It's Christmas time again!

December's my favourite month of the year! I love seeing pretty Christmas decorations and listening to Christmas carols playing at the malls. Not forgetting shopping for presents...more window shopping this year as we need to budget for our baby! Can't resist snapping pictures everywhere I go. Here are some of them :)

Hubby and I attended a wedding at Prince Hotel last weekend

Christmas deco at home

Christmas at the malls! TL - 1 Utama, TR - Pavillion KL,
BL - Prince Hotel, BR - The Curve

Even as we celebrate Christmas this year let's not forget the real meaning of Christmas.

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21

In Complete Honesty...

I have discovered many things about Christianity after being a Christian for 27 years and working in church for 5 years. Here's what I found... in complete honesty.

Christians are not above the rest. We're the same as everyone else. Not smarter, richer or more talented. Christians can be hypocrites too. Christians face temptations and fall into sin like everyone else. Christians hurt one another.

Sometimes we pretend that everything is nice and rosy but they are not. We go through difficulties, pains and all kinds of sufferings. We cry when people or circumstances break our hearts. People fail us and sometimes we want to run to a place where no one will judge us anymore.

So why am I still a Christian? The answer is Jesus. In the midst of all the problems I have faced, Jesus has been there for me. He sends people to encourage me, he changes circumstances miraculously for me. He has never failed me. He has loved me unconditionally. He picks me up when I fall. He has blessed me beyond measure.

The reason for anyone to become a Christian should not be on how beautiful the church building looks, or how eloquent the pastor speaks, or how good Christians treat us, or how important it makes us feel serving in the church..... because when one of them fails, everything crumbles. The reason for our faith should be Jesus. Only Jesus can forgive us of our sins.

Although Christians are to be perfect like Jesus, they cannot ever replace Jesus... no Christian is perfect. Christians are human too. But Jesus is God and He is perfect in every way.

Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38

Law vs. Grace

I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent.  For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.  

Matthew 12:6-8

Jesus was always being scrutinised by the Pharisees. They were constantly looking out for things he did to break the law to find reasons to accuse him. However, Jesus put mercy and grace above the law and so he healed a man with a shriveled hand on the Sabbath. Jesus reminded the Pharisees that God desires mercy and not sacrifice, and that the innocent should not be condemned in keeping the law.

Similarly, we must always remember that God wants us to show grace and mercy to others and not just abide by laws blindly or be legalistic for the sake of it. We should not go about our daily routines, no matter how holy it could be, and neglect extending God's grace and mercy to those who need it.

Dear Lord Jesus, forgive me for the legalistic routines in my daily life.  Help me to be sensitive to the needs of the people around me and extend Your grace and mercy to those whom You put in my life.  May my life be a living testimony of the indescribable depths of Your love to us and the reality of Your presence in our daily lives. Amen. 

My Testimony

When I was about 6, my mum told me stories from the bible of someone called Jesus who loved me and could do all kinds of amazing things like heal sick people. I can't remember everything she said but I do remember saying a prayer after her asking Jesus to come into my heart.

So after that day, I started talking to Jesus since He was now my friend. I told Him everything - please watch over my family, please give me a new pencil box and all sorts of requests. Once when my parents argued, I wrote long letter to Jesus telling Him I didn't like earth very much and it would be nice if He took me home.

One of my most vivid memories of being with Jesus was when I was about 13. While I was sleeping at night, someone came to take me somewhere. My spirit seemed to be flying in the air, and I couldn't see but all I could feel was a love that was so strong .. a feeling that I belonged to that person. A love much more intense than what I feel for my earthly parents, and what I have ever felt from them.

We seemed to be flying in the sky, and we reached a place where there were lots of children. They seemed to be surrounding someone and they were all singing. We were there for awhile... then it was time to go back. We 'flew' back to my 'body' and I woke up. The experience was so real I touched my face... and it was so cold.... just like I had just been flying in the sky.

I realise now that I had been with Jesus. And when I was with Him, I didn't want to be with anyone else. I would have chosen to be with Him and never go back to earth if I was given the choice. No words can express the intense love I felt from Him... and there is no possible comparison of that love to anything I that have ever felt in this world.

Its been nearly 20 years, and I still miss that moment of being so near to Jesus. And I know, one day I will experience it again. I know not everyone will believe me, but this is my testimony.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and how long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19

Walking with Jesus

I woke up at about 4 am this morning and had a picture in my mind. It was Jesus and me, walking hand in hand. I felt God so close to me and had the assurance that He would always hold my hand. In my sleepyness, I whispered, 'I love you Jesus'.

I have not always been close to God, there were times when I drifted away from Him. Even now, sometimes when I do something wrong, I'll feel like I wasn't as close to Him as I'd like to be. It is very comforting to know that I have a God who knows me and loves me for who I am, despite my failures and weaknesses. And He's a God who will never give up on me and will never let go of my hand.

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deut. 31:8