Abraham built an altar…; and
he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar… —Genesis 22:9
“This event is a picture of
the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the
sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables
us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our lives. […] “I am willing to be
identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God.” We seem to
think that God wants us to give up things! […] God never tells us to give up
things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for
the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. […] Then we
enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him. […]
He wants you to be a “living sacrifice”— to let Him have all your strengths
that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.” CHAMBERS
What is getting in the way of
your relationship with God? God makes it
pretty clear that He is a jealous God and He commands us to not have any other
gods in our lives (Exodus 20:5). That is a quote from the ten
commandments. A god is something that
you serve. Something that dictates what
you do, what you think, what you depend upon.
It might be yourself, it might be some other thing in the world. God
makes it pretty clear. (1 John 2:15-17) “Do not love the world
or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not
in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The
world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives
forever.” Trust in the Lord and not in yourself (Proverbs 3:5-6)
So God is telling us, “if you
are going to live this new life, you must sacrifice everything that you
treasure .. everything that you depend upon … and serve Me” I can’t explain it except to say that it is
God’s plan and His purpose for His creation.
The original sin in the Garden occurred when man decided that there was
another, better way. We are still doing
that. God has told us there isn’t a
better way … that Jesus is the way. The
cross is the way. What is holding you
back? What is it that you have chosen
over God? What is it that you need to
lay on the altar? Don’t delay .. do it
today. ELGIN
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless
You)
Charley Elgin
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