The Season of Christmas

Christmas is definitely a season for many occasions. It's a season for giving, a season for spending time with family and friends, a season for reaching out to those who you wouldn't normally reach out to, and most importantly it's a season to celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ.

To me, the season of Christmas had always been hard. For some reason, it made me feel extra lonely especially when I didn't have a significant other to share it with. I had felt that the build up of Christmas was so big and it never happens the way you expect it to. When the day after Christmas would come, it was just depressing that it was all over, just like that. Outside, it would be terribly cold and the skies would be full of grey clouds. It's as if reality comes crashing down. I know that a lot of people have also felt this way. A lot of people feel this way all year-round and not just during Christmas. Like there is something missing in their lives and there is an emptiness in their heart. The sense of being lost and the doom of hopelessness are never far behind. I know someone who can fill that emptiness, who can give you a purpose in life, who gives eternal hope and whose promises are always unfailing.

I learned in Church the other day the secret to having a great Christmas. Actually, it's the secret to having a great life, and it shouldn't be a secret at all! God said in His word that His children are the light and salt of the earth. His great commission for us to have a purpose driven life can be found in Matthew 28:19-20 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Step one to having a great Christmas is to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. The good news that heaven is a free gift, it is not earned or deserved. Jesus paid the price for us because we could never live up to actually deserving a place in heaven, it is impossible because no matter what we do we keep on sinning. Because God is merciful, He doesn't want to punish us, but He is also just and must punish our sins. That's where Jesus comes in because only He can pay the penalty for our sins. Jesus is 100% God and 100% man. All it takes for us is faith, not knowledge in theology or temporary faith, but saving faith which is trusting in Jesus Christ alone.

John 3:16 says "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." Step two is believing that it's for YOU, you are part of the world that He created. God knows who you are, he knew your name before you were born. His promises ring true for you personally, not just for the other people around you. Pastor John said "Jesus didn't come just for the good people, because there aren't any!"

Step three is to receive. receive the free gift that God is offering you. Receive eternity in heaven by receiving His son, Jesus into your life. Let Him rule it for His hands are more capable than our own. How do we receive His gift? Prayer. A prayer like this one:

Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of your son, Jesus. I know that I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. Please forgive me for all of my sins and for the life that I have led. I confess that Jesus is Lord! I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my salvation and rose again to make it as if I never sinned. I receive Jesus as my personal Lord and savior and pray that he will be Lord over my life. In the mighty name of your son Jesus Christ, AMEN.

If that was the first time you prayed this prayer and you prayed it truly and sincerely, congratulations! Welcome to the family of God! Please, do not just leave it at that, find a local church where you can be rooted. A bible believing, Christian church. If you have prayed this prayer before, step four is reaching out and giving the best gift possible to those around you, Jesus Christ!

This season can also be a season for new beginnings - to be born again and have a new life. So let us celebrate Christmas, the birth of our savior, not only during this season but during every season.

Reminiscing on 2005

Well, it's the Christmas season and the end of the year is coming up fast! I am a little anxious about this new year because I will be leaving for the Philippines on January 1st, new years day. I am excited and a little nervous at the same time because I will be staying for six months, or maybe more. I will be doing a lot of different things such as two mission trips and to help with the Christian non-profit organization I am working with called F.I.S.H.E.R.S. International Ministries (F.I.S.H.E.R.S. stands for - Faith In Sharing His Eternal Radiant Salvation). We are building an orphanage there to be called Babyanne's Mansion. As well, my boyfriend just left for the Philippines a little over a month ago indefinitely and I certainly cannot wait to be with him again.

Thinking of all the things I will be doing in the new year, all the changes that are going to happen, I can't help but reminisce about the last new year and my faith in God that the year 2005 was going to be a special one. Indeed, it was. Last year, I just had this feeling that God was going to do so many things in my life in 2005 and I was excited. You see, it wasn't until last year around November that my eyes were truly opened to His truth and that is when He started really working on my mind and my heart. Here are a few of the firsts of 2005:

• It was the first time I got involved with my very own church, Victory Christian Centre by joining the Connect Class and then the Worship Team Choir.
• First time I started this blog... Which I never thought I would ever do.
• The first time I joined the F.I.S.H.E.R.S.' "Soulvivor" which is a mental and physical game (a cross between Survivor and Amazing Race) which spans two days - I would never usually join anything competitive. I came in fourth and am proud of it!
• First time I sang on mic at church - this was of course a big deal to me.
• First time I became a leader and director, I am one of the leaders and a director for F.I.S.H.E.R.S. Int. Ministries.
• First time I led a congregation in worshipping our Lord of Lords - what an honor and privilege!
• First time I ever facilitated a Bible Study - this was nerve racking for me.
• As I mentioned earlier, my boyfriend left for the Philippines indefinitely which I think could be a first step towards moving on and creating a beautiful future for us (I know it's still a long way to go and will be hard, but through Christ I can do anything).
• I finished my program at school this year, I had my last final two weeks ago. Woohoo!

There were so many other amazing things that happened to me this year that I cannot remember at the moment. It just goes to show how much God will bless you with when you just step out of faith and say "yes". Get out of your comfort zone and give whatever it is you have to give such as your talent, time or treasure and to give it in a way that will glorify Him. After all, none of it is really ours, God entrusted it to us so we can share it with others and be a blessing to the nations.

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? " Luke 16:10-12

** To learn more about F.I.S.H.E.R.S. International Ministries and Babyanne's Mansion, please visit www.fishersministries.com

To Receive and Believe

My favorite verse for the last couple of weeks has definitely been John 1:10-12 which is as follows:

"He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."

That verse was probably one of the first bible verses I had ever read. When I first started becoming serious about God's word I had started by reading the book of John. It didn't hit me the first time I read it but as I saw it again several weeks ago I couldn't help but stop and be in awe. It was truly enlightening.

Can you just imagine creating something so magnificent, something you thought so long and hard about because you wanted to make it perfect? Well, imagine that you were able to create that something and you were so proud of it. It's sort of like what God went through when he made this universe. Just imagine every intricate detail there is, from a little atom to a galaxy! God created it, he thought of every detail, every blade of grass on this Earth to every hair on top of your head. He knew your name before you were born and even before He created this world!

Well, when God sent His only son, Jesus to Earth, he was degraded, spat upon, insulted, persecuted and even crucified. The One who created the Earth, the One who knew every detail, the One who loved (He is love), rejected! If I were God, I would have just given up on Earth. I would have just destroyed this world out of anger and hurt. Thank goodness, our God is good! He is just! His perfect plans are above what we could ever think of!

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:9

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." - Romans 12:2

"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

Despite our unworthiness, despite the way we behave and treated His one and only son, God still loves us. He said - to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. When we accept Jesus into our lives and we are born again, God welcomes us into His family. Truly God, I am in awe of You!

My Rock - 2 Samuel 22:3