Tag: offering

Raised Hands

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But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Psalm 22:3

When worshiping the Lord, we often raise our hands.

Why? Absolute surrender. Acknowledging God is God and we are not.

Proclaiming His holiness. Bringing ourselves to Him as an offering.

As we lift our hands to heaven in worship, God comes down.

Psalm 22:3 reminds us God inhabits our praise. Chooses to manifest His glory and power amid our worship.

Picture your hands raised to heaven.

As your voice lifts your song in worship, God reaches down to you.

His hands clasp yours, filling you with Himself.

He receives your worship as His glory comes down to you.

A holy exchange.

That picture jumped into my head today as we worshipped at church.

If I could bring you into my head, you’d get the full picture I wish I could correctly share.

It was beautiful. Comforting. Full of strength.

God longs to fill us with more of Him.

He is so worthy to be praised.

The next time you sing in worship to Him, raise those hands.

Give Him all of you as He reaches down to give you more of Him.

Photos by Jake Hill, Steve Adams, Jametlene Reskp, & Guillaume de Germain on Unsplash

Ruling Over Sin

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If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it. Genesis 4:7

Murder entered our world within years of God creating man.

Second generation to be exact.

Cain, Adam and Eve’s firstborn son, killed his brother, Abel, over jealousy.

Cain was jealous of Abel’s favor with God.

Abel had offered God a firstborn lamb for his offering.

Cain merely brought an offering of his fruit from the ground.

Not the best nor the first.

Almost wonder if it was an afterthought when he noticed Abel’s offering.

God warned Cain. Wanted to know why he was so angry.

But God assured Cain, telling him he could still offer himself.

But God also warned Cain about the sin knocking on his heart.

We all know what Cain chose.

He chose death to his brother, which led to death of the life he had always known.

Is your sin worth losing your entire life as you know it?

We often don’t weigh the consequence of sin before we plunge into it.

What sin is knocking on your heart?

Remember God’s power over sin, death, and the grave.

He’s already won.

Sin is crouching at our door, but we must rule over it.

You can kick it to the curb with God’s strength.

God will help you overcome the cling of sin in your heart, choosing the life of God instead of the death of self.

But God leaves it up to you.

Cain opened wide the door to sin.

What about you?

Photos by Mónica Obando Molina, Nicolas Falgetelli, Peter Lloyd, & Naassom Azevedo on Unsplash

Faithful in Little Things

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The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Picture me, my little girl self, about four or five years old.

Hair curled, dress smoothed, hands in my lap listening to my sunday school lesson.

The offering is passed and I reach into my pocket for all of my change.

It’s not much, doesn’t even equal $1.00, but it’s all I have.

I brought it especially for today.

For today’s offering.

Looking back, I cannot remember what it was for, but I’m sure it was for a very good cause.

Anyhow, I cheerfully place all of my change into the offering basket.

A huge grin breaks out onto my face as I hear my change clink against the other coins.

Thinking nothing of it afterwards, a new day dawns.

I put on my big fluffy coat, zipping it all the way up.

Reaching into my pocket, I pull out an entire dollar bill.

“How did this get here?” I ask myself. “Where is this from?”

Suddenly, I recognize I have more now than I did before I gave away all my change.

I am amazed.

Like, for real.

Isn’t it interesting how some memories stand out from years ago?

They stand out from the others. Crystal clear.

I think it’s all part of God’s plan.

We need to remember glimpses of His faithfulness.

His provision.

Proof He sees us. All of us.

He watches over us, smiling when we give our last penny, grinning when we find our new treasure.

God loves to bless us when we give Him our all.

And if you look back, noticing how good He has been to you, you’ll break out in your own smile today.

Every little detail is inspected by God.

Because of this, you can trust Him for your now and your future.

Even if it seems dark, lonely, or sad, your God sees you.

He covers you with His protection and kindness, as He notices every little detail.

Photos by Igor Kyryliuk & Tetiana Kravchenko, Jack B, Luke Porter, & Caroline Hernandez on Unsplash