a gift for a King
I've been reading a lot lately which always causes me to think a lot. I love reading for that very reason. It exposes me to someone else's thoughts, views, opinions, and ideas. It gets me out of my own head and into someone else's.
I have been reading several books, but something that stuck out to me that I was thinking on and turning over in my brain yesterday is from a book I'm reading on Esther. When I was little, the book of Esther was my favorite. I would read it all the time. I loved her story, and I still do. I'm not sure it is still my favorite, but it still speaks to me in a powerful way, so this book I'm reading is reawakening that love in me for this story.
The thought that stuck out to me, that I was pondering was this: One should always enter the presence of a king bearing a gift.
We don't know a lot about royalty in America because, well, we don't have royalty. In fact, there aren't that many countries left in the world that do have a monarchy as their governing system. It has become something that we don't think about. However, we should think about it because while the leader of my country is elected, the Lord of the Universe is King over all for all time. He is eternal. He is unchanging and unfailing. He is sovereign. He is holy. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So don't you think we should learn how to live in the presence of a King?
One should always enter the presence of a king bearing a gift. What gift do you give to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? The whole earth is His. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He truly is the One who has everything. So what do you give Him?
When I get gifts for people, I like to listen to them, learn about them, and give them a gift that is meaningful. I want to bless them with a gift that is a blessing to them regardless of the expense or in-expense of the item. Shouldn't the same apply to giving God a gift? Shouldn't we listen to Him, learn about Him, and give Him a gift that He wants?
What does God want? He wants our hearts. He stated over and over again to the Israelites that while they made sacrifices before Him their hearts were far from Him. He desires the gift of your heart far above any other gift. He doesn't want your acts of service. He doesn't want what you can do for Him because He doesn't need you to accomplish His work. He could do it without you. He spoke to Balaam through a donkey.
But He does want your heart. He longs for it, a lovesick Bridegroom seeking the heart and affections of His Bride. Here's the beautiful thing about love: it is a gift that has no end. You give it over and over again. It never wears out and only gets better with time.
Our heart's affections are a sweet perfume before Him, and as we offer them up to Him as our gift of surrender they become incense burned in worship before Him. Every day as you choose to offer Him this gift of your heart it becomes more and more valuable because He has refined and purified it a little bit more.
Will you give Him this gift today? Will you give Him the gift of your love? Will you give Him the gift of your Holy Passion poured out at the foot of His throne? Will you give Him the gift of your heart, the gift of being a lovesick Bride, longing for her Heavenly Bridegroom? And will your bring this gift into His presence today and lay it at the foot of His throne?
He longs for you to enter the throne room with boldness because you have the favor of the King. He longs for your presence there with Him. He longs to be your dwelling place, to be a covering over you, to be a place of rest and refuge. Will you come into His throne room today bearing this gift He desires? Will you make glad the heart of the King by loving Him well?
This is what God has been challenging me with. This is written for me as well as for everyone else. I still get up every morning and walk into His Presence in His throne room and offer Him my heart as my gift to Him. Just like the elders in Revelations continually cast their crowns down before the throne, so we are called to continually lay down our hearts in the sweet surrender of loving Him well.
I have been reading several books, but something that stuck out to me that I was thinking on and turning over in my brain yesterday is from a book I'm reading on Esther. When I was little, the book of Esther was my favorite. I would read it all the time. I loved her story, and I still do. I'm not sure it is still my favorite, but it still speaks to me in a powerful way, so this book I'm reading is reawakening that love in me for this story.
The thought that stuck out to me, that I was pondering was this: One should always enter the presence of a king bearing a gift.
We don't know a lot about royalty in America because, well, we don't have royalty. In fact, there aren't that many countries left in the world that do have a monarchy as their governing system. It has become something that we don't think about. However, we should think about it because while the leader of my country is elected, the Lord of the Universe is King over all for all time. He is eternal. He is unchanging and unfailing. He is sovereign. He is holy. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So don't you think we should learn how to live in the presence of a King?
One should always enter the presence of a king bearing a gift. What gift do you give to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? The whole earth is His. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He truly is the One who has everything. So what do you give Him?
When I get gifts for people, I like to listen to them, learn about them, and give them a gift that is meaningful. I want to bless them with a gift that is a blessing to them regardless of the expense or in-expense of the item. Shouldn't the same apply to giving God a gift? Shouldn't we listen to Him, learn about Him, and give Him a gift that He wants?
What does God want? He wants our hearts. He stated over and over again to the Israelites that while they made sacrifices before Him their hearts were far from Him. He desires the gift of your heart far above any other gift. He doesn't want your acts of service. He doesn't want what you can do for Him because He doesn't need you to accomplish His work. He could do it without you. He spoke to Balaam through a donkey.
But He does want your heart. He longs for it, a lovesick Bridegroom seeking the heart and affections of His Bride. Here's the beautiful thing about love: it is a gift that has no end. You give it over and over again. It never wears out and only gets better with time.
Our heart's affections are a sweet perfume before Him, and as we offer them up to Him as our gift of surrender they become incense burned in worship before Him. Every day as you choose to offer Him this gift of your heart it becomes more and more valuable because He has refined and purified it a little bit more.
Will you give Him this gift today? Will you give Him the gift of your love? Will you give Him the gift of your Holy Passion poured out at the foot of His throne? Will you give Him the gift of your heart, the gift of being a lovesick Bride, longing for her Heavenly Bridegroom? And will your bring this gift into His presence today and lay it at the foot of His throne?
He longs for you to enter the throne room with boldness because you have the favor of the King. He longs for your presence there with Him. He longs to be your dwelling place, to be a covering over you, to be a place of rest and refuge. Will you come into His throne room today bearing this gift He desires? Will you make glad the heart of the King by loving Him well?
This is what God has been challenging me with. This is written for me as well as for everyone else. I still get up every morning and walk into His Presence in His throne room and offer Him my heart as my gift to Him. Just like the elders in Revelations continually cast their crowns down before the throne, so we are called to continually lay down our hearts in the sweet surrender of loving Him well.
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