This time of year many of our minds are on gifts. What are we going to give Uncle George who is so hard to shop for? What about our grown kids? Our coworkers? Our pastors or ministry teams? How much should we spend? Should we bake cookies and treats to give neighbors or is that against the new social distancing rules?
And when someone asks us what gift we want this Christmas, what should we tell them?
This year, I want to ask you what I have been asking myself. What will I give Jesus this year?
After all, it is His birthday. 
The magi brought Him gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh. According to the song. the little drummer boy brought him his talent by playing Jesus a song on his drum. And the baby Jesus smiled when he did. If anyone has heard a child play an instrument, they can relate. It may not have been the most amazingly executed tune they’ve heard, but the heart, the enthusiasm, and the intent on pleasing are there in every note. Who could but smile?
According to Romans 12:6, We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.
God has gifted us with amazing things – forgiveness, eternal life in His presence, and a love that brings peace beyond understanding. These are all wrapped up in the birth and sacrifice of His Son, who was born to die so we may live.
And through His Holy Spirit Jesus gifted us with gifts of the Spirit so we can live in this world without despairing, draw others to Him, and give Him the glory. And He has graced you with a talent that can be used to His glory. Be it the ability to write, to calculate, to invent, to make money, to speak and inspire, to sing, or perhaps to play the drum.
Everything you have is a gift from God in one way or another. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17
So what can we give the One who has everything?
Ourselves is the obvious answer. But what part of ourselves will we particularly give Him in 2020? Our best? He has that already.
Why not pledge to give God something He can use?
- Our tendency to be anxious instead of trusting?
- Our quick-to-judge character that dams up our ability to love and empathize?
- The temper that blocks us from opening our hearts?
- The doubts and fears that stop up our ability to give thanks in all circumstances?
Strange gifts perhaps. But if we give God our shortcomings, He can turn them into blessings for us and others. When we give of ourselves, it is the gift that keeps on giving once it is in Jesus’s nail-scarred hands. Because once we give our doubts, fears, anger, and prejudices to Him they are no longer in our possession. He can then do amazing things with them while He gives us comfort, joy, peace, and a loving heart instead. That will attract us, believers, to people and people to us.
Let us lay at His feet one of the things we need to work on in our character that keep us from being Christ-like and watch what He can do with it in 2021.
Christmas blessings.
Allergies. Annoying. Postnasal drip, persistent cough, pressure around the teary eyes. I have been under immunotherapy for 6 months where the allergist injects into my body the things that irritate my body, slowing increase the amount, so I will build up an immunity to them. So far, it has only made my symptoms worse and my body wants to reject them even more. The allergist says it is part of the process and eventually my body will accept these irritants.
Training pets takes patience, time, and tenacity. I’ve had my little guinea pig for about five months now. At first, he was so afraid of this giant outside of his cage but slowly he has come to trust me as the person who opens his bag of food to scoop some into his bowl or reaches in the refrigerator to bring him veggies. But, I am also the one who disturbs him when I have to clean out his cage. Sometimes I turn on this loud box with flashing pictures and weird sounds in the evening. And I use this noisy machine with a light in front of it and run it back and forth across the carpet.
After seven years, I finally was able to afford new glasses. I had gotten by okay with the old ones. They were not scratched up. I could read street signs if I drove close enough. The computer screen appeared a tad fuzzy, more like looking through a thin film of dust. But I could read what I had typed.
A friend gave me the ultimate “human pencil”. It has two erasers. I hope she wasn’t trying to tell me something.
The closer you get to a mirror, the sharper the image becomes. You may begin to see wrinkles, blemishes, small details previously unnoticed. But you also can see beauty, clearer characteristics, and sparkling eyes…if you look the right way.
The online dictionary defines the word plight as “a dangerous, difficult, or otherwise unfortunate situation.” Many people may think that describes 2020.
A friend of mine is an avid urban gardener. She and her family plant beautiful flowers and raise their own vegetables in the backyard. I noticed tall cylinder-shaped cages in the middle. She explained that was for training the flowering vines and tomato vines. The cages also protect them from critters who may wander into the yard looking for a juicy snack.
Oftentimes, tragedy can have a silver lining. God will purpose good from the devil’s evil schemes, proving once again He is in control and has a use for us right up until the end. Even in the midst of sorrow, there can be joy, like a single sun ray bursting through the storm clouds.
You have probably seen them. Little sprigs of green eking through a concrete crack. Seeds were blown in the breeze, landed there, and somehow, despite the odds, grew into plants.
. “Anyone can count the seeds in an apple but only God can count the apples in a seed.” Remember that the next time you encounter a frustrated stressed person who has had a bit too much of the negative news absorbed into their brains.
Where Did You Find God Today? 