God's Gifts

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

Giving Thanks

We humans get so caught up in the busy schedule of our life that we forget to say, “Thank you.” We take for granted the service that we receive from waitresses, store clerks, stewardesses, janitors, bus and taxi drivers, teachers, pastors and other public servants. We never even think about thanking them. Worse yet, we forget to thank God who generously gives us all things to enjoy (2 Corinthians 9:8,11).

The Israelites had a lifestyle of giving thanks to the Lord (Nehemiah 12: 46). They set up altars to remember the gracious provision God gave to them (Deuteronomy 27:5-6). They developed a habit in themselves and their children to give God praise, and to pass down the stories about the goodness of the Lord to all generations (Joel 1:3). We too should develop the habit of coming into God’s presence with thanksgiving. He is great, and worthy above all other rulers (Psalm 95: 2-3). We have so much to thank God for in our lives.

We can thank Him for our brothers and sisters in His Body (1Corinthians 1:4-5; Ephesians 1:15-16; Philippians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:3, 2:13). We can express abounding thanksgiving for God’s goodness, mercy and grace in our life (1 Chronicles 16:34; Psalm 106:1). Since He enriches us with all good things, we praise Him even when we find our self in ill health (2 Corinthians 4:15-16). We thank Him for His generous provision for us. Our life is full of things to thank Him for (2 Corinthians 9:11-12; 1 Timothy 4:4-5; Jeremiah 33:11). A body that works well, a family that loves us, a church in which to safely worship, a job to earn money to pay our bills and so many other things we take for granted are all gifts from God.

We can also thank the Lord Most High through songs of praise for giving us Christ’s righteousness in exchange for our sin (Psalm 7:17; 2 Corinthians 5:21). We thank Him in prayer for being our strength and shield. Our heart trusts in Him because He helps us; therefore, we express our heart full of joy over our safety and provision at His hand. Even before we call upon His name in prayer, we sing songs of praise to Him (Psalm 28:7)  and we exalt Him (Isaiah 12:4).

However, we do not wait for God to do something for us before we thank Him. We just thank Him for who He is. Every morning, we enter His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. We are thankful to Him and bless His holy name (Psalm 100:4).  We bless the Lord at all times; and His praise shall continually be in our mouth (Psalm 34:1). Everything we do and say should be in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as we give thanks to our Father God for Him (Colossians 3:17; Hebrews 13:15), which is God’s will for us (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Prayer:

Father God, rather than allowing filthy talk or coarse jokes to come from our lips, we will express thanks to You instead (Ephesians 5:4). You give us Your loving kindness that is worthy of praise (Isaiah 63:7). You chose us and ordained us to bear fruit in the world as we serve You (John 15:16). As we minister for You, we can ask You for anything we need to minister in Your name and You will supply it for us (John 16:23-26). Remind us to keep thanksgiving as the fruit of our lips. You are worthy of praise because of who You are, even more than because of what You do for us.

Thought for the Day:

We make our requests known to God through grateful prayer, and we have no need to be anxious about anything. – Philippians 4:6

Liberalism

Read: 1 Timothy 6:17-18



“The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” - Proverbs 11:25




I am stepping out in faith in writing this message during this highly charged political atmosphere in our country. I hope you will read my entire post, because this is not a political treatise, but a Biblical revelation that many people are not aware of.

Today we think of a liberal as one that takes a hard left stand on political and social issues. Liberals tend to be atheists, agnostics, socialists, communists, against war and big spenders of our tax money; although some do not hold to any of these philosophies at all, but still embrace many democrat ideals. Some liberals dislike conservatives for various stances we uphold, especially those on the hard right. Reciprocally, most conservatives disdain a liberal’s inclination to vote for idealistic and immoral issues.

In the Bible, the word liberal has a much different meaning than it does in today’s society. It has a more positive connotation. It is a noble and generous title. The word relates to someone who freely gives of everything he/she possesses. The liberal soul lives in plenty because of their liberality (Proverbs 11:25).  Devout, God-fearing people are usually liberal in giving and in prayer (Acts 10:2).

Paul lists liberality with other ministries such as encouragement, leadership and care giving. He exhorts the Corinthians to excel in faith, to be ready to witness, and to exhibit wisdom, zeal, love and liberal giving (2 Corinthians 8:7). Paul also reminds the Hebrews to do good works, to share and to be liberal and kind, because God is pleased with such sacrifices (Hebrews 13:16).

Sometimes, it definitely is a sacrifice to give. We have to do without something that we really, really want in order to give to others. God does not intend for us to help those who will not help themselves (2 Thessalonians 3:10). However, He is also not pleased with vile or selfish people who are not liberal and do not give bountifully (Isaiah 32:5). God wants us to do good to all men, especially to those in the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).

Paul charges believers to liberally share the gospel of Christ (2 Corinthians 9:13) as well as to liberally distribute our material goods (1 Timothy 6:17-18). Of course, when a person gains the reputation as a liberal giver, many try to gain their favor and befriend them for the gifts they may liberally receive (Proverbs 19:6). We must follow the leading of the Holy Spirit as we give, however. We do not want to facilitate a person’s bad spending habits, contribute to their use of the money for addictions or to enable lazy people not to work.

Liberal thinking has several good points in their philosophy, if we compare them to scripture. The Bible speaks in favor of fair treatment for people and animals, independence for the oppressed, freedom for the captives, care for the poor and needy, a healing balm for the brokenhearted, protection for the earth’s resources, and a hearty welcome for foreigners and strangers. The Bible sees the worth of all people of every tradition, gender, and class rank. No one is belittled or subservient and everyone is raised to walk in newness of life.

(Isaiah 10:1-2, Isaiah 58; Isaiah 61, Luke 4:17-21, Revelation 11:18, Jeremiah 51:25, Proverbs 12:10, Ecclesiastes 3:18-21, Isaiah 56:3-8, Leviticus 19:33-34, Revelation 7:9, Galatians 3:26-27; Romans 6:4) 

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, whenever and wherever we see a need, teach us to give liberally. Convict us to tithe; so that You can bless us, and we can share even more with those who are having a hard time. Thank you for the Christians that go all over the world to help better the life of those less fortunate both spiritually and physically. Give them resources and help them to win many with the Gospel of Christ.

Thought for the Day:

Whether your brand of politics leans toward liberals or conservatives, God calls us all to be liberal in our care and giving toward others.