Tag Archives: Gift

Chapter-a-Day

The Christmas Ham Puts it in Perspective

3 Comments
Source: Tennessee Traditions
Source: Tennessee Traditions

When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Malachi 1:8 NLT

When I am neck deep in a stage production, my heart and mind tend to get focused on the play. Last night was first rehearsal for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, which I’m directing. Here in the early morning hours my brain is already pondering last night’s rehearsal and what needs to be accomplished in the weeks and months ahead. So, it’s no shock that when I read this morning’s chapter I made immediate connections with the story. It’s one of the things I love about God’s Message. It always meets me where I happen to be in the journey.

In the play, a family of bullies from the “wrong side of the tracks” invades the small church Christmas pageant. It’s sweet, funny, and heart warming. In the process of the play this rag-tag group of sibling ruffians hear the story of Christmas for the first time and began to internalize what it means.  The older brothers, who play the three wise men, decide to forget the fake  props of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and instead bring the ham from their family’s welfare Christmas basket (still wrapped with a bow) to the baby Jesus. After the show, they refuse to take the ham back even though it’s their family’s Christmas meal. “It’s a present, and you don’t take back presents,” one brother explains.

I was reminded of the Christmas ham this morning by Malachi’s prophetic rant about the cheap props we too often offer to God. We have everything and yet we tend to give to God what we don’t want or need. We offer our leftovers and hand-me-downs. Then, just like the old widow that Jesus spied at the collection box one day, someone who has nothing gives everything they have and reveals our paltry offerings for what they truly are in the eyes of the Great Recipient.

I’m guilty as charged this morning. Have mercy, O Lord. I’m sorry.

Related articles
Chapter-a-Day

Faith and Acting: They’re Both About Our Motives

7 Comments

Ah Wilderness Rehearsal[Believers] should be obedient, always ready to do what is good. Titus 3:1b

[God] saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5 (NLT) [emphasis added]

In acting you learn to study a character’s motivation:

  • “Why does my character say this?”
  • “What is driving my character to do this?”
  • “What is it that my character wants when he walks over here?”

Motivation is also critical in understanding our real life and relationships. It is essential, I believe and have discovered, in understanding my relationship with God.

I believe one of the most important lessons we can know about God’s Message to us is this: Entering a relationship with God, attaining eternal life, and receiving forgiveness for our tragic choices and mistakes cannot be earned through “doing good” or “living a good life.” It comes as a gift through what Jesus did when he suffered, died, and rose from the dead. All we do is humbly acknowledge it, receive the gift, and ask Him to come into our life.

For me, it was a simple conversation with God I quietly had in my head and heart in which I said, “God, I know I’ve blown it a million different ways. I need you. I believe that you died for me, and I want you to in my heart and life. I give my life over to you.” Once I took this step and received the Gift, I was inspired and motivated to do good works in response to this extravagant gift of Life I had been given.

The critical differentiation is in the motivation of the good that we do. We do good, not out of a motivation to earn God’s favor or stack the spiritual ledger in our favor with the hope that it might be enough to get us into heaven. Our motive for doing good is overflowing gratitude for the Gift we have been freely given through God’s kindness and mercy.

As with acting, if you don’t get the motivation right then our faith is only a poor attempt at going through the motions.

Chapter-a-Day

Spiritual Gifts Do Not Come With a Gift Receipt

Leave a comment
Presents
(Photo credit: quimby)

Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! 1 Corinthians 12:29-30 (NLT)

Over the past two days, most of us have opened a number of Christmas gifts. Stop for a moment and consider something with me. The gifts we received this Christmas were determined by the giver. While I’m sure there are exceptions, I’m assuming you did not look at someone else’s gift on Christmas morning and take it for yourself. I’m betting you didn’t tell the giver that you didn’t want the gift you were given nor did you demand that you be given what another person had. We understand that we have been given a gift and it is ours to accept no matter what we may have desired, wanted, or wished for. It is a gift and we are to be grateful and appreciate what we have been given (even if we decide to try and make an exchange or return later).

So, why is this such a hard concept when it comes to spiritual gifts?

One of the most destructive tendencies I have observed in the church is the allowance we give to members of our body to freely exercise the delusion that they have been given certain spiritual gifts when the opposite reality is abundantly clear to all. One of the most loving and profitable things we can do is to help each believer truthfully identify, acknowledge and accept the ways in which they have been spiritually gifted by God the Giver, and the ways in which they have not been gifted no matter how much they may desire it. Our refusal to do so results in the Body of Christ carrying out our mission blindly limping along, unable to hear clearly, with one arm tied behind our back.

Related articles
Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Proverbs 19

2 Comments
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 22: Treasury Secretary'...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

If you help the poor, you are lending to the LORD—
      and he will repay you!
Proverbs 19:17 (NLT)

A month or so ago Wendy made an off-hand comment in the midst of a conversation. I can’t remember what we were talking about, but I remember the short comment she made. “You never regret giving,” was the gist of what she said and it stuck with me for the simple truth of it.

