Thought for July 1, 2023

1523: First Lutheran martyrs are burned alive--Johann Esch and Heinrich Voes

1643: First meeting of the Westminster Assembly. Later would publish Westminster catechisms 

1863: Battle of Gettysburg

1899: Gideons founded; first Bible placed in a hotel in 1908

1903: Geronimo baptized into the Methodist Church

1908: SOS becomes worldwide distress call

1941: Bulova Watch Co. pays $9 for first network TV commercial

Born: Olivia de Havilland, Diana Spencer, Dan Aykroyd, Carl Lewis, Andrae Crouch

Died: Charles Goodyear, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Marlon Brando

Thought:

Read 2 Corinthians 9:15 this morning. One simple verse. "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift." This verse completes this chapter often used in sermons and lessons on giving. We have been instructed to sow bountifully. We have been promised that God supplies the seed and will provide a harvest of righteousness. We have been commanded to give cheerfully--with the assurance that the God of all ability and God of all grace will supply all grace, always, in every situation so that we can complete the good deeds that He has ordained for us. Reminds us of Ephesians 2:10--we are His poem created in Christ for the good works He has prepared for us. 

Now look at how Paul ends this chapter. We can never give a gift that matches the gift of God to us in Christ Jesus. We give bountifully because He gave everything. We give cheerfully, because He died for us willingly. We give because of the gift we have received in Jesus. 

Now try and describe God's gift--what can you compare it to; what words can we draw from a dictionary that describe it; does the thesaurus have synonyms that we can apply? Paul understands that no gift I can give measures up to His gift. No deed that I can do is worthy to be mentioned with the deed He did. The answer about giving is simply--Jesus is an indescribable gift and He offers to us an indescribable gift--eternal life with God. Any teaching I need on giving comes from kneeling at the cross---a sinner, dead, destined for separation from God forever--purchased by God Himself. 

Why do we give our time, talents, money--He gave an indescribable gift. 

Blessings

Larry

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