GIVE UNTIL IT HURTS!

Worship the Provider

“Get up, go to Zarephath that belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there.” 1 Kings 17:9 (HCSB)

God has an incredible way of putting us into situations where we learn to trust Him. This is certainly the case with Elijah. God has led him beside a brook that has dried up. He continues to provide for him by sending him to a widow that has enough provision for one more meal before she dies! Whoever said that God does not have a sense of humor?

However, when you stop to think about it, the faith upon which one chooses to build his life can only be forged in the heat of the moment when everything hangs in the balance. This is exactly what God does with Elijah. He places him in some incredible situations where the only salvation must come from God. There is simply no other explanation. God did it! At that point, we must be careful to worship God and not the provisions He has supplied.

It is so easy to take for granted the Provider and just celebrate the provisions. In fact, it is easy to think that we are something special because we have obtained them. If we are not humble, we can easily get to the place where we feel like the secure man. Secure in our own strength and not God’s. Edward Hardee gives a new take on the familiar classic the 23^rd Psalm when we worship the provision instead of the Provider.

“The secure man’s 23rd Psalm says…

I am my provider, I shall not be in want

I have stored up hay if the grass is not green in the valley

I have a big canteen just in case the waters are dried up

I have a map so I can find the right path

Even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I have no fear… I have a living will, my funeral paid for and a healthy life insurance policy to care for my family.

I will fear no evil because I have theft alarms on my car and home and the police will be there in minutes.

My accountant and my broker, they comfort me.

I have prepared an investment portfolio that will put food on the table for years to come, even if my competitors should go belly up.

I have been anointed with ability and good planning.

Surely, income and dividends will follow me every month, without fail.

And I will dwell in my own home, not a nursing home, all the days of my life.”

As you spend your day, take time to praise the God from whom all blessings flow!

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord,

Thank You for all the many wonderful things I have to fill up my time with an enriched life. Please forgive me for thinking that I did what it took to get to where I am. Help me to remember that You gave me life and the ability to live life with meaning. May I live trusting You and not the things which You have given.  Thank You for all You have given. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Give Until It Hurts!

The Provisions of God

So he did what the LORD commanded. Elijah left and lived by the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he drank from the wadi. 1 Kings 17:5-6 (HCSB)

Have you ever been to a point in your life where you prayed for God’s provisions? I mean really prayed without ceasing for God to work in your life? I have. It is great to know that God loves us enough to meet our needs, but sometimes His provisions come it ways we never expect as the following story from  Joel Vicente illustrates.

“A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s showroom, and knowing that his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study.

His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather bound Bible, with the young man’s name embossed in gold.

Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, “With all your money you give me a Bible?” and stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. But before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

When he arrived at his father’s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart.

He began to search through his father’s important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages.

His father has carefully underlined a verse, Matthew 7:11, “And if ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father which is in heaven, give to those who ask Him?”

As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer’s name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words….PAID IN FULL.

How many times have we missed God’s blessings because they are not packaged as we expected?”

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord,

As I trust You completely, help me to receive the provisions You provide with a grateful heart knowing you give me always what I need. In Jesus Name, Amen.

GIVE UNTIL IT HURTS!

Yahweh vs Baal

Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, I stand before Him, and there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!” 1 Kings 17:1 (HCSB)

Have you ever wondered if God is really able to supply all your needs? If we are honest, all of us at one time or another have had a moment when a crisis of faith has appeared. I will tell you that it always seems to come in an unsuspecting way. And at a time that challenges us in ways never imagined. This is what the story of Elijah is all about.

This is the first time that the Prophet Elijah is introduced in the Bible. He is coming at a much needed time in the annals of faith. He throws down the gauntlet in a cosmic matchup between Baal and Yahweh. To help us understand the importance of this matchup, it will be necessary to understand who is Baal?

Ahab is the King of Israel beginning in 784 BC and reigns for 22 years. You have heard it said that behind every important man is a good woman. Well, in this case, Ahab has a women behind him but I would not call her good. Her name is Jezebel. She influenced her husband to incorporate the worship of Baal into the society of Israel. Baal was the god of lighting and storm. He was the god responsible for the fertility of the land.

Elijah comes on the scene when Baal worship is in full swing. His name Elijah means “my God is Yahweh” and we are introduced to him when he confronts Ahab the King. He proclaims to the King, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, I stand before Him, and there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!” The stage is now set for a demonstration of power between Baal and Yahweh. It will be a display of power, a time of testing, and provisions.

If you are like me, I do not like taking test. However, test are extremely important throughout life. Joel Sumaqaysay tells about “Testing the Genuine”. He says, “All sorts of things are tested to prove that they are genuine. When you go to a bank and give a $20 bill to the cashier, she holds it to a special light. Why would she do that? Because she is testing it to make sure it is genuine. During the time when the Philippines was not using a special light to determine the genuineness of the dollar bills, the bank tellers would just hold the dollars close to the light and then examine the pictures that were printed on the dollar bills. I was so curious what the teller was doing and I asked him how to know that the dollar is genuine by just looking at it? He told me that if the hair of the picture of a man on the dollar is not combed properly the dollar is fake.”

