December 26th, 2023
One of my favorite things to do is give gifts, which is part of why I love Christmas so much. I enjoy thinking of something that will make a person feel known and loved! As we celebrated Christmas this week, gifts have been on my mind, but they’ve also been on my heart. This season is about the greatest gift we’ve ever been given! John 3:16 says,
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
As if it weren’t enough that Jesus died to redeem us from sin and hell, God also made provision for our healing, deliverance, and protection. He gave us the Holy Spirit and made us more than conquerors in His name. He gave us the right to be called His sons and daughters. He poured out His Spirit so we can be in communion with the One who inhabits eternity. Let us never take for granted all that He’s given! Have we even begun to scratch the surface of what He’s made provision for in Jesus? Romans 8:32 says,
“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?’
God has given us more than we could ever ask or imagine. With that in mind, what have we given Him in response? Over the past few days, we’ve likely given gifts to the people close to us. We spent time planning and then purchasing and wrapping presents for those we love. Have we spent time thinking about what we give the Lord?
The Old Testament gave instructions for bringing specific gift offerings to God, out of Thanksgiving or when someone felt compelled to give a gift above and beyond the usual sacrifices. The tithe wasn’t considered a gift, exactly, because it already belongs to Lord. Leviticus 27:30-32 says,
“Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD'S; it is holy to the LORD. If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman's staff, shall be holy to the LORD.”
In the book of Malachi, the people were rebuked, both for withholding the tithe and therefore robbing God, and for bringing unacceptable offerings. Malachi 1:6-8 says,
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the LORD'S table may be despised. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the LORD of hosts. And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the LORD of hosts.”
Think about it. If you had the opportunity to give a gift to a king, would you bring a used item or something you found on the street? Would you bring something you were throwing away anyway? Of course not. Wouldn’t you take the best gift you could find? In Malachi 1:14, God said,
“For I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.”
The wise men brought gifts to Jesus that were fit for a King. How often do we even spend time thinking about what we’re giving to God? The tithe of our money is a good thing, and it may even become second nature. However, when was the last time we gave something to God that meant something to us and Him, whether it was time, money, or an act of obedience?
King David said something so powerful when he was looking for a place to build an altar for the Lord. Someone offered him a threshing floor and all that was necessary for the sacrifices at no cost, but David replied,
“No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24:24)
A gift that costs us nothing doesn’t mean anything to God. We see Jesus teach this so clearly in Luke 21:1-4. It says,
“Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and He saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And He said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
The widow’s gift was significant to God because it was significant to her. Things that have earthly and monetary value only matter to God when they matter to us! God owns everything and needs nothing! We can’t ever give God something He needs, but He takes delight in our gifts when they come from our heart.
One of the most humbling things we can realize is that there is absolutely nothing we could ever do or give to be worthy of the gift He’s given us. However, we have the ability to present before Him the thing He wants most. John 4:23 says,
“The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”
It doesn’t say that God is seeking worship. It says He is seeking worshippers. He is seeking us. We can give Him what He’s asked for, which is all of our hearts. Jesus then sent that woman to tell everyone in her town about Jesus. After we come into His Kingdom, we get the privilege of telling people about Him and bringing more souls into His Kingdom. God doesn’t care about things. He cares about people and hearts! Luke 10:27 tells us the greatest commandment:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
Have we given Him our time, our devotion, our passion, and our gifts? There will be times He will ask us for things, whether it’s an item or a monetary sacrifice, but we will never give more than He will give back. We will never be as free as when we hold everything we have with an open hand. More than that, we will never be as whole as when we place our hearts fully in His hand, holding nothing back. As this season of giving nears its end, I encourage you to give Him everything you have! This coming year, let’s go after God like never before and see His Kingdom come. Let’s pursue Him with burning hearts and our very best! He is a Father and a King. He’s worthy of absolutely everything we have. As Hebrews 12:1 says,
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
As if it weren’t enough that Jesus died to redeem us from sin and hell, God also made provision for our healing, deliverance, and protection. He gave us the Holy Spirit and made us more than conquerors in His name. He gave us the right to be called His sons and daughters. He poured out His Spirit so we can be in communion with the One who inhabits eternity. Let us never take for granted all that He’s given! Have we even begun to scratch the surface of what He’s made provision for in Jesus? Romans 8:32 says,
“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?’
God has given us more than we could ever ask or imagine. With that in mind, what have we given Him in response? Over the past few days, we’ve likely given gifts to the people close to us. We spent time planning and then purchasing and wrapping presents for those we love. Have we spent time thinking about what we give the Lord?
The Old Testament gave instructions for bringing specific gift offerings to God, out of Thanksgiving or when someone felt compelled to give a gift above and beyond the usual sacrifices. The tithe wasn’t considered a gift, exactly, because it already belongs to Lord. Leviticus 27:30-32 says,
“Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD'S; it is holy to the LORD. If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman's staff, shall be holy to the LORD.”
In the book of Malachi, the people were rebuked, both for withholding the tithe and therefore robbing God, and for bringing unacceptable offerings. Malachi 1:6-8 says,
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the LORD'S table may be despised. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the LORD of hosts. And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the LORD of hosts.”
Think about it. If you had the opportunity to give a gift to a king, would you bring a used item or something you found on the street? Would you bring something you were throwing away anyway? Of course not. Wouldn’t you take the best gift you could find? In Malachi 1:14, God said,
“For I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.”
The wise men brought gifts to Jesus that were fit for a King. How often do we even spend time thinking about what we’re giving to God? The tithe of our money is a good thing, and it may even become second nature. However, when was the last time we gave something to God that meant something to us and Him, whether it was time, money, or an act of obedience?
King David said something so powerful when he was looking for a place to build an altar for the Lord. Someone offered him a threshing floor and all that was necessary for the sacrifices at no cost, but David replied,
“No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24:24)
A gift that costs us nothing doesn’t mean anything to God. We see Jesus teach this so clearly in Luke 21:1-4. It says,
“Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and He saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And He said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
The widow’s gift was significant to God because it was significant to her. Things that have earthly and monetary value only matter to God when they matter to us! God owns everything and needs nothing! We can’t ever give God something He needs, but He takes delight in our gifts when they come from our heart.
One of the most humbling things we can realize is that there is absolutely nothing we could ever do or give to be worthy of the gift He’s given us. However, we have the ability to present before Him the thing He wants most. John 4:23 says,
“The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”
It doesn’t say that God is seeking worship. It says He is seeking worshippers. He is seeking us. We can give Him what He’s asked for, which is all of our hearts. Jesus then sent that woman to tell everyone in her town about Jesus. After we come into His Kingdom, we get the privilege of telling people about Him and bringing more souls into His Kingdom. God doesn’t care about things. He cares about people and hearts! Luke 10:27 tells us the greatest commandment:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
Have we given Him our time, our devotion, our passion, and our gifts? There will be times He will ask us for things, whether it’s an item or a monetary sacrifice, but we will never give more than He will give back. We will never be as free as when we hold everything we have with an open hand. More than that, we will never be as whole as when we place our hearts fully in His hand, holding nothing back. As this season of giving nears its end, I encourage you to give Him everything you have! This coming year, let’s go after God like never before and see His Kingdom come. Let’s pursue Him with burning hearts and our very best! He is a Father and a King. He’s worthy of absolutely everything we have. As Hebrews 12:1 says,
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
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