PAYING FULL PRICE

“Then King David said to Ornan, no, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing(1 Chron. 21:24 NKJV).

Although Israel was hit hard with a plague, it stopped at a farm owned by Ornan a Jebusite. King David went to that farm to offer a sacrifice to God for stopping the plague. Ornan offered to give David anything he needed for the sacrifice for free. David refused, and according to our verse, told Ornan that he would pay the full price for anything needed for the sacrifice. If David does not pay for the sacrifice, then it is not David who is sacrificing. Often we are just the opposite of David. Here are a few examples:

Full price in salary - We all want a full salary, but are not too anxious to give a full day’s work. We want to fill our day with coffee breaks, rest periods, free time, and meal time; but are not very interested in filling the day with work. Yet if we do not work, we will be not produce, and there will be nothing from which to pay our salary. Thus, if we want full salary, we must give a full day’s work.

Full price in school – Churches have started up Christian schools because our public schools are failing. This sounds great, but many who want the best in the Christian schools are not interested in the best financing of the school. We do not want to pay teachers much, but want the largest discount to try to get our children into these schools.

Full price in success – A lot of us want great results with little effort. We want to play some instrument with skill but do not want to practice the full time required to play with skill. Others want a report card at school to be full of “A’s” but do not want to spend the time for full study.

Full price in spirituality - We want God to fill our cup with blessing, but when the collection plate goes by at church, we do not seem interested in filling it full. If we want God to fill our life with blessing, we must fill our life with dedication to Him. Full price is required for full blessing.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading NT)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“No sacrifice we make is too great for the One who sacrificed His all!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Direct

In 1 Thess. 3:11 we read, “Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you” (NKJV).

Direct is the Greek word kateuthunō (κατευθύνω = kat-yoo-thoo'-no). It is made up of two words: “kata” which means down, and intensifies meaning, and “euthuno” which means straighten. Thus the word means to make straight, to straighten fully, to guide or lead directly straight towards or upon something, to guide one’s way or journey to a place.

In Classical Greek kateuthunō was used to mean keep straight or make straight. Gradually the idea of making something straight shifted to the idea of directing someone to something and included a sense of success or prosper in the process. These meanings are carried into the Septuagint usage. In the New Testament kateuthunō can mean literal direction, or it can be used figuratively of spiritual guidance.

Kateuthunō gives a picture of opening up the way by removal of obstacles so that the desired goal may be reached. Paul recognizes the uselessness of personal efforts toward a re-visit unless God clears the way and removes the obstacles that the devil had previously placed in his path. Paul had learned the secret that it is God who directs our way and who alone is powerful enough to remove all hindrances that the devil places in our path

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – That He would be given vinegar to drink (Ps. 69:21)

New Testament Fulfillment – Matt. 27:34, 48; John 19:28-30

Bible Facts

Rejecting the Creator results in moral depravity (Rom. 1:20-32). The Bible warns that when mankind rejects the overwhelming evidence for a Creator, lawlessness will result. Since the theory of evolution has swept the globe, abortion, pornography, genocide, etc., have all risen sharply

Bible Quiz

What wood did God tell Moses to have the Ark of the Covenant made of?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: What sin did Jesus say “will not be forgiven?” “Blasphemy against the Spirit” (Matt. 12:31; Mark 3:28).

That’s in the Bible

"Written in stone”

“But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious!” (2 Cor. 3:7-8 NKJV).

The phrase “written in stone” carries the idea of finality and permanency. For some people, if plans aren’t written in stone, they e assume they aren’t finalized, or at least that they can be altered. The world loves to alter and amend its written codes. Although difficult to amend, the U.S. Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times. When God gave the Ten Commandments written in stone, He was showing us the permanency of the Word of God and its need for no alterations whatsoever. The Bible should be treated as if every page were written in stone! It should not be altered or amended.

Did You Know – Christian History

Eliza E Hewitt was born June 28, 1851 in Philadelphia, PA. She was a cousin to the poet Edgar Page Stites and a personal friend of Fanny Crosby. Graduating valedictorian from the Girls Normal School, she became a teacher in the Philadelphia public school system. During one of those classes, an unruly student threw a large piece of slate at her. Her career was cut short in teaching as the effect of that slate gave her a spinal injury. She was confined to bed at first. Eventually she was able to be partially restored, but the rest of her life was spent in great pain. Lying in bed, she could have been bitter. Instead, she studied English literature and began to sing and write.

This illness forced her to quit teaching but from her bed, she wrote Sunday school material. She became the Sunday school superintendent for the Northern Home for Friendless Children and later served in the same position at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. At one point, she oversaw 200 children. Hewitt was also a regular contributor to Sunday School Helps. Eliza Hewitt died April 24, 1920.

Hewitt is remembered today as the author of “There Is Sunshine in My Soul Today” “Stepping in the Light” “Will There Be Any Stars?” “’More About Jesus I Would Know” “Give Me Thy Heart” and “When We All Get to Heaven.” All in all, she penned some seventeen hundred (1700) songs.

A Little Humor

Little Evelyn was to stand in front of Church and recite the Bible verse that she learned. It came time for Evelyn to go in front of the congregation so her mother quickly reminded her “Jesus wept,” and say it loud. Evelyn walked to the microphone, head held high, and proudly exclaimed “Jesus wept, and say it loud!”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“God’s grace makes new creatures out of the best and worst sinners!”