Yesterday evening, part of the lesson I heard dealt with the three "R's" of Scripture; they are:  remember, repent, and return.

Christians need to remember why Jesus came and what He did for all people - if they choose to follow Him. We need to remember that we go to church/worship to honor Him. And we should never expect other Christians to be "perfect" human beings and flawless.

Christians should recognize God for who He is. God has standards of how Christians should behave and live. Sadly, even the most dedicated faulter.  We need to be a people who repent.  Repenting is a turning toward God and away from our wrong deeds and/or poor lifestyle choices.

Those of us who have been backsliding from our relationship with other Christians, studying Scripture, and/or God Himself need to return.  How easy is it to say I'll just sleep in Sunday morning and find yourself eventually not going to church at all?  How easy is it for someone to hurt your feelings and then become too proud to "deal" with those people anymore?  How many of us have gone through traumatic experiences only to disown God for His, seemingly, lack of protection?  We need to return to Him and know that eternity is eternal and that this earthly life is just a vapor.

The Lord's humbled . . . John A. Reeves

"Time passed.  Cain brought an offering to God from the produce of his farm.  Abel also brought an offering, but from the firstborn animals of his herd, choice cuts of meat.  God liked Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering didn't get his approval.  Cain lost his temper and went into sulk" (Genesis 4:3-5 MSG).

Why was God displeased with Cain's sacrifice?  Was it because Cain didn't sacrifice animals?  He could have easily traded his produce for one of Abel's quality animals.  Yet, the text doesn't specify that animals were the only sacifice God required at this time.  So, his land produce may not have been the issue.  A likely reason God wasn't happy with Cain's offering was because Cain didn't offer the best of his wealth and prosperity?  Perhaps he offered the second-rate produce to God. 

This text, as well as so many others, is dealing with our attitude toward God.  Was Abel "more" perfect than Cain?  No.  But it seems that Abel's worship to God was accepted because he used the best of what he had to offer; thereby, honoring God for who He truly is - the provider of all blessings.

The Lord's humbled . . . John A. Reeves

"Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!  Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.  In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.  The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.  Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!  For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.  For forty years I loathed that generation and said, 'They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.'  Therefore I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest'" (Psalm 95).