Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how many presents under your branches are for me?
How many presents are under the tree for Jesus? It is his birthday. He is the reason for the season.
What presents can you give to Jesus you wonder? There are many and I bet you have never thought of them. Maybe some of you are giving Him these presents every day. Maybe some of you give them one day and take them back the next.
Present one: trust. Do you give him all your trust? Do you trust him even when things are going bad? Do you trust his plans for your life? Do you trust him completely, 100%? If not, maybe this year is the year you give him the present of your trust.
Present two: your heart. Do you give him your heart? Does he come first in your heart? What does your heart treasure the most? That new job promotion? Your wife? Your football team? This season put Jesus first in your heart.
Present three: love people. Do you truly love others? Do you know your neighbor’s names? Have you forgiven those that have hurt you? Have you reached out to people that may not know about Jesus? Do you live your life that will lead other people to Jesus? Are you making disciples?
Present four: family. Is Jesus part of your family? Do you talk to him like you do your spouse or children? Do you share with him your heart? Do other members of your family treat him like he is part of the family?
Present five: time. How much of your time have you given Jesus today? Have you set any time out of your busy day to just spend with him? Five minutes of quiet time with just you and him? Two minutes? One ?
This post was inspired by a devotional I read that really spoke to me so I wanted to share it with you.
What other gifts can you think of that you can give to Jesus? Not only on Christmas but every day.
Where’s The Line To See Jesus by Becky Kelley –
A Gift To You by Kids Worship Childrens Ministry –
Jesus What Can I Give You by Oceans Edge Music –
Give It All by We Are Messengers –
Christmas Must Be Something More by Taylor Swift –
For something that only has one thing to do, I get blamed for a lot of things. You would think that I would mind, but I don’t. It really isn’t my fault for the problems in people’s lives. I mean all I do is go around in circles, twice a day. You know today what you wasted yesterday. You know today that you have the same amount of time as tomorrow to do what you need to do. How is it my fault you didn’t get it done ?
I come in many forms. Sometimes I have hands. Other times I have a digital read out. Sometimes I have numbers, sometimes I don’t. No matter what I have or don’t have, my job is the same each day. Many of you say I am only right twice a day. Good one. I have to laugh when I hear that.
Often times, no pun intended, people look at me and can’t believe how much time has went by. Other times they can’t believe how slow I am going. I am here to tell you I do neither. I am constant. Always the same. 86,400 seconds then I reset to zero. Well, there was this one time when God stopped me but that’s the only time. Unless He asks again because I will never say no to God. Would you?
Let me ask you, what is your problem with me? Never mind, let me guess. I don’t have enough time. Or is it I have too much time on my hands. Isn’t it funny that when you have too much time it seems like you don’t have enough time? How many times have you sat doing nothing when you could’ve been doing something? You think Tom Brady ever said I don’t have enough time to read the playbook this week? You think Michael Jordan ever said I don’t have enough time to practice my jump shot? They had to sacrifice other things that took up their time to make time to do what they needed to do. I bet they don’t always sleep eight hours a day. I bet they don’t watch three hours of television a night. Do you think they ever said I am too busy to do what I need to do to be successful?
Mother Teresa said “yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” You think she ever said I don’t have enough time? If she was alive today how much time do you think she would spend on Facebook? How many selfies would she take?
Anyway, back to my story. I am like God in a lot of ways. I am the same today as I was yesterday as I will be tomorrow. I will never change. I am not God. Many of you look at me like I am. Many of you curse me because you didn’t do what you had to do in the time you had to do it. Are you more mad at me or yourself? I didn’t force you to waste your time today. I didn’t force you to spend your time that way. I didn’t tell you to spend ten minutes flirting with that woman instead of spending ten minutes calling your wife. Yet you blame me for not having enough of me to give to your wife. I didn’t ask you to spend thirty minutes looking at pornography instead of reading the bible. Yet you blame me for not having enough of me to get to read God’s word.
You know what you have to do in the time you have been allotted. On your death bed you can’t say you didn’t have enough time. I have seen it happen too many times. I regret I didn’t spend enough time with my family. I regret I spent so many hours working. I wish I would’ve spent more time talking to God. I wish I would’ve donated more time to help others. I I I ……I wish, I should have, I could have. Let me tell you you can. What will you do TODAY to take care of your TOMORROWS and not live in your YESTERDAYS? What will you sacrifice? I am not to blame. 1440 minutes. Each and every day. I give it to all of you. The same amount.
Don’t be one of those people. I know I might be out of a job by telling you this but throw me away. Live your life with purpose. Do what God wants you to do! Does it matter what time it is or how much time is left in the day? If God says move, does it matter what time I tell you it is?
Now take a minute and look at me. You looked? Seriously? What will you do with the time you have left today? Tick-tock.
Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On by Jimmy Buffett –
Stop The Clock by Elle Varner –
Clock Don’t Stop by Carrie Underwood –
Before Out Time by Jon Foreman –
Time For That by Clint Black –
Ain’t Wasting Time No More by The Allman Brothers –
My God, My Music, My Life 