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2 Sam. 24:23-24 - "Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king." And Araunah said to the king, "May the LORD your God accept you." 24 However, the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing." NASU
King David will not accept this gracious gift from Araunah. King David says, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing." There my friends is one very valuable lesson. If you are going to give God a sacrifice then it must come from you, your wallet, your purse, or your possessions. David wasn't going to offer a sacrifice to God which cost him nothing.
I really hope that I have not, but just in case I prayed and asked God to forgive me in case it was true. I don't ever want to be guilty of offering God a sacrifice that didn't cost me anything.
It is not the amount you give but is it yours to give? The story of the poor widow who gave two small copper coins is filled with valuable lessons, but the one lesson we can see is she gave what she owned, the coins were hers to give. Mark 12:42-44 - A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on." When you give an offering to the Lord make sure it is yours and the offering comes from your heart and it will be acceptable. Think On This: For it is in giving that we receive. - Saint Francis of Assisi Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago
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Gen. 41:50-51- Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him. 51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." NASU
His older half-brothers detested him greatly and when the opportunity came for them to get rid of him they sold him to some slave traders. The slave traders will take him to Egypt where he will be sold again (Gen.37:18-36).
In prison he reveals the meaning of dreams to a butler and a baker. The baker will die exactly the way Joseph interpreted his dream. Joseph will interpret a dream for the butler and when it happens exactly the way Joseph said the butler doesn’t help Joseph like he said he would. He will use this knowledge later to help Joseph to be freed from prison, but not immediately.
When no one is able to interpret the dream the butler remembers Joseph can interpret dreams. Joseph is brought in and he reveals Pharaoh's dream and it's interpretation. The meaning of his dream is Egypt is will experience seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. God has given Joseph the ability to reveal and interpret the dream of Pharaoh, and because of this, the Pharaoh places him second in command over all Egypt at this time.
Joseph says, "God has made him forget…" So what about you, can you say I have had my share of troubles? Have people lied about you? Have people been jealous of you or your accomplishments? Have you been sexually harassed or physically abused? Have you been in prison for a crime you didn't commit? Have you been hurt by family members? If you are able to answer "yes" to any of these questions then let me ask you one more question.
The secret to overcoming past hurts is to ask God for help. Ask Him to help you have a Manasseh moment. God helped Joseph and He will help you. Think on These: It is far better to forgive and forget than to hate and remember. We are like a beast when we kill, men when we judge others and God when we forgive. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Luke 10:36-37 - "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same." NASU
Jesus said, "You have answered correctly do this and you will live." The lawyer wasn't satisfied with Jesus' answer and wanted to justify himself, so he asks Jesus another question, "Who is my neighbor?"
Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan and at the end he asks the lawyer who was the neighbor between the Priest, the Levite and the Samaritan and the lawyer says, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."
By Showing Mercy! Yes, the correct answer on how to be a good neighbor is to be the kind that shows mercy to your neighbors. What is mercy? It is doing for others what they can't do for themselves. There is a man in this story Jesus talks about who was beaten, robbed and left for dead. When along comes a Samaritan (a person hated by the Jews) helps this man by bandaging his wounds, takes him to an inn and pays for his care. Jesus asks the lawyer "which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor…" The lawyer gives the correct answer when he says, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Jesus said, "Go and do the same." So there is our game plan for being a good neighbor. Show mercy to those who are in need. Think On This: Why is it the best neighbors in the world are the ones who just moved away? Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Gen. 39:10 - She kept putting pressure on him day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. NLT
In our text, Joseph, who was a slave in Egypt, found himself in the sexual temptation pressure cooker. He was a handsome young man and his boss' wife wanted to have a sexual relationship with him, but Joseph would not be seduced. There is no doubt when you find yourself facing sexual temptation pressure you need to have a plan to get out of it. So how do you handle pressure? Joseph's way of handling it was to avoid this woman and the situation as best as possible. One day when he wasn't able to avoid her and she grabbed him, he ran. He did exactly what the apostle Paul says to do in I Corin. 6:18, "Flee from sexual immorality."
What situations are you finding yourself in on a daily or weekly basis that keeps putting pressure on you? Pressure comes when you are unprepared for what you're facing. So prepare yourself to overcome any and all pressure situations. What task is God trying to prepare you for today? What is causing some pressure in your life? Is God allowing these situations to come your way so that you will prepare yourself to meet them? There is no greater feeling than when you have prepared yourself for a victory and then won.
In John 14:2-3 Jesus says, He was going to prepare a place for us. If Jesus were going to prepare a place for us then the least we can do is be prepared to go and be with Him. Did you hear that God wants to meet you? God has prepared a place for the two of you to meet. Don't miss out on meeting the One who has created you. I hope you are preparing yourself to meet your Maker. Think On This: No man ever reached to excellence in any one art or profession without having passed through the slow and painful process of study and preparation. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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