‘Tis The Season?

It’s Christmas! Whee! It is the time of the year for ‘goodwill to man’, giving, and forgiving. The season when we remember the greatest gift of all – the birth of the Lord Jesus in a humble manger.

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.

John 3:16-17 [NIV]

It is often at this time of the year that we truly make time to thank God for giving us a Saviour so that we will not have to face eternal damnation. It is also at this time of the year that we decide that we should be nice to people, and we would go around with good wishes to friends and foes alike. We would forgive the mistakes of our acquaintances and declare our love for practically everyone we know.

The question is: Do we only do this during Christmas? Or do we also do all that for the rest of the 364 days in the year?

I was watching a Christmas-themed episode of the kids’ cartoon Kim Possible with my younger sister when the arch nemesis of Kim Possible, Dr Draken unexpectedly invited her to celebrate Christmas with him, declaring that “ ‘Tis the season for goodwill. I will declare a truce for the season and get my freak on after Christmas”.

As innocent as it may seem, it got me thinking: Are we, too, like Dr Draken, forgiving and making peace only during Christmas?

Forgiving people is an extremely difficult task for most people to do. It might be even harder than asking for forgiveness, especially when the hurt runs deep. Often we think that we have forgiven, but when the issue is brought up again, we can’t help but feel that prick of pain stabbing at our hearts again.

To forgive isn’t as simple as saying ‘It’s alright. I accept your apology. No big deal.” To forgive is to not be filled with hurt and rage each time you think about the incident. To forgive is to not hold anything against the person or persons involved. To forgive is to be able to call that person “friend” and truly care for him or her. To forgive is being able to look past the mistakes that were made and the hurt that was caused.

As impossible as it may seem, it is imperative that we learn to forgive, no matter what time of the year it is. The Bible too records Jesus teaching His disciples to forgive:

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Matthew 18:21-22 [NIV]

Jesus Himself forgave the very people who persecuted Him as He hung dying on the cross. Overflowing with mercy and love, He asked the Father to not hold their sins against them, ‘for they do not know what they are doing’. If the Almighty God can forgive us of our sins, who are we to deny forgiveness to another, when we are nowhere near perfect ourselves?

It may not always be easy to sincerely say “I forgive you”, but then again, neither is it impossible. Ask the Lord to teach you and help you forgive others. Also ask Him to help you to do it all year round, not just during Christmas, for forgiveness should not and must not be confined to a short period of time each year. You will soon find that forgiving isn’t such a difficult thing to do after all. All it takes is the perfect love of God within us to guide and lead us.

Have a blessed Christmas as you remember and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. :)

Christmas Celebration!

22nd December 2010 : Christmas Celebration in KTT was fantastic! =D

Praise and Worship!

Emceeeess

Pastor Dave Yeoh

Awesome choir!

Beautiful Christmas kolam by ICS!

Deco preparations

Mr. and Ms. Snowman

30 seconds dating :)

Awww..... =)

Praise God for such a wonderful celebration!

Thank you to everyone who had a part to play in this event :

- All the committee members for planning, preparing and sacrificing time to make things work! I know we did many things behind the scenes, sacrificing our study time to get things done properly. Thank you for setting up the DU, and taking initiative to set up the place, despite how much tiredness it brings. It really amazed me to see you to be the first to move, and do everything without complaining. Like the Bible says, in that way, "We may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which we shine like stars in the universe." I love eleven of you!

- The performers! You guys did a wonderful job! Thank you for giving your utmost commitment to practice almost everyday and putting all your effort into your singing, acting, playing music!

a) Choir - I remember being in DU right before the event, and you guys had one of your last practices in the LH above. Your voices rang throughout the whole college. It was so powerful and rich!

b) Lifehouse Skit - For all our practices, and bringing this precious message throughout the skit, and all the spontaneous moments that came out of our practices, and the bonding time through the "girl talks" and "guy talks", and Ben being soo spontaneous, etc etc.

c) Duet - Rachel, Esther, and Riss - The talent God blessed each of you with was so outstanding, and it really made my heart rejoice to watch three of you using your great God-given talents with this beautiful song, and giving God back all the honour and love He is worth of! =)

- Indian Cultural Society (ICS) for spending many hours to produce such a beautiful Christmas kolam! Thank you for volunteering to make this effort!

