Best Giver Ever

The best gift giver ever has a load of presents for his children.

John 1:16-17 From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.

John 3:16 "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

James 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

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The original gift giver is still the best, he has a huge advantage, he is all knowing and all powerful. Since he made us he knows what we really need the most and he has the power to meet every one of our needs.

One of the greatest themes of the Bible is that God loves so much that he gives, God has a huge pile of gifts for his children, check out some of his best gifts.

God Has Given You:

✔ The gift of a Savior: “And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” - Matthew 1:21 ✔ The gift of the Holy Spirit: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…” - Acts 1:8 ✔ The gift of God’s love: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” - Jeremiah 31:3 ✔ The gift of God’s grace: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” - Ephesians 2:8-9 ✔ The gift of God’s peace: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” - John 14:27 ✔ The gift of wisdom: "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking." - James 1:5 ✔ The gift of a brand new life: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” - 2 Corinthians 5:17 ✔ The gift of an eternal inheritance: "Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan." - Ephesians 1:11 ✔ The gift of freedom from bondage and sin: “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” - Romans 8:1-2 ✔ The gift of supernatural strength: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” - Philippians 4:13 ✔ The gift of help to overcome testing: "Since He Himself has gone through suffering and testing, He is able to help us when we are being tested." - Hebrews 2:18 ✔ The gift of purpose: “For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” - Jeremiah 29:11 ✔ The gift of direct access to God: “And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” - 1 John 5:14-15 ✔ The gift of hope: “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” - Romans 15:13

As you dig into God's word take note of the giving nature of God. Loving and giving are so closely related that you could easily come to the conclusion that if you don't give then you must not love.

We certainly cannot out give God but it won't hurt us to try and it will help make the world around us a better place.

RELATED ARTICLES

God's Gift Of Salvation Is Free (billygraham.org)
Perfect Gifts (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)

Best Gift Ever

Because of God's best gift ever we should give our best gift.

Genesis 4:1-5  Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, "With the LORD's help, I have produced a man!"  2  Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground.

3  When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the LORD.  4  Abel also brought a gift--the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The LORD accepted Abel and his gift,  5  but He did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.

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Imagine living in paradise and then having it taken from you, then imagine having to explain that to your children, they will probably have a difficult time understanding why you were not content with what you had.

When Adam and Eve told their children about the good old days there wasn't any chance that they could exaggerate or stretch the truth. Their home in the garden with daily visits from God was the best but contentment wasn't their greatest attribute.

It is difficult for us to understand how good it was to live in a world without the terrible effects of sin, Cain would have to struggle with the weeds that would grow in the middle of his crops and Abel would have to protect his livestock from the wild animals.

The boys learned that because of sin God required an offering as a part of their worship. They were required to sacrifice the best gift that they had earned from their labor. One of them brought the perfect gift and the other offered a gift that was less than the best.

Just like their parents, Cain and Abel both knew the right thing to do, but there was still the opportunity to exercise their will and do the wrong thing. The condition of their heart and their attitude toward God was reflected in their gift giving.

If God gives you a chance to fix something wouldn't you just do it?

Genesis 4:6-7  "Why are you so angry?" the LORD asked Cain. "Why do you look so dejected?  You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master." 

God let Cain know that he needed to change his attitude and he gave him the opportunity to do so but Cain ignored God's advice. Cain didn't offer God a satisfactory gift and he didn't appreciate the undeserved grace from God to make things right.

Cain decided that he loved his sin more than God and instead of being grateful for grace he complained about the severity of his punishment. Cain thought that he should be the one that gets to make the rules. (Genesis 4:13)

Back to my question: If God talks to you and gives you a chance to fix something wouldn't you just do it? Don't answer too quick, the Bible is full of examples of God giving and man rejecting, it is the underlying theme of God's word. Over and over again God gives his best and we don't appreciate it.

The good news is that God has told us what is wrong and how to fix it!

Romans 3:21-23 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. 

