Are You Giving God Your Best?

Exodus 23:14-16,19 "Three times a year you are to CELEBRATE a festival to me. CELEBRATE the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made witthout yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for that month you came out of EGYPT. "NO ONE IS TO APPEAR BEFORE ME EMPTY-HANDED. CELEBRATE the Feast of Harvest with the FIRSTFRUITS of the crops you SOW in your field. CELEBRATE the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field. 19 "Bring the BEST of the FIRSTFRUITS of your soil to the HOUSE OF THE LORD YOUR GOD."

What a power scripture on the fundamentals and JOY of giving to the Lord. Did I use the word joy and giving in the same sentence? Yes I did! This is what the law of sowing and reaping is all about. The neat thing about sowing is that you are in control of how much seed to sow. Like a farmer who goes out sowing seed in his field, the amount of seed he throws out greatly determines his harvest. Even a city boy like myself can understand that.lol. The scriptures says in 2 Corinthians 9:6, "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." Keep that in mind as we move forward.

In Exodus 20-23, God begins to lay down some laws for the people of God to follow. They are out of Egypt, which represented the place of slavery and bondage. Now we get to Chapter 23:14-19 and we read about the 3 festivals God required the people to CELEBRATE every year. The first festival the Israelites(People of God) were to celebrate was the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This was CELEBRATED over a period of seven days becuase this represented the time they came out of Egypt. Like I said before, Egypt represented slavery or bondage. This was a dark period in the lives of the Jews. Today as Christians we see it as a bondage to sin. Before you and I come to Christ we are in slavery to sin, but are you not thankful that Jesus Christ rescued you from the power of sin and darkness. Please notice this powerful truth; Before God required the Israelites to give anything He simply deesired their worship. A celebration of what GOD had done. The same is true in ourlives. Before you and I can offer anything acceptable to God we FIRST have to bring ourselves. This is why unbelievers can not understand the power in giving. They are still in bondage.

Secondly, Now that God has saved us, God says something powerful. V:15c, "No one is to appear before me EMPTY-HANDED." Hopefully what I am about to say next doesn't offend anyone but strongly teaches us. Just because we are in tough times financially as a nation let alone as individuals doesn't mean that we short stick God. He still requires our BEST! Whatever your best is! Notice that sacrifices and offerings vary from person to person. God simply wants YOUR best. So many times we allow our circumstances to ROB us of future blessings.

Thirdly, Notice the difference in the next two CELEBRATIONS. The Feast of Harvest was dealing with sowing, but the Feast of Ingathering dealt with gathering. Why? God knows that we can not break His law of sowing and reaping. Before we can reap we have to sow. Nowadays, Christians want to experience the blessing of God w/o first giving God their best! The Bible calls it, ROBBING GOD! When we do not obey God in this area we rob God (Malachi 3). God told the people in Exodus 22:29, "Do not hold back," your offerings. This is exactly what we do. This was supposed to be a time of celebration.

Finally, we are called to put the word of God into practice. Let me encourage you to give God your BEST! Trust Him, the return is unbeleievable! How are you and I suppose to give. V:19, "Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God." We do this through our tithes & offerings. Obey God. Giving becomes a CELBRATION when you do it! Dont wait, Do it and watch God pour out His blessings all over you.


God is Good All the Time & All the Time God is Good!

Jesus, I Need You!

These 4 words are so simple, but yet so powerful! As I go about my day I notice that I have the ability of getting off track fairly quickly. Meaning, it's possible for me to go about my day doing so many things, even good things, and still not do the things that God desires me to do. I guess the older I get, not in age, but in Christian maturity, I notice my desire and need of God increases. There are some days when I do not have the words to say, and all I can say are these three words, "Jesus, I need You!" Nowadays, this name JESUS is dragged through the mud. We sometimes hear it in connection with a curse word or when people are just joking around. I am making it a point in my life that whenever I mention the name of Jesus, it will be used to recognize my need of Him. Jesus, I need You! I need you in every area of my life, even in my THOUGHT life. Jesus in you there is joy, peace, and love. Jesus you give me the ability to LIVE, MOVE, & have my being. I believe God loves it when we use these four words. Why? God loves it when we acknowledge our need of Him, even in the simple things. I challenge you, even right now to stop what you are doing and say these four words, "Jesus, I need You." How did it feel? If you have time, tell him again and again. "Jesus, I need you."


God is Good All the Time, & All the Time God is Good!

Are You Battle Tested?

Exodus 17:8-16, 8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." 15 Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. 16 He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The [a] LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."

