We preach and talk so much about God’s gift to us, but what about your gift to God? Christmas is the time of year when people around the world celebrate and share special gifts with family and friends. The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of giving, and that goes back to the very first Christmas when God gave His Son to humanity. He gave us everything when He gave Jesus. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Jesus is Christmas; and without Him, there would be no reason for celebration. Unfortunately, down through the years, this world has contaminated that holy, sacred celebration; but for true children of God, Christmas is still all about Jesus.

When God sent Jesus into the world, He made the ultimate sacrifice so the greatest Christmas gift ever could be made available to humanity. Only through that gift of Jesus can the human race receive eternal life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23).

There are so many blessings and benefits in the gift of Jesus Christ. It holds so much love, grace and power. Everything you need and far beyond is contained in the gift of Jesus. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippines 4:19).

Sin Separated Man from God

Before God gave Jesus into this world, the human race was living in darkness. The people were slaves to sin and bound in unrighteousness with no hope for a better tomorrow or for an eternity in Heaven. God said through the prophet Isaiah that hell was initially prepared for the devil and his angels, but it had to be enlarged when humanity fell into sin. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their [sinners’] glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it (Isaiah 5:14).

The gift of Jesus brought the light of truth into the world to dispel the darkness of sin and ignorance. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12).

Before Adam and Eve fell, they fellowshipped with the Godhead in the Garden day after day; but sin put an end to that and put up a wall of partition between God and the human race. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear (Isaiah 59:2).

After Adam and Eve sinned, no person had the privilege of looking upon the face of God; but after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph were the first people to look upon the face of God once again. Jesus said, He that hath seen me hath seen the Father (John 14:9).

The Benefits of the Gift

God’s gift to humanity brought people the born-again experience, and no one can see the Kingdom of God without it. God’s gift makes a person a brand-new creation on the inside. It is a gift of divine blood; and through it, people can be made into the image of Jesus. They can walk and talk like Him, let their light shine like He did and please the Heavenly Father.

If you possess the gift of Jesus Christ in your life, what does it mean to you? Think about the value of it and how it has changed your life. You never have and never will receive a greater gift here on Earth or throughout eternity.

The gift of Jesus brings many divine blood benefits that provide power to defeat the devil and trample his kingdom underfoot. Jesus said, Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you (Luke 10:19). With God’s gift, you have divine blood protection against the natural and the supernatural; so you have no reason to fear or worry about anything.

Another benefit of the gift of Jesus is holy, intimate fellowship and communion with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13). Through divine blood, divinity can live within. For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people (II Corinthians 6:16).

This great gift gives power over every sickness, disease and affliction. Peter wrote, By whose stripes ye were healed (I Peter 2:24). That means your healing is already paid for, and it’s on the table for you; but you must open your heart’s door and yield to the gift of Jesus to receive that healing or any of the other benefits of the gift.

An Eternal City Awaits

The greatest benefit of the gift of Jesus is eternal life—to be able to live with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as the eternal ages roll. The former things of this world will have passed away, and there will be no more sorrows and tears. There will be no more pain and suffering or trials and temptations. The devil and his angels and everyone who has rejected God will be cast into the lake of fire. Death, God’s great and final enemy, will then be destroyed.

God’s gift makes you an heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ, so a heavenly, divine inheritance awaits you. People get so excited about receiving an earthly inheritance of money or property; but those things can be stolen, lost or become corrupted. Those who accept the gift of God will inherit a mansion not made with human hands and dwell in a heavenly city whose builder and maker is God. Revelation tells us that the city has twelve foundations garnished with precious stones and twelve gates each made of pearl. It says the streets are paved with gold, and you will find the Tree of Life and the River of Life in that city.

There is so much more in this divine inheritance that awaits each child of God, but the Bible does not even begin to explain it all because no human mind can comprehend all that awaits God’s children. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (I Corinthians 2:9). Everything can be found in the gift of Jesus, and He is offered freely to the human race.

The Gift of the Holy Ghost

Having the gift of Jesus Christ on the inside makes you qualified to receive another gift of God—the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Acts 2:38, 39). God calls everyone who has received the gift of salvation to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The Bible speaks about this gift of the Holy Ghost saying, But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you (John 14:26). The Holy Ghost is also the Spirit of Truth who will lead those who yield to Him all the way to Rapture ground.

The gift of the Holy Ghost will produce in your life the nine spiritual fruits listed in Galatians 5:22,23. Many in the world are searching for those fruits, but they cannot find them because they are divine. Therefore, they substitute drugs, alcohol, the pleasures of sin, sports and entertainments of all kinds. The spiritual fruits have nothing to do with what is going on in this earthly life.

