The Greatest Gift

Christmas is in the air. Gift giving is all around us. In the stores, on the shelves. We are thinking of others and what we can give them. The perfect gift for the person is what we would really like to give.

For some people on your list, the perfect gift might just be a phone call. They'd like to hear your voice. For some without food, they would like you to put canned and other non-perishables in the bins provided. I love that there are so many opportunities to give. I like to see overflow in those bins because I know there are hungry families and those who will eat and be glad over these offerings.

There may be somebody on your list who you need to forgive. Forgiveness would be a gift you could give to God and to yourself. We all need to let go and grow larger by the gift of forgiveness. We know that one of the greatest gifts we have received at Christmas, if we are believers, is the gift of forgiveness.

We have been forgiven so we can extend forgiveness to others. It doesn't matter if we don't feel like it we can reach way down in the bag of grace and be given the moment to pray like this.

"Father, because I have been forgiven by your son Jesus Christ who died on the cross, I want you to help me to forgive x from my heart."

When we act out of the gift we have received at Christmas of salvation and love and the incredible humility of God delivering us to himself in such a small package as Jesus, helpless, sinless, but fully God we can only say "thank you" and fall on our knees and worship, no matter how far we have wandered or how long the journey has taken us to get to this moment in time.

My prayer for each of you this Christmas is that you will receive the perfect gift of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS

into your life, into your family, into your community. I pray that you will have fresh eyes to see the work that is there for you to do. I pray that you will get together with others and reach out in love to those who need to know that Christian love is real because God really is real and God is love. I pray that you will be blessed as you work and as you give to extend His Kingdom down here in this world that needs the perfect gift of Christ more than every before.

What is your part to bring God's perfect gift into real time?
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights... " James 1:17