The JOY

“Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” Nehemiah 8:10

If the Joy of the Lord is your strength, then don’t give your strength away by being depressed. You see, it’s a myth; Joy is not an emotion or feeling, it is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) and not dependant on circumstances. So don’t be robbed of your inheritance; your JOY (and your strength).

Be joyful! (Phi 4:4) Yes, you can do it, through the power of the Holy Sprit. The more joyful you are, the stronger you will become and then you will be even more joyful. You just need a spark to sparkle up your life, and that spark is Jesus Christ. You just have to allow the Holy Spirit to arise, because the Spirit just loves to lift Christ up in your life. And joy is the result and fruit of that!

Behold the Lord Jesus and let that Joy fly!

 

The Year of The Greater (Shekinah) Glory

Arise, shine, for your light has broken through!  The Eternal One’s brilliance has dawned upon you. See truly; look carefully—darkness blankets the earth; people all over are cloaked in darkness. But God will rise and shine on you; the Eternal’s bright glory will shine on you, a light for all to see. Nations north and south, peoples east and west, will be drawn to your light, will find purpose and direction by your light. In the radiance of your rising, you will enlighten the leaders of nations.

Don’t be shy; don’t be doubtful; lift up your eyes and look around. They have gathered all around you, eager to come and be close to you. And your children will come back to this land: your sons from the farthest places of wandering, and your daughters gently carried home. And when you see it, your face will glow; your heart will race and be filled with joy; For great ships will arrive with gifts from across the sea, and the wealth of nations will make their way to you.   Isaiah 60:1-5

In this new year, your circumstances may not start well. You may be are working hard building or rebuilding your life. Things are seemingly bad and not faring as well as you hoped. You may have lost something or someone really precious in your life. You may be facing much difficulties, and are a mere shadow of what the abundant life is. There will be much chaos and uncertainty in the year ahead. There will be great terrors and anxiety. People will doubt whether God is really there, or are really all that powerful, or really even cares; despite the promises in the Bible.

Deep darkness will cover all the nations of the earth.

The time has come. However, do not despair or fear. For this is the time when the children of God (that is you), will shine even brighter because the Lord will flood you with His (Shekinah) glory. His Spirit will arise in you to meet the occasion, whatever it may be. A prophetic voice will break the silence, and declare the the goodness of The Lord. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

Just keep trusting and following the Good Shepherd. Soon the whole world will know what brand new thing God is doing. Even in the midst of the deeper darkness, God’s special favour and God’s own presence, is filling His people in even greater glory. It will be something new and glorious. His Favour and Blessings will shine brighter in your life. Experience the bigger presence and manifestation of His greater glory in your life.

Don’t be afraid. Just believe…

 

Faith Not Sight

Lord Jesus, help me to walk by faith and not be brought down by dark situations I see around me. Strengthen me in the face of distress and doubt. Help me to get my eyes off the things that make me afraid but put them on You instead, for no power is greater than Yours. While the world trembles in fear and uncertainty, I am secured and safe in You. No one else can do the impossible in my life but You. There are many situations in which I am depending on You to do the impossible, to fix and transform my circumstances for Your glory. I want to walk by faith every single day.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The path we walk is charted by faith, not by what we see with our eyes.   2 Corinthians 5

When I Need Greater Faith

Lord Jesus, help me to have greater faith in You and in Your ability to lead and guide me. Help me to make faith a daily walk and to learn to live by faith in all things, trusting You each day. Help me to keep hearing Your Word that my faith will remain strong, steadfast, and unwavering so that my actions will glorify You in the sight of others. I pray that every trial I go through will make my trust in You and my faith grow stronger and stronger. I trust You to do whatever is necessary to bring me to complete wholeness.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen.   Hebrews 11:1

Faith begins as hope and indeed is unseen; so many doubt that it is real. What follows is the proof that faith is a reality that can be trusted.

Vision 2014: Have Faith

While writing the post, Vision 2014 – Victory Through Christ Who Loved Us, unknowingly my “defeat” was being prepared at roughly the same time. I got to know the news officially on the very first day of the new year, which was rather upsetting.

If you are someone who is still waiting for your victory or has received bad news, hang on! Know that The Lord will turn mourning into dancing (Ps 30:11-12). What the enemy meant for evil, God will turn it around for your good! (Gen 50:20)

Have Faith!   So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.  Romans 10:17

Our future is bright, not by what we see, but by what God had promised.

