An offering devotion...something to think about
Offering Devotion
At this time each week, we reach the portion of our service where we pass the plates and bring our tithes before God. As we come together and the plate passes before you, I urge you to think and reflect on a few things. As I go on, please keep this one thought in mind… We, as humans, are creatures of habit. We go through the motions sometimes and don’t think outside of the box.
Before I go too far, I want to define a couple words…words that to me seemed elementary and didn’t need defining, but yet I felt the Spirit guide me to look them up anyway. This is what I found.
The word Sacrifice means –something given up or lost OR the destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else.
Offering means – a contribution to the support of a church OR a SACRIFICE ceremonially offered as a part of worship. (Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary)
1 Peter 2:5 says- 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
These two words can be and should be in our faith, interchangeable. Christ sacrificed himself for us, but he also offered it willingly. If this is the case, we should offer ourselves as a living sacrifice as well. The chance of us being crucified these days are slim, but we can live every day for Christ, offering ourselves up to Him as sacrifices in recognition for what He did for us.
Hebrews 13:15-16 says- 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
We should not only offer our monetary offerings/sacrifices on Sunday, but live as a offering/sacrifice to our Lord Jesus Christ, the way we live should reflect our offering/sacrifice to God.
Romans 12:1-2 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. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The word spiritual in the phrase “spiritual act of worship” also can be translated as “reasonable”. It is reasonable for us not only to support our church monetarily, but to also live as a offering/sacrifice to our Lord Jesus. It is what we should do and what Jesus wants of us. This way by our actions we ARE evangelizing to the world, which will make it easier for us to talk about Jesus to our friends, relatives, co workers, and anyone we meet during the day. I want to encourage you to think outside the box this week. Maybe it’s giving more money than usual. Perhaps it is getting involved in a ministry such as Café or a small group. Or maybe even talking to someone this week that you aren’t sure about what their stance with Christ is. This week, a friend of my mom’s passed away. It wasn’t until after he died that I knew where he was in his faith. He was a regular, church going, saved person. I didn’t know that. I never bothered to bring it up. So, let me leave you with this thought: how many people do you know, if they died today, would you NOT know what their stance with Christ is?
At this time each week, we reach the portion of our service where we pass the plates and bring our tithes before God. As we come together and the plate passes before you, I urge you to think and reflect on a few things. As I go on, please keep this one thought in mind… We, as humans, are creatures of habit. We go through the motions sometimes and don’t think outside of the box.
Before I go too far, I want to define a couple words…words that to me seemed elementary and didn’t need defining, but yet I felt the Spirit guide me to look them up anyway. This is what I found.
The word Sacrifice means –something given up or lost OR the destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else.
Offering means – a contribution to the support of a church OR a SACRIFICE ceremonially offered as a part of worship. (Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary)
1 Peter 2:5 says- 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
These two words can be and should be in our faith, interchangeable. Christ sacrificed himself for us, but he also offered it willingly. If this is the case, we should offer ourselves as a living sacrifice as well. The chance of us being crucified these days are slim, but we can live every day for Christ, offering ourselves up to Him as sacrifices in recognition for what He did for us.
Hebrews 13:15-16 says- 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
We should not only offer our monetary offerings/sacrifices on Sunday, but live as a offering/sacrifice to our Lord Jesus Christ, the way we live should reflect our offering/sacrifice to God.
Romans 12:1-2 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. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The word spiritual in the phrase “spiritual act of worship” also can be translated as “reasonable”. It is reasonable for us not only to support our church monetarily, but to also live as a offering/sacrifice to our Lord Jesus. It is what we should do and what Jesus wants of us. This way by our actions we ARE evangelizing to the world, which will make it easier for us to talk about Jesus to our friends, relatives, co workers, and anyone we meet during the day. I want to encourage you to think outside the box this week. Maybe it’s giving more money than usual. Perhaps it is getting involved in a ministry such as Café or a small group. Or maybe even talking to someone this week that you aren’t sure about what their stance with Christ is. This week, a friend of my mom’s passed away. It wasn’t until after he died that I knew where he was in his faith. He was a regular, church going, saved person. I didn’t know that. I never bothered to bring it up. So, let me leave you with this thought: how many people do you know, if they died today, would you NOT know what their stance with Christ is?
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