Monday, May 23, 2011

An Unspeakable Gift

Recently my church had a three day revival, and one of our guest preachers was Dr. Raphael Warnock, from Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. Formerly the church where Dr. Martin Luther King preached. I am not going to try to recant his entire message but his sermon was entitled, "More Than Words Can Say." I said to myself, oh, boy, we are in for a treat! I had no idea what a treat it would be.

Dr. Warnock cited one of the letters which the Apostle Paul wrote: 2 Corinthians 9:15, which states, "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (NIV) He said that God's gift of His Son, Jesus, to us was so indescribable that words were not enough to describe Him! Paul was telling the Corinthians not to be stingy in their giving because God gave the greatest gift to us.

I started researching other translations for the same scripture and one translation described Jesus as "inexpressible" gift (Standard); another version said that Jesus was an "unspeakable" gift (KJV) and the New Living Translation said that we should "thank God for this gift too wonderful to describe."

It made me ponder that the words, "indescribable," "inexpressible," "unspeakable," and "too wonderful to describe" were in all these translations. Can you imagine anything or anyone that is indescribable that there are no words with which you could say anything?

The commentary in my Bible said that God is the first giver; He selflessly gives Himself to us in the person of His Son, and all true Christian giving is our grateful response. We are in God's debt for the unspeakable gift of His Son!

Have you ever had a gift that was so wonderful your lips could not utter a description of it? My, My, My! A gift is something you get for free. Our gifts can never compare to God's sacrifice for us. So when you think about giving, think on this scripture that God gave Himself, through His Son, Jesus Christ.

John 3:16 says that "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." It goes on to say in the next verse that God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

I have to admit that John 3:16 is one of my favorite scriptures and really touches my heart that anyone who sacrifice His own Son for my benefit is more than words can say. It is the greatest gift that I could have received.

I am indeed left speechless!

Thought for Today: When you think you have given all you can give, think on God's "unspeakable" gift, His Son.



Sunday, May 8, 2011

The Service of Motherhood

Happy Mother's Day. I hope many of you mothers and grandmothers had a wonderful and blessed day.

I am quoting from Dr. Charles Stanley devotion on the service of motherhood. I found it to be interesting and will share some it with you.

"Children are a blessing from the Lord." I looked in the NIV version and it said that "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him." (Psalm 127:3-5)

I had been reading this scripture day before yesterday and then oddly enough, I read Dr. Stanley's devotional this morning. You hear that expression all the time, "children are a blessing from the Lord." It is actually scriptural and biblical. Now I know what scripture from which it came.

I looked up the word "mother" and it said that mother means "the origin, beginning." Giving birth is the beginning of life; the origin of life. I thought how profound is that! Another definition of mother says mother is the female parent. Nothing more is said about mother in the dictionary so it is ironic that I took time to read Dr. Stanley's devotion.

"Motherhood is a great honor and privilege, yet is also synonymous with servanthood. Every day women are called upon to selflessly meet the needs of their families...Sometimes this constant serving can be exhausting and even discouraging, particular for a first-time mother. But we can take real real encouragement from Jesus, who washed the feet of His disciples and showed that the key to true leadership is humility." It is indeed very humbling being a mother as well as a servant.

"Unless you are willing to stoop down and get your hands dirty, you will miss the real riches of motherhood.

It is humility that leads to eternal reward. Many women look upon motherhood as a burden, but as we know, God never puts on us more than we can bare.

In giving us children, God places us in a position of leadership and service. He calls us to give up our lives for someone else's sake---to abandon our own desires and put our child's interest first.

By dying to your own desires and pouring your life into someone else, you become like Christ and create a godly legacy that will carry on for generations to come."

What is very awesome to me is that God allowed women to be the beginning of of life. We carry life in our wombs which are precious to God. For me, it has been both a privilege and an honor.

Thought for Today: Thank God for the blessing of serving as a Mother.