God's Incredible Gift!

 

As we were putting out cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve, I accidentally dropped one. “No problem,” I said, picking it up and dusting it off before placing it back on the plate. “You can’t do that,” argued my four-year-old. “Don’t worry. Santa will never know.” He shot me a look. “So, he knows if I’ve been bad or good, but he doesn’t know the cookie fell on the floor?”

The line starts to form around 4:30 in the morning. The goal of the people in line is to buy up the stock of doughnuts at Donut City, a small, family-owned shop in Seal Beach, California. By 7:30 the doughnuts had all been purchased.

The motivation of the buyouts? To allow the shop owner, John Chhan, to be able to leave work and be with his ailing wife, Stella, who recently suffered an aneurysm. The Chhans opened the shop over 30 years ago and have had a steady stream of regular and loyal customers throughout the decades. John and Stella worked side by side the entire time. She would make the doughnuts, and he would sell them. When Stella became sick, John refused to allow his customers to set up any crowdfunding sites to help with medical expenses. That’s when the patrons came up with the buyout plan. Out of love for the Chhans, people regularly pay the price so a husband and wife can be together as much as possible.

[Romans 5:12; 6:23] Sin entered the world through disobedience of God’s word in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3), and the wage of sin is death (God sacrificed animals, the first blood sacrifice for sin, and made coverings for Adam and Eve to wear; Genesis 3:21).

People without Christ as their Savior are deathly ill. God wants badly for those people not to die, but to live with Him for eternity (John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9). “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God is patiently awaiting our repentance for sin.

So that humanity would have the opportunity to spend eternity with God, a buyout had to take place, and Jesus was the price for that buyout (1 Timothy 2:5-6). Sin had to be paid for in order for it to be removed from those willing to accept God’s offer of salvation.

Colossians 1:13 states that God has transferred us from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son. According to verse 14, the payment for that transfer was God’s Son, Himself (the final blood sacrifice for sin). The motivation for the buyout? To allow humankind to be with God for eternity. The price has been paid out of God’s love for humanity. God is not willing that any should perish in their sins.

The Christmas holidays are upon us, and the world around us is filled with the noble notions of gift-giving. “What am I going to get my spouse?” “Will my kids like this gift?” “What can I do for my boss and co-workers?” Giving gifts is a godly behavior, and we should all remember that our Lord said it is better to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).

It is good to rejoice in giving! But in all of our giving, did we remember to put God on our list? Did we remember to present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2)? Did we think to walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him (Colossians 1:10)? Did we remember to wrap up a huge present of thankfulness for our salvation through Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:12)?

In all the hubbub and scrambling to find the perfect present for those we love, did you remember to put the Lord on your list? Let’s remember Him today and every day for His indescribable gift (2 Corinthians. 9:15)! “Thanks be to God for His incredible gift” - JESUS

In God We Trust

 

The Rev. Mark R. Watkinson, pastor of Prospect Hill Baptist Church of Ridleyville, Pennsylvania, wrote a letter petitioning the Treasury Department to “recognize Almighty God” on American coins. In 1861, the nation was in the early stages of a civil war. Watkinson was well aware that the Confederacy had turned to God in their constitution. The Pennsylvania preacher wanted everyone to know that the southern rebels did not have a monopoly on God. “The ignominy of heathenism,” that is, the Confederacy, Watkinson wrote, must realize that God favored the Union not the Confederacy, and that, for their part, the Union trusted in God. The letter was written November 13, 1861. “In God We Trust.” It soon became a rallying cry — for both sides in the war. In the South, soldiers often carried a flag imprinted with the motto: “Our cause is just, our duty we know; In God we trust, to battle we go.” By the mid-1950s, “In God We Trust” was on our coins and paper money. On July 30, 1956, President Eisenhower signed legislation declaring the phrase to be the national motto. Days later, he would be anointed the standard bearer for the Republican Party and be re-elected in November. “In God We Trust” might be the most well-known motto in the world. But it leads us to the question, “In whom do we really trust?” And then there’s the question, “What does it mean to trust in God?”

