Monday, 15th
October, 2012
OFFERINGS & SELF
– EXAMINATION
Memorize: Leave there thy`gift before the
altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then and offer
thy gift. Matthew 5:24
Bible in one year: Psalms 73-75
Read: Matthew 5:23-24
Before
giving to God, make yourself acceptable first. If you person is not acceptable
of God neither will your offerings be acceptable to Him. Not only must your
ways be right with God before giving to Him, they must equally be equally be
right with your fellow man. You are blessed when you give to God and He accepts
it. It is a great privilege. If God is presently pleased with you and somebody
else holds a grudge against you, you have scaled through God’s test but your
gift will not be accepted. One reason God placed this as a criteria for
receiving your offering is so that your heart will be free towards God and men.
Hence, Paul says in Acts 24:16:
And herein do I exercise
myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.
This
is not limited to your offerings but also your sacrifice and service in the
kingdom. If you serve God with sin in your life, your service will be
unacceptable. Even if you were to make greatest sacrifice to God, for instance
giving yourself to be burnt for the sake of the Gospel and you are yet living
in secret sin,
you would have killed yourself for nothing.
In
Samuel 15:22, Samuel said to Saul:
And Samuel
said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in
obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to
hearken than the fat of rams
If you
disregard any of God’s instructions and think you can bribe Him with a big
offering or sacrifice, better get some shock absorbers ready. God wants you to
have His best hence Jesus says whenever you bring your gift before God, examine
yourself to find out if there is some malice, anger, bitterness or an
unforgiving spirit somewhere, capable of eroding your gains from that offering.
If there is, keep your offering safe, go and meet that brother and say: “Bro,
you are so important that without you my offering will be a waste. Please
forgive for what I have done wrong” or “I forgive you for what you have done to
me.” Embrace each other and come and offer your gift or offering.
KEY POINT:
If you use
God’s word as yardstick for measuring the quality of your service, gifts and
offerings, you can tell which ones will be relevant in Heaven.
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