THE SNOW FLAKE

When you think of snow, you think of something clean, beautiful, and white. In the Bible, snow represents a very important symbol that reminds us of Jesus Christ.

"'Come now, let us reason together,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." -- Isaiah 1:18

God promised that He can wash our sins white as snow. Human beings and sins are inseparable. And how did He cleanse us our sins?

"[Maria] will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." -- Matthew 1:21

The birth of baby Jesus started the whole journey of our Savior who took away our sins.

Let each drop of a snow flake bring a reminder of every drop of blood that was shed by our Savior.

THE CANDY CANE

As you take the candy cane in your hand, turn it upside down and you will see the "J" that reminds us of Jesus, who was born on Christmas Day.








Turn it back upright and you will see the crook that reminds us that He is the Good Shepherd.





The stripes are a reminder that He was beaten for us, and the red color reminds us how He shed His blood for us on Calvary. The white tells us how He can wash our sins white as snow.

Let this candy cane remind you that fellowship with Jesus is ever so sweet.

SEVEN NEGATIVE RESPONSES OF SUFFERING

Anger (Job 2:8-10; 3:1-4; 3:11)
Blame (1 King 18:17-18)
Cry or curse (Job 1:20; 2:8; 3:1-10)
Despite (Hebrews 12:15)
Escape (Matthew 26:31; Galatians 2:11-15)
Faint (Hebrews 12:5)
Grumble (Exodus 15:24-25; 16:2-11; 17:3; Numbers 14:27-29; 1 Corinthians 10:10-11)

CHRISTMAS ILLUSTRATION #2 - A STORY OF A PLASTIC SURGEON

I'd like to share another great Christmas illustration.

Christmas Illustration #2: Plastic Surgeon

There's a married couple who lived happily. One day, the husband got an accident. He got disfigured. Feeling embarassed of his condition, he stopped talking to and interacting with people around him including his wife.

His wife got so sad about this. She asked him what she could do to cheer him up? Again, the husband didn't reply to her question. Got frustrated with the situation, the wife went to a famous plastic surgeon. She told him the story about the accident and the situation in her family that it had caused. So the plastic surgeon offered, "Would you like me to fix his face?"

And the plastic surgeon got an answer that he could never forget.

The wife says, "No. I want you to disfigure me so that my husband can take me back into his life."

Of course the plastic surgeon didn't fulfill her wish. But he got so moved by her story that he decided to visit the husband. The plastic surgeon knocked on the bedroom door where the husband's at.

Plastic Surgeon: "Open the door, I'm a plastic surgeon. I can fix your face."
(Dead silent)
Plastic Surgeon: "You don't have to pay for the surgery."
(Dead silent)

Finally, the plastic surgeon shouted through the door what he really was there for, "Come out, your wife came to me asking me to disfigure her face so that you can take her back into your life."

The door knob was slightly turned and the door's opened.

So what does this story mean to us?

God the King of kings humbled Himself, left His throne, and "disfigured" Himself to come to the sinful world where we live in. He definitely didn't deserve that. But He did it anyway so that we may be freed from sins. Because He is our Savior, He saves us from our sins so that He may be known through us and in us.

In this Christmas spirit, do you know that God is the Lord our Savior? Do you accept Him as your personal Savior? Does He live in you?


May this be a blessing!

CHRISTMAS ILLUSTRATION #1 - A STORY OF A RED BIRD

My pastor Dr. Graham shared this story at the service today.
I thought I might as well share it with you guys as it is a great Christmas illustration.

Christmas Illustration #1: Red Bird

It was a cold December in Dallas last year. Supposedly by this time of the year, majority of birds should had moved to the southern part of the world where it's warmer. But there's this one little red bird flying around Dr. Graham's backyard. The bird didn't just fly around the trees or anything like that. The bird flew into the windows.

As the bird kept bumping into the windows wishing that she could get into the house, Dr. Graham realized that he had to do something about it. So he went outside to his backyard and started to wave at the bird signalling her to stop flying to the windows. Five minutes after Dr. Graham went inside the house, the bird started to do the same thing again.

Dr. Graham and wife stepped out of the house for awhile. When he came back, he found the bird flew to her death. It made Dr. Graham so sad. He was down on his knees and started to ponder. He realized that the only way that he could have done to save the bird was to become one. To say the least, by becoming a bird, he could do a "bird talk" (if that exists) and warn the little red bird about the impending danger. The way that he thought he could do to save her (waving at the bird) wasn't understood by the bird.

So what does this story mean to us?

When God created us, He knew exactly what kind of world we are living in. There's a constant danger ahead of us. Evils will never stop to destroy, harm, let us down, and finally steal us from God. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." -- John 10:10.

For this reason, God came in a human representation as a baby Jesus. He grew as a teenage boy and an adult just like human beings. He got tempted by the satan. He experienced pains. He cried. He questioned God why things happened. He wanted to give up. He suffered. But yet, He still lived the Holy life to teach and show us the life that He wants us to live in. He did the "human talk" (if we want to call it) in a complete story of His life.

May this be a blessing!