as the trees
b) People will not have any illness at all; the blind will see again, the disabled will walk again
c) People will be able to experience absolute peace with all animals, playing with lions and tigers and snakes
d) People will live in complete peace
e) God's moral laws will be taught, enforced, and observed throughout Earth, with Jerusalem as the Earth's religious center
f) People will live in prosperity
g) People will still live in houses and have families
h) As for work, people will build houses, plant crops, and thoroughly enjoy the work of their hands, and never labor in vain. The Bible doesn't really describe people having jobs, but if we will have jobs, our jobs will be thoroughly enjoyable and profitable--no more bad bosses! If we will have jobs indeed, some of our jobs we currently have won't be needed. For example, there won't be doctors because no one will get sick.
i) From the descriptions in the Bible, this first stage will be comfortably similar to our lives right now, but without any negative aspects. There will be similar geographical characteristics, such as mountains and rivers, but the Earth will be prosperous, without poor, unfruitful land.
After the Millennium ends, all those who have died during the Millennium and all the wicked who were not resurrected prior to the Millennium will be resurrected to be judged. The righteous--who trusted in God and did His will--will live on to the second phase. The unrighteous will be judged and destroyed forever (they will not be given another chance). Along with wicked people, Satan and all evil angels will be destroyed, ending evil completely and forever. Then after this final judgment, the second phase will begin: this is the eternity stage. This means that all the righteous will live forever with God and Jesus.
To usher in the final stage, the eternity stage, God will create a new Earth. This new Earth will be humanity's "heaven," where God will dwell. Night won't exist--yes, it will be all daylight, and the "daylight" won't be from the sun--it will be from our Creator Himself and His Son Jesus! Can you imagine that? I think it's just too good for us to imagine now, because we're so used to our dark world and conditions. The best part is that it won't be too good to be true.
As you can see, the future life for humanity is too wonderful, beyond our imagination. But the thing is, we'd have to be found righteous to enter the Millennium after the initial resurrection. Sadly, the Bible is very clear that only a fraction of humanity will make it to the final eternity stage; each of us will have a loved one who will not make it. The goal of every person therefore is to be found righteous in God's sight right now before Jesus returns and ushers in the Millennium. How can we be righteous? By believing and trusting God and Jesus and doing God's will. This is why I've been stressing to everyone that we must read the Bible, because its only in the Bible where we can know and understand God's will. We won't ever be righteous on our own, no matter how many good works we do in our lives. Our own self-righteousness is evil in God's sight. It's God's will that we must do, and its in Jesus that we must believe and trust.
Do you see the urgency of this matter? Every day, people are dying without realizing God's purpose for them. They have entered eternal death, because when they are resurrected, they won't enter eternity; instead, their life would end again, forever, after their resurrection and judgment. So we must do God's will and tell others to do the same. Telling others about God and His will is the best way we show our love for others; it's the best thing we can ever do for anyone, for if they accept God, they will have accepted the gift of a lifetime: eternity with Yahweh and Jesus.
~*~Dr. Shirley's Corner~*~
Many of you know that I'm a board member of the World Positive Thinkers Club, which is comprised of positive thinkers from all walks of life who bring positivity into people's lives through charitable causes. Membership includes the late President Reagan, Lance Armstrong, Governor Sarah Palin, Zig Ziglar, and Chuck Norris.
The WPT Club has contributed to hungry Children in Appalachia and will now contribute to wounded soldiers. Would you like to be a part of the club's worthy causes? Then become a sponsor of the WPT Club to spread the positivity and goodwill, while expanding your own business image. Watch this video to see what benefits you can reap for your own business when you become a sponsor: http://budurl.com/WPTVideoInvitation
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~*~A Biblical Wisdom Nugget~*~
"It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35)
About four thousand years ago, Yahweh chose one single man from among the entire human population to bless unconditionally. This man was Abraham from Mesopotamia. In His blessing, God promised that He would make Abraham into a nation, and that his reputation would be great. In addition, Yahweh said, "You will be a blessing. All of the families of the earth will be blessed in you." (Genesis 12:2, 3)
Here is a principle we must all know: God blesses us, not just for our own benefit, but for others to be blessed through us. God wants us to be a blessing to others. When God blesses us, do we bless others or hoard our blessing? For example, if God blesses us with material wealth, do we share our wealth by clothing the naked and feeding the hungry? When we receive God's gifts, we are to share the gifts with others. God doesn't give us so we can keep; God gives us so we can give.
John the Baptist said, "He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise." (Luke 3:11)
Remember, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" and "God loves a cheerful giver." (Acts 20:35; 2 Corinthians 9:7)
If you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly. If you sow bountifully, you will reap bountifully. (2 Corinthians 9:6)
So how was Abraham a blessing to all the families (nations) on Earth? The answer is: because of Jesus Christ!
You see, Jesus Christ is a descendant of Abraham. Thus, anyone who trusts in Jesus for their salvation will be blessed beyond measure through Abraham, for Jesus came through Abraham's line. This is how Abraham continues to be a blessing to the entire world even though he had been dead for 4,000 years!
Have you been blessed through Abraham? If you have not yet received the ultimate blessing of eternal life (salvation), then come to embrace the Son of God, Jesus Christ, in your heart and experience the blessing of a lifetime!
May the grace and peace from Yahweh God and Jesus Christ be with you.!
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Best regards,
Dr. Shirley Cheng
Award-Winning Author with 27 Book Awards
Founder of Ultra-Ability Ministry
Proclaimer of Yahweh God's Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ
Author/Contributor/Editor of 35 books by age 27, Bible Teacher, Poet, Motivational Speaker, Self-Empowerment Expert, Advocate
Board member of World Positive Thinkers Club
http://www.shirleycheng.com
"Although I'm blind, I can see far and wide; even though I'm disabled, I can climb high mountains. Let the ropes of hope in Yahweh God haul you high!"
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