SAVED 2013

SAVED 

Christmas is just around the corner.

It's almost everybody's favorite holiday. Who wouldn't love Christmas?

Vibrant, sparkling decorations lighting up the usually dull streets; the awesome feeling of the Christmas rush as we hurry to buy gifts for our loved ones, the joy of caroling - all these remind us of the holiday season. 

But are we aware of the real reason behind the season?

Christmas is to celebrate the birth of CHRIST, that fateful night He was born in a manger. Big surprises did come in small packages. Despite being God in the flesh, Christ was born to Mary, in a meek stable, instead of a palace.

However, it seems that we've forgotten this.

Instead of Jesus, Santa and his reindeer are the ultimate Christmas symbols.

Imagine that it's your birthday and instead of greeting you, people choose to celebrate your sister instead.

That's what's happening. 

We're giving gifts to others when we've forgotten to remember the reason for the season, the One who gave the most precious gift to us. 

Let's recount the birth of Jesus:

As we all know, Mary and Joseph were out in the cold one night in Bethlehem. Mary was heavily pregnant during that time and her husband Joseph asked all the inns to take them in. Sadly, with the registration happening in town, every place was booked. In the end, Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable.

Not so far away...

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

Luke 2:8

Shepherds lived a hard knock life. They tended to the dumbest mammals on the planet: sheep. They had to be mindful of their flock or else, they would suffer losses they cannot afford. Sheep was valuable property during those days and earned money. But taking care of them required great effort.

It was rough, being a shepherd. So you can imagine their surprise when an angel drops by all of a sudden:

9 An angelof the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a signto you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:9-14

News of great joy?

The angel brought good news of joy for everyone!

The news was the birth of the Saviour, the great Redeemer. 

We were in need of forgiveness from our sins, which is why Jesus was born to us. He provided peace.

Our idea of peace is the usual: money, successful relationships, cool friendships and an awesome family. Peace is when things go our way, when everything is okay. Peace is when that girl you like notices you for the first time.

Is that what peace is?

Real peace is not of these matters. 

Real peace is with God.

2 But your iniquities have separated
    you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
    so that he will not hear.

Isaiah 59:2

When Eve ate the fruit, we were separated from God. Sin came into the world, causing a great chasm to divide us from our Creator. We lived our own lives without knowing the consequences of our sin. Eve's bite of the fruit earned us a one-way ticket to hell. God cannot stand sin. We were at war with God. We looked for love in others instead of looking for it with Him.

Everyone is a sinner. Young or old, male or female. Everyone.

But God's love did not allow such fate for us. He sent His Son to be born in a stable...

and to die on a cross.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:5-6

5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

Romans 5:1

God wants to have peace with us. He offers us salvation, the chance to be saved, to experience peace in His presence. Enjoy the peace He gives. There's actually two of them:

PEACE WITHIN

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Are you searching for inner peace?

Life has all the stress it can offer. Everything is practically stressful. Emotions are turning and problems are coming non-stop. Sometimes, you just want to stop and give up. Find that inner tranquility, get away from all the noise.

But real peace can be found even in the worst of trials.

(You say: REALLY?)

People think they can achieve real peace when they're safe from all the troubles.

Real peace is not the absence of trials. It is the assurance that God is there with you in the midst of the challenges. You rest in His arms, trusting that He will lead you through, no ifs and no buts. He's there. Peace is there when you believe that God is there.

PEACE WITH OTHERS

People can really be annoying sometimes (okay, most of the time). They can hurt you, hit you where you know you're the weakest. They can disappoint you, destroy your expectations of them.

People are never perfect and so are you.

You're just frustrated with everyone.

But if you have accepted the peace God offers, you will find yourself giving others a chance. Because the Bible says we have to make peace with everyone

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility

Ephesians 2:4-6

We are one in Christ. He died to restore peace. 

