The Gift

2 Corinthians 9:15 NASB Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Who doesn’t love giving and receiving gifts? This time of year, we tirelessly search for just the right gift for each of our friends and loved ones. A special gift that expresses our love and appreciation for each individual. Just as the wise men brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to honor and worship the newborn King, God has given us three great gifts through His only son, Jesus. But like every gift, they must be received.

Grace is God’s ultimate gift, the unmerited, undeserved favor of God. Everything God does is an overflow from His heart of grace, “For of His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.” (John 1:16). God’s grace is fully expressed through the gift of His son Jesus and the payment for each of our sins. Romans 3:23-24 says it beautifully: “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”  God’s gift of grace is given extravagantly, in abundance, overflowing: “'And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” (2 Corinthians 9:8). Like any extravagant gift, it is free to the receiver, but it costs the giver everything. 

God’s love and His promises are gifts that flow from this grace. “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). God’s perfect and pure love is not only to be received but also to be shared. God’s love dwelling within us fulfills our deepest longings and satisfies our soul. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Receiving God’s love and all of the precious promises grounded in His love for you is the key to abundant life in Christ. “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding Yes!” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Living and abiding in God’s presence is not just a heavenly promise but a gift for today. Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). God’s kingdom is where He rules, reigns, and dwells. We have been given the gift of living in His presence: a continual awareness and connection with God the Father, never limited to special occasions or places. Start with a deep longing for God and a hunger for His presence to satisfy you more than anything else, knowing that nothing can separate you from Him. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39).

The sacrifice of Jesus fully qualifies you to receive the greatest gifts of all time: receive his payment for your sins by surrendering your heart and life to Jesus; receive his precious promises of complete joy, peace, rest, comfort, and his immeasurable love; and receive and abide in his continual presence in your life both now and forevermore. Merry Christmas!

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Gary and Sandy Anthony

Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Romans 6:23 NASB For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Peter 1:32-4 NIV Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

2 Timothy 1:9 NIV He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.

Titus 2:11 NIV For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

Romans 5:8 NASB But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 1 John 3:1 NLT See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!

John 3:16 NASB For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

1 John 4:16-17 NLT We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect.

Psalms 16:11 AMP You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

John 14:1-3 NLT Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

John 14:23 NIV Jesus replied, Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.

Romans 5:15-16 NLT But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.

James 1:17-18 NLT Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.