Tuesday, 19 December 2017

The Gift

PowerPoint Today - Daily Devotional with Pastor Jack Graham
 
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The Gift
 
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Songs for the Savior
 
 
 
And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, [the wise men] departed to their own country by another way.

Matthew 2:12

We don’t know what happened to these wise men. They leave the biblical story as quickly as they enter it. We can suppose they came to saving faith and lived out the rest of their days as followers of Jesus. That’s my belief, but the story just doesn’t tell us.

But here’s the truth: What the wise men saw in the stars prompted them to make an extremely difficult journey to seek out the Lord Jesus. I believe that’s where their truth journey led them and their lives were never the same again. I think the light was turned on in their lives and they became new creations.

We don’t need to cross deserts or mountains to find Jesus. But we have to open our hearts and minds to Him. And when you encounter the truth of Christ, you will be transformed. Your life will take on a new direction. These magi went home another way – I think that means both geographically and spiritually. New life in Christ takes on a whole new direction, a way of spiritual transformation.

It wasn’t an accident these men came to meet young Jesus and it’s not an accident you’re reading these words today. I want to tell you that wherever you are, you can become a different person right now. The truth of Christ is a truth that sets you free. And if you’ll trust in Him today, your life will take a brand new path!

The Gift that Never Disappoints

by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
John 4:12–14

I read about two coworkers who were discussing their holiday celebrations after everyone got back to the office from the Christmas break. Dan asked Bob, “So what did you get for Christmas?” Bob replied, “See that brand new red Ferrari parked out in the parking lot?” Dan was shocked. “Seriously? That’s incredible!” But Bob said with a sigh, “I got a tie that’s the exact same color as that Ferrari.”
Most of us know what it is like to be disappointed with a Christmas present. Maybe it was when we were a child with an expectation of something specific we had asked for but instead received a replacement. Maybe it was a style or color that we just didn’t like as a teenager. Maybe it was completely different from what we were expecting. But when we finished tearing off the wrapping paper and opening the box, we had to do our best to put a smile on our face that didn’t match how we felt, because we had been let down by what we received.
That never happens when we come to Jesus. He meets every need and satisfies every longing in the human heart. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for our sins, and the perfect Saviour to answer our desires for love, fulfillment, and meaning in life. No wonder the Apostle Paul declared that Jesus is beyond human ability to describe. “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15). When we come to Him we are never turned away and never left unsatisfied.
 
Today’s Growth Principle: 
Christmas is ultimately the celebration of the greatest gift in all of history.

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