It's been a while since I've blogged. Life gets busy and I
forget to do it, I suppose. Well, it has been a growing new year for me!
I began reading through a one-year Bible. Right now I'm in
Leviticus in the Old Testament. There are many rules and guidelines (many
of which were set up for sanitary reasons) that encompass this particular book.
Many have to do with the sacrifices given to God. It makes
me very thankful for what Jesus did on the cross. No longer are we held
to the same rules. Jesus was the final and ultimate sacrifice! We're free
from the old law! Yeah! :)
Once again I
prayed this morning that my heart would be soft and receive whatever God wanted
to show me. He gave me a neat picture as I read, once again, about what
the is an acceptable sacrifice to the Lord. It must be a male animal with
no defects. That's the gist of it anyway. We don't sacrifice
animals now because we have Jesus, but as I read "with no defects" it
pricked something in my heart. We give sacrifices to the Lord all the
time.... our time, our money, our resources, our gifts.... but what is the
status of our heart when we give these gifts?
Psalm 51:16 p-
17 "You do not
delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt
offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite
heart you, God, will not despise."
Mark 12:33 "To love him with all you heart,
all your your understanding, and all your strength, and to love your neighbor
as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
Does my heart have
no defect? I'm NOT talking about being sinless. When we give to the
Lord it should be out of joy! Not because "we're supposed to".
What is my motivation for giving? Is it because my heart overflows
with love for this amazing God - the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the great I
Am - and I can think of no other thing I'd rather do than serve Him? There
should be no condemnation or guilt trip pushing us to give and serve.
2 Corinthians 9:7
"Each of you
should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or
under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
I want a heart that
has no defect. God
poured out everything for me in love. Can I do any less?
