Arrival

Today is the first Sunday of advent. We celebrate it the four Sundays before Christmas. “Advent” simply means coming as in Christ is coming, and for us now He has arrived. This is referring to His birth in history and in humanity. It meant the welcoming or the arrival of a special king and for us; it is our King of kings. This is what the Old Testament prophecies foretold concerning Jesus’ Incarnation, the Word made flesh for our hope and Atonement that brought us our deliverance. Advent represents our expectation, anticipation, and preparation for who Christ is and what He has done for us. He arrived into the world as a human being, being fully God and fully man. He came to identify as one of us, as the Son of Man, as a baby born in a manger. He came for us, He came for you and He comes into our lives and into our hearts. He is coming again in great power and glory to bring His Kingdom into fruition.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

Celebrate Christ's arrival - in to your heart and life.

Looking Up

“As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward us” (Psalm 103:11)

God’s mercy, grace, and love show the height of His love. He promises us that nothing can separate us – Nothing! Praise God for His enduring love.

Romans 8:35-39 - 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord

Remember God’s love for you this Christmas – His name is Jesus!

Hand Up

God reaches down to the most horrid and hopeless sinner. Yes, that includes you, me, and all humanity.

Look at Ephesians 2:1-10 - 1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God loves you deeply. Acknowledge it, praise Him for, and be obedient to His call on your life. Amen?

Savior Sent

God's cleansing forgiveness is better than Tide, Oxi-Clean and Shout all put together. For the stain of sin on our souls was worse than any dirt, grease, or earthly grime to ever soil our clothing. We need Jesus!  We are told of in Isaiah 1:18; Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." (ESV)

If our greatest need had been information,

God would have sent us an educator,

If our greatest need had been technology,

God would have sent us a scientist.

If our greatest need had been money,

God would have sent us an economist.

If our greatest need had been pleasure,

God would have sent us an entertainer.

But our greatest need was forgiveness,

So God sent us a Savior.

Amen?

Open the Floodgates

The last few days I’ve been blogging about tithing and honoring God. The Lord challenges us to "test" Him in this act of faithfulness. Don't miss this blessing! We trust God with our eternity - doesn't it make sense that we should trust Him with our finances?

 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. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 3:10-12

 The blessings are out of this world - the floodgates of heaven are opened! You can’t out-give God, and when we rob from God we are actually robbing from ourselves. Don’t rob from yourself the spiritual blessings of God’s provision in His church.

Sounds like God's way is the best way with our finances (and everything else).

Amen?

Honest Giving

The worst offense of how people treated God as reported by Malachi was that they were robbing God (3:6-12). How? By withholding their tithes, by giving the worst instead of the best, by giving the least and not the most. Their attitude was, "How little can I give and still keep God happy?"

6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ 8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 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. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

The tithe is the minimum - it is what is expected from God's people.  In Hebrew tithe means 10%. The Bible talks of not one but 3 tithes. One for the priests, one for the Temple, and one every three years for the poor. That works out to 23+% annually if you're counting. You see God's tithe (that's what it is) is the floor not the ceiling of giving to the Lord's work. God’s tithe not "my tithe" is in recognition that everything belongs to Him. Anything less than 10% is not to be called a tithe but rather a donation or offering.  It all starts from the heart. 

Who do you trust in?

 

Prepare your heart and engage in an honest conversation with God today about your giving. Amen?

Unfaithful Accounting

After 70 years in exile you would have thought that people would have come to their senses and be faithful to the Lord. The last book of the Old Testament tells us a different story. The people in Malachi's day treated God badly by robbing from him. They had become bored with God. Their worship had turned from relational to ritual. As a result:

They offered blemished sacrifices (1:6-14) They offered God their contempt, defiled food, blind, cripples, and diseased animals. They gave their "leftovers" instead of their best.

The priests had become unfaithful (2:1-9) They did not listen and dishonored God with  false teachings.

Divorce was commonplace and easy (2:10-17) They had broken faith and commitment with God and in their marriages.

Their words wearied God (2:17 read) They desired their own justice, and missed they always had a Just God!

Businessmen were cheating their workers, customers, widows, orphans and aliens (3:1-5).  Defrauded and oppressed those around them. There was no justice.

Before we pass judgment on this group let's look at what the New Testament has to say to us. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. James 1:22-25 

Application?