God's Gift To You!

Ephesians 4:5–8 KJV 1900

5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

Ephesians 4:7 NLT

However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.

Everyone loves gifts…

According to Cosmopolitan the top ten gifts of 2021 were

10 - Pillow slippers

9 - Open kitchen digital air fryer

8 - Laser galaxy star projector

7 - Kellytoy Plush

6 - Cozy set of PJ’s

5 - LED mirror electronic clock

4 - Travel tote

3 - Waffle knit sherpa back throw

2 - Digital to analog polaroid photo printer

1 - High waisted crossover leggings

11 - FUZZY SOCKS

Everyone loves gifts...

Average household spend $800.00 and 1,000.00 in gifts in US.

Parents plan to spend an average of $276 per child when it comes to Christmas gifts in 2021.

1 in 10 people returns their gifts to the store.

41% of Americans are willing to take on debt due to gift shopping.

$15.2 billion is the estimated total of unwanted presents.

America is expected to spend almost $6.1 billion on Christmas trees.

21% of Americans plan to spend less money on holiday gifts.

Women spend 20 hours, on average, shopping for Christmas presents.

56% of US consumers want to receive a gift card as a present in 2021.

The one thing that every gift given had one thing in common…

It has to be unwrapped!

I know this is a simple statement...

But imagine with me if in your home you had a strange tradition.

You hung your lights.

Decorated your tree.

Set cookies out for Santa.

Made homemade eggnog.

Christmas morning finally arrives and mom and dad are woke up at first light by excited children in pajamas...

Rush into the den and even as the coffee is brewing, excited kids begin to hand out gifts...

And they sit surrounded by beautifully wrapped presents, admiring the wrapping paper, how perfectly the bow was tied…

They wonder at the weight of it...

They shake it gently trying to guess what it may be…

They beg for hints...

And as the day comes to an end, they gather unopened gifts and mom opens the closet doors and neatly stacks this years gifts in the closet with all the other unopened gifts…

What a strange tradition!

That’s not a tradition you would share with anyone...

It’s a tradition that would cause your children to doubt if there was anything in the boxes at all!

Yet I wonder what God’s reaction to how we his children respond to gift that He has given us!

How many gifts has he given that are:

Not wanted

Unused

Returned

Unappreciated

Or simply put away in the closet of our hearts, unopened!

You think that’s foolish?

Mat 25 and Luke 19 we have the Parable of the Talents.

The man with one talent, hid his away and did nothing with it!

Over the past few months as I prayed about this New Year

Looking for some direction, a clear word from God.

This is the analogy that God has given me.

God has given us an exquisitely wrapped gift...

All you have to do is unwrap it!

Conclusion:

Missionary Lillian Dickson: “Life is a coin you can spend it any way you wish, but you can only spend it once.”

What are you going to do with what God has given you?

Pass out gold dollars as a reminder to spend our lives/year well.

2 Corinthians 12:15 (KJV 1900)

And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you...