God didn't remain silent, just as he let Cain know how to make things right, he has let us know as well. God spoke to Cain and he was ignored, he spoke to Israel through the Old Testament prophets and he was ignored, and he still speaks to us today and we ignore him the same as the rest of mankind before us. (1 Samuel 8:7 / Isaiah 66:4 / John 12:48 / 1 Thessalonians 4:8)

The gospel is the answer for everything that is wrong with this world. God cared enough to send his very best but just like Cain we get to decide to accept the gift or reject it. God has made it crystal clear and extremely easy to make things right and enjoy a peaceful relationship with him but we refuse to accept his gift of grace and mercy.

What kind of gift do I give? Too often it isn't my best gift.

Romans 12:1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him.

I need to learn from the best how to be a better gift giver. I am just like Cain, I don't like to admit that I am a terrible gift giver, I tend to give God less than the best gift even though I know how to please him.

Sometimes I give him my time but it is only after everything else is done and I am too tired. Sometimes I give him my spare change instead of giving financially with generosity. Sometimes I use my talents for ministry but often my abilities are used to serve myself.

 I need to follow God's example and give myself completely to him. How can I dare give him anything less? I need to show God how much he means to me by what I give back to him.

Have you accepted what God says is wrong with your relationship with him? Have you done what he requires to repair your relationship?

Best Baby Ever

The Christmas story according to kids.

Luke 2:9-18 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them.

"Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize Him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger."

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others--the armies of heaven--praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased."

15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." 16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.

17 After seeing Him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished,

Don't Toss The Gift

We need to appreciate how valuable the gift is.

Galatians 4:4-7  But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.

6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

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Most people would agree that children and Christmas go together, it is probably the perfect combination, after-all the main person in the Christmas story is a baby. But not just any baby, this is the best baby ever, this baby is the Son of God.

A lot of times when Christmas gets out of control it involves the kids, there are plenty of opportunities for disagreements, from what to get the kids to how much to spend, we do a lot this time of year to provide great presents for our kids.

It is too bad that we don't learn from our past experiences, we see it happen over and over again, we know in the back of our head that they are going to toss the gift aside way too soon, and yet we still put so much energy and emotions into buying their happiness.

Your kids are so much like God's kids. 

Jesus came a long way to give us the most awesome gift that has ever been given and God watches us as we quickly toss the gift to the side and enjoy the box. Instead of being thankful for and treasuring the gift we settle for the worldly idea of Christmas and become fascinated with the wrapping paper and the lights.

Maybe we think that we deserve the gift because we think we aren't that bad or maybe we discount the gift and try to minimize the cost. The Bible makes it clear that I am way too bad to deserve any kindness from God and it also tells us that the price tag for this gift was outrageous.

Nobody should ever spend that much on me but even if it was less expensive I still would not deserve to have the gift. My goodness won't get me very far and neither will yours. There has to be a different way or else nobody will ever get the gift of eternal life with God.

John 1:12  But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

Romans 5:17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ.

The gift has been provided to all of us that are willing to accept it. I have been adopted into the family based on Jesus goodness, because I believe and accept that he lived a sinless life and died as my passover lamb, I have become God's child.

I need to remember that I do not deserve anything good from God yet he spent so much on me to give me the best gift ever. I need to see the value of this gift and treasure it so that I won't toss it aside and settle for lesser joy that can never satisfy. (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9)

The Advocate

Jesus is leaving but he isn't leaving us alone.

John 15:26-27 “But I will send you the Advocate, the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.”

John 16:5-9 “But now I am going away to the one who sent Me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. 6 Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. 7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come.”

“If I do go away, then I will send Him to you. 8 And when He comes, He will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in Me.”

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The Lord’s Supper has just been finished and Jesus knows that His time with His disciples is coming to an end. Jesus was always up front with his disciples, he knows that they will have a difficult time with the events that are going to happen very soon, he is much more concerned for them than they are for Him.

During His ministry Jesus has explained to them many times that they would have a difficult life because of their association with Him. Jesus knew that the hatred that came at Him will be directed at his disciples after He is gone.

The opposition will require some help from a source that the disciples don’t know much about. They knew they had a great friend in Jesus, so great that it is distressing to see him go after only three years, but Jesus tells them that there is a better relationship that will come about after he leaves.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t get mentioned very much, we shy away from Him, maybe it’s because the spirit world seems too scary or magical and there are a lot of wrong ideas in religious circles about Him. The Holy Spirit does not typically draw attention to Himself and put Himself in the spotlight, most of the time His work in your life is quiet and unassuming. Because of this we give the glory He deserves to someone or something else.

