One of the most soul-searching invitations in the New Testament to me personally is Romans 12:1 from The Message Paraphrase:
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.
IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful
Showing posts with label offerings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label offerings. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Only Over My Dead Body
But God put His love on the line for us by offering His Son in sacrificial death... Romans 5:8a
Supporting Scripture Readings: Isaiah 53; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
It was early-spring 1992. My photography schedule led me to an elementary school along the Carolina coastline to photograph the basketball team and cheerleaders. After the photo-shoot ended, I left out the front doors of the old field house. In my mind, I was focusing on a message I would be preaching in my first revival meeting as a bi-vocational evangelist that night. I whispered under my breath to God: "How can a loving God send people to Hell?" As soon as the thought slipped through my mind, a passionate whisper within my heart cried out: “I am a loving God. I don’t send people to Hell. Set your camera cases down. I’m about to give you a visual illustration of My love.” I sat my cases down immediately and buttoned my coat to shield my neck from the bone-chilling breezes.
God’s breathtaking-visual-illustration was already underway.A kindergarten teacher had her class outside for recess. As she stood with her back against the school house, her students were in the midst of a simple but profound running exercise. The children were told to run away from their teacher about 50 yards, touch a chain-link fence, and then return back to be reunited and congratulated by their teacher.I noticed that a few boys were exercising rebellion. They were not touching the chain-link fence and returning. They were instead trying hard to climb over the chain-link fence. On the other side of the chain-link fence was the community cemetery. The graveyard was their goal.As I picked up my camera cases and continued my trek to my vehicle, I passed close by the teacher. Most of the kids were returning to her applause and affirmation. She lovingly said to each returning student: "You’re a winner!" Yes, everyone who finished won the race. In between affirming those who were obeying the rules of the exercise, she continued to call out to the boys who were scaling the cemetery fence.
God’s whisper within my heart now seemed more passionate: "The chain-link fence is Calvary. Life, like this kindergarten recess exercise, is a race intended to be a run to the chain-link fence and back to Me. On the other side of the chain-link fence is death (Hell). When my Son died on the Cross, My Love drew a line in the sands of time, erected a fence, so that anyone who goes to Hell will have to climb over the fence of my Son’s crucifixion. Even while some are climbing the fence, I continue to call them back to Me. In other words, in His sacrificial death, my only Son, Jesus, was crying out, 'Only over my dead body will people go to Hell. I don’t send people there, but they can choose to scale the fence.'”
With the lesson on God's Love learned, I smiled at the teacher and said: "I think all the kids are coming back to you now. They look really tired running in these cold breezes." With a smile she said: "Yes, I’ll take them inside now, give them milk and cookies, and let them get some rest." WOW! I thought. The teacher's words were the exact reverse of Hell -- Heaven.
IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful
Supporting Scripture Readings: Isaiah 53; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
It was early-spring 1992. My photography schedule led me to an elementary school along the Carolina coastline to photograph the basketball team and cheerleaders. After the photo-shoot ended, I left out the front doors of the old field house. In my mind, I was focusing on a message I would be preaching in my first revival meeting as a bi-vocational evangelist that night. I whispered under my breath to God: "How can a loving God send people to Hell?" As soon as the thought slipped through my mind, a passionate whisper within my heart cried out: “I am a loving God. I don’t send people to Hell. Set your camera cases down. I’m about to give you a visual illustration of My love.” I sat my cases down immediately and buttoned my coat to shield my neck from the bone-chilling breezes.
God’s breathtaking-visual-illustration was already underway.A kindergarten teacher had her class outside for recess. As she stood with her back against the school house, her students were in the midst of a simple but profound running exercise. The children were told to run away from their teacher about 50 yards, touch a chain-link fence, and then return back to be reunited and congratulated by their teacher.I noticed that a few boys were exercising rebellion. They were not touching the chain-link fence and returning. They were instead trying hard to climb over the chain-link fence. On the other side of the chain-link fence was the community cemetery. The graveyard was their goal.As I picked up my camera cases and continued my trek to my vehicle, I passed close by the teacher. Most of the kids were returning to her applause and affirmation. She lovingly said to each returning student: "You’re a winner!" Yes, everyone who finished won the race. In between affirming those who were obeying the rules of the exercise, she continued to call out to the boys who were scaling the cemetery fence.
