Giving even after the end

The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. But who is able to build a temple for Him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I to build a temple for Him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before Him?" - 2 Chronicles 2:5-6

Wow! Just wow! These two small verses speak volumes.

There is so much we can take and apply to our lives all throughout God's Word and this is no exception.

• "The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods."
• Solomon is humbled. He does not claim, "The temple will be great, because I am great." He realizes that nothing is truly great without the power of an even greater God. When we wholeheartedly commit to doing something that honors God, He will make it great. Because His power will be all over it. 
• "But who is able to build a temple for Him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him?"
• God is not and cannot be contained by us. But, His lack of confinement goes even beyond that. He cannot be contained by time, place, or situation. Just because we are stuck between a rock and a hard place does not mean God is. He can move the rocks and the mountains to overcome any situation, because nothing can contain Him. 
• "Who then am I to build a temple for Him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before Him?" 
• Our offerings are in our intentions. Solomon was humbled by how amazing God was. And, he knew that God could not be defined or confined by humanly things. Therefore, he made the temple as a place to SACRIFICE! Do you know what that means? It means that Solomon's intent was to build something for God and continue doing things for God long after the building was done. Solomon could have easily said, "I built this temple. I have done my part." But, he made something that He could continuously give to God in. 

Many times we find ourselves doing things for God and think our job is done at the end of a church bingo, a mission trip, or the signing a check. But, our sacrifice and gifts to God shouldn't stop because we think something is completed. God sent His son to die on the cross for us, which should have been an ending, and yet this Sunday we will celebrate the fact that His death was not an ending at all, but a beginning. THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE! 

My question is, "Why do we think that our sacrifices and gifts to God should stop after a certain event? Why don't we feel the need to constantly give everything we have to God?" The answer isn't easy. Maybe it's because giving our everything to God may call us to go places we never would have gone otherwise. Maybe we are afraid that God will call us to give up something we want to harbor for ourselves. Maybe we think that we have already done a lot, now it is someone else's turn to give something to God. Whatever the reason, we need to overcome it and place everything we have into the hands of a Savior who cannot be confined and can use everything we give Him to do whatever He wants anywhere, anytime, any place. We should continue giving even after the end of our "building" whether it be a mission trip, a Bible study, or a church service. Because God didn't stop giving of His love at what should have been the end of His son's life. 

What's with the title?

Why did I choose to call my blog "The Salty Socialite?"  Why "salty?" According to urban dictionary, it means that I just got played or looked stupid or maybe I am mad about something. However, according to God's precious word, it is something we should long to be as Christians. In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells us that Christians should be "the salt of the earth," and, salt that is not salty is no longer good and must be "thrown out and trampled underfoot." But, how do we keep ourselves from being no good? How do we become the "salt of the earth?" By simply being who God has made us to be. God made me loud and outgoing, so I try to be loud and outgoing for Him. Which is why I chose the word "socialite." We have to use the talents He has given us and the personality He has given us to honor and glorify His name, which is what I try to do daily. But, this blog is not just made for me. It's made for the people who want to read it. You do not put one grain of salt on your french fries to flavor them. You put a lot on there. Well, this world needs a lot of salt. It needs people to flavor it with God's love and grace. Although one grain of salt can add some flavor, multiple grains of salt can flavor the entire world and change it completely. To do that, we are all going to need encouragement, which is what I hope to provide with this blog. I hope whoever reads it, whether they read one sentence, a whole post, or even every post, will get something from this through the words God will give me to share. In turn, I hope that we can help to keep each other salty so that we can flavor the entire world.