Last Sunday during the English Service, I was holding the Bread on my left hand and the Cup on my right during the communion time … In the flick of a second; I saw in my spirit the abundant provision of Grace on my left hand and the gift of Righteousness on my right. At that moment, I was quicken and started to receive a fresh insight from the Lord in respect of His Body and Blood.
Romans 5:17 ~ For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
The verse from Romans 5:17 is a very special verse in my grace walk with the Lord. Many months ago, I first received a revelation that before the cross, Jesus reminded the Jewish people to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all that they required will be added to them. As for us believer, the Kingdom of God is already in our heart and we are now not in the position of seeking but receiving. So with this verse, receiving God's abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness became alive in my walk with the Lord. It is an encouraging verse that when we receive this abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness, we will reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ and we can never exhaust these divine provisions in His grace!
As I looked at the Bread, I remembered what the Lord said. He said: "Take eat, this is My Body broken for you.” Oh hallelujah, He is God and whatever He spoke of came to pass. But at this moment, He briefly said: “Take eat, this is My Body broken for you.” He did not mention anything in particular like headache or poverty, because if He spoke specifically, only what He had spoken would come to pass. Look at His heart for us, He does not what to restrict us when come to receiving His blessing.
In this instance, I began to see His ABUNDANT PROVISON OF GRACE… In whatever areas that we are in need of, just say it out… because this is His body, broken for us! WHATEVER, WHENEVER and HOWEVER...!
i)Our well being: Through His punishment at the Cross, we have Shalom peace!
ii)Our health: By His strips, we are healed!
iii)Our wealth: Though He was rich, yet for our sake He became poor that through His poverty, we might become rich!
As for His blood, He is very specific by saying: "This cup is the NEW COVENANT in my blood, shed for the forgiveness of sins…. " His blood is for the New Covenant and for the forgiveness of all our sins! We are made righteous by His blood not our good deeds. What a gift of righteousness from the holy blood of our Lord Jesus Christ! Wow… we have wonderful and awesome God! Indeed it is because of Him that we are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
He has placed these divine provision in our hands, the abundant provision of grace on our left hand while the gift of righteousness on our right! We are blessed... and irreversibly blessed!
Praise Jesus for He is our wisdom, righteousness, holiness and redemption!
Act 16:31 ~ They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."
My mum was a hardcore idol worshiper before she has finally decided to commit herself to the Lord at the age of 80 years old.
This evening, she was baptized by her Pastor, witnessed by close family members and members from the Trinity Methodists Church.
All this while, she has been fallen sick with minor Alzheimer’s disease and from time to time, she can only remember the thing of the past. Though I had led her with the sinner prayer, this could never get into her memory. To human eyes, the chance for her to get saved is almost impossible. But I remember what Jesus had said before, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." My mum can be down with Alzheimer’s disease, but I know for sure that my Lord is not down with Alzheimer and that moment she called out His Name, she was saved. Indeed, He is the One who saves her... What an unearned, unmerited favor from God!
So in Jesus' Name, I rebuke the Alzheimer disease to leave my mother!
Once again, I have witness my Lord’s grace and faithfulness. Thank you Jesus…
For if that first covenant (the covenant of Law) had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
For God Himself finds fault with them when He says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant (the covenant of Grace) with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
For this is the covenant (the covenant of Grace) that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbour and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more!
In speaking of a new covenant, He makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away…
This faulty computer monitor was placed on a typewriter and unintentionally creating a combination of an unique computer system with UPS. However, it does not work but worth a laugh... because what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away…!
When comes to Law, God used only His finger, but when comes to Grace, He offered up His own Body. Through the Cross, Jesus had replaced the Law with Grace.
Is grace cheap? Some of us might think that grace is cheap, but think about it, grace costs God His own Begotten Son!
When the devil gives you LAW, remember to press 'Move to Trash' & click 'Empty Trash', and most important thing is - DON'T click 'RESTORE' to inbox, only save JESUS & His GRACE in your inbox.
