So, what have YOU given God lately? "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." (See 1 Peter 4:10, KJV) God loves a "cheerful giver" (See 2 Corinthians 9:7); a giver with a willing heart and a sincere desire to give and to serve. When considering what "gift" you could give God, take a queue from the Bible. The first gift should always be our humble, sincere and prayerful thanks. (How many of you give thanks to God for your family, the food that you eat, the car you drive, the special talents you have, or the money you make?? Remember, without God, you would NOT have any of these gifts.) "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (See James 1:17, KJV) Given this, how can we not be thankful? 1 Thessalonians 5:18, KJV, tells us "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

In the end, it is our individual duty to take inventory of our lives and all that God has given and blessed us with. Ultimately we realize that only God could be so gracious and loving. It is up to us to make every human attempt to give back to God what is His, to serve Him by using our "God given gifts" (that’s what He gave them to us for), and to do these things "cheerfully" with humility and thankfulness. In addition, keeping in mind the ultimate goals of edifying the church, and convicting and converting unbelievers – we must be "models" of what we "sell". We must be good and thankful stewards of our gifts.

The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy." He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found the box was empty. He yelled at her, "Don’t you know when you give someone a present, there’s suppose to be something inside it?" The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, "Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty, I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy." The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.

An accident took the life of the child only a short time later and it is told that the man kept the gold box by his bed for many years and whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there. In a very real sense, each of us as humans, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends, and God. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

"Family and friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

Let’s review our lives in light of these three things, to see if we’re being obedient to Christ, our head:

1. "Bless them that curse you." What, exactly, does it mean to bless? The Greek word for bless here implies, "speaking only what is good and edifying, out loud, with the mouth." We’re not just to think good things about our enemies, but to speak them openly.


I have truly failed at this command. I remember an occasion when some people I dearly loved rose up against me, persecuting and reproaching me. It was the worst pain I ever endured, consuming my thoughts night and day. Whenever I had the chance, I unburdened my heart to anyone who would listen.

One day a dear couple in ministry asked to have lunch with my wife, Gwen, and me. No sooner had we sat down than I began unloading my burden on them. I told them every detail of my hurt – every lie told, every wound inflicted. That couple never knew what hit them. An hour or so later, they left bewildered. As I looked at Gwen, I saw discouragement in her eyes. That’s when it dawned on me – I’d done all the talking.

I found out later this dear couple had been hurting – and that’s why they were desperate to meet with us. Yet I never even asked how they were doing. They weren’t able to get in a word edgewise – and they left empty, dry, unedified. If only I’d obeyed Jesus’ command to bless my persecutors by speaking good of them, this couple might have received a blessing. Instead, they walked away downcast in spirit.

2. "Do good to them that hate you." What does it mean to do good to those who oppose us? The Greek meaning here implies "honesty plus recovery." Jesus is saying, in essence, "Do everything in your power to seek your enemy’s healing and recovery from Satan’s snare. You know that what this person is doing to you is evil. Yet your focus isn’t to be on your own hurt, but on the deception of your enemy’s soul."


Christ is actually commanding us to envision the soul-damning condition of our persecutors. We aren’t to take comfort in the thought that God will one day avenge their sins against us. Instead, we’re to pray for them. We’re to try to tear down any walls that might damn them, and put forth every effort to rebuild a bridge to them.

Jesus promised, "Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained" (John 20:23). To remit means "to totally forget, renounce, cast aside." Of course, no one can remit someone’s sins against God. Only Christ can do this, through [H]is work at the cross. But we can remit those sins that have been committed against us. Jesus is saying, "If you’ll remit that sin against you, I’ll remit it in heaven. I’ll forgive your enemy on your account."

Christ’s command here is very simple: "Make the first move. Don’t wait – don’t miss the opportunity – because your enemy’s soul could slip into eternity still carrying his sin. You be the first to seek reconciliation. Of course, your kindness may be rejected. But if it’s accepted, you can stand on judgment day knowing your enemy wasn’t judged and damned because of his sin against you."

3. "Pray for them which despitefully use you." We see this command illustrated in the duties of the high priest. First, the law required the priest to slay the sacrifice and place it on the altar, to deal with the people’s sin. And, second, the priest was to pray for the congregation, to act as an intercessor on their behalf.

And, right now, Christ is interceding for your enemies. "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1). Jesus is an advocate even for those who have used and persecuted you. So, if [H]e is interceding for their souls, how can you remain an enemy to them? It’s simply impossible.

Paul writes, "Give place unto wrath" (Romans 12:19). He’s saying, in short, "Suffer the wrong. Lay it down and move on. Get a life in the Spirit." However, if we refuse to forgive the hurts done to us, we have to face these consequences:

1. We’ll become guiltier than the person who inflicted our wound.
2. God’s mercy and grace toward us will be shut off. Then, as things begin to go wrong in our lives, we won’t understand them, because we’ll be in disobedience.
3. Our persecutor’s vexations against us will continue to rob us of peace. He’ll become the victor, succeeding in giving us a permanent wound. And he’ll go his way laughing while we continue stewing in anger.
4. Because Satan succeeds in driving us to thoughts of revenge, he’ll be able to lead us into deadlier sins. And we’ll commit transgressions far worse than these.

Moreover, we bring glory to our heavenly [F]ather whenever we overlook hurts and forgive the sins done to us. To do so builds character in us. We’ve already read that if we react as Jesus did, "The Lord shall reward the" (Proverbs 25:22). When we forgive as God forgives, [H]e brings us into a revelation of favor and blessing we’ve never known.

A Little Something for Dog Lovers…"Why It’s Great to Be a Dog"

1. No one expects you to take a bath every day.
2. If it itches, you can scratch it.
3. There’s no such thing as bad food.
4. A rawhide bone can entertain you for hours.
5. If you grow hair in weird places, no one notices.
6. You can lie around all day without worrying about being fired.
7. You don’t get in trouble for putting your head in a stranger’s lap.
8. You’re always excited to see the same people.
9. Having big feet is considered an asset.
10. Puppy love can last.