Some people boast about
their accomplishments and talents; however, they end up like a cloud without
any rain, blown around by the wind (Proverbs 25:14; Jude 1:12). They brag, yet have little evidence to back up their
claims. In reality, every good and perfect gift comes to us only from the
Father of lights, not from any inherent goodness of our own (Ephesians
2: 8-10). God does not show partiality
or prejudice in distributing His gifts (James 1:17). He generously gives them to all of us (1 Timothy
6:17).
Because of Adam’s offense,
death reigned in us from birth. However, we can receive God’s great gift of
righteousness and abundance from Jesus Christ, who justifies all men. He also
gives us grace to succeed in life (Romans
5:15-18; 6:23; Ephesians 4:7). Sin is no
longer our master, because Jesus set us free from the law of sin and death (Romans
6:14). In addition, Jesus gives us
living water, so our soul will never thirst again. His love satisfies our
longing and fills our hungry soul (John 4:10; Psalm 107:9).
When we repent and are
baptized in Jesus’ name for the remission of our sins, God also gives us the
gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).
Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God (Romans
8:14). The Spirit exchanges the carnal
character in our soul with His fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness,
goodness, meekness, self-control and faith (Galatians 5:22-23). We eventually grow to the place where we no longer
gratify the desires of our flesh, because we live by the Spirit of God (Galatians
5:16, 5:24; Romans 13:14; Ephesians 2:3).
Now that we live by the
Spirit, we keep in step with the Spirit moment by moment throughout our day (Galatians
5:25). Anyone who does not have the Spirit of God in him/her
will not accept the wisdom that comes from the Spirit. In fact, God’s wisdom
sounds like foolishness to unbelievers; they cannot understand God’s
principles, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14). While we live and work in this world, God calls us
to conduct
ourselves, in all of our relationships, in the holiness and
sincerity that are from Him. We do not act according to worldly wisdom but
according to Godly wisdom by the grace of God (2 Corinthians 1:12).
All Believes receive gifts to
minister to one another, as good stewards of the grace of God (1 Peter
4:10; 1 Corinthians 7:7). Our gift makes
room for us to use it, and may even bring us before great men (Proverbs
18:16). It is more valuable to us than
precious stones because when we use our gift, we and those we minister to will
prosper (Proverbs 17:8).
Before we bring our offerings to God, however, He demands that we be reconciled
with our brothers and sisters first, because any discord between two people
blocks the communication between us and God (Matthew 5:23-24). God has many gifts for us, the best of which is to allow us to enjoy the
fruit of our labors (Ecclesiastes 3:13).
Prayer:
If we, though we are evil,
know how to give good gifts to our children, You, Father God, know much more
how to give good gifts to those of us who ask You for them (Matthew
7:11). We thank You for our daily
provision of food and shelter. We thank You for Your spiritual gifts that make
us useful to Your Body. We thank You most of all for Your spiritual wisdom that
is pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit,
impartial and sincere (James 3:17).
Thought for the Day:
Fan
into flame the gift of God, which is in you. - 2 Timothy 1:6