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Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
None of us like to be reminded we have a debt to pay, especially when that debt is our lives!
But Christ made sure He would be able to leave the ultimate gift to us all at a time when we feel we have nothing left or have lost everything. He life for our life!
We now have that gift of eternal life and all we have to do is to open it up to receive it!
Open your heart and let Christ in!
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Acts 10:4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.
I can imagine the surprise Cornelius must have got when he saw the vision of the angel of God; when we do see something out of the ordinary, it normally sticks with us!
Cornelius was a man who made sure he and his family were doing things with and for God by continually looking out for the poor and needy; and God was watching!
God does see everything we do, even the things we do in secret for Him. We don’t have to stand up and shout about how good we do things because God will reward us when the time is right!
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Acts 1:4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
The gift God has promised us is not a gift which is all wrapped up in nice colourful paper and has a bow on it; but it is one which is worth waiting for and will last forever!
How often are you disappointed with a gift someone has given you or said they would give you? How often did you expect far more than you got?
Jesus did sort of explain it and we may well have been given a rough idea of what it is like to have Christ in our lives; but when we do experience what it is like, the gift is far more than we expect!
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John 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
This Samaritan woman was expecting nothing less than people reviling and mocking her – that is why she approached the well in the heat of the day when nobody else would be around!
What she got was the love of Jesus opening up to accept her back in to His fold; He was willing to forgive and forget even when the rest of the world seemed against her.
Don’t go looking for gifts from the world because they are all fickle and will not last; look for the gift from God and expect to have it for eternity!
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Luke 21:2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.
When you read this story about the widow who put in a tiny offering in comparison to the offerings of rich people, which side of the story do you see?
Do you seen the worldly side which compares wealth and status with offerings, or do you see what Jesus was looking at?
Jesus was looking at the hearts of the people who came to place their gifts in the temple treasury; He saw the real size of the gifts people were offering and not the worldly view.
Are you willing to listen to people and find out their true worth?
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Matthew 7:9 Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
When others ask us for special gifts, especially our children, we do tend to go out of our way to try and give them what they want. Why? Because we love them!
If we are willing to go that extra mile to get a gift, even if it means a bit of hardship for us for a few days or even months, we do so.
God knew how hard it was going to be to give us the gift of eternal life. He was willing to go the extra mile and give us everything and it cost the life of His Son.
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Matthew 5:24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
God is not looking for the most expensive gift you can possible afford to give Him. He is not looking for something which will leave you with nothing.
He wants something you give from the heart.
Which means we need to look at the other things and people in our lives and see if we are short changing them just to give to God. When we do that we are working against Him because we all are His!
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Matthew 2:11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The Magi offered, what we think of now, as strange gifts; but at the time each of them had special meaning and that is what counts!
When you go around looking for gifts to give someone at Christmas, do you find the cheapest gift in the shop that is boxed up and ready to go, or do you search until you find something they would want?
The more time and effort we put into finding the right gift for the right person at the right time, the more meaning and love has gone into it.
These Magi came from far afield with what they had considered to be the best gifts to offer – what are you laying down for Jesus?
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Ezekiel 20:31 When you offer your gifts—the sacrifice of your children in the fire—you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, you Israelites? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not let you inquire of me.
What sort of gifts are you thinking about giving back to God? What are you willing to give up for God?
Some of the people had totally lost their way and were willing to sacrifice their children on fires for their gods. But this is certainly not what God wants.
God looks out for every life on earth and wants people to live long and prosperous lives, getting to know Him better and loving our days with Him!
Let God’s ways be your ways!
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Ezekiel 20:6 On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.
God’s promise to the Israelites was a firm promise which He followed through with; something we can look back on and remember as an example of what God can do and how His promised stand!
And yet, when the people had been there for a while, they forgot about the gift, the promise and their God.
We need to remember the gifts God has given us – look back and see all He has given each of us, and remember where those promises originated; showing the longevity of His promises to us!
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Ecclesiastes 3:19 Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.