Our first night started with only a few people on the field. There was a lot of tension because of the threats coming our way. The police were there to keep the peace. I decided to go ahead and preach even though I had no permit to speak. Then I prayed for the sick and called all who were healed to the stage. We interviews four healed people from the stage before Daniel ran up on stage and told me that the police want me to stop. Later they apologized for stopping me. They were concerned that the Muslims will get more agitated. They also asked Daniel if I have the permit from the capital yet. We still did not have it. The chief of police then told Daniel that even though we don’t have the permit I can still preach but no one can know we have his permission. Yet another miracle that saved this festival from being shut down. And he did not stop there, he said baring no major reaction from Muslims (remember he himself is Muslim) we can do it again the next night but no more testimonies on stage.
When we came to the field the second night, I was called over by the chief of police again. He seamed a little different than the day before. I started to pray again. He said the intelligence office is a bit concerned about what I am doing but since there has been no reaction from Muslims, he has decided to give me 1 hour to preach and pray for people. We had another night of miracles. But instead of having people come up on stage, I asked all the healed people to stand up and wave their hands as everyone else sat down.
After our second night, the soundman called Daniel over and said if we don’t pay for sound in full by noon the next day, he will tare up the sound and leave and report us to the police. By this time Daniel and I have both emptied our bank accounts and had no money. We had to produce $4,167CAN in 12 hours. We sent out a quick letter to sponsors asking for help. Most of you probably got that letter.
The next day we went to check our bank accounts and it still showed zero. It was only 15mins before the dead line, when we got someone to lend us $1,000US. We quickly called sound, and they decided to leave everything on the field. We promised that we will have all the money in before we leave town. Daniel handed in his national ID card as a guarantee. We are still in the city waiting for money to come in so we can pay all our bills. We trust God will provide for us. He never leaves us or forsakes us.
Our last night was by far the best night. The field was almost all covered by people. I preached the Gospel story starting with creation, the fall, Jesus’ redemption and building a relationship with God. I asked everyone on the field to stand up, raise their hands and gave them 1 minute of silence so they can pray to start building a relationship with God. That was wisdom from God.
We had many more healing in the last night. Many blind eyes were opened. I really desired to share the testimonies with the crowd. So instead of calling the healed people on stage, I went off the stage into the crowd and had a camera follow me. Everyone saw on the big screen and heard the testimonies. Praise Jesus! Afterwards, I even got to lay my hands and pray for the chief of intelligence and another police officer so that they can receive healings. They asked for it. They were the only 2 people I laid my hands on in prayer during the festival. I was told not to lay my hands on anyone by the same intelligence chief! We also handed thousands of salvation books the last night of the festival.
Here is another interesting thing that happened and people are talking about after the festival. We had great weather the first 2 nights. The last night, it started to rain just before I got into the car to go to the field. But there was no rain on the field. In fact we were told, it was raining everywhere except inside a 100 meter radius around the soccer field! Then all rain stopped before we started. The first day after the festival, and we just got heavy rains. So much so water was starting to come into the house. I believe this is a sign and wonder God is granting to the people. All glory to Jesus and none for us!
We want to say a special thank you to...
Irwan Alexander, Fandy from Indonesia Idol and Lembah Pujian band for coming and ministering in this event.
Also a huge thank you and God bless you to our youth committee and our 25 year old chairman brother Anis Rudy in Pati.
We are planning our next Gospel festival in Indonesia on the 1st week of March, 2010. Please keep us in your prayers.
Wisdom Of The World By mick on September 7th, 2009
The more you love Christ, the more you love His church – that is His people. I love the church, I really do. I had somewhat of a tough time uploading this comic, because I know it will probably offend some people I love and care for.
So then why did I upload it you might ask. Good question. I’m doing it for the very reason that I love the church. I just want Brothers and Sisters in Christ stop for a few minutes, and think about what is going on. God calls the wisdom of the world ‘foolishness’, so why are we using it for our model of church organization and growth?
