Day 7: Pure offerings
"My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to Me, because My name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty (Malachi 1:11).
Sovereign God, enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth, You are exalted over all the nations. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised (Psalm 113:1, 3-6)
We are given a glimpse into the time when before You is raised the song of God's servant Moses and of the Lamb, Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy (Revelation 15:3-4 - NKJV). But sometimes we forget that the present is part of the "forever" continuum, and we do not give You the praise and glory due Your name (Psalm 29:2).
Yet around and within us are all the reminders and prompts towards praise and gratitude. The psalmist reminds us, The whole earth is filled with awe at Your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, You call forth songs of joy (Psalm 65:8). And again, Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name (Psalm 63:3-4).
O Father, forgive us for prayerlessness, nominal acknowledgement, and outright ingratitude! It is only Your daily mercies and compassions that sustain us—that keep us from being swallowed up and consumed by the bitterness and the gall (Lamentations 3:19, 22-23).
In the past, You instructed Your people, When anyone brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable (Leviticus 22:21). Later, You rebuked them for doing the opposite of what You had instructed: When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? (Malachi 1:8).
You do not require of us the same type of sacrificial system—the Lord Jesus made the only necessary pure and perfect offering—we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Hebrews 10:10). But the apostle Paul urges us, in view of God’s mercy...offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship (Romans 12:1).
You have given us Your perfect, unfailing love. How could we not fear You and glorify Your name? Help us to bring You pure offerings from a heart of gratitude and love. May we offer ourselves as living sacrifices in place of dead religion and blemished, defective, half-hearted prayers. We thank You for Your promise, Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor Me, and to the blameless I will show My salvation” (Psalm 50:23).
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