What Does Your Giving Look Like?

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God loves a cheerful giver and we are to consider it a greater thing to give than receive.  We have known these biblical principles for giving almost since the day we first believed.  They are taught in Sunday School classes from the youngest to the oldest.  And yet most believers find it hard to give up what they really want to hang onto.  If the truth were told, we often give grudgingly, trying to hold as much back for ourselves as we possibly can.  And we seem to be much happier when we are the recipient of a gift, rather than when we are the giver. 

We often think of the woman who gave her last to coins, and some how we let ourselves off the hook by dropping a couple of bucks into the offering plate on Sunday, truly believing we have done as  well as she did.  We forget that they were her entire bank account!  She had no more money left in her leather money pouch.  She gave everything she had left.  Is that how you give?  I know I don't.

It seems that in this day and age, and especially in a country whose materialism is sin, that we have no idea what it is to give so sacrificially.  More often than not we are guilty of giving whatever amount we think that will "get us by."   We throw in a five dollar bill with the full knowledge of what we have spent the rest of our money on, bills, yes, but also on ourselves in the selfish accumulation of things and services that feed our flesh.  And there are those who began tithing a tenth of their income, who are as comfortable in that as the one who throws his crumbs into the pot of giving.  If it is no longer a sacrifice to give our 10% then should we be considering 12%?  

I am being challenged in my own giving right now.  God has been pointing me to "other offerings" that no one but Him sees.  And if I am honest, it is a struggle sometimes in my flesh to let go of the few extra dollars He is asking me to give.  As I submit (sometimes willingly, sometimes not) I am finding that it truly is more fun, more fulfilling, more joyful to be on the giving end. 

In one story in the Old Testament God has shown me two principles by which we are called to live:  Willingness to give everything and Being unwilling to give something to God that has cost me nothing.  Here is the story found in I Chronicles 21.

David had foolishly took a count of all of Israel's people, looking to see just how big his army now was.  This showed his lack of trust in God, and there would be an undesirable consequence for his sin.  David was asked to choose between three punishments.  He chose pestilence on the land and 70,000 men died.  David called out to God to stop the death that he was fully responsible.  Having accepted his responsibility in the matter, God's angel told him to go to Ornan and build an altar on Ornan's threshing floor.

David obey and went directly to Ornan.  When Ornan saw his king approaching, he laid down with his face to the ground, an act of humility and submission.  Then King David asked Ornan for the site of the threshing floor, and offered to pay him the full "asking price."

Now we see the two principles come forth, one from Ornan, and one from David.  Ornan's response to the King was that he not only take the land for his altar to God, but he also offered David the oxen for the  sacrifice, wood for the necessary fire, and the wheat he had just been threshing for the grain offering.  Ornan was willing to give everything David needed.  He held nothing back from his King.  Are we willing to do the same for our King?

Now let's look at David's response to such an offer.  His simple answer was this:  "No, but I will surely buy it for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the LORD, or offer a burnt offering which cost me nothing."  David knew that for his sacrifice on the altar (in his case for the sin he had committed) to be pleasing to his God, it would have to cost him something.  

God can see our hearts.  He knows what our thoughts and attitudes toward giving are.  Does He see  a willingness in your heart to give above and beyond what you normally would?  Does He see, too, that you are willing to sacrifice what you want so that what you offer Him truly costs you something?  Or do you just want to stay in the "comfort zone" of your current style of giving?  David brought his own animals and grain to offer to God, and the pestilence on the land stopped.  If he had used what Ornan was willing to give, it is likely that the pestilence would have continued.  David also paid the full price for the land out of his own pocket.  The blessing of God on the sacrifice of David's heart as well as the burnt offering is this:  the threshing floor of Ornan became the exact spot where Solomon's temple was erected!  God sees into our hearts and responds accordingly!

 

Are You Dressed Appropriately?

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The Full Armor of God

If you are a believer, you are engaged in a vicious battle.  I bet you didn't need me to tell you that!  As Christians we know that there is a battle raging in the heavenlies over our souls.  God has us; Satan wants us.  We have been schooled in this topic; we know that we are often attacked in the area of temptation.  But there is just one problem that I can see, in my life as well as in the lives of the believers I know.  We do not often WIN the battle at hand.  What is it that keeps us from winning?  Simple.  We are not wearing the proper attire for battle!  All to often we find ourselves in the midst of an all out attack, and our armor is still hanging neatly in our closet!  Or maybe this sound more like you. . .You always have your helmet of salvation on, but the rest of your armor has gone missing.  You are not even sure where you left your sword!

