Your Best Christmas Gift

As I write this the date is December 14th, and the Christmas season is in full swing. I love everything about this time of the year. As far back as I can remember I have always been enthralled by the sight, sounds, smells, songs, and colors of Christmas. It’s a special time of year when family and friends get together to celebrate and enjoy one another. Gifts are both given and received with regularity as we bravely shop the malls looking for those special gifts for the treasured people in our lives. For me, there is no better holiday to celebrate. I look forward to experiencing the joy and wonder of Christmas each year. I decorate the house inside and out, making sure that everything is coordinated and picture perfect.

Each year is filled with such joyful memories of Christmases past with my four children. The heartwarming reflections are endless. Yet, with all the excitement surrounding this holiday I made sure that the children understood the true meaning of Christmas. They were taught that all the exuberance surrounding Christmas was due to the birth of the Lord Jesus. They loved for me to read them the story of Bethlehem, the shepherds, the wise men, the manger, Joseph and Mary, and the baby Jesus. The story is timeless; it never gets old. The story of Jesus remains as fresh and as meaningful today as it was when it happened more than 2,000 years ago.

The story is timeless; it never gets old. The story of Jesus remains as fresh and as meaningful today as it was when it happened more than 2,000 years ago.

Not a Merry Christmas?

But for some, their hearts have become cynical and resentful about all the fanfare surrounding Christmas. Unfortunately, the commercialism, added expenses, and endless “to-do” lists have robbed them of the grandeur of God’s love and grace to the world. Perhaps somewhere along the way they have lost sight of the true meaning of Christmas. God willingly gave His only Son so that as many as would receive Him would receive the gift of eternal life. Giving and receiving are at the heart of Christmas. We imitate God’s example by giving from a grateful heart. Gift giving is our way of expressing gratitude to Him and blessing others in His name.

God willingly gave His only Son so that as many as would receive Him would receive the gift of eternal life. Giving and receiving are at the heart of Christmas. We imitate God’s example by giving from a grateful heart. Gift giving is our way of expressing gratitude to Him and blessing others in His name.

The Joy of December 14th

December 14th is especially meaningful to me and always will be. You see, that is the date that my late husband Eddie gave his heart to Jesus, in exchange for a new heart. I had been praying for that to happen for more than 40 years. On December 14th, Eddie exchanged his heart of emptiness, selfishness, pride, cynicism, doubt, fear, and self-sufficiency for a brand new heart where Jesus was welcomed.

Each year since the day of Eddie’s new birth, I play a CD of a child singing “I’ll Give Him My Heart.” The song is a reminder that giving, especially sacrificial giving, is a picture of God’s generosity to the world. It might just be that the words to this child’s song will touch your heart as it does mine year after year:

“What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd I would bring Him a lamb. If I were a wise man I’d sure do my part. What can I give Him? I’ll give Him my heart. What can you give Him, what can you bring? What can you offer that’s fit for a King? Bow before Jesus, that’s where you can start. What can you give Him? Just give Him your heart.”

How appropriate that Christmas began with baby Jesus being given to us and continues down through the centuries reaching to all who would give Him their heart. My husband finally crossed over from spiritual death to life everlasting with a heart that Jesus had been waiting to receive.

How appropriate that Christmas began with baby Jesus being given to us and continues down through the centuries reaching to all who would give Him their heart.

Heart Check

But what about my heart? What about your heart? Like me, perhaps you trusted Christ many years ago; but what have you given Him lately? Has your heart grown complacent? Do you no longer become excited about Jesus? Have all the trappings lulled you into seeing Christmas as just another holiday meant to exchange gifts and eat high-calorie food? Have you even stopped to do a heart check and ask yourself, what does Christmas mean to me? Perhaps your heart is in need of rejuvenation, having allowed distance and distractions to cause you to drift a bit. It’s so easy to slip into going through the motions of loving, serving, and even giving to Him.

I encourage you this Christmas to open your heart fully to Jesus and allow Him to reign as Savior, King, and Lord. What He wants from us is a heart filled with love and gratitude and our total self — surrendered. What He deserves is our worship, our adoration, and our praise; not mechanical, sanitized, or perfunctory, but heartfelt reverence born out of gratitude that comes from humility. These are gifts that come from a heart like His, from a desire to be holy like Him and a willingness to empty one’s heart of all its junk. He wants us more than anything we can give to Him or do for Him. David said, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10) and, “A broken and contrite heart you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17b).

He deserves our worship, our adoration, and our praise; not mechanical, sanitized, or perfunctory, but heartfelt reverence born out of gratitude that comes from humility.

Your December 14th

Christmas is the perfect time to reconcile a heart that has become cold, distant, empty, cluttered, or clogged. When you do this, your love for God will deepen and you will worship Him with a renewed passion; a place deep in your heart where only He can reach. Through the Spirit’s guidance you will experience fresh encounters with Him that you might never have known had you not allowed Him to transform and satisfy your heart. This Christmas, as you exchange gifts with others, open your heart to Jesus and He will fill it with Himself.

Christmas is the perfect time to reconcile a heart that has become cold, distant, empty, cluttered, or clogged. When you do this, your love for God will deepen and you will worship Him with a renewed passion; a place deep in your heart where only He can reach.

So go ahead and embrace the season! Enjoy the decorations, the music, the food, the fellowship, and the gifts. Celebrate Christmas, but most of all, celebrate Jesus! After all, He is the reason for the season.

Copyright ©2018 Alice Moss. All rights reserved.

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Alice is a valued member of the Strategic Renewal prayer leadership team. With decades of ministry as a women’s Bible teacher, prayer leader, and counselor, Alice has been used of the Lord to facilitate dozens of prayer summits and speak at conferences all across the nation. Her book I Crossed Over is a powerful account of her journey with Christ and 40 years of praying for an unsaved spouse. We urge you to get your copy and learn more about Alice HERE.