admin

Offerings

small-altar-1526458

(Photo Credit: Katia Grimmer-Laversanne)

. . . And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. – Genesis 4:2-7

First, Cain was angry with God for not showing respect for his sacrifice. Then, God reminded Cain how to be accepted. Next, God warned Cain about not doing well, which invites sin. But Cain let his anger continue, and that led to him killing his brother Abel.

Selfishness and stubbornness leads to frustration, and can also lead us to be angry with the Lord. I recently went through a time when God showed me this. I was angry with God for not doing something I wanted. (Wow, I sound like a spoiled child when I put it that way!) But when I acknowledged my anger toward Him, He showed me that being selfish and stubborn were the root of my anger.

How was I selfish and stubborn? There have been many times that I have come up with my own “sacrifices” to offer the Lord. I did not always check with Him to see what He wanted. As Christians, we are certainly to sacrifice all to Jesus, who sacrificed all for our sins. But in my heart, there were times that I expected God to do something for me in a certain way, right away, based on what I offered Him. Although I really did not try to be this way, I ended up demanding things of God for myself, rather than waiting upon Him and serving Him. After all, God is God, and I’m just a man. Really, I should simply obey God.

But the selfish thinking and stubbornness I held in my heart reminds me of King Saul. After King Saul was commanded to destroy the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15), he didn’t. He saved some animals, which he said he could sacrifice to the LORD, and also spared King Agag. Samuel’s reply was simple:

Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. – 1 Samuel 15:22-23

No matter what I try to give to God, whether it is money, time, ministry, prayer, praise and worship, Bible reading, fasting, or anything else, I need to have an obedient heart and seek what is pleasing to Him. If I don’t, it is possible to pray for an hour and not be pleasing to the Lord. I can fast for a day and not gain much spiritually from it. So our heart must be right with God. Do what He says to do, and offer what He says to offer. We can offer whatever we want to Jesus. But if it is not what He wants, it will lead to frustration and anger, and sin will be there waiting for us.

Prayer for today: Lord Jesus, help me to be pleasing to you today. Help me to hear your voice, and give me an obedient heart. I need you, and I cannot figure out what is pleasing to you without knowing you better. Show your heart to me, so I can truly know you and follow you. In your name, Lord Jesus, I pray.

I like this

(1)Not wild about this

(0)

Restoration, Part 7

And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. – Joel 2:25-26

As I was turning my heart and my life back to the Lord, I had some shame to deal with. Actually, there are times when it is appropriate to be ashamed for our actions, words, and thoughts (Joel 1:11). But God did not want me to stay ashamed forever. He forgave me, and restored me.

What was restored? The Lord restored great things to me. I developed a prayer life again, one that was deeper than it had been before I left the church. My understanding of the Word improved, because I sought to gain more knowledge of God and His ways and did not treat the Holy Bible as a self-help book. I submitted myself to my spiritual leaders again, and to their authority. Then God kept a wonderful promise of His Word when I turned back to Him.

Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. – Jeremiah 3:14-15

Moral strength and purity were restored to me as well. Of course, we need to continually work at maintaining our purity, but God does gives us moral strength. If you are afraid that you can no longer live a pure, morally strong life, do not believe it because that is a lie! Here is another great promise from the unshakable Word of God.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. – 2 Timothy 1:7

A sound mind can make the right moral decisions. God gives us power, and a powerful capacity to love, through His Holy Spirit. Let God restore you to a place that is better than you have ever experienced before!

Prayer for today: Lord Jesus, I accept your restoration today. Let the shame pass from me, and help me to move forward without looking back. Put spiritual leaders in my life according to your heart. I ask you to restore what has been lost in me, and in my life. Grant me your power, your love, and a sound mind. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen!

I like this

(0)Not wild about this

(0)

Restoration, Part 6

doomsday-red-sky-1532415

(Photo Credit: Roberto Burgos S.)

“Yet even now,” says Yahweh, “turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.”Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to Yahweh, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.Who knows? He may turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him . . . . – Joel 2:12-14 (WEB)

If I stop and really think about it, I perceive God very differently at times. Countless times, I have heard that God is a loving God, in songs, in church, and in reading about Him. But I have often pictured the God as quick to anger if I make any mistakes, even little ones. I know He is a loving God, and I have experienced His great love many times. So why do I perceive Him as being quick to anger, especially when Joel 2:13 reminds us that He is “slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness” (Joel 2:13, WEB)? So if God is not the problem, and it never is because He is loving, then the problem is in my perception of Him.

