The Greatest Gift of All

Christmas time is here and in our commercialized world it’s become a season of gift giving, but have you ever really thought about the Greatest Gift of all?

The Greatest Gift of all is Jesus.

John 3:16 says: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5:18

Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

According to God’s Word there are only two responses to God’s unspeakable Gift. Either you receive Him or you reject Him. There is no neutral; no middle ground.

John 1:12

But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:

John 12:48

He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. (Jesus)

Matthew 10:40

He that receiveth you receiveth Me, and he that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent me. (Jesus)

Mark 6:11

And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. (Jesus)

Some will argue and say, but how do I know if The Gift is for me? Let’s look at what the Bible says:

Luke 2:10-11

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

John 3:16 says: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Romans 5:18

Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

The argument: Jesus was not given to me will never stand on Judgment Day. Instead Jesus will say: He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. John 12:48

So how are you responding to the Great Gift? And I mean responding because the truth is you are responding to Him right now. You are either receiving Him or rejecting Him and the answer is really the difference between life and death.  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 1 John 5:12

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. 2 Corinthians 9:15

Ignoring the Warnings

“Hey stop!" We’re up in the mountains, far from home, when a fellow motorist waves us down and points to our front tire. Jason stops the van and we both jump out. Sure enough our front tire is very flat!

“Oh no!” I sigh! “This is my fault!” The tire light has been on for months but I’ve just been ignoring it. I even noticed the front tire was getting quite low a few days ago, but still I forgot to mention it to Jason. This is what happens when you ignore the warning signs, I think to myself.

As Jason gets to work on tire, I wait in the car and try to keep the kids entertained as we wait. The following day I can’t shake the thought of ignoring the warning signs and how that applies to something much greater than a tire that’s going flat. How many people out there are ignoring the warning signs of upcoming death and the eternity that follows?

Hebrews 2:3a How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation;

We know we won’t live forever and we even hear of people dying around us and yet so many of us go on as if there is no death or eternity. The Bible also warns us that Jesus can return at any time; but are we ready?

1 Thes 5:2-3 says: For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. Luke 23:30

I think of the story of the rich man and Lazarus who both died. In Luke 16:23a it says this: And in hell he (the rich man) lift up his eyes, being in torments,

He was in a place “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Jesus (Mark 9:44)

He soon realizes it’s too late for him so he asks Abraham if Lazarus could be sent to His father’s house to warn his brothers.

Luke 16:27-28

Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:

For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

Abraham responds by saying: …They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16:29-30) 

Suddenly everything was so clear to the rich man. If only he would have listened to the warning, if only he would have sought God while He was to be found and called upon Him while he was near. If only he had forsaken his ways and thoughts and turned to the Lord; God would have had mercy on him and pardoned him, but now it was forever to late.

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:6-7

John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

 John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Don’t let the simplicity of the gospel be a stumbling block for you. Don’t be like Naaman who thought it was too easy and to humbling to dip seven times in the Jordan River.

Our human nature resists simply believing because it’s humbling and we don’t want to submit to God’s way and God’s plan. We think and tell ourselves it must be more complicated that that; we are proud.

There is something very simplistic and humbling about putting our faith in Jesus Christ, and that’s why Jesus says “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)

So don’t ignore the warnings. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Instead listen to God when He says:  Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? Ezekiel 33:11

For how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Hebrews 2:3a

PS: If anyone has questions or would like to talk feel free to email me at jwkrul@gmail.com