Ascending to the Throne

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. (Psalm 103:19)

The bible describes how God rules from His throne in heaven, but there’s another throne He wants to sit on.  The throne of your heart.

You see, every heart has a throne and something or someone sits on it.  Each of us has something in our life that we love above everything else.  Whatever that is, it’s currently seated on the throne of your heart.

Does God occupy that highest place in your heart?  If not, how do we get him there?  The answer….one worshipful step at a time.

Every time we worship God we elevate Him closer to the throne of our heart.  They go hand in hand.

And worship can come in many forms.

Every time our heart pauses to adore him, He is one step closer.  Every time we are tempted and we choose to turn away, He takes another step.  Every time we choose Him over the pleasures of this world, He takes yet another step.

Until eventually, after He has taken enough steps, he can take His rightful place as King of your heart and begin to rule there like He so desires and we so desperately need.

And when that happens, your spiritual life will move at breakneck speed.  God will be free to work through you in amazing, supernatural ways.  Your spiritual antenna will be at peak sensitivity.  Your spiritual eyes will be opened and you will see His fingerprints all over your life.

Will you allow God to ascend to the throne of your heart?  He’s eager to take the journey one step at a time until He is crowned King there.

Do You See What I See?

“If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves;

But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.”

Proverbs 29:18 (Message Translation)

“Said the night wind to the little lamb

Do you see what I see

Way up in the sky little lamb

Do you see what I see

A star, a star

Dancing in the night

With a tail as big as a kite

With a tail as big as a kite…”

Haven’t we all heard that Christmas song?

The question asked in the song might well be asked by the Lord:

“Do you see what I see?”

If we want to know the fulfillment of His plans for us it is essential that we see as He sees. So often we fail to see through the “eyes” of the Holy Spirit and instead rely on our own natural eyes. But what we see with the natural eyes is temporary and fleeting. Spiritual things, things seen with spiritual eyes and spiritual understanding, are eternal.   

Won’t you ask God to see as He sees?

 Ask for the understanding to value and look

for the things that matter to Him in your life.

Stop seeing from an earthly perspective and begin to see with an eternal, heavenly perspective.

There is an old saying (it is not found in scripture though) that we can be so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. That s just not true though. Paul admonished us in Colossians 3:1 – “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”

I am praying this week that our hearts (and I might add – our sight) is set on things above and not on things on the earth!

Worship Brings Freedom

Have you ever been desperate and without hope?

Have you ever been in a place where it seemed like nothing good could ever happen to you or for you?

Have you ever been in a place where time after time after time

your hopes for better things were dashed? Have you ever felt like a prisoner?

If you are not much different from everyone else then the answer to all of those questions would probably be yes. We all face times of desperation in our lives or setbacks when what we have dreamed for and believed to be our future in God seems unreachable. We seem locked up and locked away from the freedom to do and be what God has for us.

Josephs’ dream could have been lost in the pit.

Peter’s dream could have been lost in the prison.

Our own dreams can be lost in pity for ourselves.

So where does today find you?

Are you in the pit? Are you in a prison? Are you wallowing in self-pity?

There is a way out.

Worship the LORD.

Worship is the way out of the pit:

“LORD my God, I called to you for help,

   and you healed me.

You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead;

   you spared me from going down to the pit.”

Psalm 30:2-3

Worship is the way out of the prison:

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”

Acts 16:25-26

Worship is the way out of self-pity:

“but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Genesis 4:5-7

In each case a choice to worship in God’s prescribed way was the way out of the pit, the prison and the self-pity. If you find yourself in the pit(s), the prison or as a prisoner of self-pity then hope is available to you if you choose the way out through worship!

Cain, Paul and Silas and the Psalmist all had a choice to make.

Two out of three chose worship.

How about you?

Tests + Trials = Joy?

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

James 1:2-4

Ask anyone facing a trial how they would describe it to you and chances are pretty good that one of the descriptors would not be the word ‘joy’.

Yet that is exactly the connection that James makes in his epistle.

Perhaps the secret lies in the goal. If you, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, want to be mature and complete then you will recognize the value that there is in what trials can bring into your life. The lukewarm see no value in them.

Not only do they not embrace trials; they run in the opposite direction. The quickest path to immaturity and an unfinished race is to duck around trials; by not letting perseverance finish its work in you. That would be too hard.

To persevere is defined as: to continue to do something in spite of difficulty, opposition, etc…

Often we are content to be disciples as long as it is easy. Ask me to sacrifice things in my life and to daily take up my cross and we transform from

disciples to ‘departers’ (as in: See ya - I’m outta here!)

