47 Sermon Illustrations on Gifts

Taste, in all probability from the Latin tactum and tango, "to touch," seems to designate the capacity to derive pleasure from an object. Genius designates the power we have for accomplishing any object. He who derives particular pleasure from music may be said to have a taste for music: he who makes very great proficiency in the theory and practice of music may be said to have a genius for it. It is obvious, therefore, that we may have a taste without having genius; but it would not be possible to have genius for a thing without having a taste for it; for nothing can so effectually give a taste for any accomplishment as the capacity to learn it, and the susceptibility of all its beauties; which circumstances are inseparable from genius. G. Crabb.

When the Chinese make gifts they intend each gift to carry a meaning, so adding a peculiar charm. The peach and oleander-blossoms express the wish for long life rich in sustenance and beauty. The lotus-leaf indicates purity and modesty; as one writer puts it, “The superior man, like the lotus, altho coming through mire, is untainted; altho bathed in sparkling water and rising in beauty is without vanity.” The aster means superior to circumstances. The orange marigold, so fragrant and brilliant in the declining season, signifies beautiful in age. These emblematic flowers frequently accompany rich gifts to give them speech.

Every gift of the hand will be eloquent with a sentiment of the heart if the heart’s love is behind it.

[see #1071 for "waiting" illustration]

"Waiting" as a theme for Christmas:

Waiting for Christmas presents I had found - turned out to be neighbor's.

Waiting in long lines at Disney World.

Waiting as a horrible experience - MIAs in Vietman.

Simeon waiting for the Messiah.

Russians spend 37 billion hours waiting in lines each year.

Salvation is worth waiting for.

Also, waiting in regard to: sex, finances.

At Christmas Mary received unexpected gift of myrrh, which was fit for kings and dying men and corpses. Jesus received myrrh 5 times in his life. (outlined) Mary probably did not understand the full significance. His cross came before the crown. Mary probably was expecting just the crown.

Jesus can be an unexpected gift for us.

Waiting for my Dad's gifts.

A particularly memorable Christmas for me was when I was 8 or 9. Like a typical kid, I would snoop around the house. You know, looking for things your parents don't want you to find.

In October I hit pay dirt. At the tippity-top of my father's closet, I found a large paper bag. I peeked inside. It was filled with fantastic tpys, the kind I had been begging for all year. I knew I had found my father's secret Christmas trove. Carefully I wrapped it back up.

Then I waited. And waited. October dragged by. November was worse. My sister has her birthday in November, and I hated to see her get stuff when I didn't.

Finally December arrived. This was the worst month of all. Parents come up with special Christmas candles, which mark off the days as the candle burns down. We also had these calendars, where you open up little doors each day, and find candy inside.

Why do parents come up with these things? To make December unbearble. Finally, Christmas actually arrived. In my mind, I already knew which of my Dad's gifts I would play with first. Little did I know that I was in for the biggest shock of my life.

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[Congregation is left hanging till end of sermon.]

Remember those gifts I had been waiting for? That Christmas morning I didn't find a single one under the tree. It turned out my father was loaning his closet space to our next-door neighbor. He had kids that liked to snoop, too.

Our fathers try to do their best. But only our heavenly Father knows what we really need.

A STAG overpowered by heat came to a spring to drink. Seeing his own shadow reflected in the water, he greatly admired the size and variety of his horns, but felt angry with himself for having such slender and weak feet. While he was thus contemplating himself, a Lion appeared at the pool and crouched to spring upon him. The Stag immediately took to flight, and exerting his utmost speed, as long as the plain was smooth and open kept himself easily at a safe distance from the Lion. But entering a wood he became entangled by his horns, and the Lion quickly came up to him and caught him. When too late, he thus reproached himself: "Woe is me! How I have deceived myself! These feet which would have saved me I despised, and I gloried in these antlers which have proved my destruction."

What is most truly valuable is often underrated. Indeed, as Christians we should never lessen the gifts and talents that God has given us.

A well-known conductor was holding a rehearsal one night with a vast array of musicians and a hundred voice choir. While the mighty chorus sang out there was also the peal of organ, blare of horns, and clashing of cymbals. Far back in the orchestra the piccolo player thought, "In all this noise it doesn't matter what I do." So he stopped playing. Suddenly the conductor flung up his hands stopping the music. Someone, he knew, had failed to play his instrument. The shrill note of the piccolo had been missed. Just as many notes are needed to make a tune, and many colors needed to make a painting, so many gifts are essential for the functioning of the body of Christ.

