Sacrifice – 50 Days of Pray

4: 50 Days of 3:16

I wondered when I decided to start this 3:16 journey how many random verses may appear that by themselves may not mean a whole lot. Here is an example whereby itself this verse alone does not make a much sense on its own but that is why when you read your bible we should not just read a verse alone but dig into the surrounding story. I may cherry pick out scriptures in my blogging, but there is the hope that it will lead the reader back to where the verse is and explore what is happening around it.

the priest will burn them on the altar. It is a special gift of food, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. All the fat belongs to the Lord.

Leviticus 3:16

During the time Moses was leading the people in the wilderness he was helping establish a way for the people to worship God. God gave him wisdom and knowledge on how to sacrifice animals to atone for the people sins. To us looking at the practice we see it as barbaric and messy. Sacrifices were done in such a way that they provided for those who made the sacrifice and generated a sin penance to God. Not any animal could be sacrificed, certain ones were to be avoided. Eve in the list of the acceptable there were those with blemishes or injured that would be unacceptable. Only perfection would be accepted.

All this was created to show man that if they tried on their own it was nearly impossible to keep up. Some picture that the sacrificial altar of God at some points was being used 24/7. They tried to keep up with the sacrifices but the people kept sinning against God. They forgot the God they served and would chase after other gods who brought them farther away from God’s plan for them. The sin offering was a mandatory offering that was expected for all the people. This offering was called a peace offering and it was offered in worship. Just as the tithe is expected this offering was a gift to God thanking him for his peace.

Our worship to God is important. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice so that we would not have to work to get to heaven. He removed the need to provide animal sacrifices to cleanse our sins. Our worship needs to reflect our thankfulness for this. Daily we must give time to Him in worship thanking Him for what He has done for us. Just as the priest could only sacrifice the best animals, I wonder are we giving God the best time when we worship or are we working to squeeze Him into our busy lives?

Father, thank you for sending your Son the perfect sacrifice. You showed us what it would take to do this on our own and we just cannot do it. Forgive us for not giving you the best of us, we want to live all in. Hep us to give you our time and use it wisely. Show us Your will for our lives, speak to us. We want to reach the lost and show them that You love them and want to have a relationship with them. Amen.

Day 31: 50 Days of Passion

The command to love one another is one that many today don’t quite understand. We have watered down the word love to the point where to tell someone you love them can sometimes put people on the defensive. How can we love the person who commits murder or the one who has done unspeakable things to men, woman and children alike?

It comes back to the way Jesus loves us, he loves the person, he desires for the person to be freed from the sin, no matter the variation of sin. His heart breaks for each one to come to him to be freed from the bondage of sin. Do we look at those around us and base our love on the sin or the person? Jesus laid down his life for you, his friend.

“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

John 15:12-13 NLT

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:9 NLT

Would you be willing to lay down your life for a friend? Jesus did for you. And he did it for your friends and family, the strangers you meet everyday, your coworkers. He died so that we might live amazing lives sharing to other what he came to earth to do. The even more amazing part is he rose from the dead and invites us into a relationship with him. No other religion leader is alive, so they can’t have a relationship with their followers. That is what makes Christianity so real, it is also what makes it so offensive because it is the truth, and the truth can be scary.

If we could see ourselves the way God sees us in our sin we would crumble and hide in shame. I think that is what a lot of people do when they start thinking about God and Jesus. They run from their true selves and try to mask what they really are. For all the good things they do, the feel if they just continue in their good ways that they will earn heaven. No they may not say it out loud, but how many times have you heard ” but I’m a good person.”

If you haven’t noticed yet I have been focusing for awhile now on the mission. Our passion has a direct connection to our mission work. We need to be better at reaching the list people for Jesus, or for bare minimum inviting them to church. At the men’s ministry I lead, I made a board that reads ” if they matter to God they should matter to us” and on it I asked the men to start writing names of people they want to see come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. This visual list of names not only puts them out in the open it shows us that we know many many people that need Jesus and we have a huge impact on their lives. I told the men that I want us to start taking names off the wall as we reach them, and they make commitments to follow Christ. As we add names we need to be removing some too. I am excited to see God work though about prayers and these men.

So today I ask you, do you value those around you to lay down your life for them. Is their fate and eternity priority for you, or do you care that one day they will be burning in hell? If it does then you need to do something, the benefits of reaching them outweigh the cost it may take. Stop storing up treasures on earth, let’s start storing up treasures in heaven. I would rather someone thanking me in heaven for telling them about Jesus then someone in hell wishing I had.

