Why sacrifice?

Both believers of the faith and non-believers have probably wondered about the nature of sacrificial offerings to God.

In basic definition, an offering is simply when we offer up something to God. We see offerings given to God every Sunday when we set aside money to give to the church.

Besides money, however, there are many other forms of offerings we can give to God. We can offer God our time, our bodies, etc.

The book of Leviticus shows us the place of sacrificial offerings within the culture at the time. I believe that offerings have many purposes, one of those being the atonement of sin.

We serve a just, holy and righteous God. He is a god who is fair, who rules lovingly but not without consequence. Sin separates us from our holy Lord because it is drastically adverse to who He is. At the same time sin is opposed to the will of God - the way that God would have us live, think, treat others, etc. Because God is just, in order for our sins to be forgiven, He instituted that a living being that is pure and without sin, in essence, innocent, serve the punishment for our sin. In the book of Leviticus, innocent animals are the ones that pay the price for humanities failings.

Leviticus 1:4

"Lay your hand on the animal's head, and the Lord will accept its death in your place to purify you, making you right with him."

...an innocent being, therefore, has to die in order for us to be made right with God again.

Sin offerings, if anything, should make us realize just how powerful sin is and just how adverse God is to sin in our lives. Sin drastically separates us from the Lord and should not be taken lightly. Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sin by dying a horrible death in our place.

Food for thought: I realize how immune I am to the sin in my life. Oftentimes I sin without realizing it. The worst part is that I don't ask God for forgiveness for this sin nor do I repent. I do think it's valuable at the end of each day to do some self-reflecting and think about the sin in your life, how it affected others, God, and yourself, and think about how you can do things differently for next time.

Gold Diggers and True Lovers

Today in Church we were warned about the danger of having a relationship towards God similar to that of a "gold-digger" where one seeks instant gratification, and treats God like a part of a business deal. I believe I have had this attitude towards God. For example, negotiating with God...ie. because I did not spend enough time with him this week, I will next week. Or "feeling" like you have done your part because you have tithed appropriately or prayed for someone you promised you would pray for.

Such a relationship with God is easy yet empty because it requires carrying out simple deeds and works which are only just that. I think it's good to remember that we serve a God who has feelings, a very real, living and personal God. We would never treat our friends and family as players in a business deal, right? Then why do we treat our God that way? We learned that a true relationship with God requires discipline. This discipline, however, is extremely rewarding. The disciplines that they discussed in church were (1) Giving to those in need (2) Praying privately, and consistently (3) Praying like a child (4) Fasting sometimes.

I never quite understood the importance of fasting but Pastor Jonathan described that fasting is importantly denying your physical, flesh self, in order to remember and pay tribute and honour to who is the real lord of your life, that being God. In essence, it is denying the physicality of who we are to glorify the spirit, to illustrate that we do not live on bread alone but on God's holy word. Besides the ones discussed above, I believe discipline towards God can also be forgoing habitual sin and obeying his word despite a strong proclivity not to.

The most important thing that I took away from church today, however, is the importance of giving our "first fruits" to God. Reference the story of Cain and Abel. Abel gave the best and first of his supplies to God, while Cain gave the leftovers. When I worship God, I want to be able to give him the best part of who I am. I think it would be best to spend time with him when I am the most alert. That time for me would be when I get home from work, so I want to try that out for a while. I think it's also good to actually plan when you spend time with God day by day so that you are more likely to adhere to that plan. Sort of like, I will spend time with God..at 4pm, etc.

Feeding the Digression

We put our hope in many different things..

Work & making money, love interests, reputations, appearance...

Do you know what you put your hope into?

Do an assessment of the way you spend your time? What kinds of things do you do? What types of things do you think about?

You will find out what you put your hope in...

Oftentimes I know that I put my hope into feeling loved and respected more than I put my trust and hope in God.

My actions will feed what I put my hope into, rather than discourage this behaviour. And I only turn to God, when my first "hopes" fail me.

For example, there are a few times when I have been involved with people romantically. During those moments, I will put my hope and trust into the thoughts/feelings that that person has for me, rather than in God's word and love for me.

When those thoughts/feelings fail, then I come running back to God rather than sticking with Him in the first place. Seems to be a general pattern in my life.

Let the digression end today.

What Makes You Happy?

Do an assessment of what makes you happy...you'll find it interesting.

What do you rejoice in?

Philippians 4:4 tells us to "Rejoice in the Lord." This means that our happiness and joy is to be in Him.

I find this interesting because there are many things that make me happy/joyful, but I wouldn't readily or immediately admit that it's being with the Lord.

Yes, I could tell you all kinds of things- the summer, getting off work, sleeping, requited love interests, good food, but where would the Lord be on this list?

It is the Lord that is supposed to make us joyful and we will find that being in His presence more regularly will create this in our lives.

So before you're quick to let yourself get happy about something trivial, ask where your true happiness is supposed to come from.

I Just Can't Get It Right

Why am I like this?

Lately I've been allowing myself to be distracted by so many useless things. It seems these days that I live for my emotions.

You know that emotional high that you feel when you gain that attention from the guy/girl you're interested in? Sometimes I feel like I live for that high. Either I am reveling in it, or craving it.

I realize that I desire to be glorified. Honestly, I think that's what it really comes down to. I am either idolizing others or idolizing myself.

A sermon today spoke some truth:

We become bored of God because we are worshiping the idols of our hearts instead of Him.

Can I get back onto the right page?

who's deserving

Whenever I feel let down by people (thankfully not often), I wonder what I've done wrong and wonder why all my trying to be the best person I can be to them isn't reciprocated.

But then I think of God. 

And I realise how much more I have let Him down through my recurring sins. And it really is so much worse than I have ever done to any human. So what's a little nonsense from people eh?

I totally deserve it.

It can be the same

When we take a minute to reflect, the message of Almighty God is the same at one angle.

In Islam, the salat (prayer) that is made obligatory for 5 times a day is the few minutes one has to connect with Allah (swt). It's the moment we remind ourselves of God's doings and to consider the blessings we have. It's the personal connection between you and Him. In all religions I believe, the ultimate goal and idea is to personally connect with the Almighty. It's you and Him, from day one to the very last..

The song sung by Sami Yusuf (below) reflects that, and speaks of the benefits one receives from paying attention to that connection with God.