The great acts of love are done by those who are habitually performing small acts of kindness. (anonymous)

Every December, as I take out the Christmas decorations, I also take out the memory of a Christmas 20 years ago in a small town in central Maine and the gift that one little girl gave to another. In a world where Christmas is ever more glittery and commercialized, it reminds me that the true spirit of the season lies in giving, and receiving, from the heart.

Winters seemed to be colder back then, and school days dragged slowly by. At my small school, we had two classes for each grade. My class was for the children who got good grades. Most of us wore nice clothes and our parents were in the PTA. Those in the "slower" class didn't get good report cards. Most of the kids were poor. We attended the same school year after year, and by fourth grade we all knew who belonged in which class. The one exception was the girl I shall call Marlene Crocker.

I still remember the day when Marlene was transferred to the 'smarter" class. She stood by the teacher's desk that morning in a wool skirt that hung down below her knees. Her sweater was patched, but her face was wide and hopeful.

She was not at all pretty except for her intelligent-looking brown eyes. I had heard Marlene was a good student, though, and I wondered why she hadn't been in the smarter" class all along. As she stood waiting for the teacher to assign her a seat, for a moment I imagined that I might become her friend and we would talk together at recess. Then the whispers began. "She's not sitting beside me!" someone sneered.

"That will be enough," the teacher said firmly, and the class turned silent. No one would laugh at Marlene again-at least not when the teacher was in the room.

Marlene and I never talked together at recess as I'd first imagined. The boundaries that separated us were too firmly drawn.

One late autumn day, Mom and I happened to be out driving along a wooded back road. It was one that we seldom took because Mom said it wasted gas. I was busy chattering away when suddenly, out the window, I saw a tar-paper shack so tiny that it would have fit inside our bathroom. The shack was set far back in a big field littered with rusted car parts. Across the yard stretched a long clothesline, beneath which stood a little girl who looked at us as we sped past. It was Marlene. I raised my hand to wave, but our car had already passed her. "That poor little girl," my mother said, "hanging out clothes and it's going to rain."

Once the snow came that winter, it seemed as though it would never stop. As Christmas drew near, my spirits were as high as the snowdrifts as I watched the pile of presents grow beneath our Christmas tree. At school, a few days before our school Christmas party, we passed around a hat in class to pick the name of a classmate for whom we'd buy a gift. The hat went around, and the names were drawn.

Finally, the hat came to Marlene. One boy leaned forward, closer than anyone had ever been to Marlene, and hooted as he read her slip of paper. "Marlene got Jenna's name."

I began to blush furiously as I heard my name. Marlene looked down at her desk, but the teasing went on until our teacher stopped it. "I don't care," I vowed haughtily, but I felt cheated.

The day of the party, I marched to the bus reluctantly, carrying a nice gift of Magic Markers for the person whose name I had drawn. At school, we ate the Christmas cookies our mothers had baked and drank our grape drink. Then the presents were handed out, and the wrapping paper went flying as everyone tore into them.

The moment I had been dreading had arrived. Suddenly it seemed as though everyone was crowding around. Sitting on my desk was a small package wrapped neatly in tissue paper. I looked over at Marlene. She was sitting alone. Suddenly overcome by the need to protect Marlene from the mocking of my classmates, I seized Marlene's gift, unwrapped it and sat there, holding it hidden in my hand.

"What is it?" a boy hollered, when he could stand it no longer. "It's a wallet," I finally answered.

The bell rang and the buses came and someone said to Marlene, "Did your old man make it from the deer he shot?"

Marlene nodded and said, "And my ma."

"Thank you, Marlene," I said.

"You're welcome," she said. We smiled at each other. Marlene was not my friend but I never teased her. Maybe when I got bigger, I would ride my bike over there and we could talk and play. I thought about that as I rode the bus home. I tried not to think of what Marlene's Christmas would be like.

Years went by. I went on to high school and college, and lost contact with most of my childhood schoolmates. Whenever I struggled with math problems, I recalled the way Marlene had always breezed through hers. I heard rumors that Marlene had dropped out of school to help her mother with the younger children at home. Then I heard that she had married young and started having babies of her own.

One day, I came across the white doeskin wallet I had received at that Christmas party long ago. Funny how, of all the gifts, I'd kept this one through the years. I took it out and studied its intricate craftsmanship. Beneath the top flap, I noticed a small slit holding a tiny piece of paper that I had never seen before. Sitting in my comfortable home, I read the words that Marlene had written to me years before. "To my best friend," they said. Those words pierced my heart. I wished I could go back, to have the courage to be the kind of friend I'd wanted to be. Belatedly, I understood the love that had been wrapped inside that gift.