Until we stop to think, and actually give ourselves the permission to think about such questions, we can never learn from the Holy Spirit his way of Church organization and growth. It won’t look like the world’s idea of wisdom, it won’t be founded on worldly principles, rules and laws. It won’t look anything like a worldly corporate business model, but it will work, I’m sure it will.
God created the entire universe by His Spirit. He holds the whole universe together by His Spirit. With the same Spirit He can build, unite and grow His people (that is the church), but we have to be willing to let Him do it. If we keep trying to hold the church together by our amazing organizational skills, we’ll never experience the church being held together by God’s Spirit (that is by love, instead of structure).
Let’s all come to our Father as He desires, like children, and ask Him for advice about this whole topic. He will guide us into all truth, and He will help us as we continue searching for grace.
Last Friday, early in the morning before I woke up from my sleep, this Bible verse (2 Corinthians 8:9 ~ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.) came echoing in my mind and I started to meditate on it and realized that it is by His grace that though He was rich (very very very rich), yet for my sakes (because of me) He became poor (already became poor at the cross) so that through His poverty I might become rich! This Bible verse is all about His work, my believing and non of my doing. It is by His grace not by my own struggling effort to obey the principles and methods to make myself rich. It is through the Tree of Life not the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and yet again, I have fallen from grace… At this point of time, the Spirit was quick to affirm me with the word “REST and BELIEVE”!!!
While I was on my way to office, I went to bank to withdraw some money. When I was at the Tally Machine, I could not find my ATM card in my wallet! I have lost my ATM card!!! I have no idea when I lost it!!! As I tried to recall the last date I used my card, it was about 10 days ago while transferring money to my son in KL… I could have leaved my ATM card in the machine then!!! It has been 10 days since then, what will happen to my saving???
I call my wife to access my account through the internet and thanks God, the money was still in my account. At that moment, the verse that I meditated earlier that morning came back echoing in my heart and this time the verse gained more weigh in my spirit and indeed, it is all about His grace. A fresh impression of REST and BELIEVE from the Spirit came upon me again... I then, decided to come back to report of my lost ATM Card when the bank opened for business.
When I reached my office, I took out my Destined to Reign daily devotional and began to expect what the Lord had to say... I was marveled and goose bumps all over! Let’s see why…
See The Miraculous When You Give Thanks
John 11:41 ~ Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
Jesus lived a life of thanksgiving. He always thanked His Father for what He had and for always hearing Him when He prayed. That was how He released miracles in His life.
In the story of the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1–13), Jesus’ attitude was one of thankfulness. He took a little boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fishes gave thanks and had them distributed. He gave thanks for the little that was there and the little multiplied. Not only did the people eat as much as they wanted, there were 12 baskets full of leftovers!
So when you see the meager balance in your bank account, thank the Lord for what you have. That’s your “five loaves and two fish”. When you give Him thanks that He is your provider and the source of your supply, in spite of the little you have, your little will become much, with leftovers!
Even when faced with the impossible, the solution was still, “Father, I thank You…” When Jesus stood outside Lazarus’ tomb, and the people took away the stone that was covering the tomb, He did not see the situation as hopeless and impossible. He simply lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.” Then, He proceeded to call forth Lazarus, and the man came forth alive once more!
The raising of Lazarus, who had been dead for more than four days, was one of Jesus’ greatest miracles. And He accomplished this by saying, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.” He thanked His way to an awesome miracle.
My friend, the next time you find yourself praying, “God, please do this for me! Please give me...” stop! Instead, say, “Thank You God, for hearing me. And because You have heard me, I thank You that I have what I asked for.” And when you thank God, the little that you have will multiply. Your impossible situations will turn around to reflect God’s provision. And resurrection life will hit you!
What have I been doing? I have been listening to grace messages day in and day out and yet did not rest but busy working out my life through the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. I can still find a lot of religiosity in me and without my knowing, I fall from grace from time to time! I was reminded by the Spirit to believe and to labor to enter His rest. I was reminded to give thanks for what I have and see the miraculous happen in my life. I was also reminded to live a life of thanksgiving...
