Do you offer God your best?

 2 Jan 26

Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One

 https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/47152


Readings:

Genesis 3

Genesis 4

Genesis 5

Matthew 2


And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11).


Do you offer God your best?

Genesis 4 gives us a contrast between two brothers. Cain brings his offering “in the process of time” (Genesis 4:3), which means at the end of time. When the deadline arrives, Cain fulfills his obligation and nothing more. Yet by faith, Abel presents to God a sacrificial gift. The writer of Hebrews says, “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain” (Hebrews 11:4). In a similar fashion, the wise men travel as long as two years to bring their costly gifts to Jesus. They recognize who Jesus is and honor Him in a worthy manner. It should be noted that every time Jesus and Mary are mentioned together in Matthew 2, Jesus is named first (Matthew 2:11, 13, 14, 20, 21). Truly wise men still seek Him and offer Him their best gifts.


Employment Point: Offer worthy sacrifices to Jesus through faith.

—————

Reflections

While reading the bible passages, the following verse stood out. “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.””

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬


Abel did what was right and offered to the Lord His first harvest, the best, the first of everything He has. Versus Cain who likely did not do the same and offered to God something that is less worthy maybe? Two points here, whether we are offering to God our first cut of any goodness or whether what we do is right.


More often, people asked if they should give to the Lord their 10% for tithing based on gross or nett. Well the Lord loves a cheerful giver. He probably won’t enjoy the gifts that were given to Him as something that was leftover. Even in our own ministries, are we giving to the Lord our best? Or are we giving Him leftovers of whatever we use our energy for?


The Lord will definitely accept us for the rights we do. If we do not, we are indeed inviting sins into our lives. They are just waiting for an opportunity to strike, to bring us down and ultimately push us away from God. Sin will try to drive a wedge between us and God in whatever ways possible.


For this brand new year, may we be able to present worthy sacrifices to the Lord and do all things right. May we be able to persevere through and give no chance to sin coming through our door. Help guard our hearts and our minds O Lord, that we will remain faithful and obedient to Your calling. In Jesus’s precious name we pray. Amen 🙏🏻 

——————

The Unplanned Journey

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

January 02


By faith Abraham . . . obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. —Hebrews 11:8


Have you ever set off on an unplanned journey, taking, as Christ instructed, no thought for your life, no thought for what you would eat or drink or wear (Matthew 6:25)?


“Where are you going, and what will you do?” If you begin to live for God, people will ask you this all the time. But if you are living in the way Christ wants, you won’t have a logical answer: there is none. You can’t know what you’re going to do; you can’t know what God is going to do. All you can know is that God knows. This is what it means to trust entirely in him.


Have you been begging God to tell you his plans? He never will. God doesn’t tell us what he’s going to do; he reveals to us who he is. It is through taking action, through stepping out in faith, that we receive this revelation. Ask yourself: Do I believe in a miracle-working God, and will I step out in surrender to him until I am not surprised one iota at anything he does? To step out in this way is to journey beyond your convictions and creeds and past experiences, until, as far as your faith is concerned, there is nothing at all between yourself and God.


Imagine, for a moment, that God really is who he says he is: the God of your days and your nights, of your future and your past; the God of all. What an impertinence worry is! Set aside your worries, and let your attitude be one of eager adventure.


Genesis 4–6; Matthew 2


WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight. 

———————

Reflections

I believe God has always been one who wants our complete trust in Him. He brought us through so many tests and trials of faith and along a journey to help and make us understand that alone we can do nothing. But we can through Christ who strengthens us.


I don’t know since when, I reckon there is no use fighting with the Lord. I will never win and the easier way out is just to surrender my all to Him, let Him take the lead, so I don’t have to worry and plan plans. He would know much better. So I take a more laid back approach to life. I don’t intend to strive but only wants to thrive in this world that He has placed me in. To be the salt and light to the world-God willing.


I am no perfect being, else I would have been upgraded to heaven but He has taught me surrendering is a much easier action if I just trust Him to do His thing. No need to second guess what comes next but just flow with Him. Allow Him to take the lead and don’t look back.

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