Are you offering sacrifices that please God?

 1 Jun 26

Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One

Readings:

2 Chronicles 4

2 Chronicles 5

2 Chronicles 6

John 12:20-50

When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple (2 Chronicles 7:1). 

Are you offering sacrifices that please God?

King Solomon finished building the Temple and dedicated it to the Lord. Many had sacrificially given so this huge undertaking could be finished. David, who was not permitted to build the temple, gave from his personal treasury for this project. “And Solomon brought in the things which his father David had dedicated: the silver and the gold and all the furnishings” (2 Chronicles 5:1). David lives up to Paul’s words, “For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children” (2 Corinthians 12:14). Solomon and the congregation also “were sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted” (2 Chronicles 5:6). God’s holy fire consumes the cumulative sacrifices of His people to show His pleasure. 

Employment Point: Please God by sacrificially giving to His work.

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Reflections

“All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze could not be calculated.”2 Chronicles‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.”

‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• i suppose as the children of God, we all ought to be giving people. And the people back then gave so much, in fact way above and beyond what was required for the Lord. How the Lord has blessed each and every one of His people!
• We too should take courage that the Lord will bless us with many and in excess too. He will never shortchange us.

“then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.”2 Chronicles‬ ‭6‬:‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• Solomon had lead as a good example of His people, to intercede to the Lord on behalf of His people and also to remind and warn all the people to follow His ways. This also ought to be something we should be doing. Interceding to the Lord on behalf of ourfellow brothers and sisters.

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• A seed needs to be buried in deep soil (undergo darkness, sometimes loneliness, harsh conditions) in order to grow. A seed cannot grow on the surface of the soil because it will be subjected to direct sunlight (even harsher conditions that render us unable to survive). God helps us by making our environment suitable for growth, protected (by soil), nourishment (constant watering / fertilising) so that we develop faith  (roots) to be able to support what we are to face later on. As our roots grow deeper and stronger, so will it be able to hold the whole plant well. (Just like the foundations of our house build on stones). We shall not be shaken by any challenges (weather conditions)

“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭46‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• the light in Jesus is the same light that is shone on us. With Jesus present in our lives, we should never be living in darkness for darkness cannot dwell in light.

The Lord looks at our heart and our intentions. Those who do things for their own achievements are not able to hide from the Lord who knows and sees all things. Just like the Pharisees who appear to be holy but were called a brood of vipers by Jesus.

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The Staggering Question

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

June 01

He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” —Ezekiel 37:3

Can a sinner be turned into a saint? Can a twisted life be made right? There is only one appropriate answer— “O Lord God, You know” (Ezekiel 37:3). Never forge ahead with your religious common sense and say, “Oh, yes, with just a little more Bible reading, devotional time, and prayer, I see how it can be done.”

It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we see the activity and mistake panic for inspiration. That is why we see so few fellow workers with God, yet so many people working for God. We would much rather work for God than believe in Him. Do I really believe that God will do in me what I cannot do? The degree of hopelessness I have for others comes from never realizing that God has done anything for me. Is my own personal experience such a wonderful realization of God’s power and might that I can never have a sense of hopelessness for anyone else I see? Has any spiritual work been accomplished in me at all? The degree of panic activity in my life is equal to the degree of my lack of personal spiritual experience.

“Behold, O My people, I will open your graves…” (Ezekiel 37:12). When God wants to show you what human nature is like separated from Himself, He shows it to you in yourself. If the Spirit of God has ever given you a vision of what you are apart from the grace of God (and He will only do this when His Spirit is at work in you), then you know that in reality there is no criminal half as bad as you yourself could be without His grace. My “grave” has been opened by God and “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells” (Romans 7:18). God’s Spirit continually reveals to His children what human nature is like apart from His grace.

2 Chronicles 15-16; John 12:27-50

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God. 

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Reflections

The human in us has the tendency to try to achieve things by our own effort or have the thoughts that so long as we try to do the things on our checklist (such as reading the bible, reading the devotional and doing our daily prayer), we will be guaranteed salvation.

We ought to realise that there is nothing that we do that will lead us to heaven. It is all His grace and His sacrifice that allows us to be with the Father. 

The Lord reveals through the Holy Spirit the things in our life that needs to change or let go in order for us to walk towards the heaven’s gates. There are no shortcuts, only a fully transformed heart is able to be in line with the Lord.

When we are in Him and He in us, we will be able to experience much peace. There will not be any sense of rush, only reliance on the Lord. For we know that the Lord is good. If it is to be, it will be and He will make it happen. We just need to cooperate with Him and take appropriate actions. But those actions must be called. 

If we try to do our own will, we will eventually hit the wall. Panic, anxiety or even fear may hit us. A child of God will elude a sense of calm, just like still waters.

Let’s pray:

Father we thank You for saving us and granting us salvation which we don’t deserve and unable to earn. Thank You Lord for this sacrificial love that we can never repay. Help us to be able to open to rebuke and discipline so that the worldly elements in us can be removed. Help us Father, to be right with You so we too, can be right with men. In Jesus’s name we ask and pray. Amen 🙏🏻