Blessed Christmas to You!

Lean Choo and I would like to wish our families (natural & spiritual), relatives and friends a very blessed Christmas. May God fill your hearts with peace, joy and hope this season of Christmas and beyond!

Thank you for being part of our lives. Wherever you are, whether we have caught up with one another recently or not, you are in our thoughts and hearts.

And for those who are looking for a Christmas reflection you may find one below:

Christmas Reflection: Behold Your God!

Many people spell Christmas without Christ, the glory of a Holy Day being supplanted by the glitz of a holiday—a problem that reaches back to the days of St. Francis of Assisi. Francis was born in 1182 in central Italy, son of a rich merchant. After a scanty education, he joined the army and was captured in war. He came to Christ shortly after his release, and soon he began traveling around the countryside, preaching the gospel. At a February 1209 Mass, Francis was gripped by words being read from Matthew 10: As you go, preach this message: “The kingdom of heaven is near.” Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff … (NIV).

Francis felt that Christ himself was speaking directly to him. He decided to obey those words as literally as possible, preaching the kingdom and possessing nothing. It is as though a 1,200-year bridge were crossed, putting Francis in the shoes of the original wayfaring apostles themselves.

He spent his remaining days making Christ real to everyone he met—a passion leading to history’s first living nativity scene. On December 24, 1223 Francis found a cave near Greccio, Italy, and brought in animals traditionally associated with the birth of Christ. (Francis loved animals and sometimes even preached to them.) He built the crib, arranged the hay, and finished the scene. Crowds gathered full of curiosity and wonder; and there on Christmas Eve Francis preached the wonder of God made man, born a naked infant and laid in the manger. “Behold your God,” he said, “a poor and helpless child, the ox and donkey beside him. Your God is of your flesh.”

Glitz gave way to glory that evening as the people of Greccio learned afresh how to spell the word CHRISTmas.

She gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn. That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord’s glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you … a Savior was born.” Luke 2:7-11a

Source:
Morgan, Robert J.: On This Day : 265 Amazing and Inspiring Stories About Saints, Martyrs & Heroes. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000, c1997, S. December 24

Some Great Christmas Events

There are many great Christmas events in town tomorrow.

Unfortunately, I do not have all of their details.

Here are some of them:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=180047193268&ref=ts

Devotional: Consecrated, Lord, to Thee

Frances Ridley Havergal received Christ at a young age but struggled for years with Christian victory.

I had hoped that a kind of tableland had been reached in my journey, where I might walk awhile in the light, without the weary succession of rock and hollow, crag and morass, stumbling and striving; but I seem borne back into all the old difficulties of the way, with many sin-made aggravations. I think the great root of my trouble and alienation is that I do not make an unreserved surrender of myself to God; until this is done I shall know no peace. I am sure of it.

She struggled throughout her twenties and thirties, pulled in one direction by the acclaim of great London crowds who loved her singing, and in another direction by the Holy Spirit. Then one day at age 36 she read a booklet entitled “All For Jesus,” which stressed the importance of making Christ King of every corner and cubicle of one’s life. Frances made a fresh, complete consecration to God. Years later her sister asked her about it, and she replied: Yes, it was on Advent Sunday, December 2, 1873, I first saw clearly the blessedness of true consecration. I saw it as a flash of electric light. There must be full surrender before there can be full blessedness. God admits you by the one into the other. He showed me this most clearly.

Shortly after, Frances found herself spending several days with ten people, some of them unconverted, and others of them Christians not fully surrendered. “Lord,” she prayed, “give me all in this house.” Before she left, all ten were yielded Christians. On the last night of her visit, Frances, too excited to sleep, wrote her “Consecration Hymn,” the song that became her life’s theme. She took its words seriously and prayed earnestly over them every December 2nd, making changes to her life and lifestyle as needed. The first verse says:

Take my life and let it be,
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.

I have been nailed to the cross with Christ. I have died, but Christ lives in me. And I now live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me. (Galatians 2:19b,20)

Source: Morgan, Robert J.: On This Day : 265 Amazing and Inspiring Stories About Saints, Martyrs & Heroes. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000, c1997, S. December 2

1414 Praying & Fasting Campaign

Today is the first day of our 1414 praying & fasting campaign. This campaign is for AG1 leaders. However, others are welcomed to join in if they want to as well.

1414 simply means 14 December 2009 to 14 January 2010.

One reason we are fasting and praying together is to cry out to God for Him to move powerfully in our midst (in every single care group in AG1) as we are reaching out to our friends and loved ones with the love of Jesus during the Christmas outreach season.

Even before we started the praying and fasting campaign I have started to hear powerful testimonies happenning in different care groups including one visitor who decided to receive Christ around a week ago. (He joined our movie night some two weeks ago)

I want to fast and pray seriously during this season of time. I want to see more of God in our midst. I want to see many transformation of hearts and lives in our midst. I want to see every single care group in AG1 experiencing mighty breakthroughs and victories. I want to see more people experiencing the love of God for people really matter to God.

Would you join me in this journey? :)