PJP2 PROLOG - 16121819 - PROLOG Focus: 2 Corinthians 9:7-9........EGG - Psalm 89:5(ESV/emphasis added/jaj)...."Let The Heavens Praise Your Wonders, O Lord, Your Faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!".... PJP2 PROLOG POST - 16121819 - EGG - 2 Corinthians 9:7-9(ESV/emphasis added/jaj)...." Each one Must Give As he Has Decided in his Heart, NOT reluctantly or under compulsion, For God LOVES A Cheerful Giver. And God Is Able To Make ALL GRACE Abound to you, So That Having ALL Sufficiency In ALL Things At ALL Times, you May Abound In Every Good Work. As It Is Written, 'He Has Distributed Freely, He Has Given to the poor; His Righteousness Endures Forever.'”.... It is so easy, this time of year especially, to get wrapped up (no pun intended) in the Gift Giving and Getting. We can become distracted by 'the hunt' for that 'perfect gift' for us to give to our Beloved. By the same token, like Ralphie ("Christmas Story") we can become consumed by our own "BB-Gun Mania" trying to figure out how to ensure our Beloved understand that "XYZ" (you fill in the blank) is OUR perfect gift for us. How often have we become enthralled by the gift and forgotten 'The GIVER'? BUT YET....That is NOT The Model God The Father Provides us to Follow..... Malachi 3:10 (ESV)...."Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.".... Luke 6:37-38 (ESV)....“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”.... 1 Peter 3:8-9 (ESV)...."Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.".... And Then By God The Father's Greatest Example, even when we had been the worst of His children.... Romans 3:21-26 (ESV)...."But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." So, Crew, as we enter into the last of our 2016 First Advent Celebration - let's Remember The Reason for His Season, God's Greatest GIFT to us Draws our Focus Back to The Giver of His GIFT and The LIFE He Provides that we May Be His Blessing All Around us. O Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, Father God, Thank You for Your Eternal LOVE and GRACE towards us. Lord Jesus, Teach us Your Way of Giving. Holy Spirit, Lead us to LOVE as You LOVE us. Father God, May we Ever Reflect in All we Say, Think and Do, that Your GIFT of Your Son, our Lord Jesus, Has Ever Changed us To Be Your LIGHT to this world lost in darkness. In Your Holy Name, Lord Jesus, we Raise our Praise and Prayers....Amen and Amen....jaj