God has no price tag

I’ve got to be honest here:  The title, and some of the thoughts I will express this morning were inspired by my Blackaby Spiritual Leadership Network devotional email.  It’s funny, today’s entry continues a thought I was having last night as I stared into the face of a hot grill while preparing supper …

I will be the first to confess that I am not perfect.  I make plenty of mistakes, and you can ask those closest to me and this will be verified.  One shortfall I’ve noticed lately is this:  My tolerance for those who claim the name of Christ and refuse to live for Him is becoming smaller and smaller.  And this is a problem for a pastor.  God and I are working on this.

I know no one is perfect.  I know we all make mistakes.  But this thought is more specific to those who will tell the world “I am a Christian” and/or “I am a member of Ebenezer” and yet they seem to go out of their way to live in ungodly lifestyles.  They never seem to acknowledge God in their lives in any way.  And seem to be very happy with this lifestyle.  Why does this bother me so much??  Because, as a pastor, sometimes I see this and have to come to terms with my own failure to shepherd.  Then God reminds me that I cannot make every decision for every member of God’s family, and my role is to do my best to follow HIM as a man AND as a pastor, and when I do make a mistake, confess it and make it right before Him.

The writer of today’s BSLN devotional hits the heart of this when he wrote “Today, God’s people act as if God must adjust Himself to their tastes and schedules.  We determine what our offering to God will be and assume He will be pleased with it.”  If we become like this, we are NO DIFFERENT from the world.  But “God has NO PRICE TAG.  He does not compromise His standards based on the … gift He receives.”  He is more concerned with our hearts AT ALL TIMES…  In worship, in service, in our offerings …  It is ALL about our hearts!!

Our relationships with God can never be about our comfort or preference.  We need to take a step back and realize how fortunate we are that God even ALLOWS us to have a relationship with Him.  He clearly reveals His terms for the relationship in His word.  And these terms are not a terribly heavy yoke to bear … In fact, they are much more favorable to US than they are to Him.  Why do we always try to redefine these things to our liking??