YOU and GOD

Miscellaneous Musings on Giving

This is my third consecutive post on the subject of stewardship, or giving. I am not being repetitious without a purpose, though. I have collected quaint sayings, interesting stories, and tidbits over the past 60 years that I want to share and pass on to whomever may be able to use some of them.

At age 83, and with cancer in my body, I do not know how long I will be able to post such blogs. (This is # 593.) So, for what it’s worth, here are some stories and quotes that maybe a younger pastor or teacher can file for future use in a lesson or message:

“A little church was having a homecoming service to which ex-members who had moved away were invited. One of the former members had become a millionaire. When asked to speak, the wealthy man recounted his childhood experience. He had earned his first silver dollar, which he decided to keep forever. ‘But when a visiting missionary preached about the urgent need for funds in his mission work, and the offering basket was passed, a great struggle took place within me.’ As a result, the wealthy man said, ‘I put my treasured silver dollar in the basket. I am convinced that the reason God has blessed me richly is that when I was a boy I gave God everything I possessed.’ The congregation was spellbound by the multimillionaire’s tremendous statement—until an elderly little man seated in the front row rose and said, ‘Brother, I dare you to do it again.’” (copied)

A preacher was told that preaching on giving would kill his church, to which he replied, “I’d like to find a church killed by the pastor preaching on giving; I’d stand on the roof and shout, ‘Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.’” (copied)

“I have never, as a pastor, known a really healthy, fruitful Christian who was a stingy person. The liberal soul shall be made fat.” (T. T. Shields in a message “How to Become Rich” as quoted in the Gospel Witness, 2/1/79)

Dr. R.V. Clearwaters was for more than 40 years pastor of the Fourth Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and founder and president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary, from which I graduated in 1969. In 1982, when Dr. Clearwaters was a guest for dinner in our home, he told our son, Theo, 12 years old at that time, how he became a tither. It was in the 20s, when he was working his way through school, making $6 a week busing tables. His room, board, and tuition was $8.50. He was on the 7^th floor of a building and had just gotten onto the elevator with another man. On the way down, Dr. Clearwaters asked him if he were a tither; the man said, “No, I believe in it, but I’m trying to get on my feet—I believe it’s scriptural but have not gotten to it just yet.” As they got off the elevator, Dr. Clearwaters extended his hand to the man to thank him. “For what?” he asked. Dr. Clearwaters said, “Why for making a tither out of me from the 7^th floor to the 1^st.” The man said, “A tither?” To which Dr. Clearwaters replied: “Yes, if you believe you should but aren’t—because you’re not on your feet—then I want to. You’re not tithing and obviously not on your feet; if that’s what not tithing will do for you, I’ll start now.” So he did—and had been a tither at that time for 60 years! (P.S. For those who have read this and were at one time acquainted with “the Doc” you will readily agree, I am sure, that this was vintage R. V. Clearwaters!)

“Our gifts from God are intended for uses which hallow His name.” (Paul Anderson)

A merchant was asked to contribute to a certain piece of church work. He gladly wrote out a check for $250 and gave it to the solicitor. At that moment, a cablegram arrived. The merchant read it and looked troubled. “This cablegram,” he said, “tells me that one of my ships has been wrecked and the cargo lost. That makes a difference in my business. I’ll have to write another check.” The solicitor thought he understood and handed back the check for $250. The merchant wrote out another and gave it to him. When the solicitor read it, he was utterly amazed; it was for $1,000. “Haven’t you made a mistake?” he asked. “No,” said the merchant. “I haven’t made a mistake.” Then he added, “To me, that cablegram was a message from my Father in Heaven. It read, ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.’” (Matt. 6:19,20)

Ok, that’ll do it for now. I have more to share on the subject—maybe at some later date. I hope you have enjoyed reading these “tidbits!”

“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (II Cor. 9:7)

Making the Impossible Possible

Most God-fearing people, both in Old Testament times and in this New Testament age of grace, have believed that a tithe of what God has allowed us to earn belongs to Him. It is sort of a universal principle of the stewardship of our increase, much like the Sabbath principle—one day in seven as a day of rest and worship—was commanded in the Old dispensation and is practiced by many in this age of grace, though not as in keeping a command. In the Old Testament, God’s people were required to bring more than one tithe per year; and in the world of New Testament grace living, many give a tithe as a starting figure while often giving much more than a tithe of their income.