Father, I thank You that You have heard Me for You have prompted me to REST and BELIEVE... and by Your grace, the rest is Yours!
The people in Sarawak is celebrating Gawai Festivel on 1st and 2nd of June. On the first day of the Gawai celebration, we went to KampongChupak, 38 KM from Kuching, to visit my colleague. KampongChupak is a beautifulvillage with beautiful mountain range and Paddy field. On our journey to the kampong, I took a short video clip while I was driving and I want to share it with you... :)
Road to Kampong Chupak
During this holiday, I took my sweet time to read through my own blog again... and I was touched by this blog post and I decidedrepost it again...
Jim and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking pass the hospital’s swimming pool, Jim suddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there… Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled Jim out.
When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic act, she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered Edna to be mentally stable.
When she went to tell Edna the news, she said, “Edna, I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is you're being discharged; since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and save the life of another patient, I have concluded that your act displayed sound mindedness… and the bad news is … Jim hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him. I am so sorry… he’s dead.”
Edna replied, “He didn't hang himself; I put him there to dry....” “Can I go home now…?'
This is not a real story; but a secular joke circulating through e mail. Well… have you heard of this joke before? If you had, never mind, my focus is not on the joke but on your reaction after you have heard of it.
Man… I laughed, I even shared with my friends and we laughed… but the Lord intervened by putting a thought in my mind in the midst of our laughter, i.e.…
“The accuser of the Brethren” has his influence over legalism and religious teaching. As such, a legalistic and religious mind is as good as a mind that is “mentally challenged”. Under that sort of religious influence, we ourselves tend to put people to dry without our understanding of the knowledge of God and still we thought we are helping God... and Lord, can I help you, is always our cry...!
It is sad to see that there are many Christian today still labouring to please God through their effort. These are sincere people but they just trying to reach God through their own approach… earn their righteousness through their good deeds and law keeping… without the knowledge of God.
And God by His grace and mercy does not look at us the way we look at Edna. Despite of our “insanity”, He is still faithful and patient to show His love for us, guide us and lead us out of our insanity. This is grace…
I was a victim like Jim in the story who was “put to dry” by legalism and religion. I was dried out totally… Praise God the dew of grace moisturized me and… I see Grace!
When I was young in the Lord, I used to “stand” together with the disciples and the crowds when I was reading the Books of Gospel. I ended up finding myself trying hard to obey lots of rule and regulation or trying to understand what the Lord wanted me to do. By standing among the disciples or the crowds, I also found the Lord hard to understand as I heard His people asked Him “this”, and He would answer them “that”. It's kind of funny though...
As the Holy Spirit started to tighten up the "loose" truth inside of me, I began to release that since I am a new creation, and I am in Christ seated at the right hand of the Father in heavenly place, I have to change my position by sitting with Christ whenever I read the Books of Gospel i.e. seeing things through His heart. This changed of position help me to hear His heart beat and His heart beat revolutionaries the way I read the Bible.
In Luke 12:54~59 on the interpreting of the Times, this passage suddenly came to my senses that the Lord wanted to tell His people at that time to expect the arrival of the grace dispensation and only by His grace not their self effort that every penny would be paid for them to get out of their spiritual prison. The Lord continued on to rebuke the self righteous attitude of His people from their reaction through the tragedy of the Tower of Siloam in Galilee.
The Father says, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” If we are to stand with the Jewish people looking towards God, we will end up making ourselves very busy in offering sacrifices. If we stand beside Him and see the world through His heart, we will be melted by His amazing love when we release that He is so merciful that he chose to ordain the sacrificial of innocent Lamb for our sins so that we can come back to Him freely and safely. He wants us to focus on His mercy not the sacrifice. By His mercy and grace and His great love for us, He even went to the extent of finding fault with the ordinance of animals sacrificial and once and for all, He offered up His beloved Darling Son as sacrifice for our sins.… is this not His grace?
Luke 12:54-56 ~ Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?
