Jesus, The Real Gift

Christmas is full of hustle and bustle with all the preparations for family meals, Christmas parties, church activities such as programs, cantatas and office parties, outings with friends, Santa for the children, decorating our homes, lights outside, the list goes on and on. We have made Christmas into such a commercial and social event that we have really forgotten the most important part of Christmas.

We must get back to that very first Christmas when our Savior Jesus Chrsit was born. It was a cold night and Mary was about to give birth to her son and she had ridden a donkey all day and was very tired. Jacob had walked all day guiding the donkey carefully so that Mary would be as comfortable as possible. When they arrived in Bethlehem there was no where for them to stay except in a barn with animals. Now mind you the child she was carrying was Jesus Christ the Son of God.

That night she gave birth and wrapped him in cloths and laid him in the manger, or feeding trough to sleep. There was no large family gathering, no gifts, no carols, no decorations, no toys, just Mary and Joseph and the animals in attenance. Jesus should have been born in a palace with all the attendants to care for him. I can only imagine what was going through Mary's mind after her birth experience. She knew that Jesus was the son of God, but I can imagine that all of this was very confusing to her. Can we imagine that when she held him close and kissed his cheek that she was actually holding and kissing the Son of God. That sends cold chills down my spine to think about that.

This gift was and still is the most wonderful, perfect gift that has ever been given. Jesus was the one who died for our sins on the cross so that we could have eternal life with God in heaven. When I think about Jesus and his life here on this earth, it was short, simple , but oh so amazing and fullfilling. He spent his life giving to others of himself and God. He never turned anyone away or had a harsh word for anyone. He gave totally of himself to all. He did this in the end by dying on that cruel cross for our sins. Jesus had done nothing wrong. He lived a perfect life here on this earth, but was treated alike a very horrible criminal. When Jesus died he had no more belongings than what he had when he was born.

When we look at Jesus' mother and father and him we see that each of them had a choice in this matter. They could have each said no and God would have followed through with their wishes. They did not. Mary and Joseph had faith in God that he was directing them in his will. Jesus knew that he had to be the sacrificial lamb for all of us who were sinners to go to heaven. When I think how our story could have been, it makes me so thankful for Jesus and his life and death.

We as believers should be constantly in tune with those around us and taking every opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus christ with all that we come in contact with, because we never know when there is someone standing right beside us that does not know Jesus and we may be the very one that either helps or hinders their gift of knowing Jesus as their Savior. Quite a sobbering thought when you think about it.

I urge each one of you as Christians to spend time with someone that does not know Jesus this season and help them to understand and accept this most wonderful gift of Salvation. I promise you that your heart will never be the same and you will have helped someone else to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

May God Richly Bless you and keep you this season.

Tea Pot or Tea Cup

A tea pot is a beautiful vessel that holds a very aromatic, steaming, hot, vibrant tea. This tea has been brewed to perfection. The tea pot contents are then poured into the tea cup which holds the tea. The tea cup is then given to your guest to enjoy and savor the flavor. It is your gift to them for their friendship. You may even offer a cookie or a pastry for them to enjoy with their tea. All these acts are given for a dear friend, one in whom you care very much. Let's say that your friend was very complimentary of your tea and cookies, but did not eat them. The tea sat there in the cup and got cold and lost its wonderful flavor. The cookies became stale and lost their crunch. Would they be good to eat at this point or would they have any value at this point? No. the only thing to do would be to throw the cookies in the trash and pour out the tea in the sink and wash the cup.

With this said, let me make a simple analogy of this event. God pours down rich blessings each and every day to each one of us and fills our hearts with His love and mercy. It is what we do with these blessings that decides whether we are a tea pot or a tea cup. If we in turn pour these blessings out for others to enjoy and gain wisdom and strength, we would be said to be the tea pot. If we just kept them inside and never did anything with them or shared them with anyone, then we would be said to be the tea cup.

If we are a tea pot which pours of its blessings to others,then God will continue to bless our lives and give us even richer blessings so that our heart is filled to the rim with His love and mercy. If we are the tea cup and don't pour out what God has given us, then we will keep our blessings to ourselves and enjoy them for a time, but then they would become cold and stale and loose their flavor and would not even be pleasing to us anymore. They certainly would not be good to share with anyone else because they have lost their savor and meaning.

The more we share what God has done for us, the more people we reach for His glory and the more lives we influence and help to know the wonderful blessings God has in store for them. It is this that helps others to understand the love of God and will help them come to a saving relationship with His son Jesus Christ.

So I ask You. Are you a Tea Pot or just a Tea Cup. Both are very lovely and look alike and belong to the same owner, but how useful are you in your witness to others about the loving care and mercy of God. Only your actions will show where your heart is and what you really want to accomplish with your witness to others.

Matthew 10:42 says, "And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuradly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward." This tells me that if we continue to pour out God's blessings to all, God will always reward us for our efforts and what we do will not return void in His sight.

TEA POT or TEA CUP! You decide.

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