Gifts
What do you think of when I mention the word "gifts?" Usually, when Christians think of "gifts," we think of giving a small portion of money to the Church. Are you kidding me? Since everything is God's to begin with, how backward is that? Oh, how the sin of pride lures us to believe we are being so good, so giving, yet often so prideful. How wrong that thinking can be, for if all things come from God, then we are just returning a fraction of what He has given us?
Psalm 116:12 asks a wonderful question. What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?
1 Corinthians 12:1-3 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however, you were led. Therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
We have nothing we can offer him, except what he has already given us. First, God has given us the gift of life itself, and yes, we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah! These two gifts are the most precious of all. Life and a path to Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to have faith in Jesus the Christ. Even the desire to love and worship God comes from Him in the first instance. This is why David prayed to God to prepare his people’s hearts. Upon receiving the gift of faith, which we cannot expect, we can then ask God for more faith, greater talents, or even more blessings. But we cannot do anything without his giving us his "all" first.
1 Chronicle 29:12-15 All things come from God. “Now, therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, That we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You. For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, As were all our fathers; Our days on earth are as a shadow, And without hope.
This, a song of praise, reminded them that, as their Creator, all things belong to God, which includes us. Anything we possess is on loan to us and we are duty-bound to make use of God’s gifts, not only in such a way as to glorify God but also in ways that conform with his will.
However, we have more to give than money or things we own. Any ideas floating around as to what that might infer? We can give to the Lord, “What we can do!” We can give our time and talents, not just monetary offerings.
The gifts many people of the Old Testament gave were not only money, but, oh, so much more. Exodus, chapter 25:1-8, Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart, you shall take My offering. And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod* and in the breastplate. And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
*An “ephod” was usually made of woven linen worn in battles over a breastplate. It had more of a religious connotation as opposed to being protective.
Often they purchased expensive offerings or gave laboriously handmade offerings. As you read further in Exodus, you will realize their gifts were forged in wood and exotic materials. The Tabernacle was built to certain, detailed specifications that required sawing, hammering, elaborate tooling, weaving, looping, hanging, constructing, and so much more. They made garments, curtains, breastplates, while some cut row upon row of precious stones of Jasper, Sardinia, topaz, chalcedony, emeralds, turquoise, sapphires, diamond, jacinth, (an agate), amethyst, beryl, and onyx. And, as if that wasn’t sufficient, these precious stones were mounted in gold settings. Jasper and the Sardinia stones are the first and last of these twelve stones, representing the tribes of Israel. The jasper represented Reuben, the first of the tribes, since Reuben was the firstborn of Jacob. The sardine stone represented Benjamin, the youngest of the twelve sons of Jacob.
Time and talents, craftsmanship, and artistry of the highest degree. These folks knew how to give, and give willingly. Exodus 35, verses 5 tells us, ‘Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord.’
All the women who were gifted artisans spun yarn with their hands, and brought what they had spun, of blues, purples, and scarlet, and fine linen. If they wanted God to accept their offerings for the building of the tabernacle, they had to present those offerings in a spirit of joy and willingness (35:4-29). Though all could give offerings, only those with the God-given ability and the right motivation were to do the work (35:30-36:1). The people responded so generously in bringing materials for the work that Moses finally asked them to stop giving.
I’ve never heard of a preacher, priest, or minister of today’s world having that kind of problem. We provide them with gifts, and they build crystal churches, gyms, and playgrounds with them. Was any of that mentioned in Exodus when detailed specifications were laid out for God's Tabernacle?
People toiled six days a week for the Lord, but were commanded to rest on the seventh day to the extent that they were not even permitted lighting a fire for their tent.
The New Testament relates many stories of gifts. The most famous one speaks of the visitors to the Baby Jesus.
Matthew 2:11 tells us, After coming into the house, they saw the Child with Mary, His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
However, I like to reinforce—all your gifts to God do not have to go through the church. Before you get all excited, ecstatic, or upset, I’m not against giving to the church. Nor telling you not to give to the Church to save you money. Churches do need the support of their congregations, but so do non-denominational food pantries, orphanages, homeless shelters, and such. If you like to calculate your goodwill offerings against a 10% measure and divide that over several organizations, that’s your choice.
In truth, I do not find any references in the Bible where God or Jesus asked for 10%. Genesis 28:20-22 tells us: Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”
You see, in that group of verses, Jacob made an openhearted offer, even if it does come off a bit as a bribe to God, “If God will be with me?”
Reading in the story of Abraham, we see he gave Melchizedek 10% of all his spoils from war. We learned it was God who put it in Abraham’s heart to do that. Putting a freewill “10% burden” on a person’s heart is not your requirement. How do we know this? We know this because it is recorded in the bible. God put it in Abraham’s heart to give. Perhaps that was how a biblical foundation for a 10% tithe was laid.
Now Matthew 6:1-4, while giving great advice, does not specify a certain amount or percentage. Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Surely, we all know of the story of deceit involving gifts found in Acts chapter 5.
Lying to the Holy Spirit
I’ve made the line above bolder as a reminder to say, in the Bible, bold headings like that are not supported by direct text within scrolls. A scholarly committee, of whatever Bible version you read, decided to insert or not insert those. Not only may they vary from version to version, but you also may not even find them. It is interesting to me, maybe not to you, that the NKJV labels this chapter of Acts as Lying to the Holy Spirit when the two culprits were dealing with Peter. After we read the following verses, your thoughts will be appreciated.
Acts 5, 1-11, But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold their land. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.”
Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.
Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?”
She said, “Yes, for so much.”
Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.
