IMAGINE A GIFT!
I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. I know for many of you 2020 has been a very stressful and difficult year. Each of you has had to face challenges this year that were unprecedented. I hope for a brief moment this morning to help you lift up your heart and your eyes, and focus in a unique and fresh way, on the extraordinary blessing and gift of Christmas.
In no way do I intend to trivialize Christmas by what I write today. Rather I seek to awaken and inspire in you a fresh glimpse of God’s indescribable gift!
Merry Christmas to you and your wonderful families.
IMAGINE A GIFT
Do you remember when you were a child, the eager anticipation that filled your heart as Christmas day approached? Remember how you would dream and imagine what was under the tree waiting for you to open and enjoy, the gifts that were waiting just for you, with your name on them?
As I have gotten much older now, I realize that the gifts I imagined as a younger person are much different than I would imagine or wish for today.
Since the gift card has become the “gift of choice” for so many today, I thought this analogy would enable us to see with fresh eyes and stir our senses in a new way.
I would like for you to imagine with me right now.
IMAGINE A GIFT LIKE THIS
Imagine you open your Christmas present and inside you find a Gift card that pays for your full retirement, living in the most beautiful, perfect place in the world for as long as you live, all expenses paid, where nothing bad or evil is allowed, now and forever through all eternity!
Imagine a Gift card guaranteeing you every single body part you possess now will be replaced with a new magnificent body part that will never wear out, never get sick, never get tired, never get old, never get injured, never dies, and will last for all eternity!
Imagine a Gift card that gives you immediate, exclusive, instant, permanent access to God, anytime, anywhere, anyplace! You can talk with Him about anything, you can share anything and everything with him. A guarantee that He will listen, He will help, that He cares. That He will carry all your burdens, anxieties, worries, and problems for you as you give them to him and tell him about them. That you can ask Him for anything you truly need with His promise to always answer and provide! Can you Imagine this!?
Imagine a Gift card marked ALL DEBTS PAID, guaranteeing that all the moral debts you owe, all the sins and mistakes you have committed over the course of your entire life are completely forgiven, forgotten, PAID IN FULL, signed by GOD, absolving you of all guilt!
Imagine a Gift card that promises to give you all the wisdom and guidance you need for the rest of your life, with a path marked out for you to follow in all the significant aspects of your life. Helping to ensure your well being and success in the most important areas of your life! You just have to use the Ask card!
Imagine a Gift card that gives you a brand new, fresh start to your life, each day of your life, and hope in all circumstances for the future!
Imagine a Gift card that gives you the very presence of God walking with you through every situation, every difficulty, every single moment of every single day, providing you with all the strength you need for the rest of your life! An absolute guarantee that He will never, ever leave you or turn his back on you! He will not abandon you or throw you away! You have the permanent friendship of God and His unfailing love!
Imagine a Gift card that gives you peace in every situation, joy beyond your circumstances, and assurance that every single difficult thing in your life, God will work out for your good!
WHAT WOULD YOU GIVE TO RECEIVE A GIFT LIKE THIS?
THIS IS WHAT GOD’S CHRISTMAS GIFT TO US IS ALL ABOUT!
JESUS CHRIST IS AND GIVES ALL THESE THINGS TO US AND SO MUCH MORE.
THANKS BE TO GOD FOR HIS INDESCRIBABLE GIFT
Merry Christmas! And may I add, let no edict dissuade you from your Christmas celebration with those you love so dearly!
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