This Christmas slow down and take a moment to trust and wait

Luke 2:25-26
"Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ."

So we survived the so called "End of the World" yet again. In this modern life we seems to be always eager and rushing for things. Even our eventual demise we seem to be eager to embrace quickly and every year we keep announcing our impending doom.

This Christmas we should take time to reflect on what has gone and what is to come.
To clear our minds of thoughts of doom and gloom
To build our trust in God
And to remember the true meaning of Christmas
That God sent his Son Jesus Christ down to Earth
To give us Hope
And show us his Grace
To give us a sign
That God is in control
And we are in his care
Nothing we do will suffice to redeem ourselves
Everything we have is from God

Romans 8:29 It is only through His power that we can ever be set on a right path of being ...

We must never even hint that repentance is determined by what we believe is "right" outward behavior. Repentance is always a condition of the heart, and doing right in the eyes of God is only accomplished by allowing His Spirit to transform us into a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is only through His power that we can ever be set on a right path of being "conformed to the likeness of His Son" (Romans 8:29).

What we do is never enough. We can never do enough "good works" to redeem ourselves from all the wrongs and evil thoughts that we have done. Only God's grace can redeem us. Similarly we cannot resist all the temptations the world has to offer by ourselves. Only through God's guidance will we be able to move in the right direction and every day we need to look to him for his strength and guidance.

A Prayer to improve ourselves

Father, forgive me, because I know that I am often selfish
and seldom think through the implications of my decisions based on the needs of others.
I want to have the mind of Christ
and be more selfless and sacrificial with everyone who needs your grace
and the tenderness that you have placed within me to share with them.
Please bless me as I seek to be like your Son in this area of my life.
In Jesus' name. Amen.

Beautiful Christian Person's Day - I am a Christian

When I say that 'I am a Christian', I am not shouting that 'I am clean living. I'm whispering 'I was lost, but now I'm found and forgiven.'


When I say 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect. My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou, I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!

Today is Beautiful Christian Person's Day.

Beautiful is just plain Beautiful..

Thanks for car parking space

Yes I give thanks for car parking space. This may seem like a trivial thing but is something we take for granted. Every day we go about our business and  look for car parking space, without  a thought that every time we find one, it is a blessing. How often we really needed a space near the entrance and we get it ?

Take for example today. I took my mum to for her follow up check up at the clinic and as expected the car park was packed with people double parking every where. I prayed that we could find a spot. Then I spotted a lady who was heading to her car and she indicated that she was going out. The space was also at the end of the row and thus wider then the rest, which allowed mum to fully open the car door to get out.

Then after the checkup, we went for lunch at the mall. I planned to use the central lift which would take us directly to the bank and to the place where we plan to eat. Again God provided a parking space near the lift.

Yes these are the small miracles that we take for granted.

Gods gift of precious moments

Thank God for the small miracles in my life.
After mum's scare falling down and landing up in hospital for a week, she has made great strides in recovery thanks to God's grace. It has been two week since she has been discharged and returned home. She now can walk quite steadily by herself and is able to eat her food with a good appetite. Her condition is good enough for me to be able to comfortably leave her for short periods of time at home while I attend to the daily errands. I was also able to spend some time with my girlfriend who came back from Singapore and attend a former colleagues wedding.

All of which would not have been possible without God's grace. 2 weeks ago I was starring at a huge hill which I could not see over. Day by day God provided the strength and peace to be able to cope with the situation. Each step is a small miracle and each day is a small miracle.

Thank God for his many simple blessings

After a scare with mum falling down in the shower, I had a chance to reflect on God's grace. On that day I had gone out to do my shopping and when I returned I saw that mum had gone to take a bath. I knocked on the door to let her know I was back and I heard her voice saying "I fell down". My heart almost stopped at that point and I quickly entered the bathroom and found her laying on her back with the shower spraying water on her. I don't know how long she was like that. I quickly turned off the shower and checked her. There was no bleeding and she was conscious. I grabbed a towel to put under her head and quickly called 999, emergency services. With no one else to call upon, I figured that that was the best option as I did not know if she injured her spine or anything else.