When we focus on the world and what the world has to offer, we yearn for more of what the world can give, we go out of our ways to get more out of the world; not always in the correct manner!
But when we rest in Christ and accept the gifts He gives us, we find peace and gratitude for each thing He does give to us. The yearning for more does not take over us!
God w ants us to be pleased with all He gives us and to accept it. To some He will give many gifts and to some, few. But as long as we accept what he does give us we will not always hanker for more!
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Ecclesiastes 3:13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.
God is ever watchful, keeping an eye on each of us and what we are up to. If we are willing and able to work and to do it with God in mind, He is more the willing and able to see we get rewarded for our work.
When we turn around and do work just for the monetary gain, that is all we are going to gain from it – monetary rewards.
God’s gifts to us for our work and toil are more than just monetary gain; we gain peace, happiness and thankfulness.
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Proverbs 21:14 A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.
And then there are times when you have to give a bribe or a payment to someone else to keep the peace! Is it right?
Well, the answer has to be made up by those around you – how is it going to affect people if peace does not reign? What will happen when all things go wrong just because of the anger of one person involved?
Sometimes we do have to keep the peace by spending what we have at the time to keep the peace going at the right moment and not waiting to see what happens… Just be aware of the other side of the coin!
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Proverbs 18:16 A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.
Sometimes, when you want something to get done, offering a gift in return for the accomplishment is what works best.
Allowing people to see you are happy to give so that things may be done will help them to see the better side of what should be done.
This is not to say we should hand out bribes to get our own ways, but to offer rewards or help for getting others to get done what is needed in the community does work wonders!
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Deuteronomy 16:17 Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.
Right from the beginning, man has been encouraged to bring gifts back to God; not as a demonstration of anything other than what He has blessed you with!
Before you give something back to God, sit down and go through some of the things He has given you, has blessed you with and has done for you.
After you have done that, think about what you could give back to Him in order to thank Him for all of those blessings and gifts!
Then do it!
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Titus 3:15 Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.
One of the easiest gifts to give is the gift of a greeting – a simple greeting as you walk down the street may be all a person needs to brighten up their day.
Someone who feels like they have been cut off from others would welcome a greeting even if it is over the phone or through the post.
A gift does not have to be wrapped up in a box and given hand to hand – it can be the love and respect we show each other.
Think about someone else today and what you can do for them!
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Ephesians 2:7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
When we love someone we allow them to do things which we may not agree with or which we may not do – I may not want to jump out of an aeroplane with a parachute, but if the people I love want to do so, then they are welcome to!
God showed this all to us first of all. He gave these gifts to us and continues to give us the gifts of grace and mercy every day.
Are you willing to give the gift of grace and mercy to someone else in your life – just to make a difference?
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1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.
Is it difficult to love someone who you cannot see? What about when the person you love goes off to school or work and you don’t see them for a while – does your love disappear?
God has made it easy for us to love Him because He started the ball rolling by giving us everything we need to begin with as an outpouring of His love toward us.
Returning that love should be nice and easy – but we seem to take the difficult route and make it hard work! Go back to simply loving God!
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Numbers 7:3 They brought as their gifts before the Lord six covered carts and twelve oxen—an ox from each leader and a cart from every two. These they presented before the tabernacle.
When Moses was collecting stuff to be used in making the tabernacle, there were rather large things used to collect the items – carts!
We should never be shy or worried about giving to God because we know how much He is willing and able to give to us; but it’s not about how much you can give so you can get back!
God wants people to show Him love and respect, one part of that is through giving back to Him!
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Genesis 32:18 then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’
When Jacob was preparing to meet Esau, he was worried Esau may be angry with him, so he sent a bunch of gifts ahead of him to try and pacify Esau.
What sort of occasions do you wait for before you give a gift to someone else? Do you wait until you are so worried you go out and spend all your money, or do you give gifts early?
Sometimes it is the smallest of gifts given early on which make the biggest impressions – don’t wait until you think you have no hope left before seeking gifts!