I anticipated (prophetically I suppose) that when I began my blogging exercises it would only be a matter of time before the interval between blogs would increase. That has certainly been the case over the last few days. While it has been busy that is really no excuse. I am mathematically positive that each of us has the same amount of time in a day. The truth is that we crowd our schedules with anything and everything under the sun. If we see a spare day on the calendar or minute on the clock we fill it with something (the same 'you spend what you make' concept in the financial world). Scripturally we have a duty to 'redeem our time' (Eph. 5:16). Time, like or even more so than money, is a commodity that is limited. So I have to ask myself have I used my time wisely in not blogging. I think the answer is somewhat mixed. Blogging is generally positive for me because it causes me to reflect on my day, forces me to put my thoughts into words, and allows for opportunity to highlight what God is teaching me. However, when placed against sermon preparation and family time suddenly blogging does not stack up very well. Over the course of the last few days I have on a few occasions thought about blogging but my thoughts did not transfer into action. Sometimes for the right reasons and other times out of pure laziness.

This week I am preparing for a Sunday message dealing with the biblical topic of gifts and giving. I intend to spend a few Sunday's with Christmas doctrines. I will pick up in Genesis 24 in January and we will proceed to walk through the second half of the book. While the popular Christmas custom of gift-giving dominates our culture what does the Word say about gift-giving? This will not be a sermon blasting gifts at Christmas. I am not going to waste my time arguing over its merits, worth, heritage, or ultimately whether its Scriptural. Our family does it out of tradition and because we like giving to our kids. (Although we are certainly spoiling them in the process.) In the same way I think its a waste of the church's time to try to convince a godless world to stop being materialistic. Of course they are going to materialistic because they are lost. We believers should set the example but we are not: our credit cards are maxed out just like theirs. But as I read the Bible I find out more and more that the focus is not on our gifts to each other but His gift and gifts. There a difference between the gift He gave (singular) and the gifts (plural) He gives. "But thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift..." 2 Cor. 9:15 or "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit." 1 Cor. 12:4 He has given us the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Rom. 6:23 He has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit that regenerates us. The Holy Spirit has given us individual gifts to minister on His behalf. He has given gifts to the church through ministers. The more I study the more I find out it's not so much about what we give but all He gives us. May we learn to fix our minds on the Giver Himself.