Therefore through Him, let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that confess His name. Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.     Hebrews 13:16 HCSB

The word sacrifice is defined as a loss or something one gives up for the sake of a better cause. The biblical definition often referred to the offering of an animal, plant or surrendering a possession as an offering to God. In the Old Testament days, believers had to bring animals to sacrifice on the altar to atone for their sins. But God sent Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice to save us from our sins. Our Scripture passage for today encourages us to continually offer up to God a sacrifice.

For many years, I was grateful for what God had did but I wasn’t willing to make any sacrifices of my own. I wasn’t willing to give up my time or things I liked to do on Sunday to attend church regularly. I wasn’t willing to give up my sinful habits. In all honesty I was selfish. All that brought me was misery and heartache. Oh, it was good for a while I must admit. But eventually it became tiresome and burdensome. Sin will do that to you. It starts out like the best thing since sliced white bread, but it can quickly turn to disaster. It can leave you feeling empty and broken.

There are things we must understand about God to get a firm grip on this. First, we must understand that God is sovereign. This means that He is in charge. He runs things. He controls all things. You may make all kinds of wonderful plans, but God is in charge. This is why Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to trust in God with all our heart and not to lean on our own understanding. It tells us to acknowledge Him in all our ways and He will keep our paths straight.

Once we understand His sovereignty, then we must accept the salvation he freely offers through His Son, Jesus Christ. John 15:13 tells us, “Greater love has no one than this, that he would lay his life down for his friends.” That’s what Jesus did for us, except He lay His life down for His enemies. As sinners, we are His enemy. And while we were still sinners, He lay His life down for us (Romans 5:8). We don’t have to get all cleaned up to go to Jesus. We can come as we are and He will clean us up. 1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We need only come to Him with a heart willing to confess our sins and repent.

Once we understand the sovereignty of God and the salvation offered by Jesus, we see the great sacrifice that Jesus made for us when He died on that cross. This was not something He wanted to do. We see in Luke 22:42 that Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from Me, yet not My will, but Your will be done.” Jesus was fully human and fully God. Because He was fully human, Jesus would feel those lashes on back. He would bleed. He would feel the nails being driven in His hands and feet. He would have trouble breathing as His body hung on that cross. He sacrificed all He had for us. He gave His life.

Are you willing to sacrifice your time and your money for Him? Are you willing to go to church? Are you willing to tithe? Are you willing to spend time in daily Bible study and prayer. He gave his life so that we may have eternal life. Are you willing to surrender your life to Him?

We are also commanded to be good to others. Our Scripture passage tells us not to neglect to do what is good for others and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices. My friend if you are living life like it’s all about you, you are in or a rude awakening. It’s not about us at all. It’s all about Him. Every breath we take is because He allows us to take it.

When was the last time you sacrificed your time and/or money for Jesus or someone else? When was the last time you gave up something to further His cause or to help someone else? If you can’t remember, then you have some catching up to do. Get busy!

Have a great day!