A lesson from an iris - adversity

Ahhhhh, spring!
The time when flowers pop out and cheer us with their vibrant colors after the dreary, colorless winter. (Unless you count white....if you had snow!)
Sparkling yellows, pinks, and reds amidst the not-yet-awake grasses and mulch.
And purple.
My favorite irises are the deep, dark, purples. (Grin)
The ones you see in the photo above are a real inspiration to me.
Why?
Well, in addition to the fact that they come back year after year like clockwork (but that IS the definition of a perennial plant, no?) . . .
I digress.
These particular irises are growing and blooming in some of the poorest soil I've ever seen. I really think it is devoid of ANY nutrients.
The roots of these flowers straddle the gargantuan roots of a poplar tree.
In fact, they were crushed when one half of that poplar tree was cut down to remove a diseased portion.
They came back.
They're still blooming.
In fact, I could swear that they are more vibrantly colored, with stronger stems and leaves!

Are the plants more hardy because of the calamities they've been through? Are the blooms more lovely because of the hardships?
I don't know if we can say that, but these irises made me remember that some of the most beautiful Christians I've ever known have been those vibrant souls who have overcome adversity.
I enjoy reading the works of Oswald Chambers. His wife compiled his words from her careful notes taken while he was alive. Here is his "take" on adversity:

                 The typical view of the Christian life is that it means being
                 delivered from all adversity. But it actually means being
                 delivered IN adversity, which is something very different.
                 "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall
                 abide under the shadow of the Almighty. No evil shall befall
                 you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.... (Psalm
                 91:1, 10) -- the place where you are at one with God.
                 If you are a child of God, you will certainly encounter
                 adversities, but Jesus says you should not be surprised when
                 they come. "In the world, you will have tribulation, but be of
                 good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
                 Jesus does not give us overcoming life; He gives us life as
                 we overcome.

James gave us a surprising response for troubles -- he said to "count it all joy" when we were faced with trials. (James 1:2-4)  Paul thought along the same lines:

 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5)

Both of these apostles understood that in the light of what Jesus did for us by providing our salvation, the difficulties we experience in this life take on a whole new meaning. For a believer, adversity has a totally different meaning than it does for an unbeliever.  We look at it from a whole different angle. The difficulties of this life are channels -- means through which God works to accomplish His will in our lives; He shapes us so that we reflect the character of Christ.
As believers, we can look at adversity and recognize (and appreciate) God's purposes. That's what the next few posts will be about. I'd like for us to think about adversity -- the why and the wherefore -- and hopefully it will be helpful to us in each of our lives.

Hope you will join me!

A lesson from a storm

Last Easter Sunday was a blessed and peaceful day here.
Later that night? God showed us His power over nature.
We awoke in the wee hours to a loss of power . . . I fumbled around and found my mobile phone so that I could use the automated system to report the outage.
We looked around at the house and the yard with flashlights, but everything seemed OK.
The next morning, what a story was told!
A twister had ripped through the valley where we live, and though we were spared any damage to our home, there were six huge, old-growth trees down on our power lines. In two places, the weight from the trees caused the lines to rest on the ground. We've seen smouldering grass and shrubbery before when lines touch, but these lines must have been dead further up the route, because there was no smoke or sparks to be seen. That was a relief! We were unable to get out our long driveway, but we figured the damage was probably pretty extensive further out.

When the power company linemen arrived to free the lines, they told us stories of homes and businesses demolished, power poles tossed like matchsticks, and massive trees lying across many of the area roadways. They made a few cuts on our large trees - the culprits holding down the lines -- and left when the lines returned to their customary position.
We looked around at the devastation. We looked again. We sat down. What in the world were we to do? This wasn't just a "cut up a branch or two and put it on the woodpile" job.
The first thing we did was pray!
The second thing was to set priorities. It was going to take a step-by-step approach to be successful!

When the storms of life come our way, perhaps that is a good plan for our lives, too. Whether it's a spiritual problem or a physical one, or whether perhaps it's a health or financial issue.....number one: sit down! Number two: pray!

