Running Short of 'Grain and Grapes'?

Good morning, everyone. This morning's message is somewhat shorter than many, because the message is simple and easy to comprehend.

The difficulty is patterning our lives to actually do what the scriptures tell us.

Proverbs 3:9-10 (Contemporary English Version) - Honor the LORD by giving him your money and the first part of all your crops. Then you will have more grain and grapes than you will ever need.

We've had financial difficulties recently (call it a "grain and grape shortage"). I'm sure nearly everyone these days has "felt the pinch" in one area or another of your lives. More than at any other time in our past together, my wife and I have begun to buy generics, "clip coupons", combine our trips when running errands, consciously turn the thermostat in an energy-reducing direction, let the lawn go a little longer before we water, make that marginal suit last one more season, and so on. But we have agreed that our giving (tithes, offerings, missions, pastoral offering, pastor's anniversary, and the other areas where we give to the church) will NOT be affected by our economic issues. God always gets the first of this family's "crops", and the world has to deal with what's left.

2 Corinthians 5:7 - "For we walk by faith, and not by sight."

I guess you could call it a "trust thing". I would MUCH prefer to lay my trust in God than in the wacky economy of this world, or even in my own "intelligence" (read 1 Corinthians 1:25-29 to see what the scriptures say about human intelligence).

Bottom line: God has proven himself to me too many times for me to ignore. So in all I do, I choose to trust him, giving him the "first part" of my livelihood. If you've read the Bible, you see that God is a bountiful provider for his people, over and over again (regardless whether they did anything to deserve it).

So I trust Him. God Bless you, every one.

© 2008 Scotty Ward