Well, it has been a week since Christmas 2005. Can you believe it is already 2006? I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas day. I’m sure you had fun giving and receiving gifts with family and friends. Did you find it more rewarding to give a gift or receive one? In Acts 20:35 Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Is it? Did you receive what you asked for? Did you ask for things you wanted or things you needed? There is one gift that I ask for everyday, not just on Christmas.
This gift I ask my Father for everyday is the Holy Spirit. Luke 11:11-13 says, “11"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[f] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
As a father of two sons, I love to give my boys gifts. They are not a bit bashful about asking for what they want. Trips to Wal-Mart are quite interesting. I do not give my boys everything they ask for. However, I do give to them what they need. Something magical happens in my heart when they ask me for something they need. Without exception, I give it to them. Whether it’s a glass of milk or a drink of juice, I love to meet their needs. Believe it or not, I will even get out of bed at 3:00am to get them a drink. That is a miracle. Love will cause you to do amazing things.
Luke 11:11-13 reminds us that if earthly fathers love to give gifts to their children, how much more does our heavenly Father love to give us the Holy Spirit. Since this is true, I am astonished at how many Christians don’t possess the Holy Spirit in abundance. Just as my boys need their daily dose of juice, we need are daily filling of the Holy Spirit.
There is an essential factor to my boys receiving their gifts of need. They have to ask. The same is true if we are to receive more of the Holy Spirit. Asking for something is an act of humility. First, it requires us to admit we are needy. Second, it requires us to admit we cannot provide everything for ourselves. James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” If we would just humble ourselves, admit we are needy, and ask God, we would receive more of His Spirit.
In Matthew 5:6 Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Because he is thirsty, when my two year old wakes up in the morning, the first word out of his mouth is, “juice”. Every morning he gets his juice because he asks his parents. As a child, he knows he has to get his thirst satisfied daily. He does not rely on yesterday’s cup. Jesus said in Matthew 18:3-4, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like his child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” I have learned that as a child of God, no matter how old I am, I need to humble myself and ask my Father for the Holy Spirit. I too cannot rely on yesterday’s filling. My first words to the Father in the morning are “Holy Spirit”.
People often tell me that I am a positive person. My source of strength comes from my daily filling of God’s Spirit. As I stand in His presence, I know I need everything that my Father has to give. I ask for it all. To further hammer home my point, I hope you enjoy this story about Arnold Palmer.
Golfer Arnold Palmer once played a series of exhibition matches in Saudi Arabia. The king was so impressed that he proposed to give Palmer a gift. Palmer demurred; "It really isn't necessary, Your Highness. I'm honored to have been invited."
"I would be deeply upset," replied the king, "if you would not allow me to give you a gift."
Palmer thought for a moment and said, "All right. How about a golf club? That would be a beautiful momento of my visit to your country."
The next day, delivered to Palmer's hotel, was the title to a golf club. Thousands of acres, trees, lakes, clubhouse, and so forth.
The moral of this story is: In the presence of a King, don't ask for small gifts!
2 comments:
Wow, awesome... thanks for your faithfulness to God and your family, and your comittment to grow others. Your writings are a blessing.
Woooow, awesome Arnold Palmer story. I'd never heard that one before but it really, really puts things into perspective! Gosh, that's amazing. It was SO great to see you on Sunday! What a blessing, you have no idea :-)
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