Loved

Do you remember how you felt when you received a love letter or a love note? Do you remember reading them over and over again. Everybody wants to be loved.

We are supposed to be loved in our families bur sadly this is not always the case. Sometimes the very ones who are supposed to love us abuse, manipulate, and afflict us instead of loving us. Many people have suffered the pain of growing up not feeling loved or accepted in their family.

People try to cope with this reality in different ways. Some think if they just perform better they will get the loving approval from their parents they have always longed for. They work hard at achieving and pleasing. They are compliant. They make good grades. They follow the rules. They achieve success at school. In many cases the love and affirmation are still not given by insensitive and hard hearted parents.

Others cope with not feeling loved by chasing relationship after relationship. For the unloved their worth is attached to having a boyfriend or girlfriend or being married. In many cases it does not even matter if the person they date or marry is a follower of Jesus. Unloved people are easy prey for sweet talking manipulative people who are willing to play at love to gratify their selfish desires. Unloved people who so badly want to be loved often end up feeling used and abandoned.

You can see the difference in children who have been showered with love and affection compared to those children who have been unloved and rejected. It affects a child's self worth and confidence.

While I grew up in a loving family it was dysfunctional. Love for me was based on performance. That meant performance on the football field. Nobody in my family ever told me they loved me based on how I performed, it was something engrained in my psyche. I don't recall a lot of verbal expression of love in my family. People expressed love by what they cooked for you or bought for you. They did not say it. I needed to hear it.

When love is based on performance we are in trouble because nobody performs perfectly all the time. If love is based on  what you look like we are in trouble because beauty fades with age. If love is based on who you associate with what do you if those people disavow you. If love is based on other conditions than the choice and will of another  to love unconditionally there will be trouble.

Yesterday afternoon I sat alone in the warehouse where our church meets in prayer preparing to preach that night. The reality of a truth stunned me. It is not a new truth. In fact it is one of the fundamental truths of the whole Bible. It hit me hard yesterday stopping me in my tracks. I got  prostrate before the Lord. What is that truth you ask.

I am loved. I am loved by God! Despite my potful performance of service for Him I am still loved by God. When others betray and abandon me I am still loved by God. On my worst day when sin dominates me I am still loved by God. I did not say God loves my sin but He still loves me. [Rom 8:39] informs us that nothing can separate us from that love of God.

There are countless people in this world who stumble though life feeling unloved. If they could see the truth they are loved by their Creator. If they could just understand that they can't earn this love it is freely given because God chooses to bestow it. If they could grasp the truth that God's love is not based on what they do or do not do. And the tangible proof of God's love will always be the cross and Jesus' death there to atone for our sins. [Rom 5:8]

You may be reading this today and saying, "Get on with it Matt. I know I am loved by God. Big shocker there. That really took a lot of imagination to write about that topic." Do you really grasp this truth.

Do you live day in and day out with the thought that you are loved by God? Do you really grasp the concept that there is nothing you can do to make God love you more and there is nothing you can do to make Him love you less. HE JUST CHOOSES TO LOVE YOU. Whether you feel you deserve it or not He loves you.

My performance has been less than stellar lately. The sobering truth that God still loves me hit me hard yesterday afternoon. I felt unworthy. Yet I also felt comforted and secure that a gracious and merciful God loves me and has taken this wretch and wrapped him in righteousness. [II Cor 5:21]

I am  loved by my wife. I am loved by my boys. I am loved by some friends and some of the people I have served add their pastor over the years. I AM LOVED BY GOD and my worth is attached to that.

A Word Of Rebuke For Worship Police

People show up at worship services for all sorts of reasons. Some of my favorite people are those who are desperate. I guess that is because I have been desperate so many times myself. Even while standing behind the pulpit I have needed God to touch me over the years and He has and still does. I have watched God tenderly touch hurting and broken people. I watched him do it last night among a group of teenagers.

There are other people who show up at worship for all the wrong reasons. They are the self appointed worship police. They scrutinize everything and everyone to make sure every "i" is dotted and "t" is crossed. They do not have a heart for God. They are so busy critiquing the music, the fashions of the attenders, and the sermon they miss encountering God altogether.

I talked to a a friend of mine recently who serves on staff at a large church. He told me his pastor received an anonymous letter from a croup of people criticizing his preaching. The focus of their criticism was not theological content. They nitpicked his grammar. I am not talking about a preacher who is not educated and who does have proper grasp and use of the English language. These people are so focused on this issue I wonder when do they ever worship. When do they open their ears and hearts to hear from God. When do they ever turn their attention off themselves and onto God.

