The Best Gift To Give This Christmas

“The more you reaffirm who you are in Christ, the more your behavior will begin to reflect your true identity.” ~ Neil T. Anderson

With Christmas being a few days away, I find myself thinking more and more about the “birthday boy” – Jesus.

As I would for anyone that’s special to me, I ponder what a good birthday gift would be for Him.

Giving Jesus your heart is the best gift to give this Christmas

Before you can do this, however, you have to understand who Jesus is and what His purpose for coming to earth was.

God sent His only son, Jesus, to bridge the gap between man and Himself (John 3:16 and John 14:6). Because man is born sinful. it causes a separation from a sinless God.

Jesus came to save us from our sinful nature so that we could live with Him forever in eternity.

In John 10:10, Jesus Himself states his desire for us. He says,“my purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.“

Jesus is telling you that His plan for you is to enjoy life in abundance and to the fullest. Wouldn’t it make sense that the best gift you could give Him is to live the life that He hoped for you to live? A life that is full of peace and joy?

But here’s the catch- you cannot live a rich and satisfying life without first giving your life completely to Jesus (Matthew 16:25). What this means is that you have to let His Word and Spirit guide your life, as opposed to your own selfish desires.  It means letting Jesus sit in the driver’s seat of your life.

This is where genuine and lasting freedom is found. The more of yourself you give to Christ, the more peace and joy you will have.

Sadly, though, many of His followers live a life that is the exact opposite of rich and satisfying. Many Christians have allowed unconfessed sin in to their daily lives, which prevents them from living out the freedom that Christ died for them to have.

Addictions, a critical attitude, negative thinking, disobedience and/or unforgiveness are a few things that can hold you in bondage and rob you of the abundant life God wants for you.

You can choose right now to start living a life for Him. It will be the best decision you ever make. The first thing you have to do is make a decision-either to commit your life to Jesus if you never have before, or to re-commit to Him.

Once you surrender your heart to Jesus, you can start your new life in Him. This is called being “born again.” Jesus said that “unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”(John 3:3 and Romans 10:9-10).

When you commit your heart to Jesus you instantly become a new creation in Christ. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that your “old life is gone” and that “a new life has begun!” Romans 8:11 says that you have the Spirit of God living inside of you!

However opening your heart to Christ doesn’t result in some magical moment where Jesus touches you and you are immediately transformed.

Sanctification is a process that does not simply happen overnight.

As followers of Christ we are no longer enslaved to our sinful nature. But you must learn to “feed” the Spirit of God that lives within you, and “starve” the temptations of the enemy. This is especially challenging when life becomes difficult and trials come your way.

Romans 8:5-6 says, “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.  So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.“

You have to be intentional about allowing the Holy Spirit to control you.

Here are some steps you can take to do so:

1. Make reading God’s Word, the Holy Bible, a priority.

2. Learn how to communicate with God through prayer and  by inviting Him into every part of your life.

3. When you mess up (and you will mess up), learn to confess your sins to God and to another human being.

Having people you are accountable to is a very important part of living a life of freedom. Sometimes, like in the case of addictive behavior, you may have to join a support group and/or see a counselor.

4. Learn to love the way God loves you.

If you practice steps 1-3 on a regular basis, I believe that loving others becomes an automatic outpouring from within your heart.

Living a life that is not controlled by unholy desires, but rather set on the pursuit of those things which gratify the Spirit of God (Romans 8:5), is what it means to live a life of freedom.

You cannot live this type of life, however, without allowing the power of the Holy Spirit to reign in you. Surrender all of your “garbage” to Jesus. Let Him have full access to all of you.

This Christmas give the gift of your fully devoted heart to the guest of honor, Jesus.

Write Him a prayer in the form of a letter. You could start your letter with thanksgiving for His finished work at the cross which allows you to have freedom. Make a list of all the areas that you struggle with. Finally, tell Him that you surrender your life to Him and that you trust Him to walk with you in complete victory.

This can be the beginning of living a rich and satisfying life that Christ came and died for you to live.

It will be the best gift you give this Christmas.

Please feel free to share any thoughts or questions you may have.

“But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.” ~ Romans 6:22

Photo credit: Google Images