The Gift

Gifts. I have been so blessed in life, receiving gifts that were thoughtfully chosen, that required self-sacrifice. I have been blessed, too, in having the means to choose gifts for others.

There is such joy in giving a gift. It is so much fun when you find that gift which is just perfect for someone you love. Often that gift is found when you’re not really looking for it.

I received the gift of the Holy Spirit when I was not expecting it. The Giver knew, though, that I was really looking for it, and was in a position to receive, open, and value it. Even the faith to receive the gift, was a gift. I didn’t – don’t – deserve such a gift.

In The Message paraphrase of the Bible, a couple of verses in Romans are rendered, ‘Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own.’ ‘…it’s something only God can do’ ‘…Sheer gift.’

Sheer gift, which cost God more than I can even take in. A gift which he was prepared to give, despite the sacrifice. A gift which he was excited to give. A gift which gives him joy to give.

Part of the joy in gift-giving is seeing the surprise and joy in the person receiving it. How heart-breaking for God, to find his priceless gift, the gift of salvation, left on the floor, unopened, unvalued. Not received by so many. And yet, received by every believer, but sometimes taken for granted, forgotten about, unvalued.

I’ve still got the wee bleed spot on my wrist, a poignant reminder of the price of the gift, inspiring a thankful heart, a grateful spirit. I hope it doesn’t go away before I’ve made it a habit to thank Jesus every time I notice my wrist, marked or not.

What a gift. What a Giver.

Blood is Thicker than Water

They say that blood is thicker than water. Just back from a regular blood test to ensure mine isn’t too thick, which can and has caused problems in the past. So grateful for the NHS.

One of the signs that Jesus was really dead was that the spear thrust into his side, while he still hung on the cross, caused an emission of blood and water which had separated. I understand this is a sign that a body sustains life no longer.

Jesus did die. Yet he lives again: I know that because without his strength sustaining me, there are many situations in my life which would cause me to buckle. He reminds me that he is there, alongside, holding the reins, and all I need do is accept his gifts of life, love, peace and joy, and relish the journey.

The separation of his blood at his death shows that Jesus was, indeed, human like us. The presence of him, by his Spirit, in my daily life shows me that he is, indeed divine. So glad that we are all part of his family. Blood is thicker than water.

Gifts of God

God is love. The Bible is clear on that. One passage I’ve been reading is from one of John’s letters and the bit I’ve been looking at ends with the order to ‘keep yourself from idols’. It seems to jar. 

What do idols have to do with God being love, I wondered.

Following on from that, I considered how I can love life more than I love Jesus. Oh, not in my head but in the way I act and speak. But since life is a gift from God, can that be wrong?

Many idols start out as gifts. Life. Money. Jewellery. Children. Spouse. Talents. Maybe a car or a house. They start out as gifts but their importance in our lives can grow until they overshadow the giver. They become the focus rather than the love of either the person, or God, who gave us the gift. 

We live to worship God, not his gifts. They come our way out of the overflow of his heart, and so that we can share them with others. 

I’ve got a picture of worshippers, faces turned to heaven, arms reaching out, receiving gifts gratefully but allowing them to pile up around us in hills of blessing for others to receive, too. Our gaze is not distracted to the gifts but focused on the giver. 

For this, Lord, I need the essential gift of your Spirit, to help me maintain focus. Amen.

We two kings

We two kings ...

The third king has come unstuck. He’s dropped the light, and awaits repair upstairs. He dropped it last Christmas, and has awaited repair all year. But we’ve been too busy, one way and another, to even take time to apply a bit of glue to his upturned arms. A whole year hasn’t been long enough somehow...

It’s easy to drop the light. To become unstuck, too busy with preparations for everything, everyone,  except the King. I just had a wee chat with our postie Paul, who said he is madly laying floors and painting walls before family arrive for the holidays. Today I am pretty focused on getting the traditional Potica to rise – always a challenge in a cold house. Then I want to check the gift situation, do a bit of wrapping, a lot of cleaning, some more baking ... the prep goes on. Busy busy.

And the prep can snuff out the light. We can even drop it as our hands fill up with all sorts of things.

I’ve just come out of the prayer window, and a rendezvous with the King. Time to confess, to be cleansed, to be refilled and relit with the Light of the World. Advent is the season of prep, but we – I – so often replace the important inner, spiritual preparation of a place fit for the King of Kings to live, with outer, relatively unimportant prep.

May your light shine bright throughout the busy preparations. Especially in this world of turmoil and uncertainty, as the darkness nips at our toes, the prep that is really needed is that time in the prayer window, or wherever you call your sacred space. 

Whatever gift you have been given by the King, let him fill your arms with it this Christmas, as you offer it back to him in utter trust and joy.

God has the Power

God has the power.

The Bible reveals God as being love. Not as Someone who just loves a lot. The very essence of his being is love. He can’t do anything else but love. That is who he is. God is Love. Love is God.

He created everything. I am looking out at a flowering garden which has flourished in the warmth and good weather this summer. The roses are huge and fragrant. 

I, too, should be flowering. I have flourished in the warmth and goodness of God’s love. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that God has the power to cause all kinds of gifts to overflow to you. All kinds of gifts.

He is love. He is good. He has the power. Do I have the faith to believe that and the perseverance to pursue it? To pursue him, for the gifts he has given me to overflow within me?

Paul also wrote, to Timothy, that he should fan into flame the gift of God. One of the gifts I believe God has given me is an ability to write and a desire to write for him. But lately I’ve allowed busyness to intervene, to steal reflective moments when creativity is birthed and can grow. 

Lately? Maybe most of my life I’ve allowed myself to be driven by the obvious (an untidy house, mountain of ironing, proliferation of weeds, etc etc) and loosely considered that I will write more when I have more time.

This is the day that the Lord has made. Today. I may not have tomorrow. I may never have more time than I have today.

I am repenting of my own distractedness and praying for perseverance in fanning into flame one of the gifts God has given me. I want to flower. I want to flourish and produce writing that blesses others, that feeds the souls of people, that draws them to God and that helps them laugh and enjoy the gift of life.

What gifts has God given you, that you long to see flourish? Because he has the power. And the will. And the love. Trust in him. That’s what I’m trying to do.

Limitations

Limitations

It’s only by pushing out the boat that you discover it doesn’t float. 

I have been pushing out the boat in an area in which I have no interest, and it is sinking. 

Why didn’t I pay closer heed to the truth that God gives each of us gifts to use, and other jobs can be done by those with those gifts?

I wouldn’t be so stressed if only I had!