When The Wall Gives Way

We can only hide our lack of integrity for so long. Eventually we'll experience failure, and whatever influence we've temporarily gained will be swept away. Hurricane Katrina taught us that. When the storm came, the river embankments in New Orleans broke and the city went under.

Integrity is like a wall - erected one brick at a time. That's why it's crucial to take care of the little things. A lot of us don't understand that. We think we can do whatever we want when it comes to small things; we believe so long as we don't have any major lapses we're doing well. But that's not the way it works. Webster's New International Dictionary describes integrity as adherence to moral and ethical principles, soundness of character, and honesty. Ethical principles are not flexible.

A little white lie is still a lie. Theft is still theft, whether it's one dollar or one million. The truth is, if you can't be trusted at all points you probably can't be trusted at any point. Each time you break a moral principle you create a crack in the wall of your character, and when times get tough it becomes harder to act with integrity - not easier.

Character isn't created in a crisis; it just comes to light. Everything you've done in the past, including the things you've neglected to do, comes to a head when you're under pressure.

Someone writes, "Integrity commits itself to character over personal gain, people over things, service over power, discipline over impulse, commitment over convenience, and the long view over the immediate."

Be Blessed.

Believing and Knowing God

In any friendship or relationship, we always put lots of effort in knowing the other party. We spend hours talking and getting to know each other. Even after spending large amount of time, would not know someone 100 percent. A good example is a husband and wife relationship. After all these years of knowing my wife, there are still new things that I am learning of her everyday.

Many of us can openly claim that we believe in God and we believe that He died for us and salvation is only through Jesus Christ. That is good but the question is how much we know of our God who is so willing to give His life for us so that we may have life.

I realize that there is a fundamental difference between believing God and knowing God. We believe God the day when we accepted Him as our personal Savior. We begin to know God as we begin to spend time reading His Word and seeking Him. To know someone, there is an investment that need to be made and TIME is the greatest investment.

The Bible says that our God has given us a heart to know Him. Jeremiah 24:7 says "I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart." Paul in Philippians 3:10 says that his supreme goal was to "know Him". How about us today?

All of us who are believers are given a heart to know God. The question is how are we cultivating it? In order for a friendship to grow and stay alive, the two people must spend time together. This is also very true when it comes to our relationship with the Lord: We have to make time to know Him more and more! Psalms 9:10 says "Those who know Your name will trust in You, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You"

Let's spend time to know HIM more and more.!!!!

Be Blessed.

10 Factors for Self Boost

1. Never speak negatively about self.

It is crucial that we do not speak negatively about ourselves as we tend to believe what we say more than what everybody else is saying.

2. Be ambitious, but advance in small steps.

No mountain can be conquered in one go.

3. Take time to celebrate each and every positive step we make.

This is one of the best ways in which we refuel our energy, motivation, and self-confidence.

4. Exercise our talents by focusing on our strengths, not our weaknesses.

We must find out what we like to do and that we do well, then we must do it over and over. The corollary being that we should not spend all our time trying to do something we are not good at.

5. Don't compare self to others.

Comparison invites condemnation, not recognition and appreciation. Instead, compete against absolute standards and give your best.

6. Learn to fail with grace.

It is OK to fail as long as we have given ourselves all the chance to succeed and we have learned the lessons. And above all, we should never see a failure as the end of the road. On the contrary, each failure will take us one step closer to success, if we manage to learn the lessons from it. Also, we must learn the secret of staying at peace with ourselves regardless of the situation we are in, we must learn to handle success with humbleness and failure with inner strength.

7. Focus on potential, not limitations.

We all have far more potential than we think and we can increase our realized potential any time we choose. Potential-unlocking is not age-related.

8. Have the courage to be different.

To develop a high self-factor requires us to be completely and fully ourselves. This means that we have to take a chance on not being like everyone else as we are all different and all have different talents, gifts, and abilities. We need to determine our own worth: we should not let others do it for us.

9. Be open to feedback and criticism.

Don't let others take control of us by putting their problems off on us. The sooner we realize that no matter what we do will probably never get the affirmation we desire from certain persons, the better. We must learn to become self-validating persons. Of course, it is perfectly OK to look for outside validation as long as we do not derive our sense of worth from it.

10. Keep our flaws in perspective.

We all have flaws and what we may regard, as flaws in our eyes might well be perceived as great assets in the eyes of others.We should certainly recognize our faults and weaknesses, but people with a high self-factor get their eyes off the one imperfection and look at everything in perspective.

Take Control In Small Things

Daniel purposed in his heart...Daniel 1:8 NKJV

Daniel was a victim of circumstances far beyond his control. King Nebuchadnezzar had conquered his homeland and carried him off into exile in Babylon. He lost his freedom, his home, his culture, his friendships and his status as one of Israel's nobility. He had to learn to speak a foreign language and live in a place he never wanted to be. If you'd been Daniel, wouldn't you have been tempted to focus on the things you couldn't control, like complaining what a bad leader Nebuchadnezzar was, blaming exile for your unhappiness and feeling sorry for yourself? Not Daniel! He 'determined that he would not defile himself by eating the king's food… ' (Daniel 1:8). He spent time thinking about what he most deeply valued and decided to honour God and live by his convictions; even in small things.

