DAILY DEVOTION No. 3

2 Chron. 7:1-2  "Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house."

Solomon built the house of the Lord on the site of Ornan’s field, the place where David sacrificed to the Lord, as a sign of repentance, and surrender, after numbering Israel. The temple's foundation was this place of sacrifice. You and I are now living temples in which the Holy Ghost resides, and as these temples, every part of our lives is to be built upon a foundation of sacrifice – our jobs, our personal ambitions, our relationships and our ministry.

Romans 12:1 says “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.” 

What does it mean for us to be living sacrifices? Sacrifice takes on two meanings:

1) God wants a yielded life – not giving into the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes or the pride of life. God wants to reflect his glory through us and this won't happen unless we die daily to the things that become a blockage to God's presence.

The glory of God didn’t fill the temple until the sacrifice had been presented and consumed by fire – until the flesh of the animal was consumed. God, in the same way, will not fill this temple of ours with His glory while flesh remains. The sacrifice of the flesh represented repentance from sin. As Hebrews 12:14 says, ...."without holiness we won’t see the Lord." At the same time, without holiness the Lord won’t be seen in us.

We must look for those things that satisfy the spirit man – Righteousness, Peace and Joy. You and I must shed things from our lives so that we make room for God. We must create a vacuum for God to fill us by removing all flesh.

2) Sacrifice of our time, energies and finances

To serve the Lord in ministry requires sacrifice - sacrifice of our time, our energies, our finances and our pleasures. We must bear in mind that we are not serving our own vision, but we are there to serve the Lord and the vision of the church. Just as Jesus set an example of supreme sacrifice when he gave himself for us as a humble servant, we must be prepared to offer our resources for God's use.

How serious do we take our service for God? Is it just something we do providing it doesn’t interfere with our plans? We need to ask the Lord to help us to be willing to yield every part of our lives as sacrifices unto God.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I offer my life afresh to you as a living sacrifice. Help me to be willing to allow Your Spirit to consume the fleshly areas of my life, that I may live in holiness and righteousness before You. Touch my heart and remove all hardness so there is a willingness to serve You in all areas of my life.

Rod Best