Proverbs 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

We acknowledge God because we believe in Him. When we see things that cannot be explained by any natural means, we acknowledge the hand of God, His mercies, His grace. Sadly it is not for all to believe and acknowledge. So what do we do with the scoffers?

The second part of this verse is just as important as the first, perhaps more. We see a healing, praise God. They say you have no proof. This is not the time to argue. I admit it isn’t easy to face a scoffer who laughs at our faith but getting defensive and allowing our emotions to take over will not win them over.

Psalms 3:8 Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.

Salvation is not ours to give. All we can do is show the blessings bestowed upon us by the God we serve. How we do that comes from following directions. Acting defensive before scoffers does not prove God’s grace, it only confirms the scoffers belief in who we are as Christians. We cannot exceed their expectations by meeting them.

In all thy ways includes those moments when your faith is put to the test. Will you get defensive or will you seek God’s directions? While their salvation is our responsibility, showing the grace which is a gift from God towards us is our duty.

Romans 12:1-3 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Deuteronomy 16:10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:

What do you think of when you hear the word tribute? A debt? A toll? A fee? An honor? Here in the Old Testament we see one tribute tied to the festival of weeks. This is Pentecost. In New Testament terms it is the day the Lord showed His salvation power through the apostles.

Given that this is a free will offering of the works of my own hand, what have I done that can possibly pay tribute to the blessing of salvation? Worse yet, this passage puts the earnest on me to determine its worth. He does not lay out values as was appointed many of the other tributes paid.

What is your salvation worth? I think we all agree this is a debt we cannot pay. Thank God Christ paid the price. Yet what tribute do we pay Him for that blessing? We owe him our lives. All He says in return is; “Whatever you think its worth.” I shudder at the thought. I owe you everything Lord.

Then I think about Pentecost. Show the power of salvation. Demonstrate to those who do not know the free will offering/ Pay tribute in honoring what the Lord has done by sharing the testimony of your mouth.

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.