Then tackle it gradually.
Start with one tree. Take the "loppers" and begin trimming off branch tips and leaves (or needles, as the case may be!) and pulling those away and piling them in the bed of the truck. Next, move toward the trunk of the tree along those branches, lopping off lengths until we get to ones that the lopper jaws just won't fit around. Then take the chain saw and begin removing branches, piling them so that the tractor can haul them away. Lastly, we are left with the denuded trunk of the tree. Saw it into firewood lengths and stack for splitting later.
Are ya tired yet? (Grin)

Tackling the storms of life can tire us out, too. But as the old saying goes, we should work as if it all depends on us. And pray and trust like it all depends on God. Because it does. We need to actively engage. We need to work hard and work smart.
But perhaps most importantly, we need to ask God to bless our efforts.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;    establish the work of our hands for us—    yes, establish the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)

And Solomon agreed with the psalmist . . .

Commit to the Lord whatever you do,    and he will establish your plans. (Proverbs 16:3)

We humans (well, some of us, anyway!) like to set goals. But there must be more than setting goals.

All hard work brings a profit,    but mere talk leads only to poverty. (Proverbs 14:23)

We must be purposeful, intentional, and apply whatever sweat, labor, time, energy, and determination is required. And pray, always pray.
We can ask Him to bless our efforts, and we can ask Him to bless us with His strength:

The Lord gives strength to his people;

    the Lord blesses his people with peace. (Psalm 29:11)You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;    the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God! (Psalm 68:35)

Lord, help me in the storms of life. Help me to remember the lesson of the storm: help me to pray, to ask you to establish the work of my hands and bless my efforts, and to ask you to strengthen me for the tasks!

Prayer requests

Seems like every time we look at the phone, the tv, or the computer, headlines are shouting the latest crisis.  We are overwhelmed with the constant barrage of information and disinformation - the Twitter feeds, the Facebook posts, and all of the other things that keep trying to get our attention.
Globally, we are still fighting the pandemic, the invisible enemy called the coronavirus. In our own countries, in our home cities, and in our homes, we can feel the impacts of these crises . . . whether the pandemic, weather tragedies, civil unrest, etc.

It's very common to feel anxious in these times. To feel the uncertainty that is prevalent in the world today. But in these moments, it is important to remember that our God is a fortress of hope and protection. He invites us to take refuge in Him through prayer when we are frightened or alone.
Because of Jesus, we can come to God with our trials and tribulations and find both comfort and hope for the road ahead.

One of the best ways to find comfort and to pray to Him is to reflect on His Word. We can try reading these aloud as part of our prayer time:

God is our refuge and strength,A very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. (II Timothy 1:7)

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

Speaking these promises and truths aloud and asking God to make them real in our lives will not only comfort us but will please Him.  He is happy when we ask Him for His joy and peace, and the Spirit will enable us to know the peace that "passes all understanding."

We can also do as we often have, on this study blog, and pray with others. Praying together in faith is a powerful force, as the scriptures tell us. Not only does it give each person a sense of belonging, but collectively it affords us comfort and the feeling that we are assisting each other across the miles. By praying with others, we care for the wellbeing of our sisters (and brothers) in Christ all around the globe.

It's also important to ask others for specific prayers. Sometimes asking for help can be hard to do. I know. I'm one of those. (Grin) We also live in a society that celebrates the individual and the achievement of doing things on your own. Internet memes abound with words like "persist" and "resilient" and "strong." It's helpful to remember that asking others for prayers is an opportunity to fully demonstrate our weakness -- and His strength -- and to celebrate that we are not alone. A family friend, a family member, or a member of our faith community can join us in prayer and we grow closer as a body of believers in Christ.  We can thank Him for blessing us with loved ones that we can lean on in times of adversity.

Let's have an intentional time with God today. Let's truly devote ourselves and focus on thanking Him and rejoicing over His blessings and answered prayers. Let's pray for each other and then ask Him to show us freshly today that He is with us.
He will do that.
It may be a small thing that happens and brightens our day. It may be something bigger. But it will happen, and our hearts will be lightened and comforted as we realize that He cares and shapes our circumstances and our lives for our good -- and for His glory!

Let us know if you would like for us to join in prayer with you -- leave a comment with your request or praise . . .

