The Gift of God

   
A gift, by definition, is something that is given willingly to someone without payment; a present. It brings joy to the one that receives it, as well as the one that extends it to them. Usually at Easter, we don't think about receiving presents. But, this is when the greatest present ever given was extened to the whole world. It is the Gift of Salvation! "..But the GIFT of GOD is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Romans 6:23.

Before this Gift could be given, there had to be a PERSON. This is the One that gives the gift out of love. The Person that gives the gift of Salvation is Jesus Christ! He is the only One that could give this gift to us! " For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." I Timothy 2:5. "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12. The Lord Jesus is the Only One that could give us the gift of Eternal Life!

A gift has to be gotten from a PLACE. Just as one that gives a gift must choose a place in which to get the gift, the Lord chose Calvary as the PLACE  to provide the Gift of Eternal Life! "And when they were come to the PLACE, which is called CALVARY, there they crucified Him.." Luke 23:33.  He suffered and died in the worst pain and agony anyone on this earth has ever known, bearing our sin debt on the cross FOR US! This was the only place the Gift could be gotten! "....even so MUST THE SON OF MAN BE LIFTED UP!" John 3:14. 

This Gift of Salvation had to be PURCHASED! The ONLY PAYMENT that would purchase the Gift of Salvation was THE BLOOD OF JESUS! "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold,....But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:" I Peter 1:20. Jesus Blood was the only thing that could pay for our Salvation. His Blood paid the entire sin debt for the whole world! It does not cost us ANYTHING! "Being justified FREELY by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His Blood.." Romans 3:24 & 25. 

Just as a present from a store comes with a receipt, or PROOF of payment, so does our Salvation! Our Proof of Payment is the EMPTY TOMB!"He is not here: for He is RISEN as He said..." Matthew 28:6.  It is PROOF to the entire world that God the Father received the Blood of the Lamb as payment for our sins! "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept." I Corinthians 15:20. "For Christ is ....into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." Hebrews 9:24. If Christ had not risen from the dead, there would be no hope for us. "And if Christ be not raised, YOUR FAITH IS IN VAIN; YE ARE YET IN YOUR SINS." I Corinthians 15:17. Easter is not just a holiday, or named from a pagan festival, Easter is WORSHIP AND CELEBRATION OF THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE!!!! " I AM the Resurrection and the Life;" John 11:25. If we do not worship the Lord Jesus and celebrate that He has risen from the dead, something is VERY WRONG! 

Once a gift has been purchased, it is PRESENTED to the one is was intended for. When the gift is extended, all one has to do is to receive it! They do not work for it, pay for it, or even beg for it! It is FREELY RECEIVED! So is our Salvation. All we have to do is believe that Christ purchased our Salvation, freely to us, and in full, and He will give it to us! While it is for everyone in the world, the Lord Jesus STILL calls us PERSONALLY by name to receive it! "..Fear not: for I have redeemed thee. I have CALLED THEE BY NAME; THOU ART MINE!" Isaiah 43:1. Thank God for a Personal Salvation. Just as He called Mary by name that first Resurrection morning at the tomb ( John 20:16), so does He call us by name! It is our choice to respond to this call, though. We can humbly and graciously receive the gift of Salvation. Or, we have the choice to reject this Gift of God. Just as those that do not receive a gift that has been extended to them, whether from pride or any other reason, so are those that will not accept His Salvation! Just as it will hurt the heart of those that specifically purchased the gift just for that person, so does it hurt the heart of our Lord! It is just as much a slap in the face to the Saviour as those that buffeted him on the way to the cross! But, praise be to God, there are those that will gladly accept this precious Gift! "...we will rejoice and be GLAD in HIS SALVATION!" Isaiah 25:9. 

