Is the Joy of your Christmas in the Presents or in the Presence?
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Christ's Presence is Your Greatest Present!
Christ in our lives is the greatest present because in Christ alone is the antidote to living in our sin-sick world. For this reason, Christ’s presence in our lives should be treasured even more than the presents or gifts that God gives us. Often we want gifts from God more than we want God Himself. We praise the Lord for God-loving Christians who each year, on 31st December, spend that night in different stadiums around the country genuinely praying to God and earnestly seeking for His presence. However, among these gatherings, there are always some people come to seek God with the wrong motives. These kind of people are more concerned about praying for health, wealth, knowledge, a better job, a better place to live, and other needs but they are not usually interested in seeking the presence of God in their daily life and in everything they do. Instead, of seeking for God's presence above everything else, they are more interested in seeking for presents or the gifts that God can give them in the coming year.
Friend, even if God gives us nothing, we need to love Him and adore him more than anything else. Even if He does not deliver us from trouble or even if He does not give us what we want, He still remains the almighty God who is worthy to be praised and worshipped and we should trust Him more and find encouragement and satisfaction in the fact that He is with us. This is what our forefathers did in Daniel 3:17,18 and in Job 1:21 and 13:15 and we too ought to follow their example. As the deer pants for the water brooks, so your soul should pant and thirst after God (Psalm 42:1-2). Your primary desire should not be to seek God’s gift-giving hand but to seek His presence in your life and in everything you do.
Page 3 ⇦ Previous | Next ⇨ Page 5
Christ's Presence is Your Greatest Present!
Christ in our lives is the greatest present because in Christ alone is the antidote to living in our sin-sick world. For this reason, Christ’s presence in our lives should be treasured even more than the presents or gifts that God gives us. Often we want gifts from God more than we want God Himself. We praise the Lord for God-loving Christians who each year, on 31st December, spend that night in different stadiums around the country genuinely praying to God and earnestly seeking for His presence. However, among these gatherings, there are always some people come to seek God with the wrong motives. These kind of people are more concerned about praying for health, wealth, knowledge, a better job, a better place to live, and other needs but they are not usually interested in seeking the presence of God in their daily life and in everything they do. Instead, of seeking for God's presence above everything else, they are more interested in seeking for presents or the gifts that God can give them in the coming year.
Friend, even if God gives us nothing, we need to love Him and adore him more than anything else. Even if He does not deliver us from trouble or even if He does not give us what we want, He still remains the almighty God who is worthy to be praised and worshipped and we should trust Him more and find encouragement and satisfaction in the fact that He is with us. This is what our forefathers did in Daniel 3:17,18 and in Job 1:21 and 13:15 and we too ought to follow their example. As the deer pants for the water brooks, so your soul should pant and thirst after God (Psalm 42:1-2). Your primary desire should not be to seek God’s gift-giving hand but to seek His presence in your life and in everything you do.
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