A lesson from a banana tree

About five years ago, a lovely couple that we visited gifted us with a banana tree. In fact, they dug it up from their lush backyard and plopped it into a small pot for us to take home and plant.
I didn't.
Plant it, that is.
I did take it home.
Over the years, it grew and got taller. The diameter of the tree increased. It seemed to like it here. It required larger and larger pots, so we dutifully placed it in new pots about every year.
Still, it didn't get planted.
It was a beautiful addition to our patio - kind of a tropical feel, ya know?
Each winter when the threat of frost arrived, we pulled that big pot (and the tree which was by now about four or five feet tall) into the garage.
Esconced in front of the windows, it kept watch over our tractors until spring.
But it still didn't get planted . . .
In the spring, we would still pull it out to the patio and promptly forget it.
Well, I take that back.
We would have discussions about where to plant it. Factors such as sunlight, quality of soil, water runoff, and more were considered.
Until this year.
This year was momentous. (For the banana tree, anyway.) We placed the pot containing the tree into the bucket of the front-end loader and drove out to a nice spot. We amended the soil and planted the tree and watered it well.
Then we watched for the next few days, to see how the tree responded.
It didn't look good.
In fact, I could swear it was dying. Dying all the way dead. For real.
The leaves were a bright yellow in no time, and then turned brown and wrinkled.
I mean shriveled.
We quit looking at it. It was just too hurtful.
We had killed it.

A few weeks later, we glanced over there and noticed that there was a tightly furled, brilliantly green leaf emerging from the middle of the dried remains of the previous leaves! That leaf grew larger and larger, and then arched over gracefully.
When the stem arched over it made room for another gorgeous leaf!
To make a long story short, the banana tree is now thriving in its new home. It had a difficult time at first, but it made it.

Isn't that a lot like our Christian lives?
For us, as believers, it's not that someone else refuses to plant us; it's that we refuse to get out of our pot. Our comfort zone. We're scared to death to try something new. Even if we think the Lord may be telling us, nudging us, supporting us.
It may be a new business venture.
It may be a commitment to giving financially to His kingdom's work.
It may be a commitment to giving of our time and compassion to help others.
No matter what it is, we don't want to leave our comfort zone.

Or maybe, we are believers who did take the plunge. We stepped out from our comfort zone and WHAM!!! The difficulties and the obstacles were amazingly large. We were stopped dead in our tracks. We began to wonder if we really did the right thing. We began to wonder if God really wanted us to do this thing.

Three words for us to remember:

Give

It

Time

God will not send us on a "mission" or an effort without providing the strength to do the task.

On the day I called, You answered me;You made me bold with strength in my soul. (Psalm 138:3)

He will not leave us alone; instead He will be with us each step of the way.

because God has said,“Never will I leave you;    never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5b)

He will bless us with what is needed, just as He sends the sunshine, rain, and nutrients to our little banana tree.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,And in His law he meditates day and night.3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,Which yields its fruit in its seasonAnd its leaf does not wither;And in whatever he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:2-3)

Lord, let me learn from my banana tree; let me rely on you for strength and for your blessings. Let me never forget that you will not forsake me!

Friday slowdown

Thanks for traveling with me the past two weeks as we explored the tenth chapter of Nehemiah. I hope that for today you will listen and perhaps sing along to our "slowdown."

Blessings to all who pause here.
See y'all next week!

Oh, it's a stewardship sermon . . . AGAIN

Oh my goodness!
Have you ever said that?
(Or thought it?)
I know that some people think that's all pastors and churches talk about.
Money. Finances. Building funds. Stewardship.
Oh, and don't forget this one.
Tithing.
Isn't that a "thing"? A you-have-to-do-this rule?
But I've heard people argue that it's an Old Testament "thing" instead of for today.
Who's right?
Did you see the verses in our tenth chapter?

And we will bring a tithe of our crops to the Levites, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all the towns where we work. 38 A priest descended from Aaron is to accompany the Levites when they receive the tithes, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury. (Nehemiah 10:37b-38, NIV)

The tithe can be traced back to Abraham (it's found in Genesis 4) and it has been called the sacred tithe; it was for the Levites and the priests, for their service to the temple and to the people. One could say that it was consecrated to God, and to the furtherance of His work -- and that is why people still pay attention to it today.

Did you know there were two other tithes? Let's look at some verses:

22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. 24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. 26 Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. 27 And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.
28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. (Deuteronomy 14:22-29)

The second tithe was needed because the Levitical law required trips to Jerusalem for certain occasions. This tithe was sometimes called the "feast tithe." Of course, the whole family would travel, so it was like a mini-vacation, as well as for a religious purpose. By setting aside a second tithe, a family could be prepared for the necessary travel expenses.

The third tithe was for the poor (verses 28 and 29 up there). It was given only every third year. The produce was to be laid up in the towns -- it wasn't up to the individual to distribute; it was more of a community project that everyone helped with!

