​The world has been waiting for the birth of the Savior, and finally the hour arrived, Christ was born in a stable, a place where animals were kept.  The stable was probably a cave and the manger a feeding trough for animals.  The birth of the Savior, the greatest event in history, occurred in the most humble of circumstances.  The sounds and the smells of the stable was very evident. There was no attending doctor but a doctor was chosen to tell the story, Dr. Luke. Sounds amazing! Jesus was the King of kings, but he was neither born nor did he live like a king in this life.  God’s people are kings and priests, but in this life we must be as he was-humble and simple.
At his birth, the first to know are the humble shepherds. How fitting that the Lamb of God was born in a manger. “Do not be afraid”. These good words always are in the vocabulary of angels. The shepherds were afraid, but we know that this fear has been stalking men through the centuries since- Abraham’s lying about Sarah; Jacob being afraid of Esau; Moses being afraid of Pharaoh and Israel being afraid to enter the Promised Land.  But Jesus’ mission would move through the area He travelled dispelling fear like the fear of the disciples in the storm, blind Bartimaeus’ fear that he would never see, the ten lepers’ fear that they would never be with their families and Mary and Martha’s fear that they would never see Lazarus again.  This Christmas  we have  lots of fear in our lives like the condition of our deteriorating health, the crisis we are having in our family, the negative conditions of the world, the increasing collapse of the economy and the different issues we are facing in our lives.  In times like these, we are to be reminded that faith is the opposite of fear; if we are walking in fear, it will paralyze our faith.  But if we walk and live by faith, fear has no place in our lives.  Remember that in our Christian life, we have been saved by faith and kept by faith.
“I bring you good news of great joy...” Why this joy?  First, because the Savior has been born. At his birth, Jesus is called “a Savior.” As Savior, he has come to deliver us from sin, Satan’s domain, the ungodly world, fear, death and the condemnation of our transgressions.  The Savior is also “Christ the Lord.” He has been anointed as the Messiah of God and the Lord who rules over his people. Second, because the Scripture has been fulfilled and lastly, because Christ is Lord.  This Christmas and even today, when we come to Him we will have also that kind of joy the world cannot give.  Just trust Him.
“...that will be for all the people.” For sure this is the beginning of evangelism.  Since all need this Savior because the Bible declares that all are sinners. In Romans 3:23 the Scriptures declare that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  And the good news is this-“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.  It is very clear then that Christ died for all.  And, therefore, He is available to all people.  We will notice the actions of the shepherds-“when they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child...” We also are to be going with the good news and not to sit and soak on the way to heaven.
Remember, God meets us where we are. So, let us come to Jesus with our sins and fears and be saved. LET US TELL THE GOOD NEWS TO ALL!  “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; HE IS CHRIST THE LORD .”

​​Mula sa pagiging mahusay na mang aawit ay nais din daw subukan ng Pinoy X Factor Israel na si Rose "Osang" Fostanes na subukan ang pag arte sa Pilipinas.
Minsan na rin nga daw umarte si Osang sa kauna-unahan nitong pelikula sa Israel na nakatakdang ipalabas bago matapos ang taon kung saan ginampanan nito ang isang  OFW na napadpad sa Israel.
Dito nga daw nalaman ni Osang na nakakaarte siya. "At first, nagdalawang isip talaga ako na tanggapin yung movie, kasi hindi naman ako actor dahil singer ako.

​Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Old Testament is all about getting ready to enter the Promised Land with a new generation of Israelites. We all knew that unbelief caused the death of the former generation. They had doubted the promises of God instead of accepting the promises of God at its face value. Moses reaches into the past to remind the people of two undeniable facts in their history: (1) the moral judgment of God upon Israel’s unbelief, and (2) the deliverance of provision of God during times of obedience.  Moses reminds the new generation of the importance of obedience if they are to learn from the sad example of their parents. Here, we can see that Moses prepares His people for the future by looking backward at blessings and chastening, by restating the fundamentals of faith and preparing them for tough times ahead.
Moses is telling the Israelites and of course to all of us today as we enter 2011, and the year of the “new seasons of blessings”- that in times of trouble, God is Available. It is very clear from our text that if we seek the Lord our God, we will find Him if we seek Him with all our hearts and with all of our souls.  What a good news! Definitely in this troubled world, there is hope, and our prayers will be answered because God is alive!  For me, this is the best news of all- better than announcing a cure for cancer and better than acquiring great possessions and positions. This news tells us something about God- that He is not only the creator; He cares: He is not only the Lord; He loves us and He is not only supreme; He sympathizes.
God is also available to sinners and backsliders. This text describes God’s character.  During His earthly ministry Jesus demonstrated this availability to the beggars, lepers, to the thief on the cross and to the children to mention some.  Indeed, Jesus Christ is available for you!
Lastly, God is available to those who seek Him with all their hearts. “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me ‘with all your heart’” (Jeremiah 29:13). The Lord God is telling us that when we are in distress and all these troubles or tough times come upon us, when we turn to the Lord our God and obey His voice, He will not forsake us, nor destroy us, nor forget the covenant of our fathers which He swore to them, instead He will make himself available to us! All because the Lord our God is a merciful God! And truly His mercy endures forever! Matthew mentioned two promises for those who seek righteousness in chapter 5 and verse 6 he stated that, “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled”. First, they are blessed and then, they shall be filled.
Let us all be reminded that a seeking Savior meeting a seeking sinner brings salvation.  This 2011, will you come to Jesus with all your heart? The Scriptures says in Romans chapter 9 verse 9 & 13 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believer in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For ‘whoever calls’ upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Those who come in faith are never turned away!

