in all things, give thanks

Today, we’re gathering for worship on prior to one the most significant days on our annual calendar. No, I’m not talking about the annual ‘day after Thanksgiving” sales. I’m talking about Thanksgiving itself. From its storied beginnings, to the presidentially-affirmed national day of thanksgiving to almighty God from our leaders through the decades to today, This upcoming Thursday is one of my favorite times of the year.

It’s good that we take a little time to reflect on just how good we have it, because over the course of a year, enough ‘junk’ can take place that it can become pretty easy to lose sight of the blessings we have. Think just for a moment of all the things that we take for granted on Thanksgiving day. We’ll gather around a table filled with food. We’ll surround ourselves with friends, neighbors, relatives, loved ones. We’ll eat a wonderful meal, then we’ll spend an afternoon watching football on television, maybe playing board games with our guests, or perhaps going out to watch a movie at the theater. We have been blessed with so much. We do these things every year without thought, and often without appreciation that God has provided us with the resources with which we do what we do.

Today, we’re going to spend a little time looking at what the Bible has to say about being thankful, and to do so, we’re going to go to a place that is familiar to many of us because it is one of the most well-known stories of all biblical history. Turn in your Bible to Daniel, chapter 6. It is here where we arrive to the oft-told account of Daniel in the lion’s den. Unfortunately, the story is often told in a bit of a romantic fashion, and some important details have been changed or left out. For example, many people, when hearing this story, envision Daniel as a young boy, mercilessly thrown in the den by a merciless king, and he spent a fearful night keeping hungry lions at bay. However, if we look at the actual biblical account, we discover details that are much different than what has been passed down from year to year, generation to generation. In doing this, we’ll discover life lessons that still apply today on how we should, in all things, give thanks:

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. Then these men said, "We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.'' So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: "King Darius, live forever! "All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. "Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.'' Therefore King Darius signed the written decree. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king's decree: "Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?'' The king answered and said, "The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.'' So they answered and said before the king, "That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.'' And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. Then these men approached the king, and said to the king, "Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.'' So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, "Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.'' Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed. Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?'' Then Daniel said to the king, "O king, live forever! "My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.'' Then the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God. And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den. Then King Darius wrote: To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Before we get in to the ‘meat’ of today’s message, let’s clarify a couple details that will possibly help us appreciate the entire story more, and possibly incline us to find it more applicable to our lives. First, Daniel, whose name is more properly pronounced “dan-i-el” which means judge of God, has been, by the time we arrive here in chapter 6, in the captivity of pagan kings for at least 44 years. He was taken in 586 BC by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar along with many others from Judah, where he and his friends were placed in the Chaldean (pagan) education system. When this occurred, Daniel was likely a teenager of promise and prominence, and likely of priestly lineage. Under captivity, Daniel was stripped of everything, even his own name. He was given the name Belteshazzar, which was an homage name to the Babylonian god Baal. Daniel served in the pagan courts for 69 years, under four foreign kings. In the forty-plus years between the events of chapter one and chapter 6, Daniel had endured at least six different significant challenges to his faith, and God had proven himself to Daniel, and accordingly to all around him, time and time again. Daniel had risen to the top of the courts under the leadership of each king, and in fact, was the one constant in the constantly-changing leadership of warring kings. So here, in Daniel 6, we come to find Daniel, currently serving as the chief of three governors of king Darius. And it is in this environment that we discover today’s first truth, which is that we are to give thanks amidst conspiracy.

The first verses explain that Daniel, now likely a man in his late fifties or early sixties, was a man who was in active service to the Lord, on the mission field of a pagan nation. The Lord had established him as the top of three governors over 120 satraps, or provincial rulers. Now, verse three says that Daniel was doing such a good job that Darius ‘gave thought’ to setting Daniel over the rule of the entire land. Take just a second to realize what that’s really saying. This doesn’t mean that Darius just pondered the possibility in his mind, he began voicing it and considering it as a policy. Today, we might equate it to ‘taking an opinion poll.’ Daniel, though at an age where we’d all likely be considering retirement, or at least looking forward to it, was a battle-tested, seasoned servant of God, and had faithfully served his godless king. And the king recognized his good work, his diligence, and as we’ll see later, even his dedication to the Lord God, and was voicing the opinion that Daniel should be rewarded for his good, hard work and faithful obedience.

This ‘floater’ that was going around the political environment did then what similar notions often do today. It infuriated others. Rather than being happy for Daniel and supporting him, Daniel’s colleagues and underlings began to conspire against him. They served in an environment much like today, that morality was no real big deal, so instead, they knew that had to bring a charge against him in regard to the kingdom, but realized, even in that, they would be futile. Then, as verse five illustrates clearly, that they knew the only way to do it was to bring out a charge in relation to Daniel’s God and the kingdom, because they knew that their king worshipped a pagan god, and that Daniel was unswerving in his devotion to the one true God. So, they developed a a scheme where they convinced king Darius to establish a law that no person could worship any man or god except Darius for 30 days, at the penalty of being thrown into the den of lions.

Now, think about this for just a second. Darius was a smart man. You didn’t get to be king in those days by being an idiot. He knew about Daniel. In fact, we know he knew because by this time in Daniel’s life, he was no longer going by the pagan name given to him by Nebuchadnezzar, but he was known again and referred to by his God-honoring name Daniel. Yet, these other underlings went to the king, and because they couldn’t appease him by their performance, which paled in comparison to Daniel’s, they appealed to the one thing that has brought down more kings and leaders throughout history than anything else: his pride. They said, “oooh, we worship you Darius. You are like a god. Maybe you are god. In fact, to show how much we worship you, we suggest that you make a law that nobody is allowed to worship any god except for you.” And Darius took the bait and sealed Daniel’s fate.

I want to point out three things quickly about how conspiracy develops around God’s children.
1. It develops because men are, by nature, angry at God. There are at least 50 Old Testament references to man rebelling against God. We discover that all people rebel against God, because we are born with a sinful nature that denies God, rejects God, defies God. Accordingly, when someone lives in the Spirit of God, rather than in the lusts of their flesh, they become an object of man’s hate and anger at God.
2. Anger at God is therefore demonstrated as animosity at man. Why are we so brutal to one another? In our deepest parts, we understand that man is God’s finest creation, and as such, we have contempt for one another. This is also why God takes such offense when we commit violence upon one another. Remember, we have been made in the very image of God, so an attack on man, is by virtue, an attack on the image of God. We see here with the governors and satraps, that when there is no regard for God, there is no regard for man – whether he be a colleague or fellow servant like Daniel, or even a king or leader like Darius.
3. The consequences of such animosity and anger results in actions against both. We observe violence, hatred, oppression, strife, and persecution all over the world every day against man. Murders, rapes, assaults, battery, and abuse. Homicides, genocides, patricides, infanticides, and suicides. We see an all-out animosity-driven attack against man because man hates God and man is made in the image of God.

This is exactly what is taking place in Daniel’s life. They hate him because God is honoring him and they hate God for honoring him. But rather than honor God so that they, too, may be honored by God, what do they do, they conspire against him, and they use their own king who they claim to worship as god, as a pawn in their evil conspiracy to bring down Daniel from his lofty position of favor.

