1 Peter 1:13a

So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming... 1 Peter 1:13a The Message

When I think of gifts, I think birthday. What do you have to do to be ready to receive a birthday gift? I guess the answer is to keep sucking air for 365 days. Not much to it. I have received some nice birthday gifts, but how do you compare a new pair of jeans to one of God's gifts?

So, do you think we have to do something to be ready to receive God's gifts? What happens when you are not ready? Do you still receive the gift? I think you still receive the gifts. What if God were to give you a software package that could create a cure for any sickness? What if you never bothered to work on the computer hardware to run the software? So, instead of curing people you use the software as a door stop. You received the gift and you put it to use. Instead of curing cancer you saved the wall from a ding.

What do we do to get ourselves totally ready to receive God's gifts? Read and study God's Word. Use and develop the gifts and abilities you have already received.