We expect EVERYTHING that has value to be tested. The faith that is not tested is the faith that cannot be trusted. Is your faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, genuine?

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord,

The psalmist wrote “Test me, LORD, and try me; examine my heart and mind.” Psalm 26:2 (HCSB) I pray that I might be found genuine in my faith today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

GIVE UNTIL IT HURTS!

But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I don’t have anything baked—only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.”  Then Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid; go and do as you have said. But first make me a small loaf from it and bring it out to me. Afterward, you may make some for yourself and your son, 1 Kings 17:12-13 (HCSB)

The speech of Mother Teresa to the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC on February 3, 1994 was entitled “Whatsoever You Do”. However, the speech contained the phrase “Give until it hurts” nine times.  The following is an excerpt from the beginning of the speech…

“Jesus gave His life to love us and He tells us that we also have to give whatever it takes to do good to one another. And in the Gospel Jesus says very clearly: “Love as I have loved you.” Jesus died on the Cross because that is what it took for Him to do good to us – to save us from our selfishness in sin. He gave up everything to do the Father’s will to show us that we too must be willing to give up everything to do God’s will – to love one another as He loves each of us. If we are not willing to give whatever it takes to do good to one another, sin is still in us. That is why we too must give to each other until it hurts.

It is not enough for us to say: “I love God,” but I also have to love my neighbor. St. John says that you are a liar if you say you love God and you don’t love your neighbor. How can you love God whom you do not see, if you do not love your neighbor whom you see, whom you touch, with whom you live? And so it is very important for us to realize that love, to be true, has to hurt. I must be willing to give whatever it takes not to harm other people and, in fact, to do good to them. This requires that I be willing to give until it hurts. Otherwise, there is no true love in me and I bring injustice, not peace, to those around me.”

What would your world, the place where you live and play, look like it love rule in the hearts for everyone. Not the selfish, superficial kind of love that seems to be so prevalent in our world today. You know what I mean. The love that says I will love you forever as long as… I never realized that forever could be so short! Moreover, that is not love; that is a contract.

God has created us for more than that. He loves us and His love was fully demonstrated by His Son Jesus Christ who willing “gave unit it hurt” so that we might know the salvation that comes only through Him! This type of giving, this type of living is selfless.

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord,

My life is truly in Your hands to do with what You will. I know that I was made in Your image and that is good. However, I have rebelled sought to live out my life in self-serving ways. Please forgive me. Help me to learn the blessing of giving. May I give myself to You and to others in selfless acts of service. Help me to truly love others in Jesus Name, Amen.

Give Until It Hurts!

At His Best

Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, I stand before Him, and there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!” Then a revelation from the LORD came to him: “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.” 1 Kings 17:1-4 (HCSB)

Has there ever been a time when you gave your all? I heard the expression “Give until it hurts” many years ago. And the question it raises is one that each of us must answer. How much? We are asked to give in so many areas of life that there are times we just feel drained. However, this feeling of exhaustion always accompanies any effort we do in our own strength. God’s Word gives us many examples of giving all and He shows us the view from both sides.

The view today is heart wrenching. It is the story of George and Vera Bajenski who minister with Global Missionary Ministries, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. This is a true story taken from Leland Patrick’s sermon “When God Changed His Address”.

“On February 16, 1989 the lives of George and Vera Bajenksi of Ontario, Canada were changed forever. It was a very normal Thursday morning. The phone rang at 9:15 a.m. There was an accident involving their son Ben. As they approached the intersection of Adelaide and Simcoe Streets near the high school, they could see the flashing lights of the police cars and ambulance units. Vera noticed a photographer and followed the direction of his camera lens to the largest pool of blood she had ever seen. All she could say was, “George, Ben went home — home to be with his Heavenly Father!”

Her first reaction was to jump out of the car, somehow collect the blood and put it back into her son. “That blood, for me, at that moment, became the most precious thing in the world because it was life. It was life-giving blood and it belonged in my son, my only son, the one I loved so much.” The road was dirty and the blood just didn’t belong there.

George noticed that cars were driving right through the intersection–right through the blood. His heart was smitten. He wanted to cover the blood with his coat and cry, “You will not drive over the blood of my son!” Then Vera understood for the first time in her life, one of God’s greatest and most beautiful truths…why blood? Because it was the strongest language God could have used. It was the most precious thing He could give–the highest price He could pay. Through God’s amazing love we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.”

God gave to us the most valuable gift we could ever receive. He gave us life, TWICE!

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord,

Give me eyes to see where the crucial battles are being waged in my time; give me the wisdom see your truth; give me the courage to speak your word as I must; and give me the patience to allow you to shape me into a person who can be an effective servant for your glory. In Jesus Name, Amen.