Hebrews 13:10-15 The Message
10-12 The altar from which God gives us the gift of himself is not for exploitation by insiders who grab and loot. In the old system, the animals are killed and the bodies disposed of outside the camp. The blood is then brought inside to the altar as a sacrifice for sin. It’s the same with Jesus. He was crucified outside the city gates—that is where he poured out the sacrificial blood that was brought to God’s altar to cleanse his people.
13-15 So let’s go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is—not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. This “insider world” is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come. Let’s take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus’ name.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
True or False …
We have so much to praise God for every day, there’s great power in giving full honor to Him. The Bible is filled with examples of praise and worship when we see His power released, life-changing miracles, dramatic stories of the enemy being halted or defeated, stone hearts being changed and drawn closer to Him?
Yet the supposed reality which we rationalize forward and backwards, is that way too often, we over emphasize or hyper dramatize the 1 daily struggle or 1 constant life demand serving to “crowd out” our praise and worship to God.
We might check the “go to worship” box at church and somehow think we’re good for the week. And yet, all the while, with souls distant and ice cold, we sing our praises, we listen to music and words, and then we go home. Unchanged.
Sometimes it really is a sacrifice to offer praise.
We may not feel like it.
We’re struggling.
We’re weary.
We are not feeling well. Or maybe, we feel like God has let us down too often.
He may seem distant to us, like He doesn’t really care about what we’re now struggling through or worrying about.
Painful life blows and losses may have recently sent us spiraling. We’re still trying to get our feet on the ground and put broken pieces back together again.
Here’s what can make a lasting difference.
When we make that decision to fix our eyes on Him, and daily give Him just one praise, no matter what’s staring us straight in the face, we may suddenly realize that God has already begun to release the grip those struggles can have over us.
We have a myriad of choices and decisions we have to make every day in this life. We can choose to live absorbed in worry and stress, on the fast track of busy, focused only on what surrounds us, and tuned into the roar of the world.
Or we can ask God to help us take our eyes off all that may be swirling around, our problems and mess, tearing up our insides and the voices of others. We can look up to Him, the One who holds it all together, who holds us in His hands.
Even from within our worst laments (Psalm 13, 137) God always desires our whole heart, without one single regard to the very worst of its inner condition.
He always waits for us to return if we’ve drifted away. He longs for us to know the power of His presence in and through our lives. He desires to bless us more than we could ever imagine. His Holy Spirit urges us onward, calling us closer.
Hebrews 4:12-13 The Message
12-13 God means exactly what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one can resist God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.
As bad as your heart may now feel in this moment, our first and best effort at our recovery, at our restoration, Continuous streams of prayer and continuous completely ransom outbursts of praise. May He help us to look up again today, remember His goodness, power in our lives, to offer Him worship and praise.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 16 The Message
16 1-2 Keep me safe, O God,
I’ve run for dear life to you.
I say to God, “Be my Lord!”
Without you, nothing makes sense.
3 And these God-chosen lives all around—
what splendid friends they make!
4 Don’t just go shopping for a god.
Gods are not for sale.
I swear I’ll never treat god-names
like brand-names.
5-6 My choice is you, God, first and only.
And now I find I’m your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
And then you made me your heir!
7-8 The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake
is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I’ll stick with God;
I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.
9-10 I’m happy from the inside out,
and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
that’s not my destination!
11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I’m on the right way.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 