God Doesn't Like Leftovers

If you are like me, there has probably been a time in your life that you have said something like this:

"I would love to give some money to my church if I have some leftover after I pay all these stinking bills!"

The problem is that we often have what I like to call "spiritual dyslexia".  What I mean is, we look at things logically, and we end up getting them sdrawkcab.  God doesn't operate on logic, He operates on faith.  He asks us to honor Him with the firstfruits of all our produce, meaning give to Him before you keep any for yourself or give to anyone else.  This takes faith of course, and  Hebrews 11:6 says it is impossible to please God without faith.  There are so many people wanting a piece of your pie- the mortgage company, the IRS, the credit card companies, your Sallie Mae school loan, and on and on it goes.  But we make sure we get them all paid, and then we give some to God if we have it LEFTOVER.  That requires no faith at all.   Hence my argument that God doesn't like leftovers.

The issue here is the same as with everything I write about.  It is your identity.  Is your identity in how much money you have in your bank account?  Does it really provide you the security you think it does?   Do you think it's all up to you?  Or is your identity in Christ?  Do you trust Him to be your provider?  When it comes to money, its never about the money.  Its always about worship.  Do you worship the Lord Jesus, or do you worship your money?

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. (Proverbs 3:9, 10 ESV)

Don't Drink the Poison

As I reflect on 2011 and look forward to 2012, I realize that I have some bitterness I need to deal with.  A great way to check your heart for bitterness is to write down things you are thankful for.  If you are ungrateful, you can usually trace it back to bitterness.  I am striving towards understanding my bitterness, forgiving those who hurt me, and releasing my issues to God to handle for me.  I hope that my thoughts and God's word about the subject are helpful to you.

I really like the quote, "Bitterness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." Have you ever been bitter towards another person? I have. Who ended up feeling badly?  I bet the other person did not even know about your bitterness, but it was making you very sick. Am I right?  I have made myself physically ill by holding bitterness in my heart.  Hebrews 12:15 says Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. http://read.ly/Heb12.15.NLT. You see, if I have bitterness in my heart, my bitterness is hurting me. It is a poisonous root, and it is poisoning me.  It is also contagious...corrupting many, the verse ends in saying.  I have noticed that when I am holding onto bitterness, people around me start to have a bad attitude too. 

So what do you do if you are bitter? First, you have to recognize that bitterness is selfish, and it is a sin.  You must repent, and ask God to kill the root of bitterness in your heart. Confess to the person you are bitter towards, and forgive them.  Bitterness grows in the soil of unforgiveness.  Stop looking back at the past. Pastor Mark Driscoll said, "Bitter people are like archeologists. They can dig up anything from the past."  Look to the future, to the good things God prepared for you long ago. http://read.ly/Eph2.10.NLT. Forgive and be thankful.  I had to make a decision that I was going to forgive those who hurt me.  As I reflect on my life and relationships, I realize how much I have to be thankful for.  That bitter root in me is already withering away.  Fighting bitterness is a battle.  If you are really bitter, it may take a while.  You have to decide to not allow bitterness to control you anymore.  So what's your decision?  I choose life!

Relationship vs. Results

Average....that was what I used to think about myself.  I thought I was average.  Now, being a man, I would brag about myself like I was really awesome, but I was just trying to hide that label I had applied to myself.  No one gave it to me, but I gave it to myself because I was always comparing myself to others.  I could always find someone better than me at whatever I did, so I thought I was just average.

What label have you applied to yourself?  Maybe its Depressed, Addict, Cheater, Lonely, Afraid, Poor, or something else.  I don't know what label, or identity, you have taken on, but I do know if it does not line up with what God's word says about you it is a lie.   Lie's come from the father of lies, Satan.  He comes to steal, kill, and destroy by telling lies, and so many times I have believed him.  You see, I knew what I was supposed to believe about myself, but I chose to believe the lies instead.  When you boil it down, I was trusting Satan over God!

I am very fortunate to have some great friends that loved me enough to tell me what I was doing.  Nothing slaps you in the face like, "You are trusting Satan over God."  I was in denial at first.  I mean, how can I be a pastor and be trusting Satan over God?  After all, I sold my business and gave up my affluent lifestyle for Him right?  I trusted Him a little, but the problem was I did not know God well enough to believe what He said about me was true.  I am going to say that again...I did not know God well enough to believe what He said about me was true.  I was too busy reading books, paying bills, and looking for Bible verses to tweet.

My business that I sold was an insurance agency.  I was pretty dang good at selling insurance.  I know I already confessed that I thought I was average, but in reality I was very successful.  What helped me be successful is that I understood people and relationships.  Every sale I made was not about the sale itself, but about the relationship.  I knew that if someone was going to trust me with their business they had to get to know me.  We had to build rapport.  I always spent the majority of my time with clients building rapport, or trust.  I put the relationship ahead of the results.  The same is true of our relationship with God.  So many times, I would use God for results and not relationship.  I was not able to believe what He said about me was true until I trusted Him....so I had to get to know God.  Who He really is.  I found out He is my father, comforter, provider, protector, conqueror, healer, counselor, and on and on I could go.

Once I started making a point to know God, only then did I start to believe what He said about me was true.  Now I know I am not average.  If your father is a king, that makes you a prince right?  I encourage you to pick up your Bible, our only source of truth without error, and read it.  Not for results, but for relationship with Him.  Write down every characteristic of God that you see in your journal.  Then read over them to remind yourself who He is.  Don't get too busy for the most important relationship you have.  He is waiting patiently for you.