Psalm 50:1-15
..."Listen, my people, and I will speak; I will testify against you, Israel: I am God, your God. I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. 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 the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? "Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."
This passage of Psalms clearly tells us that God rules now from the place of sunrise to sunset, and He's shining the in the world! God's throne is upon the whole earth and He's the Lord who judges, so we need to live day by day with a fearful heart. Verse 7 says that "I am God, your God." Brothers and sisters, did you know that God is not only the God sitting high up on the throne, not only God of all people, but also your God? He created you, redeemed you, shepherding you in your daily life, so you can trust in Him!
When we come before God, we often don't understand this truth, so we end up having a lot of quarrels and disputes. I started learning to tithe when I was young, when in the beginning I wasn't too happy about it, because I often negotiated with God. I would say: "God, this one-tenth belongs to you, I dare not surrender it to you, but the other nine-tenth is mine, so please don't touch it!" In my spiritual life, however, I felt that God wasn't satisfied with me just tithing; I wasn't happy because I felt that God wanted me to offer even more. One time I prayed before God, and suddenly He reminded me: "What yours and mine? Everything's mine, you are just managing it for me!"
God also says here that "every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills." There's nothing that doesn't below to Him. Actually, God doesn't need of a bull from our stall or of goats from our pens, for even our life belongs to God. When we truly understand this, how can we not offer ourselves to God? God has so much mercy and grace for us and He gives us all kinds of blessing, how we can we not offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving and entrust ourselves to the hands of God for Him to use? May God help us, not to always negotiate with Him in our daily life, but rather completely offer ourselves for Him to use!
Pray with Pastor Tong
Dear Lord, I thank you and praise you because you are God who created all things in the universe, and you are also the master who can provide us with all our needs. Since everything comes from you, we are willing to offer everything back to you so that you can use us! I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!
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