A Pure Heart

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” is without a doubt the most comprehensive of all the blessings, just as being pure in heart is the most comprehensive requirement of a believer’s life. Nothing but the sight of God will satisfy the longings of the disciple’s heart.

So how do we know if we have a pure heart? It is by doing of God's will wholly, completely, and without reserve. To have a pure heart is to see God.

  

 Sis. Mara shared this is done when we:

• Pray every moment

• Submit in every area

• Love in every act

Praying without ceasing means that we are aware of God’s presence wherever we are. The pure of heart are those that, instead of trying to be noticed, go into their room or a quiet, private place and pour out their hearts to God. Even if we don’t know how to pray or how to put our hearts fears and desires into words, God meets us in our most honest moments.

Submit in every area. Like Zacchaeus, the tax collector, who submitted his 100% to God. He gave everything because he acknowledged that God knows what is best for him. In our life, there might be some areas that we need to submit and lift up to him. Remember, God knows what is best for us.

Love in every act. Let all that you do be done with love. It may come as a surprise, but God is more concerned with what’s inside rather than what’s outside. God does not look at the external packaging, but the internal workings and judges by the heart.

The “Pure in heart” are the ones who see God in other people, in places – in everything.  They live on the positive side of life and choose to see the best in everyone and everything they see.

written by Ley Reinares
source Makati Feast bulletin

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See God

Do you remember those stereograms where you need to stare at something for several seconds (or minutes… or hours!) in order to see the hidden object?
Slowly a dinosaur or a man or an iceberg.
You know what? I could never get those.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find it.
Others could, but me, I couldn’t.

Do you ever get like that with life?
When others see a blessing, you don’t. Instead, you see the problem.
Even when there’s so much to rejoice about, you still see what’s not going right. I have a question. Are you happier that way?

When you think of a happy thought, doesn’t it bring a smile to your face?
When you think of a sad thought, what happens?
Naturally, you tend to frown. It’s quite simple, really.

When all you see is sad, negative stuff, you tend to be sad and negative as well. But when you choose to see the good in every situation, it results in a happier life.

Today we’re talking about seeing God in every moment, area and person in our lives. Some of us carry pictures of the people we love in our wallets or as wallpapers on our cell phones or laptops. If those make us smile, what more if you see God’s face before you every second of the day?

I encourage you today to open your eyes and see the love of God that is right in front of you. In the air you’re breathing… in the words you’re reading… in the person sitting next to you. Enjoy His presence today!

Source BGC Feast

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HAPPYTUDE

Happytude: a cute term for “happy attitude.” As said during last week’s Feast, “Happiness is an attitude.” And yes, it is!

It has been more than a year since I decided to live a happy life every single day.  It is not that I will not allow myself to feel sad or I will deprive myself the comfort of crying. Living a happy life everyday is a choice that we can make even during times of trials, during times of darkness.

For two weeks now, I have been having a personal dilemma. There are nights when I can no longer control my feelings that I just burst into crying. I cry aloud as I pray to God and ask for comfort, for Him to ease the pain in my heart and lead me on what to do. But the moment I wake up, I decide to be happy the whole .. >>  view complete article

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Be Open

The happy mood of Cavite Feast’s attendees truly matched the topic of last Sunday’s Feast. Everyone was full of energy as we started the new series on HAPPYTUDES, an attitude that will make us happy and blessed. As Bro. Ralph Sioson led the worship, he shared his own experience on how typhoon Pedring affected their house.  But because of Bro. Ralph’s happytude, he could still serve God without a trace of any unpleasant things around him.

Likewise, full of happiness and grace, Bro. Rex’s started his talk on how we should be open for God’s blessing.  As children of God, we need not do anything to please our Heavenly Father. We should remember that we worship a God of Happiness. Things around us may be temporary but the overflowing love of God will remain permanent.

Bro. Rex shared three postures of the heart: proud, pitiful and prepared.  Two feast actors and an actress were called on stage to illustrate these postures.  We saw Mr. Proud who doesn’t seem to care about anyone and doesn’t need anybody. Therefore he could not get whatever blessings thrown at him. Mr. Pitiful always looks down and feel bad about himself.  When the blessings of God were thrown at him, he tends to just ignore them because he is desperate. Ms. Prepared on the other hand was the opposite. She doesn’t miss any opportunity of God’s blessings. There are times she missed to get some blessings but never failed to get up and prepare again and again.

 Bro. Rex further narrates that happiness is an attitude and should not depend on what is happening outside of a person. It should rather depend on what is happening inside a person. If we want true happiness, we must be desperate for God just like our desperation for gasping the air we breathe. When we are desperate for God, we must also be ready all the time. There are no shortages of blessings, only shortage of being ready to receive God’s blessing.

Let us stay blessed and be ready at all times!

Source Cavite Feast Bulletin
by George Evangelip

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