We are well on our Lenten Journey toward the joyous celebration of Palm Sunday, the heart wrenching disbelief of Good Friday, and the mind boggling touch of the Hand of God in our celebration of Easter Sunday. The 40 day period of Lent is our opportunity to struggle in the wilderness of temptation as Jesus did after his baptism. It is a time when our weaknesses test the nature of our heart.
Is our physical hunger greater than our hunger to become the children God purposed us to become? Will we stand with Jesus and say, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Is our trust great enough, our faith strong enough, that when the world asks us to question God’s love for us we can say, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Is our love for God as great as God’s love for us so that when the principalities and powers of this world tempt us with everything in their power to join their idolatrous lust, we can look them in the eye and say with confidence, “I worship the Lord my God, and serve only Him!”
When we are confident to stand with Jesus, then God’s angels will wait on us, watching over and guiding our journey toward becoming that which God has purposed. Our faith will grow as we learn to trust in small steps as a child learning to walk. Pastor Gary speaks of the small steps which will help us to confidently tell the world, “I worship the Lord my God and Him only do I serve!” by offering a portion of our finances to help in the building of the Kingdom of God. Wes Hopper encourages us to live on the “word that comes from the mouth of God” through redirecting the way we think and view the world. Finally, Reed encourages us to exercise our faith by putting into practice those things we believe about God and quizzing ourselves instead of testing God.
With all the events going on during the month of March, we have ample opportunity to put into practice the lives God has purposed for us. And at the end of our Lenten journey as we wake on Easter morning, we can look into the tomb of our hearts and realize, “Christ has risen within us and we are no longer among the dead.”
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Jump
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Donna Atwood, writing in the Christian magazine “Reformed Review”, writes about a particular incident in London during World War II. “During the terrible days of the Blitz, a father, holding his small son by the hand, ran from a building that had been struck by a bomb. In the front yard was a shell hole. Seeking shelter as soon as possible, the father jumped into the hole and held up his arms for his son to follow.”
“Terrified, yet hearing his father’s voice telling him to jump, the boy replied, ‘I can’t see you!’ The father, looking up against the sky tinted red by the burning buildings, called to the silhouette of his son, ‘But I can see you, Jump!’ The boy jumped, because he trusted his father.”
The important thing about being a Christian is that we are assured that God sees us. God knows us, even if we do not know Him as well as we desire. Living by faith is not a matter of knowing or of being in control of all the circumstances into which we are called by God to step. We live by faith, by being willing to step or to jump in the direction from which God is calling us.
These principles of faith are particularly true when it comes to worshiping God with our tithes and offerings. Holy Scripture makes it clear that God calls us to live on 90% of our income and to give the remaining 10% to His work. Some Christians, because God has allowed them to be especially blessed, give the offering, an amount above 10% of income.
To “Jump” in the direction of tithing is to believe that God loves us and sees all of our needs for money. Holy Scriptures does not say that God will always provide us with the income to meet our wants and desires, but He will bless us so that our needs are met. We Americans tend to confuse our wants and desires with our needs. Part of the tithing mentality is that we are careful to use our money to meet our own personal needs first, as well as our 10% tithe to the church, and then spend our money on wants and desires.
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:24) Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” When we “jump” in the direction of tithing, we are saying to God that we truly do love Him and His kingdom more than money. That we believe He is there to catch us and keep us through any and all circumstances of life, something we can’t trust our money to do for us.
In God’s great grace with you,
Pastor Gary
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