The disciple who truly desires to be like the Lord recognizes that trials are opportunities. They will not be easy.

They will not be a ‘cake-walk’.

They will be valuable.

Count it all joy!  

Obedience that is Better than Sacrifice

“Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke of when he said:

   “‘Among those who approach me

   I will be proved holy;

in the sight of all the people

   I will be honored.’”

   Aaron remained silent.”

Leviticus 10:1-3

This is a hard passage of scripture. I think it would be easier to read it and move on instead of reading it and considering what it is saying. There are two things we ought not to do. First, let’s not take the easy road and just pass by it without consideration and second let’s also not try to understand what we cannot definitively understand. We cannot understand with certainty what the ‘unauthorized fire’ was that Nadab and Abihu offered.

However, here is what we do know. 

It was unauthorized.

It was contrary to the LORD’s command.

Unauthorized is defined as: lacking official approval or permission.

Contrary is defined as: opposed; altogether different

Here, then, is what we do know. Nadab and Abihu did not have permission or official approval to offer in worship to God what was opposed to and altogether different from what was prescribed by God for worship.

That sounds like a pretty good definition of disobedience.

Worship matters very much to God.

Obedience is better than sacrifice.

Even when it comes to worship.

Especially when it comes to worship.

Nadab and Abihu offered the sacrifice of unauthorized fire in direct violation to the instruction of God concerning worship. Looking at worship and, in particular, looking at sacrificial worship we understand that no

amount of sacrifice can make up for disobedience – except for one.

 The sacrifice Jesus made on the cross atoned for our sins.

That, in itself, is worthy of worship!

Nadab and Abihu offered worship that did not honor God.

May we offer worship, by His Holy Spirit, that gives God alone honor and glory.

How do I fight my battles?

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.  (Psalm 125:2)

Our worship team sang this new song on Sunday that I can’t seem to shake.  It is a short song and the words are very simple.  It goes like this…

“This is how I fight my battles.

It may look like I’m surrounded, but I’m surrounded by you.”

Such a simple song, but very powerful words.

Life can get tough.  It can feel like there is trouble at every turn.  But, be encouraged!

No matter what’s surrounding you, just remember that you’re surrounded by God and nothing can get past Him.  His wall of protection is impenetrable.

History tells us, when at the front lines of a war, the King was always surrounded by a small army comprising of his best soldiers whose sole purpose was to protect him.

I’m sure the king found great comfort in knowing he was surrounded by men that would give up their life to keep him from harm.  He probably even felt a little bit invincible.

With God surrounding you, you ARE invincible.  Nothing, and I mean nothing, can touch you without His permission.  He has to deliberately lift His gate of protection to allow something to pass and He will only do that for your benefit - to refine you, to set you free, to grow you spiritually.

So, how do you fight your battles?

Rest in that fact that no matter what, God’s got your back (and front and sides) and whatever is allowed to pass His wall of protection is ALWAYS for your best and by His design.

Do You Speak Christian-eze?

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14 (KJV)

Do you know and speak the right words?

For our purposes today the definition of “right” would be to speak the words people want to hear. Of course, while that may be right according to what some people want to hear, it is not always truth. We can often fool a great number of people by what we say but we will never fool God.

When our words and our heart speak differently, then the noise God hears is anything but joyful.

Worship that draws us near to God and God near to us is worship from our heart and lips that speak and do the same thing.

Sometimes we speak what you might call Christian-eze.

It is a language that sounds appropriate but rings false

because the lips speak one thing and the heart another.

Instead of a unity of body, soul and spirit in worship to God there is division and dissonance – an inharmonious sound or discord that comes from us.

How then do we worship in a way that is indeed music to God’s ears (so to speak)?

 We live a life where what we say and what we do are in agreement –

we speak and live a life that honors God.

That kind of Life is only possible through the enabling power of

the Holy Spirit but also it is a life that is pleasing to God.

Whatever!

“…No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing...”

11 Samuel 24:24b

If you are a parent – especially of a teenager – you have probably heard today’s one word title expressed by your child and usually attached to an attitude.

Do you suppose we sometimes come to God in worship with that same sentiment and with an equal amount of attitude attached? If we approach God with our rules, our methods and our ways of worship we are sure to limit our access.

