Christmas Giving

Freely you have received; freely give.” [Matthew 10:8b NIV]

Christmas seems to come around so fast every year – so fast it is sometimes hard to take the time to reflect on what it is really all about. The commercialism, the busyness, all seem to take our attention from the very reason Christmas began: the birth of Christ.

At home, we often joke with our children about the way they operate the Christmas spirit: “Gimme, gimme, gimme” and “I want, I want, I want.” But, the true spirit of Christmas is not receiving gifts. It is not about thinking of self. It is about giving. It is about the most precious and amazing gift that ever was and ever will be. Jesus.

Photo by Margaret Young

God gave His Son to the earth freely. He demanded nothing in return. He anticipated relationship with His people, yes, but He never forced His will on us. Then Jesus gave up His life – freely. Neither did He make any demands or force us to follow Him. He simply asks us to give in the manner we have received – freely.

No matter how hard we have it, there is always someone less fortunate than us. Lets turn our thoughts towards those who are in need at this time. Perhaps you know someone who is grieving, lonely, sick, in need of some food to help them through. I encourage you to give as the Father and the Son have given this Christmas. Bless someone who needs it.

May God bless you abundantly and Merry Christmas. XXOO

Published in: on 20th December, 2011 at 11:19 am  Comments (1)  
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Bottlenecked Blessings

It is better to give than receive.

We’ve all heard this quote from Acts 20:35 hundreds of times. It’s true. It always feels good to give and bless someone. It feels great, actually. But, when it comes to receiving, for some reason we feel ebarrassed–like we don’t deserve to be blessed. We say things like “you didn’t have to”, or “I can’t accept that.” And sometimes we really do refuse to receive a blessing or gift from someone.

But do we ever stop to consider that in refusing a gift, we are actually stopping that person from being blessed. We’re not just stopping them from that nice feeling of having given either. We’re holding up a blessing for them in return for their giving. It is one of the ‘supernatural laws’ that God put into place in the Universe. If you give, you will receive. So, when we say no to a blessing, we are effectively stopping up the natural flow of blessing that should come. Like a cork in a bottle.

So, next time someone offers you a gift, or to bless you in some way, try swallowing that impulse to refuse and just say thankyou. Then go and bless someone else in turn. Let’s unstop the bottle and let the blessings flow!

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. [Luke 6:38 NIV]

Published in: on 2nd August, 2010 at 8:37 am  Comments (4)  
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