There are a few things that I unpack every year at Christmastime -- an old wooden crèche, shiny balls for the tree and a Santa figurine. I take the wallet out, too. Last year, I told my small son the story of the girl who had given it to me. He thought about it and then he said, "Of all the gifts, that was the goodest gift, wasn't it?"

And I smiled, grateful for the wisdom that let him see that it was.

Jenna Day

Submitted by Patricia Bradford

26,000 Gifts A Day!

Read: Psalm 104:24-35

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. -- Psalm 150:6.

Your lungs are among the most important parts of your body. They furnish your blood with oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide and water. A few minutes without breathing and you would lose consciousness. You could not survive much longer without oxygen.

The Bible tells us that the Lord holds in His hand "the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind" (Job 12:10). He gives us those 26,000 gifts each day so that we might honor Him with the life they sustain.

A minister was at the bedside of an elderly Christian who was near death. When he asked her what Scripture she wanted him to read, she said, "Make your own selection, pastor, but let it be one of praise." Although she was breathing her last, she wanted her parting testimony to echo the psalmist: "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord" (Ps. 150:6).

Have you thanked God today for His gift of life? -- HGB

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

All that breathe, Jehovah praise;

Let the voices God has given

Joyful anthems to Him raise. --Psalter

When it's time to breathe a prayer of thanks, don't hold your breath.

The bus meandered through the English countryside picking up one girl and boy waiting eagerly outside each village school. It was a wintery December afternoon more than 50 years ago and I was one of the lucky ones invited to a children's Christmas party given by Canadian servicemen at the RAF base in the village of Graveley in Huntingdonshire.

The war was still on and a generation of English children had grown up knowing nothing but a life of austerity. Sugar and candy were strictly rationed and saved for special occasions.

When the bus bearing its cargo of children arrived at the RAP base it was immediately clear that magic was in the air The building to which we were taken was hung with brightly coloured paper streamers and there was a huge Christmas tree. We sat down to the kind of feast we had only seen in our dreams, but it was after this that the real magic began. The young Canadians went all out to perfom for us: comedy, songs, and, best of all, magic tricks. Slowly we lost our reserve and threw ourselves into the activities enthusiastically. All too soon it was over and it was time to say our thank-yous and to bead home. Once again we were in for a surprise. As we boarded the bus, a large bag of candy was handed to each child. We were told that the servicemen had volunteered to contribute their own candy ration to make this possible.

Now, more than 50 years later, my thoughts go beyond the joy brought to a little girl and the other children who participated. They go to the young men whose generosity and Christmas spirit in those dark times made this wonderful occasion such a special memory. For this and much, much more I say "Thank you Canadians

Valerie Walia

North Vancouver, BC

After living most of our lives in a major metropolitan area, we are enjoying some of the benefits now of living near one of America's "Top 100" small towns. And there's a feeling of community around here. One of the times you really feel it is during holiday parades. We've got this classic town square with the county courthouse in the middle, a bandstand, and stores all around the square. So we love to take our grandson and get a front row spot to see all the bands and floats and decorated vehicles as they move around the square in a parade. Of course, the part all the kids - including this kid - like the most is when the people on those floats or in those vehicles start throwing handfuls of candy all over the place! They always seem to have plenty ... and to throw out plenty ... so plenty of children can walk away with plenty of goodies in their pockets!

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "Throwing Out Goodies."

Those folks tossing goodies all over the place have given me a mental picture of what I'm supposed to be doing all day long as a follower of Jesus Christ - I'm supposed to be throwing spiritual and emotional goodies out everywhere I go, to everyone I'm with. In the words of Jesus as He prepares His disciples to go out and represent Him - "Freely you have received; freely give." (Matthew 10:8)

In our word for today from the Word of God, Paul describes us as those who should be giving extravagantly to the people around us. In 2 Corinthians 9:6, he lays out this principle: "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." So if you've not been receiving much encouragement, it may be because you haven't been giving much encouragement. If you haven't been receiving financially, maybe it's because you haven't been giving financially. If you haven't been getting much help, it could be because you haven't been giving much help.

Paul goes on to say that "God loves a cheerful giver." The Greek word here for cheerful is the word we get our word "hilarious" from. God loves people who give hilariously. I'm seeing those happy people on those parade floats generously tossing out their goodies. Now how can you afford to keep giving and giving? 2 Corinthians 9:8 - "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." You can keep giving out to other people because God is always going to give you back more than you gave out. You shovel out ... God shovels in ... and God has a much bigger shovel.

