{"id":21085,"date":"2020-12-25T00:01:30","date_gmt":"2020-12-25T08:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/?p=21085"},"modified":"2021-01-03T16:25:17","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T00:25:17","slug":"free-gifts-from-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/free-gifts-from-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Gifts From God"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Every month I read to all of the children (grades K–6) who attend the Classical Christian Academy in my hometown known as \u201cThe Oaks.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>For the first two grades, K and 1, I usually read Fairly Tale type stories.\u00a0 <\/span>Upon completion of the story, we then have an open discussion of the morals and lessons to be learned from those stories.\u00a0 <\/span>We (the students and me) discuss how these morals match up with God\u2019s Laws, as recorded within the Holy Scriptures, and how we can apply what we have learned in the conduct of our own lives.\u00a0 <\/span>It is always a very fun time on the second Friday of every week during the school year.\u00a0 <\/span>Of course bringing buckets of free candy as a treat for the kids helps to keep their attention and create a greater desire to participate in the open discussions.\u00a0 <\/span>I really believe in rewards.<\/span><\/p>\n

I read a beautiful story as told by Pastor and author Max Lucado about a heart wrenching personal experience of a young man who was greatly blessed by the action and conduct of a very wise and compassionate young woman who lived the way God commands all believers to live.\u00a0 <\/span>Permit me to share the words that Pastor Lucado used to describe the events surrounding the story:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI received a telephone call from a friend named Kenny.\u00a0 <\/span>He and his family had just returned from a family vacation at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.\u00a0 <\/span>\u2018I saw a sight that I will never forget,\u2019 he said.\u00a0 <\/span>\u2018I want you to know about it.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He and his family were inside Cinderella\u2019s castle.\u00a0 <\/span>It as packed with kids and their parents.\u00a0 <\/span>Suddenly all of the children rushed over to one side of the room in which they were all standing.\u00a0 <\/span>Had it been a boat, the castle would have tipped over.\u00a0 <\/span>The reason that everyone in the room all moved to one side of the meeting room is because Cinderella had without introduction entered it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cinderella.\u00a0 <\/span>The pristine princess.\u00a0 <\/span>Kenny said she was perfectly typecast.\u00a0 <\/span>A gorgeous young girl with each hair in place, flawless skin, and a beaming smile.\u00a0 <\/span>She stood waist-deep in a garden of children, each wanting to touch and be touched.<\/span><\/p>\n

For some reason, Kenny turned and looked toward the other side of the castle.\u00a0 <\/span>It was now completely vacant except for one young boy maybe seven or eight years old.\u00a0 <\/span>His age was difficult to determine because of the disfigurement of his body.\u00a0 <\/span>Dwarfed in height, face deformed, he stood watching quietly and wistfully, clasping the hand of his older brother.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t you just know what he really wanted?\u00a0 <\/span>He wanted above all else just to be with the other children.\u00a0 <\/span>He longed to be in the middle of the kids reaching for Cinderella, calling her name.\u00a0 <\/span>But can\u2019t you feel his fear; fear of yet another rejection?\u00a0 <\/span>Fear of being taunted again, mocked again?<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t you wish that Cinderella would go to him?\u00a0 <\/span>Guess what?\u00a0 <\/span>She did!<\/span><\/p>\n

This fairyland princess noticed the little boy.\u00a0 <\/span>She immediately began walking in his direction.\u00a0 <\/span>Politely but firmly inching through the crowd of children, she finally broke free.\u00a0 <\/span>She walked quickly across the floor, knelt at eye level with the stunned little boy, and placed a kiss on his astonished face.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018I thought you would appreciate the story.\u2019 Kenny told me.\u00a0 <\/span>I did.\u00a0 <\/span>It reminded me of another one.\u00a0 <\/span>The names are different, but isn\u2019t the story almost the same?\u00a0 <\/span>Rather than a princess of Disney World, it\u2019s the Prince of Peace.\u00a0 <\/span>Rather than a boy in a castle, it\u2019s a thief on a cross.\u00a0 <\/span>In both cases a gift was given.\u00a0 <\/span>In both cases love was shared.\u00a0 <\/span>In both cases the lovely one performed a gesture beyond words of description.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Jesus Christ did more than Cinderella.\u00a0 <\/span>Oh yes, so much more!<\/span><\/p>\n

Cinderella gave only a kiss.\u00a0 <\/span>When she stood to leave, she took her beauty with her.\u00a0 <\/span>The boy was still deformed.\u00a0 <\/span>What if Cinderella had done what Jesus did?\u00a0 <\/span>What if she assumed his physical state?\u00a0 <\/span>What if she had somehow given him her beauty and taken on his disfigurement?<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Jesus did.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018He took our suffering on him and felt our pain for us….He was wounded for the wrong we did; He was crushed for the evil we did.\u00a0 <\/span>The punishment, which made us well, was given to Him and we were healed because of His wounds.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Make no mistake:<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus gave more than a kiss–He gave His beauty.<\/span><\/p>\n

He paid more than a visit–He paid for our mistakes.<\/span><\/p>\n

He took more than a minute–He took away our sin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Blessings and Encouragement to You……………….<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sample From Stories That Will Bless Your Heart<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every month I read to all of the children (grades K–6) who attend the Classical Christian Academy in my hometown known as \u201cThe Oaks.\u201d\u00a0 For the first two grades, K and 1, I usually read Fairly Tale type stories.\u00a0 Upon … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21085"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21088,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21085\/revisions\/21088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}