The prominence of the Holy Spirit in the human life of Jesus is very noticeable. He was born of the Spirit-"mingled with oil" (Luk 1:35). He was baptized of the Spirit-"oil upon it" (Mat 3:16-17). He was led of the Spirit-"pour oil thereon" (Mar 1:12). He taught, performed miracles, and offered Himself in the power of the Holy Spirit-"with oil" (Joh 3:34; Mat 12:28).

-Thru The Bible Commentary

The Holy Spirit was there with the Father and Son at creation (Genesis 1:2). He was there when Jesus was conceived, and there at His baptism and temptation (Luke 1: 35, 3:22, 4:1–2). The Bible tells us that Jesus performed his miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:14–19).

When Jesus’s closest earthly companions betrayed him, denied him, and scattered, the Spirit walked with him all the way to His death, empowering him to offer himself freely (Hebrews 9:14). And the Spirit was there on Easter Sunday to raise him in power (Romans 1:4).

What as amazing and powerful companion He is, we are privileged to have him, He assisted Jesus in his ministry and we can also enjoy the benefit of his power in our ministry as well.

The Holy Spirit gives us gifts and helps us to use them properly. It is tempting to use our gifts for our own interest or to just say that we are naturally talented in a certain area and ignore the source of that talent. It is an ugly thing to see a gift being used in a self-serving or unloving manner.

The Holy Spirit strengthens us in the face of suffering and persecution, enabling us to confront a hating world and a supernatural enemy with all of his demonic helpers, such a powerful foe would be impossible to defeat without the power that Jesus told his disciples to wait for. (Acts 1:8)

The Holy Spirit guides us towards obedience, it is easy to believe that being more like Christ is a product of our own efforts but really it isn’t us at all, the ability to change comes about by the Spirit’s power within us.

I need to be sure that I am relying on the Holy Spirit in my life everyday. With Him I will be powerful in ministry, I will be more obedient to become like my Savior and I will use my gifts to serve others. I need to be in the word each day and praying for the Holy Spirit’s direction in every detail of my life and then I need to give him the credit for my gifts and abilities.

Giving Your Best Gift

Since God gave his best gift to us we should give the best gift that we have to offer.

Genesis 4:1-5  Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, "With the LORD's help, I have produced a man!"  2  Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground.

3  When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the LORD.  4  Abel also brought a gift--the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The LORD accepted Abel and his gift,  5  but He did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.

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The opportunity to live in paradise is gone and it won't come back for a very long time. Imagine having to explain that to your children. Adam and Eve had to tell their boys how good they had it and awesome it was to have daily visits from God.

Since they weren't living in paradise the boys had to work, they would grow weary and tired, Cain had to fight the weeds in order to protect his crops and Abel had to protect his livestock from the wild animals.

The boys learned what sin is and they learned that because of sin God required an offering as a part of their worship. This offering must be the best gift that they had but when it was time to worship God one of them brought a perfect gift and the other offered a gift that was less than the best.

They both knew the right thing to do but the condition of their heart and their attitude toward God was reflected in their gift giving.

Genesis 4:6-7  "Why are you so angry?" the LORD asked Cain. "Why do you look so dejected?  You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master." 

God let Cain know that he needed to change his attitude and he gave him the opportunity to do so but Cain ignored God advice. Imagine bringing a gift to God and he tells you that you didn't do it right, maybe it is the right gift but your heart is not right, maybe the gift is wrong but your heart is right, if you get a chance to fix what is wrong then just do it.

Cain didn't offer God a satisfactory gift and he didn't appreciate the undeserved gift that God gave to him. God could have killed Cain but instead of enjoying forgiveness, mercy and grace, Cain decided that he loved his sin more than God. Cain should have learned from his parents that the consequences of disobedience were severe and that God could have been a lot more harsh. (Genesis 4:13)

The Bible is full of examples of God giving and man rejecting, over and over again God gives his best and we don't appreciate it. Adam and Eve didn't appreciate it and now Cain has followed in their footsteps and the process just keeps on going through all of history.

