Making An Offering

This year God is teaching me about the word - OFFERING.

Not as in money, but that is one form of offering too. The Lord is teaching me how to offer every aspect of my natural life as a "living sacrifice" as Paul describes in Romans chapter 12.

God presented a question to me not too long ago that took me by surprise:

"What is your offering to Me today?"

I was like... "huh?"  What does that mean?  I thought offerings & sacrifices were outdated.  A part of the past.  Old school.  Old testament.  I thought offerings were unnecessary.

Back on the old homestead (aka. The Bluff), it was difficult enough when my mom would tell me that the truck was coming to butcher one of our cows so that we would have meat to eat.  She told me not to go outside for a few hours. 

Can you imagine how hard it was for an 8 year old to not go outside for just a peek at something she was told not to watch or look at?  I don't know if moms & dads realize this, but when kids are told not to look at something, there is this uncontrollable urge TO look!   

Most of the time I wasn't emotionally attached to the cows in our field, but a few exceptions were my first 4-H cow - Snowflake...

and then Snowboy, whom I also showed at the county fairs the following year.

  The hardest thing I had to do was sell Snowboy at the auction at the end of the fair.  I knew his future, and I had to say good-bye to a friend.  One of the hardest things I ever had to do as a young girl.  

(Wow, as I write this my eyes begin to drown in the uprising of tears)

I wasn't able to bring Snowboy back to the green pastures of The Bluff as I did with his sister Snowflake the year before.  It was a hard day.  I didn't understand it. I was angry at the boys at the fair who made fun of my tears & heartache.  And I thought I had betrayed my friend.

Offerings are not easy.  They are sacrifices...giving up things we like holding on to. Giving up things that are safe and familiar to us.  They are good things like dreams. They are selfish things like wants.  They are noble things like rights.  They are habits.  Things we treasure.  People we love.

There is a cost to offerings, but what God has taught me these past few months is that there is also a beautiful exchange that happens when we give our offerings to our Heavenly Father.  In fact, it is the best exchange rate you'll ever receive!

Oswald Chambers describes it as offering the natural in exchange for the supernatural.

That is what I want!  

That's what I need -  to experience the supernatural in this natural world.  What would life be like if we always made that exchange daily!?!

When God is teaching me something, I can't help but tell my best friend about it.  
A best friend is someone who listens and understands and is confidential with your feelings.  Right? 

Well....that is, unless your best friend is a Pastor!   Then your experiences either become a part of his sermon or he asks you to write one and share with the entire church body yourself!  

February 11, 2015: God told me it was "time". (I won't go into detail.  That's for another post later on.)  But when Brent asked me to speak last Sunday, I knew it was the "time" God was speaking to me about, and I wanted to live out this offering lesson He was teaching me.  This was my offering!

So here it is...my offering.  For me, my only audience was an Audience of One.  God, who gave me this message and gave me the opportunity to offer it back to Him through Reach One Church, graciously met my greatest desires through my very own offerings to Him.

Reach One Church - "What Is Your Offering?"

For His Glory and Our Good....