Hebrews 11:4

Hebrews 11:4

“By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.” (NKJV)

Have you ever given God your best or all that you had, wondering how you would go on from there? The story of Cain and Abel is interesting because it deals with giving God something and giving God everything.

Genesis 4:3-5 NKJV: “And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.”

At first glance, it seems that God was playing favorites. I mean, after all, Cain brought what he did and Abel brought what he did. But a closer inspection of the passage reveals that Cain brought “an offering” and Abel brought “the firstborn.” What is the difference?

There may be a variety of significance attached to being the firstborn. Of those, one might include being stronger or more healthy. Certainly, the firstborn was likely to be the best, the biggest, the animal that might be reserved for breeding and improving the herd. But there is also another issue. A firstborn animal would naturally grow up sooner and be ready more quickly for breeding or slaughter. In other words, by giving up a firstborn, Abel risked his livelihood and needed to trust God to reward him for his love and faith.

Cain, on the other hand, didn’t give even the best of his crops, but rather just gave some. In other words, its unlikely that Cain risked his future through his offering. Rather he gave what he could spare, while Abel gave sacrificially, trusting God to provide.

Always God wants us to give all and then to trust Him to provide. Paul talks about this kind of giving:

2 Cor. 8:1-5 NKJV: “Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.”

This church gave beyond their ability and, in fact, pressed the gift upon Paul, insisting that he take it. Why? Because they trusted God to provide. They were willing to give, understanding that every gift is actually a gift to the Lord, and then trusted God’s promise to provide for their needs. That is, I think, the kind of faith that the writer to Hebrews talks about when he talks about Abel’s faith. The willingness to give, rather than to hoard, to share, rather than to save, and to trust God with all of it.

For any of us, we could be called home today. In the twinkling of an eye we could be in the presence of the Savior. What opportunities for ministry have we avoided because of our fear of the future? Where have we said “no” to others because we wanted to make sure we had enough to face tomorrow? Trusting God as Abel did is a hard thing. It goes beyond all common sense, all logic. It is truly a sacrifice because it means that we might actually hurt, actually do without. But in the end, what matters is trusting God and understanding that life itself is a hiccup. Only what we do in Christ’s name will last.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Philippians 2:5-8

Philippians 2:5-8

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (NKJ)

I have the fortune to have grown up in what we would nowadays call a functional home. My parents both stayed married until my mom passed (more than 40 years); we attended church every Sunday; my sister and I were raised with good, moral values. There’s no doubt in my mind that my precious mother was a believer and is now Home with our Savior. My dad . . . well, if you had asked me about my dad prior to my mom’s passing, I would have vehemently insisted that he too was a believer. But after my mom died, my dad’s behavior took a very different turn. An old friend who had known my dad since his teenage years even questioned whether or not he was saved.

Death came to my dad a number of years ago. And it was a fairly typical death, real, not staged like we see in movies or television. He took ill with what we all believed was the flu, became worse and was placed in ICU and within a week fell into a coma. There was no time for him to prepare for his death, no time to reflect on his life, no energy to deal with his past decisions. The time for any decisions came long before his death loomed within reach.

I would like for my dad to be in heaven with my mom and with me when I go. I love my dad dearly; he was a really good dad. But more than having him there, I want what the Lord wants, for I love the Lord much more than I love my dad. I love the Lord with as much of my heart, soul, and mind that I am capable of. Certainly not as much as I ought, but much more than I love any living thing on earth. And I want what the Lord wants.

2 Peter 3:9 tells us that “the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (NKJ). The Lord wants everyone to come to repentance. That is what He wants. But there is also a “day of salvation” (2 Co. 6:1) that comes . . . and passes. And once it is passed, the only day awaiting us is the day of judgment when the books of heaven are opened and each of us is judged by what is in the books (Rev. 20:12). If our name isn’t found in the Book of Life, we are condemned for all eternity.

Do we truly love the Lord? Do we truly understand that loving Him means understanding that His justice is equally His character as is His love? Because of His love, Father God gave the ultimate sacrifice to demonstrate His desires for us. He sent His only Son to take our punishment of death for sins. In that He has shown how much He wants each one to repent. But, because of His justice, after the day of salvation, there will be a day of judgment. And that day of judgment is as fair, as much a reflection of His holy character, as the day of salvation.

Within this past week, three deaths touched my life. Two were a mother and son. She was a Christian professor and he was a young Christian athlete. I know that they are in the presence of the Savior. The third death was another young man, one from our community. I do not know whether or not this young man was saved, but the day of salvation is gone for him. Any opportunity that the believers around him had to witness to him is gone. As believers, we are more aware than anyone else around us of the urgency of life. There are only so many days—the number only known by the Father—and then the judgment. I know that I need to learn to live with more urgency for those around me, to take every opportunity to pray for their souls and, if even the smallest opportunity arises, to share the gospel with them. And if I can’t share with words, I can share with my life by taking on the mind of Christ and living as righteously as possible. God didn’t command us to live righteously to take all of our fun away; He commanded it because He knows better than anyone else the urgency of life. We need to walk, to talk, to live differently so that the world around us will see the salt and light that we bring and be attracted enough to us to listen to the message of life we can bring. I know that I need to start doing that. Today.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Hebrews 11:1-3

Hebrews 11:1-3

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” (NKJ)

It amazes me to see things that are made, particularly things immense. I remember visiting the Spruce Goose when it was in Long Beach. It’s an airplane built by Howard Hughes entirely out of wood. When I walked into the hanger, my mind just couldn’t get around the huge dimensions. I saw it, but it was so unbelievable! It was the same when we visited St. Louis and saw the Arch. I can’t imagine how it was conceived or built. Or Mt. Rushmore with the images of the presidents. All this to say, everything here on earth was built using materials: wood, rock, steel. And everything was built with some kind of tools, even if those tools were human hands.

