What Does God Really Expect From You?Sample

Honor the Lord

“Honor the Lord with your wealth

and with the first fruits of all your produce;

then your barns will be filled with plenty,

and your vats will be bursting with wine.”

This classic passage on giving says to “honor the Lord” and not just “give to the Lord.” Yes, we do give to God, but we do so much more. We honor him. We worship him. We bring a heart of deep-felt gratitude to the God who made us and loves us. This perspective, to honor God with our giving, is everything.

Precisely because we are honoring the Lord and not just giving to him, we bring our first fruits. We don’t bring leftovers. We don’t tip God with a token gift. We don’t begrudgingly give out of obligation. No, we honor God with our first fruits. We give to God first because he is first in our lives. We don’t wait until the bills are paid. No, right off the top, before anything and everything else, we worship God with our giving, and thereby declare with our actions that God is first in our lives.

When we honor God this way, God gives us a promise. He says to us: I will bless you. I will take care of you. I will provide for you. I will pour out abundant blessings on you.

This may not happen immediately. But eventually, ultimately, in some way at some time, God will pour out abundant blessings upon you.

Down through the years and over the centuries, with all kinds of people in all kinds of situations, God has proven himself faithful.

This is an adventure to experience, an adventure of faith, seeing God come through for you. Don’t live your life and miss out on the great whitewater adventure of faith.

Honor the Lord. Don’t merely give to him. Honor him! Honor the Lord and then watch what God does.