God’s given each of us unique gifts and talents — but they mean nothing if we don’t use them to glorify Him. He gave us the ultimate gift when He sacrificed His own Son for our salvation. Let’s strive to show our gratitude by offering our own lives as a gift back to Him!

From the moment Jesus was conceived in his mother’s womb until the moment He took His last earthly breath on the cross, every detail of His life was a fulfillment of prophecies made centuries before His birth. If that’s not proof of the Messiah, what is? At some point, we’ve each got to decide whether we’re going to believe that God is Who He says He is — and one day, we’ll all face His throne and answer for the choice we make.

Jesus was a lover of people — but more specifically, He was a lover of strangers. Jesus demonstrated His love for all humanity by dying for every single one of us without preference or prejudice. Not only that, He lived out His earthly life by showing kindness to each person that He met. When we become part of His family, we’re called to adopt the same mindset of hospitality — by opening our arms, our homes, and our hearts, even to strangers.

John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Yet how often do we still try to live our lives by our own power, attempting to “fix” or atone for our own sin — even after receiving Christ’s gift of salvation? God empowers us through His Spirit to overcome sin, but to do that requires us to submit ourselves completely and wholeheartedly to Him.

Mary was chosen to carry the Son of God inside her, all so He could come in the flesh to save us. In a similar way, when we’re saved, we each carry the Holy Spirit within us. When our lives reflect to the outside the Savior Who’s dwelling on the inside, it impacts those around us as they see the difference He makes in and through our lives.

God’s timing’s always perfect — we just think ours is better! He answered the prayer of Zechariah and Elizabeth to have a baby according to His time, and that baby would ultimately pave the way for God’s own Son. Our prayers may seem repetitive, and sometimes it might even feel like He doesn’t care, but He will always answer — just maybe not in the time or way we’re expecting.

How amazing is it to think that when God created the universe, all He had to do…was speak? Our God’s so powerful that with a few words, He spoke us, and all that’s around us, into being. He not only designed the heavens and the earth and all that’s within them — but He also used the stars in the sky to proclaim the birth of His Son.

When God steps in, miracles happen — just look at Jesus’s mother, Mary! If the Lord can make the “impossible” happen through a virgin conceiving and birthing His own Son, He can do anything in and through us to accomplish His plan and purpose, too. When His Spirit lives in us, things that once seemed inconceivable suddenly become possible if we choose to walk in obedience with His will.

If we ever doubt God’s reason, purpose, and perfect timing for our lives, we only need to look at the hundreds of prophecies that Jesus fulfilled to realize that He’s always had His hand in each and every detail! There’s nothing that happens in your life or mine that’s outside the plan and the will of God. He sees the bigger picture — even when we don’t.

All throughout the Old Testament, there are hundreds of prophecies foretelling the coming of Christ. But did you also know that God specifically told four different people His plan to send Jesus in order to save the world from sin? By telling people His plan, God gave them the incredible gift of hope. In the same way, when we tell the world what Jesus has done for us, and for them, we’re sharing more than just the good news of the gospel — we’re giving them the gift of hope!