“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting
shadow” (James 12:17).
Hey
Gang: I pray, as we near that day set by man that we celebrate the
birthday of our Lord, that you will take some time alone and give thanks for
the gifts that God gave to us through His Son Jesus Christ. Keep in mind that
when Jesus came to earth as a man and suffered and died on the cross so that
you could be reconciled to God, He had you in mind- even though you had not
been created yet.
Luke
put it this way: “And human hands can’t minister to His needs, for He
has no needs! He Himself gives life and breath to everything, and
satisfies every need there is” (17:25 Living New Testament)
The
most memorized verse in the Bible lays the very foundation for God’s love for
His creation and His desire that none should perish but have everlasting life
with Him: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John
3:16). It is also the most profound verse in the Bible.
The
greatest gift – He gave Himself. Our greatest gift – to give
ourselves to Him and those He sends our way. He gave us life so that we
would have something very precious to give to Him. He gives us abundantly, more than we need, so
that we can share those blessings with others who are not as blessed as we are.
I have
learned that when I give to others the presence of God flows through the giver
in compassion, which is love in action. And I have also found
that the greatest of all gifts is not purchased at Macy’s, but rather words of
comfort to those in stress, a casserole dish to someone who is too ill to
prepare dinner, or shoveling the walk of the shut in next door.
And a
neat promise of God is that the giver is always blessed more than the
receiver. The first blesssing will be the joy of the Lord saying ‘thank
you.’ Matthew put it this way, “Truly I say to you, to the
extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of
them, you did it to Me.” (25:40).
Sooo,
as you prepare for the sharing of gifts on Christmas morning, keep in mind the
greatest of all gifts was not made with human hands, but comes from the Father
of Lights, THE GIFT OF SALVATION, who was in the beginning with God!
Blessings,
Gramps
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