And look how Daniel reacts, in verse 10. “And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.

This is amazing! Can’t you just see what’s taking place here. Daniel is so cool, so calm. These guys are being sneakier than a crew of James Bond villains, but Daniel watches it all unfold and thinks to himself, its all good. So what does he do? He does exactly what too few of us do. He went home and gave thanks to God. That this decree was signed! If we received news that it was suddenly illegal to pray to God (hmmm…nah, not in the USA!), the vast majority of us wouldn’t go home and thank God that the decree had been signed. We’d be freaking out! We’d be ranting and raving! We’d be going around demanding that we be able to worship and pray! How do I know this? Because this is exactly what we did when we were told the words one nation under God were unconstitutional. If Daniel were alive today, I don’t think you would have seen him on Larry King live or Bill O’Reilly griping about things. I think we simply would have seen him watch it all unfold, have a smile on his face, and say, its all good. Then he’d say, “I pledge allegiance…one nation, under God.” Then he’d ask, “whatta ya gonna do, arrest me?”

He knew what was going to happen. And that’s why he gave thanks. And I’m not talking about knowing that he’d get thrown into the den. He knew that was going to happen. And I’m not talking about getting delivered from the lion’s hunger. Because he didn’t know that was going to happen. What he knew was going to happen was that this had occurred for the express purpose that God would use it to bring glory to himself. And because God would accomplish that in Daniel’s life, it didn’t matter what else did happen.

He knew that would happen because God had proven it in Daniel’s life time and again. He carried Daniel through the fiery furnace. He gave Daniel the boldness to witness to Nebuchadnezzar. He gave Daniel the interpretation to the writing on the wall to Belshazzar. Daniel had put God to the test time and again, and God had proven Himself time and again.

We need to have this perspective when conspiracy falls upon us. We need to not freak out, lose our wits, or whimper and whine. When the fire of conspiracy lights around us, we need to stop, drop, and pray. And the only way we can develop that mentality is to do like Daniel did, and make it a habit. The only way Daniel was able to do it when he was told not to do it, was because as the scripture says, he returned to the actions that were his custom from the early days. Friends, if it is not your custom to give thanks to God in all things, every day, many times, you will never be able to have the proper perspective and give thanks when others conspire against you as an ambassador of Christ.

And do you what? Daniel was so reliable in his thanks to God, that his conspirers knew that they could count on Daniel to do exactly that. So they followed loosely behind, and there they found him doing exactly what they expected him to do, and exactly what he had been forbidden to do. He was giving thanks to God. And here is where conspiracy gave way to controversy.

They found Daniel praying, just like they knew they would, and they ran back to the king. In verse 12, they asked Darius about the law he had just agreed to, and played him like a violin. He acknowledged the law, and that’s when they dropped the big “AHA! Daniel broke the law.” And verse 14 tells us exactly how king Darius felt about the matter. Let’s take just a moment and compare him to Daniel.

The first reaction we see is a comparison of the peace of Daniel to the perplexity of Darius. Darius was, as the Bible states, deeply displeased with himself. What have I done? he probably asked himself. He agonized that in a moment of foolish pride, he had condemned his most loyal servant, most reliable governor to death. And just a note on this reality – the more responsibility given to you by God, the greater your decisions will impact others. There is no trivial decision in leadership.

The second reaction we observe is a comparison of the liberty of Daniel verses the law of Darius. Daniel operated freely in the liberty of the grace of God under 44 years of captivity. He was continually able to glorify God and please man because he had committed to never compromise the will of God. Yet, Darius, in one motion, signed himself into subjection to an agonizing law that as the scriptures reveal, he was unable to maneuver around.

The third reaction we witness is a comparison of the release of Daniel verses the restlessness of Darius. Daniel knew he’d be taken away and likely become Purina Lion chow. But he was cool with it. He had no holdings on this life. He was able to give thanks to God because He knew that God loved him, and had ordained this entire series of events to take place. Therefore, it would turn out okay, no matter how it turned out. Darius on the other hand, is the picture of despair. He couldn’t eat. He couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t enjoy living because the law had virtually destroyed his spirit.

Conspiracy always gives way to controversy. Whenever you choose to honor God, you will face an attack and an assault. Is it by coincidence that Satan is described as a lion who prowls around, looking to devour us? I think not. Yet, rather than reacting to controversy with worry and restlessness, rather than looking for relief in the law with loopholes, and rather than being perplexed and displeased with ourselves, we need to remember that God is sovereign. We need to take off this Darius mentality, and dare to be a Daniel when controversies enter our lives.

And know this: it still gets worse before it gets better. Calamity almost always follow on the heels of controversy. And just as we are to give thanks in conspiracy, and give thanks in controversy, we are to give thanks in calamity.

This is where in the story of Daniel that the story makes a bit of transition of focus, at least for a few verses. In the height of the calamity, Daniel has been thrown into the den of lions, and by all accounts, should be chewed up and digested by morning. Yet, Daniel has remained, calm, peaceful, and thankful, amidst it all. This behavior of his, we discover, has had a profound impact on the king, the pagan unbeliever who has been in agony ever since he realized the results of his pride-filled, hasty decision.

First, we see that he has an attitude of expectancy. He comes running to the lions cave, hoping, expecting to see Daniel alive and well. We have to realize that this is an act of expectancy on the part of Darius, and not some foolish behavior. Recent discoveries showed that it was not uncommon in Babylon to throw criminals into lions dens as punishment for serious offenses. Archaelogists have been able to discover this not because of graffiti on cave walls that says “Daniel:1, Lions: 0, 522 B.C., but because they’ve discovered caves with lion ‘doody’ and human bones. Even I can add up that equation. But the Bible reveals that Darius was influenced and impacted by Daniel’s response to the controversy and conspiracy. Darius came running and calling out to Daniel, with the expectation that Daniel’s God had delivered him.

We also see that God provides an emergence from the calamity. This is a great story of faith, a great account of God’s reliability. Daniel had no promise from God that he’d make it through the night. Daniel had nothing but the reality that God loved him accompany him into the den. But as far as Daniel was concerned, that alone was enough to be thankful and to give thankfs for this situation. You have to know that Daniel didn’t spend all night worrying and running. The Bible tells us that God delivered His angel. Some scholars believe that this is a preincarnate form of Jesus Himself. Now isn’t that something? You get sent in to a horrible death, but emerge having spent the night safely in the presence of the savior of all mankind?

Let me ask you – is this how you emerge from your calamities in life? Jesus has said that He will never leave us nor forsake us. He has said that He remains with us more closely than a brother. He has said that His Holy Spirit has sealed us, protects us, has guaranteed us until the day of redemption. He is our Rock. Our Fortress. Our Shield. Our Shelter. When we emerge from our calamities, safe and secure, do we come out praising God and giving testimony to the abiding presence of Jesus, or are we the type that say, “I was lucky,” or “whew, I don’t know how I made it through that mess?” Daniel was delivered, and he was quick to tell king Darius not only how he was delivered, but why.

