Psalm 76:11 Vow and pay unto the Lord your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
As promised Friends, we’ll continue where we left off yesterday. The ole fella was on a roll, (smile) and it would just have been too long, and with the short attention spans that now prevail, where, if it can’t be said, or read in fifteen seconds or less, we’re not interested, I didn’t want to lose any of the Word, so I left the rest for today. But people that brings up an interesting point, a sore one with me; if we can’t take a few minutes out of every 24 hours, that’s 1440 minutes to focus on God, our Creator, our Father, the One whom we claim to trust in and LOVE so much, who provides us with daily sustenance, then something’s seriously wrong. We’re only joking about our faith, letting the enemy program us to his dictates. But that’s another topic for another day. Yesterday, we dealt with the first part of the Bit; ‘Vow and pay unto the Lord your God.’ But it’s also incumbent upon us to remember to ‘let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.’ And why not eh? Oh Friends, we pay obeisance, bow, scrape and give of our best to earthly men who lord it over us, oftimes without just cause, so why not the Father of Creation? He surely deserves it much more than the lowly mortals we so humbly and respectfully kowtow to. Giving generously to God is an aspect of worship that I don’t think we take seriously enough. Perhaps we figure God doesn’t need gifts, seeing that He has everything, or wonder what He’d do with them. But remember Friends, God’s work is never done. There are always sick, hurting, poor, or needy people to help, and unbelievers to spread the Word to. In addition to which the priests, missionaries and those who devote their lives solely to spreading the gospel, they need sustenance too. They can’t be expected to tell unbelievers about all the good things Jesus did and will do for them, while they are seen to be leading pitiful, scrounging lives. The best way to convert others to our way of thinking is by not only talking the part, but also looking it. I know we have to dress for success, but we also have to draw the line at a sensible spot. Some of our preachers today dress the part a tad too much; which is a whole new topic, again for another day. (smile) But all of that aside people, as genuine believers, we ought to be just so thankful for God’s mercies and goodness that our hearts naturally tend to generosity. In Old Testament times it was customary to give generously to God for whatever success came your way, because you sincerely believed that He had a hand in it. ‘Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side. And many brought gifts unto the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was magnified in the sight of all the nations from thenceforth.’ (2 Chron.32:22-23) Yes people, so ought we to magnify, glorify and exalt our God; giving Him gifts of precious things out of a generous and grateful heart, for without Him, we’re nothing! Bruh David also sets a good example in that respect. It says in 2 Samuel 8, that when Toi, king of Hamath heard that Bruh David had defeated the army of Hadadezer, he sent his son Joram to thank and bless him, for Toi had been fighting Hadadezer unsuccessfully for some time. ‘And Joram brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass. Which also king David did dedicate unto the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued.’ (vs.10-11) How could the Lord not LOVE Bruh David eh Friends? He generously gave back to God, a portion of whatever the Lord caused him to acquire. I remember, growing up in Tobago, harvest time was my favourite church occasion, when all the fruits of the land, unblemished of course, would be offered before the Lord, and the people would sing and be joyful, give thanks and praise for the goodness of God, enabling them to produce such a bountiful harvest. I guess that has been reduced in its intensity, like most things pertaining to God nowadays. But Friends, I can’t impress upon us enough, the importance of giving to God. Why? It’s simple, elementary really: As generous as we are to Him, that’s exactly how generous He will be to us. Remember, it takes two to tango, and one hand washes the other. (smile) Much LOVE!…give glory to God…exalt His Name…for He is the giver of all good things…
As promised Friends, we’ll continue where we left off yesterday. The ole fella was on a roll, (smile) and it would just have been too long, and with the short attention spans that now prevail, where, if it can’t be said, or read in fifteen seconds or less, we’re not interested, I didn’t want to lose any of the Word, so I left the rest for today. But people that brings up an interesting point, a sore one with me; if we can’t take a few minutes out of every 24 hours, that’s 1440 minutes to focus on God, our Creator, our Father, the One whom we claim to trust in and LOVE so much, who provides us with daily sustenance, then something’s seriously wrong. We’re only joking about our faith, letting the enemy program us to his dictates. But that’s another topic for another day. Yesterday, we dealt with the first part of the Bit; ‘Vow and pay unto the Lord your God.’ But it’s also incumbent upon us to remember to ‘let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.’ And why not eh? Oh Friends, we pay obeisance, bow, scrape and give of our best to earthly men who lord it over us, oftimes without just cause, so why not the Father of Creation? He surely deserves it much more than the lowly mortals we so humbly and respectfully kowtow to. Giving generously to God is an aspect of worship that I don’t think we take seriously enough. Perhaps we figure God doesn’t need gifts, seeing that He has everything, or wonder what He’d do with them. But remember Friends, God’s work is never done. There are always sick, hurting, poor, or needy people to help, and unbelievers to spread the Word to. In addition to which the priests, missionaries and those who devote their lives solely to spreading the gospel, they need sustenance too. They can’t be expected to tell unbelievers about all the good things Jesus did and will do for them, while they are seen to be leading pitiful, scrounging lives. The best way to convert others to our way of thinking is by not only talking the part, but also looking it. I know we have to dress for success, but we also have to draw the line at a sensible spot. Some of our preachers today dress the part a tad too much; which is a whole new topic, again for another day. (smile) But all of that aside people, as genuine believers, we ought to be just so thankful for God’s mercies and goodness that our hearts naturally tend to generosity. In Old Testament times it was customary to give generously to God for whatever success came your way, because you sincerely believed that He had a hand in it. ‘Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side. And many brought gifts unto the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was magnified in the sight of all the nations from thenceforth.’ (2 Chron.32:22-23) Yes people, so ought we to magnify, glorify and exalt our God; giving Him gifts of precious things out of a generous and grateful heart, for without Him, we’re nothing! Bruh David also sets a good example in that respect. It says in 2 Samuel 8, that when Toi, king of Hamath heard that Bruh David had defeated the army of Hadadezer, he sent his son Joram to thank and bless him, for Toi had been fighting Hadadezer unsuccessfully for some time. ‘And Joram brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass. Which also king David did dedicate unto the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued.’ (vs.10-11) How could the Lord not LOVE Bruh David eh Friends? He generously gave back to God, a portion of whatever the Lord caused him to acquire. I remember, growing up in Tobago, harvest time was my favourite church occasion, when all the fruits of the land, unblemished of course, would be offered before the Lord, and the people would sing and be joyful, give thanks and praise for the goodness of God, enabling them to produce such a bountiful harvest. I guess that has been reduced in its intensity, like most things pertaining to God nowadays. But Friends, I can’t impress upon us enough, the importance of giving to God. Why? It’s simple, elementary really: As generous as we are to Him, that’s exactly how generous He will be to us. Remember, it takes two to tango, and one hand washes the other. (smile) Much LOVE!…give glory to God…exalt His Name…for He is the giver of all good things…
SCRIP-BITS 