Unto us a Child is born...GRATEFUL !

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"For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."  Isaiah 9:6

 My favorite time of the day is very early in the morning, I don't know, just seems like in the quietness in between night and day, I can sense God's presence more. Everyone is different, but for me that is my time to hear what He has to say to me and I can spill my "guts" out to Him.  :-)

It is even more special this morning because it is Christmas...a time when even the world celebrates. All may not acknowledge Him as the "Reason for the Season", but I believe that God in His Love for mankind, the One that can see beyond all the crazy, silly and what some may call "paganistic" ways that some people may celebrate...and He stills yearns for all to understand and receive the true Gift. God searches the heart and offers the Gift. John 3:16 says it perfect :

 "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

 I was looking at a TV show about how celebrities spend so much money on gifts for Christmas, $50,000 for a handpainted Purse (and the painter wasn't even Michael Angelo !) now that is ridiculous! I'm so cheap I find it hard to buy a Coach bag, though I really want one.  Sometimes I have little patience for such nonsense and would throw my hands up and say "That's it! they don't know what Christmas is really all about, I give up on 'em!"  But thanks be to God that He NEVER gives up! They are trying so hard to fill that God shaped vacuum in their lives and it cannot be filled with cars, houses or stupid handpainted purses. Only Jesus can fill it up and make us whole. Thank God He never gives up. Thank God He never gave up on me! 

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9

God sent His promise of salvation, His Gift to us through His Son Jesus. Jesus gave His life to fulfill that promise, so in order to receive the Gift of salvation, we have to receive the Gift of God's Son. God is not willing that anyone should perish and spend eternity away from Him and THAT is why we celebrate the Gift.  I celebrate because I am so very grateful that God looked at me, saw the mess that I was and as a line in composer Dottie Rambo's song
says "He looked beyond my faults and saw my need." His Grace is truly amazing!

I am so grateful that when that Angel came to Mary, that she was strong  enough to receive his message, she knew the ridicule and  shunning that would come, but she humbly obeyed. I am so grateful that Joseph stepped up to be a real man, finally shouldering
God's request and took charge. I am so grateful that the Wise Men allowed God to use their talents and "gifts" (in more ways than one) to pursue the desire to see the newborn King. I am so grateful for the shepherds that overcame their fears and believed the angels and were able to be among the firsts to behold the lamb of God!

I am so very grateful this morning that many years ago at the darkest point in my life, the Gift heard my cry. I was so tired of trying to figure life out, on the outside I had everything that a person could want. Christmas was huge at my house in Philly then, I used to have so many gifts under the tree that we had an overflow area in the dining room. So many gifts...
except the True Gift.
Then one night sitting on the steps of our row home at the time, I looked up at the night sky and said in tears "Lord, I have heard about you all my life, but I don't know you, if you are real please come into my heart, I am so tired of trying to live out this life, there has to be more than this."  That was it...I would love to tell you that things changed overnight and from then on it was all sunshine and roses.  Now I am going to be very honest with you...it has been quite a journey, but you know what? I would not change a thing.  Why? Because God has been so very faithful to me...through thick and thin HE has been there. He has walked with me and proven over and over again that He is not "slack in His promise". He is helping me to become what He created me to be and if it was not for His Gift...I would be nothing!  NOTHING!  So yes I celebrate! I celebrate because I am so very GRATEFUL for God loving us so much that He chose to send a Promise Child to grow up and become the sacrifice for my sins...and yours.

So let us accept the Gift of Jesus this Christmas! He is so very WONDERFUL! He is the best COUNSELOR! He IS a MIGHTY GOD! He is a precious  EVERLASTING FATHER! and most certainly He IS the PRINCE OF PEACE!  
Allow Him to be all those things and more to you today, celebrate this Christmas by accepting the TRUE Gift...Jesus the Christ.




Comments

doodles n daydreams said…
Merry Christmas Veronica. And thank you for your message today, very timely. Yesterday my hubby and I went into town for one purchase (we don't usually go near the boxing day sales) and I couldn't get over the crowds. It was then I realised that the secular world we live in actually celebrates the boxing day sales and that is what Christmas has come to mean to most of them, sadly. Things...and cheaply at that.

Diana
December 26, 2015 at 10:30 PM
FABBY'S LIVING said…
What a beautiful post sweet lady. Thank you so much for sharing this with us, specially to remember what this festivity is all about our sweet Jesús Christ and His Mother, who delivered Him to us.

Wishing you a happy and very blessed new year too.
Hugs,
FABBY
January 3, 2016 at 6:24 PM
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