God’s whisper within my heart now seemed more passionate: "The chain-link fence is Calvary. Life, like this kindergarten recess exercise, is a race intended to be a run to the chain-link fence and back to Me. On the other side of the chain-link fence is death (Hell). When my Son died on the Cross, My Love drew a line in the sands of time, erected a fence, so that anyone who goes to Hell will have to climb over the fence of my Son’s crucifixion. Even while some are climbing the fence, I continue to call them back to Me. In other words, in His sacrificial death, my only Son, Jesus, was crying out, 'Only over my dead body will people go to Hell. I don’t send people there, but they can choose to scale the fence.'”
With the lesson on God's Love learned, I smiled at the teacher and said: "I think all the kids are coming back to you now. They look really tired running in these cold breezes." With a smile she said: "Yes, I’ll take them inside now, give them milk and cookies, and let them get some rest." WOW! I thought. The teacher's words were the exact reverse of Hell -- Heaven.
IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful
Sunday, February 7, 2010
"Let Us!"
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)
If you don't understand my unique love for gathering with the people of God (* regardless of the weather), you just have no idea how contagious my Granny Margery's love for the Lord and the local church impressed and still inspires her grandson. Often, I remember her coming across the yard between her home and ours early on Sunday mornings to catch a ride with us to church. She had a heartwarming glow on her face, her Holy Bible in her hand, God's tithe and her offerings in her purse and always Psalm 122:1 on her lips:
I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go into the house of the Lord." (NKJV)
IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful (for God, Granny, and God's House)
* Because of inclement weather, of course sometimes we cannot meet together as the local church. I understand that reality, but it makes me sad when it happens. Gathering together makes me glad.
If you don't understand my unique love for gathering with the people of God (* regardless of the weather), you just have no idea how contagious my Granny Margery's love for the Lord and the local church impressed and still inspires her grandson. Often, I remember her coming across the yard between her home and ours early on Sunday mornings to catch a ride with us to church. She had a heartwarming glow on her face, her Holy Bible in her hand, God's tithe and her offerings in her purse and always Psalm 122:1 on her lips:
I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go into the house of the Lord." (NKJV)
IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful (for God, Granny, and God's House)
* Because of inclement weather, of course sometimes we cannot meet together as the local church. I understand that reality, but it makes me sad when it happens. Gathering together makes me glad.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Offerings Our Almighty God Deserves
Hear these beautiful words of worship from King David preserved in 2 Samuel 24:24 (TLB): I don’t want to offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that have cost me nothing.
Hear these blunt words of wisdom attributed to King Solomon in Ecclesiasties 5:1 (NLT): As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut! Don’t be a fool who doesn’t realize that mindless offerings to God are evil.
Hear these personal words of invitation written by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:1 (MSG): So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.
Hear these sobering words of instruction that I heard God speaking deep within my heart last night as I crossed Virginia's Afton Mountain in my Ford following a heart-wrenching, pastoral visit at the Trauma Center at University of Virginia Hospital where a precious, young life -- *a 19-year-old -- is in a seemingly fragile state: In the very worst of times we cannot afford to approach God with less than our very best.
Please pray for *Chandler at UVA's Trauma Center and pray for his beloved family, too. Also, please consider with me the kinds of offerings our Almighty God deserves.
ALL JOY!
Grateful
Hear these blunt words of wisdom attributed to King Solomon in Ecclesiasties 5:1 (NLT): As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut! Don’t be a fool who doesn’t realize that mindless offerings to God are evil.
Hear these personal words of invitation written by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:1 (MSG): So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.
Hear these sobering words of instruction that I heard God speaking deep within my heart last night as I crossed Virginia's Afton Mountain in my Ford following a heart-wrenching, pastoral visit at the Trauma Center at University of Virginia Hospital where a precious, young life -- *a 19-year-old -- is in a seemingly fragile state: In the very worst of times we cannot afford to approach God with less than our very best.
Please pray for *Chandler at UVA's Trauma Center and pray for his beloved family, too. Also, please consider with me the kinds of offerings our Almighty God deserves.
ALL JOY!
Grateful
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