Gifts and Talents

        Honoring God is what Christians do when they accept Jesus as their Redeemer. We honor our God in the things we do and in what we say. We put Him first in everything we do, and we put a watch on what we say. We carefully honor God because we love Him and want to give Him all of the honor that is due to Him, for what He has done for us.

      In the old west there were many wagon trains that originated in Independence, Missouri. They traveled two thousand miles, on as many as six trails to California and Oregon. There was The Oregon Trail, The Santa Fe Trail, The Chisholm Trail, The California Trail, The Mormon Trail, and The Old Spanish Trail. Many of the wagon trains were in such a hurry to reach the Gold Fields of California, that they traveled every day in their hurry to get there. Many older people died because of exhaustion, and many children died because of the pace that was set, and because the cows could not produce milk. The wagon trains could only travel about 30 miles a day. Some of the wagon trains traveled only six days then rested on the 7th day, as God had told them to do. They did not lose ground because of the day of rest. They did not lose many of the elderly, and their cows produced milk for the children.

      Our Pastors have a tough job. They peach three or more times a week. They have meetings with their staff. They do a lot of counseling. They study for their sermons. They are preaching on the sabbath day and they do not honor God on that day of rest. There are some Pastors that will take one day a week and do nothing on that day. They do not answer the phone. They do not go out to eat with other Pastors. They do not have any meetings with their staff, they are honoring God on that one special day of the week.

      What about you. Do you honor God on the Sabbath? You have a job that requires you to work on the Sabbath Day. You can choose one other day of the week and honor Him on that day. Do you honor God by giving Him thanks for the food you eat? Do you honor God and pay your Tithes, and give your offerings? Many people say that we are living under Grace and we do not have to pay Tithes. That is not true. Jesus raised the standard in our lives. Jesus is concerned with the heart. The New Covenant requires a higher level of Holiness than the Old Covenant. Jesus came to fulfill the law, and not abolish it. Jesus is telling us to come up to a higher level. God does not lower His standards to accommodate us. We need to raise our standards to His. We also watch what we say. We do not pass on a dirty joke. We honor Him in what we say. We do not talk down to other people, or ourselves. We talk like God talks, He says we are blessed, he says we are overcomes. We are His children, and He will take care of us.

      God gave us the best that He had: Jesus, His Son, for our salvation. We give back to Him the best that we have. We give Him the first part of everything we have. We give Him the first day of the week. We give Him the first part of our money. We give Him thanks for our food. We give Him the first part of what we say. We honor Him in every way we can. We give Him our Praise for all He has done for us.

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      New King James Version
Hebrews 4:4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works";
5 and again in this place: "They shall not enter My rest."
6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience,
7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, "Today," after such a long time, as it has been said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts."
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.
9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.
10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

      New King James Version
Hebrews 3:3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house.
4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.