Christmas Troubles

We've all heard the Nativity Story many times before. We've seen it reenacted by Kindergartners, read it in children's books and the Bible, and it's been preached countless times in church. Yet somehow, we always just pass by or flip through this part of the Bible because, well, our excuse is we know it all too well already. We don't need to hear it again. We've already heard it countless times. We know it already... or do we?

As I reflect upon how Christ was born and what His parents had to go through before His birth, I am amazed at how God works so miraculously and how He truly guides and provides for His people. If we read the Nativity story from each of the Gospels and carefully understand it and read between the lines, we could easily conclude that Joseph and Mary went through tough times before, during, and after Christ's birth.

First of, never in a million lives has anybody heard of a virgin pregnancy. In modern times, it may seem like just some kind of excuse to get away with something the girl did wrong. I'm pretty sure Mary tried to explain to Joseph why she was pregnant, but of course, this was something pretty hard for Joseph to understand. I'm pretty sure it wasn't only Joseph that questioned Mary, but even his family, her family, and the whole village she stayed in! During these times, a woman who is pregnant before marriage should be stoned. I can honestly say that it is by God's grace Mary wasn't stoned! Also, God revealed His plan to Joseph and Joseph finally accepted Mary once again. Now this might have caused confusion among their people too. One day, Joseph was questioning Mary, the next day he's supporting her. The people might have thought that it was just a ruse or that the both of them were just acting. Maybe Joseph really was the father and he just acted angry for show. If they did tell them about the angels that spoke to them, there's only a small probability anyone would believe them! So even while Christ was in the womb, it was already hard for Mary and Joseph. Yet they were faithful and I believe they put their faith in God. They both knew He wouldn't let them down.

The next thing the couple had to endure was the travel. Mind you, they had no cars, planes, or air-con back then. I'm pretty sure it was blazing hot during the day and freezing cold at night. Imagine what Mary had to go through! Being pregnant and traveling - even in modern times- is hard. What more during those times! And Joseph had no time to take care of himself. Surely, he was always focused for the well-being of his wife and unborn child.

I like the scene in the movie "The Nativity Story" where Joseph and Mary were crossing a river and a snake almost bites Mary. This gives us a realistic picture of the dangers and obstacles the couple had to go through. They could have given up. They could have refused to go to Bethlehem. But by faith, they pressed on.

The couple was surely crushed to reach Bethlehem with no place to stay in. Imagine going through all the troubles and dangers, spending day and night in the blistering sun and the freezing cold, only to find themselves with no place to stay but a smelly stable! They could have been frustrated, they could have gotten angry, but no, they accepted what they had and in that humble stable the Savior of the World was born.

But their troubles didn't end there. Herod tried to kill the Baby and the couple had to make a quick get away. How do you do a quick get away with a new born baby!? In modern times the mother and child stay in the hospital for at least three days before going home. Mary and the baby Jesus had to travel to Egypt less than 24 hours of giving birth! Imagine how hard that is!

And even in the years that passed, I'm sure the family was still persecuted. Their neighbors must have frowned upon Jesus and the couple and might have talked behind their backs, labeling Jesus as a child conceived before wedlock.

And it was surely a hard time for Joseph. After all, he was human and he is a man. He had to wait for nine months, maybe even more, before he could physically show his love to Mary! He had to wait for almost a year!

And yet, even amidst all these troubles, dangers, and obstacles, Joseph and Mary remained faithful to God and in turn, He remained faithful to them and God's plan was fulfilled. This is why God's plan for salvation is so beautiful and awesome: nothing was able to stop it! Nothing was able to stop the humble couple and the baby because there was a big God watching over them!

Now God could've made it easy for Him. Why did He have to go through all this trouble of choosing a couple, traveling, and having a baby born in a manger when He could have just said it and it all came together?

Because in this way, God shows us how much He truly loves us. God went through all the trouble to show Mary, Joseph, and those now reading their story that He is faithful and that He loves us all.God was willing to go through all the trouble because He wants to prove He truly, deeply, cares for us and loves us.

John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only begotten Son..." Usually, we associate this with Jesus on the cross, but this covers His birth too! God gave us His Son, the baby in the manger, so that we will be reconciled with Him and no longer be bound by sin and death. God didn't love the Jews only. He didn't say He only loved Christians either. He loved the world - everybody. And imagine that, all that trouble - the criticism, the danger, the dirty looks shot at the couple - all of that was for you and me! If there is one great proof that God is a personal God, this would be it!

And so, as we celebrate Christ's birth today (or more specifically, at midnight), let us remember how much God loved us and how He showed His love through His Son: the Man that died on the cross and the Baby that lay on the manger. Let us not forget why there is "Christ" in "Christmas" and why that is its true name instead of the abbreviated "X'Mas". Let us remember that we are the reason Christ came to Earth and that He is the reason why we celebrate this holiday.

Have a very merry Christmas everybody. God bless!

HILARIOUS

Here are some really funny videos I just have to share with you guys.

This first video is a girl winning a competition... she just doesn't seem to realize it. She's still running on Windows 98 and has yet to upgrade to Vista.



The next one is a guy singing. Can't hear him though.



This next person apparently skipped fifth grade. Don't know how she graduated though. Wait, did she even graduate!?



This next vid shows how you celebrate when making a goal.



This guy thinks he's in a videogame. Maybe the comtroller's broken. Or maybe somebody super-glued his shoes.



This guy could've just saved himself the shame and just let the ball go in!



Uhhh... parking brake????



Stupid things happen to stupid people. Remember that.



Now I feel sorry for this kid. She was dead scared.



Now I wonder how they let her keep playing... and I thought only guys play dirty!



And this guy's just too caught up on his break...



Hope you had a laugh!

Love...

I love you.

Three simple words that mean a whole lot.

