Happy Birthday Jesus!!!

By Rev. Sharyn Culp

 

            “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

            Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice for henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6,7)

 

            It’s Christmastime again and no doubt, you have been thinking about and buying those special gifts for your loved ones. May I ask you a question? Have you thought about what you are going to give Jesus for His birthday? After all, He is Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, The everlasting Father, The prince of Peace. What gifts can we give to honor the Person who has given us eternal life, life abundant, and delivered us from every grip of Satan, the Enemy? What gifts can we give to convey our love and appreciation to Someone who is our EVERYTHING? As I was soul searching as to what I could give Jesus for Christmas, some gifts came to my heart and mind. I would like to share them with you.

 

            Gift No. 1 – Give Jesus Your Love.

 

            “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

            Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind.

            This is the first and great commandment.” (Matthew 22:36-38)

 

            “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)

 

            “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” (II Timothy 2:4)

 

            It is truly the heart of Jesus that we love HIM with ALL our hearts and souls and minds. Let me encourage you to give Jesus first place in your life, in your heart, in your affections, in your relationships, in your daily activities, literally, in every area of your life. Spend quality time alone with Him, loving Him, seeking Him, getting to know Him and developing your love relationship with Him. Empty and pour yourself out before Him and let Him fill you up instead of attempting to fill yourself up with what this world has to offer. Friend, what you are seeking is not in this world, it is only found in Jesus. Let Him fill the void in your life. Make a commitment this Christmas not to let anyone or anything distract you from giving Jesus His first place in your life. He gave you first place in His life, He died for you. Has anyone else ever died for you? Let’s make a commitment to give Jesus the gifts of giving Him and keeping Him in the first place of our lives this Christmas!

 

            Gift No. 2 – Give Jesus Your Love For One Another.

 

            “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

            “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:39-40)

 

            “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you that ye all love one another.

            By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35)

 

            I have never seen such a time when people need to be loved. Out in the highways and byways of life, many are truly weary and sad. This Christmas, in honor of our Lord, let’s give Jesus the gift of loving one another through His Spirit. I realize loving one another is not always easy but then Jesus doesn’t expect us to love one another through our flesh. It is through His Spirit, the Spirit of Love, we can love one another, even those who are difficult for us to love. I can remember some times in my life when I haven’t acted so loveable, but Jesus loved me anyway. Even on the cross of Calvary in the hour of his deepest anguish and pain, He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” He is our example.

 

            This Christmas if you are having difficulty loving a family member, a co-worker, or perhaps, you are a pastor and are having a hard time loving one of your church members, love them through the Spirit of Love as Christ has loved us. Let’s make a commitment to give Jesus the gift of loving one another this Christmas!

 

            Gift No. 3 – Give Jesus Your Faith.

 

“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” (Mark 11:22-23)

 

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

 

Friend, if we have one desire in our lives, it should be to please God. If faith can move mountains, and it can, if we can trust God enough to walk by faith and not by sight, and we can, then I believe this is one of the best gifts we can give Jesus this Christmas. We need to keep in mind as we walk by faith to die daily to self. It is not what we want in this life that is really important, it is what Jesus wants for us and what He wants to accomplish in and through us. To be sure as we walk the crucified life, we will need to put our faith into action. Let’s make a commitment to give Jesus the gift of our faith and the use of our faith in ALL of life’s situations this Christmas!

 

Gift No. 4 – Give Jesus Your Service.

 

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” (Colossians 3:17)

 

“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him he will cast thee off forever.” (I Chronicles 28:9)

 

“Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” (Ephesians 4:8)

 

Jesus has put gifts in you for His glory. He made YOU a special person. There is not another person on the face of this earth just like you nor has there ever been nor will there ever be. When he made you He designed you to accomplish what He needed for you to do on this earth. No one can fill your place and do what you can do in Him like YOU can. Let’s make a commitment to give Jesus our service as a gift this Christmas!

 

Gift No. 5 – Give Jesus Your Humility.

 

“Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews.” (Acts 20:19)

 

“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” (I Peter 5:5-6)

 

Pride is a deterrent in our lives and cannot go unchecked if we are to be successful in our walk with the Lord. It is God who has given us the very breath of life for each day to be lived to the fullest unto Him. It is God who has given us His gifts through His Spirit.  It is God who does His work through us and accomplishes His plans of majesty and might as we walk in humility. Let’s make a commitment to give Jesus our humility as a gift this Christmas!

 

Gift No. 6 – Give Jesus Your Heart Financially.

 

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 3:10-12)

 

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:38)

 

Jesus loves you and has given you the ability, health, mind, strength, and favor with people for you to be blessed financially.  There is no way we can out give God. It is when we come to the point of total surrender giving Him ALL of our lives including our obedience in the surrender of all He has given us in the financial realm to be used for His glory that our greatest joy in the Him is realized. Let’s make a commitment to give Jesus the gift of total surrender of our finances and earthly goods to be used for His glory this Christmas!

 

Gift No. 7 – Give Jesus Your Adoration.

 

“I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Psalm 34:1)

 

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)

 

“Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.” (Psalm 99:5)

 

Jesus is precious, so very precious and our lives here on earth are but a vapor. He made us to fellowship with Him, to love Him, to adore Him. Every second we do not worship Him is a second lost, a second we could be blessing Him with our love as well as receiving His love and sweet communion. Let’s make a commitment to give the gift of our adoration to Jesus for Christmas!

 

By now I pray you have several if not all of these gifts wrapped up in your heart to take to the feet of Jesus, to present as your gifts to Jesus for Christmas!

 

Friend, if you have never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I would like for  you to pray this prayer with me and give Jesus the very best gift of all, YOURSELF.

 

“Lord Jesus, I know you love me. I am a sinner and I need a  Savior. I repent of my sins and ask you to forgive me and come into my heart as my Savior and Lord. I confess with my mouth you are Lord Jesus and believe in my heart God has raised you from the dead. Thank you for shedding your blood for me at Calvary and saving me. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.”

 

Rejoice now! You are a child of His Majesty and you have a new start in life! Welcome to the family of God! You have just become a most valuable and cherished Christmas present to Jesus! Glory to God in the highest! Glory to God in the highest! Glory To God in the highest!

 

Merry Christmas Jesus!

On behalf of His Majesty Ministries,

 

We love you,

Troy and Sharyn