The Gift

So my wife got me one of the greatest Christmas presents ever! Yes, I know it's early. And I'm not going to tell you what it is. Good luck! I already opened it. She let me. I just figured out some things about it that will be even more helpful in the future. Can you guess? Probably can. Still not going to tell you.

Is that going to drive you crazy? I mean, don't people normally boast about one of the greatest gifts they received for Christmas?

Why do we treat grace like that? We have been given THE greatest gift ever; grace, God's unfailing grace. Instead of telling everyone we know about the most awesome gift we've ever received and ever will receive, we're quiet about it. Why? Because of His grace we have been saved! The promise of eternal life is awesome! So what's the deal?

And I know that this will throw some of you for a loop. Do we really believe that people can simply figure it out just by observing our actions? How are they going to know if we don't tell them? Our actions should prove what we say. We can't have one without the other. Charades is fun, but without the ability to use words sometimes the guessing game can get pretty tough. It's definitely easier to figure out the right answer when words are allowed. We need to understand that people can see the gift without realizing what it is or what it does. People can hear about the gift without seeing its affect on our lives. That's why we want to do both when we receive anything. We tell them and show them.

As we come into the Christmas season and the day gets closer, let's make it a point to realize what the greatest gift is and Who it came from. When people ask us, "What did you get for Christmas?" our answer should be, "A Savior."

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Thankfulness

Just this week I went to a local area minister's breakfast. This happens on the first Thursdays of the month. It's been awhile since I've gone, but I came away with something that I have to share with you.

After the meal, while we were all sitting at our tables, we finished our "get-together" with a prayer time. They told us to share what we are thankful for with the rest of the group at our tables. For some reason I thought about it.

Do you ever do that? Shouldn't our response to a question like, "What are you thankful for?" be very immediate and resolute? I actually had to think about it for a little while before I had an answer. I felt ashamed. God has given me so much, but there's nothing that quickly comes to mind to be thankful for? Am I serious?!

I apologized to God in my prayer. I realized something that morning that I'll carry with me for the rest of my life. If I don't take time to be thankful every day for what God has given me, I won't be content or satisfied. My eyes will lust for more and my fleshly nature will come to life. I don't want to be a person who requires material to satisfy my wants. I want to be content with what God provides for my needs. Paul says in Philippians 3:7-11 that everything has become a loss for the gain for knowing Christ. When we're not thankful for what God has already done for us those things which were counted loss suddenly become a gain again and the value of Christ falls in our hearts.

Please join me in purposing to be thankful daily for what God has and is giving us so He will always remain the most valuable to us.

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