The 12 Gifts of Christmas

12 days featuring 12 gifts we receive because of Jesus.

Gift #8: The GIFT of Consolation!

If there is a recurring theme in God’s Word it is His comfort and consolation to all who mourn. In fact Jesus said you are blessed if you are sad because in Christ the sad will find comfort, and ultimately joy!

God the Holy Spirit not only brings comfort, He is called the “Comforter”.

“The Spirit of the Lord God… has sent Me… to comfort all who mourn, to CONSOLE those who mourn in Zion” (Isaiah 61:2-3)

Zion is a metaphor for God’s Kingdom, His people… which is any believer today: Jew or gentile. The promise is this: in Christ, inside spiritual Mount Zion (Heb 12:22), you will find consolation. But I utside of Christ, there will be no true, lasting comfort.

How is it that only Jesus can console us in such a way to truly satisfy? Because He experienced it first hand and yet had the power to overcome.

One of His early disciples wrote “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)

So the next time you need deep meaningful eternal consolation, or consolation over a small matter, simply run to the Throne of Grace, where Jesus is powerfully seated, and simply ask for His help. He will not refuse anyone who genuinely asks. And nothing is to big or small for our awesome God!.

Paul clearly experienced God’s comforting consolation:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

I pray you are consoled today by seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

With much love in Christ,

Jeff

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The 12 Gifts of Christmas

12 days featuring 12 gifts we receive because of Jesus.

Gift #7: The GIFT of Healing!

If you are a disciple of Christ you have been healed.

When Jesus first stood up to speak in a synagogue, in the same passage we explored yesterday, He read out of the writings of the prophet Isaiah “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to HEAL the brokenhearted…” Isaiah 61:1

What has caused you to be broken hearted? At the heart of every wound is a heart wounded by sin. Think about some of your most painful wounds and you will discover a cause that is opposite of God’s will.

Divorce is one of the most painful wounds. It is caused by one party being unfaithful and unloving. But in God’s Kingdom, His people are faithful. Love is the hallmark of true followers of Jesus.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:22-24)

Sexual and physical abuse are horrible crimes of hatred, control, and selfishness. But Jesus teaches to treat others as we would want to be treated. His ways are to deny ourselves and care for others.

Rejection by a friend or family member creates deep wounds. But God’s Word says we are accepted in the beloved! He accepts us with love. He says He will never leave you and never forsake you! He’s faithful. You can trust God. And His people, true believers, display the same fruit if they really are loving Him with their whole heart.

So if you’ve been broken by the sin of others ripping a hole in your heart, turn to Jesus who suffered great heart ache and rejection. He understands what you’re going through, and He knows how to make you and keep you healthy.

But what about a broken heart over our own sin and disobedience? Are you broken over how you have treated others? Jesus says you’re blessed if you’re poor in spirit.

Why is this? In order to be healed we must admit we are sick. Admitting where we have been wounded and where we have wounded others is the first step to finding help. It is then when the Great Physician can heal us and make us whole again.

In Christ you are not defined by your past sinful wounds! Paul says to ex-homosexuals, ex-alcoholics, ex-adulterers, and the ex-sexually immoral “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)

These people were healed and no longer suffering the sickness of habitual shameful sin. Healing brings hope.

Thank Jesus for the healing He purchased for you on the Cross – by His stripes you are healed! And thank him for His resurrection power that gives us hope to live abundantly in the Spirit!

With much love in Christ,

Jeff

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The 12 Gifts of Christmas

12 days featuring 12 gifts we receive because of Jesus.

Gift #6: The GIFT of Freedom!

If you are a disciple of Christ you have been set free.

When Jesus first stood up to speak in a synagogue, He read out of the writings of the prophet Isaiah “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;” Isaiah 61:1

To be set free one must admit he or she is being held hostage. Most of us don’t think we are in need of freedom. After all, we would say we live in a free nation.

But Jesus speaks to a captivity that you and I are all too familiar with, if we’re honest with ourselves. This captivity is tormenting. Always trying to be better; to summon the power to overcome, but ending up overcome by the same weaknesses and failures.

And what’s worse is that all of our failures feel like a mountain bearing down on us. A mountain of sin and guilt crushing the life out of us. Our spiritual condition is of a person locked in chains, wasting away in a dark, filithy dungeon, in a deeply isolated place of despair.

