There was a knock on the door of the hut where a missionary in Africa lived. The missionary responded to the knock and found one of the boys from the village holding a large fish in his hands. The boy said, “You taught us what tithing is, so here—I’ve brought you my tithe.” As the missionary gratefully took the fish, he asked the young man, “If this is your tithe, where are the other nine fish?” The boy smiled and answered, “Oh, they’re still back in the river. I’m going back to catch them now.”
Now that boy understood what tithing is all about!
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”—Malachi 3:10.
I just read this morning that September is “National Preparedness Month”. The headline of the article I read said: “National Preparedness Month: Are you prepared for a disaster?”
That rather ominous warning caught my attention, for sure! As I scanned the article I discovered that it was primarily cautioning us to be prepared for severe weather events. This is indeed something that we need to be concerned about. Many people are injured or killed each year by such occurrences. A lot of these kinds of deaths can be prevented by taking certain precautions.
There is another kind of disaster for which we must be prepared—the 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ! Now, for those who are ready for his return, it will not be a disaster at all; it will be a much-welcomed blessing!
However, for those who are caught unaware, it will be the greatest disaster of their lives, one from which there will be no recovery. It is little wonder that the teachings of Jesus contain so many warnings to be ready for his appearance by living a constant life of faithful obedience in anticipation of his return.
“What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”—Mark 13:37.
This is a big subject for the limited space that we have, but let’s talk about worship. We were created to worship God and to bring him pleasure. There are many good definitions of worship. One that I like says that “worship is to recognize the worth of God and to respond appropriately”. In other words, worship is to give God the attention and devotion that only he deserves. There are many ways that we can worship God. Let’s talk about a few of them.
First, we worship God when we gather together as the church on Sunday. The Bible continually speaks of how God’s people throughout the years assembled to give their attention to God. Our gatherings declare that we believe that God is worthy of our time and trouble to get to the meetings. On the other hand, one’s neglect of these worship gatherings betrays a lack of desire to worship God. That’s why Hebrews 10:25-31 urges us to keep meeting together and warns of dire consequences for anyone who deliberately forsakes the assembly of believers.
Second, we worship God when we bring him an offering. Going all the way back to Cain and Abel, we see that mankind knew of the responsibility to bring something of worth to the Lord as an act of worship. We see various offerings described throughout the Old Testament. The early church continued this practice of worshiping God through their giving. It is interesting to note that Jesus watched people bringing their offerings to the Lord and commended one widow for the outstanding faith that she showed by putting her last two coins into the collection. May we always be mindful of how our giving is perceived by the Lord as an act of worship.
We also worship God when we sing. Music has an important place in Scripture, however, worship and music are not synonyms. Singing is but one of many ways we can worship God. Certain Israelites were designated to lead in the playing of instruments and the singing of worshipful songs. In the New Testament, Christians continued to worship the Lord with music and singing. Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”
Another way we worship is to pray. Did you ever notice how many prayers are recorded throughout the Bible? We are urged to follow in the footsteps of those faithful people who came before us by offering our prayers to God. The decision to pray is a sign that we believe the Lord is worthy of our attention and that we believe that he has the power to intervene in our lives in many beneficial ways. Prayer is a crucial part of our worship of God. That’s why 1 Thessalonians 5:17 urges us to “pray continually.”
Participating in the Lord’s Supper is still another important way we worship God. When we take communion we remember the sacrificial death of Jesus and declare that God is worthy of our worship because he sent his only son to die for us. The early church devoted themselves to this “breaking of bread” (Acts 2:42) and met every Sunday for this purpose (Acts 20:7). Let’s make sure that we do not neglect this meaningful act of worship.
Finally (at least in this short study), we worship God when we obey his Word. This is more than listening, more than studying. This is putting the Bible into practice in our daily lives. By doing what God says to do and avoiding what he says not to do, we show that his ways are worthy of our acceptance.
Well, those are a few ways that we can worship the Lord. Let’s devote ourselves to becoming better worshipers of God.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Every man is entitled to be valued by his best moments.” We would all hope that such would be the case for us. We all have had our moments that have not exactly been our best!
