White Christmas

Hello my dear readers!! It’s me again. I’m grateful to God in this Christmas season I could write a short post to my blog and this post is the closing post for this year. I would like to thank to all faithful readers and follower who always give big support to my blog through like or comment on my posts. I really, really appreciate it. I hope and pray this blog will continue to sharing God’s blessing through God’s word.

Every time before Christmas comes, besides decorating Christmas tree and the whole house with various beautiful Christmas decorations, my parents also took out their collection of Christmas song vinyl records. One of their favorite Christmas song is “White Christmas” They said, though White Christmas isn’t a hymn Christmas song, the legendary “White Christmas” song could successfully bring Christmas atmosphere especially when the snow has come. All is white! Tree, house, land, and other will covered with white color and white is always used as a symbol of cleanliness and even holiness.

Dear readers, what were my parents said reminds me to the great Bible figure, David. Davis was known as a figure who was very close with God. But at one time he fell so deep into the sin by doing a series of despicable acts. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, lied, and the killed Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah. The series of actions that David made in a row suddenly turned him into a very cruel figure and he was unaware that his actions were dominated by lust. He was ruled by sin. Bible said that what he did was considered evil in God’s eyes. Then God sent Nathan to warn David. When confronted with his transgressions, fortunately David didn’t dodge to defend himself. Bravely David admitted, “I have sinned against the Lord.” (2 Samuel 12:13a) and Nathan said to David, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.” (2 Samuel 12:13) although there were still consequences of what David did, God gave a guarantee of forgiveness to David.

From what happened, David wrote Psalm 51. He wrote very deep series of poem of sin confession, repentance, and pleading for God’s forgiveness. One of them said:

Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean, wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

(Psalm 51:7)

My beloved readers, Christmas is a moment we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ to the world as the greatest gift and grace from God to atone our sins and bring us out of the death to enter the eternal life. In this Christmas moment, allow me to encourage all of us to celebrate Christmas day not only by a party, give a Christmas gift to our loved ones, or take a Christmas holiday but let’s make Christmas as a moment to sanctify us, confess all of our sins, and ask God to forgive and cleanse our hearts. God said to us,

Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. (Isaiah 1:16)

And when we do that, God said

“…Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. (Isaiah 1:18)

God is always ready to give us forgiveness, even to restore joy when we turn from evil ways to His ways. God will whiten a very red sin as white as snow. Pure white snow is very beautiful in welcoming Christmas, but please remember, it’s not about white snow, but the most important in this Christmas day is our heart and soul as white and as clean as snow. And our lives will still in holiness because God said to us, “Be holy, because I am Holy” (1 Peter 1:16) Let’s have a white Christmas.

On behalf of our family, I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New year 2020

Make the season bright with holiness, peace, joy, love, and hope in God. Amen

Karina Lam

Living by faith.

Image source: google images

Come! Celebrate with Me

 

Hello my dear friends,  a few more days we will together celebrate the birth of Jesus. We might getting busier with Christmas preparation such as buying gifts for our loved ones, planned a Christmas party and inviting  our beloved family and friends, or even make a plan for a wonderful holiday trip. All will seem so exciting and fun. Okay, I hope and pray you will enjoy your Christmas seasons.  Yesterday my beloved best friend from Japan, Kimiko, was sending me something that really touched my heart and it makes me ponder deeply in this Christmas seasons. Right now I would love to share it with all of you. Let’s ponder together. Here it is…

 

As you well know, we are getting closer to my birthday. Every year there is a celebration in my honor and I think that this year the celebration will be repeated. During this time there are many people shopping for gifts, there are many radio announcements, TV commercials, and in every part of the world everyone is talking that my birthday is getting closer and closer. It is really very nice to know, that at least once a year, some people think of me. As you know, the celebration of my birthday began many years ago. At first people seemed to understand and be thankful of all that I did for them, but in these times, no one seems to know the reason for the celebration. Family and friends get together and have lots of fun, but they don’t know the meaning of the celebration. I remember that last year there was a great feast in my honor. The dinner table was full of delicious foods, pastries, fruits, assorted nuts and chocolates. The decorations were exquisite and there were many, beautifully wrapped gifts. It was so touching they put a manger in the corner as a part of decoration, yet it was just a manger, they didn’t know the true meaning why I was there more two thousand years ago. Even worse, do you want to know something? I wasn’t invited to the party. I was the guest of honor and they didn’t remember to send me an invitation. The party was for me, but when that great day came, I was left outside they closed the door in my face and I wanted to be with them and share their table.

