“I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:9-10).

I wonder if God knew that when he had David pen these words thousands of years ago how amazingly apt this would be in the English.

I bet God knew. I mean, he is God.

When it comes to generosity and giving, God says, “Don’t give me your bull!”

There is nothing in the created world that we can give to God because God already owns everything. Everything is already his, and all we have comes from him.

Giving, generosity, stewardship is not about how much we have or don’t have. It has everything to do with trusting God that God has given to us everything we have. When we start there, generosity and using God’s resources God’s way is a no brainer. Of course we honor God by using God’s resources God’s way. It’s God’s stuff anyway. We are merely caretakers of God’s resources.

I said that there is nothing in the created universe that we can give to God because God already owns everything. But there is something he doesn’t have.

Our hearts.

The only thing that God doesn’t already possess is our hearts. The only thing we can give God is our praise, thanks, and honor.

This is what God desires the most.

Don’t give God your bull! Give God your heart!

“Forgive our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors…” (Matthew 6:12).

Most of us have prayed the Lord’s Prayer hundreds if not thousands of times. Did you notice that our being forgiven by God is conditional upon our forgiving those who have hurt us?

Yeah. Read it for yourself in Matthew 6:9-13

This, then, is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.

As if this conditional clause in the Lord’s Prayer is not clear enough, Jesus reaffirms this truth a few verses later when he says, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15).

Yikes! This forgiveness is serious business!!!

What’s the deal with forgiveness? Why is this such an essential part of being a follower of Jesus Christ?

Forgiveness is essential because it’s the only pathway to God’s future. You see, forgiving someone cannot change the past. All the hurts, all the pain, all the residual damage and scarring all remain. But, forgiving someone is not about the past. Forgiving someone cannot change the past but it will change your future. Releasing the hurt, anger, disappointment, and loss is the pathway to freedom and peace. You can’t hang on to the past – which cannot change – while wanting to experience God’s grace and freedom. You have to let it go.

That’s what forgiving means. It means letting go so God can heal you, so God can fill you with his peace.

So make room for God’s grace. Make room for God’s peace. Let it go and let God heal you.

“One who has unreliable friend soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).

Birds of a feather flock together.

“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20).

“Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

It matters who we spend our time with. It matters who our friends are.

You see, when God wants to bless us, the primary way in which God blesses is through the presence of another person.

The problem is that when satan wants to destroy us, the primary way satan destroys is by sending someone into our lives who leads us astray from God and his truths.

So how can you tell who sent whom?

That’s a great question.

The primary answer is to look at the scriptures. Anyone who leads you closer to God and closer to the scriptures is God-sent. Anyone who leads you further from God and his truths revealed in the scriptures needs to be avoided. They are not sent by God.

Be wise, my friends. Let God’s truths revealed in the scriptures to guide you.