And what are we giving out ultimately? Grace. Undeserved favor - just like we've received from God. Grace receivers are supposed to become grace givers! Which means you don't treat people as they've treated you or how they deserve to be treated - is that what God did with you? You treat them the way Jesus has treated you - Extravagant grace. Like the people on those parade floats, you are wildly, indiscriminately throwing out grace - forgiving ... overlooking offenses ... encouraging ... being patient with people ... being tender with them.

Those who have experienced the amazing grace of God on a daily basis give that grace to everyone around them - you're generous with your time, with your money, with your listening, with your mercy, with your forgiveness. And chances are - right now in your personal world - there's someone desperately in need of some grace from you ... maybe someone you've been withholding it from. How can you - after how God has treated you?

Each new morning, get another bag of grace from your loving Savior. And experience the joy of showering people with grace goodies everywhere you go.

________________

Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

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In ancient history we are told that Caesar had a friend to whom he once gave a munificent present. But when he offered it, the friend said: "This is too much for me to receive." To which the emperor replied: "But it is not too much for me to give."

After all our sinfulness and rebellion, God's gift of pardon through Christ does seem too much for us to receive; but the riches of divine mercy are so great that it is not too much for Him to give. When God forgives, there is not one sin left unforgiven. Christmas was indeed too great a gift for man, but it was not so for God.

Hide not thy talent in the earth, However small it be; Its faithful use, its utmost worth, God will require of thee.

His own, which He hath lent on trust, He asks of thee again; Little or much, the claim is just, And thine excuses vain.

Go, then, and strive to do thy part, Though humble it may be; The ready hand, the willing heart, Are all heaven asks of thee.

- William Cutler

Eight Gifts That Don’t Cost A Cent

1. THE GIFT OF LISTENING… But you must REALLY listen. No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response. JUST LISTEN.

2. THE GIFT OF AFFECTION… Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for someone.

3. THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER… Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, “I love to laugh with you.”

4. THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE… It can be a simple “Thanks for the help” note or a full sonnet. A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime, and may even change a life.

5. THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT… A simple and sincere, “You look great today,” “You did a super job” (or) “That was a wonderful meal” can make someone’s day.

6. THE GIFT OF A FAVOR… Every day, go out of your way to do something kind for someone you love.

7. THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE… There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.

8. THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION… The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone. Really, it’s not that hard to say Hello and Thank You.

My young son had gone to the trouble of making a card and a gift for me for Father's Day. And there are no gifts more special than those that have been made by the person giving them. Unfortunately, my son tried to give his creations to me at a time when I was really busy. So I said, “Can you wait a few minutes? I want to have time to appreciate it.” To which he said wistfully, “Oh, you mean like the candleholder?” Some months before, he had given me a handmade candleholder one day and I was, as usual, on the run. And I totally neglected to show any appreciation. I'd forgotten about it. My son hadn't.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Unappreciated Gifts.”

It hurts to make something special for someone you love - and then to give it and have it go unnoticed and unappreciated. God knows that feeling. There's not a day that goes by that He doesn't give us special gifts from His hand. As James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father.”

Sadly, we are often too busy, or too focused on what's wrong to notice and say thanks for the endless good things He's doing. No matter how hard it is right now, John 1:16 is the reality check you need to remember: “From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.” Do you see them? Are you looking for them? Have you stopped to appreciate what your Father is giving you?

We're at our happiest when we choose to be preoccupied with God's goodness. Notice - we choose to be. Sure, you can aim your lens at today's trash, today's worries, today's unanswered questions. Or you can aim your lens at all the beautiful things God is doing - the people He's giving you, the opportunities, the provision for your needs, the grace, the little encouragements, the answers to prayer.

That prevailing attitude of gratitude is wonderfully expressed in Ephesians 5:19-20, our word for today from the Word of God. Paul has just talked about understanding “what the Lord's will is” and being “filled with the Spirit.” What does Spirit-filled, God's will living look like? “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Did you get that? Giving thanks for everything - even the stuff we don't like or we don't understand. Why? Because we know that nothing has come into our life without it first passing through our Father's hands, and He's decided it can bring us good and Him glory.

This discipline of looking for God's gifts and consciously thanking Him for them is a powerful cure for discouragement, for negativity - which, of course, is the opposite of entering “His gates with thanksgiving” (Psalm 100:3). Frustrations and problems seem smaller as your God gets bigger (or, actually, as you see how big He is) which He does as you continually focus on being His grateful child.