I used to see the remark "You of little faith" as a condemnation from the Lord. I used to feel the Lord is condemning me for not having a big faith., but now I understand that my faith towards Him is always too little whenever I try to depend on myself. Now, the warm tender voice of "You of little faith" always draws me back to depending on Him with undescribable "shalom" peace in my heart...
Oh Lord, What is man that You are mindful of him...?
Psalm 8
8:1To the Chief Musician. On the Instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David. O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! 8:2Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. 8:3When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 8:4What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? 8:5For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. 8:6You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 8:7All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field, 8:8The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. 8:9O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
The revelation knowledge of His grace will draw us nearer to Him while our arrogance and ignorance in producing our own righteousness through law keeping alienate us from Him... Oh you of little faith, how is it that you do not discern this time?
See the world through His heart....and you will have revelation knowledge of His grace.
We reached Kuching safely at 5.45 PM yesterday evening. William, the disciple whom Jesus loves, who is also known as yaso in his blog, was there at the Airport to fetch us. We dropped Bartholomew off his home at BDC and William used a strange and winding road to go to my house. Upon arriving my house, Penny was already outside the house waiting for us and William said he wanted to used my toilet. So I asked Penny to serve Elder Alex and William with drink.
Home at last, mm... home sweet home...! As I walked into my house, everybody (My wife, Elder Alex and the one who said he needed to use the toilet) seemed to walk very slow. Funny... As I opened the door of my house and WOOH... what a surprise, my home was packed with people and they were all shouting and singing "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALAN!!!"
Surprise...!
Watch the video, they were so co-operative. Even my son Adrian, was being "laid astray" by hiding himself behind the curtain... It was indeed a well planned surprise birthday party and this was my first ever surprise birthday party. They went to the extend of parking their cars far away from my house and hid all their shoes in the storeroom. That's why William used that long and winding road to send me home so that I could not notice any familiar cars and suspicious sign!
William had a hard time explaining how he was struggling with dropping Bartholomew off so that there would not be any unusual move to trigger my suspicion. We missed Bartholomew as we could not get hold of him through the phone because he was still having his Indonesian Sim Card in his phone. Too bad Brother...
Thank you guys for having me in your hearts. As a gratitude and appreciation from my heart, I have to list all your names here...
Philemon 1:4~7I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
I found this compilation in my little note book. This compilation had helped in the awakening of my spirit when I was on my "Road to Emmaus". This compilation still refreshes my spirit and it brings back fond memories of what I have done during my journey in encountering the wonderful Person of grace...
There are seven occasions in the Gospel of John that our Lord Jesus declares that He is the great “I AM”. In the contexts of each declaration, the phase “I AM” is enforcing the deity of Jesus as God.
John 4:26Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am He."
John 6:20 ~ But He said to them, "It is I; don't be afraid."
John 8:24 ~ I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins."
John 8:28So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.
John 8:58 ~I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"
John 13:19 ~ "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He.
John 18:5 ~ Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "I am He," Jesus said.
The number 7 is the number for perfection. Jesus again declares Himself as God seven more times with the used of symbolized objects in this world to describe Himself as the only One who can meet our greatest needs in life.
John 6:35 ~ Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
From the basic necessities of food for life, He alone is able to satisfy the greatest spiritual hunger in our life as the Bread of Life.
John 8:12 ~ When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
In the area of sight for direction, He opens our spiritual eyes so that we can stop wandering around in a spiritual darkness following one blind religious guide, one after another.
John 10:9 ~ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.
He is the only Light that guides us into God’s Secret Place as he declared He is the only Door to the sheep pan. All other doors lead down the wrong path and to eternal destruction. Jesus is the entrance into eternal life.
John 10:11 ~ I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
We are like wandering, lost lamb caught in the briers of sin. There are a lot of false shepherds herding up stray sheep to take to slaughter. For the well being of our spirit man, Jesus declared He is the only Good Shepherd. He will take of us individually by the hand and led us personally into the Father’s presence and give each and everyone of us His nourishment.
