December 24th – Package 2 of 3- Delivered

Listening to the Holy Spirit:

The gift of life has no equal. Your being, is gift of the Father and by no other. His will alone called you in to being, and also to Me, for in Me alone there is life eternal. You shall not acquire nor receive a greater gift.

He who is born of man, grows independent from they who bore him, for the generations this must be so. It is not so in the Kingdom of God. He who gives life calls forever His own. Through My Spirit, in those who believe, there is drawing that begins but never ceases. So too there is a response of the called, to draw closer without ceasing.

Pride and treasure pull away, for they mimic the gifts of the eternal, but do not last and do not love. True wealth, possession and power are not of this world, only idols to those who do not see. All will wither with loss of breath, rust and thief, and the gain of the moth.

The gift is given, yes, to bless, but more so that the seeker would seek the Giver, and in seeking with all heart, find. For in this comes greater than the first. Do you not know your great gift of breath? Do you not know also you have been invited to the great banquet?

Seek not for the gift of men, but the gift to men – life eternal. Do not seek for the food of the table, but the table of the Father who calls you to be seated. It is the highest gift given to those who respond, and to those who respond, again given to others. Seek first the Father, then speak in faith of the gift of grace already received.

Romans 6:23 (ESV) – For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 139:13-14 (ESV) – For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

James 1:17 (ESV) – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…

Ephesians 2:8 (ESV) – For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

2 Corinthians 9:15 (ESV) – Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

John 17:24 (ESV) – Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Taking It to Work:

Merry Christmas!

One of my wife’s favorite movies this time of year is called, “A Christmas Story.” We watch it as a family almost every year. One of my favorite scenes is where Ralphie, after opening all of his gifts, finds out that his dad had hidden one more gift, one that Ralphie didn’t expect, and it turned out to be the greatest gift of the season – a Red Rider BB gun, with a compass in the stock.

As Christians, we are reminded today that we have been given innumerable gifts from God, but out of a lifetime shower of gifts, it seems like we have been given three gifts that are above all the others, and one we have not even opened yet. Do you know what they are?

The first is life itself. The fact is that we “are”, and did not have to be. Just a short time ago, we were not here. We celebrate the fact that we “are” every year on our birthdays, the celebration of the first miracle in our lives: life itself.

The second is the birthday of Jesus, representing for us as Christians, God’s love entering His created world. His birth gives us opportunity to accept the second great gift of our lives: New life, eternal life – a second birth, taking our first gift of existence itself, and extending that existence to have no end.

So, what’s the third? Well, it is the gift that will top it all, one that we will need eternity to enjoy, still hidden and barely understood by the best of us. It is the gift of eternal fellowship with the ever-existing, omnipotent creator God of the universe. A gift that once we begin to open it fully, will bring more joy than all other gifts combined, as it will never be fully opened. It is for this third gift, that the first two were given in the first place, which is to spend eternity discovering and communing with our eternal God, discovering the depths of all He has to show us, beyond any joy or pleasure we have ever imagined.

This Christmas we celebrate again the gift of the saving Christ entering the world, but don’t forget the big picture. Jesus came to save us for the ultimate gift, a gift still hidden by the Father of Lights to all those who believe – eternity with Him. I can’t wait to take the wrapper off of that one, as His Word works in us today.