GIVING GOD YOUR BEST

GIVING GOD YOUR BEST

"He … spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all." (Romans 8:32)

On a rainy Sunday afternoon, a little brother and sister were playing “Noah and the Ark.” An old shoe box was the ark; the bathtub was their flood. After the flood was over they decided to make an offering to God.

Noah (the boy) said to Mrs. Noah (the girl), “Here, take one of your toy animals as a sacrifice.” “No,” she replied, “Let’s use one of your animals instead!” When they could not agree, she ran to the attic.

In a moment she was back with a little toy lamb. It was dirty, it’s head smashed, and it’s tail missing. “Here,” she cried, “let’s give this as a sacrifice. We’ll never want it again.”
Her brother agreed, and they made their sacrifice. The little broken lamb they did not want was given to God.

NOW THE SCENE SHIFTS. God was looking down at his earth. He saw the people in all of their wickedness and their weakness. They had no hope. All was dark. Something had to be sacrificed if they were to be saved from their sin. God had many angels he might have sent to help. He did not even consider them. Another was chosen instead: the best God had.

The well-known slogan of Hallmark Cards is, “When You Care Enough To Send The Very Best.”

The Bible tells us that almighty God sent us much more than a greeting card when He gave us His own dear Son to die for our sins.
Amazingly, even though we were unworthy and unwilling to receive the gift, God gave us His very best (Rom. 5:8) “But God commendeth His LOVE toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Truly God held nothing anything back when He “spared not his own Son.” http://hitherandyonder.blogspot.com/2013/02/giving-god-your-best.html It is amazing when we think that even though God knew beforehand what this wicked world would do to His Son, He still “spared not.” It would be as if you would take your own child and cast him into a pit of rattlesnakes. We wouldn’t think of doing such a thing. Yet, this is exactly what God the Father did when he sent His Son into the midst of a “generation of vipers.”

God spared not, knowing the lies, betrayal, humiliation, and the mockery His Son would endure.
God spared not, knowing the scourging, the spitting, and the smiting that would be inflicted upon His own dear Son.
God spared not, knowing the nails that would pierce the sinless hands and feet of His beloved Son upon a cruel cross.

Why? Why did God do it? Because He loved us and knew this would be the only way to provide a way of salvation for us.
If God spared not giving His best to make a way for us to be saved, how can we withhold anything from Him that would help make salvation available to others who are lost?

1 Corinthians 6:20 tells us “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”

Do YOU care enough to give God your very best?

Think on this, and keep the SON in your eyes!

The Great White Throne Judgement

A sermon preached at Fellowship Baptist Church by Brother Rob Madden

Listening For the Lord

“The Earth’s Hum”

There is an old joke that asks, “Why do hummingbirds hum?” The humorous answer given is : “They forgot the words.”

Many animals hum…be it the Bee or the Bird. Humming by humans is usually used to quietly sing a song or melody without words. Sometimes it is used AS words, such as to say “Yes” or “No” by humming “Uh-huh” positively or negatively. Many hum “I don’t know” rather than enunciate. It is also used to express happiness brought on by a pleasant smell of test. Humming is often used in music of genres, from classical to jazz to R&B. Some languages incorporate it to a much greater degree than English. Wherever you go, you will find that people all across the Earth hum.

But did you know that the Earth itself……hums?

Odd as that may seem. Around the year 2000, scientific instruments did indeed detect a hum reverberating throughout the Earth. The hum is at a pitch too low for humans to hear: on a musical scale, the note would come in at 16 octaves below middle C.

The source of the hum is the ocean’s waves. When they meet foul weather, they’re pressed deep into the heart of the sea, and pound like a drum—a huge bass drum—on the ocean floor, creating the humongous hum.

We realize then that the hum had always been there, but it took sophisticated scientific instruments to hear it. Likewise, God is always speaking to His people, but it takes the right instruments to hear his voice, instruments such as the Bible, His Spirit, and the church.

Hebrews 3:15 repeats a phrase found more than a few times in scripture; “…. if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

God is speaking, but we must be willing to listen…and do what is necessary to do so. If we ignore the instruments God provides us, the result will seem like silence even though His voice is always available. We cannot commune with the Creator if we refuse to read His word, listen to His spokesmen, or submit to Spiritual guidance.

In the book of 1 Kings chapter 19 Elijah was on top of a mountain waiting to hear form the Lord. The Bible tells us that God sent a great wind, a earthquake and a fire…but He did not speak through those loud things. It was after they were over that God spoke…through a “still small voice.”

Instead of thinking that we have to wait for some excitement, calamity or earthshaking event to hear from the Almighty, we must realize that God is always softly speaking ….if we are willing to listen.