Man keeps the best to himself and gives only what he can afford.
God had given the Best from Heaven.
Rules and regulations are given by man to make man measures up to God’s standard.
Grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Man is behind Religion in reaching God.
God is behind relationship in reaching man.
Ritual and ordinance be yours in abundance through the knowledge of Religion.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Religion makes level places with high and low, makes life in peak and in valley, makes straight path crooked and makes rough what God had made smooth.
God made every high place level, every valley filled up, every crooked place made straight, and even the rough places were made smooth.
gods is both the invention and property of Religion.
Mankind is both the invention and property of God.
In the mind of Religion, the leaders immediately represent God.
In the mind of God, Jesus immediately represents mankind.
Religion entertained and enslaved man with rules and regulations to work out the conduct through disciplines of willpower.
God introduced the initiative of faith to reconcile Himself with man. "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."
Religion insults God with their wisdom in keeping the laws and regulations.
God insulted Religion with His wisdom at the Cross through Jesus’ Finished Work!
Psalm 8:3 ~ 4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
This fruitcake is not an ordinary fruitcake... it is called Drunken Fruitcake! Yes, Drunken Fruitcake! Instead of brushing these fruitcakes with Cognac, Penny is generous this year to baptize these fruitcakes with Cognac.... The result is, they are "spirit filled" and we are blessing our friends and relatives with this "spirit filled" Drunken Fruitcake as Christmas Gift.
Have yourself a Merry little Christmas...!
Ingredients for Mixed Fruit:
1 kg Mixed Fruits
150 gm Cashew Nuts
150 gm Whole Almond
150 gm Strawberry Jam
2 Tablespoon Honey
Plentiful of Cognac
Mixed well and macerate for 1 week.
Ingredient for the Cake:
250gm Butter
175 gm Soft brown suger
5 Whole egg
175 gm Plain flour
75 gm Self raising flour
Leave the cake to cool then wet with Cognac.
Have yourself a Merry little Christmas by Mel Torme
We have Chocolate Oats Biscuit for Christmas! As we do not have snow in this part of the world, Penny used milk powder to coat on these biscuits in creating a snowing effect... It is not only nutritious, the fabulous aroma of the baked oat is released when you chew it in your mouth.
Hanukkah is an annual festival of the Jews celebrated on eight successive days on Kislev 25, to honor the restoration of divine worship in the Temple after it had been defiled by heathens. They keep this an annual holiday on the twenty-fifth day of Kislev, which is the third month of the Jewish civil year, the ninth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar and is coincided with the month of December in Gregorian calendar.
Hanukkah is associated with a nine-branch menorah. The Temple menorah has seven branches but the Hanukkah menorah has nine branches, eight to remember the eight days of Hanukkah and one is the Shamash, the candle used to light the other candles which is usually either higher or separate from the other eight branches. The center candle is signifying our Lord Jesus Christ, the Light of the World; and in the Gospel of John, He preached three sermons declaring Himself as the “Light of the world,” and all three could have been during Hanukkah, the Festival of Light.
John 12:46 ~ I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
Many believe that our Lord Jesus Christ was conceived on the Festival of Lights—Hanukkah. The Bible does not specifically say the date of Jesus’ birth, but it was definitely not during the winter months because there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. (Luke 2:8). From the account of John the Baptist, his conception reveals that he was conceived on about Sivan 30 (Luke 1:8-13, 24). Adding forty weeks, for a normal pregnancy reveals that John the Baptist was born on or about Passover, Nisan 14. Six months after John’s conception, Mary conceived Jesus (Luke 1:26-33); therefore Jesus would have been conceived six months after Sivan 30 in the month of Kislev— Hanukkah. Starting at Hanukkah, which begins on Kislev 25 and continues for eight days, and counting through the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy, the approximate time of the birth of Jesus was at the Festival of Tabernacles, right after the Feast of Trumpets. Blowing of the Shofar during the Feast of Trumpets means the bringing of a clear message of the Good News: the Grace of God in Christ.
John 12:35 ~36: Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.
We hold candles in our hand during caroling and even in certain countries, candles are put at the windows of all the Christian homes on Christmas Eve. These candles are signifying the LIGHT is in the world and are pointing us to Jesus, the Light of the world.
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."
"Mary Did You Know" by Clay Aiken [Originally written by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene]
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?
Mary did you know.. Ooo Ooo Ooo
The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.
Christmas is just round the corner and indeed, Christmas is a season for giving. God had demonstrated His love by giving His begotten Son, Jesus Christ as the Gift for us… For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
Virgin Mary gave birth to her firstborn, a Son in Bethlehem, the town of David. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took Baby Jesus to Jerusalem and present Him to the Lord, as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord", and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons." Obviously, Joseph and Mary were not financially sound as the type of offer reflected their financial affordability as indicated in Leviticus 5: 7 ~ 'If he cannot afford a lamb, he is to bring two doves or two young pigeons to the LORD… However, this consecration had changed their life and they did not remain poor ever since...
