presents
Loving God
In my last post I talked about God’s Christmas wish list, and how our love for him is top priority. Here are some more ways to love God.
Trust and Obey
Another gift God appreciates is our faith. Do we trust Him? My friend Cynthia, who writes an excellent blog about prayer, recently wrote about something God told her:
When I meet you the way you ask Me to, you are blessed. You receive My grace-gifts, and you feel blessed. But when I don’t meet you the way you hoped yet you continue to trust Me anyhow—then you bless Me. You give Me your trust-gift, and I feel blessed.
Giving God our trust totally makes his day. So does our obedience. Obeying God tells him that we love him. Consider John 14:23: “Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.'”
Gifts that Give Twice
Just in case you haven’t noticed, Christmas is only two weeks away. I’ve already posted some suggestions to help you in your holiday gift giving. In that November article, I mentioned how last year we had “given” my husband a goat that would actually go to a needy family in the Dominican Republic.
Since then, I have done some research into various organizations worthy of your donations. Some have gift catalogs, such as the one we ordered from last year. You can “purchase” anything from carrot seeds to medical supplies to clean water for a village. Others just accept donations. You can designate a specific fund, or opt for “where the need is greatest.” They may offer to send you a gift receipt that you can wrap and place under the tree. We like to make our own at home—our family is big on word-processed scrolls, tied up with a red ribbon.
Large nonprofits such as World Vision and Compassion International have stellar reputations, and you won’t go wrong sending them a donation. But since they are familiar to most people, I’m going to introduce you to three of my favorite smaller ministries. These are Godly people doing Godly work, but without the big budgets and big names.
Christmas Presents
In our culture, Christmas has turned into the biggest shopping spree and gift fest of the year. When most people think about Christmas, they think about presents. While gift-giving isn’t mandatory, it is an expectation in most families. Given that fact, how can exchanging gifts honor God?
Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than receive.” When I was a child, I would have disagreed, but now that I’m the primary gift-chooser in our family, I find that I get really excited about finding the perfect present for someone I love. I get even more excited watching them open the wrapping. We honor God in our giving when we give with a cheerful heart.
Compost 