Welcome to The Bible For Women and here is a lovely lady I would like to share with you all...Enjoy her guest post!
Kelly Harris
I am the daughter of two pastors. Both of my
parents have a ministry located in the state of Georgia. My sister and I have
been a vital part of the ministry working in different areas such as the praise
team, dance ministry, children’s ministry, and many other areas. I work as the
church administrator. I started Confessions of a PK Heiress because I wanted to
share Christ in a relevant way through the eyes of a PK (preacher’s kid). I
love Jesus Christ and I am passionate about sharing him with others!!
.PNG)
Giving God Our Best
The word best is defined as: of the most
excellent, effective, or desirable type or quality. When I think about giving God my best I think
about two stories in the Bible specifically, the story of Cain and Abel
(Genesis 4), and the widow that gave her last two mites to God (Mark 12:41-44,
Luke 21:1-4). Both stories focus on giving your best to God.
We
find through the story of Cain and Abel many different lessons to be learned,
but specifically the difference between giving God your best based on obedience
to God vs. giving God what you think He deserves. Cain gave God fruit because he worked the
fields. He believed that God would be satisfied with the fruit because it was
time to give, not because it was considered satisfactory. Abel gave the first
born of his flock and their fat to God, and God was pleased with his giving. Abel’s
offering was considered his best because he gave God his first. The shedding of
the blood from his sacrifice was out of obedience to God and to cover his sins.
Cain’s fruit was rushed and out of sheer disobedience. He gave God what he
thought was enough.
The widow that gave her two mites was
pleasing in the eyes of Jesus because she gave all she had at the time of
offering. Her livelihood was found in those two mites. During that time, a
widow earned less than slaves and was most likely destitute or homeless unless
she had family. The two mites that she gave were worth the fraction of what a
penny is worth today. It’s safe to say that the widow could have purchased food
to eat with those two mites or anything else she desired, but she gave it to
God instead.
Jesus commended her for this because she unlike the rich who gave
a portion of what they could give, gave all that she had knowing she could
possibly be without for days to come. She demonstrated her trust was in God
alone and not her economic status. She understood that God was the ultimate
provider of all things not her income or lack thereof.
It’s not enough to give God the bare
minimum when we know we can give Him more. Cain and the rich knew that they
could give God more, but they gave Him what they thought was sufficient enough. Growing up I was taught that God wants us to
give Him the “three T’s” our “Tithe, Talent, and Time” it wasn’t until I grew up
that I understood the importance of each area in our Christian walk with
Christ. God desires for us to give all of these things in honor and obedience
to Him. All of these things are gifts to us from God. God has given to us in
these three areas (money, talent, and time) to thrive and flourish in if we are
good stewards. Being good stewards over these things begins with giving God our
best in each area and following His direction in each area.
How do we give God our best in these three
areas? I’m glad you asked. Begin by
putting God first in all of these areas and supersede where you begin. The
giving of tithes is the Biblical principle of giving a tenth of your first
fruit to God. During Biblical times the first fruit was considered the first of
your harvest and/or flock to the temple. Today, our first would come from the
income we bring home. Giving of your tithe is an act of obedience to God and it
shows gratitude for the income. When it comes to the area of giving my tithes
to God (because I am a faithful in the area of tithing) I always seek God about
how much more I should give. I start at 10% of whatever I earn and give more. In today’s time acquiring money for some is a
hard thing to accomplish. There are some who are in the same position as the widow
concerning their finances. They don’t know if they will have enough for
tomorrow or the next week.
Despite all of this, the widow still gave back to
God what belonged to Him. She didn’t give it because He needed it, but she gave
it because she recognized that it belonged to God. Seek God in the area of
financial giving and follow His direction. Don’t feel burdened about not being
able to give to God when you are without the finances to give.
God gifted many of us with different
talents. Some sing, some dance, some are artistic, some are performers, and
some are good with building and crafting new things/ideas. We are all different
in the area of talents, but we must recognize our talents are gifts given to us
to help edify others and glorify God. Giving of our talent to God is the giving
of ourselves to be useful in our local church to help draw others to Christ. I have the talent of singing, dancing, and I
am artistic.
I have been told on several occasions I should audition for
American Idol, but I always tell people that my talent is reserved for God. I
do not desire to acquire fame or fortune off of the talent God has given me. I
am satisfied with using my talent to help draw others to Christ and encourage
others in the ways of Christ through worship. No matter what your talent may
be, big or small, it was given to you to be a blessing to God and others. If
you have the talent to sing, use it to worship God. If you are artistic use it
to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you have the talent to build things,
use it build things to edify the body of Christ.
God gives us a lot of time. He has given us
1,440 minutes in one day. How much of that time have you spent with Him? Does
He get your left overs? Does God only know you on Sunday’s? Giving God your
time allows you the opportunity to know Him on an intimate level. I know many
people that start their day with God before they go to work. I know many people
that end their day with God. There is no required time of day to give to God,
as long as you give Him your time. During this time you need absolutely no
distractions. I usually turn the T.V. off and my phone is on DND (Do Not
Disturb). This helps me to learn of God and to hear from Him. The time given to
God is not confined to your own personal study time, but also the time you
spend actively in your ministry.
Being active in your local church is necessary
for edification, but it does not take the place of your personal study time.
Giving God our best demonstrates our love,
obedience, and faithfulness to Him. God gave us His best when He sent His son
Jesus Christ to die for our sins. All He wants in return is our lives in return
and gratitude for what He has given to us. There are many ways to give our best
to God. I expounded on the three areas above because they are ways we can
demonstrate giving, obedience, love, faithfulness, honor and reverence to God.
If we put God first in every area of our life no matter how big or small,
including those three areas, and supersede in every area. We have given God our
best. If you don’t know where to start or how to start seek the face of God and
ask Him for direction. Every man is different, but every man can accomplish
greater through the help of God.
WOW! Thank you all for reading this amazing ladies guest post! You can find her on instagram @pk_heiress
I hope you enjoyed this blog and if you have any questions feel free to email myself on jessica@bibleforwomen.co.uk or instagram us on @bibleblogwomen
Thank you God Bless
Jessica Louise Xoxo
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