It's interesting to read about, because we don't often consider this part of Old Testament giving. Their giving included God, the family's spiritual and physical wellbeing, and their neighbors' needs.
It was about this time that Malachi, the prophet, was telling the people:

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. (Malachi 3:10)

So, in Nehemiah, this promise to pay the ten percent is the response of the people to the prophet's appeal.
When we come to the New Testament, the tithe is no longer laid upon us as a requirement, although many churches still teach it. The New Testament teaching is that Christians are to give a proportion of their wealth to the Lord, to recognize that it ALL came from Him. We are permitted to determine that proportion ourselves. (See I Corinthians 16, as well as II Corinthians 8 and 9.) We are told in those chapters to choose how much we can give to God. It's the MOTIVE that is God's primary focus. The principle of giving in the New Testament is that we give in gratitude for the blessings He has given to us.
Offerings don't mean much unless they are given with a cheerful spirit and a thankful heart! They are used to support His ministry, but they are just another way to express our thanksgiving. We give because God has given to us (first!). Do we feel grateful for those blessings? Have our lives been changed? Has He poured out blessings on us? Has He healed us in a time of sickness? Has He opened doors of service for us? Has He been near and dear to us when our hearts have been broken?
As our hearts are filled with gratitude, we give as freely as we can to the Lord. Some people can give a little. Some can give a lot. It's up to us to decide.

We aren't saved by works. Failing to tithe will not in and of itself send us to hell -- but giving freely can help improve our lives and strengthen our relationship with God. If we say we can't afford it, aren't we saying that we can't trust God to provide for us?
And if we say we can't trust the church to use the money in a responsible way, then perhaps we need to prayerfully consider talking with the leaders of the church -- or (if there is evidence of corruption)  asking God's help in finding a trustworthy group of believers? Hopefully, we are in a church where we can trust the leaders to do what is right. It's worth remembering that our accountability is to give and trust that God will take care of the rest.
Gratitude.....giving.....

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (II Corinthians 9:7-8)

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand." (I Chronicles 29:14)

Yes, it was a study on stewardship.
But it wasn't so bad, was it?
(Grin)

Where the rubber meets the road, conclusion

As we conclude our study of the tenth chapter of Nehemiah, we've learned that to experience spiritual renewal, we need to make practical applications of God's Word to our lives. We need to make personal commitments to obey His Word.

The commitments that the people made in our chapter were very specific ones. We can do that, too. For example, we may tell ourselves, "I need to be more faithful in my giving."
That's good -- in fact, it's admirable -- but we need to keep it from being so general. Let's make it more specific . . . what if we say, "I really need to work on the budget and commit to a specific amount to give each month (or week, etc)."
That's getting better!
But what if we say, "I'm going to sit down on Monday evening and work on our family budget so that we can fine-tune our giving to the Lord's work."
Now, that is specific, and if we follow through by putting it on our calendar, we are certainly going to make progress on this commitment to God.

Secondly, write it down! We saw that the Jewish people put this agreement in writing. They even spelled out the details on their commitments. It's not a bad idea for us to write down our spiritual priorities and our goals. Then take them one at a time, and write out the steps we will need to take in order to reach our goals.

Thirdly, we should spend some time periodically to evaluate how we are doing. Set the time however you would like. Some people may want to check things out each month, and others might set a once-every-six-months schedule. Whatever timing we choose, it's a positive thing to look at how we are progressing, and if things are not moving forward like we wish, spend some time in reflection and prayer, in order to start again.

This chapter has taught us that the key to spiritual revival is to apply the truth of God's Word to our lives in personal and specific ways.

To close this part of our study, I'd like to pose a discussion question: how does the law of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:6-7) fit in with the concept of God's grace?

If you have some thoughts on this, I hope you will leave a comment. We have had some really good discussions here, and I believe that our comments can help others who pause here to read or study.

I look forward to reading what you think about that question!

Prayer requests

We've talked a couple of times about things that stop us from having the best prayer life; often we allow things of this world to keep us from having that sweet time of communication with our Lord. I love the simple and cheerful way that little ones pray: they sometimes approach it with a totally different attitude than we do . . .

Why is that?
I believe that sometimes we don't pray (or we don't pray as we should) because we just don't believe anything will change.
Perhaps we have a feeling of hopelessness.
Are we consumed with thoughts of a broken relationship that seems too far gone to be mended?
Does the financial hole we are in keep getting deeper?
Is our health, or the health of a loved one, failing?