“Faith-promise” giving is a common practice in many churches that are involved in aggressive missions programs, where church-planting missionaries are sent from local churches to “foreign” fields to “plant” churches, often where no church has been planted. This can be a costly venture—getting a missionary and his family prepared to go to another continent to establish a “beachhead” for the gospel. It sometimes requires well into the six-figure numbers. How is it accomplished? Often by “faith-promise” giving. That is, like-minded people of faith, wanting to co-labor with the missionary and his family, enter into a promise with God that if He brings in “x”number of dollars—whatever the person is willing to trust God by faith to bring in—then he/she will give that toward getting missionaries to the field. Any one church, at any given time, may have many people who are trusting God—by faith—to give through them to world missions what He has laid upon their heart to trust Him for.

As a young pastor, I had heard about this “faith-promise” giving principle or practice, which was originally attributed to Pastor Oswald J. Smith (1889-1986), founder and pastor of The Peoples Church in Toronto. Pastor Clifford Clark of Tulsa Baptist Temple had encouraged his church to participate in this way of giving to missions, and his church became a “model” of 20^th-century missions giving. II Cor. 8 and 9 provides the Biblical basis for such giving. I pastored in Wichita, Kansas, in the early 1970s, not far from where Pastor Clark was based, and I listened with interest (and skepticism at first) to the testimonies of how God was blessing in getting missionaries to the fields (largely through the Baptist Bible Fellowship in those early years) through this method.

When God called me to Indianapolis to pastor Thompson Road Baptist Church, I was privileged to lead a church that, from its inception, was totally involved in missions—with a generous portion of the annual budget set aside for world missions. In 1981, God began to deal with my heart about challenging our church to give a “faith-promise” gift to God each year. We started out pretty slowly, but it caught on quickly. This was not a “pledge,” and no one would be asked to sign anything. If God did bring in an amount to cover my promise, usually unexpectedly, then I would give it to missions.

For more than 40 years now, our church has been practicing “faith-promise” giving; and we have a missions conference every year at which missionaries report as to how God has used them (and us) to plant churches. As a result, we have had the blessed privilege of co-laboring with scores of God’s choicest servants—some of them for 50 years, as they serve faithfully where God has put them. On our part, as well as on theirs, it has been a faith-ministry effort. God led us and enabled us to do what we thought we were unable to do; and it has been solely through faith. We never had a “wealthy” church, but we have always had a committed church with a heart for world evangelization. Our first conference keynote speaker introduced us to a saying that I repeated every year at missions conference time: “There was a man—they called him mad—the more he gave, the more he had.” As one of our members would often testify, “I shovel it out (faith-promise offering) and God shovels it back to me; only His shovel is a lot bigger than mine.” One conference speaker said, “Faith giving is the only way you can give more than you can afford.” And, “Only God can command the impossible and then make it possible for us to do.” And, “Faith giving is the way that everyone can give what God wants you to give.”

When the hungry and thirsty prophet, Elijah, commanded the widow to bring him a drink and a morsel of bread to eat, she thought his request was impossible. She had only enough at hand to fix her son and herself a cake to eat before they died. But she obeyed God and gave what she thought it was impossible for her to give, and she and her son “did eat many days.” ( I Kings 17:8-16)

So, as we begin a new year, how about a new motive and method of giving to God? By faith, try giving Him more than you think you can afford to give. Your mite just may become His Might!

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” (II Cor. 9:8)

Giving God’s Way

Luke is the only gospel writer to quote the powerful statement of Jesus Christ on giving: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:38) That is one loaded statement, with a principle and a promise combined into one sentence. The only thing we are commanded to do is give. The rest is to wait to see how God uses people to produce returns that are in proportion to what and why we gave.

Paul, in bidding a final farewell to the elders from Ephesus, reminded these men of God of the words of Jesus: “I have shewed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

A minister was conversing with a man who professed conversion. “Have you united with a church?” the pastor asked him. “No; the dying thief never united with the church and he went to heaven,” was the answer. “Have you ever sat at the Lord’s Table?” “No; the dying thief never did and he was accepted.” “Have you given to missions?” “No, the dying thief did not, and he was not judged for it.” “Well, my friend, the difference between you two seems to be that he was a dying thief and you are a living thief.” (I am not sure of the source of this—only that his last name was Kilmer and I clipped this article more than 50 years ago.)