John 11:25 ~ Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;
Jesus conquered death; the ultimate fear of man. Not only did He say, “I am the resurrection and life”, He demonstrated His victory over death with His resurrection on the third day of His death. For those who believe, Jesus is their hope in the face of death. Resurrection is not a deed for Jesus Himself is the Resurrection.
John 14:6 ~ Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Who else dare to declare that he is the way, the truth and the life? Jesus is firm in declaring Himself is the Way, the Truth and the Life like no others...
John 15:5 ~ I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Through the biological aspect of a vine, Jesus demonstrates how He sustains our spiritual life. Apart from Him, we are nothing…
John 20:31 ~ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
This verse is self explanatory. It is through believing Jesus is the Christ, and what He had done on the Cross that we could have life in His Name. It is not through our performance. To understand the meaning of we do not have to performance to deserve this blessing makes me see the Person of Jesus magnifying the grace of the Father, and set me apart from religiosity.
Grace is not a doctrine but the Person of Jesus for He did not come to teach us how to do but He came personally to accomplish what we could not do... On the Cross, He took it all upon Himself until He cried out, "It's Finished!"... Grace is the foundation of Christianity.
We are now entering the year of AD 2009 and I pray that our knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord be increased in this New Year. As I look back at the year and despite of all the uncertainties in this world, I thanks God for His grace, mercy and faithfulness that we are still living in the fullness of His blessing.
For a start in this new year, I feel impressed to bring your attention to a very basic truth. This truth is reflected in our everyday life and maybe many of us have overlooked this.
The world dating system was designated by the abbreviation of B.C. and A.D. Before Christ is abbreviated as BC or B.C. This abbreviation is used in the English language to denote years before the birth of Christ. Whereas the abbreviation of AD or A.D. (Anno Domini) denotes in Latin as “In The Year of the Lord”. Anno Domini system was invented by Dionysius Exiguus. This abbreviation of AD or A.D., is a designation used to number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. More fully, years may be also specified as Anno Domini Nostri Iesu (Jesu) Christi (In the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ).
The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used calendar in the world today. Again, our Lord Jesus Christ is involved and He is the central focus in influencing the human race on differentiating the years they are in. Jesus Christ is at the heart of societies and human civilization and the history of this world must date to our Lord Jesus Christ from both sides. Indeed, history is His Story…
Colossians 1:15~22He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
Before God opened up the floodgates of the heavens to judge the world with flood during Noah's time, He made Methuselah (Noah's grandfather) lived for 969 years. Methuselah became the longest living human in history. When God gave His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ to save the world, Jesus died young at the age of 33.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified at the age of 33 and was resurrected on the 3rd day and is now sitting at the right hand of the Heavenly Father. We are now living in 2009th year of the Lord Jesus Christ! Our Lord Jesus Christ is alive and is still living today. This is the truth!
2 Corinthians 13:8 ~ For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.
Well, happy New Year to everyone! May you and your love ones be highly favored, greatly blessed and deeply loved by our Heavenly Father in this coming year.
Anyway, 25th of December is not the birthday of Jesus Christ. This is actually the day when angel Gabriel visited Mary in Nazareth, a town in Galilee 2000 years ago. This is the day in the month of December that, virgin Mary was conceived through the Holy Spirit and would be giving birth to a Son by the name of Jesus. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
After the gestation period of nine months, i.e. on the month of September of the next year, Mary gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. The town of Bethlehem was packed with people as the Jewish people start the celebration of the Fall Holidays thirty days prior to the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), which falls on the first day of their seventh month (September/October). For thirty days the Shofar is blown every morning in the Synagogue to remind the people that the holy days are approaching, and that they should prepare themselves. Their preparation consists of confessing their sins and seeking forgiveness, and going back to fix mistakes made during the year on the ten days between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).
Baby Jesus was believed to be born on the 11th day of September, after the Feast of Trumpets, in between the Yom Kippur and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Trumpets is feast proclaiming the spiritual birthday of the world or creation, and is celebrated with blowing of the trumpets.
