PAY UP
Suggested Reading: Deuteronomy 23-24
(click scripture link to read online)
A mill stone found in Capernaum.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 23:21
When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you.
Family life, societal life, personal and corporate health practices, financial matters, justice issues, and care for the poor are all covered in our reading. We might do well to follow some of these instructions today. For example, as the photograph illustrates, there are upper and lower millstones needed to grind wheat, corn, etc. The creditor is not to deprive the miller of his means of income (Deut. 24:6). What if we followed the instructions here for a honeymoon of a full year (Deut. 24:5)? This practice is recommended to bring happiness to a new wife. Interest-free loans and not entering someone’s home to repossess borrowed items are all good ideas. And our key verse is so important. An unpaid pledge is serious business. It is a betrayal of our word. The old saying is, “Our word is our bond.” Then there is the last verse of our reading and the word “remember.”
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, please bring to my remembrance those experiences from the past that I need to think about. May I have grace to learn from my mistakes and from my successes also. May I also learn from the experiences of the Children of Israel. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I well remember the occasion when Norma-Jean and I made a pledge to the building fund of Bethel Church in Hamilton, Ontario. I had been Pastor there several years before, and when I went full time as an itinerant Evangelist, Norma-Jean and the children continued to participate in the life of that congregation. It was time, by vote of the people and the leadership of the Pastor, to build a new church building. Our pledge was a significant amount. Our date for paying up, Dec. 31, 1976, came and went and I had not paid the pledge. At the same time, our house was for sale, as we knew we must move to Toronto, but it was not selling. Finally, in desperation, my wife and I went to the bank, borrowed the money, and made an appointment to visit the Pastor to present our cheque, almost two months late. As far as we can calculate, at the very time I laid the cheque on the Pastor’s desk, Ray Edwards, our realtor, closed the deal to sell our house. I don’t believe the timing was accidental. I learned that God takes pledges very seriously.
Yours for financial integrity,
David
The Bible sets out for us a way of living along the path of righteousness. As you stated David “an unpaid pledge is serious business” as God is depending upon us to live in His righteousness and to live by His principles. Sin clouds our thinking sometimes, it’s the nature of being human since the fall in Genesis. That’s why it’s so very important to keep into the Bible daily, to seek His truth and ways, also to pray and to understand how Jesus could be a part in how we make decisions and commitments in our life every day.
My wifes father owned a drilling truck business out in Alberta. She tells me her father did most of his business with only a handshake. He lived up to his word, and others who shook on it, new this. I once heard the word ‘integrity’ discribed as having the ability to ‘integrate’ your words and actions into the person you are. I strive to do the same, knowing that by not doing so, only results in disappointment.
Great message, today, which I needed to be reminded of. What an awesome God we serve!
Hi David, The reading for today is wonderful isn’t it! God our Father cares so deeply about every aspect of our lives and has sewn into the scriptures his heart on every matter under the sun, when we seek it out in his word. There was a couple in our church who went to a meeting where a call for pledges was made to help a ministry. Her heart was convinced and she pledged to give some money she hoped to get from the sale of a small trailer her and her husband owned. Trouble was,he was not in agreement to this and it caused a problem in their marriage. We stood back and watched this and learnt a lesson that we must be together on any large pledges as we saw that the two should walk as one in marriage and partnerships. When we are in agreement, the blessings of God as you know are amazing,as we know how much he loves “the cheerful giver”
Thankyou
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of
our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.
Amen!!
Nancy Webb-Waisberg, Edmonton, Alberta
We see God’s grace extended to those who were not of the nation of Israel.
Ruth, the Moabite, received such grace, she even is mentioned in the family line of Jesus.
By this we are reminded that anyone may run to the Lord for refuge and comfort!
As usual, a great message and an interesting personal story from you David. Thank you.