Possibly 2 Corinthians 9:7 says it best. “So let each one give as he (or she) purposes in his (or her) heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
Now for all of you who might be calculating how your savings or checking accounts might grow since those verses indicate you are not required to give 10%. Wait a minute, let's see and hear how the other shoe is going to drop. Ready?
Here it is—God does not want your 10%. He wants your 100%. Jesus says, throughout the New Testament, to follow Him to the fullest, we must give every part of us. He wasn’t just talking about time, lifestyle, and/or our money. Jesus requests our everything. Too bad Barry White wasn’t singing about Jesus when he sang “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything. That’s how Jesus wants us to feel and live.
Have you ever considered all the gifts you have—or your gifts that can be offered to Jesus? How about the gift of your talents, the ones you possess that can be offered in the name of Jesus to God? God needs nothing. We can’t give Him anything He needs. Let’s give the things He and Jesus desires.
He desires us to love him and our neighbors. His desire is for us to love Him wholeheartedly. When we do so, we are truly offering a true gift, because He will never force us to do so.
Our wholehearted gifts should include these diverse items:
1. Praise and thank God. These we should do as close as we can come to “unceasingly.”
2. Testify. Through our testimonies, teaching, and training, we should bring our families to “Know Him.”
3. We should reach out beyond the wall of any Church to feed the unsaved nutritional foods and “His Word.” His Word being the most important of the two.
4. We should give Him the fruits of our abilities by using our talents and God-given gifts to serve Him in all the ways we can. Those abilities could be diverse, such as leading Sunday School or dishing out food to the homeless from behind the counter of a shelter not even associated with a church. Whatever good you can think of, do in His name.
5. Give Him our weaknesses. This may sound strange, at first. But God knows our strengths and weaknesses. Praying to Him, expecting, not just hoping, for His uplifting guidance. Because we trust He is in control, can relieve us of our fears and conquer our shortcomings.
6. Give Him our futures. Now, before it is too late. By placing our futures in and with Him, we will be living our lives for Him. That is what He wants. Instead of planning to do this or that, then praying that God gives you what you want, “gift” God your future. Work for Him! God knows what it takes for you to be happy and fulfilled. Christ knows who you are, what you can do, where you should live, and everything else you could be wondering about! Trust Him with your future. Then, you will be “gifting” Him with the ability to guide you on the paths He has planned for you since the beginning of time.
7. Pass out compliments. No, there is no need to compliment Christ, God, or the Holy Spirit. They do, however, appreciate your sincere thanks, I imagine. But take the time to compliment the Staff at Church, Christian Volunteers, the Red Cross workers, and do not forget all the “every day” dedicated and cheerful clerks and managers of every type of retail and wholesale store we are blessed with. City workers and building managers and staff give them a cheerful salutation and a blessed goodbye. Compliment them on anything you see, good or professional, or just that you appreciate them working at times like today. Spread the joy.
Is all the above, and more, easy? Not for me. Since we’ve been given free will by Him, we often go in different directions, not thinking of God or others. I make those kinds of mistakes daily. We often think we are controlling our lives. Ha! Do we sometimes believe what we are doing is right? Or permissible? Or worse, we don’t think about the Trinity or our neighbors frequently or with heartfelt feelings and generosity.
Try giving your whole heart to God and see if you aren’t happier than you’ve ever been? Possibly, you’ll find a peace you have seldom experienced before? Not only is it wonderfully amazing, but that’s also what Jesus wants for you and everybody else.
Psalm 76:11, Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared.
Matthew 22:21 Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.
Ask yourself, should we expect God to give us 100% of His blessings for a 10% commitment from us? Constraining or restricting what we give to 10% is like telling God we only want part of what He has for us. My point in writing this today is not to make anybody or myself look good or bad, it is to share the truth about what God really wants from us. In all honesty, some don’t believe in tithing, but not for bad reasons, but because they give gifts in abundance to needy people or forthright organizations. Their generosity exceeded the tithe of 10%. A really cheerful giver is one who is willing to give most everything for the sake of the Gospel; just like Jesus did for us.
Psalm 116:12, What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? What gifts should we bring to the Lord? Psalm 76:11, Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared.
Well, I ask you, “Did the baby Jesus need the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, the traveling wise men brought forth to lie at His feet? No! But the sale of those items surely went a long way to defray the expenses of the traveling family. Does God need anything on this earth to be offered as a gift?
The LORD says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that? Could you build me such a resting place? My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the LORD, have spoken! “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word. (Isaiah 66:1-2)
So, if none of our earthly treasures would be meaningful to God ~ what should we offer? Three of the offerings we can bring to the delight of the Lord would be to:
Love the Lord God with all your heart and soul
Extend to your neighbor, love, kindness, and mercy
In matters of spiritual or human origin, be humble and God-worthy
Matthew 22:21, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.
One of the most significant gifts we should give to our Savior is our gratitude. We should be giving thanks to God for all that He did and continues to do for us. Everything we are, everything we have, every breath we take, and everything our future brings—all comes from Him.
Giving our spiritual gifts to our Savior does not mean any of us has to be perfect in every moment of our lives. It does mean we should try to do our very best every waking moment, and even that is nearly impossible. After stumbling, pick yourself up, repent, and continue to strive to do better. Our Savior accepts every gift we offer, no matter how small or humble it may be. As we give Christ, and the neighbors we are supposed to love, the gift of ourselves, we, in turn, will be blessed.
What was the greatest gift the world received, I’d offer up—For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life, John 3:16.
God, and God alone, is the ultimate gift-giver. Scripture tells us God knows everything about us, past, present, and future, and for all that, we are forgiven. Hallelujah! Our salvation will be the most “perfect gift” we could ever hope to receive.
THE END
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