Gifts!
You will have plenty to eat, and you will build good houses to live in… But when all this happens, don’t be proud! ~ Deuteronomy 8:12, 14a (CEV)
What do you have that you were not given? And if it was given to you, how can you brag? ~ 1 Corinthians 4:7b (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
We should not be proud of what we have because it is all a gift from God.
PRAYER:
Lord, I have received more than I can remember from you. And that is part of the problem. I forget and act like all the good that I have is the result of my efforts and my wisdom. That's silly and inappropriate. Forgive me and keep me mindful of the constant flow of your grace into my life. Help me to see all that you are giving to me. I don't want to be proud. I want to be grateful. I say this in the name of Jesus, the greatest gift of all! Amen.
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