Finally, it is only because Daniel was able to give thanks in the conspiracy, in the controversy, and in the calamity, that Daniel was able to give thanks in the celebration. It was only through this tumultuous chain of events that God determined to prove Himself once again using His faithful servant Daniel. First of all, God was faithful in delivering judgment upon the conspirators. This is where we discover that Darius wasn’t too happy after all as being “the mark” for these conmen. But check this out – not just them, but their wives and their children, too. Make no mistake about it, God reveals His full wrath in judgment against those who set themselves against Him and act out against Him and His elect.

God also justified Daniel through the calamity. He delivered His servant, and glorified Himself through the process. Look at the words that proceed out of the mouth of the pagan king through this ordeal. Truly, Daniel celebrated in thanksgiving when the decree to worship and fear God was given in pagan Babylon by pagan Darius. When we choose to obey the Lord, and when we give thanks in all seasons of life, God will not only judge others, but He will justify His own.

Last, Daniel celebrated because God delivered joy when He delivered Daniel from the lion’s den. Verse 28 says that Daniel prospered. He lived beyond the calamity. What the word says here is that he actually lived beyond the reign of Darius. Daniel continued to prosper through the reign of Cyrus, as well. God was faithful. He didn’t give Daniel a life of luxury and ease. He gave him tests and challenges. But Daniel saw God in the details, and saw opportunities in the calamities, and accordingly was able to give God thanks in all things.

a religion of peace....as if!

From the Wall Street Journal Online, Best of the Web:

The death toll in Nigeria's Muslim rioting has topped 100, the BBC reports, and the violence has spread from the northern city of Kaduna to the capital, Abuja. "The BBC's Haruna Bahago in Abuja says people armed with sticks, daggers and knives set fire to vehicles and attacked anyone they suspected of being Christian." An Associated Press dispatch relays this story:

Shehu Sani of the Kaduna-based Civil Rights Congress said he watched a crowd stab one young man, then force a tire filled with gasoline around his neck and burn him alive. Sani said he saw three other bodies elsewhere in the city.

What sparked the riots was an article that appeared in the Lagos-based newspaper ThisDay about the Miss World pageant, which is to be held in Nigeria, much to the consternation of the nation's Islamic fanatics. "What would [the prophet] Muhammad think?" wrote Isioma Daniel. "In all honesty, he would probably have chosen a wife from among them [the contestants]." That's it.

The paper published a groveling apology, blaming the offending line on an editing error:

With all sense of responsibility, sensitivity and respect for all Muslims, the staff, management, editors and Board of ThisDay newspapers apologise for the great editorial error in last Saturday's edition on Miss World Beauty Pageant.

We are sorry that the portrayal of the Holy Prophet Mohammed . . . in a commentary written by one of our staff was not only unjustified, but utterly provocative.

The supervising editor made an attempt to remove the offensive portion during the editing process.

But we must say that this time, technology failed us, and gravely too.

Islam, as we keep hearing, is a religion of peace. And if you dare to criticize or make light of it, may you rest in peace.

in concert

Tony Elenburg will be performing at our church next Sunday night.



This man is a wonderful minister of the Lord. We were first introduced to him when he came to Calvary in Craig. We had recently lost everything to the fire in our home, and the Lord used him tremendously to heal and encourage our spirits. He is a humble man who shares a powerful message. If you have the ability to bring him to your area, you definitely should do it!

carrie update

praise God! She's progressing wonderfully. She's sitting up, has been moved out of ICU, and expects to be able to go home in about a week! Thank you all so much for praying for her!

thanks mizwacky

for fixing my permalink issue. may the Lord bless you immeasurably for sharing your knowledge.

just a friendly reminder

you, too, will die.

this pleasant little place thinks it can tell you when.

Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment

have you secured your attorney for that day of sentencing? If not, try this one:

Have a great day...and don't forget to look both ways when you cross the street.

i had no idea

I guess I am a member of PETA after all.



hmm. tastes like chicken.

If God didn't want us to eat animals, He wouldn't have made them so incredibly yummy!

analogy of the day

ken::barbie

as

stedman::oprah

yeah...I don't know what I'm doing.

I was linked at blogs 4 God for yesterday's post, but was politely chided for not having a permalink. I thought permalink was what happened when one entered a sanctified, monogamous relationship, but learned that this was incorrect. Despite a very nice, helpful email from a guy from b4g, I'm no closer to the golden chalice, so to speak. I've fooled with my template and am no closer to offering them. I feel like the spastic kid who always gets buzzed when trying to reach for the funny bone.


so, until I learn more....this is what you get.

if you can't stand the heat...

This is an image of a sunspot, taken a few months ago.



Some graphic words in light of a graphic image:
Psalm 29:7 The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire.

Isaiah 66:15-16 For behold, the Lord will come with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword the Lord will judge all flesh; and the slain of the Lord shall be many.

1 Cor. 3:11-15 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become manifest; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.

2 Peter 3:11-12 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?

Revelation 14:9-10 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, "he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb."
................................
Things not overheard in hell (despite popular belief):

"Hot enough for you?"

"Yeah, but its a dry heat."

"I bet you could fry an egg on the sidewalk out here."

"You think this is hot? You shoulda been in Orlando during the heat wave of '98!"

"Do you think 'el nino' has anything to do with this?"

"The only thing you can do in heat like this is wait it out..."

"Lemonade...only 25 cents?"

"Good thing I brought my visor"
.............................

closing with a few links on the subject:
disclaimer: I found the links, but don't necessarily endorse them....you're on your own if you take one (just like in hell, I suppose).

Is hell real?
hell is real!
hurts like hell
to hell and back
where in the hell?
how in hell?
why in hell?
what in hell was that?

a thousand words

ever feel this way in ministry?

eating fingers...

various quasi-related stories, received through email...
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As I was trying to pack for vacation, my 3-year-old daughter was having a wonderful time playing on the bed. At one point, she said, "Dad, look at this," and stuck out two of her fingers.Trying to keep her entertained, I reached out and stuck her fingers in my mouth and said, "Daddy's gonna eat your fingers!" pretending to eat them before I rushed out of the room again.When I returned, my daughter was standing on the bed staring at her fingers with a devastated look on her face. I said, "What's wrong honey?" She replied...