You see God has a prescribed way to approach Him and to worship Him. We often think that because the veil was torn in two at the moment of Christ’s death and access was given that same access being given means that anything goes. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 A self-centered and immature person might buy their spouse a gift that more accurately reflects their own tastes and desires. It may do nothing to minister to the recipient. A self-centered and immature person will approach worship the same way.  What makes me feel comfortable and ‘good’ is all that matters and certainly sacrifice has nothing to do with it. How much further from true worship can we get?

Maybe we could call it:

“Whatever Worship!”   

King David found out that there was a prescribed way to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. His mistake cost a man named Uzzah his life.

 Pretty severe you think?

Maybe – or – maybe it places a greater value on

how we worship God then we want to admit.

So what’s the lesson for us?

 Follow God’s prescription for worship.

But, like medicine, a prescription unfilled will be of little value.

We are Not Alone!

“You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.”

Nehemiah 9:6

Maybe you read today’s’ blog title and thought I was going to talk about some recent newspaper headline detailing extra-terrestrial life forms on another planet. Nope.

We are not alone in our worship.

I am not, however, talking about the fact that everyone worships something. Instead, I want us to understand that when we worship

the One, True God we are not alone in that worship. 

Our opening verse above talks about the multitudes of heaven worshipping Him and in the verses that follow we find others joining in worship, all nations and peoples of all languages worship Him.

Rulers will worship and obey Him.

“All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord;

   they will bring glory to your name.”

Psalm 86:9

“He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

Daniel 7:14

“…and all rulers will worship and obey him.”

Daniel 7:27b

Not to mention the worship of Abraham, David, Daniel and so many other patriarchs.

We even find creation joining in…rivers, mountains and trees of the fields:

“Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy;”

Psalm 98:8

“You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”

Isaiah 55:12

How about you?

Even if you are struggling today with some great difficulty, God is worthy to be praised and worshipped. Don’t worship and give thanks for the cancer, the bankruptcy or the setback but in spite of, and through, those difficulties. Don’t make those situations greater and more worthy than Him. Join the worshippers past, present and future.

Worship Him who alone is worthy! 

The Blind Worshipping the Blind

“Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?”

Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.

But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.

They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.

They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.

 They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk,

   nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

Those who make them will be like them,

and so will all who trust in them.

Psalm 115:2-8

Have you ever been ‘blind-sided’?

  That term means: “to hit from the blind side” and has come to mean any unexpected or unseen hit, tackle or attack.

How about a blind date?

Ever go on one of those?

You placed your trust in the person who set it up; didn’t you?

Last question – how many switched lanes in traffic, or attempted to, only to discover there was an unseen car in your blind spot?

All right – the common word in all of our examples is “blind”. 

I have talked a few times in this blog about self-examination and the value of it. Sometimes, though, I think we need to emphasize the “second opinion” that is always present when a believer examines their relationship with God.

You see when it comes to idol worship we become deaf, dumb and blind to our devotion (see verse 8 above).

Even our own self-examination is tainted by our idol worship.

That is why we need the Holy Spirit and the second opinion that He brings.

We can be blind to our own areas of idol worship.

We rationalize our long hours of work and certainly don’t consider it an idol.

We excuse away the devotion to that celebrity that steals all our time and attention.

We are blind to the sum total of dollars we spent in pursuit of leisure because; after all, what is more important than our well-being through recreation?

Self-examination can be futile when we refuse to be honest with ourselves or fail to acknowledge what the Holy Spirit may be revealing.

We need hearing ears when the Holy Spirit lays it on the line and tells us in no uncertain terms what has become an idol in our lives. 

Ask God to help you to be honest with yourself and with Him and to have no other gods before Him. Allow Him to reveal those areas where He has been second fiddle or where it may be that you are walking dangerously close to that line. 

Focused on God

“I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them.”

Jeremiah 32:3

How focused are you on God in your life?

Are there numerous small distractions that keep you from staying focused? Maybe it’s just one big attention-grabber that steals all your time and before you know it, your day and your chance to impact your world are gone until the next opportunity arrives tomorrow.  Some time ago on a Sunday morning we had an impromptu and very un-scientific survey that made one point very, very clear. More people had brought a cell phone to church than had arrived with a Bible. Could something as simple, useful and ‘necessary’ as a cell phone become an idol, distracting our focus from God? Remaining focused is not an easy task but it is essential and must be deliberate if we want to be a people who reflect His likeness and make our lives all about Him. It is far too easy to be distracted by so many “good” things in the course of our day. Here is something that is a thought provoking contrast between two competing focuses:

Cell phone vs. Bible

Do you ever wonder what would happen if

we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several time a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to our children as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something that should make you go....hmm...where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing.

Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being

disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill;

and that, with no dropped calls!

Makes us stop and think: “Where is our focus?”

Golden Calf Casserole

“When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.”

Exodus 32:19-20

They say: “You are what you eat!”

We’ve been taking a look at worship.

You become like what you worship.

I know of no other picture in scripture that more vividly drives this point home than the passage above. The Israelites had worshipped the Golden Calf while Moses was up on the mountain receiving the laws of God for His people. Moses burned the idol and ground it to powder and sprinkled it on their water making the rebellious children drink in their idolatry.

 They literally consumed what they had worshipped.

Their god became their nutrition.

 That is a pretty scary thought considering what they had been worshipping.

After all what could a calf fashioned by man’s hands do against the God who had rescued the Israelites from the mighty Pharaoh’s army?

 Not many people would knowingly ingest poison and yet if you stop and think about it; isn’t that what we are doing if we choose to worship ‘other gods’? We bow our knees and offer allegiance to those same things that are slowly choking off our life and yet refuse to worship the one who alone is worthy.

Take stock and, if need be, renounce the idol worship you have been engaged in. God offers life through Him and then admonishes us to choose life:

“…Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”

Deuteronomy 30:19b   

When you worship Him you are choosing life!

Jettison the Idols

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Exodus 20:4-6

We have been learning so much about worship.

One fact that should be clear to us is that we all worship something or someone.

 No one is exempt.

Maybe, in your case, it’s your job.

Maybe it’s another person in your life or a celebrity from politics, movies or sports.

Some people idolize a vacation spot or just their ‘alone’ time.

Anything we worship besides the Lord is a ‘cheap alternative’ that causes us to fall far, far short of our created purpose.

God’s good plans for us include the worship of Him as our Father.

Not because He needs an ego boost but because, as we have learned, we become like what we worship.

God is our loving Father who cares for each one of us in ways we cannot fully comprehend. As we worship Him and as we spend time with Him we become like Him. We have all heard of, or maybe know, some married couples who have been so in love with one another for so many years that they begin to look like each other.

That is what I am talking about.

Who do you resemble?

Is it evident to others that you are a child of God or do they walk away from you wondering where in the world you learned the behavior you just exhibited to them?

I hope it is the latter.

What I am calling ‘alternative worship’ is worship beneath what you and I were created to do.

Let God do some serious heart cleaning in your life and determine to worship God alone and not some second rate and non-fulfilling alternative.

Church, it’s time to jettison the idols! 

Your Time, Talent and Treasures

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

I Peter 4:10

I am writing this blog in obedience to the Spirit of the Lord. I could be doing a million other things but there is an opportunity daily to sacrifice some of those other things and be obedient to the Holy Spirit of God or surrender to those million other things and not sacrifice anything. That is not to say that I am a hero because the truth is every one of us has the same choice between surrendering to self or sacrificing for the Lord and His kingdom many, many times in the course of our day. Sometimes we sacrifice and sometimes, sadly, we don’t. Authentic Worship requires sacrifice.

Here are three additional ways to worship sacrificially. 

1. Daily sacrifice your time for God’s plans.

2. Daily sacrifice your treasure for God’s causes.

3. Daily sacrifice your talents for God’s people.

Three words were repeated – ‘daily’, ‘sacrifice’ and ‘yours’.

Daily: because sacrifice should characterize the life of a believer. It is not a one time only effort but an on-going way of life. 

Sacrifice: because that is exactly what it is. If it were easy it would hold no value to you and the sacrifice would be no big deal.

Yours: because it is meant to be personal. It is much easier to steal someone else’s time, to give away their treasures and to reap the benefit of their talents but much harder when they are our own.

Oh, did I miss one word that was also repeated in those three statements?

You’re right.

 The word ‘God’s’ was also repeated in each one because ultimately our time, talents and treasures come from Him and what better way to worship Him than to offer them back in sacrificial service to His plans, His causes and His people.

Your Sacrifice Can Change Lives

“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house

to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices

acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

I Peter 2:5

Some time ago in our community some people sacrificed a few hours of their Saturday morning to run a race and raise funds for the developmentally disabled in our community. Did anyone in the race die that morning? Did they sacrifice their all? No. Were millions of dollars raised that morning? No. But make no mistake about it; sacrifices were made and lives will be changed as a result.