Today while I was reading in I Chronicles 12, I came across a description of David's military force.  Think again of the picture in your mind of you, as a warrior against the enemies of God, inappropriately lacking pieces of your armor.  Now consider David's army as described in the  Word:

• Mighty men of valor
• Men trained for war
• Men who could handle both shield and spear
• Men whose faces were like that of a lion
• Men who were swift in action

As I considered how often I go out each morning to battle, with my helmet of salvation tightly strapped on to my head and the Word of God, my sword, in my hand ready to fight if necessary.   Yet, I lack the rest of my armor.  Realizing this,  I began to understand just why it is that I am prone to lose my battles with temptation.  You see, I know I am saved; but I set out each morning, knowing the enemy desires to do battle with me, leaving behind the rest of my armor except for the study I have done that morning.  Though having my helmet on and my sword in my hand, it is not sufficient armor to win.  On these days, dressed inappropriately for battle, I cannot win.  

In my case I must go to that closet, take out and put on the pieces I so often leave behind.  There is the breastplate of righteousness, that covers and protects my heart, and the belt of truth that helps me discern the lies that the enemy tells me.  Going barefoot is of no military help when I leave my shoes of the gospel of peace on the floor of my closet.  Those shoes are a reminder that God and I are on peaceful terms now because of the shed blood of His Son on my behalf.  And what good is a soldier without his shield of faith?  One cannot walk in both fear and faith at the same time.  It is one or the other.  Without faith in full bloom, the enemy will terrorize us fear, shooting us with one fiery dart after another.  With no faith in place, no truth in place, no righteousness in place, no peace with God in place, our relationship with God and His word will not prevent us from being hit over and over again by an enemy seeking to destroy us.

We must learn that it is vitally important to our walk with God that we be Mighty Children of Valor -- trained to fight, able to use our shield of faith and sword of the Spirit together, with a face of strength, being willing to act quickly against every temptation of our enemy.  

This was the description of David's mighty men.  Is it a description of you?  If not, you need to go to your closet and drag out that dusty armor, and put it on!  Don't leave home without it!

 

God's Windex

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Many evil kings in both Israel and Judah had led their people in spiritual harlotry.  In the land God had given them they openly practiced idolatry and sin.  In the city in which God said HIS name would dwell, foreign gods were worshiped.  In His holy temple altars to other gods had been set up for the worship of the people, and the land was littered with the altars of false worship on the high places.  King after king followed in the evil path, each one seemingly outdoing the previous evil worship practices.  Then along came King Josiah.

Josiah was a man whose heart was pure.  Having been shown a book of God's Law, he realized how angry God must have been with the unfaithful hearts of so many generations.  His repentant heart caused him to rip his clothes and weep before the Lord for the atrocious sins of the people. Then he set his heart and mind to reform Jerusalem, the priesthood, the temple practices, and the hearts of his people.  God, knowing all that was in Josiah's heart, saw that his heart was tender and humble.

A heart that is pure and crystal clear, rid of the sins that want to hide there in the darkness, is a heart that God can write on.  When God writes on a heart, the heart is transformed from doing evil (practicing disobedience) to doing what is right in His sight (practicing obedience).  

A pure heart can be seen by the unsaved.  It is pure motives, love and compassion, that inspire truly pure actions.  God uses pure-hearted people to help those who are unbelievers "see" Him.  But all too often our words, our attitudes, and our actions (or lack thereof) show the hypocrisy of our lives.

Bit by painful bit, our hearts have to be surrendered to God, so that He has control of our hearts.  And when we have surrendered ourselves to Him, to do as HE pleases, the joy of obeying His commands will follow.  

How clear and shiny is your heart?  Windex, anyone?

Who Do You Serve?

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 Have you noticed that I seem to use a lot of pictures of hearts?  It is not because I like them so much.  It is because my message always seems to involve the heart!  And today is no different.

You also often will read in my blog the comparison between our Christian lives today and the lives of the Israelites of the Old Testament.  That is because we are not very different in that area as well.  Today we will look at yet another glimpse of ourselves.


Israel had gone through many kings.  They had all been evil kings who followed in the ways of wickedness.  None of them walked in the commandments that God had given them to follow.  And they led their people astray--from King Rehoboam to King Hoshea.  When God had had enough of their idolatry, He set in motion His plan for Assyria to capture Israel and take them into captivity.  God's list of reasons for allowing Israel to be taken out of their country into bondage is listed in 2 Kings 17: 7-18.  It is a lengthy list, and when read carefully we can see how Israel clearly hurt the heart of God.


