We have such a giving Father who loves us unconditionally and has chosen to be a blessing to all of mankind through the greatest gift that He could give us. When our Father chooses to give us a gift, He gives us good and perfect gifts. He gave us a perfect gift in Jesus! The Word tells us in James 1:17 that,
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of lights, with
whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
The word perfect in this verse of scripture means complete. When we were gifted with Jesus, we received a COMPLETE gift! Nothing was missing from this Gift and everything we needed was contained within this Gift. Jesus was and IS the perfect Gift!
The Samaritan woman at the well who had five husbands and was living with a man who was not her husband, found out that Jesus was the good and perfect gift. In the book of St. John, chapter 4, verse 10, Jesus answered her and said,
“If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith
to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of
him, and he would have given thee living water.”
Jesus was pointing out to this woman that He was the gift she needed to quench the thirst of her soul—to heal the brokenness of her heart and to fill the empty places within her. What Jesus did for this Samaritan woman, He is still doing today. If you are hurting and broken remember who lives in you and partake of His power to heal your soul. Consider the “gift” of Jesus! Meditate on what you have received as a result of asking Him to come and live in your heart. In Ephesians 2:8-9, the scripture tells us:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest
any man should boast.”
Clearly this part of scripture shows us that our salvation is a gift from God. We don’t save ourselves; He saves us! Just take a moment and think about what that means to you personally and individually. God saved you. God sent His Son Jesus to rescue and deliver you from the devil’s hell. He made Jesus sick and put Him to grief (Isaiah 53:10) so that you would be healed and free of sickness and disease. Through Jesus, we have been Preserved and made
Whole!
We never had to ask God for any of these things. He chose to give them to us. Know that your salvation is a “gift” from God. The word gift in this scripture means a “present”. A present is something that is given without your having to ask for it. When you receive presents from your loved ones more than likely they have been wrapped and you have to put forth a little effort to unwrap them to see what you’ve been given. WELL . . .
The great gift of salvation is similar. You received salvation by accepting Jesus in your heart. At that very moment, you were made the Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. You were placed in right standing with Him and you received the gift of salvation which encompassed wonderful benefits.
However, to see the benefits manifested in your life, you must put forth effort. You must agree with God’s word and take the benefits provided by faith and speak them forth out of your mouth. Before you know it, you’ll be praising God and giving Him glory because you see His promises fulfilled in your life.
As the righteous, you were born to WIN in life; not to lose. Romans 5:17 says:
“For if by one man's offence death reigned by one;
much more they which receive abundance of grace
and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by
one, Jesus Christ.”
This scripture tells us that the righteous have one stance in life, and that is to Reign! The word reign means to rule, and to rule means to exercise ultimate power or authority over; to dominate; to prevail. Jesus Christ has placed us in the WINNER’S SEAT! All we have to do is to believe it, and purposefully live it out!
Life with all its bumps, twist, turns and valleys should not overtake us. Rather, as the Righteous children of God, we are to use our authority and prevail over the devil and any challenges that may come our way. In Revelation 1:6, it states (paraphrasing), that Jesus Christ has made us kings and priests unto God:
Earthly kings don’t take orders, they give them!
Earthly kings walk in their authority and dominate in their realm!
So, as kings unto God, take the WINNER’S seat and begin to rule and reign in your life. Use your authority and power given to you by Jesus to cause things that are out of kilter in your life to come into balance and line up with God’s Word! Lastly, remember to daily take the time to thank God for the gift of Jesus! Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift (II Corinthians 9:15).