Three simple words NOBODY EVER takes lightly.

Three simple words that warm a person's heart, puts a smile on their face, and makes their day.

And this isn't just romantic love. This is love in general: love between friends, family, etc.

I was sitting on my desk after just finishing my Reading exam and I was double checking my answers when I cam across the question asking us about the two Sonnets we just read. Both present love in a different view. Then I began to wonder: what is love? What is it really?

I was brought back to November of this year when I was in Malaysia during the Renewed Experience Camp. Pastor Simon Eng was teaching us about the causes of spiritual dryness and one of the causes he gave was being married to an unbeliever, at which my friend, Jecca, asked "But what if you love the person?"

I answered "That's just your emotion."

As I thought about the word, I began to realize that love is so much more. It's not just emotion. It's not just butterflies in your stomach and a warm fuzzy feeling.

I remembered the meaning of peace. Peace is not the absence of calamity nor danger nor troubles, but it is being calm and collected and having faith that you'll see it through in the midst of calamity, danger, and troubles.

The same goes with love. Love is not just something you feel for a person when he or she does what you want, is pleasing to you, or is beautiful. When you truly love someone, you stick with them whatever their faults. You go through their goods and bads. You forgive them and comfort after they did something bad to you and they apologized. You forget their mistakes and you forget their faults.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

5It is not rude, it is not self–seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. - I Corinthians 13:4-8

Nothing else defines love better than the Word. And no act better describes love than God sending His own Son to die for us on the Cross. If you just think for a moment about how awesome God's plan was of redeeming us. Even while God banished Adam and Eve, He already knew what to do. And for the thousands and thousands of years that passed God's plan slowly came into formation. Prophecies came about and talked about it.

And soon, one night, it came. Love, finally, came to us in flesh. In a manger lay the Savior of the world: the perfect expression of God's love for each and every one of us. 

The baby on the manger and the man on the cross. Two very different images with only one message: God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.

We may fail at love. We may say 'I love you', but not really mean it. We may get angry, irritated, or annoyed with somebody we promised we loved. 

But though we fail, God prevails. And when God said 'I love you' to me, to you, to the whole world, one thing's for sure: He meant it. And He showed it through His Son.

This Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of Christ, let's remember God's love... and let's share it with everyone we meet!

Have a merry Christmas everybody. God bless!

 

"It's in You" - Original Composition

An original composition of mine. All glory to God!

Will post lyrics and chords if requested :)

Joy in Persecution

This is something that's pretty hard to get, even for Christians. I'm pretty sure when Jesus said "Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you," He made heads turn and shoulders shrug. However, this is something I finally learned in the past year and something I now truly appreciate.

First thing's first, persecution is NEVER easy nor is it ever fun. Duh. I think that's pretty obvious. And mind you, persecution today can be as light as people mocking you to people physically torturing you. Thank God I haven't experienced the physical yet.

But why is it that we should be HAPPY during persecution? Isn't it obvious we're not supposed to be HAPPY when people are hurting us? I mean, who's happy when they're hurting?

I learned that we need to realize that in fact, when being persecuted, God has found us worthy to be persecuted. Moreover, the Devil has found us a threat, someone to be reckoned with, and is scared, which is why he persecutes us. He's angry at us and that's something we should be awfully happy about! During a time when I was being persecuted, my leaders congratulated me. They said, "You're a certified Christian!"

And now, the year hasn't even ended yet and we in CRUX, the youth group, are already experiencing hard times and persecution. And you know what? I'm VERY EXCITED and HAPPY. Why? The very fact persecution is coming before 2010 means that God has something BIG planned for us and the devil is doing his very best to keep us away from it. By faith, I believe God is gearing us up to reach our 100 mark by 2011!

So are you experiencing persecution? SOmeone mocking you and giving you a hard time?

Rejoice! God has found you worthy and Satan isn't happy with you... and he shouldn't be!

Post-Thanksgiving SCG

I can't let this day pass without blogging about the Thanksgiving night. It was truly a joyous and awesome experience and though tiring, I can truly say it was all worth it.

I'm really glad that everybody coordinated so well and put so much effort in this event. It truly paid off in the end. I'm very much looking forward to the rest of the Thanksgivings we'll have in the next coming years. It was really fun gathering together with the whole Filipino family as well as our "adopted" Filipinos to celebrate what God has done for us in 2009. I also think this event was to declare that by faith, God has something more for us in 2010.

So it's getting kinda late and I have to go to bed, but all I can say is that it has been a truly awesome night. To God be the glory and praise.

2010, here we come!

Pre-Thanksgiving SCG

Okay, first of, sorry for not updating my blog. I'm busy with church and school and during free times I get too caught up on Facebook. Don't laugh at me, you're the same too...

Anyways, tomorrow is the Filipino Group's last SCG and it will be a Thanksgiving party. After all, God has blessed us so much this year it's just fitting that on our final service, we give Him all the glory and honor and thanks. Moreover, we should give Him our best, thus the semi-formal attire. And yes, this concept was borrowed from the guys over at S'pore. We've borrowed a lot of stuff from S'pore cuz they do stuff so great. Faith believing, we'll be like them someday!

So tomorrow will be like any other Filipino party - music, games, fun, and of course, FOOD! My mom was cooking six leche flans for tomorrow when I left and I'm pretty sure the other CGs have something delicious in store for everybody too.

So as I look back at the year and I look at how much effort we've put in for tomorrow, I think it's just right - and maybe not even enough - that we put all this effort like staying up 'till early morning to attach a video (like i'm doing right now, though it's just 11) for God since He has been so faithful and gracious to us 24/7.

So tomorrow, we do not celebrate the Filipino Group, nor do we celebrate our achievements... but we celebrate God for making Himself so visible to us.

Tomorrow's gonna be a blast!