Every Perfect Gift
Church,
As I was working today, I was reminded of James 1:17 - "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heaven who does not change." Pastor is speaking on ILMB (in Him we live move and have our being); God gives us the gift of life through Jesus.
I think it's interesting how God has demonstrated, through His Son, that gifts aren't meant to for us to hold onto. He created His Son then gave Him away to those who were not deserving of Him. Jesus received the gift of the Holy Spirit so He could then give His Spirit to the rest of the world. Jesus poured His gift of love on us first so that we could love Him and spread His love to others. Jesus is our joy, and we give that joy back to Him in the form of faithful praise. God created each of us with specific talents and gifts, not so we can boast about ourselves, but that we may show others how God is the ultimate creator, one without limits. God lavishes His love upon me, now I can love Him back. God gave me salvation, now my testimony can be a spark for someone else's fire. God gave me my children, and I give them right back to Him.
Giving a gift back to the Lord is not to say I'm ungrateful or that I don't value it. It's the opposite: what God has given me is too valuable for my flesh to look after, I need something greater than myself to help keep it safe. Giving my gifts, talents, joy, praise, and worship back to God is a form of surrender and humility. My imperfect self cannot be entrusted with a perfect gift, but Jesus is with me, guiding and helping me to guard these things for the sake of His glory. Not only does He deserve it, but if our blessings and gifts stay with us it stops short of what the world needs from us—to glorify the name of Jesus for all to see, to hear and to know.
-Nate
Song List:
- Joy - Martin Smith. https://youtu.be/iSY2P7z7e30?si=3cAva739KZXyLu_W
- Gratitude - Brandon Lake. https://youtu.be/vA83MufOCoA?si=k5M7SPMD5jxmitiM
- Goodness of God - Jenn Johnson. https://youtu.be/n0FBb6hnwTo?si=QX3nnrSuhJ0sQyxO
- Jesus Loves - Zach Williams. https://youtu.be/2sI7cjP2VNg?si=v0TN_8Oa75LLgdQu