Preach the word! —2 Timothy
4:2
“We are not saved only to be
instruments for God, but to be His sons and daughters. He does not turn us into
spiritual agents but into spiritual messengers, and the message must be a part
of us. The Son of God was His own message— “The words that I speak to you are
spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). As His disciples, our lives must be a
holy example of the reality of our message. Even the natural heart of the
unsaved will serve if called upon to do so, but it takes a heart broken by
conviction of sin, baptized by the Holy Spirit, and crushed into submission to
God’s purpose to make a person’s life a holy example of God’s message.[…] God takes us beyond our own aspirations and
ideas for our lives, and molds and shapes us for His purpose, just as He worked
in the disciples’ lives after Pentecost. The purpose of Pentecost was not to
teach the disciples something, but to make them the incarnation of what they
preached so that they would literally become God’s message in the flesh. “…you
shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). CHAMBERS
My oldest daughter is
artistic and has, since our return from Haiti, been painting some wonderful things for Martie and me. As I type this I am looking at a small
painting on my desk that shows a guitar and words from Psalm 33:3-4, “Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully and shout
for joy. For the Word if the Lord is
right and true; He is faithful in all He does.”
I am not a great guitar player. I
could be better, but I don’t take the time needed to become more skillful. Frankly, I may not have the talent or
gifting, to play better than I do, even if I were to practice more than I do. But, as I played and sang a song for my
granddaughter and great granddaughter the other day, seeing the smiles on their
faces, I was glad that I played at all. Too
often, we compare ourselves to others who are more skillful and conclude that
we have no value. God uses what we offer
to Him for His glory. We must be careful
that we don’t use the “filter of our flesh” when it comes to considering the
value of our service to the Lord. We
should use the gifts that God has given us, no matter how meager, how small we might think they are, to the glory of
God. (Matthew 17:20) “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a
mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it
will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
You see when it comes to living on the supernatural side, how much you
have does not matter. What does matter
is that you do whatever you do by faith and trust God to multiply the result.
(Mark 12:41-44) “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the
offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple
treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and
put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his
disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more
into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but
she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” Whatever you have, offer it to the Lord. Worth
is not found in the physical size or brilliance, but in the heart. Honestly, God really is not so much interested in your
sacrifice, as your devotion. Our hearts are the only thing that we can offer
to God that has value to Him. (Psalm 51:16-17) “You do not delight in
sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My
sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God,
will not despise.” ELGIN
“I Will Offer Up My Life” Matt Redman
I will offer up my life In
spirit and truth, Pouring out the oil of love
As my worship to You
In surrender I must give my
every part; Lord, receive the sacrifice Of a broken heart
You deserve my every breath For
You've paid the great cost; Giving up Your life to death, Even death on a cross
You took all my shame away, There
defeated my sin Opened up the gates of heaven And have beckoned me in
CHORUS:
Jesus, what can I give, what can I bring To so faithful a friend, to so loving a King?
Savior, what can be said, what can be sung As a praise of Your name For the things You have done
Oh my words could not tell, not even in part Of the debt of love that is owed By this thankful heart
Charley Elgin
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