hey just saw this message. i know it's not christmas now, but it's interesting after all.

How God beat Satan during Christmas
"... the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (1 Corinthians 2:8)

Understand, Satan is a created being. He shares none of the attributes of Almighty God -- not omniscience, omnipresence, nor omnipotence, meaning that he is limited in knowledge and space and power.

When it comes to predicting what God is going to do next, Satan has to rely on what he can figure out, what he remembers from the timeless past when he resided in heaven as a favorite angel, and what he reads in Holy Scripture. Since the Holy Spirit does not enlighten his understanding, Satan sees as the world sees, not with the mind of Christ. Once we understand this, a hundred puzzles fall into place.

The Apostle Paul pointed out that had Satan known what God was up to, he would never have crucified Jesus. One might say that God pulled the wool over the devil's eyes and fooled him. On that first Easter Sunday morning, an imp rushed into the presence of his satanic majesty, interrupting the two-day celebration over the death of Jesus. The demon breathlessly announced that the tomb was empty, the body gone, and the soldiers looked like they had seen a ghost. Satan spewed out his champagne and cursed. He had been had and he knew it. He had played right into God's hands and was defeated.

Sometimes in biblical history, we see that the Lord manipulated Satan, as in the cases of Job and Joseph. Sometimes, God gave him a good comeuppance as at Mount Carmel when Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal in a fire-calling contest. At other times, the Lord used subterfuge to fool His enemy. Christmas is one of those times.

Satan can read. He knew from Micah 5:2 that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. What he did not know was the timing of the Savior's birth. So, in another of his endless efforts to thwart the purposes of God, Satan pulled in demons from around the world to concentrate on the Holy Land, specifically the region around Bethlehem. That's one reason for the ubiquitous demon-possession in the New Testament. The devils practically outnumbered the citizens. They served as Satan's spies and were charged with keeping an eye out for godly young couples about to have babies.

Satan was lying in wait for the Messiah

The first thing God did was to choose a man and woman not from Bethlehem, but from Nazareth, far to the north. Secondly, He saw to it that the woman's purity and morality would be doubted. The devil can count; he knows it takes nine months to make a baby. He had no way of knowing of Gabriel's visits to Mary and Joseph or of the miraculous conception of this Baby. If he heard at all of this young Nazarene couple, he quickly discounted them, certain that the God he remembered from heaven would never deign to use obvious sinners for so holy a role.

The third thing God did was to arrange to move Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem in time for the birth, but not so as to draw attention to themselves. When Caesar Augustus put out a call for a census of the empire, God had put it in his heart. "The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes," as the Bible says in Proverbs 21:1.

Mary and Joseph were among thousands returning to their ancestral homes for the census. Perhaps the roads experienced a primitive form of gridlock. With Bethlehem's inns and available homes filled, the young couple took the only thing offered, a stable. "She brought forth her firstborn son and laid him in a manger, for there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7). If the devil's imps were vigilant, they would have dismissed the young family camping out in a barn for good reason.

The God whom Satan remembered from heaven resided in a level of glory unimagined on earth. Satan was unsure of a lot of things, but one thing he knew -- God in heaven would not allow His Son to be born in a barn. Doubtless he had told his demons to check the finest homes for the most illustrious surroundings and outstanding parents. But the Lord fooled him. "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise" (1 Corinthians 1:27). This is a basic lesson of spiritual warfare which historically Satan seems incapable of grasping. To this day, no carnal mind believes it.

When Jesus was born, God prepared a welcoming committee of the lowliest people on the planet -- shepherds -- primarily to reassure the young parents that all was well. Satan had no way of seeing the angels that appeared to these sheepherders that night or hearing their clues on how to identify the Baby. "And this will be a sign unto you: you will find a Baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12). No one noticed or cared when a small company of ragtag shepherds ran breathlessly through the village looking for -- what else? -- a stable.

Later, after Joseph had moved his little family into a house in Bethlehem, a delegation of foreign visitors arrived. These "magi from the east" had created no small stir in Jerusalem as they naively announced their search for the one "born king of the Jews" (Matthew 2). From the gifts they presented, Joseph was able to finance a sudden trip to Egypt made necessary when murderous King Herod sent soldiers on a search-and-destroy mission for the babies of Bethlehem. Satan would have fumed to learn that the objects of his wrath were already out of town, slowly making their way toward Egypt where they would remain until Herod's death. Eventually, when the holy family re-entered the country, they moved to Nazareth where Joseph opened his carpentry shop.

