Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 16 Jan 2008

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 16 Jan 2008

The purpose of fasting, tithing, etc. it is not the act that matters, but it is the heart. Psalm 50:8-12 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. 9 I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, 10 FOR EVERY ANIMAL OF THE FOREST IS MINE, and the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. 12 IF I WERE HUNGRY I WOULD NOT TELL YOU, FOR THE WORLD IS MINE, AND ALL THAT IS IN IT. There are a lot of things that Christians do as traditions, or as rituals, or as a way to be in the “GOOD BOOKS”. I hope that we get the right perspective of all the things that we do and don’t do. Psalm 50:9-10 says, “I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, FOR EVERY ANIMAL OF THE FOREST IS MINE…” And in verse 12 it says, “IF I WERE HUNGRY I WOULD NOT TELL YOU, FOR THE WORLD IS MINE, AND ALL THAT IS IN IT.” God says it best to us all. Everything is God’s. So our little acts of worship, our sacrifices, our traditions, they are meaningless if we are doing them for the wrong reasons. God doesn’t need anything, He doesn’t even need our money that we tithe, but what matters is the heart. Why do we fast? Why do we pray? Why do we tithe? Why do we serve the church? Or Why do we not do any of these things? God knows us and we cannot lie to Him. He can see right through us all. Today, I hope that we aren’t trying to make an excuse. I hope that we aren’t comparing ourselves to others around us. What is at stake here is our personal relationship with God, and that is all that matters. Would you be willing to risk everything, your life, your money, your family to have that personal relationship with God? © Jan 2008 Shaun Lee