In truth, that didn’t surprise me because in the last few years all close their doors to me. The same as it was two thousand years ago the innkeepers close their door for me.  Since I wasn’t invited, I decided to enter the party without making any noise. I went in and stood in a corner. They were all drinking; there were some who were drunk and telling jokes and laughing at everything. They were having a grand time. To top it all, this big fat man all dressed in red wearing a long white beard entered the room yelling Ho-Ho-Ho! He seemed drunk. He sat on the sofa and all the children ran to him, yelling: “Santa…!, Santa…!” as if the party were in his honor! At midnight all the people began to hug each other; I extended my arms waiting for someone to hug me and do you know no-one hugged me. Suddenly they all began to share gifts. They opened them one by one with great expectation. When all had been opened, I looked to see if, maybe, there was one for me. What would you feel if on your birthday everybody shared gifts and you did not get one? I then understood that I was unwanted at that party and finally I just had to leave. I walked out the door. It was no surprise that no one even noticed that I had gone. Every year it gets worse. People only remember the gifts, the parties, to eat and drink, and nobody remembers me.

Someone once told me, “Well, it’s because you are not around like most people are, so how can we give you a present?” You know my answer to that one? “Then give gifts of food and clothing to the poor, give help to those who need it. Go visit the lonely! Any gift you give a needy fellow man, I’ll count it as if you gave it to me personally.” (Matthew 25:34-40)

I would like this Christmas that you allow me to enter into your life. I would like that you recognize the fact that more than two thousand years ago I came to this world to give my life for you, on the cross, to save you. Today, I only want that you believe this with all your heart. I want to share something with you. As many didn’t invite me to their party, I will have my own celebration, a grandiose party that no one has ever imagined, and a spectacular party. It might not happen this year, but I’m sending out the invitations now. I hope you’ll want to come. There is going to be room for billions, for everyone who wants to come! Some really famous old timers and celebrities are going to be there and I’ll reserve you a seat of honor right with them. And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 8:11). I’m still making the final arrangements.

So hold on to your hat because when everything is ready, I’m going to spring it as a big surprise! Many people are going to be left out in the cold because they didn’t answer my invitation. Let me know right away if you’d like to come. I’ll reserve a place for you and write your name in large golden letters in my great big Guest Book!

See you soon. I Love you!

 Your beloved friend forever and ever,Jesus.

Question to ponder: have we personally opened the door of our heart and invited Jesus to come? On the day of His birth where we put Jesus in our lives? Whether as an honored guest, or even we totally forget about him and we just busy with our gifts and party? Will we come and join to His gracious party as His great guest? Are we ready for His invitation?

My beloved readers, this post will be my last post this year. I will come back next year. I, my husband, and our little son Andrew say “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” to all of you. You all so precious for us and we are so blessed to have you all. Thank you for your support to my blog. God bless you.

Heaven inspiration

Karina – Living by faith

Image source: Imgarcade.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Gift for Jesus

 

 

Yesterday was our 1st wedding anniversary.  In accordance with our agreement, we were not celebrated with a romantic candle light dinner or something, yet we have decided to celebrate our wedding anniversary at the orphanage and held a Christmas celebration together with the orphans. Why we had an idea like that?  Because we just want to celebrate our wedding anniversary with a slightly different way and coincides with Christmas day. We just want to share blessings and happiness to those who in need. For both of us, had a lunch with the orphans, played around and sang together with them was the most romantic moment. However, here I don’t want to talk about our celebration but I want to talk about something important that I got from it.

When the orphans made Christmas decoration contest, I found something that made me moved. I saw a little girl put a manger under her Christmas tree. The interesting thing is there were two babies doll in that manger. Why there were two babies? I wondered.  “Why you put two babies in your manger?” I asked. Then she replied with innocent voice, “Ma’am, I do not have anybody but I have Jesus. I do not have anything as a gift because I’m poor. Therefore, I want to give myself as a gift to Him. Both babies it was me and Jesus. I thought I could accompany him and give a little warmth to Jesus. That’s all I can give.”  To be honest, that little girl answer was jerking my heart and made me not able to hold my tears. What a very touching and heartwarming answer. I was thinking that God said the same words like that liitle girl: ”  I want to give myself as a give to you. Both babies- It was you and Me. I thought I could accompany you and give you a little warmth” Then My husband said. “Today we have got precious lesson from this little girl”

When Christmas comes, we are always busy with preparations to celebrate Christmas. We are busy thinking about Christmas gifts for our friends and families. The question arises in my mind. If we have prepared the best Christmas gift to those whom we love, what about to the figure that actually we celebrate? Jesus! Whether we have prepared a gift for Jesus? And what kind of gifts that is pleasing Him? Before we answer those questions, I ask you to once again reflect on the true essence of Christmas.