"What happened to my booger?"
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When you THINK you have a bad day, remember this one from a young mother... "I was taking a shower when my 2-year-old son came into the bathroom and wrapped himself in toilet paper. "Although he made a mess, he looked adorable, so I ran for my camera and took a few shots. They came out so well that I had copies made and included one with each of our Christmas cards. Days later, a relative called about the picture, laughing hysterically and suggesting I take a closer look. Puzzled, I stared at the photo and was shocked to discover that in addition to my son, I had captured my reflection in the mirror---wearing nothing but a camera!"
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As ham sandwiches go, it was perfection. A thick slab of ham, a fresh bun, crisp lettuce and plenty of expensive, light brown, gourmet mustard.The corners of my jaw aching in anticipation, I carried it to the picnic table in our backyard, picked it up with both hands but was stopped by my wife suddenly at my side. "Hold Johnny (our six-week-old son) while I get my sandwich," she said.I had him balanced between my left elbow and shoulder and was reaching again for the ham sandwich when I noticed a streak of mustard on my fingers.I love mustard. I had no napkin. I licked it off. It was not mustard.No man ever put a baby down faster.It was the first and only time I have sprinted with my tongue protruding. With a washcloth in each hand I did the sort of routine shoeshine boys do, only I did it on my tongue.
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Dave and his wife were at the video rental store and wandered into the XXX rated section. Joking about the explicit pictures on the video boxes and kidding his wife about them.. he picked one box up with a bondage theme. Aloud he said, "OOOooooo, whips and leather,,, how would you like it if I did this to you?"
--- dead silence----
He turned around to see why his wife wasn't laughing and there stood a man with a look of frozen fear on his face... Dave's wife was no where in sight.
..................................
On Bonnie's 11th wedding anniversary, she phoned her husband at his office to surprise him with some sexy love talk. After she hears "Hello?" she began her steamy descriptions, pretty hot stuff.. then she heard next, "Would you like to talk to your husband?"
..................................
From Bryan: I know this was low effort on my part...but all kinds of valuable lessons to be learned here...

I'm a big giant dork link #2

From the list of geographic maps from the survey listed below:

This affirms that I am in the majority...for all those (and you know who you are) who look at me silly when I say 'coupon' as I do.

7. coupon
a. [u:] as in "sue" ("coopon") (69.28%)
b. [ju:] as in "you" ("cyoupon") (28.85%)
c. other (1.87%)
(4287 respondents)

I'm a big giant dork link #1

okay, check this out. a linguistic survey that will help answer vital questions like:
how do you say Craig?
is it coo-pon on cyu-pon?
does realtor have 2 syllables or 3?

Around the Horn #1

Another new feature...this one's interactive.

From time to time, I'll be asking you to give me some feedback here, via email, or comments.
It's simple, and self explanatory:

Topic: 5 most influential people in my life and why....
1. Jesus, the Christ -- what do you expect me to say? Pretty good rule of thumb -- save my soul, get the top spot.
2. Roy McAnally -- my dad. Much of who I am as a man is shaped by what I learned from him. One of my best friends today.
3. Kelli McAnally -- my wife. Just a few of the things I've learned (or am learning) from her: patience, humility, openness, compassion, generosity, perseverance...
4. Sam Cotter -- my dad-in law. Much of who I am as a minister I learned from him. Always willing to listen, and -- when asked -- advise.
5. Rick Ferguson -- my first pastor. Always made time for me, and taught me much -- saw potential in me, and helped me to see God's call upon my life.

I've told you mine...now you tell me yours..

My favorite apostle....

Just spending a little time in the word today, and I'm struck by something about Andrew, Simon's brother...

John 1:40-42 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah'' (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.

John 6:8-9 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?''

John 12:20-22 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus.'' Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

Mark 1:29-32 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them. Now at evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.

You know, I can identify with the different apostles in different ways at different times. Much of the time, I think to myself I am Peter because of how good I am at acting without thinking. Other times, I really appreciate James, particularly when I'm seeking to grow in matters of doctrine. Still other times, when focusing on devotional thought (or thoughts of devotion to Christ), my appreciation for John blossoms. Today though, I read these words and in Andrew, I see the man I want to be. He was constantly introducing people to Jesus. Everyone wants to talk about Peter and what a mighty champion of faith he is -- but he came to know the Christ through the faith actions of his brother Andrew. Andrew was the one who brought this little boy with the meager food supply to Jesus. Andrew's reasoning was simple. No matter the circumstance or situation, people simply had to meet Jesus. Then everything would turn out for the better. And he was right.

Oh, that we would all be like Andrew. Relational, but purposeful. Quick to say, "There is someone I have to introduce you to....have you ever met Jesus?"

After all, He died to meet us.

Signs of the Impending Apocalypse #5

It's enough to make Jesus want to turn over some tables, I'm sure...


although this does remind me of something I saw on Conan O' Brien...and if any of you are looking for something to buy me for the holidays, I think I'd like to start collecting these....

what's the matter Billy, can't reach it? Jump higher, jump! Jump!


the catcher is in prime position to take a Louisville Slugger across the temple if he's not careful


Christ shrugs off the tackle to hand off the ball for the winning score!


after you turn the other cheek, give him a judo chop to the larynx


cross-checking Jesus is a 5 minute major penalty


shouldn't Jesus be running anchor?

hmmm....

yeah. i don't really know how I feel about this

"We reject the false doctrine that the church could have permission to hand over the form of its message and of its order to whatever it itself might wish or to the vicissitudes of the prevailing ideological and political convictions of the day."

You are Karl Barth! You like your freedom, and are pretty stubborn against authority! You don't care much for other people's opinions either. You can come up with your own fun, and often enough you have too much fun. You are pretty popular because you let people have their way, even when you have things figured out better than them.

What theologian are you?

A creation of Henderson

waddaya expect from me?

Question 1: What's 'the job' of a Christian?
Question 2: Are churches expecting the same thing that God expects from an individual?
Question 3: What's the result?
Questioin 4: What's the remedy?

Answers (its up to you to see which answer applies to which question): There are several answers to this question, to a certain degree. To obey Him. To serve Him. To honor Him. To follow Him. To gve to Him. To sacrifice for Him. To tell others about Him. All these answers, though, are only by-products of the real answer -- to love Him. It is impossible to "do" any of the initially listed "jobs" if one does not first have a love relationship with God. Unfortunately, we are a performance-oriented society, so we attempt to quantify our relationship with God in terms of productivity, and love is left out of the equation. The problem with that is that love is often left out of the equation, and the result is 'works.'

Call me Forrest Gump because I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is and much of what is produced in the Christian life is a poor facsimile of love, rather than the genuine article. The Scriptures have clear mandates about particular responsibilities that Christians are to have in impacting this world -- make disciples, teach, judge, baptize, etc., etc. But what we're missing in our pursuit of all these matters is love. John 13:35 says, "in this they will know you are my disciples, if you love one another." 1 Corinthians 13 (you may have heard of it) basically makes this point -- you can "set the world on fire" but if you aren't driven by love you're missing the point, and keeping others from understanding it themselves.

The other end of this performance spectrum is this -- rather than being driven by performance rather than love, too many Christians are compelled to apathy (which, rather than anger, is the true opposite of love). This is the fault of generations of lazy disciple-makers. It's been said that you reproduce the kind of Christian that you are. We have too many parents that have strived to make their children the kind of Christian that they themselves are -- occasionally attending worship, scarcely giving with their time, energy, and finances, and accepting a polygamous relationship with the world. And these are the same parents that can't understand why 80 percent of all youth who grow up in church leave the faith of their childhood when they go to college.

The resounding line from Moulin Rouge says, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return." I believe the scriptural correction of this sentiment is this: In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4:9-11).