But God would not be content to leave His land empty.  He might remove the people, but He would never allow HIMSELF to be removed from the Promised Land.  After the land had been filled with Assyrian people, God caused the king of Assyria to send in one priest to teach them of the "god" of that land--yes, the One True God!  So one priest was allowed to move back to Bethel to teach the people now living in the land.


But here was the problem, and it is our problem today.  The people, while they had learned to fear God, also made gods of their own!  And there were many different gods represented! (2 Kings 17: 29-31)


Verse 29 says, "But every nation still made gods of its own," and verse 32 says, "They also feared the LORD."  Now what is wrong with this picture?  Their hearts were DIVIDED!

And that is precisely our problem today.  While we have believed in Jesus, been baptized, serve in our churches, bring our tithes, pray, and read our Bibles, we still follow after the other gods of our hearts.  Our hearts are just as DIVIDED!  We look to, bow down before, serve unashamedly, and make sacrifices to those things that have a greater priority in our lives.  

God is asking for your whole heart, undivided and unable to be divided from here after.  He jealously seeks it all!  When He looks into your heart today, what will He see?  Will it be your humble submission to Him in all things, or just those areas that you are willing to surrender to Him?  Will you listen and follow God to an undivided heart or will you continue to close your ears and live as you wish?  Verse 41 says, "So while these nations feared the LORD, they also served their idols; their children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers did, so they do to this day."


We fear the LORD, but who do we serve?

Seeking Answers

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King Ahaziah was the son of Ahab, and he ruled in the Northern Kingdom called Israel in the days when Israel was divided.  His father Ahab, and the kings that preceded him, walked in evil ways and did not follow after the LORD.  When Ahab died, and his son Ahaziah ruled in his place.  Shortly after taking the throne Ahaziah fell through the lattice of the upper level of the home in which he was staying.  Being severely wounded and failing in his health, Ahaziah wanted to know the answer to just one question:  "Will I recover from this?"  We too have many such questions in our lives, don't we?

God understands that we have questions.  Our questions are designed to bring us to Him!  When the answers seem far off and confusing, we sometimes lose sight of the facts that God is there, He has the answers, and He desires for us to come and tell Him what our questions are.  It is true that while all the previously mentioned facts are factual, we are certainly not guaranteed that God will tell us what He is thinking and planning and doing when it comes to our lives.  But He certainly does want us to turn to Him and ask our questions of Him, talking to Him about all that is on our hearts and in our minds.

You may be asking right now, "Did Ahaziah ask God whether he would recover from his fall and the illness that followed?"  Second Kings 1 tells us that he did not.  King Ahaziah sought instead to get his answers from a false god named Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron.  Does that name sound familar?  Beelzebub is another name for the devil! Elijah the prophet was led to the men who were going to Baal-zebub to ascertain the answer to the question.  An angel of the Lord directed Elijah to say this to these men:

"Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?" 

These messengers returned (quite quickly, I presume) to their king Ahaziah, and told him what Elijah had said.   Ahaziah did not like the message that Elijah sent back.  So he continued in his plan to find a different answer from Elijah that resulted in the deaths of two of Ahaziah's captains and 100 of his militia.  And eventually his own death.

While reading this story today, I was struck by one single thought.  Am I behaving like Ahaziah, seeking the answers from everywhere from anyone but from God?  How many times have I run to safe places of hiding, to counselors with easy and appealing solutions, to my own thoughts and opinions and guesses as to what the answer might be, and to the false gods such as the internet, friends, and family who might be more prone to "tickle my ears?"  How many times has God looked down from the heavenlies, just waiting for me to turn my face toward His, and witnessed me run away from Him?  

God would have been right, in those moments of idolatry,  to send me a messenger who would say to me the same thing that was said to Ahaziah, "Is it because there is no God who dwells within you, as well as dwelling in Heaven, that you are going to inquire an answer from your own thoughts or your gods?"

God wants His children to trust only in Him.  He is the answer, even if He keeps us guessing for awhile.  Who or what do you run to when you have a question about your life?  Is God your last choice?

God's Priority Checklist

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Do you have a checklist?  Did you know that God does?  In many places in the Word we are able to see what God considers priorities for our lives.  Today, continuing in the Old Testament, we will see His short checklist in the words of Elijah to the widow of Zarephath.  Let's pick up the story found in I Kings 17.

A terrible drought had come upon the land.  God instructed Elijah to go to Zarephath, and there a woman would take care of him.  The moment he came through the gate of the city, he saw a woman gathering sticks.  He called to her to bring him a drink of water and some bread.  Ashamed that she could not fully oblige him, the woman told Elijah that she only had a little flour and a little oil.  Her plan was to return home and make a small loaf of bread and share it with her son.  She was sure that it would be their last meal. 