The Day of Atonement is the central holy day in the autumn season of Tabernacles. It is the most solemn day of the year and the Jewish people had to be prepared for Yom Kippur as it was the day of national cleansing and repentance and is also known to the Jews as the Day of Judgment.
Baby Jesus was born after the the Feast of Trumpets and between Yom Kippur and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) as He came to “tabernacle among us". He was born for the purpose of dying for this world and to be judged on the Cross on our behalf thirty three year later…
Well, by His grace I have learned the way God see thing. He sees the birth at the time of conception while men have to be convinced with seeing the physical birth…! He sees us in Heaven the moment we accepted His Darling Son as Savior while men have to see Heaven to be convinced that they are saved...!
At this time of the year, most of us will enjoy decorating our Christmas Tree. But do we all know why we decorate it the way we do? Today, I would like to share with you the story and the meaning behind the decorated Christmas tree.
The tree is an evergreen tree and it represents a life full of joy and living forever with God. This is the Good News of Jesus' birth, His life on earth, His death and then becoming alive from the dead. And the Bible also tells us very clearly that Jesus is the Son of God.
So today my dear friends, we all need to consider – Do we believe what the Bible says about Jesus? Well, as Christians we believe with all our heart that what the Bible says about Jesus is indeed true. And Christmas is a time for us to celebrate a person - a living person who loves you and who was born for you, and then died for you, so that you might have eternal life. CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT JESUS!
There are a lot of stories and many ideas about why we decorate trees at Christmas time. And one favorite story tells of a man named Martin Luther who started this tradition over 400 years ago.
One Christmas Eve, Martin was out walking in the woods near his home. He was praying and thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ. He looked up into the midnight sky, and became so thrilled with the beauty of an evergreen tree that stood tall outside on a starry night. He decided that he wanted to take that tree home with him. He had a saw with him, so he cut it down, and dragged it home. He then built a base so that it would stand straight and tall in his house. Then he fastened some candles to it, to made them looked like those stars he had seen earlier. (They did not have electric lights in those days.) Then he lit up all those candles and stood back to admire the tree. Those candles reminded him of the stars that were in the sky above Bethlehem on the night that Jesus Christ was born. We have used electric lights today on our Christmas tree.
The Lights on our Christmas tree represent those candles of long ago, and those stars. The Bible also talks about Jesus as the Coming King and as the One who brings LIGHT.
Remember in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark & Luke, Mary & Joseph were turned away from the inn and there was no room for them to say anywhere. Well, Christians believed that a stranger could be the Christ Child in disguise. And the Bible tells us that Jesus IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
Candles were put at the windows of all the Christian homes on Christmas Eve. Those candles guided the Christ Child to those doors. And if a stranger came to the door on Christmas Eve, they were never ever turned away from that house.
All of us can be that same LIGHT. We should be that LIGHT, just not at Christmas Time, but every day of our lives, because Jesus is THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
When we believe that God loves us and we accept His Son Jesus into our hearts, we too become those lights for all the unbelievers. The LIGHT OF JESUS SHOULD SHINE THROUGH US IN ALL THAT WE DO, AND IN ALL THAT WE SAY.
The star again represents the special star that shone above the manger where the Christ child was laid. It is the same star that the shepherds saw when they came to visit the baby Jesus. It is the same star that the Wise men followed who came from the east, when they came in search of the baby Jesus. Remember, the Bible says - and "Lo, the star which they had seen in the east, went before them, until it came to rest where the child was with his Mother Mary". Jesus is also called the "BRIGHT MORNING STAR" in the book of Revelations.
Next, we are going to tell you about the ANGEL decorations on our tree. The word ANGEL stands for messenger, a Greek word. The Angel communicates good news from God to the people. An Angel appeared to Mary. He said - "Fear not for you have found favor with God, and you will conceive by the power of the Spirit and a child will grow in your womb and you will bear a SON. You shall call His name JESUS."