Paul Van Gorder, writing in Our Daily Bread, said that “most of us would prefer to remain anonymous when the subject of giving money is discussed. We don’t want others to know the amount of our income we have designated for the Lord. But no Christian can remain unnoticed on Sunday at offering time, for there is One who sees exactly what is put into the plate or left in the box by the door.”

He continues: “To impress this truth upon his congregation, John A. Broadus—(1827-1895), American Baptist pastor and president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary—left his pulpit one Sunday morning and stood beside an usher as he began to take the collection. The pastor went with him up the aisle and observed every coin and bill that was given by parishioners. Some of them were angry, some were confused and ashamed, others were amazed, and all were surprised. When that part of the service was over, Broadus went back to the platform and began his sermon. He based his message on the incident in the life of our Lord when He observed the widow casting her two mites into the treasury. Then he concluded by saying, ‘My people, if you take it to heart that I have seen your offerings this day and know just what sacrifice you have made—and what sacrifice you have not made—remember that your Savior goes up the aisles with every usher and sees every cent contributed by His people.’”

Winston Churchill said, “You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.”

Song writer C.F. Weigle tells the story of a man in New England who had been unemployed so long that he had come to his last dollar. He laid fifty cents of it on the offering plate on Sunday. The following morning, he heard there was a possibility of his obtaining employment in a neighboring town. The railroad fare to the town was a dollar. It looked as if he should have kept the fifty cents that he laid on the offering plate; but with the fifty cents that he had he bought a ticket and rode half-way to his desired destination. He stepped from the train and started to walk to the town. But God had something better for him. Before he had gone a block, he learned of a factory near at hand that needed help. Inside of thirty minutes, he had a job with a wage of five dollars a week more than he would have received had he gone on to the other town. The first week’s pay brought back to him his fifty cents tenfold. That man was W. L. Douglas, the shoe manufacturer.

These stories are old, and they illustrate truths that are even older; yet these truths still work today. God will bless you in 2026 if you give generously with a motive of pleasing Him and ministering to others. One study revealed that personal giving in American churches was 2.5% of the household income (Protestant churches) and that 25% of the members give 75% of the total contributions.

When Zacchaeus came to know Christ as his Lord and Savior, he was a changed man. Before coming to Christ, he was known pretty much as a crook; after meeting Christ and being converted by the New Birth, Zacchaeus was ready to give half of his wealth to the poor and to return fourfold the amount of money he had taken dishonestly.

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom….” Take God at His word this year. Keep a running total of the returns. You will never go back to miserly giving.

“Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.” (Eccl. 11:1)

Watchword for 2026

A.B. Simpson—the Canadian preacher, author, and founder of the Christian Missionary Alliance—once looked into the face of a New Year and wrote: “What shall I ask for the coming year? What shall my watchword be? What would’st Thou do for me, dear Lord? What shall I do for Thee?”

I was challenged to consider a watchword for 2026, and the Spirit led me to Matt. 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Meditating upon that, I have chosen “First Things First” as my watchword for this new year, and seeking Him and His kingdom first will be my personal goal. In order to do that, I must prioritize the following:

(1) A more intimate worship relationship with my Lord. Jesus rebuffed Satan, who tried to get Him to fall down and worship him in exchange for all the kingdoms of the world with the answer, “It is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou worship.” (Luke 4:8) Our Lord spoke plainly to the woman in Samaria: “God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24). And the Psalmist exhorts that we must “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” (Ps. 29:2)
I would have to acknowledge that too much of what I do in “worship” is focused on myself rather than my Savior. “Lord, God, teach me how to worship You—in the beauty of holiness, rather than in the body of selfishness.”

(2) A conscientious, careful walking with the Lord, day by day, in the sense that Enoch “walked with God.” (Gen. 5:24) This walk would be a worthy walk (Eph.4:1); a walk in love (Eph. 5:2); a walk in light (Eph. 5:8); a walk in humility (Eph. 4:17); and a circumspect walk. (Eph. 5:15) In Hebrews, chapter 11, we read that before Enoch was translated he had this testimony, that he pleased God. In 2026, I want to have a testimony that, by God’s grace, I pleased God in my Christian walk in a world that is foreign to those of us who are strangers and pilgrims.