What an awesome clash of physical and spiritual warfare! Once again, Moses, Aaron, and the nation of Israel were faced with another challenge or battle. Shortly before this time, the battle was against Pharaoh and the Egyptian army, but notice, that battle was over before it even started. Why? The Lord Himself fought the battle for the people. All they had to do was stand still and see God work wonders. Now, they are faced with a different kind of battle. One that they would not only have to trust in the Lord, but also fight. Why would God allow them to go through yet another battle in the Desert? So that they would be battle tested. As you know throughout the Old Testament the Nation of Israel would go on to fight many other battles. So my question is; as Christians today what kind of battles do we face and how do we overcome them VICTORIOUSLY?

Ephesians 6:10-12 reads, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. As believers, sometimes we can forget that we are in a battle! When things happen in the spiritual realm it has a way of manifesting itself in the natural. For Moses, his physical battle was with the Amalekites, but his spiritual battle was with "the spiritual forces of evil."

Our battles that we face today come in various forms, but always remember that they start in the spiritual realm. Our battles that we face can come in the form of; relationships, at the workplace, financial hardships, depression or mental stress, and even between loved ones such as spouses and relatives. Don't laugh, because it's true! The Amalekites derived from Amalek who was the grandson of ESAU, who was the TWIN brother of Jacob. The Amalekites were known to fight dirty and unfair. The people that hurt us the most are sometimes those who we are closest to: our families. Why? Simply because they know where to hit us! Consider Jesus, who came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Powerful!

Lastly, notice how Moses overcame the battle Victoriously! There were a few things he had on his side. 1)A Few Good Men. Moses had people who he could call on in times of need. Find people that will stand by your side no matter what the circumstances. When you go through a tough time you really get to know your true friends. 2) Develop Spiritual Partners. Those individuals that can stand with you in divine prayer and intercession. Moses had Aaron & Hur to hold up his hands when he got weary in battle. Who do you have? 3)Of Course God. With God we ALWAYS win. It may feel like we are losing, but always remember that we win not by feelings but by faith! The blood of Jesus speaks on our behalf. Wow! We win EVERYtime. God has the ability of using your battles to actually work in your favor. How? "We become BATTLE tested," In order for us to become stronger believers. Think about this: When we go through battles we get to see God at His Best. Tell someone today about the love of God!

God is Good, All the Time, & All the Time, God is Good!

Divine Appointments

Exodus 18:13-18 "13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?" 15 Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God's will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees and laws." 17 Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone."

Moses was excited about what God was doing in their mist. Finally, Moses is enjoying the respect and trust of the people. It wasn't too long ago that the the nation of Israel wanted to stone him to death. But now all the people are coming to him. This must have felt good! Moses gets a visit from his wife, children and his father-in law (Jethro). Now I don't about you, but if divine appointments are going to come my way, its definitely not coming from my "father-in-law." In-laws, although I love them, have a tendency to be very opinionated. It becomes really hard to listen to anything that they have to say, but "father-in law" Jethro was different. He was a priest himself and from the way the scriptures talk about him, you can tell that he had a living relationship with God. He was a man of wisdom and insight. When he saw all that Moses was doing he said, "What you are doing is not good." If Jethro was my father-in-law, I would have said, "Don't you see all the respect the people are giving to me. They are finally obeying. What do you mean this isn't good." Moses did not say anything. What did Moses do? He listened!

Friends, even in doing God's will and the right thing, God will sometimes use others to speak into our lives. It's not a time to get defensive. It's a time to listen! Maybe God is using that individual as a divine appointment to speak into your life. We have to recognize that still small voice; and sometimes it will come from unlikely sources, even your father-in-law. In the end, Moses put what Jethro was saying into practice and it blessed him personally, his family, and his ministry.


"God is Good, All the Time, And All the Time God is Good"

The Lord Knows Our Needs!

Exodus 16:17-18, "The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed." This event occurred during the first travels of the Israelites into the desert. Moses courageously led the Nation of Israel out of Egypt which was later known in scripture to be the place that marked, bondage or slavery. After the Nation of Israel witnessed the many miraculous signs done by God in Egypt including the recent miracle when God parted the Red Sea, the people of God still grumbled about the basic necessity which was food. The people forgot all about what God did in the recent past which resulted in a lack of faith to move forward. They forgot about the God that is able to meet all their needs. Could this be one of the reasons why God brought them through the desert, "the long way." A journey that should of lasted maybe a few weeks or months ended up lasting 40 years. Why? God desired for His people to know Him intimately.

Today, things haven't changed much. We are being bombarded with all the junk and things of this world that grabs our hearts and minds for the soul purpose of distracting us away from an intimate relationship with God. We look around and we want everything everyone else has instead of being content with the things that we do have. This type of mindset will soon allow our hearts to grow cold towards God. We must remember that it's God who is the "Source" of every blessing in our lives. He blesses us as He determines. What must be our response? Worship, Gratitude, and a Heart of Thanksgiving. The Lord Knows Our Needs!

"God is Good All the Time & All the Time God is Good!"