ONLY AN HONOUR

Memorise:

For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? 1 Corinthians 4:7

Read: Proverbs 3:9-10

9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

MESSAGE:
In our Bible reading, we are enjoined to honour the Lord with our first fruits. What does the word 'honour' really mean? Honour can be viewed from the perspective of giving a person something he or she doesn’t really need.

We see a manifestation of this in the academia. When universities or colleges want to give honorary degrees, they look for people who don’t need money, academic qualifications or any such things, and they honour them with a degree.

This is why it is called an honorary degree. They give such degrees to eminent personalities, people of proven abilities and achievers in different fields.

This is comparable to the way God operates. What money can you give to the One who created the heavens and the earth? What can you give to the One who owns all silver and gold? He says to us, “If you come to the city where I reside, what is most precious to you on earth is what the streets are made of.

So what do you want to give me that I don’t have already?” Therefore, whatever we think we can give to God can only reasonably be given in honour of Him.

“For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” 1 Corinthians 4:7

When we speak about giving God something, is it really so? What do we have that we have not received from Him? If we have indeed received all we have from Him, it clearly shows that we are simply giving back to Him out of what He gave us.

When we were still living in our first house in the Redemption Camp, my little children held a meeting in the room one Christmas season, and they sent the youngest, who was about four years old then, to ask me what I wanted for Christmas.

I said I would like a jet. He said they weren’t proposing that kind of gift, and so I asked for a pen. He ran back to the room to meet the others, and he later came back to me asking me to lend him N10.

I gave it to him without asking what he wanted it for because I knew the purpose. So at Charismas time, I got a beautifully wrapped gift.

Even though I knew what was inside because it was bought with my money, I still gathered my children round and hug them, just for even thinking of giving me something at that tender age.

This mirrors the relationship between God and His children. How often do you honour God?

Prayer Point: Father, grant me the grace to honour You in all I do, all the days of my life.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Psalm 9-16
Amos 8

LESSON HYMN: TAKE MY LIFE

1.   Take my life and let it be
   

Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise.

1.   Take my hands and let them move
   

At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

1.   Take my voice and let me sing,
   

Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.

1.   Take my silver and my gold,
   

Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

1.   Take my will and make it Thine,
   

It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

1. Take my love, my Lord, I pour
   At Thy feet its treasure store.
   Take myself and I will be
   Ever, only, all for Thee.