Satan Flares Up

Satan Flares Up

The Devil’s schemes throughout history to stop the Messiah

Khen Lim | Kledang Community Chapel

December 8 2019

Image source: latrogenicaddiction.wordpress.com

The fight between good and evil has been going on for as long as man has been alive. And the fight has only worsened in recent years.

Take for example, the Americans. Our friends across the Atlantic have been having trouble telling good apart from bad government. If it weren’t for God’s intervention in November 2016, Hillary Clinton would have by now completely destroyed the United States of America. Only because of His hand, the overwhelming prediction of a Clinton shoo-in was itself swept aside. 

Be it to me according to your word (Lk 1:26-38)

Be it to me according to your word

Luke 1:26-38

Khen Lim

Screen capture from the motion picture 'The Nativity Story' (2006)

Here’s a question for you – If you’re a little kid and your father whom you love so much suddenly asks you to do something that is so completely out of this world, how would you react, let alone respond? 

And if what he wants you to do will, not only make you a complete laughing stock among your friends and family, but also cause them to shun you, would you still do it?

With all of this, would you think twice before you say yes, assuming you accept in the first place?

Christmas - The Day God Outsmarted Satan

Christmas – The Day God Outsmarted Satan

Khen Lim

Image source: John Ankerberg Show

The battle between good and bad takes its ultimate form between God and the fallen angel, Satan. No other battle is as cataclysmic as this. None compare in scale, scope and depth. Just so you know, not even a nuclear war comes close. 

Between God and Satan, there’s no love lost. Satan means it when he says he’d wage the battle of battles to thwart the Lord but history has proven that in the ones that matter, God has and will always outwit him. He’s so good at it that we can all be thankful. 

As we near the day we celebrate the birth of Christ, here’s one of those precious moments that Satan would rather forget but it encourages us to be constantly reminded.

A Christmas to Remember (Message to Readers)

A Christmas to Remember

Image below by Douglas Chew Ho, New York (c) 2017.

To my readers and all visitors to my website

Thank you very much for your patronage. 

Whether you are a regular or an occasional reader or you’ve just stumbled across my site, I am grateful and I hope that you’ve found at least some of the contents edifying for you.

2017 has been a big year in many ways. Politically, the biggest change comes from America. We’re all praying something powerfully good will come out of it. 

As for me, my two little girls are now two years old and growing up very quickly. Still they’re a handful to cope with, yet beautiful as always. I thank God for that. Our family has also found a wonderful church to call our new spiritual home. Called Kledang Community Chapel, the people are warm, friendly, helpful and in a word, wonderful.

Regular readers will have noticed that the weekly church history articles have dropped off quite alarmingly and that’s because I’m struggling with time availability. This (site) being a one-man show has been a battle to keep running but even so, I pledge to continue no matter how difficult it is.

As we now come to the end of the year, may I take this opportunity to wish all of you and your families a Holy Christmas, one where you find yourself joyous in the historical and future significance of the birth of Jesus. Take every opportunity you have to find Christ in one another’s heart. Seize the moment to love and be loved. And awake to the coming New Year with a resolve to be a better Christian that in the fullness of Christ, do wonderful things that glorify the Father.

May Christmas be eventful for you.

Khen Lim

The Story of the Gift of Christmas

The Story of the Gift of Christmas

Remembering the most important birth in world history

Based on Gospel According to Luke 2:1-7

Khen Lim

Image source: Drive Thru History

You could hear the insects buzzing. Such was the solitude of travelling in such arid conditions. There weren’t that many trees around and so shade was sparse. 

Travelling was exhausting for the two in what was a very long and mindless journey but it didn’t take long for them to come upon patches of traffic. At this time of the year, there were others who were also on their way to somewhere and it could be either direction.

This Christmas, Which Jesus Will You Celebrate?

This Christmas, Which Jesus Will You Celebrate?