- Every person who came! We are really very glad to see all of you come and just have fun to celebrate Christmas with us!

And most of all, we have to thank JESUS for being our reason to celebrate Christmas!

You are the reason for this season.

Thank You for filling our hearts with so much joy and love, that everything we did was for You, and no one else. Not even ourselves. You have taught us to be selfless, and now, we use all our talents, time and energy to celebrate Your birth this great season!

"Christmas isn't Christmas til' it happens in your heart..."

Merry Christmas! XD

Just Remember

Hey you.

Yes, YOU.

The one who just got their exam results. The one who may or may not be happy with that score that was scrawled on your paper. The one who either wore a brilliant smile or put on a frown or even shed more than a few tears. Here’s something for YOU.

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If you are one of those people who have been so blessed with satisfactory or amazing results, remember this:

You couldn’t have done it without God, without His blessings of wisdom, knowledge and understanding.

If you feel that your academic excellence is because you have a mind that is so sharp, so capable of absorbing and understanding your studies with ease, remember this:

Your intellectual ability was a gift from God. You couldn’t have created that mind of yours on your own.

If you think that you achieved what you got solely because you put in so much effort, remember this:

You were only able because God made it possible for you, and that He gave you the strength to do it. Otherwise, you might have faltered along the way.

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If you are one of those people who did not achieve the mark that was set for you, and you are upset about it. remember this:

You have many more chances, and that God did not and will never abandon you. There is something to learn from every mistake and error.

If you feel that there is no way that you would ever be as good as the next person, remember this:

You are special – gifted in your own way. Do not be discouraged or disheartened. Do not give up, because He has not and will never give up on you. He is always there to pick you up when you fall, and to nurture you towards excellence.

If you think that failure is a sign that God is no longer with you, and you want to blame God for it all, remember this:

You were made in the image of God. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will never give you a burden and leave you to stumble around in the darkness with it., all alone. He is always right next to you to offer you His guiding hand.

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Through every storm in life, through every painful journey you take, through the times of rejoicing, and through the celebrations of life, remember this:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 [NIV]

“But BLESSED is the man…

…who trusts in the LORD,

whose confidence is in Him.

He will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream;

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

and never fails to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8

We all want to be blessed. I suppose it is part of human nature to want the good in life, and there is hardly any wrong in that. We loathe it when things get bad, and we look for a way to blame someone else for our predicaments. More often than not, when we can find no mortal man to blame, we turn to God and say, “You did this to me!” in our most irrational state of mind.

But what does the Lord say? Believe it or not, He wants to bless us, to keep us with Him at all times. He wants so much for us to be like the ‘tree planted by the water’ – the one that will not wither in the scorching heat, the one that will not cease to bear fruit.

And there IS a way to attain that blessing. In Deuteronomy 10:12, He tells us just what to do:

…what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul

It is not always easy to walk in His ways, and sometimes we wander off the straight and narrow path, but He has given us His Holy Spirit to be our Counsellor and Friend. If we are willing to live our lives wholeheartedly for Him, and if we are willing to surrender even the smallest area of our lives to Him, then serving the LORD ‘with all your heart and with all your soul’ will not be so impossible anymore.

The ‘year of drought’ can be equated to the hard times that we have, all those things that we would categorize as “Bad Things That Should Not Happen To Good People Like Me”. Notice how God does not promise us a problem-free life. What He does tell us is that, even in the face of trouble, we will still be able to stand tall and continue to ‘bear fruit’. This can and will happen when we decide to place our full confidence and faith in God, because He will be in absolute control, and everything He does will be for our good, although we may not realise it immediately.

So when the heat comes and burns you, what will you do?

Will you blame God for it, or will you trust in Him with unwavering faith and confidence?

It is YOUR choice.

God bless! (:

The Will of God

I was leafing through some things of mine when I found a bulletin from the first time I attended Nilai Gospel Chapel. There was a poem on the cover, and I remember I smiled the first time I read it. I’m sharing this, in hope that it may inspire, comfort, touch, or simply bring a smile to you the way it did for me. Enjoy. =)