Persistent problems can be a prayer time killer. But we can solve this problem.
How?
Cling to His promises.
So many portions of Psalm 119 are familiar to us. It mentions the promises of God over a dozen times.

Remember your word to your servant,    for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this:    Your promise preserves my life. (v. 49-50)

I have sought your face with all my heart;    be gracious to me according to your promise. (v. 58)

May your unfailing love be my comfort,    according to your promise to your servant. (v. 76)

The psalmist is clinging to the promises of God; he is reminding God of His promises of unfailing love, graciousness, and preservation. In the middle of anxiousness, facing humiliation, uncertainty, and more, the psalmist takes heart in remembering the promises of God.

Are we feeling hopeless?
Like nothing will ever change? Things are not going to get better?
Sometimes it is hard to see what God is doing. Maybe we are starting to wonder if we've heard Him correctly. Our vision of the future is getting blurry, and we may think that nothing is going to change or get better.
To win this battle, we must hide scripture in our hearts that proclaims the good promises of God. In the times that we are most prone to despair and despondency, we can meditate on His Word.
He is with us wherever we go.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)

He is not only our refuge, but He also fights for us.

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,    my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:1-2)

This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. (II Chronicles 20:15b)

His truth reminds us that He is with us; He will never leave us or turn away. He holds us in these uncertain times, and promises us His peace.
We will welcome the opportunity to pray with you for a request, or to rejoice with you for answered prayer. Leave a comment and join us in prayer.

Where the rubber meets the road, part VI

The studies this week will continue and then complete our study of the tenth chapter of Nehemiah. The people of God are making commitments to apply the truth of God's Word to their lives.
The next thing that they committed to was to provide the money, the grain, and the animals for the sacrifices and offerings at the temple.

“We assume the responsibility for carrying out the commands to give a third of a shekel each year for the service of the house of our God: 33 for the bread set out on the table; for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings; for the offerings on the Sabbaths, at the New Moon feasts and at the appointed festivals; for the holy offerings; for sin offerings to make atonement for Israel; and for all the duties of the house of our God.
34 “We—the priests, the Levites and the people—have cast lots to determine when each of our families is to bring to the house of our God at set times each year a contribution of wood to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Law. (Nehemiah 10:32-34)

As the Word of God was explained to them, they realized the need for offerings and for sacrifices, and that they had to continue from year to year. In Israel's history, we see that the emphasis of their religious activity was on shedding the blood of animals and on offering their crops to God.
Why?
In this way, they never would forget the cost of redemption. God wanted them to truly understand that sin was a problem. A serious one. It could not be solved simply by instructing the mind - only death could "cure" it. These offerings prepared the way for the death of Jesus -- this is something that we believers should recall each day. We can never allow ourselves to forget or take lightly the cost of our redemption; it took all that God had, the best that He had, to open a door so that we could return to Him.

For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. (I Peter 1:18-19, NLT)

They also committed to the promise to bring the first-fruits of their crops, flocks, and their sons to God,
Here are the verses:

We promise to bring the first part of every harvest to the Lord’s Temple year after year—whether it be a crop from the soil or from our fruit trees. 36 We agree to give God our oldest sons and the firstborn of all our herds and flocks, as prescribed in the Law. We will present them to the priests who minister in the Temple of our God. (Nehemiah 10:35-36)

Why was it important for them to bring the first of everything?

“And in the future, your children will ask you, ‘What does all this mean?’ Then you will tell them, ‘With the power of his mighty hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt, the place of our slavery. 15 Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, so the Lord killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both people and animals. That is why I now sacrifice all the firstborn males to the Lord—except that the firstborn sons are always bought back.’ 16 This ceremony will be like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. It is a reminder that the power of the Lord’s mighty hand brought us out of Egypt.” (Exodus 13:14-16, NLT)

To bring this into our world and apply it to our lives, we can remember this truth:

 You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. (I Corinthians 6:19b-20a, NIV)

God owns us; we don't own ourselves. We are His, bought with an extremely high price. That's one of the most important elements of our salvation. We must recognize the rights of God and live within the limits that He establishes for us. When our free will surrenders to His will, then we can live in fellowship with the Creator of all things -- that is truly amazing, no? This is why it was important for the people to bring their first-fruits: they would recognize that their lives were not their own. They, too, were precious in His sight and belonged to God.