My translation: The greatest thing you'll ever learn that God loves us, and in return, we are to love. If we really pursued loving one another (as a reflection of God's deep love for us), and determined for it to be our driving factor, our church would look vastly different, and I posit, so would our world. People would quit serving in areas where God has never called them to serve. Nobody would have to beg for volunteers. We wouldn't quantify success with numbers. I dare say we'd likely have to learn to be content with relenquishing control of ministry to God. Remember, Jesus asked Peter three times "do you love me?" before giving the command to "feed my sheep." Love must be the wellspring of our obedience, our service, our sacrifice, our everything. If it isn't, then it's not genuine.

Chuck Missler once pointed out that when God's in control, the results are rarely in alignment with human expectations. He compares/contrasts David and Solomon. David's kingdom was a mess from man's perspective, but he is remembered for eternity as 'a man after God's own heart." Solomon was known for his wealth, his power, and his wisdom, but at best he receives only offhand compliments in the Bible. I wonder if we are, and are reproducing, generations of Solomonic believers, rather than Davidic ones. In this regard, the church is the product of its components. It will take upon itself the characteristics of those who comprise it. In this light, what is revival -- IMHO, revival is nothing more complex that people simply falling in love with God. Some for the first time, some returning to the love that first drew them to the Lord to begin with.

I'm guilty of the very thing that ticks me off. I chart our weekly attendance figures. I know just who is and is not participating in Sunday school, in worship, in evangelism, in fellowship, in prayer, and in ministry. And while that in itself isn't necessarily bad, if my motives are good (pure?) and I desire those non-participants to grow in their love, but I fall under the indictment of guilt when I begin to assess my own success or failure by these numbers. And perhaps this is the bigger isssue -- am I as consumed by what God expects of me as I am by what my church expects of me? Am I willing to please God even if I know that in doing so I may not be able to please my church (or other Christians, especially if the expectations of either of these latter parties are non-biblical, and are performance oriented, rather than love-oriented). Sometimes I really think that too many people mistakenly believe that God's approval over a life is somehow contingent upon our ability to please others in this life.

I look at the Christ and see this isn't the case. And to be honest, that freaks me out a bit. Jesus never conformed to the expectations of his followers, his enemies, or his "church." People didn't know whether to take Him as a prophet, a priest, a King, or a reincarnation of someone else. The Pharisees and Saducees (people of his own religious ilk, so to speak) wanted Him dead. Many followed him for a time, until he presented them with something difficult, and then they dropped out. Even His closest followers all bailed on Him in the last moments of his life, prior to being resurrected. Yet, Jesus constantly, perpetually, continually conformed to the expectations of the Father. He constantly corrected, rebuked, surprised, and challenged so many people because Christ had a clear understanding of the Father's expectations upon HIs life. How many times did Jesus say, "It's not yet the time?" Finally, though, Jesus went to the cross when, and only when, "the appointed time had come." I really wonder how many Christians really understand the theology behind God's appointment of the time in their own lives. Too many stumble and bumble through life as though situations were happenstance, rather than the ordained appointments of God's divine will. Maybe better understanding this truth would help us live up to God's expectations rather than man's.

Faith is the only remedy. Jesus never once whimpered, "Oh....if I do this, I might hurt someone's feelings." he shot straight with people and told the truth. He did what He knew to be right and true and didn't worry about false perceptions or not "living up" to someone else expectations. God deals with us one on one, and will often call us to do things that don't make sense to others. But when I go to heaven, God alone is my judge. I have an audience of One. And, as the grandfather told his inquisitive son, "God loves me so much that He can't take His eyes off me."

Well, this certainly was cathartic for me, I hope you're able to get something out of it.

The Giving Contest

A man walks into a restaurant with an ostrich. They sit down and the waitress comes over and asks for their order. The man says, "I'll have a hamburger, fries and a coke," and turns to the ostrich. "What's yours?" I'll have the same," says the ostrich. A short time later, the waitress returns with the order. "That will be $6.40 please," and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out exact change for payment. The next day, the man and the ostrich come again, and the man says, "I'll have a hamburger, fries and a coke." The ostrich says, "I'll have the same." Once again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change. This becomes a routine, until late one evening, the two enter again. "The usual?" asks the waitress. "No, this is Friday night, so I will have a steak, baked potato and salad," says the man. "Same for me," says the ostrich. A short time later the waitress comes with the order and says, "That will be $12.62." Once again the man pulls exact change out of his pocket and places it on the table. The waitress can't hold back her curiosity any longer. "Excuse me, sir. How do you manage to always come up with the exact change out of your pocket every time?" "Well," says the man, "several years ago, I was cleaning the attic and I found an old lamp. When I rubbed it, a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes. My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I would just have to put my hand in my pocket, and the right amount of money would always be there." "That's brilliant!" says the waitress. "Most people would wish for a million dollars or something, but you'll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!" "That's right! Whether it's a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there," says the man. The waitress asks, "One other thing, sir, what's with the ostrich?" The man replies with a slight frown, "My second wish was for a chick with long legs."

This story illustrates that money is amoral. And before you say ?amen brother,? be sure you understood what I said. Money is amoral. That means there is no morality to money. A lot of people don’t realize money is amoral, because they believe that it is immoral. Immorality means to have bad morals. Money does not have bad morals, it has no morals. It has no morals because money is an inanimate object. As such, it is amoral, and possesses the capacity for both good and evil. Let’s pretend I have a $100 bill. We have to pretend I have it because I haven’t had an actual $100 bill in quite some time. But if I had a $100 and we lay it on the table, its not going to jump up and do something evil all by itself. It is dependent upon me for it morality. This $100 possesses the same capacity for good that it does for evil. It has the same potential to be spent on charity as it does to be spent on drugs. I can spend it on ministry, or spend it at a strip club.

Many people are confused on this, because so many times, I hear Scripture misquoted, by some well-intentioned saint who says, ?money is the root of all evil.? Friends, that’s simply not the case. 1 Timothy 6:10 clears it up: ?for the love of money is a root of all the evils.? It is the love of money - which is idolatry - that is a root (meaning one of the roots, but not the only root) of all the kinds of evil.

I bring this up today because the subject matter of today’s message is ‘giving,’ and as we talk about giving, the issue of giving money is going to come up. And some of you possibly will become angry with me today because you will mis-hear what I say, and think I’m trying to get into your pocket book, or that the church is. And I tell you this, if that’s the case. I don’t know what anybody in this church gives to God, except for my own family. And I don’t want to know. If you get upset today, or feel like I’m preaching at you, just remember that. And instead of getting angry with me, consider the possibility that God is trying to speak to you on the issue of your love of money, and the morality that you give to your money.