There is s story in Mark 3 about a desperate man who came to the synagogues and about some Pharisees who only showed up to criticize Jesus. Jesus knew wha wast in their hearts. He rebuked the hardness of the Pharisee's hearts. He healed the desperate man.

Which one are you? Do you show up to your church desperate for a fresh touch and a fresh word from God. Do you enter the sanctuary or the classroom prayerfully ready to encounter God. Or do you come with a critical spirit to scrutinize and tp take notes of everything done wrong and those who are doing so.

I have a word of rebuke for those worship police. You can actually show up for worship and anger the very God you are supposed to adore with your sinful attitude and air of superiority. You do not have the right to grieve the Holy Spirit for the rest of the body of Christ. Your petrified hard heart is an offense to God. I stand with faithful pastors all over the nation and rebuke you in the name of Jesus. Take the log out of your own eye so you can see more clearly to take the splinter out of other people's eyes.

Jesus Take My Hand

Jesus in this uncertain world I ask You to take my hand,
And lead me safely to my eternal promised land,
The path is difficult and filled with the pitfall of sins,
That only Your shed blood can forgive and cleanse,
The trials mount up like the coming evening tide,
Please take my hand to find refuge in You and hide,
Take my hand to lead me through sickness and disease,
Lead me and those I love to deliverance if You please,
As I get older and my hair thins and begins to grey,
Take my hand so that I can hear everything You say,
Take my hand as You lead me through the shadow of death,
Take my hand and sustain me until my dying last breath.

Jesus, Cleanse The House

You know the hard work that goes into cleaning house. Saturday we have family coming over to celebrate birthdays. Floors will be swept and mopped. The carpet will be vacuumed. The laundry will be washed and put away. Things will be dusted. Beds will be made and everything will be put in place.Dishes will be cleaned and put in the cupboards. When company is coming over we want the house clean.

That is exactly what Jesus did on the cross. He died so that the house of our lives could be cleansed from sin. He died so that we could be dead to sin and alive to God.

All of us fail and stray. We wander off the straight and narrow and soil our souls with the stains of sin. Jesus wants to clean house. Every room. He wants to take the broom of His grace and scrub the inner chambers of our hearts until the house is clean.

We are not to be slaves of sin. Sin is not to reign over us. Sin is not to have mastery over our mortal bodies. Yet many of us have lived at times dead to God and alive to sin. Sin has held a strangle hold os us. This is only because we choose not to believe Jesus has the power to set us free. We do not have to be slaves to sin but can be slaves to righteousness. [Rom 6:1-17].

Once the house of our lives have been cleansed why would we want to dirty up what Jesus has washed and purified.. Maybe the greatest news for me in all the Bible is [II Cor 5:21] Jesus is my righteousness. He cleanses the house of my life. My standing before God is totally based on what He did on the cross and not my pitiful efforts to earn His good graces.

Therefore, we are alive to God and dead to sin through Jesus Christ. We do not have to be slaves to unrighteous behavior. Satan is a liar and wishers that we will never be free from sin. He rattles the chains that keep us in bondage reminding us of our past failures. JESUS DIED TO DEFEAT SIN AND SATAN IN OUR LIVES. WE MUST BELIEVE HIM FOR IT.

Jesus, come with the broom of Your grace and sweep every corner of every room in our hearts. Crucify the flesh along iwht every lustful desire that draws us away form You. We plead that You wIll make us dead to sin and alive to God. Please let our hunger for You and the things of You be greater than any temptation to sin and dirty the house. In Jesus name, amen.

Vacation

My family just returned home from our vacation. We went out to eat to a few of my all time favorite places to eat. We watched a movie. We saw some old friends. We traveled back to my home town. We saw the house I grew up in. We drove to the first church I served as pastor and showed Taylor and Tanner the first home they ever lived in. We drove to the first home we bought where Tucker and Turner first called home. We visited the cemetery and put flowers on the graves of my baby sister, mother, grandfather, and grandmother.