Romans 12:1-2  And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 

Have you ever received a gift so great that you just had to give your best in return? If you are a child of God you have! God cared enough to send his very best so we should feel compelled to follow his example. I should be willing to follow God's example in giving up my rights and privileges in order to give like God. (Philippians 2:5-11)

Video: Giving God Our Best - Francis Chan
What kind of gift do I give? Too often it isn't my best gift.

Sometimes I give him my time after everything else and I am too tired. Sometimes I give him my spare change instead of giving generously and sacrificially. Sometimes I want to impose my own rules about worship or I want to decide what my worship looks like. (Isaiah 58, Amos 5, Malachi 1)

How deliberate are you in showing how much God means to you by what you give back to him?

Anti Santy Ranty

Is your view of God similar to your view of Santa?

They say there’s a big man who lives far away,

Supposedly jolly but it’s hard to say.

I’ve never seen him, and neither have you.

But the children believe, and I spose that’ll do.

He’s known as a loner, with many a quirk

No time for a chat, he’s embroiled in his work

He keeps to himself, for most of the year,

I reckon we’re grateful he doesn’t appear.

We send him requests, for particular needs,

But we never hear back, who knows if he heeds?

We try to be good, give his arm a twist,

To merit our place on his blessed little list.

And maybe one day if we do what we should,

He’ll give us our things, so long as we’re good.

I’ve had it to here, I’m calling his bluff:

He’s a weird moralistic dispenser of stuff!

Granted, this rant is a strange one to pick

But listen I’m not really after St Nick

As strange as he is, and Santa is odd,

In fact I’m attacking most folks’ view of God.

It’s God who we see as a distant Big Guy –

An ancient, invisible, St Nick in the Sky.

“He’s sees you asleep, He knows when you wake

He’s watching and waiting to spot your mistake.”

And just like with Santa, requests we hand in,

We want all his things but we don’t want him.

That’s our connection with old Father Christmas.

We might dress it up, it’s essentially business.

Throughout the year, good behavior's our onus

When Christmas rolls round we’re expecting our bonus.

“Just leave us the gifts Nick, we’ve been good enough!

And then please push on, now we’ve got all your stuff!”

I mean Santa is interesting, curious, quirky

But no-one wants him to share their Turkey!

I’m sure his “ho, ho, hos” are sublime,

But I fear what he’ll say once he’s drunk our mulled wine.

That’s old St Nick, but the picture rings true,

It’s how we imagine what God is like too.

But Christmas resounds with a stunning “Not so!”

The One from on high was born down below.

To a world in need He did not send another.

God the Son became God our Brother.

He drew alongside, forever to dwell,

Our God in the flesh, Emmanuel.

This God in the Manger uproots all our notions:

A heavenly stooping, divine demotion.

Born in a stable, wriggling on straw,

Fully committed to life in the raw.

Santa gives things and then goes away.

Jesus shows up, to befriend and to stay.

Santa rewards those with good behavior.

Jesus comes near to the broken as Savior.

If you don’t like God, I think I know why…

You probably think He’s St Nick in the Sky.

You’re right to reject that far-away stranger!

This Christmas look down to the God in the manger.

Taken from "Christ The Truth" blog.

If you think about it you will have to admit that a lot of people view God the same as they view Santa Claus. Just about every time we talk to him it is to ask him for something and we feel like we can't ask for anything unless we are on his good list.

Christmas shows us a very different God. Jesus is the God who draws very near to us and he draws near to us regardless of what we deserve.

The "big man" that lives far away wants to be a lot more to us than a dispenser of stuff. The gifts that Jesus brings cannot be touched, he came to give us forgiveness, he gives us incredible love and the opportunity to spend eternity with him. What better gifts could you ask for?

God Gives Great Gifts

The surest way to receive nothing from God is to be satisfied with less.

Luke 1:46-55 Mary responded, "Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. 47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! 48 For He took notice of His lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed.

49  For the Mighty One is holy, and He has done great things for me.  50  He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear Him.  51  His mighty arm has done tremendous things!

He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.  52  He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble.  53  He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands.

54  He has helped His servant Israel and remembered to be merciful.  55  For He made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever."

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Do you want God’s blessing in your life? Can anyone honestly say, “Nah! I’m not interested in that!” Yet we don't always see God's plans for our life as a blessing.

