RANDOM GRACE, JULY 2-8, 2007
Monday, July 2
‘But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.’
2 Samuel 24:24 NIV
The word sacrifice is fast losing its importance among Christians. David knew the importance of sacrifice. He knew that the word means “to give up something valuable or important for somebody or something else considered to be of more value or importance”. Hence the value of the person is reflected in what we are prepared to give up for their sake. Thankfully, Jesus made the sacrifice for our sins. God sacrificed to us, showed us that we are more valuable to Him than His own life. Sadly, many Christians want to worship God at their convenience- only when it costs them nothing! The result is evident, pews are increasingly empty on Sundays and mid week services. We all desire the blessedness of David but how many of us are prepared to accord God the same kind of worth accorded Him by David?
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Tuesday, July 3
“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 2:6 NIV
Solomon figured it out. Rich and wise, he had all the resources he needed to build the most palatial dwelling for God. But he came to realise that no dwelling can match the beauty and vastness of the cosmos. What then is the purpose of the place of worship? It only finds relevance as a place where we may meet to offer sacrifices to Him. It’s really a portal meant for us, not for Him.
If we then go before Him with no sacrifices or with unacceptable sacrifices, do we not dishonour His presence? As we sit on the pews in church, God looks into our hearts, he sees the obstacles we overcame to be present, He feels our wandering hearts, inwardly grumbling mind and restless bodies that long to be out of His presence.
Be ready to “burn” time in His presence, it pleases Him more than burnt rams.
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Wednesday July 4
“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.”
Ecclesiastes 5:1 NIV
In Nigeria, any Pastor who wants to fill up the pews of his church knows what to do- simply brand your church as one where people talk to God! We all have demands, questions, accusations and promises for God. But the Preacher(ecclesiastes) warns that an otherwise good action can be turned into a foolish one if we do not cultivate the habit of listening to God. The more we listen to God, the less we have to ask. The questions we want to ask are already known to Him. He also knows the limits of our abilities, so our promises which are meant to entice Him to do our will only infuriate Him, it is wrong doing.
To have a church where people speak and God hears is no big feat; the ears of God are everywhere and He is ever attentive. To have a church where God speaks and men listen- now that is an achievement! What is your quiet time with God like? Do you listen to Him or talk to Him all through?
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Thursday, July 5
“Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.”
Psalm 4:5 NIV
David always baffles me!
How does he come to these enduring conclusions? A critical look at Psalm 4 sheds some light. We find David asking the Lord for assistance, shrugging off the diversion of those who are godless and then prophesying the mind of God to him in his situation. Only a man who listens to God can speak the mind of God.
There are two essentials for victory. Man’s part and God’s part, for He has called us to be co-workers with Him. We must be ready to do away with distractions and do what God demands of us, even if it costs us something. Then we must exercise faith in God to work it out. Very often we go before God to lament “I trusted in you but you did not work it out!” But how often do we ask God to reveal what we need to do and then ask Him for strength to do it?
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Friday, July 6
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
Psalm 51:17 NIV
Very often, when we think of sacrifice, what comes to our mind is money and material possessions. The psalmists tells us that the sacrifices that really please God are those we can all afford. A broken spirit is a spirit that is no longer relying on itself, in this case, so that it may start relying on God. A contrite heart has lost its mirth and pride- it is waiting to be led and revived. We can lay our self reliance on the alter of sacrifice and God who is faithful will pick us up as we rely on Him. Every heart has sufficient sins to bring about contrition, no humble soul will fail to bow and listen before God.
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Saturday, July 7
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.”
Hebrews 13:15 NIV
Its easy praising God when you get a pay rise. Sometimes praise must assume the dimension of sacrifice. In Job 1:21, after Job had lost his children, servants, oxen, donkeys, sheep and camels, he declared:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”
Praise that is not based on what we see God doing but on who we know God is, praise that demands an effort, like a mortgage we pay whether it is convenient or not- that is sacrificial praise.
We often sing in church that our sonorous voices may be appreciated by our listeners- sacrificial praise does not necessarily proceed from trained voices, God feels the honour not the rhythm.
PRAISE YOU IN THE STORM by CASTING CROWNS
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Sunday, July 8
“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
Hebrews 13:16 NIV
It was a Sunday afternoon. After church, my mother had to attend a church society meeting holding at the house of one of her society members. Though unwilling, I was chosen to drive her to the meeting.
We arrived at the venue where a lot of cars were already parked outside, in the hot blazing sun, the only shade available for drivers and escorts were the comfort of their cars. As I sat outside in the car, with another ‘driver’, more members of the society arrived. Soon, a deaconess arrived and disappeared indoors.
Shortly, a lady brought two bottles of chilled soft drinks outside for my fellow ‘driver’ and I-it was a very welcome relief!
On our way home, my mum revealed that there were no spare drinks at the meeting; the ones that were sent out were actually the share of the deaconess- she had reckoned that those of us outside needed the drinks more than her!
It was a little gift, but it greatly influenced my perception of brotherly kindness in Christianity. God used that little sacrifice to mould the faith of a young man. God is ready to shoot all our human needs out of contention, if we will give Him the ammunition of good works.
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This article has been contributed by ‘Yemi Ogunjimi.
To find out more about him please follow this link
http://blogtheword.wordpress.com/about/
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