A friend went through the awful ordeal of watching her young husband slowly waste away and ultimately die from cancer. Every day she went to that hospital to be with the man she loved, and to slowly watch him die. She told me how she got through that long dark night of the soul. She said, “I just blasted praise music in my car, all the way from home to the hospital and from the hospital home. I realized there's only one place Satan will never be -- in praises to the Lord!” She's right. Your praise not only elevates you; it banishes your enemy!

It hurts to make something special for someone you love and then have them not care about it. Even now your Father has put in your hands some gifts He's made just for you. Don't miss them. Don't miss the joy you give Him and yourself when you thank Him for what He's done.

________________

Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

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2 Peter 1:3–4 — Through Knowing Christ — « Leader information shown in this fashion »

A. Christ’s Gifts: 2 Peter 1:3a

1. various translations of the first part of this verse …

a. AV – According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness …

b. NAS – seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, …

c. NIV – His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness …

d. J. B. Phillips – He has by his own action given us everything that is necessary for living the truly good life, …

e. NLT – As we know Jesus better, His divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. …

2. “his” – looking back we see this refers to « … Jesus, the Lord of us »

3. “divine” – this is the same word as that for « “God” but changed into an adjective; it is the power Jesus Christ possesses as God »

4. “power” – there are three common words for power in the NT

a. there is kratos which is R « uling » _______ power

b. there is exousia which is the power of A « uthority » _________

c. here it is dynamis, which is the power to D « o » ___ things!

5. “all things” – what restriction is there on these? « — they are limited to those which will accomplish what follows for us. »

6. “life” – what kind of life is under consideration here? « — eternal or spiritual, not mere physical, life »

7. “godliness” – this word is a compound of the prefix “eu” meaing “well” and a word meaning worship; it is sometimes also translated “piety;” given the other translations plus such verses as Ephesians 2:10 and James 2:18, what do you think that this means? « — it is the change in life that gives evidence that our faith is genuine, saving faith »

B. The Conduit: 2 Peter 1:3b

1. various translations of the second part of this verse …

a. AV(KJV) – … through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

b. NAS – … through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

c. NIV – … through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

d. J. B. Phillips – … in allowing us to know the one who has called us to him, through his own glorious goodness.

e. NLT – … He has called us to receive His own glory and goodness!

2. « » “through” – such a common word, but what does it mean? — « grammatically it is the instrument, the efficient or intermediate cause; practically speaking in this context, it is the “conduit” through which God has chosen to effect some purpose He has »

3. “knowledge” – that conduit is fully or truly knowing? « … the One who has called, summoned, invited us »

4. “to” or “by” – the original Greek can be read two ways;

a. “to” is consistent with 1 Peter 5:10 which implie « s — what is God’s purpose or destiny for us … see 2 Thessalonians 2:14 »

b. “by” is perhaps more consistent with the Greek and implies « — the accomplishment of our salvation represents glory to God … see Romans 15:7, Phlippians 2:11 »

5. “glory” – to God is the whole object of our … « salvation, worship »

6. “virtue” – is excellence, especially moral excellence, and is shown in the power of God that accomplishes our salvation

C. The Promises: 2 Peter 1:4a

1. various translations of the first part of this verse …

a. AV(KJV) – Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: …

b. NAS – For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, …

c. NIV – Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, …

d. J. B. Phillips – It is through this generosity that God’s greatest and most precious promises have become available to us men, …

e. NLT – And by that same mighty power, He has given us all of His rich and wonderful promises. …

2. “whereby” – this is literally “through (or by) which things” – you will see in the various translations a doubt as to which things are in view; what are the possibilities?

a. NLT takes it to be « — the power that gives us all things, v. 3 »

b. Philips takes to be — « God’s generosity in giving “all things” »

c. the other translations are not specific, but the major two other possibilities are

(A) near reference « — God’s glory and excellence »

(B) far reference « — my preference (sustained by the syntax and consistent with what follows): part of the “all things” »

d. so, perhaps you see the danger of idea based translation (or paraphrasing) … feeling the need to particularize what the Bible leaves non-specific

3. “are given” – the perfect passive, which means « — the action is completed but the result still stands »

4. “precious” – this is what comes first in the valuable, usually money; is that in view here? Why or why not?

5. “exceeding great” – the superlative degree of “great” … these are the greatest!