We all need and want God’s blessings. We all want to receive good things from God. He made us and therefore He alone knows what we need most. As a loving Father, He is ready to give His children the best gifts. But sometimes his plans are not our plans and he may be leading us to a huge blessing as we are reluctantly going along with what he is doing.

God doesn't hand out gifts to everyone indiscriminately. If your children are on the naughty list they don't get as much as they might if they were on the good list. God has criteria for gift giving and even though you cannot manipulate God you should have certain characteristics that will make your life "blessable."

God satisfies the spiritually hungry with good things.

In Luke verse fifty-three Mary tells us that God "has filled the hungry with good things.”Obviously God isn't preparing a buffet for us to quench our physical hunger. God is interested in satisfying the appetite of the spiritually hungry.

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

With the abundance of food that most of us have we don't fully get the picture of how spiritually hungry God wants us to be. There are a couple of things that are true of hungry people, they are focused on how to satisfy their hunger and their satisfaction doesn't last for very long before they want more. We pay a lot of attention to satisfying physical hunger and God wants us to be just like that about spiritual matters.

How often do you get spiritually hungry and long to fulfill that desire?

Satisfaction comes from God alone, he made us, he understands us, he knows what we really need and what we yearn for. He knows my deepest need and he wants to meet it completely. We will never have that hunger fully met before we step into God's presence in Heaven. We will hunger and thirst to know him more than we ever will in this body.

God sends the self-satisfied away empty.

The surest way to receive nothing from God is to be satisfied with where you're at. If you are looking at your own ability to take care of yourself or if you are looking anywhere else for satisfaction then God will send you away. Do you look at yourself and feel that you are okay without God? Are you satisfied with what you know about him and what he wants to do in your life or do you want more?

The Jews probably would have guessed that the Messiah would come through the chief priest or one of the many rabbis but God chose a poor carpenter and his wife. a couple that didn't have any significance. Those in Jerusalem who thought that they were spiritually “rich” were overlooked.

Mary says that God “sent away the rich empty-handed.” In this world, the rich are the full and the hungry are the empty. But in God’s order, the rich are the empty and the hungry are the full.

Revelation 3:17 You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

It reminds me of the church of Laodicea. This church was in a prosperous city, the saints there had the impression that their material wealth was a sign that God was okay with them. They were saved and satisfied, they didn't have any desire for spiritual growth, they didn't have any idols and there wasn't any immorality mentioned but they still received a harsh message from God.

There isn't any room for pride when you are approaching God. I must see myself in the same condition as God sees me, he knows how wretched and despicable that I am without Jesus blood, I need to appreciate what he has done for me that I could never deserve and I could never do on my own.

The cares of this world, riches, pleasure and self fulfillment are sure ways to miss the greater gifts that God wants to give us. (Luke 8:14) The worst thing that could happen to anyone is to be full of the passing pleasures of this world, but to be empty-handed when you stand before God at the judgment. He promises that those who are focused on their spiritual hunger are the ones that will truly be satisfied.

Revelation 3:20 "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

This same church received an offer from God. He is willing to be their friend, he wants to draw near, he wants to develop a closer relationship with them. We must come to God on his terms, see ourselves the way that he sees us and then we will be able to receive great gifts from him.

Dear God, I want to seek for satisfaction in you alone. Thank you for the great gifts that you give, especially the gift of your son, help me to never forget my miserable condition without the gift of salvation.

I Am A Minister

There is work that each of us needs to do.

1 Peter 4:10-11  God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you.

Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.

Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

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Nine times out of ten God chooses to use his children to accomplish his will. He could just speak and it would be done but instead he wants us to use the gifts that he has given to us so that we can contribute to the welfare of others.

That guy down at the church that only works two days a week, as some may think, he is a minister but guess what so are you. God wants us all to minister, whether by a good deed, by wise counsel, by advice, by giving to the poor, or by preaching. We are all ministers when we use our spiritual gifts to benefit others.

Sometimes we don't want to minister and we can resent that God gave us a gift to use, it makes us go out of our way or it makes us adjust our focus on somebody else, but we are told to use our gift "with all the strength and energy that God supplies." I need to put my gifts into practice with enthusiasm.

Lord help your people to see that they are your hands and feet, help us to see that we are to use our abilities to help those in need.