Offer God Your Best This Year

The Bible explains how brothers Cain and Abel presented their offerings unto God, however as you know Abel’s offering was accepted with gladness while Cain’s offering was frowned upon.

I believe the reason this was so is because Abel offered God his best – the first fruits of his labor and his best sacrificial lamb, whereas Cain offered God his leftover grain and fruit.  Though both were offerings from their labor, nonetheless, only one was acceptable to God. (Genesis 4, Hebrews 11:4) 

God knew both men’s hearts with regard to why they gave what they gave.  Cain probably thought he could get away with giving God his scraps, and Cain may have been motivated by greed and selfishness in that he wanted to keep the best to himself thinking that God would be okay with that.

In the same manner, I believe this example mirrors the way some of us, as believers, offer ourselves, more specifically our bodies, unto God.

Our bodies belong to God as we were bought with a price – the shed blood of Jesus. (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)

We can either give God our best by remaining pure before Him which gives us the ability to lift up holy hands without wrath or doubting and offer ourselves as the church without spot or wrinkle (1 Timothy 2:8, Ephesians 5:27).  Or we can offer ourselves all used up, tainted, defiled, sexually impure with our hands lifted up saying, “Here God. Take this part of me.  It may not be my best but it’s something. Receive me Lord.”

I believe if we did the latter we just may get the same response Cain did, while actually believing we’re actually doing something great for God.

The Word tells us in Romans 12:1 beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies aliving sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

As we present our bodies unto God as an offering, a living sacrifice – the Word lets us know that a holy offering is acceptable to God and accepted by God, and also that doing so is our reasonable service, or the least we can do as believers.

The good news is even if we have a scarred and tainted past once we repent and sincerely change our ways and commit to living, from here on out, sexually pure before Him – then we can then present our bodies unto God, and our offering would then be holy and acceptable to Him.

So as we continue into this New Year, in the midst of all these ‘resolutions’, resolve to give God your best this year, and to give Him all of you, not just part of you, as a living sacrifice.

Kim Brooks, author of bestselling novels, She That Findeth, He\'s Fine...But is He Saved? and more. www.kimontheweb.com

Ever Get Tired of Waiting?

prayingwoman

Do you ever get tired?

Tired of praying?

Tired of fasting?

Tired of believing?

Tired of waiting?

Tired of doing the right thing, only to feel like as you take two steps forward, the enemy  launches an attack causing you to take two steps back?

Tired of walking in love with folks who act crazy?

Tired of forgiving?

Just plain ‘ole tired?

The good thing about God, no the great thing about the God we serve is that He sees
your labor of love, He sees the tears and He hears your sighs…yet it is in these times
of growing weary that we must draw strength from within in order to maintain.

Thank God that in Him where you are weak; then you are strong.  (2 Corinthians 12:10)

Where you grow tired, he gives you enough stamina to run through a troop and leap
over a wall. (Psalm 18:29)

Just when you thought you had enough, He sends you a Word whether through His
written Word, His spoken Word to your spirit, or by using someone else to confirm
a Word He had recently given you in order to assure you that everything is going to be
alright, and that you’re going to be just fine.

Continue to draw strength from within.

Don’t take the enemy’s punches which seemingly have you down and out for the
count, turn around with a great comeback and put the devil right back in his place
(under your feet) by proclaiming “It is written!”

Refuse to grow weary in well doing because in due season you shall reap….you
shall reap joy, you shall reap peace, you shall reap all the promises of God that
He promised you years ago – sparing none.

You shall receive all the blessings God has for you and more as you continue to
draw closer to Him and renew your faith in God day by day.

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17)

Allow God’s Word to build your faith, reactivate your joy and give you enough
strength to move on.

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint
not.  Galatians 6:9

 In Galatians 6:9 the word, weary, means, to be utterly spiritless, to be wearied
out or exhausted.

The word, faint, means to dissolve, to weaken, to relax.

In this verse God is admonishing us to not grow weary, or become spiritless,
wearied out, or exhausted as we do the right thing by serving God and adjusting
our lifestyles according to His will because at a set time we shall reap a harvest
as long as we don’t weaken or get relaxed.

It’s easy to get relaxed when it comes to the things of God.

For example, it may have been that you used to pray almost all the time at a set time
every day then you started slacking off while thinking you’re going to be okay, or you
used to go to church every week and haven’t gone as much while telling yourself,
“That’s okay; God understands.”

