Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today we will accept the Gift Of All Time, God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) Himself.

Today’s scripture is Isaiah 9:6 (AMP), which describes the gift of Jesus…
For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; And the government shall be upon His shoulder, And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Consider…
We all have memorable gifts in our lives. Mine was a stereo that my mother and siblings gave me one Christmas in my childhood. I suspect the special gift many of you would recall was received one Christmas too. It’s fitting that a holiday named after Christ, would be the most generous gift giving day of the year. The benevolent hearts of people are moved to bless others freely with something that cost them. You can probably guess where I am going.

John 3:16‭-‬17 (NLT) explains…
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

Out of love, God gave and sent His one and only Son.

Let’s briefly examine the verbs ‘gave’ and ‘sent’.

First, both are past tense, meaning the act of sharing is already finished. That means, Jesus is the finished or completed gift of God! That’s important, because it means our salvation is not based on our work, but the finished gift of Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:4-5, 8-9)

Next, let’s look at definitions. According to dictionary.com, the verb…

• give means to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation; Bestow.
• and send means to to cause, permit, or enable to go; to cause to be conveyed or transmitted to a destination

Applying both definitions to John 3:16, we see that our benevolent Heavenly Father, bestowed His one and only Son to the everyone and caused Him to be salvation for anyone who would believe on Him.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT) wraps the gift of Jesus this way…
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

And 1 John 4:10 (NLT) puts the following bow on God’s unconditional gift…
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Yet, as generous and amazing as the sacrificial gift of Jesus is, it’s only part of what makes Him the Gift Of All Time. What seals it for me is presented in John 1:1‭, ‬14 (NLT), which says…
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God…So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

Immanuel, which means “God is with us” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23), came down from Heaven to dwell among us. And even when Jesus returned to His heavenly throne, He gave us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us (John 14:17; Romans 8:11).

Thus, what makes Jesus the Gift Of All Time, is that He was and still is “God with us”. And there’s no greater present than the presence of God! 💝

It’s always good to take a moment to remember, and thank God for, the Gift Of All Time, Himself!

Today’s song is…
God So Loved The World
https://youtu.be/AhpX8OccS1E?si=rZt3DfIKMUhs-f4P

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)