The ambulance arrived quickly within 10 minutes or so and we were whisked away to the hospital. After several hours in the emergency room as the doctors x-rayed and CT scan her. The prognosis was that other then a high BP, everything else was all right.

Looking back at the events that day, it was a strange day. Normally I would be out until dinner time when I would have bought dinner and come home around 6:30 or so. That day I had called up a service center which was supposed to have processed my road tax and still had not delivered. They promised to deliver it to me by 5pm that day so I planned to get home earlier to wait for them.

While I was out, our landlord called me and told me that someone had found and turned in my apartment keys. I had left them in my letter box again and I was kicking myself for being so absent minded again. I contacted our management office and told them I would come by to collect it. So I rescheduled again to ensure that I got home earlier to be able to collect he keys and still be in time to meet the road tax delivery guy.

As it was I got back around 4:30 pm which was around the time my mum normally would have gone to take a bath. I thank God that someone he worked it so that I would get home early to find her. I was considering the fact of what if I had been at home. Would I even I known she had fallen as I may not have heard her from my room.

Sometimes things don't go as we want them to, but there is always a reason. God's grace will see us through no matter what. We just have to have faith. We may not be able to see the end result of all the elements that combine, just as hydrogen combines with oxygen to become water, but everything happens in combination to a greater good. God's blessing even if we don't realise it.

Barnabas and Paul - Reaching out

Sometimes we need to think of others and reach out. Just like Barnabas who reached out to Paul after he reversed his life. Moving from persecuting Christians and becoming one himself, he still faced persecution due to his previous life and reputation. Fear breeds hatred and this was something very hard to overcome, especially if no one is willing to give you a chance. Barnabas was the the guiding light that reached out to Paul and gave hime a chance and to show God's grace. We need to look around to see who we needs to be given a chance and who we can reach out to offer a hand or a word of encouragement.

Reach out and touch someone.

2 Timothy 2:1 A verse of encouragement

2 Timothy 2:1


"You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus."
 

This is such a great and ensuring phrase. As we go about each day with our troubles and fears, we can be assured that the grace of God is always there to provide us strength to carry on and go through what ever trials and task that may be ahead of us.
 
Grace is one thing that is unique to Christians and the concept that brings a unique sense of belonging to something far greater then yourself and what you can accomplish with your own steam.
 
 
 

 
 

Ode to my Lord - EASTER RESURRECTION

On this Easter Day 

I remember the sacrifice of our Lord

Who sent his one and only son

Jesus Christ to Earth

To be crucified

And risen up again

By his grace 

To provide salvation for you and me

On this Easter day 

I renew my pledge 

And seek God's help and guidance

To be inspired and have the knowledge

To grow this blog 

To spread his love

To share his grace

Across the land

As Christ has risen

I dedicate the resurrection of this blog to him

Amen

Haiti Earthquake

We want to give thanks for God's blessing in taking care of our family members during the Haiti Earthquake. 

Our thoughts and our prayers go out to those who have been affected and may the grace of God cover them

May he send his angels to comfort and help those who are in need.

Amen.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/1/13/nation/20100113161608&sec=nation 

Thanks for the small things

I would like to give thanks for today
For God's grace to helping me find a good parking spot
To be able to get me into the post office on time
And in a time slot when there were not many people
For getting me a seat at my favorite coffee joint
To getting me into the shade during the storm
And finding more supplies for me

All the little things we take for granted
Amen

Prayer for my friend

Just got news from my friend who has migrated down to Australia and he says he has found God and is now a practicing Christian. While this is great news, I pray that this is not one of his swings of interest and that he will truly embrace God's love and grace. May he find the peace that God brings and embrace the future that God has planned for him.
Amen.