"Empty Hands"

"Remember his marvelous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen." (Psalms 105:5-6)
I don't know, there is so much here, I might have wanted to leave these two verses apart; but they are meant to be woven together like a glove! I heard a message yesterday from Pastor Jon, it was about Aaron's sons and when they had offered strange fire before the LORD. Jon had used that burning-up of those two sons to express how we believers get burned-out serving God; that it is because we forget about the True Sacrifice, and we offer up something different and strange. It is all about Jesus, His death on that cross, His blood that was poured out for us; there is no other way to please the Father, there is no other sacrifice that is pleasing to God. How many servants of God in the ministry neglect to give tithes, thinking that the time they give is good enough? It should not be so! If there is one thing that I lack in service to God, it is probably the opposite attitude in my heart; how that I give all of my tithes, and then think I don't need to give any of my time; or at least much of my time. I do try to give at least 10% of my time; that is my two to three hour devotions from 4:00am till 7:00am. But does that really count? Does it matter for anything? These are things that we are expected to do with a heart that is eager to do them, so why should it be something that counts? You breath in air, do you count the number of breaths that you take? That would be silly and useless to even try. It is the same with our service towards the Lord, no matter what it is that we do or how that we do it. All that matters is what He has done for us! We can never repay what He has done, not in a thousand life times, not in a million years. I think Abraham is referred as God's servant because of his many years of serving God without seeing the promise; yet he kept on serving, no matter what his mind might think, his heart kept trusting in God. Those that are the seed of Abraham must do the same; keeping the promises of God securely locked in our hearts, and disciplining our minds to stay focused upon Him and His reward. Is that even possible? I think it depends what we bring to the offering...
"This is what the LORD says -your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "For your sakes I will send an army against Babylon, forcing the Babylonians to flee in those ships they are so proud of. I am the LORD, your Holy One, Israel's Creator and King. I am the LORD, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlestick. "But forget all that -it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and owls, too, for giving them water in the desert. Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed. I have made Israel for myself, and they will someday honor me before the whole world. "But, dear family of Jacob, you refuse to ask for my help. You have grown tired of me, O Israel! You have not brought me sheep or goats for burnt offerings. You have not honored me with sacrifices, though I have not burdened or wearied you with requests for grain offerings and frankincense. You have not brought me fragrant calamus or pleased me with the fat from sacrifices. Instead, you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your faults. "I -yes, I alone -will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again. Let us review the situation together, you can present your case to prove your innocence.""
(Isaiah 43:14-26) NLT