Proving God
An Alternative to Trusting Self.
Malachi 3:10

In this passage we find that the Lord is dealing with Israel about a lot of different issues. Israel had turned their back upon the Lord, were not trusting Him to provide for them any longer, and sin was running wild through this people. This particular verse seems to be dealing with tithing, or first fruits. Many preachers love to use this scripture to show how God really wants us to give HIM the first fruits of our blessings from Him, or ten percent of what we earn each paid day, before taxes. However, I want to look at this scripture in a total different way. In this scripture I want to look at 3 words that stand out in this scripture. These words are, “Prove ME Now.”
When we think of the word prove, what do we really think it means? Most of us have used the word, ‘prove,’ in a two word statement, ‘prove it,’ when we are trying to get someone to push a thought or an idea. The word ‘prove’ has three different uses in the Bible. There are two Hebrew words, ‘bachan,’ pronounced , ‘baw-khan’, which means to test (especially metals); generally and figuratively it mean to investigate: examine, prove tempt, try (trial). The other Hebrew word for ‘prove,’ is; Nacah, naw-saw’; which means to test; by implication, to attempt, adventure, assay, prove, tempt, try. Of course, the Greek word, found in the New Testament is dokinmazo, dok-im-ad’-zo’. This means to test, to approve, allow, discern, examine, approve, try. In general they basically mean the same thing. However, in this passage, we find that it come from the Hebrew word ‘bachan; baw-khan’. Prove Me now. The Lord wanted Israel to test or investigate Him and His strength. He wanted them to find out that His promise was a strong a metal. It was a strong promise. There are some things I would like us to see in these three words the Lord told Israel in this passage.

UNDERSTAND THAT GOD’S WORD IS HIS BOND.

We find in this chapter that Israel was not tithing at all. They may have been giving God what they thought God needed and not what He had instructed them to do. It’s amazing to me, that we, as Christians, are no different from Israel. We do not give God what He requires of us. Tithing is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, in this passage. We make promises to the Lord that we are going to serve Him, when we have tough times, if He will just see us through. However, we forget what we say. Israel prayed for over 300 years that He would pull them from bondage, and if He would, they would serve Him more and obey Him. However, we see that they put Him in the back of their minds and fell back on their promises. We know that where man breaks promises on a regular basis to Him, that the Lord has made promises that He does not break. The first word that comes to me is covenant. The word “covenant,” mean to promise. The Lord has promised Abraham that his children would be as the sands of the sea. He promised that there would be an ultimate sacrifice for all of mankind. In verse 6, we see that the Lord said, “For I am the Lord, I change not.” If he stood by Israel through all the times that He did before, what made Israel loose faith now? We find in His Word that He cannot lie. When God speaks something, He stands by what He says. His promises are as strong as steel, because He does not lie.

UNDERSTAND THAT MAN NEEDS TO PROVE (INVESTIGATE) GOD’S PROMISES

As a child of God we understand that the salvation of God is eternal and that no man can pluck us from His hand. Why? Because Jesus said so! Look in John 10:28 – “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man (thing) pluck them out of my hand.” There is nothing any man can do to fall from the grace of salvation once they accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. However, many of us, who are saved, do not prove God in our lives. I reminded of the scripture where Jesus told Thomas, “Ye have believed because you have seen; blessed are they who believe and have not yet seen.” Pharisees always wanted to see signs. When Jesus showed them signs, they would say He was of the devil. They were blinded to their own selves. They depended on what they could do and only on what they can do. Today, men find themselves in very similar territory. Men have become lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, depisers of those who are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Today, we have become conceded and think our ways are better than any of God’s ways. We are unthankful, unholy and liars. The world sees more advertisements and hear more advertisements of sex and many pleasures that God has given to men, and taken them all and turned things around so we can use them in ungodly ways. Paul said this would happen. Are you listening? The Lord told Israel, in Isaiah 55:8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” He meant it then and He has not changed. He keeps His Word and backs it up with power that is stronger than iron. We have issues that we seem to think we have no answers too. Prove God! He is there for us. My question to you is, if He didn’t want us to prove Him, why does He tell us come unto HIM?
A lost man just needs to seek God and ask Him for the promise of salvation that offers every man that seeks Him. This means you must first get self out of the way. Christians, sometimes we stand in the way of what God wants to do for us. Let Him do what He will in your life.