The remainder of the chapter speaks of their tithes and the process for bringing and storing them. As we've noted before, we are not under the law of Moses, but there are principles here in this chapter that apply to us. Today, the church buildings are not His house, but the people indwelled by His Spirit are, and we should be committed to them, just like the people of Israel were committed to taking care of the temple and the offerings.
For us, giving the first fruits can mean that we give to the Lord and His work the best that we have -- off the top, not the leftovers. "Well, if I have something left at the end of the month, I will make sure that I put it in the offering."
Uh, no, that's not what we mean! We need to make sure that we plan; it's a system; it's cheerful and it's "off the top." It demonstrates that God has first place in our hearts:

On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. (I Corinthians 16:2)

The New Testament standard for giving is not just the tithe! Instead, it's as the Lord has prospered us. He owns it all and we simply manage it for His kingdom purposes. That's what stewardship is all about -- cheerfully giving to God from the finances He has blessed us with. There's no need for beating the pulpit about giving, nor for droning on about a building program. When we trust Him for what we need, we can give generously and cheerfully to His work.

We're almost done with this chapter! I know this has been a lengthy post..... there was a lot here to digest! See you next time!

Where the rubber meets the road, part V

The people of Israel also made a commitment to apply God's truth to their work. Here is our focus verse for today:

“When the neighboring peoples bring merchandise or grain to sell on the Sabbath, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day. Every seventh year we will forgo working the land and will cancel all debts." (v 31)

Sigh.
We all try to get around the rules.
We try to find the "wiggle room." We're always looking for the loopholes. Whether at work, at home, or even in our spiritual lives (say it ain't so!). The Mosaic law prohibited the Jewish people from working on the Sabbath. It didn't say anything about buying from foreigners on the Sabbath, so there was a kinda loophole there. But the people knew in their hearts it wasn't right. So they agreed to stop doing it; and they agreed to let the land lie fallow every seventh year and forgive all debts from fellow Jews on that year. All of this was found in the law as they listened and heard it explained. So they agreed to apply God's truth and make some practical changes in how they did business.

God had said, "Six days shall you labor," and then on the seventh day we were told to rest. While Sunday is not the sabbath, it still is a day for rejoicing, witness, resting, and celebration. It still preserves the idea of rest for our bodies. In fact, both the sabbath and the seventh year are God's way of teaching us that we need rest in the midst of our activity. It's easily demonstrated that if we don't rest periodically, we cannot maintain our health. So the seventh day is still a very wise thing to observe. Applying this to our own lives, we are to work, to make decisions, and to act and make choices. But we must remember that our activity will never be enough to accomplish what we hope. God must be at work in it as well . . . He will back up our labor and use it in ways that we cannot imagine. We don't have to worry about doing it all ourselves -- we are to do what we can and then expect God to use that.
The seventh year is an interesting concept, too, since it teaches us to rest in God's supply of our needs. God has promised this:

Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety. 20 You may ask, “What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?” 21 I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. Leviticus 25:18-21)

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

This is God's way of teaching His people (and us) that we cannot do enough to supply all of our needs, but He can and He will. One of the great lessons taught to us in God's Word is that He will supply.
Just to recap -- applying God's truth to our lives will extend to our work, our way of doing business. Just because Sunday is not the sabbath, and we are not under the law, doesn't take away from the fact that God designed us to need a day for rest and for worship. Sunday is the Lord's day (Revelation 1:10) and it's perfectly proper to set aside our normal work routines and gather for worship and praise. Sunday is also a good day to spend time with family and other believers, and to spend time with the Lord that we may not be able to set aside in our busy weekday schedules. It's a great time to put our feet up and rest, too!

While there is no direct application for us of letting the land lie fallow, or of forgiving debts every seventh year, we can see that these practices encouraged the Jews to trust God in their business dealings. They had to trust that He would make up the difference in the crops that they didn't plant and harvest. They also had to trust that He would provide the money that they let go by forgiving debts. Often when we obey God in the business world, we pay a price in the short term. (Been there, done that.) Honesty often costs us! But as believers, we can trust that the God who sees everything we do will take care of us. He will reward us (could be in the short term, or in the long) when we obey Him. Our business practices should reflect our Christian commitment and be a testimony of our faith, even if it is costly or inconvenient.

We have more to look at in this chapter! See you next week!