Tuesday, December 21, 2010

He. Gave. It. All.

Before the dawn of time was The Word. The Word was God. The Creator. The I AM... Yet, The Word (God) became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 14). That's the entire Christmas story summed up in just one sentence! This miraculous act we call the "Incarnation" -- Christ became completely human while remaining completely God. Our tiny human minds can't understand it, but it was absolutely necessary for these two reasons:

1} Christ had to be completely God to take the punishment of sin. Only God is holy and sinless and only He could pay the penalty.
2} Christ had to be completely human in order to be your substitute, my substitute. Because He was a man, Christ was our representative on the cross!

Pretty much, it boggles my brain how Jesus could be 100% God and 100% man. I love C. S. Lewis's analogy of this: Like an author writing himself into the script of a play, so the Word - the Author of creation - wrote Himself into the story of our world! Jesus is the author, but He also became a character for us!

Do you realize just how much Jesus gave up by becoming a man? I will never fully understand it (in this life), but Philippians 2 gives a good picture. Jesus, who was fully God, "did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped" (2:6). In other words, Jesus didn't hold on to His position and privileges as God. Although He never stopped being God, He gave up those rights when He came to earth.


When He "emptied Himself" (2:7) HE GAVE UP EVERYTHING.

He set aside the glories of heaven; He surrendered His independent authority and became obedient to His Father; He let go of His eternal riches and lived a life of poverty. But most of all, Christ bore the wrath of God as He took the sins of the whole world on Himself. He was separated from His Father. For me. For you. This, the greatest gift, was also the greatest sacrifice ever made!

You know the rest of the story. Jesus conquered death and now God has "highly exalted Him" (2:9). Have you, in the business of this season, taken the time to exalt the Lord? Have you thanked Him for His indescribable gift? The gift that cost Him His life, gave us ours.

"For God so loved this world
Though He knew what love would cost
He made a way in a manger
To make a way to the cross"

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Please be careful putting up your Christmas decorations



Can you believe Christmas is less than one week away? Since I'm in a silly mood right now, I thought I'd just share some funny facts about Christmas that I've found.



What on earth are Yuletide carols?
"Yule-tide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic people as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas."

You know that song, "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"?
Well the song became so popular, that a campaign was organized to actually give the singer, Gayla Peevey, a real live hippopotamus for Christmas! But... she donated it to the zoo.

Does Santa Clause scare you?
One Government website has warned parents that a visit to see Father Christmas could be 'terrifying' for small children.

Hungry?
Christmas trees are edible. The needles of pines, spruces, and firs are actually a good source of Vitamin C, and the pine cones happen to be quite nutritious (if you can chew them).

Who wasn't originally on Santa's reindeer team?
"Rudolph" was created by Montgomery Ward in the late 1930's for a holiday promotion.


Talk about lots of wrapping!
If you received all of the gifts listed in "The Twelve Days of Christmas" song, you would receive 364 presents.

How does Santa do it?
Click HERE to read how scientists have proved that Santa has an impossible job.









Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Have a laugh!

I've neglected my poor little blog lately in order to study for finals. =( Thank goodness for Christmas break! To start up my posting again, I'm just gonna share some funny videos I've seen lately. Enjoy!


This is one of the best spelling bee clips I've ever seen!


Okay, I admit that this guy is a little weird, but it gave me a laugh!


Blondes....


CLARIFICATION: I am not supporting rum here, but the commercial is so funny!


This one cracked me up too! I love Geico commercials!


Alright, this one's not so funny, more... INCREDIBLE (for all you sports fans out there)!