Unfortunately, the world tends to remember people for their worst moments. When I bring up the name, “Will Smith”, what first comes to your mind? Probably one of his worst moments, his encounter with Chris Rock at the Oscars.
Even people in the Bible are sometimes remembered for their worst moments. We call him “Doubting Thomas” because that disciple was slow to believe that Jesus had indeed been resurrected. But Thomas also had some better moments. At one point he was ready to go and die with Jesus (John 11:16). And after his initial doubt, Thomas did eventually express his faith in the resurrected Jesus, professing Jesus to be his “Lord and God” (John 20:28).
On the other hand, we see examples of those in Scripture who made some serious mistakes, yet are more remembered for their good deeds and qualities. Moses killed a man and later made excuses why he couldn’t obey God, but he went down in history as the one who led the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then tried to cover it up with murder. But he is best remembered for defeating Goliath, writing Psalms and being one of Israel’s best kings. Job questioned God, but he is known for his faithful perseverance in times of extreme adversity. Rahab was a prostitute, but she is listed in the Hebrews 11 “Hall of Faith” because she expressed her belief in God and aligned herself with God’s people (v.31).
Because we are all sinners, everyone has had their share of bad moments. Most people have had some good moments as well. How we are remembered by other people (if indeed we are remembered at all!) does not matter nearly as much as how God views us. Through the blood of Jesus we can receive forgiveness for our sins, and God will see us as pure and holy.
Paul the apostle writes these words to the church at Corinth—“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
Some of the members of the church at Corinth had committed some horrific sins. However, because they had repented and been baptized into Christ, their past sins were not held against them. Their true value was measured by their new identity in Christ.
So let’s not be burdened with worry about our sinful past. Let’s trust the blood of Jesus to cleanse us of our sins and let’s know for certain that we are highly valued by God!
“More people would learn from their mistakes if they weren’t so busy denying that they made them. –Ponto the Office Dog, the Maysville Ledger Independent.
Ponto, who happens to be one of my favorite philosophers, hit the nail on the head with that statement. We can’t grow in our faith if we don’t confess our sins. In order to be forgiven and to experience the joy of that forgiveness we first have to admit that we have done things for which we need forgiven. If we deny that we have done anything wrong, we deny ourselves of one of the greatest blessings available to us—the forgiveness that God offers us through his Son Jesus.
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”—1 John 1:8-10.
There is a story told about a church that was struggling financially. The preacher asked one of the members to take on the responsibility of overseeing the congregation’s finances. The man, who was the manager of the local grain elevator, agreed, but only on two conditions: No report would be due for a year, and no one would ask any questions during the year. Since the man was known to be a person of outstanding character, the church agreed to his conditions.
At the end of the year the man made his financial report. He had paid off the church debt of $200,000. He had also redecorated the church, doubled the congregation’s giving to missions and tripled the amount of money the church had in the bank.
The shocked congregation asked, “How did you manage to accomplish all this?”
He answered, “You people bring your grain to my elevator. As you did business with me, I simply withheld 10 percent and gave it to the church. And you never missed it.”
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. ‘Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.’”—Malachi 3:10.
A man was driving down the road one day when he saw a car with a flat tire parked on the shoulder. A woman was looking down in dismay at the flat tire. The man decided to play the part of the Good Samaritan and pulled over to help. He grew hot and sweaty and dirty as he changed the tire. As he finished, the lady said, “Be sure to let the jack down easily now, because my husband is sleeping in the back seat of the car!”
Labor Day reminds us that there is a time to work and a time to rest. Let’s make sure we find ourselves responding appropriately!
“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”—Hebrews 6:12.
According to recent reports, something called “quiet quitting” is taking the workplace by storm. This new trend is in the wake of many people literally quitting their jobs to pursue other ventures, or perhaps to just spend some time not working at all.