6. “promises” – these are described in the next part of the verse — « comes from the middle voice of verb to announce; the action is directed at both the subject and object of the verb which tells us that God, by promising, binds Himself to deliver »

D. The Purpose: 2 Peter 1:4b

1. various translations of the second part of this verse …

a. AV(KJV) – … that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

b. NAS – … in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

c. NIV – … so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

d. J. B. Phillips – … making it possible for you to escape the inevitable disintegration that lust produces in the world and to share in God’s essential nature.

e. NLT – … He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share His divine nature.

2. “by these” – by what? « — the promises just mentioned »

3. « » “partakers” – which means (see other translations) « — those who share »

4. “divine nature” – the same word divine as used in verse 3;

a. what promise does this fulfil? « — consider Ezekiel 36:26–27 »

b. how is it effected at this very instant? « – 1 Corinthians 3:16 »

5. “having escaped … “ – “being fled from” … this points to a single past action where release was realized … the time when the Holy Spirit regenerated us (the Titus 3:5 point)

a. from what? « — the corruption or decadence resulting from evil desires … from lusts »

b. what promise does this fulfil? « — consider Ezekiel 37:27 »

c. how is it effected in the believer? « – 2 Corinthians 6:16–7:1 »

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things. — 2 Peter 1:3.

Not only has life been given to all who believe, but divine power has given everything necessary to live that life to the glory of God, and the good of our fellow men. We have been given the Holy Spirit, the Holy Scriptures, the fellowship of saints, and the blessed hope of the Lord’s return; so what possible excuse has a Christian for not living the life of one? The Christian life is the one and only full life for time and eternity. — T. M. Olson.

Thou hast our souls from sins made clean,

Thy Spirit gives us strength within;

Whilst Thou for us in all our need,

At God’s right hand doth ever plead.

Then keep us in the narrow way,

That ne’er from Thee our footsteps stray;

Oh, be it thus till that blest day,

When God shall wipe all tears away.

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable (indescribable) gift. — 2 Cor. 9:15.

There are three measures by which we gage the value of a gift: its intrinsic worth; the motive that prompted it; the use to which it is put. Sometimes a gift makes us breathless by its very costliness. Yet another gift, of little or no worth, we may prize far more because of the love it conveys or the sacrifice it expresses. Still another gift takes on value by its peculiar fitness to meet our need. Applying these to our Lord Jesus we think of

1. His “unsearchable riches.” He is the the heir of all things. Such an One is God’s Gift to us.

2. God so loved that He gave. This gift is the evidence of love more amazing than history anywhere else presents.

3. What a need the gift meets. “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift” is the heart’s attempt to voice its appreciation for “so great salvation.” — N. B. Harrison.

O gift of love unspeakable!

O gift of mercy all divine!

We once were slaves of death and hell,

But in Christ’s image we shall shine:

For every gift a song we raise,

But this demands eternal praise.

Christmas shopping in the U.S. has been a reliable source of anxiety and stress for well over a century. “As soon as the Thanksgiving turkey is eaten, the great question of buying Christmas presents begins to take the terrifying shape it has come to assume in recent years,” the New York Tribune wrote in 1894.

Most people do a poor job of buying Christmas gifts. Joel Waldfogel, an economist at the University of Pennsylvania, has been doing a series of studies in which college students are asked to put a value on the presents they receive. Waldfogel’s main finding is that, in general, people spend a lot more on presents than they’re worth to those who receive them, a phenomenon that he calls “the deadweight loss of Christmas.” A deadweight loss is created when you spend eighty dollars to give me a sweater that I would spend only sixty-five dollars to buy myself. Waldfogel estimates that somewhere between ten and eighteen per cent of seasonal spending becomes deadweight loss, which means that billions of dollars a year is now going to waste.

Why aren’t we better at gift giving? A lot of the time, we don’t know the people we’re shopping for all that well. Grandparents are not that attuned to what grandkids really want. More surprisingly, though, we’re also bad at buying for the people we’re closest to. A recent study by the marketing professors Davy Lerouge and Luk Warlop finds that familiarity can actually lead us astray. They ran a series of experiments with long-standing couples in which the partners tried to predict each other’s taste in furniture — a sort of academic version of “The Newlywed Game” — and found that, in general, people did a poor job of it. In making predictions, people tend to rely on what Lerouge and Warlop call “pre-stored beliefs and expectations,” rather than paying close attention to what their partner really liked. People did a good job of predicting their partner’s preferences, in fact, only when they shared those preferences. My idea of what you want, it turns out, has a lot to do with what I want.

Sentimentality plays a big role in how we value gifts. A study by the economists Sara Solnick and David Hemenway shows that we value unrequested gifts more than presents we ask for, because we assume that the former show more thought. And we also go to great lengths to demonstrate that a gift is more than a dollar sign: we snip off price tags, clip the prices off book jackets, and ask for gift receipts that hide the cost of the present.

