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2020: The Pefect Gift

I am looking for that perfect gift, aren’t you? Stressful isn’t it? My gift giving strategy is to search, spend, and sew...and usually get stressed out at some point.  Check out the conversation below on finding the perfect gift…

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“Hello,
Yes…I found a really great gift for my sister. I know she will really love it! It cost a little more, well a lot more then we planned, but it is such a great gift and I love buying her nice things…. What?

No, I didn’t get him anything. Do we have to?  Yeah, I know he is your bother, but he doesn’t really deserve a gift…I know, I know he’s family, your family…Ok, how about you get one of those big tins of popcorn…that wouldn’t cost too much.

Alright, I will talk to you later… Oh wait, I forgot… your grandmother.We should get her a really nice gift this year. We haven’t stop by to see her much this year…an extra special gift will show how much we love her…Look…I have to go…Love you!” 

What was her gift giving strategy?                                                                                              Sister—perfect gift, $$$, something she will really love
His brother—perfect gift, $, quick, easy
His grandmother—perfect gift, $$$, something so she will know she is loved (buying love?)

What is God gift giving strategy?                                                                                                   Does He, like the woman above, give generously to those He really likes and grudgingly or not at all to those who He thinks doesn’t deserve it?

God, the true Father of Christmas, has a very different gift giving strategy. In fact, He has already given the perfect gift…

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

1:  HE GAVE  OUT OF LOVE

God so loved the world…

 God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgression, made us alive together with Christ. Ephesians 2: 4

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 1 John 4: 9

Think of it this way…we are all on His gift list…and He doesn’t check to see if we are naughty or nice…because He knows we cannot be nice enough to deserve a gift from Him, yet He offers it to us anyway.

2: HE GAVE A GIFT THAT HE VALUED

…that He gave His only begotten Son…

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Father God gave His beloved Son (Matthew 3:17). The Son that He gave power over all things (John 3:36) and showed all that He is doing (John 5:20). His only Son, he sent to earth and gave for us that He might be the propitiation for our sins.

3:  HE GAVE A GIFT THAT HAS LASTING VALUE

 …that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

We are by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3), with no hope. Yet God has not destined us for wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord, His Son, Jesus Christ (1Thessalonians 5:9).

SO WHAT?  WILL YOU RECEIVE HIS GIFT?

Most memorable gift I have received was NOT on my wish list. It was Christmas at my grandparents’ house, I was probably 10 or 12 at the time.  I eagerly opened the small package I had received, only to find two pairs of underwear. I was so embarrassed and probably didn’t express my thanks very well (understatement!). As I think back, they were pretty and practical. Grandma probably thought she had found the “perfect gift”.

What would be the perfect gift from God? New house…car…job, more money??                 God has offered you the perfect gift. It may not be what you thought you wanted, but it is just what you need. Will you receive it today?

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”            Ephesians 2:8

Confidence to Endure

Hebrews – It is an unusual letter.

First, we are not told who is the author. We learn that he is in Italy and hopes to see the recipients since Timothy has been released. Also, we are not told who the original recipients are or where they live. Although, the author makes it clear he cared deeply for them (6:9) and is concerned about their staying strong in their faith (10:39).

Start Strong…Stay Strong

Towards the end of the letter, the author points out how difficult their life was when they first came to faith in Jesus. The sufferings they experienced…public ridicule and seizure of their property and how they cared for others who were imprisoned for their faith (10:32-34). Even at the time the author was writing, he commends them for their work and the love they show to God in ministering to the saints (6:10). Yet in all this, he is concerned that they would not stay strong in their faith…he is concerned for their souls…

Pay Much Closer Attention

The author wanted them to mature in their faith (5:11-14) so that they would have the strength to endure to the end (10:36). Throughout the letter he repeatedly warns the recipients of the dangers of falling away from God (6:4-8), of sinning willfully (10:26-31), or shrinking back in their faith (10:37-39). If they were going to have confidence to endure, they needed to pay much closer attention to what they had been taught about Jesus and the power of the new covenant.

Confidence to Endure

This makes me reevaluate my life…how do I handle it when I am mistreated for my faith…am I willing to stand with others who are unfairly treated for their faith? Do I have the spiritual maturity to endure to the end? Will I stand strong in my faith and endure preserving my soul?

As believers today, we, like the original recipients, need to pay much closer attention to what we have heard about Jesus. He is better…in every way. He brings about eternal changes that were not possible under the old covenant (or any other form of worship). Through Jesus’ offering of Himself on the cross, we can have confidence to come before God as never before.

The exhortation to the original recipients was to…draw near to God, hold fast their confession of hope and consider how to motivate one another to acts of love and good deeds (10:22-25). This exhortation is one that we need to take to heart. If we have accepted Jesus’ saving grace, we need to act on it in faith.

 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.  By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.  And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house,  let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.   Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Hebrews 10:19-25 nlt