October 26, 2015 – James 1:16-18

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. James 1:16-18Is there a perfect gift?  One that satisfies the deepest part of your heart and soul?  What do you consider the perfect gift?  Yesterday my nephew gave me a gift that brought joy to my heart. He brought his Dad, my little brother, and his Mom to visit after almost a decade of not seeing them.  That was a gift!A great gift costs time and sacrifice.  Sometimes a gift doesn’t seem to be a gift then, and yet grows more precious as time goes on.  In my cedar chest lies one mitten.  Apologetically my mother gave me my one and only Christmas gift – she knitted a pair of mittens.  We were very poor at the time.  As the years rolled by, I realized the time and sacrifice she made to knit the mittens, decorating them with tiny embroidered flowers.  I began to see what these mittens really represented — Love.There is an even greater gift, if we choose to accept it.  A gift that becomes more precious as the years go by.  It is the gift of grace, given through the sacrifice of life’s blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  The more we learn about Jesus as we abide or walk in Him, the more we desire, even long for the promises of our Lord Jesus.  The One who loves each of us.If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  John 15:7Live to the fullest, and follow the words — quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger!  When we are filled with anger we do not reveal the God’s gift of grace in our hearts.Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1:19-20