Sacrifice

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it:

thou delightest not in burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:

a broken and a contrite heart, O God,

thou wilt not despise. Psalm 51:1617 (KJV)



The people of the Old Testament made animal and grain sacrifices to cover their sins. This act was to make their hearts right with God. King David, in his sorrow for his sin realized what God wanted.

David decided The Father wanted his wayward children to be broken, to realize their error and display their sorrow. God expected them to have their hearts broken and to be humbled before Him.

Even in today’s world, God expects us to tell Him we’re sorry when we sin. People who have great interpersonal skills know to be adult enough to admit when they have hurt someone. It’s been a while since I have heard someone say, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.” Have we become a society of people who feel we are above revealing that we are aware that we can sin?


The sacrifice part comes into play in today’s world when party A realizes he or she has offended party B. In order to get back in B’s good graces, A does something extravagant for B. Not necessarily a mature thing to do.

A few weeks ago, I had a confrontation with a lady, I had to walk away. She acts unaware of how deeply she hurt me. I still have to deal with her but I am careful of what I say to her. I believe I will have to be wary of her and her ways for a long time. It’s not my nature to avoid people. But, it is my nature to protect myself. Am I doing the correct thing?

“So in Everything”

“So in everything, do to others what you

would have then do to you, for this sums up

the Law and the Prophets.” Matt. 7:12



We received the phone call. Our great-niece’s boyfriend had died. My husband’s sister called and suggested we go to the funeral

I didn’t want to go. I felt our presence wouldn’t be appreciated or understood. Our lifestyles were polar opposites. While I tried to fulfill my role as an aunt, I couldn’t condone the path this young woman walked.

I struggled with the decision my husband made, yes, we would attend this funeral, although we didn’t know the young man.

I sat at the kitchen table with my Bible opened. I found myself looking for the Golden Rule. When I found it, I noticed the introductory phrase, “So, in everything,” I stopped and thought about how this applied to my circumstance. I decided to start looking at this request as something I wanted to do rather than something I had to do.

When I left the house later that day, the leaves on the trees were move vivid with their summer color than I had ever seen. They seemed to dance in front of my eyes.

This memory came back to me when I heard one of our laymen speak recently. He told us he was a teenager and had accepted Christ before he noticed the green leaves on the trees and the birds singing in the air. I fully understood what he meant.

Bubbles

I recently won a prize at church. The children’s camping ministry had a baby picture contest. We go to vote on the cutest baby picture. They women in charge kept a tally of who was the most recognized, the least recognized, the one who correctly guessed the most pictures, and the cutest baby picture. I won for having the most recognized picture.



My prize was a kid’s bubble set soap, tray and wand and a blue ribbon with the word ‘outstanding’ on it. After I had lunch that Sunday, I took my prize and went outside and tried to enjoy it. Some thoughts came to me.



Bubble soap is transparent on the wand. Our hearts and souls are to be transparent in order for people to see Jesus in us.



When the bubbles form, they ride away on the breeze and disperse into the air. As we turn our problems over to God, they also float away and become His to deal with.



As the newly formed bubble rise in the breeze, I think of our prayer requests as they leave our hearts or our mouths and drift to God’s throne through our Intercessor, Jesus Christ.



I didn’t fare very well in my bubble-making session. The wand was a big circle with a recognizably shaped head for the different bubble formers. All I could get out of the wand was a few bubbles-usually one at a time.



If I keep my heart and soul transparent, others will be able to see Jesus in me. When I have issues, I have to allow God to work them out; it is up to me to turn them over to Him. I have to keep my heart in tune with God’s will for me in order for my prayer requests to float up to heaven for God to hear and answer.

“God Moments”

“After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

Genesis 15:1 (NIV)



In our Christian walk we experience times we can’t foresee, plan for, or explain. They are sweet times that stand out in the tapestry of our lives.

When we realize we’ve had these snippets of time, we feel encouraged and know they enrich our lives. I believe they are God’s rewards to us. I say this because I recently received one of these ‘God moments.’