UNDERSTAND THAT IF ISRAEL WOULD HAVE JUST PROVED THE LORD, THERE WERE REWARDS.

The Lord predicted John the Baptist in verse 1 of chapter 3. He made a promise to Israel that He would give them a chance. Did He follow through? Yes! We need to understand that proving the Lord can, at times, be very painful. In verses 2 – 3, we see that the Lord uses the examples of a refiner. This man’s duty was to heat gold and silver up to the point that all of the impurities would come out. This would make the silver or gold very pure. The more pure gold becomes, the softer it gets. We need to allow the Lord to work in us so we can become more pure. Allow Him to remove the impurities in our lives so that we can become more aware of what He wants for us to do. Our hearts need to be softened to the point that we can reach out to the lost, the one who are hurting, and others who need Christ’s direction in their lives. Israel would have found rewards if they would have just proved God. He said, “Prove me now herewith, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Would you like that type of blessing? If we prove God, we will find that the rewards we receive will be great. However, when we don’t prove God in our lives there can be penalties. Discipline is what God performs on those who do not follow Him. His children need to seek out His ways and not there own ways. If you live like you are of the world and are not separated from it, and God doesn’t deal with you, you might want to examine your soul.

UNDERSTAND THAT WE ROB GOD OF MORE THAN TITHES AND OFFERINGS.

Israel had real issues just as we do today. The Lord’s desire was for Israel to return to the days of their fathers and start obeying His commandments and ordinances that they had turned their backs on. Robbing God is a daily thing in Christianity today. We rob Him of opportunities to be used of Him. We seek our own ways and not His ways. The statement, “Prove ME now,” was not just a request, but it was a commandment. If Israel chose to prove the Lord, then they would find favor in His eyes again. We, as Christians, as a whole, need to find favor with God again. Be used of God! Prove Him in your life! The next time you hear or read the word, ‘prove,’ remember that it means to investigate Him. If you do choose to investigate Him, I think you will find that He is very strong in His promises, and that His promises are stronger than anything. It is definitely stronger than anything this world can offer, and they have a lot greater rewards.

Friday

Today, Becky left me. She's gone to a Christian's Women's Retreat in Hot Springs. So, I'm here to be bored all weekend. I think I'm learning some of my new job. It's no the easiest thing to learn. This makes me wish even more that I could pastor again. Even though I didn't feel like I did the best job I could, at times, I was in my confort zone. I've had the crud for about 3 days now. Cough, cough, sniffle, sniffe all day long. I'm ready for it to go. I've started working on devotionals again, slowly, and I'm hoping I can get in the grove with it. I'm going to see Spiderman 3 tonight. I want to see if it is as good as previews say it is. It's movie month here. Spiderman 3, Shrek 3, and Pirates of the Carribean 3. We plan on seeing em' all. Hope ya'll have a great weekend.

Wisdom Verses Patience

How Faith Intervenes
James 1: 5 – 7

Wisdom and Patience are two different things. However, you can’t have one without the other. Think about it. Wisdom comes from having patience and Patience gives us wisdom. However they come with a common denominator in the form of faith. In James chapter 1, we see that he gets into how faith works patience and has a perfect work, which is complete, (3-4). Verses 5 and 6 tell us, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him as in faith, not wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed,” Verse 7 says, “For let not that man think, or assume, that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.”