On the other hand, there are times when I have pictured God as not having any emotions, except anger. So as I considered this recently, I think God showed me that I have projected my own thoughts of what a stereotypical male is in terms of emotions, onto God. Males have been called “unfeeling”, “emotionless”, “like a machine”, and other things. But men, and boys, are usually raised and culturally trained to not show the “weaker emotions” like sadness, fear, or even happiness. Anger is often acceptable.

The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. – Jeremiah 31:3-4

The passage above in Joel, and this one in Jeremiah, reminds us that God is loving and kind. He wants to build us up, not tear us down in anger. I have given God plenty of reasons to be angry with me in my life, and there are times He has been angry with me, and I knew it and deserved it. But every single time I humbled myself and brought myself back to Him, He was there waiting for me in love.

The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. – Zephaniah 3:17

Wow, God actually rejoices over us! He loves us, and although I have never audibly heard God sing, it amazes me to think that the Lord rejoices over me with singing. God sings? Yes, God sings! Who created joy? God created joy! Even if God has been angry with you, humbly turn to Him again. Let Him rejoice over you!

Prayer for today: Heavenly Father, I admit that there are times you have been angry with me. But help me to see that you are not angry with me all of the time. Show me your love, your joy, and your mercy. Let me experience them personally, in ways that I understand. Thank you, Lord. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.

Note: Joel 2:12-14 taken from World English Bible (public domain).

I like this

(1)Not wild about this

(0)

Restoration, Part 5

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

(Photo Credit: Nasko Marinov)

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. – Isaiah 1:18

It is amazing that the Lord invites us to reason together with Him. Since God knows everything, and everyone, what a great invitation for us! As mentioned in the verse above, the purpose of reasoning together with the Lord is so that He can wash our sins away and make us clean. What happens after that? He can start making us fruitful again!

Allow God to produce fruit through you. In the natural world, fruit provides nourishment for people. In the Body of Christ, we are to encourage and build each other up (Ephesians 4:12-16), and reach out to people (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

One thing that happened when I went my own way is that I stopped producing spiritual fruit. I was not building up my brothers and sisters in the Lord, and I didn’t reach out to people with the Gospel message. I tried to be kind and encouraging to people, and talked about God sometimes. There were also a few times that God used me to encourage some people anyway, in spite of me. Most of the time I was not led by God, though.

But our God is a God who does restore. And he can restore fruitfulness to us. I’m still not perfect, but the Lord produced some new fruit in me after I returned to Him. When we draw close to Jesus again and repent of our own ways, His Holy Spirit produces the fruit that will lead us to being fruitful, for us and for others!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23 (WEB)

Prayer for today: Heavenly Father, I bring myself to you. Help me to be honest with myself and with you, and let us reason together. Wash my sins away. I ask you to restore me to you. Help me to repent and be truly fruitful. In the Name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Note: Galatians 5:22-23 taken from World English Bible (public domain).

I like this

(0)Not wild about this

(0)

Restoration, Part 4

inspiration-again-1383695-1280x960

(Photo Credit: Angela Granger)

For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. – Colossians 1:9-12

Our joy withers away when we don’t serve the Lord. Joy is produced by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Can we find happiness on our own in life? Yes, sometimes we can. Those times are a gift from God as well, in spite of our own stubbornness. I tried to find my own enjoyment in life, and failed. Read through the Book of Ecclesiastes, and you will see that King Solomon tried everything.

And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun. – Ecclesiastes 2:10-11

How do we find true joy? Turn to Jesus Christ. Walk worthy of the Lord, please Him, be fruitful in good works by serving Him, and increase in the knowledge of God (Colossians 1:10). Be strengthened by the Holy Spirit! His power is glorious! Then we can have joy, even while we go through trials with patience (Colossians 1:11). Finally, remember that after we were born again we gained an amazing inheritance and became the Lord’s “saints in light” (Colossians 1:12)! Don’t throw away that wonderful inheritance. Live in it, and find joy in the Lord again!

Prayer for today: Heavenly Father, I need joy in me again. I can find momentary happiness, but true joy comes from You. I ask You to strengthen me through the joy You give. Help me to find joy in knowing You! Fill me with Your love, and surround me with Your Presence. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen!

I like this

(0)Not wild about this

(0)