Every Good and Perfect Gift
James 1: 17 says: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
We rush around so much at Christmas time trying to find the perfect gift for someone, and it can be a very stressful time, and can take our focus off the real meaning of Christmas. Most of what we buy is only for a moment in time. There’s no real lasting value, especially when buying for the kids! We may even lose interest, or it’s finished with, or the kids toys gets broken and the clothes gets outgrown. Every good and perfect gift comes from God, and His gifts are eternal. He has given each of us “gifts” to do His will. But the most important gift of all was the gift of His son – Jesus. Each good and perfect gift that is given comes down from above, from our Father in Heaven.
On that first Christmas night, the angels appeared in a hill near Bethlehem. The shepherds and the sheep to whom the angels appeared were no ordinary shepherds and sheep. The sheep were those bound for the temple sacrifices. The shepherds were outcast because of their necessary isolation from religious ordinances, and their manner of life rendered legal observances unlikely, if not impossible.
How wonderful that in God’s wisdom and love the angels appeared to them – the doomed and the outcast. Today we can declare to the world that the Good Shepherd cares for all people and wants to give them peace. Christ came on that first Christmas for one purpose and that was to die on that cross for our sins. Now God offers forgiveness, inner peace and eternal life to all who will repent and believe in His Son, Jesus Christ.
The events leading up to the birth of Christ wasn’t coincidental, but was put in place by God, so that the prophecies of old would be fulfilled. Everything that happened, from the time the census was ordered, to everyone returning to their own city to be registered, and the birth of Jesus while Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, was orchestrated by God. Out of Bethlehem, a small town in the City of David, came the Messiah.
The event was the event of something so incredible. Jesus came into the world, miraculously conceived, and then born as all humans are. He was first a baby, then a toddler, then grew into a child and went through adolescence before becoming an adult. He experienced humanity at all level, and He truly can identify with all people at all stages of life. That very first Christmas Gad gave the gift of His Son, and because of this we can have a relationship with God as His children.
So this Christmas, keep in mind the “The True Christmas Story.” Let us give thanks and praise to our heavenly Father for these events, which changed our lives forever. Merry Christmas everyone from Calvary Baptist Church.