Day 2 ~ Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh and the other gifts I have given to you
Today has been an interesting study so far. I say so far as this is going to be an earlier post than the end of the day posts I would normally like to share because of having to travel this afternoon. However, this morning has given me plenty of opportunities to learn what God meant about these words he shared with me this morning.
Morning: OUCH!
I awoke this morning with my back in ever increasing pain. I must have pushed myself too hard yesterday. More than likely I leaned and turned the wrong way and thus causing me much more pain this morning. It was a great day yesterday. Kung Fu was fun and God did a great work in me yesterday learning about selfishness.
So this morning as I prayed before my feet hit the floor, God put the image of a gold coin in my head followed by the words of "Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh and other gifts I have given to you."
Wow... another day of not having to deal with my many OTHER flaws. I simply have to deal with.... uhm..... a strange stream of words that were a bit of a mystery to me. Time to get out the Bible, and do some wikipedia searching to learn a little more about what God is trying to reveal to me.
Gold - A precious metal, A gift that we see presented to others as the 'ultimate gift' to share other than diamonds for a bride.
Frankincense - a incense is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra
Myrrh - is the dried oleo gum resin of a number of Commiphora species of trees. Like frankincense, it is produced by the tree as a reaction to a purposeful wound through the bark and into the sapwood.
OK Jeff, so what does that mean to you and what God wants you to learn?
Good question and I think I have the answer God wanted me to learn. So sit back and read as I try to explain what God wants and how these gifts are the perfect example of a life devoted to him.
These three gifts are the perfect picture of Jesus and what he has done for me even before he performed those acts. The Magi, were men who followed the teachings of Zoroaster. Interesting enough a religion or faith that believed in a single God, and believed that God to be perfect, without evil. The world is in chaos and evil is all around us. They believed in a Savior who would come down and save the world and cast out the evil one and the dead would rise.
Gold was often a gift presented to those of Royalty. A picture of the Magi accepting Jesus royal nature. The gift of Frankincense was a symbol of priesthood, and Myrrh symbolizes suffering.
It fortold the life of Jesus. The gifts are also a picture for me as a Christian. Jesus is the Son of God. My Savior. I am the adopted child of my God. I am a child of the King. The gold is my promise from God that I am a part of his kingdom. I have the promise of sanctification. I have the assurance that I will be in the kingdom when I pass away.
Frankincense represents a delivery of my prayers to heaven. Many burned this incense to insure that God would hear our prayers. Frankincense, has a wonderful aroma. A perfume could be made with it. But we will take the original taught use of burning it as incense. Without Jesus death on the cross, I would not have my prayers heard by my God. I would still have to offer some sacrifice in hopes that it was pleasing to him and that he would hear our prayers. Now that Jesus has come, I have the blessed assurance (I use this several times in this post) that God does hear my prayers as a promise. I might not get the answers I am looking for, but I am sure that my prayers are heard by my Lord.
Myrrh is definitely interesting. It has healing properties. It was used to heal cuts and aid in improving health. Interesting enough that the Egyptians used myrrh in the process of mummification. It heals and preserves the body. I believe that myrrh's significance is representative that I can come to Jesus cut up, bleeding, almost dead and I can be healed by him. The holy spirit is myrrh. The Holy Spirit can mend my broken spirit. The Spirit can mend my sinner's heart. The Holy Spirit can preserve me and keep me while I wait for my own demise or that Jesus comes for me. I am preserved and held true by my faith in Jesus and that my heart is being healed by the Spirits hands.
On top of these gifts, God specifically spoke about the 'other' gifts he as given us. I think he is speaking about Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, and Self control. Those are the gifts of the spirit. Those are how the spirit mends me and heals me. Those gifts will be seen as an outward appearance of the work done within.
But there are other gifts. They talk about the 'Talents,' gold or something of monetary value presented to us. We as the story goes can either invest them with a ten fold return, be reserved with a five fold return, or bury them in the sand so that we keep these Talents to ourselves. It was something that I have noticed that God intends that our talents/gifts are to be shared and invested in others. We have to give these talents away so that they in turn can return in ten times of promise. However doubt causes us problems. With doubt, we can never really have a full return on our investment. Doubt shouldn't have a place. Finally, we can bury our heads and not share our talents/faith/gifts with others. We can simply be a pew sitter and await Jesus's return. No investment, No return. Sure you have the promise of salvation, but little else.
These are some tough things to think about. It is interesting to see how God wants me to get a full portion of his gifts and to live a life dedicated to him.
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