But God, the Father, created the entire universe and everything in it without materials. He simply spoke them into existence. “God said, ‘Let there be light"; and there was light.’” (Genesis 1:3 NKJ). Imagine! He spoke . . . and it was, whatever it is. The writer of Hebrews understood how totally un-understandable that kind of concept is because he said that we understand it by faith. We believe it because God said it.

The thing is, if God can create the universe out of nothing, but simply by speaking it, how much more is He able to take care of our daily needs which are small by comparison? The Lord Jesus taught us:

"Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” (Matthew 6:25-32 NKJ)

We are living in uncertain times. Some of the uncertainty may be the result of our own sinful decisions and yet, Father God is still ready and willing to take care of those needs if we will only trust Him. He knows what we need and is ready to supply it. Do we have material needs? He will provide. Do we have emotional needs? He is wanting to provide if we will trust Him. But first comes faith and then provision. And faith is trusting in that which we don’t yet see because we trust in the character of the One will is going to provide.

The question comes down to whether or not we believe that God will do what He says He will do. The Lord Jesus equates “little faith” with worry and He challenges us to trust the Father to provide for us. He created the universe. Surely He can take care of the small needs that we have today.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Luke 12:16-21

Luke 12:16-21

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." ' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (NKJV)

About three weeks ago, I returned from Virginia. I went there to take the last course of my doctorate program at Liberty University. During the week, part of the course was taught by Dr. Jill Jones, an education professor. A passionate Christian, Dr. Jones also reiterated over and over to us that our doctorate program would open many doors. She, well, bragged about how she had just published a woman’s devotional and was a speaker at many women’s retreats. It struck me oddly, actually, that she felt that God would reward her work on a secular degree with these accomplishments. There was basically a sense of arrogance with her passion.

I can relate. I have struggled with arrogance and a sense of superiority for many years and work hard to esteem others. However, putting aside arrogance and embracing humility is something very important to the Lord and thus, needs to be important to me. I need to listen more and talk less. Much less.

Yesterday morning early, Dr. Jones went Home to be with the Lord in a terrible auto accident. She was also joined in death by one of her teen sons. It made me think of this passage, not because I think she was the rich man accumulating for herself, but because we can never put stock into accomplishments in this life. What does it matter now that she did (or didn’t) write a book? In fact, I’m absolutely convinced that Dr. Jones herself doesn’t care at all this moment about her book or her doctorate, but instead is totally focused on sitting at the feet of the Savior she dearly loves!

Coincidentally (or perhaps not so much coincidence), the devotion in my Wesley book today spoke about focusing on today (rather than on the future) and laying hold of the grace God has provided for this day:

“Give all diligence today to add to your faith courage, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness and the fear of God, till you attain that pure and perfect love. Let these things be now in you and abound. In steadfast faith, in calm tranquility of spirit, in full assurance of hope, rejoicing evermore for what God has done, run the race set before you till, through perfect love, you enter into His glory!”

Yesterday, between times of dealing with the shock that one of my professors (yes, I am still enrolled in that class and she was still my current professor) is gone, I was also so struck with the fact that Jill is now in the presence of the Lord Jesus! What glory to close one’s eyes here, opening them in Heaven, in the presence of the Father. That is what we, as believers, should be focused on, should be living for, should be shouting from the mountaintops! We have a Hope and that Hope is the living Savior Who is, absolutely is, waiting for us in our eternal home. What is this here that we should fret about it? Simply living for today to minister to those around us, trusting the Lord to provide, is all we need to give our energy to. Tomorrow is taken care of by our blessed Lord and Savior. And someday, Jill, I’m going to join you at Home in Heaven. Until then, dear sister, enjoy your time face to face with our Savior!

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Galatians 5:22-23

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (NKJ)

I’ve been thinking about kindness and gentleness a lot lately. Probably because being kind and gentle isn’t natural to me like it is to other people. I’ve known a number of people who were constantly kind and gentle. For example, I think about one couple we know, Tom and Linda Marshall. Both of them have always been so soft spoken but willing to step up and help anyone in need. Both so kind and gentle. They always come to my mind as examples of how I should be around everyone else.

Several times in the New Testament, both Paul and Peter talk about believers being kind:

2 Cor. 6:4-10 (NKJ): “But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”

In 2 Cor. Paul makes this list of things which he says prove believers as ministers of God. Among a very impressive list that includes all kinds of persecution, he includes kindness. Being kind to others.

Col. 3:12-13 (NKJ): “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

In his letter to the Colossian church, Paul tells us that, as the elect of God—as believers—we are to put on kindness. That means, we are to choose to be kind. It isn’t something that will somehow just happen to us. We need to consciously choose to be kind to those around us.

2 Peter 1:5-7 (NKJ): “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”

Peter includes kindness in his hierarchy of Christian maturity. It’s interesting, too, that Peter places kindness near the end of the hierarchy. Perhaps for Peter kindness was difficult. I do believe that, at least for most of us, without the power of the Spirit in our lives, we couldn’t be kind. I know that it’s very difficult for me.

In looking at definitions of being kind, one phrase stuck out at me: “a willingness to do good.” How often do I choose what I’m going to do based on whether it is good for someone else? Do I think about what I’m doing and either the evil or good it will cause? Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:15 (NKJ): “See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.” I know that I need to be kinder to those around me. I need to consciously think about being kind and then do that kind and good thing, rather than what comes naturally. What comes naturally is often awful! So I need to make a conscious effort to think about what I do, whether or not it’s kind.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.