You say, Its too hard to serve the LORD, and you turn up your noses at My commands, says the LORD of Heavens Armies. Think of it! Animals that are stolen and crippled and sick are being presented as offerings! Should I accept from you such offerings as these? asks the LORD. Malachi 1:13 Have you ever felt tired of doing good or serving the Lord? I certainly have. There had been times when I wished that I could just give up but just the thought of it seems all wrong. I couldn’t give up. I mean, what would others say? So I dragged myself to ministry and I kept agreeing to help others just so I would look good in front of them. When the priests who served at the temple did their jobs without regard to the quality of the offerings, they displeased the Lord. The King of kings who deserved the best offerings, got the worst from His people. They had dishonored the one who deserved all honor, glory and praise. Offering animals are no longer necessary since Jesus already paid for our sins. We don’t have to come up with different ways of sacrificing to the Lord because Jesus had already given Himself as the perfect sacrifice. That’s why there is no need for priests since the New Testament because every believer is now a priest before the Lord (1 Peter 2:9). In fact, serving the Lord is no longer limited to the clergy because all of us are called to ministry. So how does this verse apply to us now since there’s no longer an offering required? There is one offering, however, that the Lord wants from us and it’s found in Romans 12:1-2. What pleases the Lord now is the offering of our bodies as living sacrifices. We have to live our lives apart from the world’s sinful pattern. Anything that hinders us from having fellowship with the Lord should be done away with. 1 Corinthians 10:31 also says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” If we can glorify God by eating and drinking, then there’s probably more ways of glorifying God than we think. Whatever we do now with our bodies is our offering to the Lord because our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Therefore, we can honor God with anything we do. Ministry shouldn’t be complicated and filled with good deeds just for show. When I took 1 Corinthians 10:31 to heart, I stopped saying yes to everything. Instead, I only took on those ministries that the Lord wanted for me realizing that my work is my ministry as much as anything else I did. I also took breaks from serving others knowing that my body needs to be at its best if I want to serve the Lord more in the future. There are many ways you can offer your body as a living sacrifice. When you don’t take revenge but instead let the Lord take justice in His hands, you are glorifying God. The same is true when you help an elderly person cross the street. Not cheating to pass a test is a form of worship to God because you honor Him by your honesty. Taking care of your family is your first ministry and one that pleases the Lord. It’s not hard to please the Lord. Serving the Lord involves sacrifice but it shouldn’t be burdensome. More than anything, the Lord Jesus wants our burden to be easy and light (Matthew 11:29-30).
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 13:01:13 +0000
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