Are Your Gifts Ready?

 Gifts

Do You Have Your Sacred Gifts

Of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh?

Blessings to you as we approach Christmas and commemorate the birth of our Savior and King, Jesus Christ.  In this final week of Advent, the theme is peace.  While we press on into the final days of gift buying, gift wrapping, last minute Christmas cards, food preparation, and all the other things we do to prepare for the holiday keep His peace in your heart.   Hold in your heart  (and it is always a heart issue) the true reason for this “Holyday.”

Prepare your heart and spirit to receive the King.  Worship Him as did the shepherds.   As the Magi did, travel far from your natural trappings to honor Him.  Offer gifts to Him as did the wise men.  They brought gold to represent His royal kingship and the wealth of His kingdom to come.  Frankincense, quite costly and most often used as the main ingredient in incense, was carried from afar.  Myrrh, a resin much like frankincense, most often used in anointing and embalming, was brought to represent His anointing as well as His foretold death.

Gifts for The King

What gifts can you bring to Him as King?  What gold can you place before Him?  The most precious thing you can give to Him is your heart.   Bring your whole heart placed by faith in His loving hands to mold and shape as He sees fit.  By making Him Lord of your life that is just what you will be doing…giving Him your life to refine as gold and use for His Kingdom.  It is through faith that you can offer Him your heart completely without fear.

Next, representing frankincense, you can purpose to give Him your prayers to rise as sweet incense to His heavenly throne.  We are not talking here about rote prayers that are hurriedly spouted off as you are multitasking.  Your prayer time is your communication and communion time with God.  Communication is a two way process.  Speak as well as listen to hear what He has to say to you.

Read His Scripture daily.  Hear where He would have you go next.  Hear what He would have you do next.  Sit in your quiet place and listen to His still, small voice.  Let your spirit hear what the Spirit of the Lord would say to you.  Frankincense is quite costly even today.  Time with the Lord is the most sacred and valuable time you will spend.

And finally, let your myrrh offering be the complete death of self, embalmed with all your preconceived ideas of who you are and what you are doing and where you are going.  As you truly die to self you will rise up anointed to do His work.  You will rise up anointed to answer His call on your life.  Anything else falls short for a true follower of Jesus Christ.  This is the most perfect time to find the narrow gate and enter therein.  Enter in.  Enter in to give your best to Him.  Enter in to His best for you!

The Greatest Gift

Prepare your costly and most precious gifts in the coming days to present them to your King.  As you present your presents to Him, may God richly bless you this Christmas with His presence!  I wish a most heartfelt Merry Christmas to each of you, your family and friends.  I realize this season can be difficult for many.  Just remember to stay close to the Lord especially during this time and He will ease your heart.  May God’s peace and grace permeate your week and your heart forevermore.

It Is Never Too Late!

If you have not yet made the decision to accept Jesus into your heart, do it now.  Do not wait another minute.  Speak to Him from your heart (for it is always a heart issue).  Tell Him you have fallen short in your life.  Sincerely apologize for your sins.  Ask Him to cleanse you and come into your heart and be Lord over your life.  From this moment forward let His Spirit guide you along the narrow road that leads to everlasting life.  Let Him be your Christmas miracle!

Quotes To Ponder This Week

“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.  For they think they will be heard for their many words.  Therefor do not be like them.”  ~Jesus, Matthew 6:6-8a

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  ~Jesus, Matthew 7:13-14

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” ~Jesus, John 15:13-14

“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him:  and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.” ~Matthew 2:11

 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!”  ~Luke 2:14

 “…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through; that you being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”  ~Ephesians 3:17-19

“’Twas a humble birthplace, but O how much God gave to us that day, from the manger bed what a path has led, what a perfect, holy way.  Alleluia!  O how the angels sang.  Alleluia!  How it rang!  And the sky was bright with a holy light-‘twas the birthday of a King.”  ~William H. Neidlinger, Daily Whispers of Blessing, 2014, Barbour Publishing, Inc., Day 359

 

A Prayer Request

Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray. Please keep all who serve our country, our diplomatic corps, our servicemen and women and their families in prayer for salvation and safety. They are our front-line on the battlefield, let us be their front-line in the spirit. Also, let us cover all who have come home wounded that they and their families will receive the kindness, help and support they need to go forward in their lives. May the Lord bless them and keep them safe.

Pray for all throughout the world for hedges of protection against radical Muslim extremists and all forms of terrorism. We have long prayed for spiritual victory over radical Islam in Esther’s Warriors Ministry. We now see the reality of this threat come to the forefront in this time in world history.

Please pray for all in authority over us, for the full truth to come forth concerning Benghazi. We as Americans and the families of those murdered in Benghazi deserve to be told the truth. Pray that God will open doors to let the truth on all that has been hidden flow for all of us in this United States of America! The truth shall keep us free.

Pray for peace in Israel.  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  Pray for Christians throughout the world that face violence and death for their faith.

May God richly bless the United States of America, bring to light every single crooked place and keep her safe. May we arise united once again as One Nation Under God in this auspicious season in our country’s history. We continue to pray for truth to prevail as we saturate this country in prayer and stand for all that is right in America and for all of us who call ourselves American. These are treacherous times and now more than ever we must maintain our walk. Fail not in this hour.  #Pray for America.

Please Join Me in Prayer

Father God, We thank You for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to set us free.   As we await His coming, cleanse our hearts of every evil work.  Heal every cooked place in each of our hearts.  Wash us white as snow.  Prepare our hearts to receive Him fully and welcome Him as Lord of our lives.

Renew a steadfast spirit in each of us.  Let peace overflow in each of our spirits and spread exponentially to all we encounter.  Empower us to walk in Your peace and to take Your peace to a dark and dying world.  Great is Your faithfulness, oh God!

We thank You that You keep Your hand on America.  Forgive our sin and heal our land that we will remain One Nation Under God.  We pray this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen and Amen.

SEEK:   Stay Equipped, Empowered, Kingdom focused!