What Will You Give to God?

On Tuesday of this past week I received a wonderful 10 page testimony from a man who lives in Texas.  As I was reading about the amazing things God has done in his life, one incident he tersely mentioned jumped out at me.  It read: “He (God) spoke to me to stop watching “R” rated movies and stop listening to Rock and Roll.  My wife and I threw ‘in the trash’ all our Rock CD’s and R rated movies.  Our life continually got better from that point on.  God blessed us in everything we did.”  There is a powerful message behind those 4 little sentences—namely, obedience to God (which is always a pride-sacrifice of one’s own selfish desires) LEADS to blessings from God.

As I read his words, my mind shifted to a scene in my own life.  I was dancing before the Lord in my living room, spinning, arms raised, eyes closed, having a good-ole time worshipping the Lord to a Toby Mac song called “Made to Love”.  As it reached the bridge section, Toby was singing (repeating 3 times), “Anything, I would give up for you. Everything, I’d give it all away!  Oh, yeah!”  And I was singing along to those words with ALL my heart, when suddenly I heard God’s serious voice speak to me in my spirit, “Alright son, get rid of ALL your country & rock CD’s, for you don’t need them anymore.”  Woah, talk about stopping a man dead in his dancing tracks!  I stood there in shock for a long moment (was He going to say something else? … just silence) so I sat down gingerly on the couch to consider His words.

For over a decade country music had been my life.  I even moved to Nashville to be a country music star in December 1996.  And I had amassed over 150 CD’s of my favorite albums throughout the years.  Now just get rid of them?  Really?  But then I thought about how lately when I played a secular CD in my truck I could feel its lyrics grieving my spirit.  As I was thinking things over, I could sense God’s presence intently watching me.  I knew it was decision time!  What was I going to do?  Would I obey Him and put truth to the lyrics I was just singing, or would I disobey Him (holding on to my idol) and make my singing nothing but meaningless lip-service?  Was our relationship going to grow or was it about to hit a wall?  I made my choice … a lifetime of CD’s would go!  And they did.  And my relationship with our Heavenly Father blossomed to a new level of intimacy.

I'm reminded of Christ's words: "Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33).  Wow!  There were 4 more sentences concluding this brief portion of the man’s testimony I was reading this week, and they sum up this blog’s message better then I can: “Have you ever had a desire of the Heart.  If you have, don’t be afraid to lay it down for Christ if called to do so.  He likes us to step out in faith and give to Him the things that we hold closer than Him in our hearts.  The gain is much greater than the loss.”  Amen.


In Christ’s love,

Gabriel

Approximately 895 Weeks (Sabbaths) Remaining Till Christ's Return!