The same Angel appeared to Joseph, telling him what would come to pass. The Scriptures also say that some shepherds were in the fields watching over their sheep. Then an Angel of the Lord appeared and stood before all of them. Those shepherds were frightened. The Glory of the Lord was shining all around the Angel. The Angel told them not to be afraid. He told them he was bringing them - "Good News of Great JOY. Tonight Your Savior has been born in the town of David. He is the Christ Child --- The Lord. This message is given so that you will know and you will hear. You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
Then a very Large Glory of Angels from Heaven filled the midnight skies. All of those Angels were praising God & saying: "PEACE ON EARTH, GIVE GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST & ON EARTH LET THERE BE PEACE AMONG THE PEOPLE THAT PLEASE GOD."
忽然有一大队天兵、同那天使赞美神说: "在至高之处荣耀归与神、 在地上平安归与他所喜悦的人。"
The Angels told the shepherds where they could go to find the baby and then they filled the whole sky singing praises to God. It was an awesome sight.
众天使离开他们升天去了、牧羊的人彼此说、我们往伯利恒去、 看看所成的事、就是主所指示我们的。
BELLS MEAN JOY at Christmas Time. In some countries around the world, bells ring out loud in every church at midnight on Christmas Eve to announce the Birthday of Jesus who brings God's Love and Peace for all those who believe that He is God's Son.
The colorful Christmas balls all have very special meanings also. They are round; a shape that reminds us that god's love for us is eternal and has no end. The balls also represent the world into which Jesus came as Emmanuel - (which means) god is with us.
The red balls remind all of us here today of Jesus' blood that was shed for all our sins. in the shedding of his blood, we all became free forever. What a sacrifice the Lord Jesus made for all of us.
The green balls represent to us - the hope of eternal life, and the forgiveness of our sins, just by telling god that we are sorry for the wrong things we have done and then asking god to give us his gift of eternal life. That eternal life is god's greatest gift to us all who are willing to surrender and then believe that Jesus was the son of God.
The white balls stand for the purity & light of Jesus. He is the light of the world and was without sin.
白色的小球代表的圣洁和耶稣的光。他是世界之光的，并没有罪过.
The blue balls are for the faith, the faith which the prophets of the Old Testament talked about. These prophets listened to god's word and proclaimed the message that a messiah (a Saviour King) would come to save the world.
蓝色的球代表著信心，信心是信先知旧约的预言。 这些先知听神的话，并宣布一个救世主会来拯救世界。
Faith is the only thing that can last for all of time. If you have that faith, then you have what it takes to handle all of your problems and challenges. Faith is the one thing that no one can steal away from you. Faith lives in your heart. Faith is real.
We put some Candy Canes on Our Tree. Candy Canes were first invented by a Candy Maker from America. They made the hard candy in the shape of a "J" originally, as a way to remind the children that Jesus is the heart of Christmas. They were originally red, green and white. The Candy Canes were also to remind us that Shepherds were the first ones to hear about the birth of Jesus. They carried crooks in order to keep their sheep save or to lift them from a cliff or crevice in the rocks.
Jesus is our shepherd and he uses his crook to guide us every single day, leading us away from sin. He provides a path for us to walk with him every day of our lives, if we let him. The colors on our candy canes are red, for the sacrifice Christ made for all our sins, the green, for that hope, that he always gives to us, and lastly, the white - for his purity and light.
Last but not least, of all is the gifts that we put under our trees at Christmas time. At Christmas time we present our gifts to each other to show our love for one another. Our love should always be given for free. Jesus gives us his love for free every day, if we have surrender to him. We can not enjoy & experience that love of this free gift until we accept it, and open that love and receive this love as a part of our daily lives. In the same way, we are all reminded at this special time of year, Christmas time, that God sent the greatest of gifts to us at Christmas time, his son - Jesus Christ.
We can hear about this gift, read about it, but until we believe and then accept that gift and receive it as a part of our lives we will never be able to experience everything that God wants for us as His Children.
Romans 5:17 ~ For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 