In “quiet quitting”, however, the workers do not actually leave their jobs. Instead, they continue to show up for work and draw a paycheck, but they do the absolute least amount of work they can get by with without getting fired. It remains to be seen how widespread this movement is and how greatly it might affect overall productivity in the economy of the United States. However, “quiet quitting” promises to have a negative effect on the lives of many people.
One could make a case that many people are “quiet quitting” the church. Many people dropped out of church during the pandemic, using it as an excuse to do what they already had a desire to do—quit the church.
However, many professed followers of Christ have not disappeared; they have simply quietly quit. They show up for a minimum number of worship services, just enough to still be considered a regular member of the church. When they do show up, they are not really engaged in the worship services. They do not invite their friends to church. They do not offer their services in any ministry of the church. Yet, like the quiet quitting worker who still draws a paycheck, these church-goers still hope to get rewarded for their “performance”.
How different this is from the Christianity we see practiced in the Bible! The believers in the early church were diligent in their worship and service. They would never dream of trying to get by with the absolute minimum of activity. They went the extra mile to live for Jesus.
This is the type of Christianity we need to see practiced today. Let’s encourage believers to give all they can for the cause of Christ. No quiet quitting allowed!
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”—1 Corinthians 15:58.
Acts 16 records a fantastic episode in the life of the apostle Paul. He and Silas had been falsely accused of committing some type of crime, when in fact all they had done was to minister in the name of Jesus Christ. Paul and Silas were severely flogged and thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. This seems like an odd instruction. Aren’t all prisoners supposed to be guarded carefully? The authorities must have been well aware that Christian apostles had a tendency to escape from jail (Acts 5:18-19 and Acts 12:1-10). The jailer took his orders seriously. He put Paul and Silas in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
Such an unfortunate turn of events might discourage many people from worshipping God, but Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to God. The other prisoners were listening to them.
Suddenly there was a violent earthquake. Now earthquakes are often signs of the presence of God, and this was just such a case. God was working miraculously to free the Christian missionaries. The prison doors opened and everyone’s chains came loose.
The jailer woke up and saw what had happened. He thought that the prisoners had escaped, so he was about to kill himself. He would rather take his own life than face the wrath of the authorities who would be quite disappointed that the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul shouted out, urging the jailer not to harm himself because the prisoners were all still there. Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and found that it was just as Paul had said. Then the jailer fell trembling before Paul and Silas and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They told him to have faith in Jesus, and then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. This might include household servants as well as relatives. They all believed the gospel message, and the repentant jailer and all of his household were immediately baptized into Christ. The jailer and his whole household were filled with joy because they had come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.
From this story we see the great importance of worship. Hurting and unjustly imprisoned, Paul and Silas would not be deterred from praying and singing. Never allow your mood or your circumstances to prevent you from doing what you were created to do—worship God!
We also notice that other people are affected by our worship. Others were listening to the songs and prayers. The jailer was probably among those who heard the worshipping prisoners, and their witness would soon bear fruit.
We also see that a true encounter with God leads one to ask an extremely important question—“What must I do to be saved?” God’s saving grace offered to mankind through Jesus Christ is the whole point of the Bible! Please, don’t miss this point!
Finally, we see how a seeker of the truth is to respond to the gospel message. The jailer and his household were baptized immediately. They were not told to ask Jesus into their heart, or to pray a “sinner’s prayer” or to perform some other manmade ritual that cannot be found anywhere in Scripture. They were told to do what everyone who believes in the crucified and resurrected Jesus and wants to be saved did in the Bible—they were baptized.
So, let’s not underestimate the power of our worship. It bears testimony of God’s saving grace. When we worship, others can hear the gospel message of salvation through Jesus and respond appropriately.
“And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.”—Acts 22:16.
The above photograph taken from a spot on I-80 in Wyoming shows why this road is called the “Highway to Heaven”. It looks like you can drive right up into the clouds…and beyond!
This picture serves to remind Christians that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Many people think that there are other ways to get to heaven, but they are wrong. Jesus does not give us any other options. He plainly teaches that all other roads will lead to eternal disappointment.
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”—John 14:6.