We then traveled to a resort on Lake Conroe. We played putt putt where Taylor ended the week as the family champion. Tucker and I tied for second but he beat me soundly in a play off. Taylor and I won the two on two family basketball championship though it was close all the way to the end. Turner and I won the shuffleboard championship with Turner carrying me from beginning to the end. He played masterfully beating his older brothers nearly single handedly. Tanner won our tennis tournament in a rematch with Tucker.from last year. Due to only one tennis court I sat that one out. We swam and they played board games.

We slept late. Ate our meals at odd times. We sweat profusely in the Houston area humidity leaving perspiration soaked clothing that had to be left out to air dry. We worshipped in other churches where we reconnected with some old friends.

Vacation is a fantasy. We live in a make believe world. For the first time in a long time I did not wear a watch. It did not matter what time I woke up. Every day my agenda was to spend time with the boys doing what they wanted to do. I did not check emails. I did not even take my computer out of the backpack. I read a little and prayed each morning.  I played with the boys a lot while Brenda rested.

Now it is back to reality. I did not preach while away but starting tomorrow I am preaching a youth revival this week. I have a hospital visit to make tomorrow in Fort Worth. And of course there will be the family tradition Edwards Summer workouts.

I enjoyed our vacation but the longer we were away the more I was ready to get back. Many people want their whole life to be a vacation. God created us for purpose. He gives us assignments. Vacations are great for renewal, to recharge the batteries and making memories. We were not meant to live on a permanent vacation though. I am not interested in living on vacation. I will not sleep in tomorrow morning. I will not keep the computer in the backpack. This is the second blog I have written this afternoon. It is time to go back to work. There are responsibilities to keep. There are tasks to be done. There are things to be accomplished. Vacation is over.

The Long Journey Back

Many followers of Jesus stray. They stumble. They err. They sin. They grow lukewarm. They drift into passionless mediocrity. Pews are filled with such people. Some even stand behind the pulpit.

God's merciful kindness leads such people to repentance. The long journey back to full restoration starts with repentance. Repentance can be an immediate response to God. The path to wholeness and healing may take a little longer. Not that God does not receive our repentance. The journey to wholeness sometimes does not happen instantaneously. It often takes much prayer, scripture reading and meditation.

The long journey back takes longer for some than others. Some are able to repent, seek restoration, and turn from sinful behavior. For others there is tug of war in the soul and the flesh does not give up one square inch of territory without a life and death struggle. On the path back to wholeness there are setbacks, sin, and sorrows.

We may not understand why a person lives in a less desirable walk with God and embraces sin, doubts, and lukewarmness. We have all been there at one time or another and I will not be the first to cast a stone. We have been content to live in defeat and the pig pen squalor of sin rather than in the victorious abundant life Jesus purchased for us.

The journey back starts with genuine repentance but when do people really take the time to look inward in reflection and repent over sin anymore?  When do churches do it when they have sinned corporately.

While on vacation recently our family attended a church service in a church that used to be strong, vibrant, and effective. That church was a shining lighthouse in the community with many people trusting Christ for salvation. When we set in that worship service the attendance was ten percent of what it used to be. Don't misread that. I do not mean that it was down ten percent. I mean there were only ten percent of the people left in a church building that can hold hundreds and classroom space for hundreds as well. Over the years the church has had several pastors, some good and others bad, and the end result is a church of barely a dozen people. While I sat there I wondered if the church has ever repented of corporate sins and if individuals had repented of personal sins.

Each of us is on a journey. Some are journeying further and further from God. Others are on a fast track toward God. Wherever you find yourself as you read this I pray we will all all start the journey back to God, wholeness,  as well as personal and church revival this moment. Each day we delay takes us further down a road we really do not want to travel.

Repentance is not a popular subject these days but it is a vital one. I challenge individuals and churches to look inward and to fall on our faces in repentance and come back home. Home to the arms of a loving, merciful, and gracious God who is willing to receive us and restore us. Start the journey right now without further delay.

God's Ministry Of Perseverance, Encouragement And Hope

Are you sad today? Maybe a little discouraged? Feel like giving up or giving into a life of sin because the journey is too difficult? Feeling overwhelmed and you are desperate for some relief. Hang on tight for this word for you.

God gave us His word for our instruction. That means our learning and understanding. HIs word helps us with perseverance. O how we need that. We need endurance, patience, and the ability to continue though difficulties.

The young mother needs perseverance to get through sleepless nights. The addict needs perseverance to get back up after falling and try again. People in the work force need perseverance to press through another work week. The student needs perseverance to stay the course in their studies. We will all need perseverance as we face old age.