​“God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:5-9)
God is light and when we walk in His light we walk in fellowship with Him and with other believers.  When we step out of God’s light we step into darkness.  It is dangerous to live in darkness, because we will not know where we are going and our fellowship with our heavenly Father and with other believers will be broken.
The darkest place of all is just outside of God’s light.  This is why Christians who have gone back from standing in the light seem to be in greater darkness even than the unbeliever who has never yet known the light of Christ.
Broken fellowship with the Father, however, can be restored though Jesus Christ who is our advocate with the Father.  Our advocate, or lawyer, will take up our case the moment we ask for forgiveness.  He will go to the Father’s presence and plead our case and restore our fellowship with God the Father.  We can only be rid of our sins by confessing them with our mouths and turning from them.  If we do this, God has promised forgiveness that he is so complete that He forgets we even sinned in the first place.
“To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious  presence  without fault and with great joy-to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and for evermore! Amen.” (Jude 24,25)
Christ died for our sins and took them all into Himself, but we need to avail ourselves of this work by verbally releasing them to God, i.e. confessing them.
THE BLOOD OF JESUS
There could be no forgiveness without the shedding of blood.  Since the law of God insists that the penalty for your sin is death, Jesus, the only sinless man, had to suffer to save you from your sin and bring you back to God.  It is only through the blood of Jesus that you are cleansed from your sin.  We are justified by Christ’s blood.  This is God’s side of the work of redemption.  We have been declared bankrupt in the matter of righteousness, but Jesus  came and paid our debts on the cross.  All His righteousness was paid into our account.  The cross is the supreme act of God’s love.
WHY FORGIVE?
Love always forgives.  Jesus showed this, even on the cross.  Where would we be without a forgiving God? A forgiving spirit is what you must have in your heart, even before the other person says they are sorry. Jesus taught if you don’t forgive your brother you will not be forgiven by your Father in heaven (Matthew 6:5-15). “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians  4:32.
Always be the one to forgive even when the other person is mostly or all at fault. You are responsible before God for restoring broken relationships, no matter who is at fault or how many times others have wronged you (Luke 17:3,4).
“Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37)  If we will not forgive, then God cannot forgive us.  Only forgiveness will clear the channel for faith to operate in our hearts.  Forgiveness is an essential prerequisite before we are able to approach God in prayer.  

​The most often asked question in a given day is 'What time is it?' Time is a very important part of our lives, and God has a great deal to say about how we should use it. Many people are aware of the fact that work has to be done on time. In fact, if you can't finish the tasks that require to be accomplished in a day, you presumably require a time management solution. It's not unusual. 
There isn't anything we can do about time itself. It keeps ticking the same as ordinary but we can change how we deal with events though.
We cannot change the amount of time there is in a day. No matter how we juggle things around, there is still only twenty-four hours in a day.
This gives us a limited amount of time to work on during the year - in fact one might say that despite differing opportunities in life everyone has the exact amount of time, so the only thing we can do in our lives when it comes to time is altering the way we use it.
Time is the least considered, worst managed, and yet most valuable resource we have.
Once you realize this, you know that wasting time leads to a wasted job, project or even life itself.
 But if we are to become what God wants us to be, then Our Time must be brought under God’s discipline because the way we use our time reveals our values and priorities.  
Let’s see how Jesus made most of his time.
First, in Mark 1:45, “…very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”  Before anything else, Jesus prayed very early in the morning, before doing any task, before making any decision or even before having his breakfast.
Second, in Matthew 14:23, “After He had dismissed them, He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.”  Take note that after ministering to the people, by healing the sick, delivering the captives, preaching hope and salvation, Jesus often went up on a mountain side by himself to pray, giving thanks to the Father.
Third in Luke 5:15-16, “Yet the news about Him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
The more Jesus’ name spread and the more He ministered to the crowd the more He often withdrew to lonely places and take time to pray.
Lastly, in Luke 6:12, “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”This time Jesus went to a mountainside for an overnight prayer with God!
From the above illustrations of Jesus’ life we can derive at least some lessons in making use of our time here on earth.
Firstly, Jesus knew that in His span of time on earth, the most valuable thing was spending time alone with the Father. The greatest time saver is prayer. As you seek God’s mind concerning your schedule, or what direction to take, prayer becomes like a compass in your life.
Secondly, it isn’t how long you live, but what you do with the time God has given you.
Thirdly, fill up your time with things of eternal value.
Remember- “Satan Trembles When We Pray.” The one concern of the devil is to keep the saints from prayer. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray!” Jonathan Edwards.
The Most Important Thing- “O Brother pray inspite of Satan: Pray spend hours in prayer rather neglect friends than not pray, rather fast and forget food-and sleep too-than not pray. And we must not talk about prayer, we, must pray!” Andrew Bonar
Are you drifting through life and filling up your time with things of no eternal value?  Or are you investing your life to the glory of God?
AGAIN WHAT TIME IS IT? IT IS TIME 
TO PRAY!!!