GIVE THE GIFT – 09/09/2019

Prayer: May we generously share the gift that we have received- Jesus, the reason we celebrate.

Scripture: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen. Galatians 1:3-5 NAS

Have you ever seen something that belonged to someone else that you really wanted or needed? It might be something for your home or a pair of shoes, maybe some sort of electronics or technology or something you had been looking for as a gift for a certain friend but just could not find anywhere. Maybe you were even bold enough to compliment them and ask where they got it.

My sister-in-law had the best smelling room spray I had ever smelled. I loved it! It was the perfect pumpkin-spice smell, not too sweet and not a strong cloves smell. When I told her how much I liked it her response surprised me – she did not tell me where she bought it, she did not send me to the internet to search for it, she did not offer to keep an eye out for another one – she grabbed it off her shelf and handed it to me. I tried to hand it back, knowing she liked it as much, if not more, than I did. She refused to take it back, saying, “I want you to have it.”

I love how God takes simple, daily things in my life and then floods my heart with His lessons! At that moment I thought about Jesus! I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I am not able to save myself; apart from Jesus I am unable to even “improve” myself or my condition. There are not enough good deeds or loving thoughts that could ever make me “good enough” to spend a second, much less eternity, with the Holy, one true God. No number of apologies would ever be enough; no self- inflicted punishment would ever pay the cost of my disobedience to the King of Kings. I could never find righteousness on my own, no matter how hard I searched; it cannot originate on earth or in man. My only hope of being rescued from drowning in my sea of sin was for Jesus to give Himself on my behalf.

There is a world of people out there that needs Jesus. I repent for all of the times I handed someone a Bible and said, “Read it,” instead of offering to study it with them. I repent for all the times I told someone I would pray for them after they shared a need instead of praying with them immediately. I repent for all the times I suggested someone find a good Bible-believing Church instead of going to pick them up and taking them with me to my church. More than anything, I regret and repent for all the times I saw someone who needed a Savior and I did not share mine. The world is in desperate need of grace & peace, but that can only come through receiving the gift of our righteous rescuer, Jesus.

Copyright Kathy Branzell.  Email [email protected]