Tag Archive for: gifts

Treasures

“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” – Matthew 2:11
Gold – because Christ is simply, the King of Kings.
Frankincense – used as medicine, because Christ came to Heal all of us.
Myrrh – used at burials, because Christ came to die for all of us.
Perhaps it is time for all of us, to acknowledge Him as our King, our Healer and our Saviour this Christmas day.
Three gifts.
What gift will you choose to offer Him?

Three Gifts

𝓣𝓱𝓻𝓮𝓮 𝓖𝓲𝓯𝓽𝓼…
Our missionaries have been very busy this week.
There has been lots and lots of service in the community.
And, in addition, at Christmas market’s, town squares and on many a street corner throughout Belgium and the Netherlands, missionaries have given away thousands upon thousands of gifts.
Greeting so many, the message is simple “𝓜𝓮𝓻𝓻𝔂 𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓶𝓪𝓼”
We’re not talking about the latest Red/Blue Nintendo Switch for son, the Barbie Extra Deluxe for daughter, the beautiful new necklace and flowers for mum or the special new jumper and tie for dad.
No, none of those.
Set those and the many other gifts galore aside.
We didn’t even give away any gold, frankincense or myrrh.
Remember, the gold points to Jesus’ royalty, the frankincense to his divinity, and the myrrh to his humanity.
All of which we honour and respect.
Rather consider the little gifts we did giveaway.
Three little chocolate hearts filled with only one thing – 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮.
Through it all, there is perhaps one common denominator for Christmas – it is 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮…
“God be thanked for loving us enough to send His Only Begotten Son. Jesus Christ changed the world for each of us with His atoning sacrifice. He is the light of the world. He is the light we need to hold up. He is the light that fills us with good will toward all people.” Russell M. Nelson
We hope amid all the hustle and bustle of gifts and gatherings, you will let your life reflect the 𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 of Jesus Christ this Christmas time.
Merry Christmas dear friends.

No Room?

No room?
We had an incredible Christmas Conference in Brussels on Friday with our entire missionary force.
They are certainly a force to be reckoned with!
It was a wonderful experience, a real delight to be with everyone and one of many highlights of 2022.
Although the chapel was tightly packed, we had enough available room to spare for everyone to gather and sit comfortably.
During the course of the conference, I shared a verse of scripture from Luke 2:7…
“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was 𝐧𝐨 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 for them in the inn.”
Sterling W. Sill commented on that verse as follows:
“For His entire thirty-three years on earth, this cry of “𝒏𝒐-𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎” almost became a theme song for His life. With many people there was no room for His teaching. There was no room for His miracles, no room for His doctrines, no room for His faith.
Even in our day, with the judgment of time shining upon his life, we are still re-enacting the ancient scene of Bethlehem by crying, “No room, no room.”
We make room for gifts, but often we have no room for the giver. We have room for our own commercialism of Christmas and our pleasure seeking on the Sabbath day, but we have no room for worship. No room for service, no room for righteousness. The reason there was no room in the inn was because all of the available space was already occupied. And we are only following the ancients when we fill our lives so full of other things that we have no time or space left for the Light and Life of the world.”

Pause for a moment.

Look around, the annual commercialisation of Christmas is now well underway – again.
Christmas is what each of us make it.
Despite all the distractions, it is up to each of us to choose to put Jesus Christ at the very centre of our celebrations.
“Finding the real joy of Christmas comes not in the hurrying and the scurrying to get more done, nor is it found in the purchasing of gifts. We find real joy when we make the Saviour the focus of the season. We can keep Him in our thoughts and in our lives as we go about the work, He would have us perform here on earth.” – Thomas S. Monson
I hope that as we start to count down the days to Christmas, each of us will remember the light that Jesus Christ brings into our lives’ and always remember to make room for Him.
What room are you making for Christ in your home this Christmas?

Talents

“Would you like to play something on the piano?” I asked.
Yesterday, before going out to eat at a local pannekoekenhuis, we had a visit at home from our sister missionaries.
I know that Samantha Greenhalgh has been gifted with a wonderful talent and loves to play the piano. So, I pointed out some music sheets and invited her to take a seat. Seconds later, the room was filled with a beautiful melody. She chose not to select any of the music, rather play something from memory that was elegant and pleasing.
The short musical interlude lasted only a few minutes, but it brought peace and joy to those who were able to sit and listen for those few moments in time. I even captured a little smile from Samantha too! 😊
Each of us have been blessed with different talents, gifts and abilities by our Heavenly Father. We have the responsibility to develop the talents that we have been given. Listening to her play the piano yesterday, it was very evident that Samantha has devoted many hours to developing her talent.
– What talents have you been gifted with?
– Have you discovered them yet?
Spending time to develop your talents, through practice, regular effort and sharing, are key principles to allow it to grow.
Consider the talents you have been blessed with and who knows, it may not be too long before you’ll be sat playing the piano, or even winning an Olympic medal!
Go on, give it a go!