Believing God is essential if you are to receive His best. Hebrews 11:6 says, Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Believing and standing in faith pleases God and puts you in a position to get your prayers answered.

Matthew 14 tells how Peter walked on the water at Jesus' command. As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he was fine, but when he looked down he began to sink. When he cried out to Jesus to save him, Jesus reached out and caught him, saying, O thou of little faith (v. 31). The important thing to note is that although Peter's faith was small, Jesus honored his act of faith.

Just as the dollar bill is the medium of exchange for goods and services in a capitalistic society, so faith is the medium of exchange in spiritual matters. Simply put: Pray and believe, and you can receive. Pray and doubt, and you can do without. So even when you feel that your faith is weak, stand strong by choosing to pray, believe, and receive!

Give Your Best to God

All of my life I've heard my father tell this story about my granddad who was a preacher in Oklahoma in the early 1900's. Sometimes the church members didn't have money for the offering, so they would give an offering of food. One day a chicken rancher brought my grandfather a live chicken as an offering. When he left, my grandparents noticed that the chicken had only one eye. A little while later the rancher came back and said, "As I drove away, God spoke to my heart and said I shouldn't have given Him my worst chicken. I should give God my best." He took back the one-eyed chicken and gave my grandfather his best chicken instead.

We see the same principle illustrated in the Bible when King David sinned by disobeying God and conducting a census. To stop the plague that God sent as punishment, he was told to buy the threshing floor of Ornan to build an altar unto God. Ornan said, Take it to yourself...I give it all. But David replied, No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing (I Chronicles 21:23-24 NKJV). David wouldn't borrow or take a handout to give God his tithe and offering. He was saying, "No, it's got to come from me." It had to cost him something.

We can ask ourselves, are we giving God our "one-eyed chickens"-our leftovers? What He wants is that which represents our best. And in return, He can give back to us His best!

Labels: Enjection