The problem is that, while we say that gift giving is about sentiment, not about money, we act as if the best expressions of sentiment came in expensive packages. Around a hundred and fifty billion dollars is spent on gifts during the holiday season every year; this year, the average American expects to spend close to a thousand dollars on presents.

And, much as sentiment counts, we don’t let it stand in the way of getting what we want: according to a survey by the National Retail Federation, forty per cent of America expects to return at least one holiday gift this year, and an American Express survey found that roughly a third of respondents had “re-gifted” presents. If we’re spending all this time and money on gifts, the fact that so much of it is wasted matters.

An economist might suggest that the solution is to abandon the pretense and simply start exchanging small piles of money. The boom in gift cards is a kind of socially tolerable version of this: the cards are somehow more personal than cash, and they’re also not going to be wasted on an unwanted gift.

But Waldfogel’s studies also suggest a very different solution: if most of the presents we buy are going to be less valuable in monetary terms than in sentimental ones, then there’s no reason to believe that the more expensive gift is a better gift. In fact, the more we spend at Christmas, the more we waste. We might actually be happier — and we’d certainly be wealthier — if we exchanged small, well-considered gifts rather than haunting the malls.

Calculating the deadweight loss of Christmas gifts is a coldhearted project, but it leads to a paradoxically warmhearted conclusion: the fact of giving may be more important than what you give. Start with “Bah, humbug” and you somehow end up with “God bless us, every one.”

Fifteen years ago, Karen was born with a debilitating condition. At the age of one year, because of surgical complications, she suffered a heart attack and was clinically dead for one hour, resulting in harm to her brain. However, with all of these challenges in her life she has grown to be a very beautiful and inspirational young lady, with a clarity that usually humbles and brings a smile to those around her.

Regardless of her condition, her greatest fear in her life has been Santa Claus, solely because of the lyric in a particular Christmas song that says, "He sees you when you're sleeping..." She has always imagined this big, red-clad, hairy-faced man watching her as she is sleeping, and it has scared her so much throughout her life that in recent years her mother has thought that she should really tell her the truth about Santa Claus, but was concerned about the disappointment that might bring.

Karen recently began having these dreams again in quite a severe manner and became so anxious and irrational about the whole thing that her mother decided, in a panic, to tell her the dreaded news. Holding Karen close and looking straight into her eyes, her mother said, "Karen, listen to me, calm down and listen to me...THERE IS NO SANTA CLAUS! MOMMY IS SANTA CLAUS, MOMMY HAS ALWAYS BEEN SANTA CLAUS! You don't have to be scared anymore." Karen looked at her mother with a blank expression and went off to sleep.

The next day when Karen went to school she looked disturbed, so much so that her teacher made a point of asking her what the problem was. Karen answered in a very serious and concerned voice, "I am very worried about my mom." When the teacher asked her why, she answered in an equally serious voice, "She thinks she's Santa Claus!"

_____________________

by Brian Locke (c) 1999, from Chicken Soup for the Parent's Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Kimberly Kirberger and Raymond Aaron.

Ladies, with the holidays coming, this is going to be a big help in selecting that special gift for the man in your life!

• Rule #1:

When in doubt, buy him a cordless drill. It does not matter if he already has one. I have a friend who owns 17 and he has yet to complain. As a man, you can never have too many cordless drills. No one knows why.

• Rule #2:

If you cannot afford a cordless drill, buy him anything with the word ratchet or socket in it. Men love saying those two words. “Hey George, can I borrow your ratchet?” “OK. By the way, are you through with my 3/8-inch socket yet?” Again, no one knows why.

• Rule #3:

If you are really, really broke, buy him anything for his car. A 99-cent ice scraper, a small bottle of de-icer or something to hang from his rear view mirror. Men love gifts for their cars. No one knows why.

• Rule #4:

Do not buy men socks. Do not buy men ties. And never buy men bathrobes.

• Rule #5:

You can buy men new remote controls to replace the ones they have worn out. If you have a lot of money buy your man a big-screen TV with the little picture in the corner. Watch him go wild as he flips, and flips, and flips.

• Rule #6:

Do not buy any man industrial-sized canisters of after-shave or deodorant. I’m told that men do not stink… they are earthy.

• Rule #7:

Buy men label makers. Almost as good as cordless drills. Within a couple of weeks there will be labels absolutely everywhere. Socks. Shorts. Cups. Saucers. Door. Lock. Sink. You get the idea. No one knows why.