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.   Jeremiah 29:11

 

Experiencing The Abundant Life In Christ

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.   John 10:10

While browsing on the subject on the biblical abundant life, I was rather dismayed to find some of the writings posted online. The conclusion made was that the abundant life simply referred to the spiritual satisfactions of the eternal life and the richness we will get to enjoy when we get to heaven.

While I totally agree with the abundant life in heaven entering through Jesus Christ – the gate (John 10:1-10), it seems to me that everything else was too spiritualised and the abundant life Christ spoken about seems elusive and even distance; standing here – at the wrong side of heaven. What’s the difference between Christianity and the other religions that promises extravagant rewards in the heavens similarly then?

You see, the thief tries to steal, to kill and to destroy. The opposite is also true, Jesus Christ came to buy (redeem), to give life and to create; and there we see the cross. When we give our lives to Jesus, we are a new creation; there and then! not when we get to heaven. The reconciliation with God is immediate (2 Cor 5:17). The Holy Spirit in us is not a spirit that makes us fearful slaves, but able to call Him- Abba Father, and affirms that we are God’s children, His heirs. (Rom 8:15-17). At the later section, Jesus explained further that He is the Good Shepherd, willing to lay down His life for His sheep. He is not like the hired hands who ran when the wolf came, leaving the sheep defenceless (John 10:11-18). What is the point if we (the heirs) are left defenceless here on earth while on the other hand, a rich abundant life is over at the other side in heaven?

To know more, we need to go deeper into the Good Shepherd and we end up in our favourite and familiar Psalms 23. Those of us who follow Jesus Christ will know Him as the Good Shepherd. He is not a spiritualised distance religious deity or concept but One whom a very personal and close relationship (of a good shepherd and his sheep) we have with. It is also not only about our final destination in heaven, but of the heaven we already have inside.

The very promise of abundant life is not only in the hope of our blessed future, but the very abundant life we have right here and right now through Jesus Christ!

The Eternal Lord is my Shepherd, He cares for me always.

He provides me rest in rich, green fields beside streams of refreshing water. He soothes my fears;

He makes me whole again, steering me off worn, hard paths to roads where truth and righteousness echo His name.

Even in the unending shadows of death’s darkness, I am not overcome by fear. Because You are with me in those dark moments, near with Your protection and guidance, I am comforted.

You spread out a table before me, provisions in the midst of attack from my enemies; You care for all my needs, anointing my head with soothing, fragrant oil, filling my cup again and again with Your grace.

Certainly Your faithful protection and loving provision will pursue me where I go, always, everywhere. I will always be with the Eternal Lord, in Your house forever.

 

The Lord will be is my Good Shepherd…

 

Vision 2014 – Victory Through Christ Who Loved Us

As 2013 is drawing to a close; as we reflect back and give thanks to God for an awesome year that had passed. Let us continue to believe the Lord for bigger things and even more blessings in our future!

What has God got to say for your future? What vision has God given you in 2014?

If God, our Abba Father is on our side, then tell me: whom should we fear? Why shall we be anxious? What can overcome us? If He did not spare His own Son, Jesus Christ, but handed Him over on our account as a sacrifice on the cross, then don’t you think that He will graciously and abundantly give us all things with Him? Can anyone be so bold as to level a charge against God’s chosen? That is us, God’s very own! Especially since God’s “not guilty” verdict is already declared. Who else has the authority to condemn? If Christ has set us free, we are free indeed, period! Jesus the Anointed who died, but more importantly, conquered death when He was raised to sit at the right hand of God where He pleads on our behalf. Instead of judgement, we are shown favor. So who can separate us? What can come between us and the love of God’s Anointed? Can troubles, hardships, persecution, hunger, poverty, danger, or even death? What can come between the Almighty, Christ and His people? The answer is, absolutely nothing. As the psalm says, On Your behalf, our lives are endangered constantly; we are like sheep awaiting slaughter.