Throughout life there are many crossroad moments when the bills, the debts, and the stack of monthly payments seem overwhelming. The idea of giving a portion of my paycheck away to church, a friend in need, and/or a worthy charity suddenly seems ludicrous.

“My donation’s not much. It won’t really make a difference in the grand scheme of things.”
“I would feel better if I had a little more change in my pocket this month.”
“It’s my money anyway. Why should I give it away?”
“I can’t afford to be generous.”

But, I’m reminded of Wendy’s comment. In the end, I’ve never regretted writing that check or handing over that cash. We are so blessed and the act of giving is a regular reminder that it’s really not my money.  Giving is a way of counting my blessings, being thankful for all that I’ve been freely given, learning to be content, and consistently considering the needs of others rather than only thinking about myself.

Beyond that, I’ve experienced exactly what King Solomon was getting at in the proverb above. God always seems repay financial generosity (and does so with some very interesting examples of compounding spiritual interest).

Enhanced by Zemanta
Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Leviticus 8

1 Comment

Moses slaughtered it and smeared some of its blood on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. Then Aaron’s sons were brought forward and Moses smeared some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Leviticus 8:23-24 (MSG)

There are times along the journey when shame attacks. “I’m worthless,” I might whisper to myself when I listen to shame’s deceptive whisper. “I’m a failure,” is another evidence of its toxic presence. “There’s no way God could forgive me. I’ve done [insert any number of shameful acts here].”

When Moses smeared blood on the ear, the thumb and the big toe of Aaron and his sons, it was a word picture of the blood covering the very extremeties – the blood covered everything. Even in the very beginning of God revealing His plan, He wanted to make it clear that the smallest amount of sin affects the entire person, therefore the blood of the sacrifice must cover the entire person. The blood Jesus spilled on the cross was a sin sacrifice once for all:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. Romans 8:1-3a

In a metaphorical sense, Jesus repeats the ritual with each person who places their faith in Him. He smears the blood of His sacrifice on our ear, our thumb, and our big toe. While we tend to think of sin as a problem of individual acts we’ve committed (or omitted), God sees sin a root problem to be dealt with in wholistic way. We are completely covered by His sacrifice. All of our sins are forgiven. The debt of our sin has been paid 0ff by the gracious and sacrificial gift of Jesus.

Today, I’m grateful that I’m forgiven; I’m thankful that Jesus sacrifice covers me completely. I hope and pray that my life and my love reflects my gratitude.

Wayfarer's Journal

I Received This Hat For Christmas…

1 Comment

Forty-three years old and mom is still doing her best to get me beat up on the playground.

Wayfarer's Journal

A Priceless Gift

1 Comment

12-24-07_1139 Last week, the passage we're studying at church spoke of the hearts of Jesus' disciples being "hardened." That phrase jumped off the page at me, and my quiet prayer all of last week was that God would soften my heart.

On Saturday afternoon, Wendy and I attended the wedding of some friends. As the music swelled and the bride walked down the aisle on her father's arm, I felt strong emotions stirring in me. It was exactly two weeks from the day I would have my eldest, Taylor, on my arm, escorting her down the aisle. As hard as I fought, I couldn't hold back the tears seeping out of the corner of my eyes as I watched the father giving away his daughter.

For the past nineteen years, I think I've had a pretty objective view of my role as father to Taylor and Madison. I realize that my role as daddy has been to instill in them a clear understanding that they are loveable and valuable, and raise them to be capable young women who will walk their own journey faithfully. I realize that God is, ultimately, their Father. I am a steward, blessed with the task of participating in the miracle of their birth, loving them, providing for them, teaching them, and caring for them as they prepare for the day when they head off on the path God has appointed for them.

As I sat in that pew and watched the bride and groom make their vows, my emotions swelled over me like a tidal wave. "I'm not ready to give her away," I thought to myself with sudden realization. This is the most precious gift I could ever give to anyone. Taylor is absolutely priceless, and I'm just going give her away. My brain could argue all it wanted about this being the natural order of things and this being just another waypoint in the journey, but sitting there at the wedding I could feel my heart ripping apart.

Trying desperately to rely on my stoic Dutch genes, I fought back the overwhelming grief in my heart the rest of that day. Evening came, and I couldn't hold it together any longer. The emotional dam burst and I sobbed out my grief on the shoulder of a very surprised and perplexed Wendy.

In the midst of my tears, I was gently reminded of my prayers all that week. My heart of stone had, indeed, been softened so that I could feel this sorrow. "I know," I heard God's Spirit whisper in the midst of my grief, "and now you have a hint of what I felt to give away my Son to a world that would reject and kill him."

The following evening, Taylor and I shared a few tears together as I told her of my experience that week, and my emotions. Despite those feelings, I look forward to this important waypoint in our shared journey. No parent looks back without a few pangs of regret for mistakes made and things left unsaid and undone. Yet, I realize that Taylor was a priceless gift given to my care over nineteen years ago. While my role in her life will never be completely finished, it is time to walk her down the aisle and "give away" that which was given me. Then, to celebrate, love, and support both Taylor and Clayton as they become one flesh and start their journey together.