As His followers, we are to live with that peace and to share it with others. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit as mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23. Pursue others with love and help out when you can. Instead of succumbing to anger and fighting with others, we should try our very best to be understanding and to pursue peace. 

Because He died for us to have it.

This Christmas, let's not be too focused on the things of this world: the decorations, presents and all that. Instead, let's be reminded of why we're celebrating it...who is the reason for the season.

On that night, in that stable, SALVATION came and eventually, those who believed would eventually be SAVED. 

Written by Ashley Petallano (c) 2013

#SorryTaoLang: Guard Your Mouth!

#SorryTaoLang 4

Guard Your Mouth!

by Timothy Adrian Santos

'Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me!'

One of the biggest lies to be said.

Words, when we're not cautious, cut deep. 

The Bible dubs the tongue as one of the deadliest parts in our body. No, it can't cut through metal nor can it punch someone in the face physically. 

What we say to other people can affect them emotionally and spiritually.

Tell people a lot of good things, you can easily make their days.

But tell them hurtful words-

You cut deeper than a sword.

The TONGUE is powerful.

3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 

James 3:3-5

Small but terrible: that's how we can describe the tongue. Just like the rudder, small as it may be, the tongue controls our speech. 

What we say may appear harmless at first. It's just one word, right? But once we throw it at others, we can't take them back. You tell your classmate she's ugly, she may not show it but she's got a sear in her heart for sure. You throw a bad word at your enemy and before you know it, you're sporting a black eye. 

A tiny spark can set a forest fire. One word can create a huge mess!

That's how powerful the tongue is.

Gossiping about other people is a spark. You talk to others about other people's problems, add in some comments and share it to other friends. Days pass, it seems as if most people already know about the issue. 

Spark = fire.

6 And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

James 3:6

Words have the power like fire! No, they don't set things to flames but as described above, the effect is pretty much the same.  

The infamous Adolf Hitler grew up in an anti-Jew environment, where all the talks about the Jews were degrading. Look where that got him.

There's one thing we can get from these:

Be very careful with your words. 

We have to be mindful with what we say. We have to tame our tongues. 

Can we do that easily?

The answer:

We don't have the ability to tame our tongues.

You say: WHAAT?

7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 

James 3:7-8

No human being can tame the tongue. It appears easy at first; you think it's just being cautious all the time. But ask yourself: can you be cautious every time? Can you watch your words every minute?

Being the human that we are, it's not possible-

Without God.

We need God's help in training our tongue to be tamed. 

The first thing to know about having a holy tongue is it comes from a holy heart.

Holy means set apart. Imagine yourself holding an ice cream; a vanilla ice cream. It's all white and creamy. It's purely set apart. But once you drop that on the ground, it's not clean anymore :( In fact, it's all dirty and...inedible.

That's being unholy. :(

So, how does one have a holy tongue?

11 Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? 12 Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring

James 3:11-12

A spring has fresh water flowing from it, fresh and sweet water. The water is in that state due to its clear source. Should the water in the spring be polluted, we would know that there's something wrong with the water source. 

45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

Luke 6:45

Your heart reflects your words. Fill your heart with good things. Let love abound! Your words will show the contents of that beating organ of yours. We should imitate Christ as mentioned in Ephesians 4:29. 

Keep in mind to only say what is helpful to others. Even if tempers are running high and the situation is getting nastier by the second, we have to keep calm and be careful with what we say. Ask yourself: Is what I'm going to say going to be helpful or hurtful?

Is this story of my friend worth sharing to others?

Should I lie?

Must I bully this kid?

Is this green joke worth it?

Always stop before you say anything you might regret. A real follower of Christ would imitate Christ, even in his words.

Our tongue can be the most painful weapon used against other people but we can tame it, not on our own, but with the help of God. We should re-evaluate ourselves, give a heart check and make sure that we fill ourselves with good so that the words we give to others are also good.

Guard your mouth! :)



Written by Ashkey Petallano (c) 2013