Verse of the day: Genesis 8:20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and
offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Is
God really #1 in our lives? Does our worship of God take priority over other
things in our lives? What a great example we have here in this verse of what it
means to put worship ahead of everything else! I believe that too many of us
today would have been more concerned about settling in our new home, by
scanning the land to see where we were going to build a house for our family to
live in, or where would be the best spot to settle so that the cattle and sheep
would have plenty of food so that they can multiply, and where we could plant a
garden to have food for our family. On top of that, we would have probably
thought twice about sacrificing that seventh animal, because we could probably
use that for meat for our family. Instead, Noah only thought of how grateful he
was toward God, and the first thing he did upon leaving the ark was build an
altar and sacrifice the seventh animal of the clean animals he was instructed
to bring on board by God (Genesis 7:2-3). Along this entire account, we never
read about any instructions given to Noah, by God, on how he should worship
God. This worship was genuinely from a heart of praise and thanksgiving toward
God for what He had done for Noah and his family. There is nothing more
pleasing to God than when we offer up the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving
in Christ Jesus (Hebrews 13:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:18), regardless of whether
conditions are good or bad. If we say that our relationship with God is
priority, where does prayer, and the study of His Word “fit” into our daily
routines and schedules? What priority does our quiet time and service take in
our busy lives? Do we give of our riches to God only when we have enough left
over, and we have taken care of our own needs, or do we give Him our first-fruits?
If we say God is most important in our lives, and our priority, does it show in
the way we worship Him? Is our worship of Him evident in the life we live, in
the way we treat others, and in our availability to go and do whatever He
desires? Like Noah, our worship should come before anything else. Simply
starting our day in prayer and reading His Word is a good start. Letting Him know
that He is the One we desire to spend the first moments of each day He gives
us. God deserves the very first fruits of all He allows us to have. Noah did
not just give the seventh animal back to God, he gave it sacrificially, as all
that was in the ark was all Noah and his family had in this new world. Noah did
not know what lie ahead for him and his family, but this one thing he knew; he
trusted God with whatever was to come, so sacrificing what could have been kept
for his family was just a small gesture of praise and thanksgiving that he
could offer. The results of this was that Noah’s sacrifice and worship was a
soothing aroma to God, and He made a covenant with him never to destroy mankind,
or every living thing, in this manner, via worldwide flood, ever again (verse
21). What a beautiful picture we see here of what is written in Ephesians 5:2,
where it tells us that Christ’s offering and sacrifice to God was a
sweet-smelling aroma. Do not let today go by without re-evaluating what
priority God really has in your life. Did you start today without praying? Did
you put your time in God’s Word on the “back-burner” because you had something else
to do, or chose to stay in bed those extra few minutes which could have been
spent with God? Have you already treated someone in a manner that would not
please the Lord or refused to give to God what is rightfully His, by maybe not
giving to someone who is in need? Only you know, and only you can change your
priorities.
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