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A
Practical Way to Honor the Lord
The
following is a Bible study posted on our Bible Study Group.
Happy Thursday, everyone!
Finally, I have returned with another Bible study from the book of Proverbs.
I've sure missed these, and true to form, Proverbs has blessed me greatly today.
I'm praying that you'll be blessed as well...
Today we're studying about something near and dear to
my heart -- priorities. As you probably know,
I've written a whole book on our priorities in life. My book is specifically
for women, but today's verses apply to everyone.
Our first priority in life is always to be to glorify the Lord. Rick Warren has
written an entire book on this subject, entitled The
Purpose Driven Life. Most of the time we think of having our devotions as a
way to put God first in our life, or maybe marrying a Christian or going to
church or sharing the gospel with the lost. Today's verses in Proverbs, though,
put life in perspective and bring Christianity down "where the rubber meets
the road."
"Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine
increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst
out with new wine." (Proverbs 3:9-10, KJV)
The word "honour" used in verse 9 means "to be heavy" (Strongs
#3513). What is the heaviest priority in my life, I ask myself? How do I know
what means the most to me? I personally want God to be "heavy" in my
life, and I want to walk in obedience to Him always.
According to these verses, one very important way to honor the Lord is with my
substance, or my wealth (Strongs #1952). I don't think we realize how important
money is to us until we're asked to give it away. Ouch! Not only are we to honor
God with our wealth, we are to honor Him with the FIRST-fruits of all our
increase (income, Strongs #8393). I asked my 8-year-old son if he knew what
"first fruits" are, and he said, "Well, those would be the first
apples that grow on a tree." Giving God a FIRST portion of our income means
that we have to trust Him to supply what we're going to need later. That's
tough!
But if we give to God FIRST, trusting Him to work everything else out, doesn't
that show He is "heavy" in our lives? After all, if we can trust God
with our money, we have an easier time trusting Him with everything else.
Verse 10 gives some wonderful promises: our barns will be filled with plenty (Strongs
#7647, meaning "copious" and "generous"), and our presses
shall burst out with new wine. The picture here is of a thriving farm, where the
harvest was good, the weather held, and now it's almost winter. The barn is full
of hay for the cows, its cellar shelves packed with jars of produce to last this
family a year. The farmer has worked hard to pick all the fruit, and he has
plenty of healthful foods and beverages to give nutrition to his family. He and
his family are not afraid of the coming snow.
Why does he have all this plenty? Because He gave to God FIRST, and God blessed
him. He could have waited until November to give some of the harvest to God, to
be sure that he would have enough for his family. He could have stayed up at
night, filling out careful budgets to be sure that he had realistically
portioned out what he needed before he decided how much to give to God -- and
gotten an ulcer or two in the meantime. He could have at least waited until he
knew that the insects wouldn't get into his harvest, or that a hailstorm
wouldn't destroy the crops, or that his barns wouldn't burn down. But no, he
gave to God first, trusting God to supply everything else.
We have much to be thankful for. We aren't "paid" once a year, like
this farmer. We get paychecks once or even several times a month. Yet fear and
love of money often rule our senses and show us what REALLY is top priority in
our lives -- ourselves. God calls us to be different. He wants us to honor him
FIRST and allow Him to provide everything else we need.
(The late author and teacher Larry Burkett has written a pamphlet
on giving to the Lord that you may find helpful.)
Other verses in Proverbs that speak to money are:
-- Riches and honour are with [wisdom]; yea, durable riches and righteousness. (Prov.
8:18)
-- The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the
substance of a diligent man is precious. (Prov. 12:27)
-- There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh
himself poor, yet hath great riches. (Prov. 13:7)
-- And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant
riches. (Prov. 24:4)
There are more verses that speak about money, so we'll continue our discussion
next week, especially looking at how the wicked looks at money. In the meantime,
be sure to check out my favorite "financial"
links.
Payday tomorrow? Honor the Lord...
If you would
like to participate in our current study, click
here to join.
Next - coming
soon!
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