As Pastor John pointed out last Sunday about what we do expect when a baby is born into this world. We have thoughts of, what will he/she be when they grow up? What will he/she like to do? We usually think of the baby's life alone and we don't want to ever think that one day the baby will die. Even for our own birthdays, what do we celebrate? We celebrate the life that God has given us. We celebrate the coming of another year and thanking God for how long He has brought us.
But for Christ, we knew from the beginning of the Bible why Christ has come into this world. He was born for the purpose to die a sinner's death on a cross, taking the full wrath of God upon Him. We are celebrating not just birth of Jesus, but also the perfect and sinless life of Christ as well as the death of Christ. Mankind needed a Savior since the fall of Adam and Eve. Mankind needed someone to atone for their sins as a substitute for sins. Mankind needed divine help from the Law because it was impossible to follow. Mankind needed a Savior and God was faithful to send the Son of God and be that Savior to save us from our sins.
Philippians 2: 3-8
"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
Christ, who was God, humbled himself in the form of man! He came into this world as a baby! Not in shining purple robe and a glorious entrance as a grown man. Son of God with all power, fully sufficient in Himself, condescended to our level and needed to be dependent on Mary to live. He probably needed to be breastfed, needed to be changed when He went the bathroom, and needed to be fed when He was hungry. Even in His humanity, He lived a perfect sinless life, fully obedient up to what He was meant to live for. He took our place on that cross and bore our punishment for sin.
John 3:16
"“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
I'm so glad that God sent His Son to die for us. If Christ was never born, then we would have no hope, no life, and would have to bear our own punishment for sin. That's a scary thought.
A consultant that we do business with sent some of us this card. :) I'm glad to know that others are bold to send this out to people in the working world. It's all about Christ who came down to this earth and humbled Himself in the form of a man, a baby to die for sinners like us!
for my salvation and for Christ's sacrifice for me on the cross
that He satisfied, appeased, exhausted the wrath of God so that I would not have to endure it
for God fully forgiving my sins on the cross
that God wiped all my sins as far as the east is from the west
that Christ nailed my sins on the cross
for the gospel of Christ
for the Holy Spirit that He has allowed me to see and know all of these things
for God predestining me to be His daughter before the foundation of the world
for God giving grace to me before I was born
for the memories and past events that has led me to see my sinful depravity
for the Word of God that draws me to know God more
for the Old Testament to learn from the Israelites
for the gospels that tell of christ
for the epistles that teach about how we are to conduct ourselves as part of the church
for my family: Appa who provides for the family and passed on the greatness of God, Omma who prays every morning for me and an example of hospitality, Hyan who continues to be the oldest sister type in the family sense and as a sister in Christ, Sasoon who is also a sister in Christ and calls me to see how I'm doing, Dury who continues to be my little sister and doesn't mind my weirdness (haha), and Tony who always showers me with kisses when I go home and keeps me warm
for my apartmentmates: Moon, Grace and Jen - who all put up with my weirdness and make me smile. Can't wait for another snuggle Saturday!
for my Lighthouse church family and their correction, encouragement, fellowship, and fun
for Garrett who always encourages me to know and learn about God more so that I may worship Him correctly. and alsp puts with my weirdness and self-centeredness, and makes me laugh and helps me in the kitchen. He treats me like a lady. :)
for my body, that I can play sports and go run a 10K!
for my hands that I can write
for my eyes that i can see
for the preservation of my life physically and spiritually
for my pastors - Pastor John, Patrick, JR that point me to the Word and Christ
for food!
for my job at JWDA and for a kind boss that lets me off extra days
for my coworkers especially Tamara who makes me laugh, keeps work chill, and gives grace when I always make mistakes
God, for all things I am grateful! All things are blessings that I must remember to receive with an open hand, and never hold tightly too. All these are blessings upon the greatest gift and blessing of all - Christ!
"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, His love endures forever!"
Oh, and got my time back from running the 10K Turkey Trot in SJ! That's 6.2 miles baby!
I think this is my mom's second email to me. She's finally learning how to use the computer and use the internet! It made my tear up at work. Haha I love my mom's grammar - so cute.
She's finally learning how to use the computer and use the internet! It made my tear up at work. Haha I love my mom's grammar - so cute. 
