Gifts

I think we all have that "inner child" when it comes to gifts.  Like at Christmas time, we all remember how it felt to be waiting with such anticipation for the presents from Mom and Dad.  We would wait all December, seeing the pile slowly accumulate with brightly wrapped packages.  Then Christmas morning finally comes, and us kids would wake up at the break of dawn!  Our parents are sleepy-eyed, but they still smile with just as much joy as they watch us open the presents.

What makes this process so much fun!  Is it the surprise?  The whole point of a gift is that it is something you didn't choose, but it was given to you.  Is is the anticipation?  Or the expectation of something wonderful?

So, what is it about gifts?

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, 

coming down from the Father of lights 

with whom there is no variation 

or shadow due to change."  

James 1:17

Our heavenly Father is the Giver of good gifts.  All His gifts are good, because He is good!  

Think of this in relation to what it is like to get presents at Christmas time.  We are so excited for this "thing/present".  We don't know what is in the package.  We may have suggested some items that we wanted, but in the end our parents made the final decision for what would be good and best for us.  It might be that toy we always wanted, or the socks that we really needed!  We don't approach the tree with fear or worry, but we are excited to find out what is there.  

Our heavenly Father is the Giver of good gifts.  All His gifts are good, because He is good!  

"I say to the Lord, 'You are my Lord; 

I have no good apart from You'"  

Psalm 16:2

Think of all the gifts we have from God.  

Everything is from God!   

And everything from God is a good gift.  

My life is a gift from God, every part of it, even what I don't see.  In His grace, He has given me so many blessings--so many good things.  He has allowed me to learn things and go through trials--so many good things.  He is working out His plan for my life, which is a gift from His good hand. 

I can go through life waiting expectantly for the next gift from God.  I can be like that child on Christmas day, holding their breath for the nod from Mom and Dad to dive into the pile of good things.  I don't need to fear or worry, the gift will be good!!!  

"You open Your hand; 

You satisfy the desire of every living thing.  

The Lord is righteous in all His ways, 

and kind in all His works."  

Psalm 145:16-17

God gives good gifts. 

They spoke of the Messiah

It is Christmas Eve.

I am sitting, cozy and comfortable under a blanket, by a fireplace (that isn't lit), while enjoying the feeling of a profitable day.

Tomorrow is Christmas Day.

The day that thousands of children wake to find piles of brightly colored packages laid under a heavily decorated tree.

They wake up too early from the anticipation; and "gently" wake the parents too!

Christmas is a day for family and friends and good food and games.

It is the day that we remember our Savior's birth.


I have been reading the Christmas narrative from Matthew and Luke's gospel for the last couple of days, and have been impressed over and over again of the wonderful miracle of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!  Three people in particular stood out to me, as I read the familiar account.  They are Zechariah, Simeon, and Anna.

Zechariah:

He spoke of the Messiah.  He was Mary's cousin by marriage and the father of John the Baptist.  Because of his unbelief after hearing about his wife's pregnancy, he was unable to speak.  Yet, when the birth came to pass as the Lord had foretold, his "...tongue was loosed..." and he began to prophecy concerning the soon-coming Messiah. (Luke 1:67-79) 
He spoke by the Holy Spirit, blessing God for His provision of salvation through the Messiah.  He was raising up a "horn of salvation" for Israel--God's chosen people--just as He had spoken in the ages past to the fathers and prophets.  God was fulfilling His promise.  Salvation was born.  The Messiah had come!  The Messiah came to save.  For Israel, they were looking for the physical salvation and the return to their land with a mighty political ruler, but God's plan, set from before the foundation of the world, was to redeem people from the power, presence, and penalty of sin and death so that man could live forever in heaven to the glory of God.
This Messiah has delivered us from our enemies, so that we might "...serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days..."  Server God, without fear, because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ applied to our account through the cross.  This is Messiah.  Messiah has come!

Simeon:

He had waited and waited.  He was growing older.  His body was beginning to fail.  But he had a promise, a promise from God that he would not die until he saw the Promised Messiah.  At just the right time, Christ was born; and eight days later His earthly parents took Him to the temple for the customary rites of the Law.    And there was Simeon.  

Imagine the overwhelming delight to see God's promised Son.  Here was the One he had been waiting for all his life.  And it was a Child.  A small Baby, wrapped in rough cloth, held by a young woman who looked a little scared.  Here was the Messiah, God's chosen Lamb!  

This Child was salvation, promised by God, to be "...a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel..."  Jesus is the Messiah.  The Messiah has come!  

Anna:

Anna was a prophetess.  Having seen her share of sorrow, a widow of 84 years, she stayed in the Temple worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.  She too, was looking for the salvation of Israel.  And here it was!  Her response: "...she began to give thanks to God and to speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem."  

She gave thanks to God for bringing salvation to earth, His Son in human form!  The Messiah has come!  

Jesus is the Messiah, the promised Christ, come for you and me!