The Offering
I’m making an intentional effort lately to dive deeper into my relationship with Jesus. This has brought me to a place of contemplating the concept of my offering.
I was raised in church and the word Offering is part of my faith fabric. As a kid, my church sponsored the Lottie Moon Offering at Christmas. In Sunday school class I placed my coins into small white envelopes to drop into the offering basket. Needless to say, I get the concept of the offering, but how does that materialize in my daily life?
I’m realizing that I’ve allowed this word to slip into the white noise of my vocabulary. The act of an offering being made needs to be in the forefront of this quest of mine to get where God wants me to go. I shouldn’t always think of it as a noun but more importantly, a VERB.
I need to offer to my Jesus, the Creator, El Shadi, Jehovah Jirah, me. I sing along at church or with the radio about it,… but WHAT does bringing an offering mean?
It’s an act. The act of staying still, the act of simply showing up. In the stillness, in the quiet, He is already there! He’s been waiting on me and it’s time I showed up, consistently. Yes my Jesus, my Creator, my heavenly Father wants to have a relationship with just me, but ALL of me!
A lifetime of traveling up mountains and down through valleys, but now finally settled into the meadow of my faith, is where I find my stillness. Not during a 911 moment of the valley or the euphoric, maybe somewhat glibness of the mountain top. He knows I will show up on my knees, at the throne, during the bad times. He knows I will praise Him on the mountain tops. But it is in the meadow that I have a choice. A choice to take the time, to make the investment of offering a relationship.
I am certainly not talking down the widow’s mite or the perfume Mary poured onto Jesus’ feet, or the Wise Men’s gold, frankincense and myrrh. Offerings are our gifts to Him but not always something tangible, something material. If I offer myself first, the tangible offering will be come naturally.
He has prepared a table before me the Psalmist tells us. Now is the time to take a seat - no reservation or RSVP required.
The depravity of this world is being unveiled daily. To survive on this side of Heaven for now, we all need a personal relationship with our Savior. Tap into the hope, the soul generating power, the faith providing miracle of peace that is waiting at your special table for two!
So my challenge to you is get in the quiet, be still, be ready to get real, bring your offering. You will never be the same. It’s an invitation you can’t afford to ignore!
If you’re ready to accept this invitation, I would encourage you to open a Bible and take a read. I referenced Psalm 23:5, if you want to start there. Or click the link below to access the Bible online:
If you’d like an excellent guide to this process, I highly recommend Bob Beaudine’s book, 2 Chairs. It’s available on Amazon.
Blessings,
Rhonda