(3) Then, too, as I seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, I will strive to daily “watch” for His return. Jesus exhorted the disciples to “Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.” (Matt. 25:13) This is an admonition concerning His 2nd coming, or return to establish His kingdom; but as a member of His Body, the Church, I cherish the blessed hope that at any moment He might come to call His Church, the dead in Christ, and those who will be alive at His coming, to “come up hither.” So, I want to live each day of 2026 in the light of His coming to receive us unto Himself. That is my watchword for this year: Seek first His kingdom. And, I hope to watch in prayer (Matt. 26:41)—all the while “looking to” myself that I lose not those things which I have wrought, but that I receive a full reward. (II John 8)

(4) Waiting is another aspect of seeking first His kingdom. “Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt thee to inherit the land.” (Ps. 37:34). “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” (Ps. 27:14) Wait patiently, wait purposefully, wait prayerfully, wait productively.

(5) Finally, let’s not forget that while seeking first His kingdom, I must keep on working.

• Because of the task: (“And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth”( Acts 1:8); and

• Because of the times: “Little children, it is the last time.” ( I John 2:18): “This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come.” (II Tim.3:1); and

• Because of the truth: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” (Hebs. 9:27)

We must work, then, for the time will come when none will be able to work; therefore, “Awake to righteousness and sin not….” (I Cor. 15:34)

“Lord, let me not die until I’ve done for Thee my earthly work—whatever it may be. Call me not hence with mission unfulfilled; let me not leave my space of ground untilled; impress this truth upon me: that not one can do my portion that I leave undone!” (unknown)

So, 2026, here we go: Seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness by my worship, by my walk, by my watching, by my waiting, and by my working—til Jesus comes! Amen.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (I Cor. 15:58)

One Request for the New Year

The late Allegra McBirney—missionary, author, and speaker—said, “Well, Lord, here’s this whole new year ahead, and I know that prospect doesn’t shake You; but for me it’s question marks all the way. Family, health, finances, world peace—You know what a crisis in any of them would do to me. And yet, I’ve been thinking, Lord, that looking at the new year with question marks is really looking at You with them. Right? That’s not trusting. Forgive me Lord. I have this request: Please, this year turn my question marks into periods—into certainties…settled conviction. Faith with finality. On second thought, Lord, turn them into exclamation points! Into certainties with excitement! That’s it, Lord!”

And, so, with McBirney’s thought in mind, I offer the following counsel for all of us as we “ring in” a new year, Lord willing, in a couple of days:

(1) Remember the Permanent

• The top of my list of that which is permanent is the Word of God (Matt. 24:35). Jesus reminded His disciples in His Olivet Discourse that “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” It has been burned, banned, and blasphemed, but it still stands and always will.
• The everlasting gospel. It will be preached on the earth and in the heavens. It is indestructible and undeniable: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” (Rev. 14:6)
• The Lord Jesus Christ—“the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” (Hebs. 13:8)
• He that doeth the will of God abideth forever. (I John 2:17)

“Today, dear friends, we stand upon the verge of the unknown. There lies before us the new year and we are going forth to possess it. Who can tell what we shall find? What new experiences, what changes shall come, what new needs shall arise? All our supply is to come from the Lord. Here are springs that shall never dry; here are fountains and streams that shall never be cut off. Here, anxious one, is the gracious pledge of the Heavenly Father. If He be the source of our mercies they can never fail us. No heat, no drought can parch that river, ‘the streams whereof make glad the city of God.’ We cannot tell that loss and sorrow and trial are doing. Trust only. The Father comes near to take our hand and lead us on our way today. It shall be a good, a blessed new year!” (Lettie Cowman, Streams in the Desert)

(2) Realize the Passing

“The world passeth away and the lusts thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” (I John 2:17) The judicial, cultural, religious, educational, social, and political orders of the age are passing and will fully pass away.