You see, sometimes if we hear the statement Sacrifice Changes Lives we immediately think of grand and mighty acts of sacrifice. I think we sometimes do that as a cop-out. After all, we say, I am not capable of making the sacrifices that Jesus or the Apostle Paul or even Mother Teresa made. Maybe not; but who says you have to? The Bible tells us in Zechariah not to despise the day of small beginnings. Maybe your life has been marked by selfishness, but as God has been speaking to us about sacrificial living, you have determined to be obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit as He leads you.

Small beginnings can lead to great endings.

Jesus talked about it when he spoke of faith and likened it to a mustard seed. 

So you want to move from selfishness to sacrifice. Don’t be frustrated by baby steps. Those baby steps can still change lives and that includes the changes God wants to accomplish in you. The sacrifice you make of a T.V. program to pray for someone who is in need of prayer can mean the difference in that person’s life. Extending kindness instead of rebuking the sales clerk who made a mistake in your transaction may not seem like a huge sacrifice but maybe it is enough to make all the difference in their crazy day. You wanted to respond in anger but instead sacrificed the flesh on the altar of self-denial and responded with the love of Christ.

A small beginning?  Maybe.

But maybe it was a small beginning that changed a life.

Theirs and yours.    

When Our Stalls Are Empty

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

Have you ever gone through a season where your stalls are empty?  Maybe the loss of a job, or loss of a loved one, or loss of a friendship you cherished.  Maybe heaven is silent and you feel you lost God’s ear.

Let me ask you this - did anything change about God during those times?  Of course not.  He’s still the same.  He’s still all powerful, all loving, all knowing.

So, why do we stop rejoicing when hardship comes?  Because we love the blessings of God more than God himself.

My wife and I love to bless our grandchildren and give them the desires of their hearts.  Candy, ice cream, and watching their favorite Disney movie are all on the menu when they visit grandma and grandpa.

But sometimes that can lead them to desire the gifts from grandma and grandpa rather than grandma and grandpa.  We become an afterthought.

The same is often true in our relationship with God.  When we are in a season of plenty, we become preoccupied with things.  God becomes an afterthought.

Habakkuk understood the importance of rejoicing in God regardless of our situation.

Oh how I long for a heart like that, one that rejoices and takes joy in God during both seasons of plenty and seasons of lack.  I’m not there yet, but with God’s help, that will become the cry of my heart.

Father God, develop in us a heart that loves and delights in you in all situations, during all seasons, and is never dependent on what’s in our stalls.

The Rewards of Sacrifice

“During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.”

The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.”

   But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.” And so they argued before the king.

 The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’”

 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”

The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”

   But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”

 Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”

I Kings 3:19-27

Sacrifice is rewarded by God.

The Bible is filled with examples.

The lives of Abraham, Joseph, Job, and particularly Jesus himself confirm this truth. 

The scripture passage today is most often used to display the wisdom given to King Solomon by God but as you read it did you note the sacrifice the real mother was prepared to make and how the King, through that wisdom he had received, recognized her as the genuine birth mother and rewarded her with the life of her son. She was prepared to sacrifice raising her own son to another person so that he would remain alive.  Her reward was immediate. Ours may not always be.

The Bible tells us that Jesus endured the cross for the hope that was set before Him. His reward was on the other side of the cross. Our reward may lead us through some difficulties first but make no mistake God sees our sacrifice and He is a debtor to no man. That means our sacrifices will be rewarded.

As you walk obediently before God offering your life as a living sacrifice remember the truth of His reward for those who have sacrificed for His sake and for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

Love is a Nine Letter Word Spelled Sacrifice

“and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Ephesians 5:2

Sacrifice proves what I love.

That was part of the message from a Sunday morning some time ago.

I can talk about sacrificing until I am blue in the face.

In other words I can talk and talk and talk and talk but, as they say, talk is cheap. There is another expression we are all familiar with that says:

“Put your money where your mouth is.”

That challenges us to live up to our words.

God lived up to His words.

To that there is no doubt.

Romans 5:8 says that:

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Not only did the Father and the Son prove their love through the ultimate sacrifice; they did it while we were yet sinners, while we did not honor, bless or esteem them.

Just the opposite, they sacrificed while we were their ‘enemies’. 

That is sacrificial love on a level we genuinely struggle with.

 “This is love: not that we loved God,

but that he loved us and sent his

Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” I john 4:10

You see; we do well to offer ourselves as living sacrifices just as we learned about that previous Sunday morning but don’t ever think you can “outdo” God.

He sacrificed His life for those who were not friends but enemies.

That is true, sacrificial love.