The Gifted Life
Thursday December 24, 2015
Shoppers have filled the stores this Christmas season to get a special gift for a loved one. Statistics tell us that 7 out of 10 shoppers on Christmas Eve will be men doing panic shopping for those they love.
Thankfully, God is not a last minute planner. From before the creation of the world God planned the amazing gift of forgiveness and life for each of us through Jesus’ death and resurrection. God’s gift is perfect and complete and just right for you and me.
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT) Christmas is a time to give thanks for the birth of Jesus. By sending Jesus to earth, God shows the value he places on each one of us. Through belief in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, God forgives us all our sins and gives us new life so we can fully live in relationship with Him and with others. This Christmas we can bless others not so much by spending lots of money on gifts, but by sharing ourselves and the gifts God has given us with them. The love of Jesus flowing through us helps us offer the gift of our lives to others in loving service. By love and service to our family and friends we can bring more joy into our homes than anything we could ever purchase in a store or online.
So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. (James 1:16-18 NLT)
What have we received from God? What gifts do we have? What abilities? What time? In what small or large ways can we offer something to another person that will bring a smile to their face because their heart has been touched? What gifts of thankfulness and worship will we offer to Jesus this Christmas season? Happy Christmas gift giving!
I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. (John 15:11-12 NLT)
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