Time—with clocks, calendars, decades, and millennia—will one day be no more. (Rev. 10:5,6)

Death, sorrow, crying, pain will pass with the passing of the last age of “time.” (Rev. 21:4)

Heaven and earth (the first) will one day “perish…yea all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed.” (Ps. 102:25-27)

It is well, therefore, that we realize that each of us was put on this earth for a purpose—we were not ‘just born.’ If we can each find this purpose and work toward the fulfillment of it, then we have taken the first steps on the road to happiness and success (James 1:5; Eph. 5:17) (Capital Voice, Feb. 1983)

(3) Rejoice in the Prospect (it’s never been brighter!)—Rev. 21:5

The old covenant replaced by the new covenant, Jer.31:33
Once the first Adam—then the Last Adam, I Cor. 15:21-24
Now still the Old Nature and the New Nature; then only the New Nature, I John 3:2
Now the Old Jerusalem, then the New Jerusalem, Rev. 21:1
Now the old heaven and earth, then the new Heaven and new earth
Now the earthly house of this our tabernacle; then a building of God not made with hands, eternal in the heavens! (II Cor. 5:1; Phil.3:21)

We are, therefore, not looking back, but forward; not around, but up, not preparing for here but for there!

“I do not know, I cannot see what God’s kind hand prepares for me. Nor can my glance pierce through the haze which covers all my future ways. But yet I know that o’er it all rules He who notes the sparrow’s fall. Farewell, old year, with goodness crowned, a hand divine hath set my bound. Welcome the New Year, which shall bring fresh blessings from my God and King.” (unknown)

“Blessed be the God, and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places…to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Eph. 1:3,6)

Blessed Season

Blessed season, sights and sounds!
Children playing all around;
Hear their laughter, feel their joy,
Graces truly do abound.

Mark the precious Savior’s birth,
Sing with pleasure, sing with mirth.
Tell to every girl and boy,
Of His coming to this earth.

Tell His story, far and near;
Tell it without qualm or fear.
With your hearts, your tongues employ,
Season’s greetings—and good cheer!

Shout that Christ the Lord was born;
On that sacred Christmas morn.
Say the Babe grew as a boy,
His presence angels did adorn.

Sing His praises night and day,
Sing glad anthems all the way;
All God’s people will enjoy,
At His name they’ll bow and pray.

Worship Christ as Lord and King,
Worship Him in everything!
You the Devil will annoy,
When your gifts to Christ you bring.

Yet we worship, yet we fall;
In His presence—He is all.
He our praises will enjoy,
While we humbly on Him call.

Our hearts are fixed; our minds are clear.
Our Christ to each of us is dear.
Our love is pure, there’s no alloy,
We trust in Him without a fear.

So Christmas Day will come once more;
Our Lord and Savior we’ll adore;
The Christmas rush will not annoy
For He is knocking at our door.

He came once—He’ll come again!
Let us watch and work ‘till then;
We’ll serve Him with hearts of joy,
Until He calls us Home to Him.

~Anthony Slutz

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)

Ellen joins me in wishing all of our “You and God” readers a joy-filled Christmas—and, of course, a blessed New Year.

There will not be a blog posted on Thursday this week as it is Christmas Day! Again, we wish you all of His best!

Some Favorite Christmas Reflections

When I was a young ministerial student, Noel Smith was editor of the Baptist Bible Tribune, the publication he founded in 1950. Anyone who reads this and attended Baptist Bible College of Springfield, MO, in the 1950s or ‘60s will recognize Smith’s name. His pen was powerful; it could also be sublime, as his following reflections on Christmas will demonstrate:

“An infant named Jesus was born more than 1900 years ago in the days of Caesar Augustus. No responsible person doubts it—not Jews, Unitarians, Muslims, etc. The historical evidence is there to prove it. Time dates from before or after this infant’s birth. The Greeks were going to date time from the Olympics, the Romans were going to date time from the founding of Rome, the French were going to date time from the Revolution. All of these failed and most never heard of their efforts. Time dates from before or after the birth of Jesus Christ. If this was all you knew about Jesus, you would know enough to stir any reasonable man’s imagination to know why.

Jesus is the only universal character the world has ever known. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses are Jewish. Paul was more universal than any but Jesus, but he was no son of man. Gladstone, Lloyd George and Churchill were Englishmen. Abraham Lincoln was an Americn. Americans are closer to Jesus than they are to Lincoln. The English are closer to Jesus than to Churchill. Why?

Jesus stood before the physically, morally, and spiritually sick of this world and said, ‘Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ No other man outside of an insane asylum ever said a thing like that and made such an invitation. Why? Think about it.”