Over the years these are just a few of the verses God has used in my life to help me persevere and to encourage me. Ex 14:13-14, Joshua 1:9, Job 1:20-22, Ps 27:13-14, Ps 30:5, Ps 40:1-3, Ps 46:1, Ps 50:15, Is 41:10, Is 59:1 just to name a few.

Not only does God's word instruct us in this [Rom 15:4-5] but God grants perseverance and encouragement to us. The word grants also means ministers. God Himself ministers perseverance and encouragement to us often using His word. He comforts and consoles us. He can prompt someone to write just the write note of encouragement or to speak a tender word to us at just the right time. He brings the right scripture at just the right time for our need. He is constantly ministering perseverance, encouragement, and hope to us. Many times He uses other people in the church to help us.

In all this God gives us hope. We need hope. A little hope can carry us through the tough times.

Today as you go to worship or sit at home I am praying that God will minister perseverance, encouragement, and hope to your troubled heart. I am thankful for an early morning jaunt in His word that brought me to Rom 15:4-5.

Blue Collar

I grew up in a blue collar family. I began working at an early age raking leaves, mowing yards, cutting trees and running a paper route. Things were not handed to me. I worked to earn bicycles and record players. I learned the value of hard work and a dollar because I worked. During my high school years I did not know what it was like to sleep a whole night through. I got up around 230 a.m. day after day (except ruing football season) to run my route. I usually finished around 6:00-6;30 a.m. and then went to school during the day. I did so to pay my Jeep payment.

In college I worked construction work during one summer and worked at furniture stores delivering furniture. During my last days at Howard Payne University I worked for the campus maintenance department. Blue collar all the way.

Over the years I have run a jack hammer, driven a dump truck, pushed a rock bar, and dropped galleons of sweat in the blazing hot sun. My heart's desire has been to give my life to ministry and the church.

I have known the joy of serving churches full time. I have enjoyed my own office, worn slacks and a dress shirt to work. I have been treated with honor having bankers and other high officials in the community come welcome me to the community while I chuckled on the inside. I have served white collar people and loved them. Down deep I have always known I was a bloc collar man. though.

Today I wear jeans and boots most days. I no longer have an office to go to. My office is in my house. Over the past three years the boys and I have mowed yards. Yesterday we hauled hay. I could not have been prouder of my four boys who worked. They moved hundreds of bales of hay. Even Turner, the youngest at 11, tugged, flipped, dragged, and lifted bale after bale. They worked hard. Later on this morning we will be back in the hay field. It is not my dream. I would rather give my days to writing, studying for messages, and working at ministry. Maybe God will allow that to happen again one day down the road.

It dawns on me this morning that I am working on ministry with my sons. They are learning lessons passed down to me from my mother and grandparents. They are learning the value of hard work. They know what it means to WORK. I watched Tucker climb up in highest part of a hay barn to stack bales while Taylor and Tanner threw them up to him. They worked past exhaustion. Way past it!

My hands ache. My shoulders are sore. My back is stiff. If you have ever hauled hay you know exactly what I am talking about. Yet the pride in my heart of watching my four sons grow into young men brings a special reward. I guess no matter what church I serve or the size of that congregation I will always be blue collar. I will go to my grave blue collar. I will always be more at home in a cafe than a five star restaurant. I am comfortable in jeans and slacks. I am most at home behind the pulpit preaching my guts out expounding the glorious truth of God's word. One day I hope to trade days mowing yards or in the hay field for more ministry. I am thankful for getting to share these blue collar experiences with four sons who bring me more joy and delight than I can ever put into words. Even when we are working blue collar jobs.

I Believe

These are things I believe by faith. God's silence does not mean His absence. His delays do not mean He doesn't care but is the perfect expression of His best for us. Unanswered prayers do not always indicate a lack of faith but the expression of God's perfect will because He knows what we need better than we do. His strength is perfected in our weaknesses. His mercies are new everyday and great is His faithfulness.

