OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: FRIDAY JANUARY 26TH, 2024.
THEME: WHAT IS GOD'S TEMPLE? III
MEMORISE:
And thither ye shall bring your burn t offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:
Deuteronomy 12:6
READ: Deuteronomy 12:5-6
5 But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:
6 And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:
MESSAGE
Beyond being the house of prayer and healing God's temple is also the house of sacrifice. Anyone who wants to or has to sacrifice anything has to take his sacrifice to a designated place. In Yoruba land, where I come from, when they want to sacrifice to the devil, they take the sacrifice to the crossroad, and when
they want to sacrifice to witches and wizards, they put it behind an Iroko tree. For us who give sacrifices to the Most High God, He said in 2 Chronicles 7:12 that He has chosen His temple as the place where He will accept our sacrifices. Furthermore, Deuteronomy 16:16 says that you should not come empty-handed when you are coming to the temple of God because He wants to accept your sacrifice.
A friend of mine used to say whenever he was taking offerings, "lf you have none, borrow from your neighbour so that when the basket is going round, God will see you putting something in." Then he would add, "It will not be long before you too will lend to others. God takes giving a sacrifice in His temple so seriously that He always observes what people drop in the offering basket. In Mark 12:41-44, Jesus watched the offerings that people gave and weighed which ones were sacrifices and which were not. This tells you clearly that God is keen on accepting sacrifices in His temple.
Some people say that because they don't trust their pastor, they will rather give to the poor than give in church. First, I don't understand why they have a pastor they believe to be a thief. Secondly, it is good to give to the poor; Proverbs 19:17 says that when you give to the poor, you are indirectly giving to God. However, you must never neglect giving your sacrifices in the house of God itself. If somebody says he likes me and gives my
children money whenever he sees them by the roadside, but he refuses to give when he sees that there is a need in my family, despite knowing the way to my house and having money to give, I will begin to suspect sucn a fellow. It will be clear that he isn't giving to my children because he likes me but for other reasons. This might be because he just wants to be seen in public as a giver or that he wants to gain some undue influence over my
children. It's the same when you claim to give to the poor in the name of God but never give in the house of God itself.
KEY POINT
Make it a point of duty to never go to the house of God empty-handed. It is a place of sacrifice.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 35-37
AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 23: TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE
1 Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
2 Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
3 Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.
4 Take my silver and my gold;
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose,
Every power as Thou shalt choose.
5 Take my will, and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart; it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.
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