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Do you remember receiving Christmas presents as a child? My great aunts used to give me puzzles. Then one year, they tricked me by giving a box with a shirt inside. They added bits of cardboard so it would rattle like a puzzle when I shook it! I also remember getting stuff I needed more than wanted — like socks and underwear.
Perhaps my most memorable Christmas for gifts was when I was a teen. My older brother and I were both athletes. I’m sure we had a long wish list. But I knew not to expect much. Dad had started his own business and money was tight. So, I was absolutely shocked when Christmas morning came and my Dad slid out my gift of a basketball backboard and rim. Just what I wanted! My brothers and sister also received special gifts. My parents worked hard to give us gifts that delighted us, not just gifts of what we needed. I remember this as an example of good gifts.
God also gives good gifts. Matthew 7:11 reads, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”(NIV) This passage specifically encourages us to pray. But it also reminds me of a special gift God has given us — his Spirit. This good gift produces goodness in us!
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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.