Pastor Simeon Oladokun
Text: James 1:17 (NKJV)
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”(Jas 1:17).
The lyrics of the singer, Mariah Carey’s song go like this:
I don't want a lot for Christmas
There
is just one thingI need
I don't care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true oh
All I want for Christmas is you
If you too were to sing out like Mariah Carey, of your choice for this Christmas from God, what would your request be? Shoes? Perfume? Car? What?Personally, I have received some gifts from individual people this Christmas and it is a tradition in our house that presents are opened on Christmas Day after the Queen’s speech! Pending the time to open the presents,the children, especially the younger one and her older siblings when they were young,feel tempted curious to know what presents are wrapped for them!
Throughout the year, we received gifts from God. God is a giver. His gifts are not only BIG, but GOOD and PERFECT. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights...”(Jas 1:17).“Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— 3who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”Ps 103:1-5
Personally, to answer the question above about what my prefer Christmas gift will be, I will say: ‘All I want for Christmas is CHRIST!’ This is because, when I chose to have Christ as my Christmas Gift, presents wrapped within my ChristmasGift are:
1. Hope. “May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.”Rom 15:13 GNT. Someone has said that if you could convince a man there was no hope, he would curse the day he was born.Hope is an indispensable quality of life. You can go forty days without food and three days without water and you can go eight minutes without air. But you can’t go a single second without hope. Hope is one of the essentials of life. When hope is gone, life is over. You need hope to cope. Christ came to give hope to the hopeless people like you and me.We all hope for one thing or the other, but chiefly, we hope for glory. “…Christ in you the hope of glory. Col 1:27“This hope does not disappoint us,…” Rom 5:5 GNT. “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” Pro 23:18 NIV
2. Joy. “but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”(Lk 2:10) NLT.Jesus did not come to bring happiness because happiness is circumstantial; it depends only on the happenings around you. But Jesus came to bring joy.Jesus is the source of transcendent joy; the kind that lifts us above our circumstances and makes others think, ‘Whatever they have, I need it!’.There is something special about that Christmas gift of joy. “And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of choice foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”Nehemiah 8:10 NLT.You may have a Merry Christmas and NOT a Happy/JOYFUL Christmas. The difference is when you get Jesus for your Christmas Gift, your joy is complete!
3. PEACE. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”(Is 9:6).“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” (Lk 2:14).Peace of mind is such an important concept in life that people will do almost anything to find it. But the truth is very few people in this world are at peace with themselves. Most people carry around a high degree of stress, of anxiety, and of tension in their lives. You may be experiencing an unexplainable problem, but the good news is you can have peace. However, you’ve got to make peace with God first. You can’t have the peace of God until you first make peace with God. The Peace of God is TRIANGULAR in shape. When you have the Peace of God, you will be at peace with yourself, and live in peace with others; even with those who don’t like you: “When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.”Pro 16:7. “He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.”(Ps 147:14).All I want for Christmas is YOU, because, where there is War, You bring Peace. Where there is Tears, You bring Joy. Where there is Hatred, You bring Love.
4. WHAT DOES GOD WANTS FROM YOU THIS CHRISTMAS?
He says: “All I want for Christmas is YOU!”Listen:“beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”(Ro 12:1–2).
God wants your total dedication. He wants your heart, He wants your life.“O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways.”(Pr 23:26 NLT).
Pastor Simeon Oladokun
Incoming Regional Superintendent of Anosike Region (Europe)