Jesus – born in a manger of God and of his mother, Mary.
It was predicted, you know…that this one called Emmanuel or “God with us” would come.
Prophecy - Isaiah 7:14 –“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Fulfillment – Matthew 1:23 – “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
Jesus is God’s gift to mankind…all of mankind.
Jesus is the gift that keeps on giving since that Christmas of long ago. He came to give us the gift of eternal life. All we have to do is accept His gift by asking Him to come into our heart and save us from an eternity in hell. To accept His gift of salvation, we need to trust Him. We need to be sorry and ashamed of our sins, and ask Him to help us not to sin, and when we do sin…He will give us the gift of forgiveness because Jesus paid for those sins of ours some 33 years after being born in a manger in Bethlehem.
Jesus gives us the gift of freedom. When we repent of our sins, and ask Jesus to save us, He forgives our sins – past, present and future – “To be remembered no more against us”…and He told us that we are free indeed.
John 8:34-36 –“Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Jesus freed us from the wages of sin…which is eternal separation from God in a place of torment and fire called hell. He gave us the gift of becoming a joint-heir with Himself to all that God has for us in heaven. We become part of His family…no longer a slave…but a son…or daughter of God.
Jesus’ birth also meant we would receive even more gifts. Jesus said, “It is better to give than receive.” He gave us the gift of His Holy Spirit, who dwells within us from the moment of salvation to the day our spirit goes to be with the Lord. This gift is remarkable. Luke 11:13 – “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
God’s Holy Spirit is also our guide. He interprets God’s word (the Bible) for us so we can understand the mind and heart of God better.
1 John 2:27- "As for you, the anointing which you received from Him (Jesus) abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him."
And, we are challenged to give the same gift that Jesus gave to us by passing it on to others who need to receive all the gifts that Jesus offered – from the time He came to us as Baby Jesus in the manger…to the time of His resurrection into heaven at the age of thirty-three. –1 Peter 4:10 – “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
The Gospel of Christ – pass it on!
John Tyler, Author
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