What Kind of Body Are You Presenting?

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,

that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,

holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1 KJV

During a recent blood drive sponsored by the health ministry at our church, nearly half the persons that presented to give were deferred because they didn't pass the hemoglobin test. It is my understanding that low hemoglobin may be due to low iron in the blood. These prospective donors presented bodies not acceptable for giving blood. In turn, the Red Cross staff provided information on foods and supplements to increase iron intake into their bodies. 

This raises the question, what kind of body are you presenting? What kind of body are you presenting to God today? What is your physical fitness quotient?  On a scale of 1-10, 10 high, what is your health rating? How physically fit are you?  How healthy are you?  Is your health rating of you the same as your doctor's health rating of you?  What actions, on your part, result in your rating?

Some things, like a low iron level, may seem insignificant in the scheme of things.  Of course, a low iron level or anemia may become the little fox that, overtime, spoils your health. So how do you keep the little foxes from spoiling your health?  I'm glad you asked.  Proper diet ... adequate water intake ... sleep and rest ... physical exercise all combine to keep the little foxes from spoiling your health.

 

And guess what? This is your reasonable service, to present your body a living sacrifice.

 

Cheerful Givers

" ... for God loves a cheerful giver."

2 Corinthians 9:7b

Are you a cheerful giver? Quickly you think, so what is a cheerful giver? Who is a cheerful giver?  Glad you asked.  A cheerful giver takes pleasure in giving ... prizes above other things the ability to give ... unwilling to not give ... absolutely refuses to not give ... gives from the heart ... prompt to give ... does not sit back and wait to give ... later is always now when giving ... takes joy in giving ... finds pleasure in giving ... eager to give ... among the first to give ... happy to give ... gives joyfully ... is a selfless giver.   Get the picture?  Understand more clearly?

So, are you a cheerful giver?  Giver of what you may be asking?  Giver of your finances in support of your local church,  ministry work, and kingdom building.  Giver of your gifts, talents, skills, abilities. Giver of your time. 

There are countless opportunities to cheerfully give kind words to your spouse, children, neighbors, co-workers, employers, supervisors, strangers.  Those kind words may be spoken in person or over the phone.  They may be written via text or e-mail or note card or letter. So many opportunities are before you to give a smile, a hug, a pat on the shoulder, a firm handshake, or a warm embrace.   Cheerfully give an act of kindness before being asked, randomly, small gifts or tokens of love, caring, concern, and encouragement. 

Cheerful giver, God loves you!!!

 

A Double Blessing To You

What do you offer to others when you greet them?  Hello?  How are you?  How's it going?  Is all well? What do others offer to you in greeting? Let's learn a lesson from the Apostle Paul, the writer of half the books in the New Testament.  In each of his letters, his greeting was not simply a blessing, but a double blessing.  Yes, a double blessing. Whether he addressed the letter to an individual as he did to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, or to the various churches, Paul offered a double blessing.  Not only did he offer the double blessing as his greeting, he offered the same blessing to every church and to each of the individuals that he wrote.

What was the double blessing?  GRACE and PEACE, and that extended not from Paul but from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.   What might be the result if you extended the same double blessing to everyone that you encountered?  What was Paul saying as he wrote GRACE and PEACE? GRACE means God's unmerited favor, that which is undeserving, favor, goodwill, kindness, thanks, benefit.  PEACE means tranquility, quietness, the concept of Shalom, and more. 

Consider the law of sowing and reaping.  Sow the double blessing of  GRACE and PEACE into the lives of others.  Reap the double blessing of GRACE and PEACE in your own life.  Try it.  Why not? What do you have to lose? 

My double blessing to you … GRACE and PEACE!!!

Nothing New Under the Sun

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again;

 there is nothing new under the sun.  Ecclesiastes 1:9

These words are attributed to King Solomon who lived more than 900 years before Jesus was born.  That would have been almost 3000 years ago.  Can those words possibly be as true today as they were when written? Uhmm, makes you stop to think about it.  Lots of things change.  Change and new developments are ever before us. 

Wars and rumors of wars ... nothing new.  Man's inhumanity to man ... nothing new.  Births and deaths ... nothing new.  Marriage and divorce ... nothing new.  Sexual misconduct, fornication, adultery, homosexuality ... nothing new.  Children dishonoring parents ...  nothing new.  Prayer and prayerlessness ... nothing new. Rulers and leaders more concerned about themselves than those they are to serve and lead ... nothing new.  Corrupt government ... nothing new. Deadly emotions plaguing us ... nothing new.  People destroyed from a lack of knowledge ... nothing new. 

