[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Tuesday, December 10, 2013

[shelia]

it is very important to remember why god chose to give such a precious 
gift what is offered in is beyond all price.
On 12/10/2013 11:25 AM, Paul wrote:
> Hello and good day to you all.  Well, the day is getting closer and closer, that is, to the day when we celebrate the Lord's birth.  Have you been preparing your hearts and minds to receive what He has for you? Hey, that's a lot better than to receive things that eventually will wear out or eaten up during Christmas Day, right? I know that I'm trying in my humble way to do this.
>
> The Daily Thought message for today is actually a column from the December 2004 issue of the Gospel Messenger magazine, and this particular article was written by Pastor Robert Rathbun.  He has been a pastor for over 40 years at the First Baptist Church of Lowell, MA.  I hope that you enjoy his article for today.
>
> Thanksgiving is gone, except for the leftovers, and Christmas comes on! Were you a part of the busiest shopping day of the year? How is your Christmas shopping going? It's great when you can find just the right gift for the right person, but perhaps, more often than not, we've gotten the wrong size, the wrong color, something the person already has, or something they just plain don't like and will never use.  Some people are so hard to shop for! It seems that they have everything! Isn't that a testimony of God's goodness to us? Wouldn't it be wonderful if the money spent on that gift could be used instead to help someone who is really in need? But that's too radical a thought for most of us!
>
> If we go back to the very first Christmas, we find things to be quite different.  No one purchased any Christmas presents.  The merchants profited zero from Christmas sales that year.  In truth, only one gift was given, and that gift was given by God to mankind.
>
> "And the angel said unto them, Fear not:  for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord." God's gift to mankind was a Savior--the Lord Jesus Christ.
>
> That was the one gift that we all needed, for all of us have sinned and are headed to hell (an unpopular teaching, but nevertheless true).  We all make mistakes, and we have learned that you can't undo what has been done.  The Bible calls our mistakes sin, and, because of our sin, we are in danger of hell.  That's why God sent His Son, the one Christmas gift we all needed.  Jesus died on the cross, shedding His blood as a sin offering.  By faith in Jesus and His one great offering for our sin, we are saved from hell and saved for heaven.  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son:  that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Jesus died in full payment for our sins and rose bodily from the grave on the third day.  To the lost sinner who repents of his sin and trusts Jesus, and Him alone, as his/her sin offering, Jesus gives eternal life--Heaven! This gift is not given to the one who works for it or tries to earn it, but to the one who believes and receives it.  Have you received Jesus as your Savior from sin? God gave the first Christmas gift--and the best Christmas gift.  Each Christmas we make a frenzied attempt to out-give God--but we never can.  Unfortunately, that one great gift from God gets lost in the tinsel, wrappings, hustle and bustle of our Christmas celebration, and few there be that pay any attention to it.
>
> May I take this opportunity to wish each of you a joyous Christmas with a full appreciation of and faith in God's one great Christmas gift.  Share this simple message with others, for in so doing you will find yourself to be a gospel messenger.
>
> And now back to reality, December 2013.  I can see the late Dr. Ralph Montanus, blind himself and founder of the Gospel Association for the Blind writing a similar editorial, say, in 1956, 1952 or even 1964.  People even then were more concerned with the commercialization of the Christmas season than they should be.  Oh well, as Harry Golden said in one of his books, "So what else is new?"
>
> And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Lord willing, there will be another Daily Thought message for tomorrow.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul
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