I had gone through a rather difficult weekend. Saturday morning,I had three times where I had felt I was the recipient of verbal mistreatment from different people. One I could forgive because I know her very well. Another person just set me back with her words. The third one, I almost expect it from.

I didn’t sleep at all that night. The next day, I had a very small part in a special service at church. I needed to be there to help set up and man a display table for the faith based nonprofit ministry in which I work. God saw to it I got through both services and Sunday school.

Part of my Sunday afternoon activity was to take a nap. I awoke feeling worse than I felt before I slept. I decided I needed to attend a service on the other side of our town. I am in a class studying the book of Jonaha very enlightening study.

A man came into our class who looked familiar to me. I couldn’t say for sure but I felt I knew him. As we discussed the chapter, he spoke with Biblical wisdom. As we prepared to leave, I asked him his name. He was the man that I email the newsletters to for proofreading. We talked about my issue with a computer program. We exchanged thoughts about the Lectionary. We spoke of mutual friends. He talked of him and his wife being able to help at the nonprofit ministry’s Jesus Birthday Party.

As we exited the church and headed for our individual cars, I realized I had been through a ‘God moment.’

I feel God rewarded me for staying on track and being where He needed or wanted me to be. I believe God chose to honor me not because of anything I asked but out of His grace for my life.

Our Agendas

“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this

or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.

Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will,

we will live and do this or that.’” James 4:13-14a, 15



I recently heard a lady say she had designated her day off from work as a day devoted to the nonprofit ministry she directs. She told us she hadn’t been able to do what she had intended for the ministry. God brought several positive things to light as the year has progressed. It seems He was leading them and providing for the ministry’s needs even though they weren’t able to complete certain plans made earlier in the year.

The next day, I found the scripture above in my e-mail, sent to me as a meditation. God certainly speaks to us as we walk with Him.

God communicates with me like that. I walked out to our car this afternoon. As I opened the driver side door, I noticed a ‘for rent’ sign in the yard straight across the street. I remembered the house has two bedrooms. I don’t know who I was thinking about but the daughter and son-in-law of one of my best friends came to mind. I called my friend who said she’d tell her kids about it. I wouldn’t have seen it except Hubby wanted some ice cream and had me go get it.

He places us in situations so we can learn things. He guides us as we go through our days. We have to let Him be the one who instructs us in our daily lives.

We Are Nothing; He is All.

“Who being in very nature God,

Did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.” Philippians 2:67



Some people want to be known for a certain thing. They desire to be remembered for being outstanding in their field of endeavor. It is their goal to do things in order for people to know their names.

Paul writes about Jesus and how he gave up who He was  the Son of God to become one of us, to serve God and to benefit us.

He tells us Jesus became nothing. He came as a baby-born to a young girl, cared for by a carpenter. God chose this set of circumstances for His Son instead of sending Him into this world as the King He is.

We don’t fully understand God’s reasons for having Jesus come into our world in this way. Jesus set aside His claim to glory and power in order to be with us, to teach us of the Father and the Kingdom.

As children of God, we sometimes get in the way of what He does in our lives and the lives of others. We want to place our mark on all things. When we do this we communicate the wrong idea. The ministries promoting God belong to Him; we should be open to His leading in our working for Him and in our personal lives.

Look to God

“As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us mercy.”

Psalm 123:2 (NIV)



We have ups and downs in our lives due to our being human. Some friends of mine call these times parts of life.

When we are face to face with tough times, what do we do? We ‘run’ to God. We speak of His presence more often. We listen more attentively.

What happens when things straighten out and all is going well? We forget God. By our actions we tell Him, “I can take over now.” We forget He is still in control. Shame on us.

For this reason our Christian forebears chose to institute times of prayer and Bible reading, sometimes twice a day. We need to stay in touch with God, especially when things go smoothly.

When we undergo good things we should praise God, thanking Him for the experience. At the end of my prayer list I keep a list of praises. Each day I try to find at least one thing that I can thank God for. Some days I have several; other times, all I can give praise for is the sunshine coming through my window.

Praising God keeps me from being downhearted. In order to praise Him we have to look to Him. Also, we have to look for Him and His acting in our lives and the lives of those around us.