Khen Lim




Image source: ushispanicministry.com

Most people are contend with the image of Jesus the baby. Christmas, for almost endless decades, have been centred on Jesus in the manger. Be it postcards or Christmas greeting cards or whatever, this is the season where the all-important diorama sets the stage for the Nativity scene. 

Christmas, being the day Jesus was born, relates to the babe whom Mary gave birth in the grotto. Very few people ever loose themselves from this scene to think a little more about who this Jesus is beyond being a baby at birth. So the question is, which Jesus will you celebrate this Christmas?

This Christmas, Think of CHRIST

This Christmas, Think of Christ

Khen Lim




Image source: thebloominidiot.wordpress.com

In recent years, Christmas has become a strange time even for us Christians. It no longer seems to have that same spirit of joy and celebration. Instead it’s been nothing more than a holiday break for many who decry its obvious connection to Christ. There are even Christians who dismiss the significance of Christmas, citing a host of reasons to justify not celebrating it. As for secularists, atheists and sheer anti-Christians, Christmas is just a winter holiday and nothing else. Thanks to Starbucks and their ilk, it’s not even Christmas anymore because the name has become irrelevant.

So what is the purpose of Christmas?

On the Day December 11 1792

Joseph Mohr is born

On the Day December 11 1792

Khen Lim




Oberndorf in 1890 (Image source: silent-night-museum.org

On every Christmas Eve throughout the world for the last two hundred or so years, there is one hymn that has become its signature celebratory piece. It’s unfailingly sung in every church, large and small by every denomination and by every congregation and choir. 

It’s adorned every famous singer’s Christmas repertoire in the past century from Bing Crosby to Sinead O’Connor and Amy Grant to the King’s Singers to Yolanda Adams and David Phelps to Kathleen Battle and Christopher Parkening. It invariably provides the imagery of a whispery quiet night blessed with stars in the sky and soft snow on the ground. Its original name in German is Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht. In our more familiar English, we know it as Silent Night.

Merry Christmas To Our Readers Worldwide

Administration

When we began in August 2014, we neither knew nor expect what would really happen to our church website. We did it only because it was something that should have been up a long time ago. We talked about it often enough but nothing showed up for many years. And so when we took the bull by its horns late last year, it was merely an experiment.

It’s now Christmas 2016; sixteen months later and we’re delighted with what has taken place. Our readership numbers are impressive beyond what we dared imagine. We spent literally nothing on starting it up or maintaining it but praise the Lord, it’s been a wonderful journey so far!

Thanks to all of you, our articles are read far and wide, across forty-nine different countries around the world. We’d imagine that our readership outside of Malaysia is actually even wider than our own local readers. With over 150 articles and more to come, we hope that more will come to know of us and pay us a visit.

Again, our gratitude and appreciation for a wonderful maiden year to all of you. We humbly pray that we can quietly move on from strength to strength with all glory due the Lord Almighty. For this Christmas and New Year, we pray also that all of our readers stay safe and enjoy the company of your dear friends and family members while we remember that amidst the joy of gifts, the greatest of them all was the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you again.

From Sorrow to Joy

For every step we take to praise Him, God is there with us all the way

Lim-Tat Lee
Chairman, Hosanna EFC, Malaysia




Image source: flickr.com

It has been a very interesting 2015 for all of us. Depending on which side of the fence you sit, the events of the year can either be astonishing or worrisome. 

While the secular world rejoices in recognising the rights of same-sex marriage and the LBGT community, God-fearing conservatives are shuddering to think what divine judgement might come. Perhaps judgement has already come knocking at our doors as we speak. Closer to home, the game of dirty politics has reached new and unprecedented heights of corruption and with all of that, our world has been turned upside down.

Let's Celebrate Christmas!

Our faith is not hinged on the actual date of Christ's birth but on His historicity 

Pastor Simon Tham




A scene from the movie 'Mary of Nazareth' featuring Alissa Jung as Mary and Luca Marinelli (above) 
Image source: osv.com

It’s that time of the year again when we put up Christmas decorations in church and at home, in celebration of the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ. But not all Christians celebrate Christmas because of its alleged pagan background. I’d say that you’re no better Christian just because you celebrate Christmas and vice-versa.