(Proverbs 3:5-6) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your path.” As to the first question, let’s remember that God has clearly revealed a moral code by which we should live. It’s a sign that we trust God when we follow it. It’s a sign that we do not trust God when we don’t. This answers the second question as well. In short, those who trust in God tend to stay within the lanes, as it were. They honor God with their obedience and service. They are the people who follow the advice in Proverbs 3. - Timothy Merrill

[James 1:22] “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” It isn’t popular to quote the Bible. It is even less popular to believe the Bible is God’s Word. Many who proclaim to be “Christians” do not believe the Bible. Does that remind you of the Jews in the first century? They ridiculed Jesus when He claimed to be the Son of God. They accused Him of doing miracles in the name of Beelzebub. They asked to see a “sign” but didn’t believe the miracles they had already witnessed by His hand (Luke 11:14-20).

The times change but the attitude of “the world” changes little, if any. Over and over, the Israelites and the Jews were commanded to obey God. Time after time, they rejected God’s plea, preferring to be like their neighbors who were not “constrained” by the things God said. Like many today, they want His blessings when in need but prefer to keep Him at arm’s length at other times.

Those of us who believe the Scriptures are inspired by God and MUST be obeyed are considered religious fanatics. We are often called the “sect” because we believe we must speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent. That’s okay. We must obey God and not man (Acts 5:29). When James wrote, “Be doers of the word and not hearers only,” that’s what the Holy Spirit told him to write, and for us to obey. Most of the Israelites did not make it to the promised land because of unbelief. Let us not let unbelief keep us from our “promised land” of heaven that is reserved for those who do God’s will. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven… I will declare to them, “I never knew you; …” (Matthew 7:21-23). In whom else, and in what else, would I put my trust, except in you, O Lord? Guide me in the paths of righteousness.

A Wobbly Chair and God's Grace

 

It’s the first of the month. For many of you (us), this means your next Social Security check has or will arrive soon or be deposited into your bank account. Are you aware that you owe your Social Security check to a rickety, wobbling chair? Here’s the story. It was a rickety chair that allowed the New Deal to happen. Go back to the 1930s. The United States was deep into the Great Depression. The national unemployment rate hit 24.9 percent. People were hungry, lining up for blocks in major cities to get a cup of soup. Franklin Roosevelt, who had just been elected president, was speaking at a rally in Chicago. In the audience was Giuseppe Zangara, an anarchist who was only five feet tall, but ten feet tall in his heart. He blamed all of his myriad problems on capitalists and politicians. He didn’t know the president from Adam, but the misguided soul thought that he was responsible for all of his sordid problems. Zangara bought a five-shot .32-caliber revolver and got ready. Zangara, a short man, was no taller than Zacchaeus, but rather than climbing a tree, he stood on a chair to get a better view. He climbed up on the chair, raised his pistol, took aim, and just at that moment, the chair wobbled. His shot went wild, and tragically, the mayor of Chicago, who was shaking hands with Roosevelt, took the bullet instead and later died.

If Roosevelt had been shot and killed, his conservative running mate, John Nance Garner, would have become president. Most historians agree that Garner would never have brought in the sweeping reforms FDR did. If that chair hadn’t wobbled, our history would have been quite different. You never know. Perhaps Congress would have passed a different form of Social Security. The point is that you never know how something as small as a wobbly chair might change the course of history. The Bible reminds us that “The human mind plans the way, but the LORD directs the steps.”

(Proverbs 16:9). Even in the tiniest details of life, God’s hand is at work in ways we may never fully understand. Life is full of moments where small, unnoticed events have huge consequences. A single conversation, a brief delay, or even a shaky chair can alter history. The same is true in our own lives. Our actions, no matter how small, can shape the future in ways we cannot imagine. —Timothy Merrill HomeTouch 11/2/25

[2 Corinthi­ans 9:8] “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all suffi­ciency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work”.

After many years of ministry, I’ve learned two important things. First, God’s servants are totally dependent upon the grace of God. God’s grace or favor provides far more than forgiveness. God shapes and molds us into the kind of peo­ple that He wishes us to be.

In Philippians 1:6 Paul wrote, “…being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will com­plete it until the day of Jesus Christ…” Yes, God expects us to use the talents and abilities He gives us, but we should never forget that every good gift comes from Him (James 1:17). Paul urges us, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippi­ans 2:12–13). 

Second, we are wholly dependent upon the kindness of God to provide for our needs and the needs of His ministry. God does not send us into His vineyard emp­ty-handed and ill-equipped. God’s grace abounds so that we have all sufficiency in all things at all times for every good deed. When faithful Christians ask, God answers; when they seek, He helps them find; and when they knock, the Lord opens the door (Matthew 7:7-11). God truly answers prayer and supplies all our needs.