New knowledge and discoveries of what has always been.  New ways of doing the same things.  Success and prosperity ... nothing new.  Great leaders ... nothing new.  Great exploits by those who know their God ... nothing new.  Justice and fairness and equity prevailing ... nothing new.  Love, love for neighbor as for self ... nothing new.  Just maybe Solomon was onto something, you think? 

To get our attention, Solomon repeats the point (see Ecclesiastes 3:15 & 6:10a).  Since there is nothing new under the sun, God has already shown us, through his word, how to respond to every situation and circumstance that we face.  We've already been given the words to speak, no matter what or who is before us.  Indeed, there is nothing new under the sun.

 

Strengthen My Hands

But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”

Nehemiah 6:9b

 

"i'm tired of this ... tired of you ... sick and tired of this ... tired of this job ... fed up with that ... tired of trying ... this is too hard ... too complicated ... an impossible situation or circumstance ... ."  Ever had one of these thoughts?  Ever made one of these statements?  Ever felt like getting away from it all?  Ever wanted to go to bed and just stay there? Ever been scared or afraid to move on, or make a change, or go in a different direction?  If YES to any one of these, join many others of us.

Nehemiah became so burdened upon hearing the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile and returned to Judah were in great trouble and disgrace.  The wall of Jerusalem was broken down and its gates had been burned. Nehemiah knew in his heart that he had to get involved.  And get involved he did, after much mourning and fasting and praying.  He asked the king for a leave, and for wall building materials, food and other provisions. The king provided everything he needed. Everything was falling into place.  God was moving miraculously.  And the enemy was at work as well. (see Nehemiah 1, 6))

If Nehemiah's story sounds familiar, consider doing what he did.  Nehemiah prayed a powerful, though simple and short, prayer -- "now strengthen my hands."  Let this be your prayer today, whatever the issue, concern, challenge, assignment, battle -- "now strengthen my hands." And my prayer for you is that God will strengthen your hands for whatever is before you.  Amen

What Price Friendship?

In a time long past, some friends carried their paralytic friend on a mat to get him healed by Jesus.  They were perfectly assured that his healing would occur once in the presence of Jesus, the Great Physician.  Well, they got to the house where  Jesus was, only to find no way to get through the crowd, to the door, or into the house where Jesus was teaching.  Not friends to be outdone by a standing room only crowd, they quickly determined that the only way into the house was through the roof.  So they went on the roof top and tore it apart tile by tile.  Did they stop to consider the damage being done to someone else's home?  Were they concerned about the obvious disturbance to Jesus as He was teaching?  Did the dirt and dust falling on the people below matter to them? Probably a big NO to each of the questions.

These friends were single focused on getting their friend, the paralytic, healed. No price was too great for them to pay.  After having already walked a considerable distance, their love, concern, caring, compassion, and zeal all combined to let nothing stop them from being the best friends they could be. When Jesus saw their faith, he forgave the sins of their friend, and healed him (see Mark 2:1-12).

What kind of friend are you?  What price are you willing to pay for your friendship(s)?  For your friend(s), how does your level of love, concern, caring, compassion, and zeal rate?

The Road Less Traveled, part 3

Life is indeed choice driven as my pastor often reminds us.  He goes on to say that we live and we die by the choices we make.  As the Israelites were setting out for the promised land, Moses pleaded with his brother-in-law, Hobab, to travel with them and serve as their eyes because he knew the desert and wilderness through which they would likely travel (see Numbers 10:29-31).  Each of the two men had choices to make.  Moses made the choice to seek help from one he knew.  Should he have trusted God to lead them as He had been doing?  Whose direction would he choose to follow -- God's direction, his own direction, or Hobab's direction?  Was God's way likely what I choose to call the "road less traveled?"

The choice for Hobab was whether to leave his family or go with Moses and a people he did not know?  For him, which was to be his "road less traveled?"  Moses certainly pleaded with him to go.  What was God's will in the matter? As we find, Hobab chose not to go.

Difficult choices are ever before us. Go or stay? Which road would God have me take? The high road or the low road?  North or south? East or west? Highway or byway? This job or that one? Marry this one or that one?  Go to school or go to work?  Do both?  Take the path of least resistance?  Make this purchase now? Buy or rent? New car or used one? Unplanned pregnancy -- abort or deliver? Leave home or stay? God's way or the world's way?  The road most traveled or the "road less traveled?"