Redemptive Conception

Is pagan background the best we can do in explaining the origins of Christmas? 

Khen Lim



Image source: humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com

Strange as it may be, there could be another way we can consider the origins of Christmas being on December 25. That key could lie in the way we have come to working out the date of Jesus’ death at Passover. This was first mooted by French scholar Louis Dechesne in the early twentieth century but was better articulated later – and hence popularised – by Thomas Talley. Even so, this idea certainly has earlier roots.

Don't Let Secularisation Destroy Christmas

Can you hear it now? Is your radio on? Or are you walking among the shops?

Khen Lim




Image source: therooftopblog.wordpress.com

At this time of the year, Christmas songs are playing everywhere. From glitzy departmental stores to commercials and media ads to online shopping sites, the Christmas aura is so consuming that even the blind can see and the deaf can hear. Some Christmas songs have been done to death for decades, so bashed and rehashed that you just want to shut your ears walking past the shops. But with all of that, you just know Christmas is around the corner!

It seems even non-believers get into the swing of Christmas. There’s something about this day that revellers are aplenty throughout the world. While Malaysia isn’t the best example, Singapore sure is, with Orchard Road’s more vibrant atmosphere resplendent with colourful decorations, dazzling sprinkling lights, church choirs going on public carolling and the splendour of giant Christmas trees.

In New York, Christmas in a cold December winter is white of course. Lately there have been nonsensical calls for the huge Christmas tree traditionally in front of Rockefeller Centre in Midtown Manhattan every year to be known as a ‘holiday tree’ instead but other than that, this is one of the most iconic Christmas signatures anywhere in the world.

Image source: catholica.com.au

And with all these visual rituals, it’s hard not to miss the symbolism but this is where, for some, the ‘reason for the season’ have taken leave of senses. The Rockefeller Centre example is just one of thousands I can cite. Here are some others, if you’re not up to scratch:

-        Christmas cards, signs and wrapping papers emblazoned with sterile ‘Happy Holidays’ markings

-        Starbucks renaming their Christmas Cups, calling it Red Cup

-        Commercialisation of Black Friday shopping deals in deference to any emphasis on the birth of Christ

-        Banning of Christmas celebrations because it offends or traumatises the ‘sensitivity of Muslims’

-        The widespread use of the expression ‘War on Christmas’ to denote the media offensive against all Christmas-related ‘controversies’

-        The preference of calling Christmas a ‘December solstice holiday shopping season’

-        Wishing shoppers ‘Happy Holidays’ rather than ‘Merry Christmas’

-        Calling Christmas ornaments ‘Holiday Ornaments’ instead

Christmas is under attack and it has been for decades if you haven’t noticed. Anything Christian is actually becoming increasingly an offence to many these days. Christmas in particular is persistently in the cross-hairs of atheists, anti-Christians, progressives, liberals, Muslims, leftists, secularists and the cultural devoid. So what should we do? How should we respond? Where do we go for help?

For now, I can think of three broad things we can do. I’m sure you can think of more but I believe this is as good a start as any:

Firstly keep faith with the original story of Christmas even as the world forces its secularised consumerisation upon us. Remind yourself that Christmas is far more than just getting the latest PlayStation or having a swanky dinner at Maxims mixing it with high society. The truth of Christmas must be found more than 2,000 years ago when baby Jesus was born in a manger as prophesied in the Old Testament.

Although the gifts and the revelry are all part of the celebration, remembering the theological significance will help safeguard its importance. It will help us to underline the fundamental gist of Christmas. And like most things, going back to basics enable us to appreciate what it is in the first place.

Image source: emma6414.wordpress.com

Secondly, resist from being drawn into disputes arising from deliberate misinformation about what Christmas is and isn’t. It’s surely not worth it. There is much that has been written about Christmas being Saturnalia, a Roman-based ancient pagan festival on the very same day, which is December 25, on which the deity Saturn is revered.

