Tag Archives: pleasing to God

PLEASING SACRIFICES

Christian Life, ,

PLEASING SACRIFICES

“I have received full payment and have more than enough, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Philippians 4:18, 19.

Now we have the full picture. Although giving to meet the needs of others is our duty, it is much more than our duty. Paul said that it is an act of worship! It is one of the sacrifices that we offer to God as an expression of adoration and praise to Him. Yes, we no longer need to sacrifice animals to worship the Lord but we still offer sacrifices that are pleasing to Him.

1. Our bodies – Romans 12:1

2. Our praise – Hebrews 13:15

3. Our generous attitude – Hebrews 13:16

4. Our resources – Philippians 4:18

5. Our submissive hearts – Psalm 51:17

In our previous meditation, we explored God’s way of keeping His resources circulating, by giving and receiving. God’s way of meeting our needs and the needs of others is through people. When we give to others, we create a current which comes back to us in our time of need and so there will be equality if we all play our part.

When people hoard their money instead of keeping it flowing, they opt out of the system and decrease the available resources to meet everyone else’s needs. We cannot claim God’s promise to meet our needs if we are not fulfilling the condition to help others. Philippians 4:19 is not blanket promise for everyone to claim, especially those who are not fulfilling the condition attached to the promise.

It amazes me how many believers have not taken the trouble to understand God’s ways. He is not a sugar daddy who indulgently dishes out whatever His children ask for, regardless of their obedience to His instructions. God works in accordance with His own laws and not in a disorderly and haphazard fashion. His law of sowing and reaping applies in the realm of agriculture and in every area of our lives as well.

“Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with his instructor. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” Galatians 6:6, 7.

When hard times come, people pray desperately for financial help but nothing happens. Why? They have mocked God by failing to sow for a harvest. Would it be right for God to give on demand and violate His own law? That would make Him unreliable, and that is unthinkable! Instead of praying for help, sow some seeds and the harvest is guaranteed.

But is it not wrong to give to get? Is it wrong to sow a field full of wheat and not expect a harvest? The point of sowing seed is to have bread to eat and seed to sow again. A farmer would be a fool if he ate all his seed or stashed it away in his barn and failed to sow for the next harvest.

Jesus told a story about a greedy farmer who had a bumper crop which he stored away in bigger barns he had built to accommodate his increased yield. He sat back to enjoy his bounty with not a thought for the God who had provided for him. God called him a fool and took his life because of his selfishness. His harvest would go to provide for others, not because he was generous but because God had others to provide for as well.

How much better when we worship the Lord for His goodness to us by caring for His children so that they, in turn can also be generous when their opportunity comes. When God can trust us not to hoard our money but to keep it circulating so that everyone has enough, He will increase the bounty He lavishes on us because He is that kind of God. But if He cannot trust us with the little we have, He cannot give us more.

Giving to God when we have little ourselves may be difficult, but it is a step of faith as well as an act of worship. God challenges us as He challenged the Israelites in Malachi 3:10:

“‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.'”

Try it! God will never go back on His promise.

SCRIPTURE TAKEN FROM THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

IN VIEW OF GOD’S MERCY

Bible Study, ,

IN VIEW OF GOD’S MERCY

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1, 2.

“When you see a “therefore”, ask what it’s there for!” Ever heard that one?

“Therefore” forms the bridge between what has gone before and what follows. True to Paul’s way, his practical application follows his presentation of what God has done.  In this letter, he has carefully set out the legal foundation for God’s mercy – His justice based on His righteousness in which He both dealt with sin and acquitted the sinner.

Therefore, what God has done demands a suitable response from those who have received His gift of righteousness. Our response depends on the purpose for which He went to the trouble of removing our sin and absolving us of guilt – so that we can be reconciled to Him and return to His original plan for human beings.

It’s no use saying, “Thank you very much,” putting His pardon in our back pockets as a passport to heaven and continuing to living in our old way as though nothing had happened. This attitude makes a mockery of His mercy and is the worst form of ingratitude.

David recognised the absolute importance of embracing all the benefits and blessings of God’s salvation as the highest form of gratitude that we can offer to Him for all that He has done for us.

12 What shall I return to the LORD
for all his goodness to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people. Psalms 116:12-14

God went to great lengths to redeem us. For what purpose? To bring His wayward children back to Himself so that, once again, we can be His family and He can be our Father.

“What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of God, As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ Therefore ‘Come out from them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’ And, ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:16-18.  

