The Gift

Merry Christmas y’all!

For God so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16.

We give gifts at Christmas.  The person we have purchased or made a gift for has to receive the gift and then open the gift or it is of no effect.  The same is true with the gift of Christ given to us by God.  God sent His son to earth to live, to die and to rise again.  All this was done so that we would have our penalty for sin paid, and to have the grasp of sin and darkness broken in our lives.  God has created us with a free will.  We can choose to accept or reject the gift of Christ.  The gift can never be opened or it can be opened and redemption comes along with many other gifts that God promises to those who believe and receive:

Love, joy, peace, grace and mercy to name a few.  These gifts come and are unexplainable but only come once the gift of salvation is received and opened, so to speak.

The  angels declared in Luke 2 to the shepherds the good news of great joy for all people – a savior.  This would bring the gift of life (spiritual) through Jesus.  No longer dead in our sins but made alive through Him.  Old things are past away, behold all things become new by the power of Holy Spirit.  The light He shines into our lives exposes the darkness and it has to flee.  By the power of Holy Spirit, He then brings to us JOY and PEACE that the world can’t give us.

HE GAVE.  Our part is to believe and receive.  A GIFT so unexplainable and so powerful that will turn our lives right side up!  Receive the gift today!  Call on Him name.

Stary Night

stary-night

This comes a week early but I want to share while things aren’t quite so hectic.  Merry Christmas y’all! My mind is going back to that blessed day…Mary so young and no doubt scared. She must have been a young lady so full of faith. She had been carrying this God child so long and now the time had finally come to give birth. She and Joseph had traveled away from home so she was not near the comforts that one would desire. No room available at the inns of that time, instead they had to settle on a lowly stable. Not ideal at all nor sanitary, none the less it’s all they had. She gave birth that day and, as a mother, I know that her heart filled with joy at once when she looked upon that precious baby boy. I think her mind went back to the promise that Gabriel spoke to her….His name will be called Jesus. Yehoshua. God who is salvation. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. I can not imagine that she or Joseph even knew what these things meant but surely pondered them in their hearts. The shepherds came as instructed by the angels and spread the good news. Later, when Jesus was two or so, the wise men came worshipping and baring gifts…Gold a gift fit for a KING, frankincense a gift fit for a PRIEST, and myrrh a gift signifying that he would one day die. Oh the passion of God the Father….For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but will have life everlasting. Our sacrifice, our reconciliation to God. For all have sinned therefore we all are in need of a Savior. No more to be bound by sin….freedom. Jesus is everything we need. He is the only one that can fill that hole in our hearts. What will you do with Jesus today, this Christmas? What will you offer Him?