Jesus came to this world with an important purpose. He came to save and redeem our sins. Based on the great God’s love, He came to rub out the world’s sins and paved the way to us into the salvation. This is not trivial. Let’s ponder who we are so that we are so precious in the sight of God to be saved? David once questioned this thing when he was mesmerized in awe as he looked at the beautiful sky.

What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

(Psalm 8:4, NIV)

Have we made a big contribution so that God be indebted to us and should to pay us? Are we so holy flawless so that God feels guilty if He does not save us? No! Indeed, we are human beings who often doing sinful things, we still often disappoint God with all our behavior which not pleasing before God. Even so, in fact God still love us. Even though God created this universe so beautiful, we are the mankind still the most precious creations that created in His image itself. As written in Genesis 1:26 (NIV):

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

And we also crowned with glory and honor,

You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. (Psalm 8:5 NIV)

Therefore, our salvation was become an important God’s agenda and was based on His Greatest love to us, and He granted upon the humans.  Grace is not a grace when given based on logrolling. It is precisely because we are not worthy but God still gave. That is called a grace. The Holy Bible describes this thing so beautiful and touching,

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 NIV)

What a greatest love of God which is able to move His heart for sacrificing of Christ to replace all of our sins on the cross, pay in full  our sins, and deliver us from the curse and bring salvation that supposed not be worthy for us to have. All of it is merely based on His Great love to us. Imagine how our lives today if Jesus did not come into this world and redeem our sins, break the shackles of sin and the curse, replacing us on the Cross and saved us from the death. How horrible our lives!

With very long and tiring journey the Magi from the east came to Jerusalem to worship the Baby Jesus. But their tiredness was gone and turned into the joy when they saw the star. (Matthew 2:2, 10 NIV) If we look at the previous chapter we can see what the angel said to Joseph through a dream,

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.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us) (Matthew 1:21-23 NIV)

Let’s ponder to the meaning of Immanuel. The birth of Jesus to this world brought very big impact to our life journey and salvation. And that’s supposed to be the source of our joy in welcoming the Christmas day. If God gave a tremendous gift to us, what can we give to Him? Let’s to be honest how often we forget this. We often ask to God to fulfill all our wishes, but how often do we think about what we can give to God as the most beautiful gift and pleasing to God?

Now back to the previous question. Whether we have prepared a gift for Jesus? And what kind of gifts that is pleasing Him? In fact most beautiful gift we have to prepare and give to Jesus is our heart. That is a gift that can please God. God wants our open hearts, gentle, willing to be formed, trust in Him, and always truly love and worship Him. We may not like a little girl in the orphanage who did not have anything. We may be able to give very expensive gifts, but once again we have to remember that God does not want any of it. A heart that the fear to God, clean, ready to receive Christ to dwell in it, and also a heart  that full of love for our fellow human beings, just as Christ loved us. This is actually God wants from us.

One day a scribe said, “To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Mark 12:33) Then what Jesus’ response?

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”(Mark 12:34 NIV) So it is so clear through these verses we can see what the real gift we can give to Jesus. Heart that loves God and others, that’s a very beautiful gift to give to us in celebrating the birth of Jesus in the world. Furthermore Jesus also said:

‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’(Matthew 25:40 NIV)

The Lord Jesus does not require worldly gifts in the form of goods, jewelry, materials and or something like that. What will please Him is the love to God (love in vertically) and to each other (horizontally). Loves come from the heart. So heart that fully leads to Him and centered to His will, will become a very beautiful gift to Jesus.

My dear readers, Christmas is a moment in which we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ to the world as the  form of greatest gift from the Father to redeem for our sins and bring we out of death to enter the eternal life. Let we sanctify ourselves, admit our sins, and ask God to forgive and cleanse our hearts. As God commanded,

Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong.

(Isaiah 1:16 NIV)

God is always ready to give forgiveness, even restoring joy when we turn from the way of evil and return to His ways. As God said,

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

Let us have a sacred heart as clean and white as a snow and eventually will be worth as a beautiful Christmas gift to Jesus our Lord. Amen.

My beloved readers, this post will be my last post this year. I will come back next year. I, my husband, and our little Andrew say “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” to all of you. You all so precious for us and we are so blessed to have you all. God bless you.

Karina – Living by Faith

Photo credit: wallpaperup.com

 Thank you very much to Paulfg at http://justmebeingcurious.com/ for wonderful expression on my post.