Category: Gifts

Romans 6:23                                                       Receive Your Gift

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (NIV).

 

It doesn’t snow often in Tucson, but it snows on the surrounding mountains often enough that we get to see the line between snow and no snow on the mountains fairly frequently.  I once was hiking up a trail with the snow line close enough that I could see it, but it moved up the mountain as fast or faster than I could climb.  I never quite reached it.  A first glance of the snow line shows a rather sharp demarcation between snow and no snow, but as we look closer, we notice that there are indentations and sharp cornices where the line is not quite straight.  It’s possible to be standing at a height below the snow line, but still see snow below because of an indentation.  Satan would love to convince us that the “sin line” is like that, a little wavy, not consistent.  He’s wrong.  There is no thing such as “almost a sin,” and “just a little bit of sin.”  God has set a definite line between sin and truth, and “the wages of sin is death” whether the sin is a “little sin” or a “great big sin.”  There is no wiggle room when it comes to sin.  Don’t fall for satan’s lie—sin is sin and there is only one punishment for sin—death.  “I guess I’m doomed then.”  NO, I AM NOT DOOMED!  Jesus accepted the punishment for all my sins, every one of them, past, present, and future.  Jesus has accepted the wages for my sin and for your sin, and for your neighbors’ sin, and for the sin of Johann Gonzales in Seville, Spain.  But in order to receive this gift of sin forgiveness we need to ask Jesus for it and then accept it.  Have you ever refused a Christmas gift?  I doubt that you have.  Well, don’t refuse this gift.  It is the best one you will ever receive. It’s the gift of eternal life.  Once you accept it, it is as if you had never sinned, from the “little” sins to the “great big ones.”  Jesus makes you pure and clean, and nobody else can do that.  Here’s hoping that you receive Jesus’ gift of sin forgiveness.  If you do, I’ll get to meet you some day in heaven.  I’m looking forward to that.

1 Peter 4:10                                                               Stewardship

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (ESV).

 

When we think of biblical stewardship, we usually think of the parable of the three servants who were given differing amounts of money to invest for their master.  That’s a great parable that shows how we are expected to use what God has given us to His advantage, and we usually consider the “talents” as money.  Two servants did a good job, and one, being fearful, buried what he was given and did nothing with it for fear that he would lose it—and he did.

Peter speaks of stewardship in a different manner.  He sees it as putting to good use the talents and abilities God has given us.  Peter doesn’t mention the poor steward probably because he expects each of us to put his abilities to good use.  He seems to assume good stewardship because he knows that Jesus expected His disciples to go forth and preach the Gospel even though they had not been trained as speakers or theologians before they met Jesus.  They had been given the gift of teaching and preaching the Good News by Jesus through observing Him and by the impartation of the Holy Ghost.

Not many have been given the gift of teaching or the gift of preaching, but God doesn’t count that as a valid excuse for doing nothing.  He has given each of us a talent for use in the Kingdom of God, and He expects us to develop it and use it.  Many, or maybe even most, talents are not publicly acknowledged, but it makes a difference in the Kingdom if they are not used.  Men may not notice the difference when a talent is not used, but God does.  As it says in 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he had done in the body, whether good or evil” (ESV).  What will I say when Jesus says, “Let’s take a look at what you did with the talent I gave you”?  Then I will receive my reward for the work I did with the tools He gave me.  Then I will be glad that I didn’t bury the talent He gave me.  I will be able to rejoice that I made good use of it.  I’m sure you will have reason to rejoice also.