Wisdom is something I really wished I had a whole lot more of. I can remember when they said that a gray headed man had lots of wisdom, but I’ve got plenty of gray hair and I don’t really consider myself wish. Many other people consider themselves wise, but truthfully, they are lacking in that area. When wisdom is talked about, Christians usually think of Solomon right of the bat. Solomon was given wisdom, because he asked for it. However, Solomon did not always use his wisdom wisely. In a wise move, I can remember the story of two women saying that a baby was theirs. One woman had taken the other woman’s baby to declare as hers when she lost her own child. To settle the argument, Solomon finally said to cut the baby in half and each of them could have half of it. One lady was all for it, but the real mother said no. The one that said ‘no,’ was given her baby back. In a not so wise move, on more than one occasion, Solomon chose to marry women who were idol worshippers. He did not seek God’s will like he should. He made wrong decisions. Most honest men today would readily admit that they have made wrong decisions in their life. Two decisions I made wrong in mine, among many wrong decisions, are that I ran from the ministry for 14 years, because of men’s beliefs, which had been taught to me. The other decision I made that was wrong, in my opinion, was that I probably didn’t take my only pastorate as important as I needed too. I didn’t apply myself as much as I should, and therefore may have been a key instrument as Satan’s tool to push some away from church. The important small things may have been overlooked. Solomon said, in Ecclesiates 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of men.” He could have possibly said, “for this is the whole duty of wise men.” That’s not what it says though.

James, in this writer’s opinion, was a wise man too. He wrote things in this book that will help Christians in our daily and spiritual lives if we will just study it. Let’s see what he has to tell us in these verses considering wisdom and faith. There are some key things in these scripture that show us how we should seek wisdom.

WE SHOULD ASK GOD FOR WISDOM vs. 5a

In verse 7, James tells us that we shouldn’t think or assume that the Lord is just going to give us anything. Now, we all know that the Lord takes care of us with material things and He keeps His protective hands around us. However, I also believe we just assume that HE will continue to do that too. We should be thankful for what HE does give us and not just pretend that it was us all the time. Some men have this idea that they earn things themselves. However, man doesn’t earn anything: he is given things, or the Lord allows man to have things. Wisdom is there for the asking. A rule of thumb is to never ask God for patience. However, we can ask God for wisdom. We know they go together. We know that God will provide it to us if we just ask. Wisdom can teach of patience with a lot less heartache.

WISDOM IS GIVEN GENEROUSLY OR OPEN HANDED. VS 5B

When men ask for wisdom, God is open handed and more than generous in giving it to them. He gives it to him freely. I love to eat at a certain café, on a daily basis. However, as much as I like the chicken fried steak, I am only allowed to eat what I pay for. It’s not free. Buffets are a little more generous, but you still have to pay for the food you eat. In the quest for wisdom, all a man has to do is ask for it. When we ask for wisdom, not only does the Lord give it to us, HE doesn’t criticize us, or look down on us, for asking. The KJV of the Bible says, “upbraideth not.” The Lord doesn’t criticize us for asking for wisdom, and He gives it to us freely. What a blessing! However, there are conditions for us when we ask for wisdom.

WISDOM IS GIVEN TO A MAN WHEN HE ASKS FOR IT BY FAITH, AND DOESN’T WAVER. VS. 6

The Merriam – Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines the word ‘wavering’ as to hesitate as if to about to give away. We could look at this a couple of ways, I think. People waver in their faith all the time. Christians love to say, “I have faith in the Lord,” but do we really? A good example of not working faith can be found as close as this writer. I tell people I have faith in God, but I don’t always prove that faith. My wife and I have found a brand new manufactured home, or commonly known a mobile home, that we really want. However, the land we wanted to buy, and shook hands with the man on, fell through. This wasn’t necessarily the man’s fault, and I’m not blaming him, but Becky and I have not been able to find the land that best suits us. It seems like every door is shut. Even though both of us have prayed for land, it’s either too high or too much land. This can cause me, or any man, to waver on his faith. We might say, “Well God just isn’t going to give this to us.” I’m just going to give up on it, because it’s not going to happen. That’s wavering on faith. Another way to look at it would be to waver on whether we really want the wisdom or not. Like a lot of things, wisdom brings responsibility. The biggest responsibility would be that of being wise with the wisdom God gives to us. Those are things just to think about. James goes on to say that a man who wavers is like a wave of the sea, which is driven with the wind and tossed. When we waver on our faith in God we can open doors for Satan to enter. He is always looking for way to defeat a Christian, and one way to make them feel defeated is by causing them to loose their faith in the Lord. We are driven by forces unseen. Paul said, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph. 6:12)

