A Challenge this Christmas

by Cheryl S.
from Virtuous Daughters, December 2003~Volume 3, Number 9

Darling Virtuous Daughters,

Would you like to give a gift really special this Christmas? Well, I have a challenge for you. It is a gift that you will give someone, yet they will never open it. It is the gift of Jesus' love! 

First, ask the Lord to place the name of one person on your heart. Perhaps it will be a sibling with which you have had a strain in the relationship, and you can demonstrate the love of Christ on a daily basis to them. Or maybe a lost neighbor that needs to see and hear the good news of salvation. Or, for you younger girls, what about a friend that is not always nice to you – she might need extra grace and prayers.

Spend some time in prayer seeking the Lord’s direction, and have faith that He will give it to you. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths” Proverbs 3: 5-6 We are to depend on Him for everything! Here is a verse to memorize and say to yourself while carrying out all that He has for you:
 
“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” Philippians 2:3&4  

Tips:    

1. Pray – seek the Lord’s direction and counsel.
2. Memorize Scripture and say it silently to yourself during times of weakness.
3. Pray again and again! We must continually depend on the Lord to accomplish what He has laid before us. Remember, it is Him working through us.
4. Don’t expect anything in return from them. Our rewards are in heaven.  “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest. For He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” Luke 6: 35 Remember also that our joy comes from the Lord, not from how others treat us. “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
5. What if the Lord lays two people on your heart? Great! He will give you the strength. “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”- 2 Corinthians 9:8