THURSDAY 17 June 2021 “Best Gifts”

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Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends,

“Father’s Day” is coming up, and I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of that. Children and wives are thinking about what would be appropriate ‘gifts’ to give Dad these days. Sadly, for far too many wives and children, “Dad” is nowhere to be found, or far too often absent from the home scene, or worse yet, he’s there but he’s drunk and disorderly and abusive. “Fatherlessness” and “dysfunctional dads” is one of the great epidemics of disaster in many countries of our world, especially America! Do you see the effects of this disaster in your city?

In our journey with James, the 1/2 brother of Jesus, and the little letter he wrote to Jesus followers all across the Roman Empire in the first century, we’ve come to James 1:16-18. It’s only three verses and he speaks to my opening paragraph today. James writes: “Don’t be deceived dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down to us from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us [new] birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all that He created.” Wow, God’s timing is awesome, that we would come to this little paragraph three days before Father’s day…giving us time to absorb it, think about it and own it.

James uses the words ‘dear brothers‘ to specify that he’s focusing these three verses on Christ following MEN. In Christ, we are brothers and God Almighty is our heavenly Father (Romans 8:14-17) who has adopted us, as He rescued us from our sin bondage. Brothers encourage each other. Brothers challenge each other to growth and character development. Brothers stand together against opposition. But do you know one of the great problems of our world is that most men are fearful of having other men whom they consider ‘brothers’ in their lives. Two exceptions to this are the military and athletics, where you live or die in teamwork and reliance on each other.

So let me ask you… men who are with me on this journey “walking with Jesus”…, in addition to Jesus, who else do you have as a close friend or two that you can really count on as you face the challenges of life? I mean a true brother who wants the best for you and will challenge you, help you, stand with you and if needed ‘slap you upside the head’ when you are going down the wrong road, as a friend of mine would say. Take the warning my male friends around the world. . . don’t do life alone, make sure you have some brothers on the journey with you. Alone is vulnerable!

Did you hear James? Don’t be deceived…” Have you noticed how much easier it is to be deceived when you’re alone than when you have strong character friends helping you think through the issues and choices of life? Who are those types of friends for you? Are you teaching your children and grandchildren the importance of wisely choosing friends and keeping their distance from those who would deceive them into making choices they will long regret?

I mentioned ‘gifts’ a moment ago as we anticipate Father’s day. How do you assess the value of a gift? What’s the most precious gift you’ve ever received in your life? Why is it so precious to you and how do you protect it? James says “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down to us from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” It’s amazing isn’t it how much is changing in our world, even opinions about things which have been cherished and believed to be true for centuries, even millennia. So how do you stand immovable, unshakable, when change is happening all around you my friends? James wants us to hold tightly to a fundamental truth here… God does not change!

In fact did you know God said that once to an Old Testament prophet who then wrote it down for all to read: “I the LORD do not change.” (Malachi 3:6) And the author of the letter titled ‘Hebrews’ wrote: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.” (Hebrews 13:8,9) So, I ask you, each and all of you, everywhere around the world in more than 2000 cities… are you living your life built on this great, unchanging truth… God does not change, ever!?

When James calls God “…the Father of the heavenly lights…” yes, James may be making a reference to Genesis 1 and God’s creation of all things, beginning with light. But more likely, James is using the concept of light being a symbol of truth, as Jesus had said: “I am the light of the world, whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life… If you hold to My teaching you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. And if the Son of God sets you free, you will be free indeed!” (John 8:12,32,36) So can you see James is challenging us to consider all that we have received in our lives that we call ‘gifts’, and do we see that the best ‘gifts’ are those given to us through our relationship with Jesus? Do we see those are wonderful gifts in this life, but they will also be tremendous gifts in all eternity future? Look closely my friends, what are those gifts Jesus has given you and do you cherish them as the most perfect, most important of all gifts you have or could possibly receive?

Paul challenges us to remember our redemption, our rescue from our sin condemnation and bondage, is a gift of God, we didn’t do it ourselves and we didn’t earn it! “For by grace are you saved through faith, not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast. For we are God’s workmanship…” (Eph. 2:8,9) And do you remember the apostle Peter, on the day of Pentecost when explaining to people what was happening as the Holy Spirit had come upon them, Peter said “Repent and be baptized, everyone of you, for the forgiveness of sin. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off…” (Acts 2:38,39) So my friends, how precious, perfect and valuable is this great gift of the Holy Spirit of God in your life? Are you experiencing all that He has available to you? Oh my what a magnificent, wonderful, powerful gift of God that makes all the difference in the world for me and all of you who have trusted fully in Jesus!

Finally, James says one last thing in this brief paragraph that’s important for us today: “He chose to give us [new] birth through the world of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all He created.” (James 1:18) God chose! Don’t you love that my friends? When Adam and Eve turned away from God and everything started the downward spiral, God chose to rescue rather than destroy or simply do nothing and allow us to self destruct, generation after generation. Listen to this: “God chose us in Him before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless… He lavished on us all wisdom and understanding.” (Eph. 1:4,8) And Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…to go and bear fruit.” (John 15:16)Oh my how incredible to consider God chose you and me to have the option of a new life with Him, even though it cost Him the death of Jesus, God the Son!

But the result of all this glorious truth today, my friends, is as James says, “…we might be considered a kind of first fruits of all He created.” Eventually EVERYTHING will be made new, Revelation 21 says, but in the meantime we, those who have trusted Jesus and have experienced new life in Him, WE are the first of God’s recreation work! Think about that!

So today, I salute you…all of you all around the world, if you are part of this glorious, mighty, global movement called the people of God! You are a trophy of God’s great work of grace and I hope you know how much delight you bring to Jesus as He watches you live as a new creation in Christ!! Here’s a song to help us celebrate these great truths, I know I’ve given it to you before, but I love this great song! It’s a great song of celebration, and God bless you today:

Today’s Scripture is James 1:16-18.

Choose below to read or listen.

Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

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