WHAT CAN I GIVE TO GOD?

WHAT CAN I GIVE TO GOD?

Ps 4:5 KJV

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.

What can I give to a God who owns everything? The verse above suggests two very lovely gifts for any occasion.

1. THE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS!

The Hebrew for “righteousness” is tsedeq and means that which is morally and legally right. This is not the righteousness we get FROM God but the moral and legal righteousness we give TO God. It means that God wants me to make right decisions, have right attitudes and that my heart should be right as well.

The Psalmist recognizes “doing right” to be a sacrifice, literally “a slaughter.” It indicates that doing right is not natural for fallen man. It requires something from man and limits at least his freedom to do wrong.

The whole idea is to slaughter my “right” to self expression and self motivation and to do those things that are well pleasing to God. It may require extra effort on my part or it may require me to actually lose something of value but I willing sacrifice those things as part of my gift to God.

2. THE GIFT OF TRUST!

The word batach which is the basis for “put your trust in the Lord” is not as easily understood. It means to confide in, to flee for refuge, and to rest without suspecting danger. It means to rely so fully in the Lord’s guardianship that I can sleep through a storm. It is, after all, the same kind of trust Jesus placed in the Father.

Mark 4:37-40

37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

Dear Lord, today I offer you two gifts that are not easy for me to give up. First I offer the gift of doing right. Next I offer my complete trust and confidence in you no matter the storm that rages around me. AMEN

NO GREATER JOY

NO GREATER JOY!

3 John 4

4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

As a father, grandfather, and pastor, I know the joy that John knew. He refers to himself in verse one as the elder which has a dual meaning. One refers to his position because the word in the Greek is presbuteros and means Sanhedrist or presbyter. It refers to the joy of a pastor when his flock walks in truth. The other meaning is simply “old.” I now own both distinctions so I know the thrill when my children walk in truth whether they be from my loins or my labor.

The word walk is the Greek peripateo which means “to tread all around or to walk at large” and the idea is that this person displays a consistent lifestyle. In this case that lifestyle is “in truth.”

Can your father or your pastor say this of you? When you “tread all around” do you present a consistent Christian lifestyle?

Ps 26:1-3

26 Judge me, O Lord ; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord ; therefore I shall not slide.

2 Examine me, O Lord , and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.

Lord, when I “tread all around” may others see me walking consistently in the truth. AMEN

INFLUENCE

INFLUENCE!

Matt 5:13-16

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

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alt in those days was impure and mixed with vegetable or mineral substances. Rock salt! When subjected to wind, rain, and sun the salt would lose its saltiness. All that would be left was a gravel that was good only for paving pathways. Only the salt that remained “close to the rock” remained salty! (Source: The Land and the Book, vol.ii.pp.43,44)

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alt is not food. It only influences the flavor of the food. Salt also is a preservative. That is why Jesus likened His followers to salt. We make the bitter and tasteless world more palatable. For those who will listen, we also invite them into a relationship with God that will preserve them from damnation. We are here to influence others for good.

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ur government is full of unelected people whose only job is to influence those who make laws and policy. The total number of registered lobbyists in Washington, D.C. is 10,400 and their spending has topped $1.66 Billion – with a “B”. (Source: OpenSecrets.org) Appropriate conclusions can be drawn from this.

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nlike the professionals who influence government, believers are to influence others for good. Having received God’s mercy, we then share His mercy with others. We seek to keep our hearts pure that God might be seen in our lives today. We become peacemakers in a troubled world and channels for God's mercy, purity, and peace.

Col 4:6

6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Lord, let me lobby and influence others for good today. AMEN

IT IS HARD TO DRIVE A NAIL ONCE BENT

IT IS HARD TO DRIVE A NAIL ONCE BENT!

Eccl 1:15

15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

Eccl 7:13-14

13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?

14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.

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his proverb urges man to be in submission to the providence of God. We often decide that God has made things crooked and we then engage in the task of making the circumstances straight. We want the circumstances to fit our notion of what should be right. We preachers do this all the time thinking that to be our calling. It is a Messiah complex that often frustrates us when crooked people can’t be made straight by our efforts. Some things and some people can’t be made straight simply by wanting them to be.

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e are left with two courses of action regarding the workings of God. These are listed in verse fourteen. First, in the day of prosperity when everything seems straight to us, be joyful and thank God that there are no uncomfortable twists and turns in the circumstances of your life. In the day of adversity consider that there is nothing certain in this life. The word “consider” means to study thoroughly or to meditate so as to fully and properly understand but we can’t fully understand why God does what He does. He has His own plans and purposes. In the absence of understanding He bids us to trust in His nature, wisdom and goodness.

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t is hard to drive a nail once bent. There will always be a weakness that keeps it from piercing true. Some things once done can’t be undone and crooked people can be made straight by God alone.

Luke 13:11-13

11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.

12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.

13 And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

Jesus, Master Carpenter, make straight the crookedness in my loved ones and make straight the crookedness in me. AMEN

THE SHEPHERD'S REWARD

THE SHEPHERD’S REWARD!

Matt 10:16

16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Luke 6:22-23

22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.

23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

           Every now and then a well respected researcher will provide a long list of reasons why men abandon the ministry. They usually list long hours, little pay and even less appreciation as incentives for the minister to quit. Impossible expectations, double standards, and human conflict add to the depressing weight. But these lists usually are missing some very important things.

           For every human conflict that the minister must endure there are innumerable steadfast friends! The long hours of being on call and on the job is balanced by flexibility. For every disappointing human failure there are countless reasons to rejoice, and even a few miracles along the way. This is not carpentry or mechanics. It resembles farming which is subject to the quality of the soil and the timely mixture of sun and rain. God is the essential ingredient in every success and the comfort in every loss.

The concept of ministry is strengthened when the use of the Greek word ‎doulos ‎is noted. This was the term for a bondslave, one who was offered his freedom but who voluntarily surrendered that freedom in order to remain a servant. This idea typified Jesus' purpose, as described by Paul in Phil 2:7.

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

           Raw statistics cannot, by themselves, measure the profitability of ministry. If you want to be rich then enter the marketplace. If you want to be respected become a physician. If you want power become a lawyer. But if you want to make a difference in the lives of people for all eternity then the calling of gospel ministry has no equal.

1 Tim 1:12

12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

Thank you Lord for the for the flock you have placed in my hands. Let me always be faithful. Let me always measure success and failure in the same way as you do. AMEN