Prompted By The Heart

King David wants to build a temple for the Lord in his new capital city of Jerusalem. But the Lord tells him it will instead be his son, Solomon, who will do the honors. That doesn't stop David from collecting all the gold, silver, bronze, iron, marble, precious stones and wood he can get in preparation of the building. He even digs into his own "personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God" (1 Chronicles 29:3). He was making an offering. Then he says to the Israelites, "Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the Lord?" (1 Chronicles 29:5). At t his point, the leaders of the families, officers and commanders of the king's army and officials that worked for the king, all stepped forward and made their offering likewise of gold, silver, bronze, iron and precious stones. 1 Chronicles 29:9 says, "The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly."

There is another time when the Israelites dug deep in their offering for a building project. Back in Exodus when Moses was putting together plans for the tabernacle (a portable temple of the Lord), God told Moses, "You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give" (Exodus 25:2). We learn in Exodus 36 that the people went above and beyond in their offerings, so much so that the people were eventually told to restrain from bringing more, "because what they already had more than enough to do all the work" (vs. 7).

Scripture says "everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the Lord" (Exodus 35:21). We are asked by God to give an offering. Matter of fact, in Malachi 3 we are told to give 10 percent. We talked about this last year on Nov. 7 in this blog. We told you about how blessed you will be if you give. But notice the key point here ... the condition of the heart. Is the heart prompted? Is the heart willing? We learn from Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, "The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully, will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." God wants us to give with joy back to the One who does likewise. If giving to the Lord is done reluctantly, how sincere is this gift? King David tells his son, Solomon, in 1 Chronicles 28:9, "the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts" and later reaffirms that statement when he sees the amazing response of the offering of the Israelites by saying, "I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willignly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you" (1 Chronicles 29:17).

We expect our children to give 10 percent of everything they earn to the Lord for the growth of His kingdom, but we want it to be given willingly, with joy to the Almighty. To reap bountifully, you must sow bountifully. We want to see you reap bountifully!

So check your heart. Are you giving with a cheerful heart? Are you giving at all? All that we have is His and He gives it to us in abundance. Praying you are doing abundantly the same.

Discussion: Do you give an offering? Do you think 10 percent is important? Do you find it hard to give out of what you earn? Would you be willing to test the Lord in giving (see Malachi 3:10)?

Prayer: Lord God we are humbled by everything you graciously give to us. Inspire us, Father, to give a portion back to you so that your kingdom can grow and your children be cared for. We know You are faithful. We pray our hearts are cheerful in giving as you do. In Jesus Christ who gave His all, Amen.

We Have This Hope

Beachy, nautically ... that is the theme of Rob and Ayla's wedding. With Rob's love of boats and growing up near the Atlantic, Ayla's yearly vacations to the seashore and the couple's current location in the "happiest city in America," Sarasota, right on the gulf coast, it is a perfect theme for them. You will find seashells and sunset and water colors throughout the ceremony and reception. And one other symbol that means a lot to our daughter and has for a long time ... the anchor.

Lately the anchor has become a popular fashion item in clothing, jewelry and decor, but Ayla loved it long before it came into style. It stems from her love of this Bible verse in Hebrews 6:19, "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul." What hope you ask? Well, you have to go back a few verses to get that info. The writer of Hebrews it telling the believers that God's promise of our eternal destination is sure. No matter what happens on this sea of life, tossing us to and fro via trials and challenges, we know without a doubt by God's grace we will be saved in Jesus Christ. He made it possible for us to enter the Holy of Holies where God dwells, which was once considered only accessible in the temple by a priest. Christ's death tore the thick, long veil that separated the holy inner temple from the cube-shaped location of the ark of the covenant, God's throne. Now we have access to the Father Almighty thanks to our Redeemer. And we have this hope forever. It will not change. As long as our belief remains steadfast in Him, we are anchored securely in our souls.

It's so comforting to know as a parent that our children have this hope. We know they are holding tightly to the Word and clinging to the promises of God. We know their eternal future in Him is set. And we pray they continue to keep their eyes on the One True God. To have that confidence in Christ, that sure foundation, brings a peace than cannot be compared.

We thank our Father in heaven, that our children have found souls to marry that have that same confidence and security. We pray you will always keep that hope as your anchor and glorify the One who holds your future in His hands.

