I love receiving gifts of any kind.

But, have you considered the gifts from God? 

Gifts from God are special abilities provided by the Holy Spirit to Christians for the purpose of building up the body of Christ.  God calls us to obediently serve Him and He will equip us with whatever gifts of the Spirit we need to accomplish the task or tasks He has called us to.

The greatest gift that God has ever given us is His Son.  He gave up His only Son so that we may have life and have it abundantly.

Use your spiritual gifts today to strengthen others and thank God for His only Son who gave us life.  Enjoy this free gift today!

Ephesians 2:8 – "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."

There is more than one kind of pride. There is a pride that God hates and the kind of pride we can feel about a job well done or the kind of pride we feel over an accomplishment from another person. The pride that brings out a self-righteous attitude is sin and God hates it.

Pride can keep a person from many things, even accepting Jesus as their Savior.

We shouldn’t go around boasting on our own self, or saying to others, “Look at me.” If we are to boast, it should be about God’s power and the fact that He saved us from a wrath of darkness and torment.

Give God credit today. Anything and everything you accomplish in this life is because of God’s grace, His power and His mercy.

Giving into pride will only misconstrue your outlook on life. God gave us this life, to live for Him, not ourselves.

Think about the image you’re portraying to others. Take pride in Christ, not your own achievements.

Proverbs 21:29 - “The wicked put up a bold front, but the upright give thought to their ways.”

Grace is given by God, to each of us, every day. This is God's unmerited favor. This grace is not deserved or can't be earned by any one of us.

We can grow strong in God's grace when we understand His unconditional forgiveness. Then, we can extend this act towards others.

To grow strong in grace, we must develop a deeper, more personal appreciation for what Christ did for us on the cross. Christ died for each one of us. No one deserves this much love and grace, but Jesus did it because He loves us, unconditionally.

So, when other people irritate you or treat you wrong, think of Jesus and His sacrifice for each one of us, even though we rejected Him.

Let others see the love of Christ in you. Extend grace today!

Ephesians 4:29 – "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

Evangelism is often interpreted as an attempt to manipulate someone into believing in God. Because of this, it can be a challenge to talk to others about our faith.

Evangelism Explosion is a group that I belong to at church and tonight we're starting back for the next season. For those of you who know me personally, know that I'm not typically an extravert, but quite the opposite. Because of this group (E.E.), and because of God's Holy Spirit, I have fun sharing my faith and watching others come to Christ.

E.E. begins with prayer, asking for the guidance of the Holy Spirit on both the messenger and the person being ministered to.

Evangelism is telling your story of faith and the goodness of God.

Try it out today. Share your faith and watch your own life with Christ grow and be blessed.

1 Peter 3:15 – "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,"

Most of us have our calendars, daily reminders, thought-out schedules that we live our lives by.  That's all good, but what happens when someone or something throws a kink in the plans?  Do we scramble to rearrange our next meeting or cancel everything to take care of a catastrophe? 

Proverbs 16:9 says "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."

Plans are good, don't get me wrong, but just because we've done our planning doesn't guarantee our goals will be met.  If we're smart, we'll leave room for God to guide us through the plans.

I've learned through my walk with God that the best of my plans may not be His will, the plans that He's designed for me.  So, when my plans don't go as I want, my only option is to ask, "God, what is your will in this situation?"

Don't fret if things don't work out.  Focus on Christ and honor Him and He will give us the best results for ourselves, eternal results.

It's difficult in this life to be 100 percent faith-filled all the time. Almost impossible. In the book of James, Jesus rescued the apostles from the storm, and He can also rescue us from the storms of life.

He promises us in the Bible if we are a child of God and have surrendered our life to Christ, He will never leave us alone.

It's one thing to stay calm when calamity strikes, but are we able to keep calm as the storm rages on? We can if we have faith.

If you're like me you long for peace and you don't like adversity. Why not take some precautions so that when the storms do come (notice I said when, not if), you will be prepared for the worst.

How do you prepare? Read the Bible. Get to know His word and apply it to your life.

James 1:12 – "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."

It seems that the world longs for wisdom.  We want everything from marriage advice, parenting, personal growth and every DIY you can think of.

If you're not wise in your decision making, things could go wrong quickly.  Wisdom is only words if not applied.  A wise person speaks from the heart, and this is hard for some people.

The wisest decision you can make is to surrender your life to Christ and begin a relationship with Him today.  Outside of that, there is no hope in this world. 

If you pursue anything in this life, I pray you desire wisdom.

If you lack wisdom, like is says in James 1:5, "ask God."

James 1:5 – "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."

I love to travel and although I haven't traveled out of the country that much, one thing I know for sure is that you MUST have an updated passport when you leave the United States. 

But, the passport that I'm referring to today is your passage into eternity.  Without surrendering your life to Christ and living for Him, the Bible says that you'll not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Life on earth is temporary and for those Christians who don't think this way, they are denying Christ. This doesn't mean that we can't enjoy living on this earth, knowing that our eternity, the place where we'll call home some day is in heaven with our Creator.

If you're a Christian and have given your life to Christ, your passport to eternity is already stamped with the blood of Jesus. 

Now, it's up to us to tell others about getting their ticket to eternity!

Philippians 3:20 – "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,"