The Perfect Gift


Grabbing your money and car keys, you head out of your home. You are on your way to the shopping mall to purchase Christmas gifts. Reflecting on how much you love your family and how much you want them to have the things that they desire, you look at your shopping list: Apple iPod that plays TV shows - $350, PlayStation3 - $600, and for the big spender, a 55” High-Definition Television - $3500. All of these high-ticket items appeal to our senses and some of us are under the misunderstanding that because we have paid such a high price for these items, our love is instantly conveyed to the recipient of the gifts. Yet, as wonderful as these gifts are, they will never be perfect and they will never convey the kind of love that we all need. In fact, anything that we can purchase will never be perfect. The perfect gift is priceless.

What is this gift? The perfect gift is Christ. Recognize and appreciate His value and worth. God has given us His Son as the way of Salvation. For something to be considered a gift, it has to have a few components: It must be valuable and offered freely. However, it must not be some type of compensation for work done. Christ is our gift. He is more valuable than words can explain. He is offered to us voluntarily for God was not under any type of obligation to send a Savior to us just as we are under no obligation to accept Him. We have freewill. It was His choice and His prerogative to provide a way of escape for us. He did it because He loves us. Recall John 3:16 “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.” Our works will not get us into Heaven. And, as one writer says “when we have done all in our power, we are but unprofitable servants, and have done no more than it was our duty to do.” Christ is our gift. Apart from Christ, we have nothing. Who is apart from Christ in your life? Is it you? Is it your family member? Is it a co-worker? What gift will you give this Christmas? Something store-bought, that will perish, or something with eternal value? There is a hymn entitled “The Savior is Waiting” by Ralph Carmichael that speaks of the gift available to you:


The Savior is waiting to enter your heart – Why don’t you let Him come in?
There’s nothing in this world to keep you apart – What is your answer to Him?
Time after time He has waited before, And now He is waiting again
To see if you’re willing to open the door – O how He wants to come in.
If you’ll take one step toward the Savior, my friend, You’ll find His arms open wide.
Receive Him and all of your darkness will end; Within your heart He’ll abide.
Time after time He has waited before, And now He is waiting again
To see if you’re willing to open the door – O how He wants to come in.


The Perfect Gift is waiting on you, or your family member or co-worker to choose Him. If you already have the Perfect Gift, share It. Heaven has enough room to accommodate all that want to come. If you do not have the Perfect Gift, you only need to ask for it. It does not cost you anything – the price has already been paid in full. Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead and you will be saved. You will have received the Perfect Gift!

Do it His Way

As I listened to Dr. David Jeremiah a few days ago, he made a powerful statement. He said:

“Do what God has asked you to do today.
As you do, things will become clearer.
When you refuse to act on what you know,
All that you don’t know paralyzes you.”

He was speaking to me. I like having a plan and then executing but sometimes in our walk with the Lord, we are not going to be able to map out all of the steps. Instead, we have to simply put our trust in God and do as He requires.

As we wholeheartedly lean on our Father, He will begin to reveal things to us – our paths are illuminated as we walk. I tend to think about lights with motion detectors. (My neighbor has one that I set off every time I'm in MY driveway!) If we stay away from the controlled area, the light stays off and it is dark. If we move towards that area, the light comes on and we can see our way. That’s how it is with our Father God. If we come close to Him, He will show us the way.

But, there are times when even knowing that the answer lies in coming closer to the Father that we refuse to do so – perhaps we are sharpening our rebellion. Perhaps we are recalling what it means to be stubborn. Either way, Dr. Jeremiah warns, that if we refuse to act on what we know to be true, then we will be paralyzed by what we don’t know. That takes the form or fear, worry, anxiety etc. So, if you find yourself in a position where you don’t know what to do – remember that you do know Who to run toward. In RUNNING towards the Father, we enter the light. In sitting idle, refusing to do it God’s way, we paralyze ourselves.

Thanksgiving, My Favorite Time of Year

It’s almost TURKEY TIME! Thanksgiving is my favorite time of the year. I like it because it’s all about recognizing the most important things in our lives – family and spending time with people we care about just for the sake of doing such. There are no gifts to give or anything like that – it’s all about spending time together. That makes me so very happy! A little quality time goes along way!

Therefore, it is my deepest and most sincere hope that you will make time to spend with the lover of your soul – Jesus Christ. We have so much to be thankful for and without Him – well, where would we really be? I hope that you will invite Him to your thanksgiving festivities as well. He’ll be happy to provide a protective covering over your food but He’d also like to be apart of your conversation. He wants to be involved in your life.

Soooo, have a fantastic Thanksgiving Holiday. Give thanks to our God for family and friends and provision. All that we have is all because of what He gave on Calvary’s cross.

Be Blessed!