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Your Very Best for God

Words of Faith Final

Your Very Best for God
Words of Faith 2-1-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 4
    Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man." [2] Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
    Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. [3] In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. [4] But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, [5] but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

        Life after the Fall wasn't any rose garden. There was birth, hard work, worship, envy and sin. Eve worshiped the Lord giving thanks to God and testimony of His faithfulness. The boys she brought forth represent one of the basic feuds of the ancient world between farmers who work the soil and shepherds who tend the flocks. This is no subtle variation in professions. Farmers and shepherds have clashed from the dawn of civilization.
        There is worship again. Both Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord. The fundamental meaning of the word "worship" is "offering." But the Lord did not look upon these offerings in the same way. He was pleased with the offering of Abel but not that of Cain. We do not know precisely how the Lord communicated His favor and displeasure. It may have been over time through blessing and prosperity that this was shown.
        What was the difference between these two offerings? In the south, there is one obvious explanation for God's favor with the offering of Abel. Abel brought the "fat portions from the firstborn of his flock," while Cain brought fruit and vegetables. Some have long suspected that the Lord simply likes barbecue! There could be an entire theology of barbecue to be developed at this point, but the answer is not that simple. The reason for the Lord's response was twofold.  
        First, Abel brought the fat portions of the firstborn of his flock. This language describes what was "the best of the best." Abel offered to the Lord his very best, but Cain simply brought "some of the fruit of the soil." It seems that Cain did not bring his best to the Lord. His offering was a second thought and not his best.
        Secondly, and perhaps most important, we find in Hebrews 11:4 that it was "BY FAITH that Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith, he still speaks, even though he is dead." Faith was the difference.
        Offering our best and offering by faith really go hand in hand. It requires faith-- trust in the sovereign care and ownership of God to let go of our very best and turn it over to God.
        We might argue in our minds that God should have accepted whatever gift was brought and not compared these two. There is no comparison between the two, only what was offered and what should have been. Cain failed because he could have given by faith, and he could have given his best, but he did not.
         There is a powerful truth here. The Lord God looks upon the gift and upon the heart. He knows if we have brought our best to Him, and He knows if we are offering in faith. If we offer our best, but the offering is not by faith, this is sin. If we offer something less than our best and call it "by faith," we fall short as well.
          Some efforts and attitudes are pleasing, and some are displeasing to the Lord. This is the prerogative of God. This may sound strange in a world that preaches there are many ways to God, and they are all the same and all equally valid. This is not what the Bible teaches. The Lord God looks upon the heart.
          The message of Scripture is that we are called to live BY FAITH. The righteous will live by faith (Rom. 1:17). We are justified by faith (Rom. 3:28). Righteousness comes by faith (Rom. 4:17). The promise comes by faith (Rom. 4:16). We gain access to the Lord by faith (Rom. 5:2). We stand by faith (Rom. 11:20). Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
          God also asks for our best. You may ask… Why was God so demanding? Perhaps it was because the Lord God already knew that He would offer His very best--His firstborn--to repair the devastation caused by human sin.
           The questions of the day:
           Are you offering to God your very best? Are you offering your best worship? Your best time? Your best prayer? Your best effort? Your best gifts? Surely all our gifts and efforts fall short, but we offer them by faith.
           Are you offering your life to Him BY FAITH? Are you trusting wholly in Him? Walking in complete dependence upon Him? Are you holding back?  
            We see clearly the resolve of God to give nothing less than His perfect Son. May we respond, by faith, in a similar way?

          Lord God, forgive me the times I have only offered you some of my leftovers. Spare time. Leftover life. Warmed over religion. Excess wealth. I want to offer to You my best. I want to give you my first. The best of me, I offer to You. All of me, I present to You by FAITH. I trust that You are my source. You are my confidence. You are my provision. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.