Giving The Perfect Christmas Gift

Judith

Each year at Christmas we strive to give the perfect gift. I guess we do it because the wise men gave gifts to the baby Jesus. The origins of gift giving can be attributed to the middle ages in England where they gave gifts to each other on New Years Eve. Then later on St Nicholas or Santa Claus was said to have distributed gifts to the poor - an idea which came from a Dutch folk tale. \r
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What is the worst Christmas present you have ever given or received? Some polls came up with these ideas:\r
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" A fur lined sink\r
" An electric cheese straightener\r
" A rock\r
" A tin box full of dead tadpoles\r
" A toaster, complete with crumbs\r
" A stuffed rattlesnake\r
" A stained potholder\r
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Okay, no winners here. I know that for many of us, we ask for long lists of possible gift ideas, then spend many anxious weeks shopping. We spend too much money, buy too many things, spend many hours wrapping and fretting then apologizing as the gift is being opened. \r
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Although its too late to rush out to your local store and pick up that perfect stocking stuffer-a stuffed rattlesnake for sure-but its not too late to give the perfect Christmas gift; a gift that costs a great deal, and takes time to prepare and open, but one each one of us has the resources to give. \r
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I want to challenge each one of us to pick from the following list of gift ideas; you don't have to give them all, just pick one to give to each person that is dear to you. The list can be found in a letter Paul wrote to the Colossians:\r
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Colossians 3:12-17\r
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12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. \r
ESV\r
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I guarantee you that if you pick from this list, the recipient will not be disappointed that you failed to get them a Nintendo Wii. They will never want to return forgiveness, they will wear compassion all year long, and they will likely return love for love many times over. \r
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Just pick a character, ask God to grant it to you, then watch for an opportunity to give that gift this Christmas. When someone offends you, forgive. Show thankfulness for all situations, peace for turmoil, harmony for discord, and humility when pride rears its ugly head. \r
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After all, when Jesus came He offered Himself as a Christmas present to us all, not only His body, His life, but also His character.\r
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Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve , and to give his life as a ransom for many." ESV\r