Daily Devotional

The Greatest Gift

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by Jack Graham

If you’d like to hear more messages on the miracle, mission, and majesty of Jesus, then you can purchase the CD series, “Jesus: The Greatest Gift.” This disc is full of messages covering additional topics perfect for the Christmas season.    Click here to purchase your copy today!

Christmas can become so complicated, can’t it? I picked up a letter through e-mail that was supposedly delivered to the North Pole and included several stress-invoking demands:

 To Whom it May Concern,
 
We have traced the trajectory of an unidentified flying object to this port of departure. Please be aware that you must adhere to certain regulations—23,502 to be exact. Before you can enter U.S. air space you must immediately register your vehicles with the proper authorities, pass through the metal detectors at all U.S. points of entry, and answer the following questions:

  • Has your bag of toys ever been out of your sight?
  • Has anyone, including elves, given you anything to carry onboard for them?

These questions are mandated by FBI, CIA, U.S. Customs, the Coast Guard, State Department, and Port Authority rules. In addition, your vehicles’ propulsion system must conform with FAA, USFA, FTC, ETA, and AEC requirements. Charitable activities must pass UCC, SCC, ATF, and IRS scrutiny.

Because you embark for your journey in foreign port, we must also know if you are carrying any fruits and vegetables. The enclosed 27,000-page form should be filled out in triplicate and filed by December 22.

Bureaucratically Yours,

Ann L. Retentive
Department of Redundancy
New York, New York

Christmas can definitely become more than we are willing to bear at times. So many people get stressed out during this time of year. Yet the story of Jesus is really very simple and amazingly profound at the same time.

Our Savior came to earth to take our sins to the cross, and give us forgiveness and eternal life. We are enriched because of our Savior and because of the gift of God. God’s gift to us came in the human form of grace:

  • Gift – The principle of grace meaning that salvation cannot be earned or deserved, but it is given to us by the love and mercy of God.
  • Redemption – The price of grace was paid for by the redemptive blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Access – The privilege of grace is that we have the right to enter into the presence of God because of what He has done for us.
  • Character – The produce of grace is the change we experience in our lives from the inside out. We are made brand new in Him.
  • Eternal Life – The promise of grace is given to us through eternal life now and forever with Jesus.

Because of God’s precious gift, we can have life. There is a big difference in breathing and living. If you’re alive, you’re breathing. But just because you’re breathing doesn’t mean you’re living abundantly. So many people don’t know this wonderful life enriched by the love and grace of God. And without this abundant life, seasons such as this can be very difficult.

It’s much like a real Christmas tree—not one of the fake ones. You buy it from the tree farm, take it home, put it in water, and then decorate it with lights and ornaments. But when you take that tree out several days after Christmas, the needles will be dry, sharp, and brown. Even though the tree looked beautiful when it was decorated, it was cut off from its life source.

While it may not have looked like it was dead during the time you displayed it in your home, it was. People today without the life of Jesus Christ are like that beautifully-ornamented, lit-up Christmas tree. They may look fine on the outside—driving the nicest cars, wearing designer clothes, living in the finest home, and having all the material items or money in the world—but they are dead on the inside.

If you are a believer, you have been made rich in Him by the blessings of God—forgiveness, grace, and love. Your net worth cannot produce real worth. Real worth can only be given through salvation in Jesus Christ to live an enriched and empowered life.

When Christ was born, His cradle indeed rocked the world. And because of the miracle of His birth, the mission of His life, and the majesty of His death and resurrection, anyone can receive the grace of God. You certainly know people this Christmas who are without Jesus Christ. It is your responsibility as a believer to introduce them to the greatest gift they could ever receive.