Jesus, we are called to share your love. I am not sure exactly how we come to this point where it has become taboo to us your name. People are offended and almost angry when the name of Jesus comes up on social media. But when you get them one on one, away from the veil of a computer, and open up to them sharing your love, something starts to happen. I ask Holy Spirit you will give us opportunities today to do just that, sharing the love of Christ. Encourage us, rekindle our fire and excitement in sharing our faith. We are free because of your love and free people can free people. Let them matter to us as we know they matter to you. Amen.

Day 34: 50 Days of Impact

We all love a good movie where the hero sacrifices himself for the greater good. There are tears for the ones we know will never come back alive, or there is twangs of hope that they may return unscathed from the point of death.

What is amazing is that we have that very story in our lives if we know it or not. Jesus sacrificed himself for the greater good of mankind. He died so that might be free from sin. He also returned not unscathed though, his scars remained as a remined of what he has done for you. Yet many hear this and think that can’t be true, or that’s not for me.

“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

John 15:12-13 NLT

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:9 NLT

Would you be willing to lay down your life for a friend? Jesus did for you. And he did it for your friends and family, the strangers you meet everyday, your coworkers and your enemy. He died so that we might live amazing lives sharing to other what he came to earth to do. The even more amazing part is he rose from the dead and invites us into a relationship with him. No other religion leader is alive, so they can’t have a relationship with their followers. That is what makes Christianity so real, it is also what makes it so offensive because it is the truth, and the truth can be scary.

If we could see ourselves the way God sees us in our sin we would crumble and hide in shame. I think that is what a lot of people do when they start thinking about God and Jesus. They run from their true selves and try to mask what they really are. For all the good things they do, the feel if they just continue in their good ways that they will earn heaven. No, they may not say it out loud, but how many times have you heard “but I’m a good person.”

If you haven’t noticed yet I have been focusing for awhile now on the mission. We need to be better at reaching the lost people for Jesus, or for bare minimum inviting them to church. At the men’s ministry I lead, I made a board that reads ” if they matter to God they should matter to us” and on it I asked the men to start writing names of people they want to see come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. This visual list of names not only puts them out in the open it shows us that we know many many people that need Jesus and we have a huge impact on their lives. I told the men that I want us to start taking names off the wall as we reach them and they make commitments to follow Christ. As we add names we need to be removing some too. I am excited to see God work though about prayers and these men.

Day 39: Original 50 Days Pray Revisited

Thoughts on Day 39: So many groups claim that what we do and how we do it will bring us closer to God. When really there is nothing, outside of acceptance of Jesus gift of salvation, that we can do that will bring us any closer to him. There is nothing we can do to drag people into heaven either. No quick gimmick, sales pitch or magic prayer. That is the role of the Holy Spirit to show them their need for a savior. We are to share about you to the people around us, show them the truth and pray that the Holy Spirit will move in their lives.

Day Thirty-Nine

Really! There’s no such thing as self-rescue, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. The cost of rescue is beyond our means, and even then it doesn’t guarantee Life forever or insurance against the Black Hole. (Psalm 49:7-9 MSG)

The psalmist was a man who sure had an insight into what is going on today. Self-help is all over the place, people thinking it is what I do that gets me into heaven. If only I am a good person. Jesus Himself debunked that theory with the rich young ruler, who wanted to follow and was doing everything right, but when asked to give up what was most precious to him could not do it.

I sometimes wonder where the doctrine of once saved, always saved came from. The Bible I read doesn’t say that. Jesus gave the command to the people He healed, “go and sin no more” He didn’t want those who He saved from their sickness to go back to their sinful ways. Jesus also tells us to daily wash our feet as we do get dirty. I use this as the symbolism of sin, we need to ask forgiveness for our sins daily as we are still human and are prone to make mistakes.

But in saying that there are those who neglect to wash their feet daily. There are those who completely deny the love of Christ they once knew. The stop coming to church, they stop interacting with the family of God and the friends who love them, and they start living a life contradictory to what Jesus taught us.

Jesus isn’t a fire insurance salesman. He is so much more.

Pray for those who have walked away from the faith. The Holy Spirit can lead them back to Jesus. Don’t give up on your friends and family. They may be lost but not forgotten. Just like the prodigal son’s father God is patiently waiting for your return to him.

Dear Jesus, I can’t understand how someone who has experienced You love and mercy can walk away from you. My thoughts are it is not you who they have walked away from but an experience with a church member or rule in place that caused them to leave. I pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to encourage them to return to You. Bring people into their lives who will share the love of Christ with them. Bring them back to You. Amen