WE SHOULD ASK FOR WISDOM AND NOT ASSUME WE JUST GET IT. (VS 7)

Men just automatically believe that God is bound to us, because we are saved, and has to just give us things. This is a lie. God doesn’t owe us anything. He doesn’t have to give us anything. We should assume that God is just going to give us wisdom. We also need to understand that patience comes through wisdom, which in turn comes through trials and tribulation. Men, for the most part, can learn patience and grow in wisdom from tough times. A lot of men can teach others from the heartaches, pains, and suffering that they have suffered. However, we have to have an ear to hear by. We can learn a lot for older adults if we just pay attention. However, we need to understand that a lot of the things we learn in this world come from trial and error in our own lives. That is were patience comes in, and faith is the common denominator to wisdom. By faith Abraham took Isaac to make Isaac a sacrifice, and by faith Abraham told the servant to hold the donkeys until him and Isaac returned. Abraham learned his wisdom from trial and error, but he also learned that God would not fail. Abraham got his wisdom from having faith in the Lord.

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER

Always remember the next time you think to yourself, “I wished I had more patience,” to ask God for wisdom. Through wisdom, you can learn patience with a lot less of the trials and tribulations. However, you must always remember that the key to both, wisdom and patience is faith. We need to remember what we are told in Hebrews 11:6. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” James said, “Faith without works is dead.” James 2:20. What is faith? “Now faith is the substance of thing hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen.” (Heb. 11:1). The stronger our faith becomes in God, the wiser we will become; and patience will follow. Faith is the common denominator when it comes to ‘wisdom verses patience.’ May the Lord grant us all the wisdom we ask for, and May we all grow in our faith.

Joy through Misery

Joy through Misery
A Perfect Work
James 1: 2 - 4

The month of April was pretty rough. A lot of things seemed to go south pretty fast, while other things went great. That’s life though, isn’t it? The book of James is one of the hardest books in the Bible. It brings the reality of life out. It lines Christians out. In chapter 1:2 James wrote, “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; know this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” Job reminds us, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble,” Job14:1.

We don’t always count it all joy when things go tough for us. I can honestly say that I’m quick to get down on myself and, sometimes, life too. Does the Lord expect us to be down? Job could have gotten down worse, and even to the point of denying the LORD if he so chose to. In fact, his wife asked, “Why don’t you curse God and die?” I believe that this woman had already cursed God in her heart. However, Job knew that God was in control. He even stated, “I know thou canst do ever thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.” Unfortunately, in some way or another, we all experience trials and tribulation. We are tested above and beyond all that we think we can stand. Granted some are tested well above others, it seems, and at times there seems to be no end. However, some of the trials or tribulations we have can be a direct reaction to what we have done too. To every decision comes a reaction or consequence. Either way, when the trial comes through, we do not count it joy. We don’t have the excitement about it. We just wonder when it is going to stop; don’t we?

Why should we count it all joy? James tells us why would should count it all joy and this should be encouraging to us all.