If God is our Father, then we as His children should resemble Him in His nature, since we have been born of Him. The sinful nature in us has to be subdued so that we can be restored to what He made us to be in the beginning – holy, set apart for God; and righteous, doing the right thing in every situation, just as He does. That means, caring more for others than for ourselves and being generous in every way towards all people.

The problem is that, in order to change our behaviour, we have to change the way we think. But how? First of all, by relinquishing our right to ourselves. Paul put it this way: give God your body as a living sacrifice – not literally, of course, but present the members of your body to Him to direct what you do with them. Give Him your head – the control centre of your life. Give Him your arms and legs – what you do and where you go; give Him your tongue, your eyes, your ears etc., so that He can be in charge of what goes in and what comes out. Get the picture?

Hand-in-hand with your body must go your mind. Your thoughts are selfish, corrupted and contrary to God’s thoughts about Himself, you and others. Your behaviour will change as your thoughts change. But it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a slow, lifetime process of reading, understanding and absorbing God’s word, re-evaluating the way you think and respond to your life’s experiences in the light of what God’s word says, gaining a new perspective on life from God’s point of view and replacing self with God and others.

Does this sound like an impossible demand? It is – unless we see it as a partnership between the Holy Spirit and us. We can’t do it alone but the Holy Spirit in us changes us as we do our part.

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13. 

What is our part? Choose to do the right thing in line with what God says, and the Holy Spirit in you will provide the power to do it.

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Acceptable Sacrifices

Bible Study, , ,

ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICES

“I have received full payment and have more than enough, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Philippians 4:18, 19.

Now we have the full picture. Although giving to meet the needs of others is our duty, it is much more than our duty. Paul said that it is an act of worship! It is one of the sacrifices that we offer to God as an expression of adoration and praise to Him. Yes, we no longer need to sacrifice animals to worship the Lord but we still offer sacrifices that are pleasing to Him.

1. Our bodies – Romans 12:1

2. Our praise – Hebrews 13:15

3. Our generous attitude – Hebrews 13:16

4. Our resources – Philippians 4:18

5. Our submissive hearts – Psalm 51:17

In our meditation yesterday, we explored God’s way of keeping His resources circulating, by giving and receiving. God’s way of meeting our needs and the needs of others is through people. When we give to others, we create a current which comes back to us in our time of need and so there will be equality if we all play our part.

When people hoard their money instead of keeping it flowing, they opt out of the system and decrease the available resources to meet everyone else’s needs. We cannot claim God’s promise to meet our needs if we are not fulfilling the condition to help others. Philippians 4:19 is not blanket promise for everyone to claim, especially those who are not fulfilling the condition attached to the promise.

It amazes me how many believers have not taken the trouble to understand God’s ways. He is not a sugar daddy who indulgently dishes out whatever His children ask for, regardless of their obedience to His instructions. God works in accordance with His own laws and not in a disorderly and haphazard fashion. His law of sowing and reaping applies in the realm of agriculture and in every area of our lives as well.

“Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with his instructor. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” Galatians 6:6, 7.

When hard times come, people pray desperately for financial help but nothing happens. Why? They have mocked God by failing to sow for a harvest. Would it be right for God to give on demand and violate His own law? That would make Him unreliable, and that is unthinkable! Instead of praying for help, sow some seeds and the harvest is guaranteed.

But is it not wrong to give to get? Is it wrong to sow a field full of wheat and not expect a harvest? The point of sowing seed is to have bread to eat and seed to sow again. A farmer would be a fool if he ate all his seed or stashed it away in his barn and failed to sow for the next harvest.

Jesus told a story about a greedy farmer who had a bumper crop which he stored away in bigger barns he had built to accommodate his increased yield. He sat back to enjoy his bounty with not a thought for the God who had provided for him. God called him a fool and took his life because of his selfishness. His harvest would go to provide for others, not because he was generous but because God had others to provide for as well.

How much better when we worship the Lord for His goodness to us by caring for His children so that they, in turn can also be generous when their opportunity comes. When God can trust us not to hoard our money but to keep it circulating so that everyone has enough, He will increase the bounty He lavishes on us because He is that kind of God. But if He cannot trust us with the little we have, He cannot give us more.

Giving to God when we have little ourselves may be difficult, but it is a step of faith as well as an act of worship. God challenges us as He challenged the Israelites in Malachi 3:10:

“‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.'”

Try it! God will never go back on His promise.

SCRIPTURE TAKEN FROM THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.