Abundance or Lack?

     An old song was running through my head the other day and something in it started me thinking. It was a really familiar song, but I realized I had never really thought about what it was truly saying. Here is the line that started me on this journey, "We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord..."

     Nothing out of the ordinary there. Look a little closer. "The sacrifice of praise..." To be a sacrifice it most cost you something to lose it. Are we really bringing a sacrifice of praise? Is it costing us something to praise Him? I think we are really bringing our gifts of praise. We praise god when things are good and praise flows easily and freely. Now God honors all praise, but He desires our sacrifice of praise. When praise costs us something. When we praise God even when we don't feel like it or when everything is going wrong, that is when we are truly bringing a sacrifice of praise and it is a delight to the Lord. Paul said it this way, "Rejoice in all things..." A gift is given from our abundance, a sacrifice is given at our loss. Are our praises simply gifts or are they truly sacrifices?

Stand

     A battle rages daily across the heavens. Heaven's angels are pitted against the demons of Hell. At stake are the lives of all mankind. The battle is complicated by mankind's tendency to willingly walk into the line of fire. In fact one of the demon's favorite tactics is to lure the unsuspecting out of the shelter of the angels into the direct line of fire, and what's worse theyfrequently want to stay there. Sadly, if they stay there too long they fall out of reach of the angels.

     Being a Christian doesn't protect you from this war, it equips you. Satan travels the Earth looking for targets and they are frequently those closest to God. Remember Job? He was completely devoted to God and this was who Satan chose to unleash the powers of Hell against.

     Well Job's story is every man's story. A war rages over the soul of every one. It is vital that we prepare ourselves for this warfare. We prepare by being completely within Christ's will. Those who still stand after withstanding the attacks of the devil are the ones who will win this war. After losing all, Job still refused to deny God. He won. We will win too if, after having done all, we will just stand.

Do Justice

     What does God require of me? Surely there is something I must do. Man has wrestled with this question since Cain and Abel. New denominations have been created over this very question.

     So what does God require of me? Is it offerings of money, or cattle, or whatever? What do you give the God who created everything? God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, He doesn't need yours. Should I be in church every time it's open? Good idea, but not necessary. How would you determine when you've been there enough? Should I do something, build something, feed someone, or comfort someone? Again, great things to do but again how much would be enough?

     So what does God require of me? The answer can be found in the words of Micah, "Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before your God." There it is, simply stated, what God requires of all who call Him Lord.