Then Elijah, the man of God, spoke life into saying this to her, "Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son."

Now I don't know about you, but that would rub me the wrong way.  Why would I use my last flour and oil to make a little bread for a stranger, leaving very little left for me and my only son? Usually, our flesh keeps us from wanting to put others first.  Yet, the woman was obedient, likely because of what Elijah said next:  "For thus says the Lord God of Israel, 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the Lord send rain on the face of the earth.' "

Setting our flesh aside for a moment, let me ask you this.  Did you catch the priority "checklist" in the Scripture?  If you didn't, then here it is:  First . . . and Afterward.  It kind of want to hide from us, but there it is; simple, yet profound.  Elijah asked the woman to take care of what belonged to God first.  In this case, it was him, the messenger of God's words.  And then afterward, she would be taken care of until the end of the drought and famine.  This is God's blessing on the obedience she displayed.  She would have flour and oil without end!  Food to satisfy her hunger!

Is God's priority checklist any different for us?  Of course not!  He is unchanging!  Do you hear Him calling to you saying, "Take care of what is Mine first, and then afterward you will be taken care of with My unlimited supply."  How often we turn the priority list upside down!  We want God's unlimited supply so we can give something back to Him.  If our supply is limited, we declare that we have nothing left to give!

Your Divided Heart

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Solomon was not like his father David.  God looked down at David's heart and saw a man who was seeking after His heart.  While Solomon started well, in that at the beginning of his reign he humbled himself before the Lord and asked the Him to bless him with wisdom to rule over Israel, he began to walk in disobedience to the commands of God.

Solomon's sin is easily seen by comparing Deuteronomy 17: 14-20 (God's commandments for the ruling king) and I Kings 11: 1-13.  In the passage of Deuteronomy God precisely states 4 principles that His kings should follow:  Do not multiply horses (trusting in military power), do not multiply wives (looking to them instead of God), and do not greatly increase you silver and gold (trusting therefore in  their material blessing).  

Then God spoke of the desired spiritual walk of the King of Israel.  He was to write himself a copy of the entire Law (so that he might trust in the Lord and His word, hiding it in his heart).  He was to keep God's word with him, read it every day, learn to fear God from it, carefully obeying its commands.  By doing these things the king would keep his heart humble, and therefore not turn away from God and the power of His words.  (Hmmm. . .sounds like what the Spirit suggests to us as well.  But we don't have to write our copy of His word; we just have to pick up one of the many copies laying around our house!)

Solomon knew the commands of God, yet he chose to marry a foreign woman, and then marry 699 more!  Solomon chose the sin of having the love of many women over obedience to the God of his fathers.  And the result had drastic consequences on Solomon's spiritual walk.  They turned his heart away, to follow after their gods.  The heart that once sought the Lord in everything so that he could walk in the ways of God now was torn in two, divided between his wives' gods and the One True God.  Because of his sin Israel would now become a picture of Solomon's heart--it too would be divided.  God's precious land would be divided between the north and the south.  The commands of God were given; Solomon turned away from them; he lived a life of overlooking the sin in his heart; he and all of Israel suffered the consequences of his sin.  Solomon surely did not have the heart of his father.

But it is so easy to read this account and think to ourselves, "How could he have been so wickedly disobedient to God?"  The answer lies in our own divided hearts.  We, too, claim to love God, and yet our lives reveal our other "lovers."  We are just as guilty of idolatry as Solomon was.  But the gods we worship are not called Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh, or Molech.  Our gods have the names of Adultery and Other Sexual Sin, Materialism, Cheating and Lying, Money, Prestige, Popularity, Gossiping, Self-sufficiency, Self-absorption, and the list is endless.  We like to believe that ours are not nearly as bad as theirs, so we continue to justify our attitudes and behaviors, our words and our thoughts, even though we know that God's commands to us in the Bible are against all of them.  

God is looking for men and women who are seeking His heart, through surrender to Him and obedience to His word.  He is looking for those whose hearts are not torn between this world and the next world.  He still desires for His children to be wholly devoted to Him as David was, not just partially devoted to Him as Solomon was.  Our hearts are in need of mending.  Our hearts are desperate for spiritual healing.  Are you willing to assess your own heart and see the gods that sit on its mantle?  Are you willing to surrender them to the Lord in a repentance that turns away from them, never to return to them?  Are you willing to follow His commands by the power of the Spirit within you?  If you are, and you take action, you are truly saying this:

"Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; UNITE MY HEART to fear Your name."  (Psalm 86:11)