• Rule #8:

Never buy a man anything that says “some assembly required” on the box. It will ruin his Special Day and he will always have parts left over.

• Rule #9:

Good places to shop for men include Northwest Iron Works, Parr Lumber, Home Depot, John Deere, Valley RV Center, and Les Schwab Tire. (NAPA Auto Parts and Sears’ Clearance Centers are also excellent men’s stores. It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t know what it is. “From NAPA Auto, eh? Must be something I need. Hey! Isn’t this a starter for a ‘68 Ford Fairlane? Wow! Thanks.”)

• Rule #10:

Men enjoy danger. That’s why they never cook — but they will barbecue. Get him a monster barbecue with a 100-pound propane tank. Tell him the gas line leaks. “Oh the thrill! The challenge! Who wants a hamburger?”

• Rule #11:

Tickets to a Red Wing/Lions/Pistons/Tigers game are a smart gift. However, he will not appreciate tickets to “A Retrospective of 19th Century Quilts.” Everyone knows why.

• Rule #12:

Men love chainsaws. Never, ever, buy a man you love a chainsaw. If you don’t know why, please refer to Rule #7 and what happens when he gets a label maker.

• Rule #13:

It’s hard to beat a really good wheelbarrow or an aluminum extension ladder. Never buy a real man a step ladder. It must be an extension ladder. No one knows why.

• Rule #14:

Rope. Men love rope. It takes us back to our cowboy origins, or at least The Boy Scouts. Nothing says love like a hundred feet of 3/8” manila rope. No one knows why.

The bus meandered through the English countryside picking up one girl and boy waiting eagerly outside each village school. It was a wintery December afternoon more than 50 years ago and I was one of the lucky ones invited to a children's Christmas party given by Canadian servicemen at the RAF base in the village of Graveley in Huntingdonshire.

The war was still on and a generation of English children had grown up knowing nothing but a life of austerity. Sugar and candy were strictly rationed and saved for special occasions.

When the bus bearing its cargo of children arrived at the RAP base it was immediately clear that magic was in the air The building to which we were taken was hung with brightly coloured paper streamers and there was a huge Christmas tree. We sat down to the kind of feast we had only seen in our dreams, but it was after this that the real magic began. The young Canadians went all out to perfom for us: comedy, songs, and, best of all, magic tricks. Slowly we lost our reserve and threw ourselves into the activities enthusiastically. All too soon it was over and it was time to say our thank-yous and to bead home. Once again we were in for a surprise. As we boarded the bus, a large bag of candy was handed to each child. We were told that the servicemen had volunteered to contribute their own candy ration to make this possible.

Now, more than 50 years later, my thoughts go beyond the joy brought to a little girl and the other children who participated. They go to the young men whose generosity and Christmas spirit in those dark times made this wonderful occasion such a special memory. For this and much, much more I say "Thank you Canadians

Valerie Walia

North Vancouver, BC

That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness. — Philippians 1:10, 11.

To fulfil faithfully the duties of your station; to use to the uttermost the gifts of your ministry; to bear chafing and trivial irritations as martyrs bore the pillory and the stake; to find the one noble trait in people who try to molest you; to put the kindest construction on unkind words and acts; to love with the love of God, even the unthankful and evil; to be content to be a fountain even in the midst of a wild valley of stones, nourishing a few wild flowers, or now and again a thirsty sheep; and to do all this always not for the praise of man, but for the sake of God this makes a great life. — F. B. Meyer

If you see that every contact with another

is a means of testifying for your Lord;

If your bearing cheers a sister or a brother,

or appeals to sinners better than a word:

This, this is victory.

26,000 Gifts A Day!

Read: Psalm 104:24-35

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. -- Psalm 150:6.

Your lungs are among the most important parts of your body. They furnish your blood with oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide and water. A few minutes without breathing and you would lose consciousness. You could not survive much longer without oxygen.

The Bible tells us that the Lord holds in His hand "the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind" (Job 12:10). He gives us those 26,000 gifts each day so that we might honor Him with the life they sustain.

A minister was at the bedside of an elderly Christian who was near death. When he asked her what Scripture she wanted him to read, she said, "Make your own selection, pastor, but let it be one of praise." Although she was breathing her last, she wanted her parting testimony to echo the psalmist: "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord" (Ps. 150:6).

Have you thanked God today for His gift of life? -- HGB

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

All that breathe, Jehovah praise;

Let the voices God has given

Joyful anthems to Him raise. --Psalter

When it's time to breathe a prayer of thanks, don't hold your breath.