Pastor Chuck’s 2014 Christmas Countdown Blog #6 – I love Christmas gifts and God gave the best one! For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son... John 3:16 As our kids grew up, I loved watching them open their presents at Christmas. Sometimes they open them slowly and other times they dive right in and rip off the wrapping so quickly you almost miss watching them open the gift. Watching our children's faces and their reactions is one of those things we love as parents. Later on we usually know what gifts they like the best by how much they get it out play with it or use it. I'm sure God is the same way when He looks down at us. He's given so much for us through the gift of His Son, Jesus. He knows when we appreciate His gifts too. He sees our thankful hearts or not so thankful hearts. He knows when we get out His Word and find all those things He's left for us or if we've left them under the tree. John 3:16 tells us that God loved us so much that He gave us His Son. Though His Son, Jesus Christ, we can have so much. Here are some things that we find under the tree just waiting for us to unwrap. Unwrap the Gift of His Love. Have you pulled off the wrapping of the love of Christ and accepted Him as your Savior? If you haven't, that's the first step in unwrapping what God has given us. I'm so grateful that Christ loved us so much that He wants to take us to Heaven to be with Him, but I love the fact that His love sustains us here on earth. Every day I wake up I find the love of Christ. The love of Christ is one of those gifts that we share with others too. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving! And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:19 Nothing can take that gift of love away from us either. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:39 Unwrap the Gift of Grace. Another thing we can unwrap is the gift of grace. Through Christ we have access to that wonderful grace that's given to us. Not a gift we deserve but because of Christ we can have it.
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1,2 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, has abounded unto many. Romans 5:15 That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:7 Unwrap the Gift of His Word. When we rip off the wrapping paper and find the Word, it's one of those gifts that never runs out, never wears out, and never gets old. Don't you love that? Every day we can find new things in it just for us to give us strength, sharpen us, build us up, and even rebuke us, but it's something that the Lord knew we needed. I hope the Lord doesn't find me throwing His gift of the Word down or never getting it out to use. It's a precious gift to us. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Colossians 3:16 Conclusion: There's just so much that we are given through the gift of Christ. The ones I listed are just some of the things we gain with a life in Christ. It's like there's this big tree with the bottom piled high with gifts and all the branches bulging with gifts nestled in just for us. We have wonderful and precious promises, strength, the Holy Spirit, peace, joy, and on and on just because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of Christ our lives can become so full, so rich, so meaningful. ...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10 Most of us don't leave our gifts unwrapped under the tree. We want to see what's inside. Maybe we should spend more time in the Word and in prayer finding those things that the Lord would have for us. Perhaps we should spend more time saying, "thank you" for our gifts and appreciate them more. I know I need to work on this. I don't want to miss out on anything or forget to say "thank you". God did give us the greatest gift we will ever receive. And I like that!