Verse of the day: Leviticus 1:3 “If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD.”
The Book of Leviticus contains the laws God gave Israel through Moses, with the exception of a few historical accounts. The very first law we see gives direction concerning the burnt offering. In it, we see a clear picture of our Savior. We see from God’s instructions/requirements that He will not accept a sacrifice that is blemished. In Malachi 1:8, the prophet rebukes Israel for the sub-standard sacrifices they were offering the LORD, so it is with us. Nothing we offer God is good enough because we are all blemished, marred by sin (Romans 3:23). Prior to accepting Christ as our Savior, nothing we did, regardless of how sacrificial it might have been on our part, or how righteous, fell short because all our works of righteousness outside of Jesus are like filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6). This is the reason God would only accept Jesus, His only begotten, perfect, Son, as a Sacrifice that was sufficient to pay the price for the sin-debt we owed (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 2:2). Not only is the sacrifice to be without blemish (the best), but is should be given freely, and always before the Lord. The offering was washed, and burned completely, indicating a purity of heart, and complete surrender to God. How do we bring this down to us, as life application and our walk with Christ? The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” As living sacrifices, we must first be acceptable in that we have no blemish. This is only possible as a born again believer, because we are declared not guilty (or justified) only in Christ; whose righteousness is imputed on us (2 Corinthians 5:21). A sacrifice was killed, and therefore, what was offered on the altar was an animal that was dead. How then can we be a living sacrifice? In Christ, we are called to be dead to the world and its ways, and alive to God. It means taking up our cross daily (Luke 9:23), crucifying the flesh and its desires, and being alive in Christ. Galatians 2:20 puts it this way, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” What this also means is that we must be willing to give of ourselves, our time, and of our resources, freely. God expected the best set aside for Him first. How often do we give God our second best? We give Him the leftovers of our time. We do not pray or read our Bibles unless we have time leftover from doing the “other” things in our lives that we have made a priority. This results in us falling asleep when we finally get to reading our Bibles and praying, if at all. Why, because we refused to give Him the best of our time, when we were fresh and alert. Instead, we chose to give Him the “leftover” time, when we are exhausted and have not energy to pick up our Bibles. Sadly, we probably dedicate more time to watching television or being on our computers or phones, posting nonsense on social media, and then claim that we did not have time to spend with God because we were too busy. We go to church, as long as there is nothing else going on during that time, like a sporting event for our kids (or one we participate in personally), a Sunday morning fishing trip, etc. We pay tithes and offerings, if at all, from our leftovers, only after we have paid our bills, and put money aside for the thing we want (not really need), then claim that we cannot afford to give tithes and offerings. God forbid that we should have to rearrange our schedule to prepare to teach or help out in the local church, or be there for someone who would require just a little of our time, or be called upon to give our monies or other material resources to help someone who is in need. Just like bringing a burnt offering to the LORD was part of Israel’s worship to the LORD, so is giving God the best of who we are and what we have. When we do give it, how we give it is just as important. God wants us to give, whatever we give, freely and with a cheerful heart (2 Corinthians 9:7). The bottom line is that God want us to surrender our lives to Him, in Christ. He wants our best, not our second best, or our leftovers. He wants us to give of ourselves, and our resources, with a pure heart, and give it freely. If we were to stop right now, and examine how we spend each day, what we do first thing each day, what we spend most of our time and resources on, could we say that we are giving God our best? Would we find that we are serving someone other than the LORD? Would we find out that we are really our own god because we have set aside the best for ourselves and given God what was left over, if we have anything left over at all?
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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