Read The Instructions of This Gift…Because if you do, It is the Gift that Keeps on Giving!
It’s Christmas time. The season of gift giving. From Secret Santa gift-giving, to family time and friends gift-giving, to remembering “those less fortunate” gift-giving. Gift-giving everywhere with everyone giving a gift or receiving a gift, because it is the mass of Christ.
Mass, being the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. The Holy Eucharist being defined as “the giving of thanks; thanksgiving.”[1] We give gifts or exchange gifts during the Christmas season, whether we realize it or not, because Christ was born, gifted to mankind by Elohim (Lord God the Creator) to give us the opportunity to have eternal life if we so choose. And we are thankful for His sacrifice. At least we should be.
John 3:16 New King James Version
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
The Scriptures give a beautiful illustration of the birth of Christ. Have you read it? If it was truly understood what Jesus Christ coming to the earth meant, there would be so much more reverence and holiness throughout the earth. Its not something so many would “toy” with.
Take a look at His coming and His arrival:
Luke 2:4-17 New King James Version
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Glory in the Highest
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
First and foremost, prior to Jesus’ birth, an angel(s) of The Lord, came from on High (Heaven) and visited some shepherds that were shepherding their sheep, to announce the birth of Jesus Christ and what His birth predestined. The angels’ arrival and announcement was to elucidate that this was not just another birth, and it certainly was no ordinary birth. This birth represented something so great, that it must be announced from Heaven, Who this baby is and what He came to accomplish. This was good news! This angel brought good tidings (good reports and good words) to all of mankind, all of God’s creation! This was news that was to bring great joy!
Hallelujah! Glory to God in the Highest! Its exciting to read and write about that scripture!
If you can’t get excited about that when you read it, let me tell you a secret…you either have lost your precious faith, or you never had it in the first place. You have religion and religion is not relationship! There is nothing fun nor exciting about religion. Religion is just a bunch of formalities, traditions, and rituals, that are so rigid, all one can do is break them!
Go all the way back to the beginning of my blogs and read, you will quickly realize in reading JITA Publishing and Ministries blogs or published literature, you are learning things you never knew because you have religion, instead of having relationship…and without relationship, you have no revelation of Who He is and no revelation of The Word (the scriptures)!
Therefore, it is sad; a tragedy no doubt, that you can’t get excited about the scriptures. Your only hope is that you can fake it until you make it, but you will never make it without accepting this gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Acts 4:12 New King James Version
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
You need to be baptized in The Holy Spirit; so the scriptures can come alive in your spirit.
There is a danger in not knowing The One True Living God through Jesus Christ. Jesus said it to the Jewish people and to those who don’t believe in Him as The Messiah. And He said it more than once. He preached it while on earth and some were just never able to understand it enough to believe, just as some still don’t understand nor believe it today.
John 8:21 New King James Version
21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”
John 8:21 The Message
21 Then he went over the same ground again. “I’m leaving and you are going to look for me, but you’re missing God in this and are headed for a dead end. There is no way you can come with me.”
John 8:21 Amplified Bible
21 Then He said again to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, and you will die [unforgiven and condemned] in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”
There are so many, so very many - that believe they have received His free gift of salvation and they have not.
The scriptures call it having a form of Godliness, in other words, saying the religious words, and even “acting” religious, but really not being baptized in Holy Spirit (Third Person of the Godhead). Consequently, having no power, nor active gifts of Holy Spirit of Who God is and What Jesus represents, is not real in your heart and definitely not real in your actions! You do not move in the Power and Authority of Jesus that He prayed be transferred to us in John 17.
You see, what is in our hearts, is what comes out of our mouths and displayed in our actions.
Luke 6:45 New King James Version
45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
You can say “Lord, Lord”, pray over your food, and even attend church. But
are you holding unforgiveness in your heart?
Are you bitter?
Are you unable to let the past go and move on?
Are your conversations gossip (that is speaking on the business of others that does not concern you and further you don’t even know if it is true, because you only “heard” about it)?
Do you set aside time daily to spend in prayer (conversation with The Lord) to pray for others and pray for yourself and not just when you want or need something from Him? How is your marriage? Where are the majority of your thoughts and your time spent?
These questions are tools that help determine if you have a form of godliness but deny His power. Because in your answers, if you are truthful, are the indicators of your carnality, that is, you still live in, through, and by your flesh (emotions) and not by your spirit which was created in His image and in His likeness.
Beloved, the gift of Christ is the greatest give of all!
Ephesians 2:8-9 New King James Version
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 New Century Version
8 I mean that you have been saved by grace through believing. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 It was not the result of your own efforts, so you cannot brag about it.
Ephesians 2:8-9 Names of God Bible
8 God saved you through faith as an act of kindness. You had nothing to do with it. Being saved is a gift from God. 9 It’s not the result of anything you’ve done, so no one can brag about it.
