Did the gift ease your mind?

[Beaver]

Did the gift ease your mind?

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Deuteronomy 16:19”You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

Matthew 2:1-12 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born the King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler, Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ “ Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worship Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not returned to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

The scriptures tell us many things about gifts. The main thing we need to know is that good and perfect gifts come from above. When we give anything for God we need to let God get the glory. We should never give a gift as a bribe. When we give a gift to lead people in our direction, it is a bribe. If we give a gift to give ourselves peace of mind, we bribe ourselves. When you give someone something that they have no use for, or desire for, or have ever mention it as a desire, how could it be good and perfect? If you have the wisdom of the world and not God’s wisdom, you may give a baby a gift of a 10,000 dollar rolex watch, it might get you off the hook, because in your mind, by the world’s standard you have given a whole lot. But the gift is only valued by the one that receives it. If you were to give a small child a box of bay leaves, and bay leaves were the most valuable herbs you could buy, you might feel better but the child may feel different.

If you know a family that has lost a loved one, and you want to do something to help, so you go out and buy a Honey baked ham, the best one money can buy, and have it sent to their house, and when it arrives they stick it on the table with 6 other Honey baked hams, and respond, “We do not need another ham.” You feel good about yourself but was your gift good and perfect.

The Bible says the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. The wise men that were seeking Jesus had worldly wisdom but they were not led by God to Jesus. The shepherds were led by Angels. The wise men let Herod know that the King of the Jews was being born. They let Herod know their wisdom, that led him to kill all the male children under 2 years old in Bethlehem. The wise men’s worldly wisdom at first led them to Jerusalem, because they did not know where Jesus was. They new Jesus was to be born because it was written by the prophets, more worldly wisdom. I wonder how well their gifts were received?

The wise men had worldly wisdom on the way to see Jesus, but they had God’s wisdom in a dream to go back to their own country, a different way.

Is this story on gifts, and wise men a secret message that we have yet to understand?

A gift from God will be what you want and need and available always, when you decide it is right for you. Jesus is the best example of a perfect gift, just a belief and confession away.

Pray about what to give and with God’s leading it will be good and perfect, and right on time.

[Gail]

Thanks for this new way to look at the Wise Men scripture. Actually I mean thanks for reminding me because I was confused by their gifts to the baby Jesus when I was a child. First of all I couldn’t pronounce the words and I never really knew what they were until I was much older at which point I didn’t question it. But you’re so right! They brought as much trouble as they brought wordly wealth. I remeber wondering at one time in my life if their birthday gifts financed Joseph, Mary and Jesus’ flight to and exile in Egypt. What else would a carpenter in a small village do with such unuseful riches?

Love, Gail

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