IN THE BEGINNING…THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, DECEMBER 9, 2012SACRIFICE MADE NEW
In the Old Testament, it is quite easy to see God’s desire
for sacrifice. God commanded blood sacrifices to be given as an offering unto the
Lord. These sacrifices were necessary in order to approach the presence of God and
for fellowship with God. But in the New
Testament, Jesus becomes the one sacrifice needed for entry into the presence of
God. The blood of Jesus is atonement for
all of our sins, past, present and future.
Now we may rest in the one-time sacrifice of Christ, which purchased our
salvation. But we must still sacrifice: for we must bear our cross.
In the New Testament, sacrifice is
still essential, but it is altogether new.
Jesus gives us insight into the heart of sacrifice when he says, “No man
can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or
else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew
6:24). It is true that in order to love
and serve God, we must sacrifice the lifestyle of Mammon. We must hate the lordship that money attempts
to impose over our lives. Our decisions
should not be based primarily on money, but our decisions must be governed and
ruled by God. What career will
you choose? How many children will you
have? Will you go to college... or just
fast forward to millionaire status? The
Scriptures teach us to sacrifice our love for money, and instead, love the life
that God deems best, whether rich or poor.
In the book of Hebrews, the
Apostle Paul states, “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity;
therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above
thy fellows” (Hebrews 1:9) No doubt, if
we truly love righteousness, we must hate iniquity. If you love honoring God and keeping his
commands, you must hate cheating, stealing, fornication and slander. As servants of Christ, we must sacrifice
corrupt communication. “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for
whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil” (Matthew 5:37).
God models sacrifice when he
declares: “Jacob have I loved ; but Esau have I hated” ( Romans 9:13). God chooses and promotes whomsoever he
chooses. He lifts up one and puts down
another. This is the essence of
sacrifice. What are you lifting up in your
life today? What do you need to
sacrifice?
Sacrifice is often the price we must pay to accomplish a
task. Have you ever tried working with
opposing forces? Perhaps you have been on a team where two members are in
opposition. Nothing can get accomplished,
right? That is how it is in our lives
when we refuse to sacrifice the things of the flesh. “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other:
so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Galatians 5:17). The flesh desires the things that hinder the
Spirit and the Spirit desires the things that crush the flesh. No wonder the bible tells us , “A double
minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).
Today, let us sacrifice that which is necessary to
accomplish our tasks in the Lord.
