It is finished...gifts, laughter, family, friends, food, cookies, games and stories...
the celebration of Christmas and the New Year of 2015 is now a sweet memory and for some of us it will linger in the form of debt. I may or may not be one of those people. Ugh!
It is said that it is better to give than receive and every year we join the throng of consumers and charge the best gifts ever..so we think. I am among the consumers that buy into the madness of getting the perfect gift. I myself am "gifts" in love language lingo, so getting the perfect one for that list of friends and family is for me, one challenge I love to conquer and well..it is better to give, right? "Tis the season" and "giving is getting" and all that stuff, but hold it...we all know that lesson the Grinch learned the hard way, "What if Christmas He thought, doesn't come from a store what if perhaps Christmas means a little bit more."
Fade Grinch scene and bring up the lights on the home of baby Jesus at the time the Wise Men arrive.
So we see the Wise Men bringing their gifts and laying them at the feet of Jesus...what a wonderful picture; gifts given to a King, a king who needs nothing and yet here they were giving gifts in honor of Him. Those gifts compared to the gift of Him was down right embarrassing! Although, it was not the gift but the attitude of heart, the bending of knee, the sacrifice of the gifts.
Christmas begin because of one great gift...the gift that can not be out done and will never get old or out of style. To celebrate that gift we like to give gifts with a perfect presentation of colorful paper and pretty bows that make our hearts fill with expectation. What if the gifts we gave were attached with an attitude of true benevolence. What if we gave from a place of true sacrifice like Jesus. What if we decided that presents without the right attitude were not truly giving at all.
Last year my husband's New Years word from God was "giving" and so it became my word too...because his giving is in essence my giving...and so I decided to embrace it without a fight.
Giving is not always monetary, of course, and sometimes giving something of myself in service seems like more of a sacrifice...more risky. I have had to give my time and love in ways that others were surprised I would do. God has asked me to give in ways that others could not or would not...but I can't say I didn't hesitate or wish that God would ask someone else. My heart aches thinking of all the missed opportunities we have lost because we were afraid or selfish...the gift we want to give is one we choose, not that one that bows low...not the one that makes us feel too much or puts ourself in a vulnerable place. If I put money in the bucket and buy those shoes that give shoes to the needy, that's good enough.
I am glad God didn't say, "that's good enough." when He came to earth...He finished what He was brought here to accomplish.
So as we consider resolutions for the New Year and what we plan to accomplish to better ourselves and make life more comfortable, efficient and productive, I challenge you to take a different kind of inventory, one that focuses on God's gifts...what He presents for us to accomplish with the gifts that we have been given. The world is aching and groaning for Him and we all see the results of a spiritually poor and lost world, instead of looking away from things that overwhelm us let's give in ways around us that may make us uncomfortable and maybe even weep. "...Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!" Luke 12:48 I have been given so much... I live a blessed life. I want for nothing in any way. This life of mine was not a freak mishap or an accidental happening..it was intentionally and responsibly hewn from a host of people before me who were given great gifts and passed on these gifts to people who gave to other people until those people were my people who gave to me.
Look at what God has put in your hand today and give your all. Be the best you can be not with prideful arrogance but be great because you can be...in Jesus Christ we are the gift that the world needs, that our family needs, let's start living that way.
the celebration of Christmas and the New Year of 2015 is now a sweet memory and for some of us it will linger in the form of debt. I may or may not be one of those people. Ugh!
It is said that it is better to give than receive and every year we join the throng of consumers and charge the best gifts ever..so we think. I am among the consumers that buy into the madness of getting the perfect gift. I myself am "gifts" in love language lingo, so getting the perfect one for that list of friends and family is for me, one challenge I love to conquer and well..it is better to give, right? "Tis the season" and "giving is getting" and all that stuff, but hold it...we all know that lesson the Grinch learned the hard way, "What if Christmas He thought, doesn't come from a store what if perhaps Christmas means a little bit more."
Fade Grinch scene and bring up the lights on the home of baby Jesus at the time the Wise Men arrive.
So we see the Wise Men bringing their gifts and laying them at the feet of Jesus...what a wonderful picture; gifts given to a King, a king who needs nothing and yet here they were giving gifts in honor of Him. Those gifts compared to the gift of Him was down right embarrassing! Although, it was not the gift but the attitude of heart, the bending of knee, the sacrifice of the gifts.
Christmas begin because of one great gift...the gift that can not be out done and will never get old or out of style. To celebrate that gift we like to give gifts with a perfect presentation of colorful paper and pretty bows that make our hearts fill with expectation. What if the gifts we gave were attached with an attitude of true benevolence. What if we gave from a place of true sacrifice like Jesus. What if we decided that presents without the right attitude were not truly giving at all.
Last year my husband's New Years word from God was "giving" and so it became my word too...because his giving is in essence my giving...and so I decided to embrace it without a fight.
Giving is not always monetary, of course, and sometimes giving something of myself in service seems like more of a sacrifice...more risky. I have had to give my time and love in ways that others were surprised I would do. God has asked me to give in ways that others could not or would not...but I can't say I didn't hesitate or wish that God would ask someone else. My heart aches thinking of all the missed opportunities we have lost because we were afraid or selfish...the gift we want to give is one we choose, not that one that bows low...not the one that makes us feel too much or puts ourself in a vulnerable place. If I put money in the bucket and buy those shoes that give shoes to the needy, that's good enough.
I am glad God didn't say, "that's good enough." when He came to earth...He finished what He was brought here to accomplish.
Not all my gifts were received through the obedience of others but some are God given gifts that He built right in me. I may want to ignore them because I fear being big...being noticed....or I let others steal my gifts by there own insecure and self seeking attitudes towards them.
This year choose to shine despite those who may want to diminish your worth or your gift...to make you small so they feel big. Shine in ways that you yourself never thought you could but know you should because God is calling you to something more. Shine when you are tired and lonely because you know, "The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped." Proverbs 11:24-25 Shine because to not do so is wrong because He created us with these gifts to be used to fulfill His purpose in us and for His glory.
This year choose to shine despite those who may want to diminish your worth or your gift...to make you small so they feel big. Shine in ways that you yourself never thought you could but know you should because God is calling you to something more. Shine when you are tired and lonely because you know, "The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped." Proverbs 11:24-25 Shine because to not do so is wrong because He created us with these gifts to be used to fulfill His purpose in us and for His glory.
Look at what God has put in your hand today and give your all. Be the best you can be not with prideful arrogance but be great because you can be...in Jesus Christ we are the gift that the world needs, that our family needs, let's start living that way.
"As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life." I Timothy 6:17
The truth is we are indebted to Jesus...I mean the kind of debt that is impossible to repay, yet we live debt-free...and so it is never a sacrifice but an offering, just like the Wise Men gave. Let's bow low and take our place at the feet of the King and lay down our gifts at the feet of the Creator and Author of all of them...the ultimate Gift Giver. Don't stop at "good enough" but finish strong. Make this the best year ever by giving your all. .Ready, set, go...and may the force (Jesus) be with you!
The truth is we are indebted to Jesus...I mean the kind of debt that is impossible to repay, yet we live debt-free...and so it is never a sacrifice but an offering, just like the Wise Men gave. Let's bow low and take our place at the feet of the King and lay down our gifts at the feet of the Creator and Author of all of them...the ultimate Gift Giver. Don't stop at "good enough" but finish strong. Make this the best year ever by giving your all. .Ready, set, go...and may the force (Jesus) be with you!
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."
Jim Elliot
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