Sacrificial Sacrifice

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:15

Bummed

Have you ever had one of those days? Today is not one of them for me, but I’ve had my fill. I remember a one time waking up really  bummed. I won’t say that I was depressed, I just

wasn’t happy. I rose from bed in a foul mood and it carried throughout much of the day. As far as church and worship went, I just wasn’t into it. But in a moment of discernment, I found myself praying to the Lord that [ironically] I had earlier lagged to praise, and wouldn’t you know it, Jesus responded. God is faithful even when I am not, and accordingly, He provided me a Bible study which focused on continual sacrificial praise. As a result I came away with a renewed appreciation for sacrificial giving, whether it is in regard to worship, service, or benevolence.

Seasons

Seasons (and the feelings that accompany them), will always be with us; there will be always be rain in spring, growth in summer, harvest in autumn, and stillness in winter. Changes occur over the course of a lifetime or in a moment in time, with the only certainty being that there will be change. Having said that, Christians know (or should know) that we are a people led by the Spirit and not our emotions.

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6:9

God Knows

The fact that we have emotional ups and downs is no secret to God. He gave us the emotions to begin with, but He also gave us choice. As a result, God has provided a way by which we can give sacrificially; praising Him in spite of our emotional or physical condition. Anyone can praise God when there is spiritual growth or harvest, but when the rain pours or our hearts are cold, we’ve been given an exit strategy divine — it all boils down to the choices we can make in the light of any affliction. I suspect that the widow in Mark 12 had some impassioned feelings regarding her poverty, yet she still chose wisely. Is this not of God? Is this not praise?

This poor widow has put in more (praise) than all those who have given…for they all (praised) out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had (Mark 12:43b-44, paraphrase mine)

I Missed Out

God’s message to me was timely and I found myself that morning praising Him for His faithfulness to me in my times of faithlessness. He had lifted me out of an emotional pit and had placed me on higher ground, able to praise Him with abundant joy where there was done previously. However, I also realize that I had an opportunity to praise Him sacrificially (in my emotional poverty) and let that chance slip through my fingers. That knowledge might be depressing to me if not for this truth:

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1

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I Will Bless

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:1-4

“I will bless”—let’s break it down. ‘I’ of course makes it an individual thing; it’s the pronoun we use when we want to convey the type of person we claim to be. The word ‘will’ signifies that the act is of our free choice. And finally the word ‘bless’ means to convey something to another for the purpose of bringing pleasure. Does this describe us; are you (am I) one whose freewill is bent on blessing the Lord at all times? Is this the type of Christians we claim to be? Reflective questions not meant to bring us grief, but that we might ponder if it is a model we should be drawn to.

When we consider King David’s example our first impression may be that it was an easy thing for him to bless the Lord at al times, being king and all; living in palatial luxury. I might agree if he hadn’t written the Psalm when he was in fear of his life, fleeing from King Saul, feigning to be a madman before Abimelech so he wouldn’t be killed. In one of the worst times of his life, David willed to bless the Lord with his praises. It’s who he was. David praised the Lord during the good times, but he also continually and consistently praised Him in the bad times too. Why? Because it was a blessing to the Lord; it was David’s sacrifice of praise.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1

Delivered!

We know that David was delivered from this and many other troubling situations. That should give us pause. Do you keep a prayer journal? Let’s go back a year or two and read about the things we were asking of the Lord. What happened? I submit to you that there is a very good chance we were delivered; sicknesses were cured, jobs were found, ministries were grown, relationships were healed, and the bills were paid. And for those others things that didn’t change much, we likely discovered that God changed us (for the better) in the process. In all instances, we were delivered–praise be to God alone!

So why do we fret over our current situations?

We will pray without ceasing, but let’s bless Him at all times knowing (because He has already proved it to us) that He is faithful in all things. We are confident, as the Apostle Paul wrote, that He who has begun a good work in us will be faithful to complete it until the day of our Lord! So [like David] we will bless Him at all times, we shall boast in Him and magnify Him for He is our deliverer, despite our circumstances. Considering all God has done, is doing, and will do for each of us, it is our reasonable sacrifice.

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24

 

These ramblings are typically (but not always) a byproduct inspired by God through my personal Bible study at SearchLight with Pastor Jon Courson and with my pastor at my home church, Calvary Chapel Coastlands

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