One more item before we start. I hate to go to the doctor. So what does that have to do with the price of tea in china? Well, this: I hate to go to the doctor because I’m afraid he’ll tell me what I already know. That I’m sick. And so I hold out as long as I can. Kelli will tell you numerous stories of me being a big giant whiner, but refusing to go to the doctor. But finally, I’ll go - reluctantly - and the doctor will confirm my suspicions, and tell me I’m sick. But I don’t go to the doctor to be told that I’m sick. I go to the doctor for healing. It’s only when I go to the doctor that I receive a prescription, or am told exactly what to do to get better. And only after I go to the doctor can I quit being sick, and begin to get better. Today, we’re all in the waiting room of the Great Physician. He’s going to speak to us through His Holy Word on the matter of giving. And we’re here today because we already know we’re sick. But my prayer is that we’ll hear the word, and receive His prescription, so we can begin to heal. So we can get better. Some of us will be inclined to argue with the Holy Spirit, and claim that we really aren’t sick. But trust me, He knows better than you do. Some of you will want to deny His prescription, and instead try some self-created home remedy to your giving-deficiency illness. It won’t work. Trust me. I’ve been there, tried that, and didn’t get better. So, take a little journey of faith with me today, as we see what God has to say about giving:

"Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, `In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now in this,'' says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,'' says the Lord of hosts; And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,'' says the Lord of hosts. - Malachi 3:8-12

Let’s begin with a little background material, so we can understand the context in which this passage is given. The book’s title, Malachi, references the last prophet of the Old Testament who spoke to the nation of Israel sometime after 515 BC, and his departure began a 400 year silent period in the Scriptures. His message was one of judgment to a people who had become, as one commentator puts it, ?religious robots who went through the motions of worship, but their hearts were more tuned in to the world’s attractions than to God’s admonitions.? And it is in this ?last word to Israel? that God speaks to us, and challenges us to a giving contest.

Interestingly, the first statement God makes is an indictment of past crimes. Look again at verses 8-9. First of all, he says we are guilty of a perpetration. ?Will a man rob me? Yet you have robbed God!? The Hebrew word for ?rob? is qaba, and it literally means ?to defraud.? God is saying here, ?you have defrauded me.? This means that God is saying, ?you have taken something from me by fraud?you swindled me.? The problem is?we’ve been caught. We thought we were getting away with it, but got has said, ?I’ve never taken my eye off of you. You thought you were getting away with it, but you really weren’t.? This is what’s important to understand: we have been indicted for trying to pass off false worship as authentic. Just as the nation of Israel was going through the motions, showing up, making the sacrifices, reading the scriptures, and singing the songs, so are we. We’ve done it over and over, week after monotonous week, and we’ve called it worship. We’ve done it with no joy in our hearts, with no passion for God, with no real sense of remorse over our sin, with no real desire to fellowship with God, and we’ve presented it to God and said, ?this is the best we have to offer, Jehovah, take it or leave it.? And today God is saying, ?Enough! You’ve defrauded me. You may have been fooling yourselves, but you’ve never fooled me!?

And then God has the audacity (how dare He?) to show us the proof. Read the Scripture: `In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. We have robbed God, defrauded God in our tithes and offerings. Now this is the first place that people want to jump up and say, ?Pastor, this is Old Testament. This is law. We’re New Testament. We’re not under law, we’re under grace.? Friends, I will be the first to agree that we are under grace, but I will tell you this - we are subject to the whole counsel of God. I am not just a New testament Christian, I am a Bible-believing Christian! Furthermore, if we look at this scripture and seek to understand it in its context, we’ll see (no big surprise), that our arguments don’t stand up under the scrutiny of God’s examination.

The proof of our fraudulent worship before God is found in our tithes and offerings. What this literally means is that our fraud is evidenced in our giving of the tenth and the tribute. You see, the Jews were guilty of fraudulent worship because they were opting to withhold their first-fruit sacrifice of the first tenth, as well as any other tribute offering to God. And God is saying here, your unwillingness to give is reflective of the fact that you really don’t worship me, and not giving is the same as stealing! And the truth is, there is no difference between what was going on then, and what is going on now. We are guilty of robbing from God because too many of us come to church each week, ritualistically, but not relationally. Too many people come for all the wrong reasons, and the proof of the wrong motivation is found in the offering plate.

Now, some people have gone to extraordinary lengths to prove that tithing is done away with. And you know what? You’re right. God doesn’t want your 10%. That is Old Testament. We’re in the New Testament now. We’re in the age of Jesus Christ. And what does Jesus say? He says, ?I want it all.? He doesn’t want just 10 percent of your life. He wants the whole thing. He doesn’t just want 10% of your attention, of your devotion, of your adoration, of your service, of your time, of your gifts, of your money, of your obedience. He wants you to be wholly and solely sold-out, devoted, committed, given to Him. And the proof of giving Him everything should be reflected in your regular offerings before God. Am I telling you to give everything to this church? No. Not at all. Don’t do anything God hasn’t told you to do. What I’m telling you is to stop giving God your pocket change and call it your offering. Quit throwing him $10 or $20 each time like it’s a tip for being a good God, and calling it sacrifice. If you think giving 10 percent is legalistic, then give 11 or 11.275. That 10 percent is a starting point. Your tithe should be sacrificial. If you can give 10 percent and still not live in total reliance upon God because 10 percent is no big deal, then give more.

Here’s something important I’ve learned in my own giving. You will never experience the blessing of God in your giving until you get obedient. When I was first a Christian, I was told to joyfully give my 10 percent tithe, because God loves a joyful giver. Well, I argued that I couldn’t give 10 percent and be joyful. I could give 5 percent and be joyful. But that was a lie. I thought I was joyful in giving my 5 percent because it wasn’t a sacrifice. But it was joyful - it was obligatory, it was legalistic. It was only when I responded to the Holy Spirit conviction that I was lying to myself and to God that I realized how this works - it is only through obedience to God’s commands that one can be a joyful giver. When I quit living by my own accounting, and started living by faith, and started giving 10 percent that I began experiencing what it meant to live as a joyful giver. God gave me joy through my obedience. I lived more fruitfully on that 90 percent than I ever had with the 95%. And His blessings have never ceased. And I’ll talk more about that later.

So, God has indicted us, and He’s laid out the proof. He’s said, ?you’ve robbed from me, and I know it because your tithes and offerings - your sacrificial gifts of worship to me your Holy God - are insufficient and inadequate. And because of that, here is the punishment. He says, ?You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.? Let me ask you something?are we under a curse? I don’t know about that, but I would definitely say that we are under judgment. Look at Romans 1:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Rom. 1:18-25).

I would submit to you that we have exchanged our worship of God for worship of the almighty dollar. We don’t give to God our full tithes and offerings because in the back of our mind, we want to save our money for our bills, our planned night out, our gas money for the snow mobile or the four-wheeler, for that 12 pack of beer, for that girlie magazine. We bow at the shrine of materialism, and God has passed judgment upon us as, individually, corporately, and as a nation, and has allowed us to be made subject to our false god. Credit card debt is in the 300 billion range and growing exponentially. Bankruptcies have skyrocketed in the last 20 years, and we have been made slave to this idol that we worship. Are we being punished? Well, when it takes an average of 47 years to get out from an $8,000 debt paying a minimum monthly payment to Visa or Mastercard charging 24% compounded interest, you tell me. We have been made slaves to this false god, and we come here each week, saying, ?I can’t afford to give you more, God, because the collection agents who serve the other god I worship will start calling me, harassing me.? Friends, if this is your situation, I tell you this - you can’t afford not to put God - our true God - first. Again, I’m not recommending bankruptcy. I’m not recommending stupidity. But put God first. Okay, you might have to eat mac and cheese or top ramen a couple times a week. It probably means you won’t be able to rent a movie each week. You might have to drop your subscription to Sports Illustrated. But cut out all the other junk and just put God first.

