by Pastor Bob Lawrenz
Have you finished your holiday shopping yet? The merchants say that time is running short, and you don’t want to be embarrassed on Christmas morning. And the advertising media is even worse, clamoring for more and more purchases, all with easy credit terms, of course. I cannot even count how many catalogs have come in the mail in recent weeks, many companies sending them multiple times each week.
Jesus gave us the best gift ever, and it wasn’t on Christmas, but on the cross. During all the holiday gaity, it’s easy to lose sight of that. God gave us His “self” in the form of His only begotten Son, that we might have eternal life (John 3:16). Our gifts to each other pale in comparison, for they are all temporal.
Thirty-three years transpired between Jesus birth and His death. Thirty-three years of giving daily and learning obedience to the Father. “Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered.” –Heb. 5:8
Besides the enduring of pain, another translation of the word “suffering,” is to put up with, or simply, to endure. You might recall Jesus saying to the Disciples, “How long must I suffer you? This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
Jesus’ words confirm His frustration, and His upset was not without cause, but as always, He again taught them anew the basics of miraculously expelling demons.
As the Psalm for today says in verses 18 and 19, He received gifts for men, and that He loads us with benefits daily. I pray that we all realize that Jesus’ gifts to us come daily, and there are many each day. While mankind looks for creature comforts and convenience items for gift giving, Jesus gives us the gifts we need to live, and to help us in ministering the Good News to others.
The Father gave us the Son. The Son gave us Himself, leaving the Holy Spirit with us. The Spirit teaches us all things, and reminds us of the teachings of The Word. God has given Himself fully to us; to benefit us daily in multiple ways.
“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”– Matthew 10:8