On the other hand, this ultimate prophecy came to pass when the Magi was led to witness Baby Jesus in His mother's arm. When Daniel the prophet was in Babylon, he was the head of the Magi. The Magi learned of the prophecies of the coming Messiah from Daniel and were handed down from generation to generation of the Magi. The star in the East had led the Magi to Joseph’s house and they saw Baby Jesus with His mother, Mary. The Magi did not come just to see Baby Jesus or visit Baby Jesus; they came to bow down and worship Him and they opened their treasures and presented Baby Jesus with gifts of gold, and of frankincense and of myrrh.
In the Bible times, these gifts were only meant for the kings. For gold was to designate royalty. Jesus is King of Kings and symbolically gold represents kingship; the King that Christ is for us. Frankincense signified His role as High Priest, an Intercessor between man and God. Symbolically frankincense also represented the divinity of Christ because frankincense was burnt as an offering to God. As for myrrh, because of its aromatic quality to cover the smell of decay, myrrh was an embalming spice and was used at death. Therefore, myrrh prophetically pointed to Jesus dying on the cross for mankind and also represented the bitter cup that Christ had to drink in suffering for our sins and the healing for us that his death brings. These gifts also signified the fundamental office of Christ as King, High Priest and Prophet.
Because of these three types of gift were mentioned, numerous erroneous thoughts had led to the conclusion that there were only three wise men. In actual fact, the Magi were powerful men in Babylon, and they were escorted by a troop of as many as 200 mighty horse soldiers when they traveled. Their present in the land of Israel gave fear to Herod due to the encroachment, his military tension within the Roman Empire and the news of a newborn King.
This ultimate Gift from God and the gifts from the Magi had the same theme in signifying the royalty nature, priestly ministry and the death of Christ. The birth of our Savior was to fulfill the Father’s will by demonstrating a consecrated life on earth and to take away the sins of this world...
Christmas' original purpose is to declare this Good News and celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Luke 2:11 ~ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to YOU; He is Christ the Lord.
By grace, a Savior has been born to YOU, have YOU receive this Gift?
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...!
Once upon an afternoon, I was having lunch with my wife at Jade Pot Tea House. A famous local Cafe serving Taiwanese food. While we were waiting for our food, I saw a poster with Chinese writing hanging on their wall.
This are the Chinese Character written on the poster.
It means If you can work, you are Lucky, if you can eat, you are Blessed. And if you can work and you can eat, you are very lucky and very blessed.
Something like that!
I meditated these words for a while and thinking that if we can work and eat, we are lucky and blessed. It sounds more like a worldly way of encouraging people to labour to get their blessing. The word "WORK" suddenly hit me and the Lord began to show me A Man's Story.
I am going to show you according to the sequence the Lord had shown me!
This is the word WORK in Chinese writing.
This is the Chinese word for WORKING.
And my Lord began to split the word WORK. And here it goes...
This is the picture of a MAN.
These are the Chinese words for STORY.
By now, I already got hold of the revelation of what the Lord is trying to tell me. It is about a Man's Story. He is that Man with Capital M. He is Jesus...
这时, 我已经明白主的启示, 是关于一个人的故事. 这一个人就是主耶稣...
A MAN'S STORY
The Gospel of Christ is the Story. It is the story of a Man's awesome work on the cross. When we are talking about work, it is His work on the cross that's matters. He had finished the work on the cross two thousand years ago. What we are leaved to do is to tell people this story; the story of this Man, Jesus and what is His finished work meant and the mystery of this awesome work to the world and the born again Christian.
That is not all. He continued to reveal to me skillfully by using other Chinese character.
This Chinese word means BELIEVE.
Since we are established that this word is the picture of a MAN,
and this Chinese character is SPEECH.
The word "BELIEVE" in Chinese character is made up of a MAN and SPEECH.
MAN'S SPEECH
What is He trying to say? He is saying, we ought to BELIEVE in this MAN's SPEECH! He is telling us that only His Finished Work works! Don't try to labor to earn our blessing by ourselves. Abide in Him, rest and trust in His Finished Work. All these things has been given to us in Christ!
The idea of making this Custard Puff was derived from Durian Puff during the off durian session. Instead of stuffing Durian Puree and Fresh Cream into the puff, Penny chose to stuff this puff with Custard and finished by coating the puff with Chocolate Sauce... Of course, best serve chilled from the fridge. It is yet another fabulous piece of recipe to opt for during the off durian session...
Custard Puff Coated with Chocolate Sauce
Dough lined up from the Pump
Puff fresh from the oven
Overflowing Custard...
Delicious Custard Puff Coated with Chocolate Sauce, best serve chilled from fridge...
Ingredients: Vegetable Oil 60gm Water 70ml Salt 1/4 teaspoon Superfine flour 70gm Grade A egg 170gm Custard for filling Chocolate Sauce for ganishing
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.
