Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Isa 61:1-3
Welcome to 2009!
This year is going to be a significant year for the Church and for you who are part of the Body of Christ.
In 2008 a number of events kicked off a financial meltdown of Global economic proportions and sounds of war in Asia and the Middle East. Add to this spreading disease and health issues worldwide, climate change alerts and severe weather and natural disasters. It was an interesting year indeed. Thank God for bringing us through it.
There is however every likelihood that many or all of these challenges would be exacerbated and deepen in 2009... "See, the darkness covers the earth...".
God's prophetic word to my family reveals however that the Church will experience God's glory and power in a way that we have not seen in a long time in this year 2009. This year if you are a born again follower of Jesus Christ, you will shine for Him and experience His divine provision and protection like never before. It means that this is the year when you and I, the Church, need to arise, stand up and be counted. Let our light shine in every corner of the world where God has placed us. Dare to be different. It means that this is the year when we cannot afford to boycott the presence of God but seek Him with even more passion and dedication than before. He will reveal Himself and be found of us even more clearly and powerfully than before. It means that this is the year when the Church should get ready for a great harvest of souls as more and more who are in search of the God of heaven and an escape from the darkness that is outside the Church will be drawn to the light of shining believers.
May 2009 be a prosperous and fulfilling year for you as you walk through it with Jesus. A year of completion of joys.
Happy New Year!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The Gift of Christmas
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. John 3:16
In John 3:16, we see 4 gifts that God has handed out to us this Christmas
1. The Gift of love – I always feel like somebody’s watching me… its God and He’s got your back
2. The Gift of His Son – we no longer have to pay the ultimate price for our sins. This has been paid in full by God’s gift of His Son.
3. The Gift of belief – many in the world are looking for something to believe in.. for some its politicians, for others its science, for others its money in the bank or stocks… all of these have failed. Now we’ve been given someone whom we can believe in who will never fail us.
4. The Gift of eternal life – we no longer have to be afraid of death, we can know that life after death on earth will be a glorious, beautiful experience
This is not the end of the story however, the real story is about what to do with these gifts we’ve been given.
How do you react when you are given a gift? I personally love receiving gifts and don’t think I get enough of them. A gift makes you feel loved and thought about and it can be quite satisfying.
Giving a gift however can be quite dicey cos you can sometimes get unexpected reactions…
1. A gift could be rejected outrightly. For whatever reason, they don’t like you. They don’t like the gift, they cannot imagine what they’d do with the gift etc
2. A gift could be received but disrespected. E.g. food taken and immediately thrown away, or something received and never used. Reason could be that they do not trust the giver or they have no use for the gift itself
3. A gift could be received and treasured but the giver becomes a persona-no-grata. You take the gift but reject the giver.
4. A gift could be received treasured and the giver is appreciated in return with a reciprocal gift. This is the best reaction to a gift and something I would love to see if I give a gift too.
The question then is what is your reaction to this gift of Christmas, the gift of God’s love, His Son, His faith and His life.
God bless you as you consider this.
In John 3:16, we see 4 gifts that God has handed out to us this Christmas
1. The Gift of love – I always feel like somebody’s watching me… its God and He’s got your back
2. The Gift of His Son – we no longer have to pay the ultimate price for our sins. This has been paid in full by God’s gift of His Son.
3. The Gift of belief – many in the world are looking for something to believe in.. for some its politicians, for others its science, for others its money in the bank or stocks… all of these have failed. Now we’ve been given someone whom we can believe in who will never fail us.
4. The Gift of eternal life – we no longer have to be afraid of death, we can know that life after death on earth will be a glorious, beautiful experience
This is not the end of the story however, the real story is about what to do with these gifts we’ve been given.
How do you react when you are given a gift? I personally love receiving gifts and don’t think I get enough of them. A gift makes you feel loved and thought about and it can be quite satisfying.
Giving a gift however can be quite dicey cos you can sometimes get unexpected reactions…
1. A gift could be rejected outrightly. For whatever reason, they don’t like you. They don’t like the gift, they cannot imagine what they’d do with the gift etc
2. A gift could be received but disrespected. E.g. food taken and immediately thrown away, or something received and never used. Reason could be that they do not trust the giver or they have no use for the gift itself
3. A gift could be received and treasured but the giver becomes a persona-no-grata. You take the gift but reject the giver.
4. A gift could be received treasured and the giver is appreciated in return with a reciprocal gift. This is the best reaction to a gift and something I would love to see if I give a gift too.
The question then is what is your reaction to this gift of Christmas, the gift of God’s love, His Son, His faith and His life.
God bless you as you consider this.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
The fight you must fight
To have a chance at winning at anything in life, one must fight... be willing and ready to fight. Cheap success, if there's any such thing, is not sustainabale and will not last.
To keep my faith and walk with God, I still need to fight for it... there are many reasons to give up... its too hard to be a christian, everyone is doing it differently anyway, don't wanna be the odd one out, let me just go with the flow please.. etc etc.
Jesus once said, the kingdom of God suffers violence... Matt 11:12. Jesus who is an advocate of peace is teaching here that the kingdom of heaven is establshed not without a fight and only people who are ready to fight can really, truly lay hold on it.
If you want to serve God and be ready to be be used by Him to the fullness of your capacity, then you must be ready for a fight. I must be ready for a fight. If you want to see His word and promises fulfiled in your life, then you must be ready for a fight. I must be ready for a fight. If you want to finish well with Jesus until the very end, then you must be ready for a fight. I must be ready for a fight.
This is a different kind of fight. Its not a fight against people but a resistance against "principalities and powers" (Eph 6:12). There are forces out there controlled by the prince of darkness, who will come against us as we make this commitment, be aware of them but not afraid of them... the God we serve has already won the victory... He's only waiting to see us step in the ring with Him so we can receive our prize.. the reward of our fight of faith here and now and in eternity.
You shall overcome by His grace.
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