Some others also point to the very fact that Jesus wasn’t even born on this day and in fact, certain churches eschew the celebration of Christmas as a result. The truth is we may know the year of His birth but not the actual date but is this an ample excuse for not recognising that Christ was born?

Atheists of course love to direct us to the elements of adulteration in Christmas that makes it meaningless such as Santa Claus, Yuletide, eggnog, Christmas tree and so on. And consumerism has great attachment to all of these, turning Christmas a special spiritual event into Christmas, the commercial spectacle.

Image source: progressiverevelation.blogspot.com

All of these are seriously distracting and they draw us into time-wasting disputes that go nowhere. Inevitably, we end up upset and Christmas this year might turn out forgettable to some of us. I have a better idea – instead of all that, let’s reflect on and be grateful that Christ was born. Paul the apostle would say, use the time to be spiritually productive – go and be a real witness for Christ!

Thirdly, please go and share the Gospel. As God has bestowed upon Christ, the Name above all names (Php 2), you and I should therefore celebrate the Gospel just as we celebrate Christmas. Let us all wear the Gospel in our hearts! Let us not be thwarted by those who try to bend our will to join in the secularisation of Christmas. Jesus says, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and life up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Lk 21:28).

What you can do is find someone who may have nowhere to spend Christmas and no one to share it with. Why not invite him to your church. Pick him up and bring him along. Then share the Good News with him. Tell him what Christmas truly is and why it is important for him to know it.

Lastly, the more the world wants to hijack Christmas, the more we must embed it deep in our hearts, that the birth of Christ remains what it is meant to be. For all that is said and done, Christians must learn to be patient; indeed as patient as God Himself is. God indeed is (very patient) and in fact He is to the extent that He has allowed secularists to have their say.

And that in itself is what the true Christian meaning of tolerance is. However the secularist will forever attempt to muzzle our message and they do so by using their brand of false ‘tolerance,’ which suppresses all views in which non-believers disagree with or find offence with. Still the Christian message is insuppressible and here’s why:

Early Church Father, Tertullian recorded that even in his days, envious secularists were already persecuting Christians because their faith in Christ was so unrivalled against their Roman paganism and therefore, the more they suppressed, the more the message flourished.

Christianity’s glory shines best not only because of its true tolerance amid diversity but especially when the chips are down. Through the impenetrable greatness of principles enshrined in Christ, Christians shine in the light of good cheer, knowing that as we stand up for Jesus’ way, light and the truth, we can celebrate His birthday no matter what the secularists throw at us.

To all our readers, have a wholesome, safe and spiritually meaningful Christmas.

When Word Became Flesh

By Khen Lim



Image Source: hairfieldink.com

All of us would have our favourite Bible verse. I too have mine. It’s Matthew 11:28 but of late, the significance of John 1:14-18 has grown on me as a result of a greater understanding of what it means.

A Great Christmas Service

By Khen Lim

Image Source: bondtribeca.com

We did what we had set out to do – to instil meaning and purpose in our Christmas celebration. We sang carols but we also discovered what each carol meant, who composed them and the inspiration behind the work. The liner notes for the carols are given after the end of this article.

Merry Christmas Everybody!

A Christmas Message from the Pastor

By Pastor Simon Tham



Image Source: connectnigeria.com

Christmas is here today. It is celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike. However the non-Christian version of celebration is very much commercialised.

The Christmas Challenge

By Khen Lim



Image Source: bestdesignews.com

For every Christian, the single most exciting time of the year will always be Christmas. The birth of Jesus brings with it, hope for mankind and peace upon earth. It is an opportune time to reflect and be really grateful for glad tidings.

It has been two years since the remarkable day of deep uncertainty at Hosanna EFC but to be honest, we have not looked back with trepidation. We didn’t count the days to doom. Even when the coffers looked dry, we believed that if we did our part, God would complete the rest. And when we last checked our accounts, we certainly don’t look bad at all! Praise the Lord!