Faithful Pastors

Paul boldly proclaimed the gospel. He fearlessly went into hostile environments to point people to Jesus. He brilliantly debated with skeptics and won many of them over. He worked tirelessly at preaching, evangelism, church planting and writing. What may surprise many of us is how much he loved the people in the churches he planted. Let me give you just a few examples from the Thessalonica church. "We proved to be gentle among you like a nursing mother tenderly cares for her children." [I Thess 2:7] "Having so fond an affection" "well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives" "You had become very dear to us" [I Thess 2:8]

This pastor loved the flock entrusted to Him. Many pastors preach the word. Some do so in anger scorning the very people they are supposed to serve. Some do so professionally and mechanically not caring about the spiritual well being of the flock. They preach out of duty. Many pastors use their leadership position to manipulate people to accomplish their agenda. People are used as stepping stones to achieve and objective.

Then their are true shepherds who not only impart the gospel but give their very lives to the people they serve. They love intensely. They rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. They are well pleased to give their lives. These pastor's fates are bound with the fates of their flock. For these pastors their joy, crown and exultation is their flock in the presence of Jesus one day. [I Thess 2:19] I salute all true shepherds who love their Lord and flocks more than their own glory or ministerial success. I thank God for a faithful pastor in Charles Roberts and a youth pastor in Eli Bernard who loved me and imparted their lives to me. Thank you God for faithful shepherds no matter what the size of the church.

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Lessons From Psalm 119

Most people know that Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. A lot of people know that the chapter has 176 verses in it. Most know the subject of the chapter is the cherishing and valuing of God's word. People have memorized many verses from this chapter.

Do you know what verse 176 says? It surprised me to read it today. In that verse the Psalmist confesses that he strayed from God like a lost sheep. It shocked me to read that after reading a whole chapter about how much he valued the law of God and thought it more valuable than gold or silver and sweeter than honey he still wandered away from God. He strayed, was seduced, and tempted away from God. As I backtracked I noticed how many times he prayed that God would revive him in the word. He even shed tears over the fact that he was not living up to the law of God.

I too have wandered away from God and stood in need of a personal revival. I too have sinned and not lived up to the law of God. I too have been broken over my sin to the point of tears. I am thankful that a loving Shepherd God continually seeks me diligently. God thank you for lessons from Psalm 119.

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Summertime Sweat

Summer time in Texas means sweat. Summer time for the Edwards household means a twelve year tradition of summer workouts. They originally started with me spending a little time with the boys each day getting in some physical exercise instead of watching them just sit around all summer. As they grew older the workouts evolved depending on what sports they were interested in.

This summer we are getting one ready to play in college, two to play in high school, and the youngest to play in his last year of peewee football. Hard to believe. We push weights, run, sling sledge hammers, do agility drills, push sleds, flip tractor tires, and do other work. We drink lots of fluids and it seems sweat it all out. Most days our clothing is drenched at the end of the work outs from sweat.

I cannot say I always enjoy the workouts. At close to 48 years old  my body does not respond or recover from the extreme work as quickly as it used to. My knees and other joints ache at times. I am unable to do things I did back in my younger days but I still show up and do what I can. I sweat right along with them.

I am thankful for the memories I get to make with the boys. They have learned what it means to work hard not only in physical exercise but also when they have to work for money also. I hope they are learning lifelong habits of physical fitness.

The weather forecast calls for triple digit temperatures over the next week. More heat and more sweat. This is all preparation. For them they are getting ready for two a day football practices. For me I'm learning lessons of endurance in life and ministry. I learn how to push my body and my mind beyond what I think I can do. This serves to remind me that I can trust God through adversity and do more than I think I can.

Sometimes the sweat we drop is the result of hard exertion. It is the result of pushing muscles to fatigue. It is the result of expanding our lungs through running. All of this to prepare us for something.

Some reading this are in the middle of the blistering heat of their circumstances. Those who endure better are those that sweat in their souls through prayer and Bible study and meditation. Those things produce spiritual endurance and combat faith fatigue. It is not easy to keep trusting and to keep showing up for service. It is not easy to stay the course when the winds of adversity blow against us. It is not easy to endure the summer times in our lives. One thing we know for sure. Summer eventually gives way to fall and fall to winter and winter to spring. The seasons do not last but eventually change. So do the summer time of our circumstances.

Hitting The Curve

Most of us are creatures of habit. We wake up at the same time. We typically eat the same things. We wear the same kind of clothes. We travel the same routes and keep the same routines. Life has a rhythm like that. We get in the groove in our familiar routines. We get in a comfort zone and know what is expected of us. We learn how to perform at optimum levels.

We get married. We have kids. We pursue our careers. We buy houses, go to ball games, celebrate birthdays, and make holiday memories.

