November 2006
by Mary Van Nattan

Nov. 30, 2006
More About Abilities

Earlier this month (see below) I made mention of some comments from a friend regarding abilities and the fact that God does not require of us what we cannot do.

Interestingly, this subject came up again recently for me in my Bible reading in the context of giving.

Ezra 2:68 And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place: 69 They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pound of silver, and one hundred priests' garments. [Emphasis added.]

Notice that here the men gave for the work of the Lord (building the temple in this case) according to their ability. They did not give what they did not have. In other words, there was no "faith promise" involved. They did not give more than they could, as some have done when pressured by sheep skinners (offering takers). They did not piously say, "If I had a million dollars, I'd give it aaalllll to God," despite the fact that they only had $5 to give. They just gave after their ability. Not less. Not more. Not on promise. And, although this was the Old Testament era, they also did not give on command. They offered freely.

Here is a parallel thought in the New Testament:

Acts 11:28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. 29 Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: 30 Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. [Emphasis added.]

So, in the context of the New Testament church where Old Testament tithing is not commanded, we see that giving is also to be according to ability and not according to people's expectations or demands - others or our own.

2Corinthians 8:12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

1Corinthians 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. [Emphasis added.]

2Corinthians 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

CA

Nov. 14, 2006
Curious Fact

I have been reading through Jeremiah recently, though I have taken an occasional detour along the way. Not long ago I read the prophecies God gave against Egypt describing her destruction at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar - or Nebuchadrezzar as he's sometimes referred to in this book.

One particular fact stood out for me particularly:

Jeremiah 46:23 They shall cut down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable.

I don't know about you, but I never knew that Egypt had such a huge forest at one time! I was actually surprised and interested in that. Considering what it is today I never thought much about there having been a large forest there. I don't know if archeologists would confirm this or not, but I accept it as fact regardless for God cannot lie. (Archeologists have a ridiculous habit of mocking things in the Bible as false or impossible and then acting surprised when they dig something up that confirms it "after all".)

Anyway, this is not any earth shaking bit of information, but it intrigued me and I wanted to pass it on.

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From my email correspondence:
According To Our Abilities

My friend, Cindy, wrote to me not many weeks ago and shared this very comforting thought relating to a situation that came up for her:

"I made 3 pairs of curtains for [my husband's] dad's house in less than 24 hrs. We picked up a portable machine to sew on at Wal-Mart... Funny thing, Mary, about this is that making these was harder than any I had made before. I was very apprehensive prior to working on them. I happened to read the parable of the talents and noticed the phrase about the 2 who were given talents according to their several ability and got some insight that the Lord gives gifts as He sees fit and didn't give the workers a job they could not do. I had never thought of the parable in that way. It doesn't say inability there. This helped me and God gets the glory for my efforts which turned out fine despite my not knowing ahead of time if I'd succeed at this project."

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Matthew 25:15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

I noticed this verse also during our family Bible reading and remembered Cindy's letter:

1Peter 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

This is good news. Our kind Lord will not give us a task for which we are not prepared or that we cannot accomplish with the abilities He has given us. We need not worry that He will give us something "too big" for us, but we also need not fret because we can't do this or that like someone else can.

I have personally had people tell me on more than one occasion that they wished they could play the piano. In at least some cases I know it was not possible for them to have learned that and/or it was not an ability that God had given them. According to what we read above, they can be content that their abilities are just as useful to God as anyone else's, even if they can't play the piano. And, if the Lord wants them to play the piano, He will provide the ability. I once knew a lady who started taking violin lessons at 40! Talk about a challenge.

These things apply to many areas. I suppose we can all think of some ministry or ability that we would "like" to have, and feel weak in areas where we feel "too much" is required of us. We would do well to remember that God gives the abilities and the opportunities to use them. We can rest in His wisdom in this matter.

This is not to say that we should not use discernment in matters. People can and do allow themselves to be pressed into doing things they ought not to do. God will give discernment in these situations too. Remember there is a difference between what He requires of us and what man will try to require of us. We must cast ourselves upon Him for leading in this matter as well, and exercise wise discernment.

Psalm 103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. 14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

CA

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