Are You A Sacrifice?

For most followers of Christ a morning devotion or prayer time is a habit that we have developed and have found to be useful and beneficial. We'll spend some time reading the Bible and praying.  I usually have my prayer time in the morning, but anytime is fine, the point is to spend some time alone with God in prayer and listening to His still voice apart from the hectic pace of our usual routine.

I noticed an interesting passage that made me think of the benefits of such a discipline. It is in Psalm 5:3, " O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;  in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch."  This verse is in the ESV version of the Bible and I really appreciated the wording of this verse. The psalmist of course is referring to the ritualistic offering of an animal or grain sacrifice required of the Old Testament people of Israel. Fortunately, we who are followers of Jesus no longer need to offer such sacrifices because the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Himself, has been offered for us, once for all time and our sins are forgiven and wiped away because of that.

However, there is another sacrifice that we offer and are encouraged by Scripture to offer it each day. Romans 12:1 tells us to offer our very bodies, ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God. Isn't this what our devotion or prayer time is designed to do? It is there in those quiet moments that we recommit ourselves to obey our Savior. There is where we decide to follow Him throughout our coming day, or to review and evaluate the day as it draws near to a close. It is the time when we in prayerful decision and faith say, not my will, but Yours be done today Lord. That is the sacrifice that we are making.

Each day in our devotional time we decide to reject sin, fear, discouragement, sorrow, illness, poverty, lack, despair, and any other hurtful or negatives that we are so easily prone to.  Conversely, we receive holiness, courage, motivation, hope, faith, joy, health, abundance, provision, encouragement, and other positives by faith, trusting our God to provide them all in His own way and time. Personally, I do this for real, and out loud. I say, verbally, " Lord I reject fear, discouragement...etc. and then, I receive holiness, courage, ...etc."

Our devotional time is when we are preparing ourselves to be a living sacrifice, not only so we can gain blessings, but so we can be people who pass them on to others and let them know that as God has done for us, so He will do for them through faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin.

Are you preparing a sacrifice today? You are the sacrifice! Maybe you need to start a devotional time as part of your daily routine. I would strongly encourage you to do so if you haven't yet. But as you do, remember that it's not just a good habit to develop, but rather it is an expression of Lordship and a willingness to follow our Lord where ever He leads, and into whatever plan He may have for us.

That is preparing a sacrifice, but then by faith, watch! Watch and see how God will bless, lead, comfort and fulfill the longings of our hearts!