Some of us even get pretty good. We are like a batter in the batting cage before a ball game hitting moderate fastballs. You find your timing and make solid contact time and again.

Yet in the game the pitcher is trained to throw the batter off guard with off speed pitches and breaking balls like the curve. Many a hitter has been fooled by the curve ball and swung helplessly missing the ball.

Life can be like that. You are enjoying your routines and then suddenly you are thrown a curve ball. An aging parent has an accident causing every part of your life to be thrown into upheaval. You find yourself scrambling after a home repair surfaces unexpectedly. Curve balls in life come in the form of kids getting sick necessitating changes in schedules. Curve balls sometimes are more life and death serious.

Why are we lulled to sleep in life not expecting curve balls. They come. We often see them from a distance impacting others but we think we are immune. This is not the case. Sooner or later in life we all face adversity. I talked with a widow once who told me her mother in law asked why a tragedy had to happen to their family. The grieving wife responded saying, "Why not us? We are no different or better than anyone else." So very true.

Tragedies happen. Pain arises. Health fails. Curve balls come. If you have trained yourself to hit the curve ball you learn how to face these adversities in faith. [Rom 12:12] You learn to lean on God to help you.[Ps 46:1] You learn how to adjust your routine. [Ps 119:105] You read the Bible with a new intensity and tenaciously cling to helpful truths found there. [Ps 119: 165] You pray with more fervency. [James 5:16] You gain new strength to endure more than you ever imagined you could. [Eph 3:20] You hit the curve ball.

As you go to bed tonight or wake in the morning expect some curve balls to come. Tomorrow may be another day in the batting cage enjoying the familiar and predictable. Keep looking for the curve ball. Sooner or later one or more will be thrown in your direction. With God's strength you can hit it in the sweet spot.

Keeping Your Way Pure

How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. [Ps 119:9]

The battle for purity is difficult. Temptations abound. Sexual sin is rampant. Lying is common place. Violence is everywhere. There are so many pitfalls to avoid, so many snares to hurdle, and so many luring and seductive pleasures to flee like drink, drugs, and sex.

How is a young man or young woman supposed to navigate these treacherous waters without shipwrecking their faith? Television, the internet, and Netflix are formidable foes. Skimpy skirts and predator guys abound. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and many times we never see what hit us when we sin.

If you really want to keep your way pure, holy, and righteous the way to do so is according to the word. Verse 11 of the same chapter states, Your word I have hidden in my heart that I may not sin against You. As we read, study, meditate, memorize, and apply the scripture to our lives we can traverse the path of purity. If we keep the scriptures as a high priority in our lives and the standard for how to live and make decisions we can remain holy by God's supernatural enabling.

God's church is blemished because of the hypocrisy that abounds. It is easy to sing "Blessed Be The Name" or "Blessed Assurance" at church and then curse like a sailor at home, work, school, and the locker room. If you watch and listen to profanity it will infiltrate your thoughts and eventually roll off the tongue. Avoid every appearance of evil the Bible commands. We can preach True Love Waits but too many young men and young men are not keeping their zippers zipped and their skirts down. The church is stained with sin. The path to purity is the path of taking major doses of scriptural medicine accompanied by the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

One summer in college I spent the summer working construction and worked eight hours a day six days a week among some very savory characters. I heard every form of profanity imaginable and before the summer ended those vile words had lodged in my mind. Though I did not say them I certainly did think them. When I became frustrated I would think horrible words and thoughts.

That happens all over the church. The only way to combat this is to fill our hearts and minds with more truth from the Bible. When we keep our focus there, draw our strength from there, and practice what we read we can live pure lives. Will you take the path of least resistance and give into sin or will fight for purity. Saturate your mind and heart with truth from God's word.

Pay Your Vows

Many vows are made to God as a bargaining chip to get what we want. We promise God we will do this, give that, or go there in an effort to get what we want. Many times the vows are just as quickly forgotten as they were when made.

Today God is calling due vows made to Him in earnest or haste. [Ps 116:14] "I shall pay the vows I made to the Lord and Oh may it be in the presence of all His people."

What vows have you made to the Lord.?Maybe they were made years ago. You may have even forgotten the vows until this moment. God is calling them due. Repentance is in order. Obedience is required.

Pay your vows. Give God what you promised. Follow through. Finish the task. Complete the calling. No more excuses. No more rationalizing disobedience. Do what you said you would do. Keep your promise. Pay your vows.