Or it may have been that you used to be on fire for God, telling almost everyone you
encountered about Jesus, but now you can’t remember the last time you witnessed
to someone.

Where have you relaxed?

We all have different areas of improvement, so today I’d like to encourage you to pin
point your area and get back in the game.

Why?

Because it’s in the moments of spiritual relaxation or exhaustion that the enemy has
an opportunity to creep in while we’re weak and not on our ‘A’ game spiritually which
may result in finding ourselves in ‘compromising situations’ which we shouldn’t have
gotten in in the first place.

So don’t grow weary in well doing, stay prayed up and powered up and don’t faint.

Staying on your spiritual ‘A’ game causes you to defeat the giants in your life every
time.

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing. James 1:2-4

Recommended Reading:  eBook, The Little Black Survival Book for Single Saints
(especially the Chapter on Impatience)

Kim Brooks, author of bestselling novels, She That Findeth, He\'s Fine...But is He Saved? and more. www.kimontheweb.com

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

New Beginning!  Fresh Start!

I love the New Year because it signifies all that which is new and fresh.

It’s an opportunity to pray to God about your goals and allow Him to work on whatever He needs to work on in you.

As we have stepped into the New Year, I’d like to challenge you to maintain your focus this year.

Stay focused on God and growing in your relationship with Him – whether it’s committing to spending more time in prayer each day (even if it’s just fifteen minutes more), attending worship services more regularly and possibly mid-week, reading and studying at least one Scripture a day, or beginning prayers with “What would you have me to do for You, Lord?” instead of the other way around.

Focus on your own personal goals and dreams and work with God to help them come to pass.

Ask Him for the first steps, commit to doing that (give yourself a deadline to accomplish the first thing) and watch God add His “Super” upon your “natural” to manifest His supernatural power in whatever He has called you to do.

Whether it’s focusing on your improving your spiritual life, your health, your finances, your social life or overall well-being – I admonish you to set goals and stick to them while allowing God to ordain and order your steps along the way.

Step by step…

Day by day…

Hour by hour…

Minute by minute…

Don’t give up – you’re on the way!

Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase. Job 8:7

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.  Isaiah 43:19

Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
Psalm 119:133

Kim Brooks, author of bestselling novels, She That Findeth, He\'s Fine...But is He Saved? and more. www.kimontheweb.com

How To Have Patience And Remain Content During The Holidays

Embrace The Gift of Patience

Oftentimes as singles, especially as years go by and you find yourself still single, it’s easy to grow impatient while waiting on the Lord for your mate.

Many marry prematurely or they marry someone they don’t have peace about simply because they wanted to get the ring, get down that aisle and get their groove on before they grew tired and weary in well doing.

Instead of loathing patience, today I’m led to encourage you to embrace her as your friend.

Time is never your enemy; time is always your friend.

If you find yourself growing impatient while waiting on God to manifest your Boaz (or your Ruth for men reading this), it may be because you have not allowed patience to have her perfect work in you.

Scripture says in James 1:4 “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. ”

The word, patience, in this Scripture means, steadfastness, constancy, endurance, steadfast waiting for, patient endurance and perseverance.

This means it’s not a matter of being content one week, then impatient the next…shouting and praising God for the freedom you have in your singleness one week, then crying yourself to sleep at night the next…being happy for your girlfriend who just got married one week, then feeling sad and wishing it were you the next.

Patience means that you are consistently waiting while remaining content with expectancy. You persevere through those moments of pain. You allow God to keep you encouraged while you wait. You occupy your time and remain busy for the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:32) while you wait. You help and bless other people including your family, friends and loved ones while you wait. You wait with an expectation that the promises of God are still Yea and Amen for you and that God is not a respecter of persons no matter if you’re 25 or 65 and still single. (2 Corinthians 1:20, Acts 10:34)

You embrace patience.

You love her, and you thank God for her because in her you find joy, peace, and a supernatural ability to maintain. In her you find power to allow yourself to be kept by God as you wait, in spite of your feelings and emotions. (Jude 24). In her you find character building qualities that only make you stronger and wiser in the end.

On the other side of perfected, or matured patience is the promise…but until then continue to remain steadfast, continue to endure and persevere, continue to remain complete in Him and allow Jesus to be all the Man you will ever need, hope for and desire with God as your ultimate companion and patience as your best friend.

“For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” Hebrews 10:36

Kim Brooks, author of bestselling novels, She That Findeth, He\'s Fine...But is He Saved? and more. www.kimontheweb.com