We are about halfway between the Feast of Pentecost and Father's Day. On Pentecost, we offered an offering to God. On Father's Day, dads receive various gifts from their kids. Even if it is simply a card or a hug, it is still valuable in most fathers' hearts and minds.

When we assemble on a holy day before our heavenly Father, we do as Scripture instructs, bringing an offering at the appointed time. The Bible often refers to these offerings as "gifts." We are giving back to God a portion of what He has given to us. Deuteronomy 8:18 reads, "And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day."

Similarly, when our children give us gifts on Father's Day, they are likely using money we earned to buy those gifts. God has given us everything we have, so when we tithe and give an offering to Him, we are literally giving back a portion of what He has provided to us. In the same way, most kids use "dad dollars" to buy him that new tie.

Speaking more generally about gifts, do we remember something special that was given to us? Perhaps we might think of family heirlooms passed down over multiple generations, or generational wealth passed from grandparents to parents to children. But is there a special gift that resonates with us?

When I enrolled at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte to obtain my associate's degree in computer science, my sister, Rochelle, sent me a JanSport book bag at the beginning of the semester. It meant the world to me at that time. What made this gift so valuable to me was that it was precisely what I needed at that time. I did not have a bookbag and needed one. It fit the form and function that I needed for school. It was one less thing a broke college student had to buy, and I did not even have to go to the store. So, that gift touched me in a way that I have not forgotten.

When I was in my mid-teens, my parents left the Worldwide Church of God, and my life changed drastically. I started homeschooling, and we went to the Feast of Tabernacles in Texas, where I met new friends in similar circumstances. The years passed, and I began traveling to foreign Feast sites, flying back and forth between Chicago and other destinations multiple times, and going on trip after trip. Before I knew it, I had racked up about $5,000 in credit card debt.

I made decent money for someone my age, but when I hit the $5,000 debt mark, I finally started doing the math. It was not good. Depression sank in as I realized that it would take me years to pay it off! I had racked up all this debt having fun and keeping up with my friends, only to land in insurmountable debt.

One day, on my way home from work, I stopped by the mailbox and found a card addressed to me from my grandmother. This piece of mail seemed a bit odd, since it was not the usual $20 for my birthday that we had already told her we do not celebrate. Nothing else had really happened in life that would make me expect a note from her.

I did not cry much when I was younger, but I might have shed a couple of tears when I read the letter and saw the check. I deposited it as fast as possible and wrote a similar check to the credit card company to pay off the balance I owed.

That day, I received the perfect gift for my life situation, and I am truly grateful to my grandparents for their generosity and love. It is an event that I will never forget because it changed me. One day, I was in insurmountable debt, and the next, I was debt-free. From then on, I have hated debt! I never want to be in debt again. Ask my family! They ask, "Dad, can we get this or that?" and I answer, "Absolutely NOT! We are broke!"

Are there special gifts that resonate in our minds? Gifts that changed our lives?

Luke 11:11-13 contains the Parable of the Good Father, and in it, we can see what our Savior has to say about gifts.

If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!

Jesus uses food as an example, which is interesting because we need it. We cannot do without it because it maintains life. If a son asks for bread, fish, or an egg, he is asking for items that are part of a healthy daily diet.

He then contrasts the spirit of man with the Holy Spirit, saying that if a person can do this for his children as a mere man, how much more can and will God the Father do this through His Holy Spirit for those who ask. He compares what physical fathers can provide versus what God can provide. And we know God can supply so much more!

James 1:17-18 further solidifies this thought:

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

Not only is every gift of God good and perfect, but He has also called each of us so that we could be His firstfruits. What a wonderful gift! We could never earn, buy, or volunteer for His calling, nor for the spectacular potential that comes with it. It is truly a gift from God.

We know that God gives many gifts, but in Part Two, we will focus on one special gift He gives His children.