Here is another favorite Christmas meditation of mine, attributed to Keith L. Brooks, founder of The American Prophetic League of Los Angeles and author of many books:

“Jesus Christ was born in the poorest of circumstances, but the air above was filled with hallelujahs of the heavenly host. His lodging was a cattle pen, but a star drew distinguished visitors from afar to do Him homage and present Him with rich gifts.

His birth was contrary to the laws of life. His death was contrary to the laws of death. No miracle is so inexplicable as His life and teaching.

He had no cornfields or fisheries, but He could spread a table for 5,000 and have bread and fish to spare. He walked on the waters and they supported Him.

His crucifixion was the crime of crimes, but, on God’s side, no lower price than His infinite agony could have made possible our redemption. When He died, few men mourned; but a black crepe was hung over the sun. Though men trembled not for their sins, the earth beneath shook under the load. All nature honored Him; sinners alone rejected Him.

He preached His Gospel for only three and one-half years. He wrote no book, built no church, had no money back of Him. After 1900 years He is the one central character of human history, the perpetual theme of all preaching, the pivot around which the events of the ages revolve, the only Regenerator of the sinful human race. What thinking man can keep from exclaiming, ‘My Lord and my God!’”

“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” (Matt. 1:21)

What’s Your Gift?

Right now, a lot of serious thought is being given to “what gift shall I get for ______?” It is fun to buy just “the perfect gift” for a loved one or friend, a gift that you are sure will please that special person; and never is it more exciting than at Christmas when, because of God’s gift to us—the unspeakable gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord—we as believers enjoy with heartfelt pleasure, in the spirit of Christ, the exchanging of gifts with family and friends.

But the gift that I have in mind—and have been thinking about lately—is not a Christmas gift; in fact, it is in no way a material gift or gift that any one of us can give to another. But it is a gift that—if you are a follower of Christ—you have received from the Holy Spirit, a gift of which Paul speaks when he said that He “gave gifts unto men,” and of which Peter wrote when he penned: “As every man hath received the (a) gift….” (Eph. 4:8; I Pet. 4:10) I am speaking of the gift that you received at the time of your salvation. It is commonly called a “spiritual gift,” and Paul said in I Cor. 12—speaking of the gifts the Holy Spirit gives—that He “divides to every man severally as He will.” (I Cor. 12:11)

Paul wrote more about spiritual gifts to the church that He founded on his second missionary trip, the Corinthian church, than to any other church. (I Cor. 12-14). He began his first epistle to this church that he called “carnal” by reminding them that “ye come behind in no gift.” (I Cor. 1:7) It seems contradictory, to be sure, that the Corinthian assembly was a body of gifted individuals. Yet Paul lamented that he could not speak to them “as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.” (I Cor. 3:1)

One can be a (spiritually) gifted person, then, but also carnal. God, by His Spirit, has gifted for service every follower of His. This is not to be confused with an individual being talented or naturally skilled. Spiritual gifts are not to be confused with natural abilities or talents. Gifts of the Spirit are given by the Spirit for service to and in the Body of Christ. The purpose of these gifts is “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ.” (Eph. 4:12) Some of the gifts are listed in this Ephesian passage: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.” (Eph. 4:11) Other spiritual gifts are enumerated in Romans 12:6-8. That passage lists the gifts of prophecy, ministering, teaching, exhortation, giving, administration, and mercy.

There are other gifts mentioned also. Interestingly, some of the gifts were “sign” gifts, given temporarily to the Apostles, especially for the Jews in the transitional time of the infant church—from a solely Jewish body, to a Jew-Gentile body, to a body in which there was neither Jew nor Gentile. Paul said that the “Jews required a sign” (I Cor. 1:22), and he spoke of the signs of the Apostles that had been “wrought” among them in wonders and mighty deeds. (II Cor. 12:12) There would come a time when the need for these extraordinary manifestations of God’s power would cease (I Cor. 13:8), but there would never come a time when the need for the “service” gifts would cease.

And, friend, that is true at the present hour. If you are saved, you have been saved to serve. Not only that, you have been divinely equipped by the Holy Spirit to serve in the Body of Christ. So, what is your gift? Exhortation, administration, giving, teaching, helps? To not use a gift given by God specifically for use in the building of His Body, the Church, would be a grave disservice to the cause of His kingdom.

So, what is your gift? How are you using it today in the edifying of His Body, the Church?

“Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy…or ministry…or teaching, or exhortation, or giving, or ruling, or he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.” (Romans 12:6-8)

Just In Time

In the fulness of time, the Bible says, God sent forth His Son.

Solomon says there is a season and a time for everything. We can rejoice, as we look another “Christmas” in the face, that there was a perfect time for the sending of His only begotten Son, a unique birthing by His Holy Spirit through a young Judean virgin named Mary!

The time then was surely “full.” Humanity was engulfed in spiritual darkness. Sin had wrought its painful effects universally on Adam’s descendants. Never, since the original first couple were banished from Eden’s garden, had there been a time in history that was more ready than that night of nights when angels heralded His marvelous, miraculous birth in Bethlehem. It was ripe for the coming of God’s solution for man’s sin.

Hopelessness ruled. Tyrants made helplessness seem inevitable. Religion wore the face of hypocrisy. The dark world of demonic activity had never enjoyed such ubiquitous renown. But then, in the “fulness” of time, God moved, Heaven opened up, and Hell screamed in horror—when God sent forth His Son.

Oh, glorious revelation! John, in his eye-witness gospel account, simply said, “Behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world!”

He came in the fulness of time, and in the only right way He could have come—that is, made of a woman. Not made of a man, for that would not have sufficed for sin; and, not made of a man and a woman, for that would have qualified Him as one of us, a sinner. But, made of a woman, with blood untainted, spotless and pure, with no curse of sin upon it through the virgin birth; thus, He alone qualified to be the substitutionary sacrificial Lamb of God offered on Calvary for the atonement of the sins of the world!

It was indeed the turning point of all history. He came. He died. He rose again and ascended back to Heaven from whence He came; but, before He returned to Heaven, He promised that He would come back again!

And, we who believe Him are excited about another Christmas and the prospect of the 2^nd Advent of Jesus to this earth! His first Advent was the turning point of all history; His 2^nd Advent will mark the climax of all history. Coming then at Bethlehem, He was humiliated; coming again to Jerusalem, He will be exalted. And every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

And, it will not be too late. The world is once again “ripe” for His coming. There is indeed a time and there is a season for everything under the sun. May this Christmas be a season for each of us to remember that Holy night when shepherds saw His star. But may it also be a season when we continue to keep an eye on the clouds, as it were, and an ear for the Trumpet and for the voice heard universally—inviting us to “Come Up Hither!”

“Some day the silver cord will break, and I no more as now shall sing; But, O, the joy when I shall wake, within the palace of the King! And I shall see Him face to face, and tell the story—saved by grace; And I shall see Him face to face, and tell the story saved by grace.” (Fanny Crosby)

“He which testifieth these things saith, “Surely, I come quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (Rev. 22:20,21)

To Love Mrs. Land (A Christmas Story)

She had a sort of contorted smile, but the youngins did not realize why. She was a wheelchair bound woman, probably in her 60’s, when their mom became a friend of hers and began to interact with Mrs. Land. All the girl and her brother knew was that they did not like her stories about her own children. She would weave together some words, hard to understand at times because of her speech impairment, about some experiences she had rearing her own little ones, from the handicap position of a wheel-chair. What really turned their hearts away from this lady—who attended their church and worshipped with their church family every Lord’s Day—was when she explained her form of discipline when a child had transgressed the law she had laid down for her household. She did not have the advantage of other mothers who would go to get a belt or a stick off the lilac bush with which to give the disobedient kids a whack or two. So she did the only thing she could do; she demanded they kneel before her wheel-chair and then, when they were perfectly in place, she would, in her words, grab a fist-full of the woeful and wayward one’s hair and give it a brisk yank or two. Then, having spun her reminiscing yarn, she would chuckle about it with a contorted grin, looking intently as the two children looked on with horror.

Now, they had never heard of child abuse back in those “pre-enlightenment” days. The sister and brother had never had many meetings with the belt or stick and, for sure, never as many as they might have had. But when they heard of how those hapless little devils—children of this woman who hailed from California before she intruded into our quiet Midwestern world—they were horrified. There were a few nights when they actually thought they could hear her creaky voice outside their upstairs bedroom door, saying, “Come kneel down now; let’s get this over with.” Then, if they listened intently in what must have been their nightmare, they could hear that warped chuckle of delight coming from the little old lady, who could not walk but could rule her household from a mobile chair.