Discussion: What does this hope mean to you? Tell of some storms in your life where God's anchor held you steadfast.

Prayer: "Hope like never before, You came to us!" says the song Set Free. Thank you, Father, for Your Son, Jesus Christ, our hope, our salvation! May we ever keep our eyes on You, our minds in the Word and our hearts fulfilling your plan through compassion in this world. In Jesus' beautiful name. Amen.

Running the Glory Race

As I write this, your Daddy has just gone out the door to do his daily 2-3 mile run. As long as I have known him, he has been a runner. Back in those early years, he was training for marathons and 10Ks (or the Bix 7 in Davenport), but since his diabetic diagnosis, it's been more of the 5K variety. It's hard to run longer distances and maintain your blood sugar at the same time. In the photo at right, you can see the snack size Snickers bulging in his right sock to use in an emergency. In addition to running, he's played football, basketball, baseball, tennis and golf. Your Daddy exercises for various reasons: health, for sure, stress relief and for burning off sugar.
I have always exercised, whether aerobics, bike riding, walking, running and/or weightlifting. I knew the importance of it from the very beginning ... it meant I could eat more chocolate. I didn't start running, of course, until I met your Daddy, but didn't have the passion for it that he had (my famous "Melba" photo from my a 5K is proof of that - it was probably me that cracked that pavement at left). Exercise has always been a necessity in our lives on a daily basis. It is rare we miss the opportunity to have some sort of physical exercise. We tried to impart that into our kids, both of whom have been active in some kind of sport or workouts. Both of you are healthy and strong, and we praise to God for that.

Scripture tells us that caring for our physical bodies is very important. Why? Because it's the vessel God has selected for our souls to use while here on earth to accomplish His will for us. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body." The price was high in the death of Christ, therefore to care for it as we ought is paramount. The above statement is backed up by several other verses, such as Prov. 31:17 about a capable wife which says, "She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong" and 1 Cor. 9:25: "Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one." We take care of our bodies to win the Glory Race, one that Paul was thrilled to have completed, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Tim. 4:7 And how are we to compete in this race of faith? According to 1 Cor. 9:24: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it."

This last verse reminds me of a video that I absolutely love called Run: The Passion of Elijah by Ray Vander Laan. He compares the Christian faith to that of an athlete competing in the ancient Olympics when the Greeks ran in worship of their gods. At about the 11-minute mark in the video, Vander Laan says,

"To Paul the follower of Jesus is a runner, someone who runs to say to the world, 'Jesus Christ is Lord and God!'... For Paul the walk with Jesus is an Olympic event. And you and me, we are His athletes called to walk after the teacher, the rabbi, the Messiah. Not just because He calls, but to say to the world, 'Watch how we run!' to declare to the world that He is King."

He then quotes Hebrews 12:1-2 which says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God."  Vander Laan then continues:

"Once we're in the games, God desires that the way we live, the way we try to be like our rabbi Jesus, becomes a flat out, all out RUN ... so run like you want to win. Hear me! How do we dare dabble in Christian walk? How dare we take discipleship as a part time stroll in the park? How dare we quit? How dare we let up? We are God's Olympians, and our run says to the world that He alone is King. So run! Run! RUN! Run! ... I don't want to cross the finish line at the end of my race and have the Lord of my game say, 'What you got left?' and have to tell Him that I didn't give it all. I want to end that race by the grace of God and cross that finish line and say, 'I have nothing left!'"

This video inspires me and brings me to tears every time I watch it. That is our prayer for our children and your fiances and all the generations to follow: that you run with all the strength you have to fulfill God's plan for you to grow His Kingdom.

Yesterday Ayla told me she and Rob are training to walk/run the Springfest 5K in Sarasota, which benefits local children's charities. We know you will have fun together, be stronger physically and in the process be helping out children in your local community. Do likewise in your spiritual race. Take care of you, exercise, eat right and proclaim with every bit of the strength God gives you, "Jesus Christ is King!"

Discussion: What are the ways you try to keep in shape? Have you considered that your body was designed to house the Holy Spirit? When you exercise, do you think it makes you a better disciple? Are you running with passion the Glory Race?

Prayer: Lord, may we lace up our shoes and enthusiastically run this race you've set before us. We pray our walk is an example for all to see, and that we proclaim the Name of the One True King at every step. In Christ we pray, Amen.