Satan had lost Jesus

Jesus grew up with a normal Jewish childhood in Nazareth. He was not a "Superboy in Smallville," amazing the hometown folks with His miracles and inspired teaching. Had he done that, Satan would have heard the talk about the boy wonder and come calling. The first the devil learned of Jesus' identity was the day the Lord stepped into the waters of the Jordan and waded to John the Baptist. Nudged by the Holy Spirit, John called out, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" And that's how everyone learned that the Messiah was Jesus from Nazareth.

Jesus' baptism was His coming out. The gloves were off. God in heaven was saying, "There He is, devil! Do your worst. We're ready." The game was afoot; the battle was joined. It came to a head one day three years later on a hill outside Jerusalem. For a couple of days, Satan reveled in his victory. Then, on that first Easter Sunday morning, an imp came running in, all out of breath....

TO: max, desmond, dominic, grace, shu yi, qiao fen, jim, alvin.


hey guys, wanna meet up on saturday after the rally? (14/7/07)
its been a loooooooooooong time since we gather.


pls give suggestion where we can go.
and pls tell desmond whether you can go.


thats all. God bless.

i was listening to this song, and it really spoke to me alot.

Father, hear my prayer
I need the perfect words
Words that he will hear
And know they're straight from You
I don't know what to say
I only know it hurts
To see my only friend slowly fade away

Chorus:
So maybe this time
I'll speak the words of life
With Your fire in my eyes
But that old familiar fear
is tearin' at my words
What am I so afraid of?
'Cause here I go again
Talkin' 'bout the rain
And mullin' over things
that won't live past today
And as I dance around the truth
Time is not his friend
This might be my last chance
to tell him that You love Him

But here I go again
Here I go again

Lord, You love him so
You gave Your only Son
If he will just believe
He will never die
But how then will he know
What he has never heard?
Lord he has never seen mirrored in my life

This might be my last chance
To tell him that You love him
This might be my last chance
To tell him that You love him

You love him, You love him
What am I so afraid
What am I so afraid
What am I so afraid of?
How then will he know
What he has never heard?

I believe that every one of us here want to see our friends saved.
but are we trying to invite them for the rally in our own power?
or are we not even daring to approach them for fear of rejection.
I believe that instead of trying to bring our friends through our own means, why not let God bring them? why not use God's way to invite them?
you know that time is running out for your friends, but when faced with the task of inviting, you talk about other things that are not important in the long term, like what to eat or what. that's what I did. I simply didn't dare to invite him for the easter rally. At that time, I was really afraid that he would ostracize me or something la, but on hindsight, I realize being ostracized for God is not a bad thing at all.
Let's give it our all for the youth rally. let's just make the effort to get as many people as possible. for me, tomorrow during recess i'm planning to go up to the front of the class to invite everybody lah. some people may just go and eat, but I don't care. I'm gonna give it my all. I'm gonna pray and fast for the saving of my contacts. I'm gonna do it God's way. I'm gonna let God take away my fears and bring my friends. I'm gonna let go and let God. Are you?

-max

Youth Rally is coming soon. and its gonna be a great one.



Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Cor 6:12

the last line says alot in our modern world nowadays. do we allow ourselves to be controlled by anything in this world? any kind of thoughts, any kind of addictions, any habit? any game, any person, any object? in our lives, even though God says everything is permissible, it is our responsibility to choose what is beneficial for ourselves. wait i mean choose jesus first, others second, ourselves last. God gave us this desire for freedom for a reason. inside our hearts, we know we dont like to be bound by these things. hope this post speaks to you.

ok let me post for this time. lol. ok about the colour thingy... i think i will stick with black. ya. ok. i will share wat happen during the camp ya. it seems to be a revelation to me or something like that. cos during one of the camp service. i was at the altar call.. then, suddenly i felt the back of my head got wacked (and it's really hard). and i just seemed to faint. then i think God showed me how hell looks like. wat i saw should be just a small brief of it. ya. it was hot there, and i saw people's limbs tearing, people screaming. ya.then i woke up. when i sat up, my head really hurts. then i wanted to sit abit longer, but someone pulled me up. Zzz. ok to be exact la, i was lazy to stand la. but my head really hurt that day. yup. this seems to be a revelation huh...

Desmond

so here's a favourite question during this time of the year:

What are your expectations for church camp?

i know the feeling of not expecting anything and just going for camp. you would just end the camp feeling that it was a waste of time and money. and so far, im expecting a new spirit, a new desire from God.

jim