This is our state outside of Jesus. Sin and death have power in our life. Real power. And we find ourselves powerless to overcome.

But when we surrender our lives to the King, request His deliverance from the tormentor, live for Him and learn His ways, everything changes!

When we send for Help, the mighty Savior rushes in with an army of angels, light splaying into the dark recesses of our cell. As the heavy iron door is swung open at His command and as your shackles fall away, a strong but calming voice speaks over you,  “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2)

Then He transports you to the… your eyes widen as you approach the throne room of the Kingdom of God!

Once there, He prepares a feast and celebration for you. His servants make sure you are well-fed, nurtured, and allowed to enter into a peaceful rest.

Lastly, He recounts that you have been rescued from a death sentence, saying that His Father excitedly decided to adopt you and make you an heir to His Kingdom!

You are FREE to live in peace.

You are FREE to love the Lord and all others.

You are FREE from the power of sin.

You have been set FREE from the power of the Devil and Death.

You are FREE to serve the One who has set you FREE!

After all, Jesus said “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32)

This is an amazing gift and a wonderful Eternal Promise!

If you find yourself a slave to a tormenting taskmaster, cry out to Jesus for help. Admit your crimes against His Kingdom and He will pardon you, and grant you freedom and peace to live safely in His presence forever.

And thank Jesus for purchasing your freedom!

With much love in Christ,

Jeff

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The 12 Gifts of Christmas

12 days featuring 12 gifts we receive because of Jesus.

Gift #5: The GIFT of the Holy Spirit!

If you are a believer in Jesus as the Anointed One, you have the gift (the anointing) of the Holy Spirit.

Because Jesus was anointed “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me”, and because you are in Christ as a believer, the Lord has anointed YOU — this is called the GIFT of the Holy Spirit!

Jesus comforted His followers with this: “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:15-18)

John affirms Jesus’ promise when he writes, But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. (1 John 2:27)

Paul says that God desired to reveal the riches of the glory of this mystery to YOU: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) and he says “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

And Paul constantly reminds his readers that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit!

The Gift, God in us, provides comfort, renews our hope, removes doubt, leads us away from lies and into the truth, removes the fear of death, destroys the power of the Devil over us, and is the down payment toward the promise of Eternal Life!

Thank Jesus for the sending the Spirit to you, to live in you!

With much love in Christ, in the Spirit:

Jeff

The post The 12 Gifts of Christmas – The Holy Spirit! appeared first on Eternal Promises.

The 12 Gifts of Christmas

12 days featuring 12 gifts we receive because of Jesus.

Gift #4: The GIFT of Peace!

On that starry night, an army of powerful Angels proclaimed that this holy Child would be the Prince of Peace, saying “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth PEACE among men with whom He is pleased!” (Luke 2:14)

Over and over again, in His Word, we see the eternal promise of “peace with God” promised to those who repent of their old sinful ways, love God, and trust in Him.

Yet, there are so many who are not at peace with God. Why is this? Jesus said “He who hates Me hates My Father also.” (John 15:23)

In other words, if you don’t believe and trust in Him as the Son of God, you don’t have peace with the Father. But if you love Jesus and love His teachings, and set about to learn and do His ways, you have a supernatural peace that nothing can disturb.

Jesus gave us a clear example of this when He said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.“ (John 14:21)

After saying this, he comforted His disciples with “PEACE I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

This Peacemaker, Jesus, is not merely leaving you with a warm fuzzy in your heart, but moreover a peace that reconciles you to your Heavenly Father; a peace that restores you to sweet and peaceful fellowship as a son or daughter of God!

When you continue to place your trust in Jesus, the wrath of God is replaced with the warmth of His Fatherly love. As a believer, you have been adopted as His son or daughter. You were born a second time: this time to Father God! And it’s all due to the Prince of Peace brokering a peace agreement when He went to the cross for our sakes, to bear the payment of our sin and to satisfy God’s wrath against all unrighteousness and ungodliness.

Paul puts it this way: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” (Romans 5:8-9)

And to the believers at a city in Greece, Paul wrote “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9) and “and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:10)

Therefore Messiah Jesus is the Prince of Peace, bringing true peace (aka, reconciliation) to all who need to restore their relationship with the Father. “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20)

Thank Jesus for the Peace He purchased for you on the cross!