WE SHOULD COUNT IT ALL JOY, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THE TRYING OF OUR FAITH WORKETH PATIENCE. VS. 3

It is not smart to ask the Lord for Patience. I know that my patience has been worked hard, but then again maybe it hasn’t been worked as hard as it can be. If you pray for patience, you usually are given trials to help build it up. It leads us to depend on God more. I made the comment, not long ago, about how I would like for the Lord to speak to me like HE did in the Old Testament and even some in the New Testament. How simple would it be if God would answer us directly and verbally? Then again, it may not be what I really would want to hear. Would communications between me and the Lord be constant? How about, what would he say if I made wrong decisions and ask me, why are you here, or there, or why did you do this or that? How come you didn’t go to church this morning or how come you didn’t study your Bible today? Get the drift? Yes, it would be great to have the answers quickly, but there are times we don’t want to hear these answers either. Patience is not my best virtue by a long shot. When I want something, I usually want it now. However, I find that actually waiting upon the Lord does renew my strength, and God’s plan is usually revealed to me. There is one area in my life though, that I wished I could be doing what my heart desires, and my patience is not so strong. We need to thank God daily for even the bad things that seem to happen from day to day. We need to realize that things could always be much worse. Thank God for life and the opportunity to have our faith worked. We all need it.

WE SHOULD COUNT IT ALL JOY, BECAUSE WHEN PATIENCE HAS FINISHED HER WORK WE WILL BE PERFECT AND ENTIRE, WANTING NOTHING. VS. 4

Now understand this; God supplies our needs, but doesn’t always give us our wants when we want them. When I was a young man, I bought a brand new 1981 - 14 x 80 Melody Mobile Home. It was my first ever major purchase, well, besides a car or two. My wife and I lived in a trailer park, which was provided by the man I bought the Mobil Home from. Eventually I wanted a place of my own to put it on. I believe I was paying $70.00 a month on this place and I decided I could pay that much on my own place. A man that I used to go to church with told me he would sell me 21/2 acres of land when he moved his mobile home, which he was trying to sell separate. I went to my banker, who later went with me to examine this land, and he started showing me the down sides of the land. It has a gas well on it; what if the gas line explodes, the land is low, it may flood; and he finally ended the conversation with, “I don’t think it’s worth what they are asking for it. The value of it is lower than their price.” It was a devastating blow to me. He then said, “But, if you just have to have it, I guess I’ll finance it.” I went home and was still very down about it. I had lost all patience, which wasn’t much, and started asking, ‘why me?’ Not many days longer, another man that I had gone to church with called me and told me of an acre and a half that was vacant. I found out that my bank had gotten the land back from a default of the owner and needed to get rid of it. I went to my banker who didn’t know a thing about it, but found out which banker did own it. He loaned me the money for it, and even though I don’t live there any longer, it is still one of the prettiest lots I ever had. Even though I didn’t have the patience I needed, God provided it for my family. I lived there for 5 years before I moved. Now, I’m looking for another place to live, and again, I thought I had the perfect spot to live. A man had promised me some land at a great price, but he was unable to fulfill his commitment, because of other problems with the land. I have not counted it joy that I was unable to get the land, because I wanted it so bad. It seems like everything I’ve been interested in has been a dead end. Before I left my job, I thought I had another job, and it fell through. I was very disappointed, but God had a better idea. Things don’t always go as we plan, but they always, and I mean always, go the way God plans. If we learn to be patient, God will show us a better way, and it will be perfect and entire, and you will be wanting for nothing. However, this comes in HIS time, and not always in our time.


WE SHOULD WAIT UPON GOD’S WILL FOR US.

I know that this isn’t the easiest thing to do. Many trials and tribulations may come our way while waiting upon HIM. If fact, it may be the waiting that causes us to think we are in a trial. Who knows? However, we do know that the Lord only wants the best for each of us. That is why HE sent HIS only begotten SON to die for us, in our place, that we can be saved. Do we count that all joy? If we don’t, we should. Thank HIM for dying in our place. When making a decision, seek the Lord. If you make that a priority, then you are allowing HIM to show you what HE wants you to do. When it happens, you will be pleasantly surprised.