The Lord's Gift of Salvation started with His PERSON, A PLACE, WAS PURCHASED, WITH PROOF, AND PRESENTED to the whole world for receiving! If you have received His Gift of Salvation, praise His name and thank Him this Easter for the promise of Eternal Life that He purchased for you! If you have not, this is the glad day of Salvation! "..Behold, NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION!" II Corinthians 6:2.  This can be the first day of a new life in Christ for you! It costs you nothing, but it cost HIM EVERYTHING! Call upon Him while He is near! He is waiting for you to call out to Him and take HIS GIFT! "For God SOOOO loved the world, that HE GAVE His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH in Him, should NOT PERISH, but have everlasting LIFE!" John 3:16."..(Christ) was manifest in these last times, FOR YOU!" I Peter 1:20. 
 
 (thanks to Ryanne Lenoir photography for the picture above!)

Behold, Thy King Cometh!

Zechariah 9: 9 says, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; BEHOLD, THY KING COMETH unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."

This prophecy written 487 years before the birth of Christ was fulfilled upon what is now referred to as Palm Sunday, or the Triumphant Entry of Jesus. He was on His way to Jerusalem to observe the last Passover before His death on the Cross. When they had come near the city,to the villages of Bethany and Bethpage, Jesus gave the disciples a COMMAND.(Matthew 21:6).

Two of them were sent by the Lord (Luke 19:29) to enter into the village "over against you," and told, "and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, AND  A COLT with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them.." (Matthew 21:2&3).  Many times you only hear of one donkey, but in fact there were two! This is NOT  a discrepancy in Scripture! All four of the Gospels accounts have to be compared to "rightly divide the Word of Truth." (II Timothy 2:15) For whatever reason that the Lord had, Matthew was the only one that recorded the fact that there were two. There was the mother and her baby donkey. A colt, or foal, of a donkey, is under a year old. This would have meant that the donkey was not weaned from his mother yet. I believe this showed the Lord's tender care for the animal's need that he had created.  He knew the animal would need his mother nearby for comfort, especially since it had never been ridden on, (Mark 11:2), and also its milk for nourishment. This in itself is testimony to us that "where God guides, He provides." He will never call us to do something in service for Him, without providing the means to do so. "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also WILL DO it." II Thess. 5:24. If the Lord did so for this lowly animal, how much more will He do so for US?


Just as the Lord gave the command to bring the donkeys, there was also a CONSENT to His command.The Lord had also prepared the heart of the owner to give them to the disciples. Mark 10:4 says the "colt was tied by the door without in a place where TWO WAYS MET;". This brings out the fact that the owner had a decision to make. He could either obey the Lord's command, or he could choose the other road and take his donkeys with him. But, the Lord knew the man's heart, and knew he would give them to Him for His service. Psalm 50:10 says, " For every beast of the forest is mine and the cattle upon a thousand hills." The Lord who owns all of creation could have gotten a donkey from anywhere in the world, but He wanted this person's for His own reason. It very well could have been to reward a faithful servant with the honor of using them. We may not know why the Lord works in the ways that He does, but we should ALWAYS trust and obey. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thy own understanding. In ALL thy ways acknowledge Him, and HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATHS." Proverbs 3:5&6.  The two disciples were instructed to tell anyone that asked what they were doing, "that the Lord had need of them." The Bible says that the owner "let them go." John 11:6. This may have been the only mode of transportation besides walking to get them home, making it an inconvenience.  It may have been the only animals they owned, thus resulting in a financial burden to them to let them go. But, despite of the PROBLEMS they COULD HAVE FACED, they consented to the Lord's command. What is it that we are holding on to? Relationships, jobs, money, and even our children? If the Lord "has need" of anything , we need to LET IT GO! NOTHING could ever outweigh the blessing the Lord has in store for those who obey and follow Him."Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, what , neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hat prepared for them that love him." I Corinthians 2:9.


Once the disciples returned with the donkeys, there was His COMING. They cast their garments on them, and Jesus sat on the colt, and entered the city. He sat on the animal that had never been ridden on before, because He was the Lord of Glory. He deserved an undefiled animal, just as He had an undefiled tomb, (Luke 24:53). The text verse from Zechariah says, "He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass." The great Kings in the Middle East either ride great horses or chariots, or carriages, but THE KING OF ALL THE EARTH, came the first time, riding on a donkey.