With much peace, grace, mercy, and love in Christ,

Jeff

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The 12 Gifts of Christmas

12 days featuring 12 gifts we receive because of Jesus.

Gift #3: The GIFT of Grace!

“Amazing grace! How SWEET the sound that saved a wretch like me,” penned John Newton in his infamous lyrics. This man knew the cost and power of grace. I hope you know and are actively experiencing the grace of God.

The GIFT of grace! If you are a Christian, you have been gifted the perpetual gift and outpouring of grace because of Jesus Christ.

The gift of grace is all that is needed to live a godly life in peace with God and power over sin!

Paul said it this way, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3)

And again, Paul says “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption – that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31)

This grace that Paul boasts about is more than a mere nod of God toward flawed mortals. God’s grace is imparted power over the old man, our old ways, and real power to live freed from the shackles and slavery of sin.  John Newton, a slave ship’s captain, understood the horrors of slavery all too well. He was responsible for transporting slaves to England, and in the process, causing many of these precious souls to die on board his ship due to the horrendous conditions. But even John Newton found grace in the eyes of God.

How is this possible? Because we all have fallen short of the glory of God. We all need a Savior to set us free from our old sinful ways; a Savior to set us FREE! John Newton found His freedom is becoming a slave to the Emancipator of emancipators. Jesus said, “if the Son sets you free, you are free in deed!” John was a freed man in the flesh, but a willing bond-servant in the Spirit.

What is this grace John wrote about? What is this grace Paul proclaimed in every city he visited? Grace is not as ethereal as you might think. Paul wrote about the power of grace in your life when writing to a young man who was shepherding Christians in the first century:

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11-14)

In other words, the GIFT of grace is real! Real power in the face of temptation. Real strength to overcome. Real joy and love because of what Jesus did for you and I.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!

With much peace, grace, mercy, and love in Christ,

Jeff

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The 12 Gifts of Christmas

12 days featuring 12 gifts we receive because of Jesus.

Gift #2: The GIFT of Righteousness!

If you are a Christian, you have been judged as righteous because of Jesus Christ: acquitted of all crimes, and declared innocent and FREE!

Why are many under a cloud of oppression and depression? Why do many lack true joy? Could it be that either they have never received the gift of righteousness? Or could it be that they have forgotten about this costly Gift of being declared righteous because of Jesus’ righteousness?

The gift of righteousness is the act of erasing all debts against the moral law. All crimes we have committed incur a payment or debt against us. All sin has a penalty. And that penalty is death.

In fact, Paul reminds the church “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness…” (Romans 1:18). We read the same in John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

But the GIFT of righteous through a life committed to Jesus Christ delivers us from God’s wrath and the love of God is poured into our hearts!

Paul says it this way: “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages (the price or debt) of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:20-23) And “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

And John says, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

So remember that this rare, one-of-a-kind Gift was paid for by Jesus Christ, was given from your Heavenly Father, and was delivered by the Holy Spirit. You can’t buy this gift. And there is no other gift available anywhere else that makes one righteous.

But also remember with gratitude that the price of this gift required the death of Jesus so you could live eternally free in God’s presence!

With much love in Christ,

Jeff

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The 12 Gifts of Christmas

12 days featuring 12 gifts we receive because of Jesus.

Gift #1: The GIFT of eternal life!

If you are a Christian, you have Eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Eternal life is a gift given because of God’s great abounding love for you and the whole world, past and future. He doesn’t want anyone to perish and face condemnation. This is why Jesus said: “For God so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)

Paul comforts us with this “For the wages (the price or debt) of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

And Jesus helps to understand that eternal life is about a relationship with God, with love as the cornerstone when He prayed: “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3).

The goal of believing in Jesus, being followers of God, becoming children of our Heavenly Father, is to get to known Him intimately and to walk with Him 24/7. He wants us to get to know Him now, not only in the life to come.

And the GIFT of eternal life is the reason the GIFT of the Anointed Child, Jesus, was given to the world. This is why Christmas should be a time of giving.

God gave the GIFT of all gifts! Therefore, out of gratitude, let others see this Gift through yours gifts and giving Spirit.

With much love in Christ,

Jeff

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