Friday, December 6, 2013

What Do You Give To A God Who Has Everything?


We all have people that we have a hard time shopping for.

You know the frustration that comes with this and you go to the mall hoping to be inspired right? You walk down the concourse and look in shops and stores that seem to offer everything you can think of and the middle of the concourse is jam packed with small kiosks that also have things promised to please that person on your list. You just want to find the "Perfect gift" right?

What do you give someone who needs or wants absolutely nothing?

What do you get for someone who has absolutely everything?

I have to look at God when I ask this question because for so long I tried so hard to come up with ways to "Present my body a living sacrifice" to Him. If I dressed a certain way or only listened to certain types of music, went to only church functions, only had friends from within my church, or even read the Bible through in year that would be pleasing to God right?

Would He smile at me then?

I was painted a picture of a angry volcano type of God who needed me to constantly check boxes to please Him and keep Him from erupting and He really was more like an unstable parent to me than a loving Father.

I could never do enough because if I prayed for an hour it was if the question was asked, "Why didn't you pray for two?"
Any gift that I brought to Him always seemed to be something that He already had or that someone else could do better and really He was not interested in receiving it anyway.

Then one day, I spied something out shopping that pulled me in right away.

YES!!!

This was the perfect gift for a God who has everything!!!


See, the day of your birth and the day of your death are two days that you have absolutely no choice over. You do however have a choice over what you do with every day in between these two events.
 
It is options that give choices power.
 
It is the options that are utilized that make the choice valuable. Think about it, how loved would you really feel if someone had no option but to love you? It is the choice that they made to love you out of all the options that they had that makes the love that they give you so valuable.
 
So when it comes to getting God that perfect gift, is it really an option to check boxes if you are afraid He is going to break your legs if you don't? No. It is no different than playing by the rules of Don Coleon.
 

But He is God the Father and not the godfather. He does not demand anything from us that we are not willing or capable to give Him freely.

So we walk through the spiritual mall and check out stores like "Standards R Us", and the "Service Center", we consider the tithing store, and the attendance shop and ultimately we fail to feel like we gave Him the right gift because to truly give a perfect gift, you need to know the person well that you are shopping for. There is nothing wrong with standards, servie, tithing, or any of it, but if we giving those things to keep Him happy with us or to be a better gifter than the other relatives than we are missing the mark.

I had been shopping at the store "Law-Mart" and coming up with terrible gifts for Father. One day I came across the Kiosk of GRACE in the middle of that proverbial shopping mall and it was at that Kiosk of GRACE that I discovered the "Perfect Gift for the God Who Has Everything".

It was Faith.

Does it really take Faith to be in a spot however many times a week? Does it take Faith to serve in a ministry?

Does it take Faith to read your Bible through in a year?

Not that any of those things are wrong, but really ask yourself this question, "What have i done today that required Faith to do?"

Things will begin to shift just a bit in our shopping mindset if we do.

"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."  ~Hebrews 11:5-7

Faith is simply put, choosing God over so many other options that seem to make sense.
 

It is choosing to trust in the fact that the Christ did die for your sins and that His work was finished at the cross and that I have received a new nature to walk in.

God's wrath for me was poured out on Jesus and now because of Him there is therefore no more commendation. The only way that I will face the wrath of God is to die without a relationship with Him through the shed blood of His son.

Faith.

It is Faith that allows me to operate in newness of life.

It is Faith that provides me the strength to tell temptation "No".

It is Faith that enables me to be today what He made me to be.

If God intends for me to live my life out of and through Faith in Him to be who He says He is, than what is it that He cannot do with you?

You might say, "Well Dan, I have made some pretty lousy choices with my life."

"Sometimes it is the wrong choices that bring us to the right places"

He has you here right now and of all the things that your eyes could have seen today, they are seeing this. Why is He allowing you to read this out of everything that you will read today?

Choices.
 
 
What is it that you would do if you were not afraid that God could not or would not help you to do?
 
What would your life look like one year from today if you just decided today that you were going to operate in Faith that God is who He says He is and that He is able to accomplish what He speaks into your heart?
 
Give God the perfect Gift today!
 
Operate in the Faith that HE is who He says He is and that He can do and will do what it is that He has said He would do!
 
Shopping for "The God Who Has Everything" and finding the perfect gift is not hard at all if you know the God you are shopping for.
 
Climbing with you,
~Dan

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