When she was not sharing part of a day with their family from her choice corner of the living room, she was engaged in long telephone conversations with their mom; and, usually, it was when they thought they needed mother to answer a question or to help find something or give us permission to visit a friend’s house for an hour before supper. Well, Cakie and “Tonk” (as he was affectionately known) only thought they needed Mom, because whatever dear old Mrs. Land was talking about—Mom hardly ever said anything–was far more important than the attention they thought they needed at that time.

So it was for a couple of years. Finally, Tonk got his driver’s permit and then his driver’s license and boy did he think he was the “cat’s meow!” He actually got to drive an old 1948 Buick (think black Sherman Tank) to school. When it snowed that old Buick could make a path up the hills to the high school for the city’s snow plows.

But, not only that. The best thing was that Tonk could now drive to church and pick up the wheelchair bound Mrs. Land! Well, in spite of the night visions of horror, Tonk could think of nothing he would rather do than to give Mrs. Land a ride to church, not now in the Sherman Tank but in the ’52 Studebaker that he was able to drive on occasion, since the family car by that time was a more spacious Chevy.

And, it just so happened that the church was having a special Christmas program about this time, with cookies and Kool-Aid and maybe some cakes and pies, in the Fellowship Hall following the program. Mrs. Land, of course, wanted to attend and even planned to bring a pie, but she would need a ride. No problem! Tonk’s mother volunteered the to-your-door teenager who would pick her up at the usual time.

The special night came, and Tonk, in the bright yellow Studebaker, drove into the driveway as usual and parked parallel with the door at the back of the huge, two-story, north-side house in which Mrs. Land lived in an apartment. The youthful chauffeur promptly put the car in park, went directly to the back door of the “mansion” and, upon opening the door, took his place behind the waiting woman’s chair; whereupon he carefully helped her into the car’s front-passenger seat, shut the door, and placed the now-empty wheelchair into the trunk of the car. So far, so good. And, yes, he had taken the delicious-looking pie (Tonk had never laid his eyes on any piece of pie anywhere that did not look delicious) into the back seat on the floor, making sure that the pie would not slip or slide en route to the church.

What an exciting evening. Going to church to enjoy a special Christmas program with the music of angels ringing in our anticipation-laden hearts and with thoughts dancing in our heads, between stanzas, of Christmas cookies, cakes and pies, and fun and fellowship with the church family that we loved.

They were almost there—just another stop sign and a routine corner to turn and then straight to church. But wait. After Tonk had stopped and was making the “routine” turn at the corner, the front-passenger door, which had not closed securely when the precious human cargo had been loaded, flew open and the dear cripple, with a screech of a scream, fell out of the car onto the pavement. Tonk quickly stopped and, horror-stricken, ran to the passenger side of the car, used every muscle in his young body that he could muster, and pulled the helpless passenger up and back into the car. Was she all right? Yes! Any broken bones? No! Just a bit shaken and disheveled, but nothing more than her pride was wounded. And Tonk? Well, he didn’t say an audible word the rest of the way to church after he had profusely apologized to the woman he had for so long looked upon with a twitch of disdain.

The program was splendid, everyone said, as was the time of fellowship and feasting afterwards. But that night, that teen-age boy could only repeat silent prayers of praise to His God for allowing that lady—fellow believer, friend of his mother—to fall out of the car and yet be retrieved whole, unharmed, and just thankful to attend the special Christmas program.

It was a special Christmas that year, with a gift from God to a young man whose heart was changed and whose mind was humbled in a way that no one could ever have anticipated. The gift? Oh, something that could never have come under a tree, but from the heart of God to the heart of a teenager who needed to see every person made of God as a special creation to be respected and treated and looked upon with kindness and with love—as all of us, each with our own sometimes unlovely and unlovable ways, are and appear to others to be.

That certain Sunday night just before Christmas, a lad named Tonk put his head upon his pillow and there were no nightmares, no voices outside the door of his bedroom, no screaming, no screechy laugh. Just a grateful heart to God for His protective grace and a thought of a special child of His whose life God had used to teach this young man a lesson that he would never forget, at least not for the next 60 or so years.

“That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for the other.” (I Cor. 12:25)

This is a lightly edited version of a story that first appeared on You and God in December 2021. It is fiction based on fact. Names have been changed to protect the guilty!