The multitudes cast their garments in the way ,and cut down palm tree branches. Then, we see their CRIES. They waved them and cried, "Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." Matthew. 21 9. These people thought that Jesus would be their King then, and wanted a ruler to rule them instead of Rome. He indeed is the Son of David, and is King, but it was not His time for that. He will be King over all the Earth at His Second Return, (Revelation 17:14). These same people who cried, "Hosanna" would by the end of the week cry "Crucify Him! " Mark 15:13. Their cries were without conviction. Had they known and really believed He was the Messiah, they would not have crucified Him, (I Corinthians 2:8). What is your CONVICTION today? What do you cry when the Lord is placed in front of you? Can you say, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," as Peter did? (Matthew 16:16).

Jesus' entry started with a COMMAND, a CONSENT, His COMING, and then the CRIES. EACH ONE OF US is faced with the entry of Jesus into our lives at one time or another. How will YOU respond when HE IS before you? "Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation." I Corinthians 6:2. "Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah." Psalm 24:10.

I Have A Goodly Heritage

 "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage."

Psalms 16:6

   Let me first say, that I know my parents, and they wouldn't want me bringing any attention or honor to them through this post, but want all glory to go to the Lord. This is my intention as well. :)  With that said, last Saturday, March 29th, 2014, my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. All five of us, their children, and our spouses gave them an anniversary drop-in. We had a great time with our family and friends that could attend. We wanted to do something special for our parents. Not just because they are our parents, but because of the lives they have lived for our Lord Jesus and testimony that they have for Him.  They would be the first to tell you that the Lord is the only reason that they have been together for 40 years, and that He gets all the credit for it.  But, the Bible also tells us to give credit where credit is due (Proverbs 3:27).

  First of all, my parents have made their marriage and family a HOME for the Lord. The only foundation that will sustain any one's life, love, or longevity in a marriage is a foundation on THE ROCK HIMSELF, JESUS CHRIST! "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.." Psalms 127:1. This is what my parents have done. The Lord has ALWAYS COME FIRST, and as my Daddy has always said, "It's ALL about HIM! (JESUS)."They have taken us to church, talked with us about the Lord DAILY, the scriptures, and given godly advice when any of us have had questions or troubles. They have always pointed us to the Lord. I am sooo thankful for this. Because of this, the Lord spoke to my heart for salvation. I am CONVINCED that if the Lord had not placed me in this home, I wouldn't be saved today.

 

Secondly, the Lord has honored His Word, and blessed my parents with a HERITAGE. The Book of Psalms 16:6 gives us this term. In HIs Word the Bible says He will bless the righteous with a heritage as His reward for faithfulness, (Psalms 128:1-4.) My parents have been given 5 children and 17 grandchildren, with three of them awaiting us in Heaven. Because of God's Goodness, all five of us have accepted Christ, and several of the grandkids have as well, with the two oldest grandkids, that are teenagers, living a life for the Lord! No one else but Jesus can make this so! "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb IS HIS REWARD." Psalms 127:3.

Lastly, the Lord has blessed my parents with HONOR! Many of you that are reading this know my parents. You know the lives they have lived in the past, and how they have grown closer to the Lord over the years. They have served the Lord and ALWAYS taken care of their family.They would give you anything you need and more, no matter who you are! This is not done to make themselves look good or to be puffed up, but out of love from the Lord Himself, and a desire to help others. Many of you know this to be true, and that they both have a good testimony. The Lord has blessed them because of their faithfulness to Him and in witnessing to others for Him. "He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour." Proverbs 21:21.

All of this has been said to not speak braggingly on anyone other than JESUS! Life in Him is the ONLY ONE WORTH LIVING! " The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide SATISFIED.." Proverbs 19:23. Thank God for the example my parents have given their children to follow! Through them I have SEEN the Lord move, bless, and be true to His Word! I do have a goodly heritage from God ONLY, and with them I say, " ... As for me and MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD!" (Joshua 24:15).