Divine Love, Joy and Peace

The fruit of divine love is beyond human love. It goes to greater lengths in loving your enemies and loving lost souls around the world regardless of their nationality, race or skin color. Divine love isn’t concerned with whether people are rich or poor, young or old. Every person has a soul that came from God, and God desires that soul to be His.

Without the fruit of divine love, the Lord says you are nothing in His eyes. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing (I Corinthians 13:2).

The fruit of divine joy is your strength to help you do the work of God. It is joy unspeakable and full of glory (I Peter 1:8), and it enables you to rejoice evermore (I Thessalonians 5:16). You are to rejoice unto the Lord in good times and in bad times and even in the midst of persecution.

The fruit of peace passeth all understanding (Philippians 4:7). Those in the world cannot comprehend that kind of peace. Divine peace reassures you that no matter what trials, troubles and persecutions you are having, God is with you; and He will work everything out.

When you have the fruit of peace produced on the inside by the Holy Ghost, it’s like living in the eye of a hurricane. There is a mighty storm going on all around you, but you have perfect peace. All is calm and quiet.

More Fruits of the Spirit

The fruits of goodness and gentleness bring about the tenderness of Jesus, and it is not contaminated or defiled by the world.

The fruit of divine faith moves mountains of opposition in your life. Jesus said, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you (Matthew 17:20). Divine faith can help you walk the seas of God’s promises and not sink.

Divine faith pleases God like Enoch did. The Bible says, By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God (Hebrews 11:5). The Bible goes on to say that a person cannot please God without divine faith.

The fruit of meekness is humility, and it’s the same humility Jesus used when He walked on Earth. That kind of humility does not boast or magnify self; it puts self down, so God’s gift can be magnified in your life.

The fruit of longsuffering is divine patience, and that kind of patience waits upon the Lord for the promises of God to be fulfilled in your life. It is patience to endure all things for the sake of Christ and for the sake of lost souls. Jesus said, In your patience possess ye your souls (Luke 21:19). With that patience, you can say as Paul did, For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content (Philippians 4:11).

Finally, there is the fruit of temperance, which is self-control. With that fruit, you can do as James wrote: Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath (James 1:19). The fruit of self-control enables you to bridle your whole body and stay out of sin’s harmful way.

Give Yourself to God

Oh, what a priceless gift from God is ours, a gift that promised, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13:5). No one who has ever received that gift in their life has been able to number all of their blessings and benefits. If you have the gift of Jesus, I’m sure it has meant everything to you. There is no way any of us could ever give back to God what His gift has done for us, but there is a gift He desires more than anything else from each child of God; and that is the whole you. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind (Matthew 22:37).

When you give yourself to God as He desires, you are no longer your own. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own (I Corinthians 6:19)? You have to deny self, take up your cross and follow Jesus.

When you give yourself to God, you do not walk after the flesh but after the Spirit. You live a holy, sinless life, and you live to perform the perfect will of God. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Roman 12:2).

You must become a shining light of truth to people all around you. Jesus said, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). The gift of Jesus enables you to shine the light of God’s love to others, so they can see God’s gift in your life and be drawn to come out of the night of sin.

Share the Gift

Jesus said, Freely ye have received, freely give (Matthew 10:8). The way to give back to God and please Him is to share with others what He has given you. Share with people the nine fruits of the Spirit produced in your life. That does not mean you go around preaching to everybody; you let the gift of Jesus in your life shine through you, and those the Holy Spirit is dealing with will be drawn to you and inquire about the gift.

When you are ready and willing to share the gift of Jesus, the Holy Spirit will give you the opportunity to do that at just the right time; and you must take advantage of that opportunity. What God desires most in this end-time hour is souls for His Kingdom. He wants His harvest to be brought in before it goes to waste. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him (Psalm 126:6).

When Jesus returns and takes His Bride home, she will march into Heaven carrying a special gift for God. She will have finished her work on Earth and emptied the Lord’s harvest fields, and she will humbly lay the sheaves of that harvest at the Father’s feet.

Friend, I want to give you an opportunity to receive the gift of Jesus Christ. Open your heart’s door today and let Jesus in. He made the ultimate sacrifice, so you could freely receive this gift of life. Say the sinner’s prayer found on page 5 of this magazine, and see what that gift will do for you.

Then go on to receive the precious gift of the Holy Ghost. You will have to have Him living within if you want to go when Jesus comes on Rapture Day.