Small battles train us to win big ones. If Daniel hadn't taken action early on, he wouldn't have had the strength to say 'no' to idol worship and face the lion's den without fear or compromise. Maybe you can't do anything right now about the house you live in or the job you work at, but you can change your life by taking action in small things. Maybe like Daniel it will involve what you eat, what you feed your mind, or what comes out of your mouth. You can refuse to allow your boss or your spouse the power to dictate what kind of mood you'll be in based on how they treat you. Like Daniel, you can choose. When you 'purpose in your heart' to honour God, He blesses you and becomes involved in your life in ways you never thought possible.

Note: The article above is taken from daily devotion email from The Word for Today brought by TheVine in association with The Rhema Broadcasting Group Inc, New Zealand and UCB International Ltd

Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia

We are ONE COUNTRY, ONE BANGSA – BANGSA MALAYSIA and nothing will break the bonds of love between us.

“SAYA ANAK BANGSA MALAYSIA”

Check out more at http://bangmalaysia.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/160909-launch-of-the-saya-anak-bangsa-malaysia-initiative/

Interesting facts about tongue....!!!!

Last Friday, I published an article on the importance of controlling our tongue which has the power to build people up or tear them down. Today, I want to share with you some interesting facts about our tongue. Here it goes:

- The tongue is the strongest muscle in our body and it is the only muscle that is connected at only one end.

- Like fingerprint, every single tongue on earth has its own individual tongue print.

- There are over 10,000 taste buds on the surface of our tongue, giving you the ability to taste the difference between, sweet, sour, salty and bitter. The salt and sweet taste buds are at the tip of the tongue, bitter at the base, and sour along the sides.

- The average weight of the adult male tongue is 70 grams, for a female, 60 grams. The tongue is 60-74% percent water, 16-18% protein, 15-24% fat!

- Close to 50% of the bacteria in the mouth lives on the surface of our tongue.

- 85% of the population can curl their tongue into a tube.

- Tongue piercing is an ancient cultural practice that dates back before recorded history.

- A blue whales tongue is the length of an elephant.

- The world’s longest tongue belongs to a woman, which is 9.3 cm long from the tip of her lips when extended.

Be Careful What You Say

The tongue of the wise brings healing - Proverbs 12:18 NIV

Careless words can hurt people. Not only can they influence a person's self-worth, they can actually shape that person's destiny. If you doubt that, consider these two stories:

1) One day in a small country church an altar boy accidentally dropped the communion wine. The officiating priest slapped him and shouted, "Leave, and don't come back!" That boy became General Tito, the brutal communist dictator who ruled the people of Yugoslavia for years.

2) In a big city cathedral another altar boy dropped the communion wine. His bishop turned to him and whispered reassuringly, "It's okay, some day you'll be a great priest." That boy became Archbishop Fulton Sheen, whose sermons touched the hearts of millions on national television.

Your words either build people up or tear them down. Solomon said, "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing" (Proverbs 12:18 NIV). Here's a truth we don't like to acknowledge; what comes out of our lips reveals what's in our heart, and our "I didn't mean it" doesn't change that or undo the damage.

Eugene Petersen writes: "Every day I put love on the line. There's nothing I am less good at. I am far better in competition than love; far better at responding to my instincts to get ahead, than at figuring out how to love another. I'm schooled and trained in getting my own way. And yet I decide every day to set aside what I do best, and attempt to do what I do very clumsily - open myself to the frustrations and failures of loving, daring to believe that failing in love is better than succeeding in pride."

Note: The article above is taken from daily devotion email from The Word for Today brought by TheVine in association with The Rhema Broadcasting Group Inc, New Zealand and UCB International Ltd

Glory in the highest!!!!!!

I realize that I have not updated ViveAlive for almost two weeks. Been busy with cousin's wedding in Banting during the Merdeka holiday and on return to home, have to be warded in the hospital.

I simply want to glorify God.....in the midst of the storm of life, HE remains faithful and HIS peace surpass all understanding. HE faithfully leads me through the valley of the shadow of death and continue to remind me of HIS goodness and mercy that last for eternity. I see HIS hand in every aspect of my needs. My Jehovah cares!!!!

To all my friends and readers, thank you for praying for me. Received tones of smses and calls from near and far. Special thanks to those who took the trouble to visit me and be a pillar of encouragement during my six days ordeal. I know it is a risk to visit but you still take the courage to visit. I appreciate it very much. My stay in the hospital would be boring without you guys. Of course, special thanks to my lovely wife, for being there..."In sickness and in health".

All glory to My Jesus.

Be Blessed.