It is light of the conviction of our past crimes that God extends to us this present challenge. He says, ?Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now in this,'' says the Lord of hosts.? In the face of standing guilty before God for robbing Him in our worship as proven in our tithes and offerings, He challenges us to repentance. We’ve done it wrong. We’ve held out on him. We’ve held back from Him. We’ve robbed from Him. And yet, He takes the initiative and challenges us to make it right. Let’s break down the challenge.

First he challenges us with an action. He says, ?bring.? This is a command. It’s not a suggestion, nor is it a request. And He’s not telling you, bring along your tithe and offering, show it a good worship, and take it home with you. Quit coming to worship empty handed. Take the first fruits of what He gives you - and he gives you everything - and bring it to Him. Friends, this also means so much more than your money. This life you live - He gave it to you. So, bring it to Him. Give Him the first, best part of your life. There are 24 hours in a day. That’s 1440 minutes every single day. Now, you’ve just been commanded to bring the first fruit of your life to Him every single day. If 10 percent is a good starting place, that’s 144 minutes given to him. That’s 2 hours, 14 minutes offered to Him every day, to do with what He pleases. Give it to Him in prayer, in quiet time, in service, in worship. But what whatever you do, just bring it. Every day. How would your life be different if you gave God the best 10 percent of your time every single day? You might say, ?I wouldn’t have time to get everything else done!? But I guarantee you this - if you give him the first, best part of your day, you’ll find yourself having more time than you ever did before. You might have to cut out some of the extraneous things. You might not get to watch Will & Grace every night, or gossip on the phone, or surf the net, or go out partying, but you’ll have more productive, useful time than you ever did before because you gave your first, best time to God.

Second, He challenges us with an amount. He says ?all.? Bring all of your tithe. Anything less than all of your offering to God is no offering at all.? Anything less than giving God your first and best is giving God your worst. The reality is, if you don’t make giving to God your first, priority, you’ll be inclined to give Him little, if anything, at all. In fact, recent statistics show that the average church member, despite the command to bring in all of the tithe, gives an average of 2 percent of their gross income to the tithe. Here’s an old story that illustrates this truth:

Once, a man said, ?If I had some extra money, I’d give it to God, but I have just enough to support myself and my family.? And the same man said, ?If I had some extra time, I’d give it to God, but every minute is taken up with my job, my family, my clubs, and what have you-every single minute.? And the same man said, ?If I had a talent I’d give it to God, but I have no lovely voice; I have no special skill; I’ve never been able to lead a group; I can’t think cleverly or quickly, the way I would like to.?
And God was touched, and although it was unlike him, God gave that man money, time, and a glorious talent. And then He waited, and waited, and waited.....And then after a while, He shrugged His shoulders, and He took all those things right back from the man, the money, the time and the glorious talent. After a while, the man sighed and said, ?If I only had some of that money back, I’d give it to God. If I only had some of that time, I’d give it to God. If I could only rediscover that glorious talent, I’d give it to God.?
And God said, ?I know better than that.?
And the man told some of his friends, ?You know, I’m not so sure that I believe in God anymore.?

Third, God challenges with an arena for our giving. He says, ?Bring all of your tithe into the storehouse.? I want to say this up front - the storehouse is not First Southern Baptist Church. Scripturally speaking, the storehouses were rooms in the temple used for the storage of the tithed items. Practically speaking, it means to bring your entire tithe into arenas of kingdom use. Now, some churches go to extraordinary lengths to make certain you bring in your ten percent to the local congregation. And that’s not right. It’s not my job to control you, to do your accounting for you. My responsibility as your pastor is to be a good steward of what you bring to this storehouse. If God calls you to give part of your tithe and offerings to missionaries like Ken & Andrea Jack who were here on Wednesday, then good for you. That’s none of my business. The key here is not that you stand ?in the right? before me, but that your conscience is clear before God. He knows where you spend your money, where you spend your time, where you spend your thoughts, where you spend your talents. The call here is clear - give to the kingdom, store up your riches in the kingdom.

Next, God challenges us with an accounting. He says bring all your tithes into the storehouse, ?that there may be food in My house.? Take a moment with me to journey over to John chapter 6. Here, Jesus is talking to the Pharisaic Jews about the manna given to their ancestors in ancient days of wandering. And he tells them this: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. (verse 51)''

Now, we understand that to mean that the gospel message of Jesus Christ is the bread of life. Whoever eats of this bread will never hunger, and gain eternal life. Now, God says, bring your whole tithe into the storehouse so there will be food in my house. This is where the rubber hits the road for us. Do we have this ‘food’ in our house? Well, we do, but our supplies aren’t where they should be. If we had more people bringing their full tithe and offering of time into this storehouse, we’d have more of you sharing this bread of life, feeding the multitudes of starving folks out there. If we had more of you bringing the full tithe and offering of your talents, we wouldn’t have to beg you to give your time to our preschoolers, to volunteer for mission kids on Wednesday nights, to listen to youth recite Scripture during AWANA. If we had all people bringing their tithe into the storehouse, we'd be able to fund every ministry God calls us to undertake, rather than just picking and choosing a few of them, and doing the rest inadequately.

Finally, God challenges us to attempt obedience. He says ?and prove me now in this.? I’ll give you Bryan’s translation. I believe God is saying, ?Go ahead. Do it. Give me your full tithe and offering. Bring it to the storehouse because you love me. Do it. I dare you. I double dog dare you.?

Literally, ?prove me,? means to investigate and examine God in it. He is saying here, ?I, the God who you trusted with your very soul for salvation, now challenge you to entrust me with the lesser offering of the first fruits of your life.?

God is promising that if you will just test Him in this, you’ll experience things you’ve never thought imaginable. He is saying if you will take this step of faith, you’ll experience God in a whole new way. The problem is, too many people are content to never experience the full blessings of God because they think it’s acceptable to have this mutually denigrating relationship with God that says, ?God, I’m content to get table scraps of blessings as long as all I have to do is give you the table scraps of sacrifice in my life.? And too many people never experience what it means to have tested God and discovered how He proves Himself over and over.

I’m going to pause here to just remind you that if you are feeling hot under the collar, its not because I’m preaching with you in mind. I don’t know what any of you make, nor do I know what any of you give. All I’m doing is preaching the word of God, verse by verse. If your conscience is clear, then don’t be angry, be encouraged. If you are angry, however, you are probably angry because the Holy Spirit has convicted you, the Great Physician has told you are ill. But rather than being mad that you’re sick, follow the prescription to experience healing. For God’s sake, literally, get better.