But no matter what comes, we will always taste victory through Him who loved us. Our victory is 100% guaranteed in all circumstances. For I have every confidence that nothing—not death, life, heavenly messengers, dark spirits, the present, the future, spiritual powers, height, depth, nor any created thing—can come between us and the love of God revealed in the Anointed, Jesus our Lord.   Romans 8:31-39

A Simple Christmas Prayer

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for Your amazing love by sending Your precious-precious Son, Jesus Christ to earth. Lord Jesus, thank you for descending into this world, from Your throne to a manger to save the world; to save me. I will probably never understand the humility, all You had to go through and all You had to suffer. As we celebrate Your birth, as we remember Your love, we have nothing to offer other than our humble worship and thankfulness. You are the reason for the season; You came so that we can have the joy and peace on earth. Light of the world, light up our hearts, so that others will see You in us. And know that You are God!

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” Matthew 1:23

PS: I don’t know the exact day of your birth but anyway; Happy Birthday, Jesus!

An Empty Manger, An Empty Cross And An Empty Tomb

The all-too-familiar nativity scene should be a common sight now hot into this festive period. The “re-enactment” often depicts the baby Jesus in a manger looked after by Joseph and Mary, surrounded by farm animals, probably with the wise men and maybe some shepherds. While it is not exactly accurate, it demonstrates the ancient historical facts in one simple scene.

The reality is that the manger where Jesus was once laid is now empty! Jesus Christ came once as an infant, but He is coming again as the rightful King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

The cross where Christ was once hanged is now empty! For the Messiah himself died for sins, once and for all, a righteous person on behalf of unrighteous people, so that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but brought to life by the Spirit; 1Peter3:18

And the tomb where Jesus was once buried is now empty! But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honour at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. Hebrews 10:12-14

The empty manger speaks of God’s love by sending His Son. It also speaks of Christ’s humility and vulnerability. The empty cross testifies to Jesus Christ’s painful sacrifice; the broken flesh and the poured blood. And ultimately His death. The empty tomb declares Christ’s resurrection and victory. The Life – the living God who even conquered death.

Even the sometimes overly commercialised nativity scene calls to remembrance the many great intimate things what God has done for us, a reflection of God’s goodness and faithfulness.

Put Christ Back To The Center Of Christmas

It’s the time of the year again! The long beautiful holidays for feasting, family and fun. The cash registers ringing, the kids grinning and the Christmas trees swaying. Presents flying off the shelves and people flying off everywhere. It’s a season where everyone is seemingly in bliss of the occasion.

While it is a wonderful time to be in a festive mood, have we sometimes pause for a moment to remember the reason for the season? In our excitement and busyness, have we forgotten or missed what this primarily is all about?

Let us put Christ back to the center this Christmas. From the Word became flesh. From Heaven descended to earth. From the Throne to a manger. From a God to a baby. From the King to a pauper. From the Life destined for death.

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; Isaiah 9:6

It’s all about Him, Jesus Christ. He is the greatest gift we will ever receive. We see the humble nativity scene during Christmas, but what we didn’t see is the glorious heaven He had given up from. He who commanded the worship from legions of awesome angels came into a humble company of shepherds. He was hanged on a tree in agony so that we can now hang pretty decorations on Christmas trees in joy. He died a lonely death, that we can reunite with the Father as a family. He lived a short life, that we can lived through eternity. He was cursed on the cross so that we can be blessed. He gave Himself as the very Bread and the roasted lamb we feast on. He did everything so we can rest in His finished work.

Let’s put Christ back at the center of Christmas.

In the midst of your celebrations, celebrate joyously as well with a heart full of gratitude and a whisper of thanksgiving… to Jesus the Christ, the very center of Christmas.

 

Jesus Christ: The Ultimate Demonstration of God’s Love

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.  1 John 4:9-10

Thank You, Jesus!

More Love in My Life

Lord Jesus, I open my heart to receive Your perfect love into my mind, emotions, soul, and spirit. On days when I feel unloved, and that can cause me to be unloving; help me to know that Your love is there for me always. You saved me because You love me. You deliver me because You love me. You provide for me because You love me. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! Help me to trust Your love for me at all times. Your sacrifice on the cross is the ultimate demonstration of Your love for me. Help me to be free of any feelings of being unloved because in You I have enough love to heal me to complete wholeness. Help me to understand the depths of Your love at all times. You satisfy me with more than enough and I will praise You with songs of joy and worship!

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy.  Psalms 63:3-5