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I Give You Me Christmas truly is all about giving. Our heavenly Father gave us His only begotten Son to show us His heart. Though Jesus Christ was God’s Son, He lived as a servant. Jesus, as a servant of the Father, humbly ministered unto people by preaching to them, healing them, delivering them, and forgiving them. As a form of servitude Jesus even washed the disciples’ feet. But as the ultimate form of humility and giving, Jesus died to destroy the power of our eternal death sentence. If the revoking of the death sentence was the only goal, Jesus would not have had to preach , to heal, or deliver anyone. We must see that the Father wants us to know His heart toward us, and that He cares about us every day of our lives. Yes, He wants us to be saved, but He also wants us to walk in the wholeness of body, mind, soul, and spirit that He has given to us. Col 3:23-25 (KJV) “And whatsoever ye do, do [it] heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.” It is good to give gifts to others because we love them and care for them, but giving must be kept in its proper perspective. If we give to others, most probably what they do not deserve, and neglect to give to God what He is truly worthy of, we surely have neglected the greater. It is not just that He is worthy of our money (tithe and offerings), and it is not just that He is worthy of our acknowledgement, (praise and worship), it is that He is worthy of our all! Yes, our all! God has given us His all through Jesus Christ, and through Him has also told us what He desires. Mat 22:37-39 (KJV) “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” I have heard it said that we show forth the love of God by loving others. I believe that, but I know that it is impossible to love others in truth if we do not first have a loving relationship with God through His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For example: Many people claim they will not go to church because it is filled with hypocrites, but those same people give gifts to all-out sinners in the name of Christ every Christmas. Are they truly showing forth the love of God? No; at best they are either consciously or unconsciously trying to cover some of the guilt that they would feel if they did not give out of tradition. We must remember that God did what He did so that we might know His heart and His will for us in this life, as well as for eternity. So the best we can do in celebration of Christmas is to put the Lord first and then minister to others the will of the Father. This Christmas remember: We can never truly touch the heart of the Father by giving what we want to give if we have not first told Him, “I GIVE YOU ME.” -Kurt Thurston December Newsletter 2003 | To Be Humbled | The Most Wonderful Time of the Year | I Give You Me Pastor's Journal December 2002 | The End of the Beginning | A People Plundered part 3 of 3 |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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