In fact, this is what God offers. For those who stand under the conviction of past crimes, and who have heard the present challenge, we now see the promised conditions for those who answer the challenge and test God in the tithe. First, he promises the condition of an overflowing return. He says, ?If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.? This is what it means to live more prosperously on 90% or less with God in the equation, than with 100% on your own. Since Kelli and I have been obedient to the command to bring all our tithes and offerings to the storehouse, God has blessed us in unimaginable ways. I could share testimony after testimony about God’s provision of money, of employment, of opportunity that have far surpassed anything and everything we have ever given to the kingdom. Truly, in our lives, God has proven Himself over and over. Every time we give to God, He gives more to us. I once read that giving is experienced in three stages - first, you give because you have to (it’s the law!). Then, you give because you ought to (it’s your obligation!). Then, finally, through the power of the loving God, you give because you want to. The only way you’ll ever be able to give because you want to is because of the grace of God, and when you give out of God’s grace, you’ll witness a return on your investment that you’ll only ever be able to fully quantify in eternity.

Second, you are promised the condition of the overthrown rebel. The verse reads, ?And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes.? Boy, its taken us a while to get here, but look at what God has shown us - Satan is behind this deception! The enemy is behind materialistic idolatry. He’s just as comfortable being worshipped as a little red demon with a pitchfork as he is being worshipped as a $100 bill with ?in God we trust? stamped across the top. But God says, ?if you test me in the tithe and offering, I will rebuke the devourer.?

Can you imagine what life would be like if you were free from the temptations associated with money? John D. Rockefeller was once asked, ?how much money does it take to satisfy a man?? and his reply was ?just a little more.? Surveys show that $25,000 a year families share one thing in common with $250,000 a year households. Both claim that they would be happier if they could just have more money. But when you have tested God in the tithe and offering, He rebukes the devourer. You learn to be content with what you have. You aren’t jealous that the neighbor has more. You aren’t envious of the relative that buys the toys. You find more joy out of buying groceries for a starving family than you do taking your self out to a restaurant that charges $150 to feed two people. The freedom from this enemy, the true rebel of God is incredibly liberating. Through this liberation, you no longer focus on what you do not have, but you are able to rejoice in just how rich you are! And this new perspective is not just liberating, it is exhilarating!

Third, you are promised the condition of overgrowing resources. God promises that your fruit will not be subject to the enemies destructive efforts, and the vine will not fail to bear fruit. Listen, this is a good place for us to broaden the discussion beyond money once more. Do you want to know what a pet peeve of mine is? Well, I’ll tell you two. When people tell me that they’re tired. And when people tell me they’re too busy. Friends, you have nobody to blame for how tired you are. And you are only as busy as you want to be. Furthermore, you are likely tired because you are too busy giving your time to things that you shouldn’t be giving your time to. Remember, Jesus asks the question, ?why do you spend your wages on that which does not feed you?? Nobody is putting a gun to your head, making you do the things you are doing. And at the same time, Jesus says this: ?I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man abides in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit. But apart from me, you can do nothing. God promises here, that if you put Him first, and give Him the first fruits of your life - spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, relationally, you will bear fruit. Galatians 5:22 tells you the nature of the fruit you will bear - gentleness, kindness, self control, patience, love, joy, peace, goodness, faithfulness, and endurance. And no man and no fallen spirit can damage fruit such as this.

Fourth, God promises the condition of overt recognition. ?And all nations will call you blessed,? the Lord says. God is promising that when you test Him in the tithes and offering, all the people will recognize and acknowledge that God has blessed you.

Truett Cathy is the founder and CEO of Chik-Fil-A restaurants. He is a man who is a committed Christ-follower. He closes his shops on Sundays so that all his employees are free to worship. Mr. Cathy has been recognized in numerous magazines for his amazing prosperity in both the Christian and secular media. He is known as a blessed man because he has committed to put Jesus Christ first in every aspect of his life. There’s lots of chicken joints out there - and many experience prosperity without putting Jesus first. But two things are true about Truett Cathy and his franchise - they are known for being overtly Christian, and they are recognized as being blessed.

Now, when you stop just for a second and think about this promise, you realize that it just makes sense. God has promised to call you blessed to the other nations, or to the gentiles, if you put Him first in all you do. He does this so that He’ll get glory out of your life, and that the world will know that He is good. He is using you to prove Himself to the world who doesn’t know Him. You are blessed because He is faithful, and He gets glory, and the unbelievers believe. Truly, this is a ?God-thing.? It’s not about you getting recognition, its about God getting glory!

Fifth, and finally, God promises you the condition of the overjoyed realm. He says, ?for you will be a delightful land.? This is a promise to the nation of Israel, but we are told in Romans 8 that we have been grafted to the vine of Israel by our faith in Jesus Christ. This promise is ours, as well. Please remember that God gives us all He gives us, so we can not hoard it, store it, keep it, stock it up. He gives all He gives us so it can be given away. He gives you more so you can give away more. And as you learn to bring your whole tithes and offerings to the storehouse, to the kingdom to be used for kingdom causes and kingdom purposes, you will discover joy. I have great joy being a member of this church family. I have great joy in knowing that my tithes and offerings go to provide benevolence to the needy in our community. I have great joy in knowing that my families offerings go to support missions across Colorado, North America, and the entire world through the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention. I have great joy in knowing that the tithe and offering of my time, talents, gifts, and very life is used to promote the gospel message of Jesus Christ and to make disciples of all people. In testing God, He has proven Himself to me over and over.

You be asking yourself, ?pastor, I want to test God in this, but I need to know how to do it.? And I tell you this truth. If you find yourself asking this question, you aren’t alone. So, let me tell you how to do it. And let me give you this assurance - if you are willing to do what God wants, you won’t be the first one in the history of the world to disprove the faithfulness of God.

First of all, God says you have to repent. Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action. Repentance is like when you go to write a check for that $50 gift to yourself and realize that you only have $20 in your account. You think, ?uh oh. If I write this check and it bounces, it’ll cost me another 25-50 dollars in fees. So you close your checkbook and put back that gift to yourself. A change of mind that results in a change of action. Jesus has said, ?unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.?

Then, following repentance, God calls you to take a step of faith. Faith simply means ?to trust.? You demonstrate faith a dozen different ways every day. Faith is like when you set your alarm each night. Your putting your trust that it will sound an alarm at the right time the next morning, rousing you from your sleep to get you into your day. If that alarm doesn’t go off, you could be in big trouble. So you put your faith in it. The Bible says that you are saved by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ.

You might think that you don’t have the resources to test God by repenting and placing your faith in Jesus Christ. You don’t think you can do it. Psalm 51:17 says that the Lord’s sacrifice is a broken heart. If you can bring your broken heart to God today, He’s ready and eager to receive your sacrifice.

You might be tempted to put this off. To delay that which needs to be done. But the Jesus has said, ?my spirit will not always strive after you.? We live in a world where snipers take lives of strangers for no reason whatsoever, where terrorists are killing innocent people seemingly every day, and where accidents claim souls daily. Friends, today is the day of salvation, today is the day to place your faith in Jesus Christ.

So I ask you, will you respond to Jesus today? You can put God to the test today. You must put God to the test today. That will be your step of faith, and it will be your testimony of sacrificial repentance, your offering to God.