If you are truly serious about your salvation and can get the revelation of what salvation is and what it means for you, it is the gift you cannot help but desire to share. Along with your material gifts, you give the spiritual gift of salvation by sharing The Good News of the scriptures that came through Christ Jesus . And because it is the gift that keeps on giving; you would not wait until Christmas time to talk about the birth of Jesus and what it means for us, you would share it by way of sharing the scriptures as we have been mandated by Jesus Christ to do.
John 21:15-17 New King James Version
15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”
And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
Can you feed Jesus’ sheep? Do you know the “food” they must eat to survive? Because if you don’t know, you surely can’t feed it to them! And without it, both you and the sheep will die. The “fake” (false doctrine and false teachings) food fed to His sheep will only pass for so long.
The food I am speaking of is The Word of God!
I was reminded just this past Sunday how many pastors and Christian Celebrities don’t know the correct food either! And yet hundreds of thousands of people are following them, believing “they must have the correct food to feed us because so many are following them!”
Let me say it again, because your salvation is so important to me, I love souls and I do not wish that anyone miss having eternal life, after all, the gift of eternal life is free, Jesus paid for it, in full, with His blood.
Matthew 7:14 New King James Version
14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
But if you do not know the path to righteousness (The Word of God) then you will not know how to live it and therefore you are most likely still living a life of sin against God without receiving the gift of grace through salvation for your sins.
Psalm 119:11 New King James Version
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
Don’t assume Heaven, eternal life, is an automatic if you are a “good” person, or say all the “right” religious lingo, or you attend church regularly; nothing could be further from the truth, that is the reason there are few who find it.
Read the instructional guidelines (The Bible) that come with the gift of salvation, and you will see and understand for yourself why you must study The Word, the scriptures are hidden for us in a language that Holy Spirt interprets for us through revelation knowledge into our spirit for understanding. And those instructions plainly tell us that His will for us is that we study it for ourselves and gain understanding through personal relationship with Him.
To share, with understanding, that the Good News of the Gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ is a blessed gift. And in doing so, it is also an act of worshipping God.
Remember The Wise Men of the scriptures? The ones that are depicted as three in number, when in actuality the scriptures don’t indicate how many there were. We know from the scriptures that they brought the three types gifts of that time that were presented to kings as the main standard gifts proper to give a king.
The Magi brought to Jesus the gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh?
(The Magi were the Greek Word Magos[2] /mag'-os/ which means wise men, teachers, priests, physicians, astrologers, seers, interpreters of dreams, augers, soothsayers, sorcerers etc. the oriental wise men (astrologers) who, having discovered by the rising of a remarkable star that the Messiah had just been born, came to Jerusalem to worship him.)
They were those that were anointed in “seeing” the prophetic (future things to come). They were not into horoscopes, they followed astronomy, not astrology as we know it today; they knew The Lord would give them a sign to let them know of things to come, that is to say, upcoming events. They would know because they were told, “look for this star…or when the moon does this…, etc.” but as with anything The Adversary has come along and tried to copy and pervert the acts of the Most High God; thus, you have those who follow horoscopes, read crystals, burn sage, worship the moon, and pray to Sun Gods and Sun Goddesses’ and practice other false religions that are not Christianity nor of our Saviour Christ Jesus, but these “religions” are born into existence out of misunderstood and misinterpreted Christian foundational teachings. (That is another teaching altogether)
Nonetheless, The Magi or Wise Men, knew that when the star in the east shone, it was a sign that The Messiah, The King had been born.
Matthew 2:1-2 New King James Version
2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
And they wanted to see Him and worship Him. How so? They worshipped Him with Gifts! The very finest of gifts, for they recognized Who this baby is, He is The King that came to seek and save the lost! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Glory to God in the Highest! I feel the anointing! His warmth, the comfort and joy of His love! Yes, I feel it!
Matthew 2:11 New King James Version
11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Giving from the heart is an act of worship, not to the receiver, but to The Lord. And as a result, it is far more blessed to give then to receive. Because
Galatians 6:7 New King James Version
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
if you worship the Lord in your giving, you will reap the rewards of His Kingdom.
This Christmas when you give a gift, remember you have already received the greatest Gift of all gifts, and it is yours for the taking, once you accept Him and understand the guidelines of the gift, it is The Gift that keeps on giving all the way to eternal life in Heaven!
Blessed Christmas!!!
In His Service and In His (Christ Jesus) Love,
Apostle and Prophetess Wendy Connor
©Copyright 2021 Wendy Connor
[1] WORD ORIGIN FOR EUCHARIST
C14: via Church Latin from Greek eukharistia, from eukharistos thankful, from eu- + kharizesthai to show favour, from kharis favour COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY - COMPLETE & UNABRIDGED 2012 DIGITAL EDITION
© WILLIAM COLLINS SONS & CO. LTD. 1979, 1986 © HARPERCOLLINS
PUBLISHERS 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
[2] "G3097 - magos - Strong's Greek Lexicon (nkjv)." Blue Letter Bible. Web. 15 Dec, 2021. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3097/nkjv/tr/0-1/>.
