Good Morning
I pray all is going well with you this morning –
Happy Monday!
I had every intention of
getting this post up first thing this morning
But then I got side-tracked
…
I took care of a couple of
chores and then decided to bake
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies for my guys … YUM!
This year has been
particularly challenging – for my waistline
You see, I typically GIFT
my baked goods
But I really do not feel
like going through the hassle of packing and shipping
So, we have had a smorgasbord
of treats –
Cookie assortments, bourbon balls, and cakes are up next (rum & red velvet for Christmas Eve)
It’s the most ‘calorie-filled’
time of the year!
But – treats are not the
subject of our post today
GIFTS – and THE ULTIMATE GIFT in particular is the
subject of our post today
I thought about this post as I was typing up one of
the verses for yesterday’s post:
‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.’ John 3:16
I was typing the verse from memory but then went to
look at the actual text:
I had typed, ‘that
whosoever believes in Him would not perish’. Yet, when I looked at the NKJV and KJV of the Bible, it notes, ‘… that whoever believes in Him should not perish …’
It seems a simple
exchange, ‘would’ instead of ‘should’
But as I thought about it
more, I understood why it said ‘should’
So – what does this have to do with GIFTS?
‘God so love the world that He gave …’
What did He give?
He gave us all an incredible GIFT
What was that GIFT?
‘… He gave His only begotten Son’
Why did He give us this PRECIOUS, MOST ULTIMATE GIFT?
‘… that whosoever believes in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life.’
‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life.’
Jesus is the Indescribable and Ultimate Gift –
And, He was given so that
none of the LORD’s creation should perish;
That none should have to spend a life on earth or eternity
thereafter – separated from Him
But the truth of the
matter is that many can and still will
You see, a gift not given,
is no gift at all – kind of like my treats this year
But the LORD already
tackled the issue of giving – He gave the very best gift He could
that Gift being Jesus
And Jesus keeps the
gift-giving going by blessing those who believe with the Gift of the Holy
Spirit [discussion for another day]
But the gift-giving is only part of the solution to
the problem
Gift receiving is the second and critical portion of
the equation
A gift not given is no
gift at all
But, a gift given and not
received – it is a gift of no effect to the recipient
If I am blessed with the
ultimate gift but choose not to receive it, I am still gift-less
THE ULTIMATE GIFT
Understand – when it comes
to the subject of salvation
While none should
perish … many will perish because they refuse to accept the GIFT
‘If you
confess with your mouth that Jesus is LORD and believe in your heart that God
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.’ Romans 10:9
‘For God did
not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the
world might be saved through Him.’
John 3:17
‘There is
salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among
men by which we must be saved.’
Acts 4:12
‘For by grace
you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the
gift of God.’ Ephesians 2:8
JESUS
CHRIST – the indescribable, amazing and ultimate GIFT
And you do not need to wait until Christmas
Morning to receive, open and enjoy this GIFT!
Have a Blessed Day!
‘But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name,
He gave the right to become children of God’
John 1:12
