Archive



  December, 2003  
S M T W T F S
  01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Devotional for Tuesday Dec 30, 2003:
Gifts for God

Greg Laurie
Senior Pastor
Harvest Christian Fellowship
Riverside, Ca
 " 'For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.' " 
Matthew 2:2

Christmas is a time of giving, and I've found it to be true that it is more blessed to give than to receive. If you are like me, you can't wait to give your gifts. When you get something for someone, you want to see the joy he or she has in receiving it.

The wise men brought gifts to Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. What kind of gifts are these for a child? Myrrh, after all, is an embalming element. Why give an embalming element to a baby? I believe these wise men had insight into who Jesus was. They gave Him gold because they recognized it was a proper gift for a king. They gave him frankincense because that is what a high priest used when he went into the temple to represent the people before God. They gave Him myrrh because they recognized that this king would die for the world.

What can we give to God during this holiday season? What do you give to God, who has everything? What does God want from us? He wants our lives. The greatest gift you can give to God this year is yourself. The greatest gift you can give to God is to enter into a brand-new year of opportunities and say, "Lord, I give You my life. I give You my talents. I give You my abilities. I give You my dreams. I give You my future. I give You my weaknesses. I offer myself to You. Here is my gift to You."

Let's be like these wise men and worship Him and give to Him. You will be glad you did, because you can never outgive God.



Copyright © 2003 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000



clear clear