ALTARS

Everyone has an altar. It can be visible or invisible, holy or profane, elaborate or ordinary,  but it’s always there. It can be based on ideologies, dreams or simple pleasures, but we can always find a foundation . We have to. Everyone’s life needs to revolve around something.

Because everyone has an  altar, everyone brings offerings. Some people offer their bodies  to people and  pleasure. Others offer their minds to areas of study. Still others offer their emotions to a trend of the day or a relationship of the month. We can offer finances to gods of materialism, and exploitation,  time to gods of entertainment  and apathy and talent to gods of fame and fortune. 

We have no shortage of gifts to bring to our altars. All human beings are drawn to a cause even if the cause is themselves…In a world  of false altars, the only way God can establish true praise in His people is to break down His rivals. His Word calls that “Refining.” We call it pain.  

-Chris Tiegreen

LIVING SACRIFICE

“Brothers and sisters, God has shown you his mercy. So I am asking you to offer up your bodies to him while you are still alive. Your bodies are a holy sacrifice that is pleasing to God. When you offer your bodies to God, you are worshiping him in the right way. 2 Don’t live the way this world lives. Let your way of thinking be completely changed. Then you will be able to test what God wants for you. And you will agree that what he wants is right. His plan is good and pleasing and perfect.”

-Romans 12:1-2  (New International Reader’s Version)

St. Paul in his exhortation to the Christians in Rome pleaded  that according to God’s mercies they should offer their bodies, dedicate their entire human faculties  as living sacrifice. The significance of this statement is surpassing. We know that the sacrifices offered by the Jewish priests would require the slaying of the animal sacrifice. The animal sacrifice dies. 

In contrast the Apostle says that the believers should offer sacrifice, as well,  by  presenting their bodies. The difference is that their physical bodies and the entirety of their personality, would be living sacrifice. Their bodies as living sacrifice would be devoted,  consecrated, and pleasing to God. 

The kind of living sacrifice spoken of by St. Paul is when we bring ourselves before God to worship Him. To present ourselves before God, to serve Him as a people set apart and sanctified  for the purpose of spiritual service.

The great Apostle continues by saying that believers should not be shaped or fashioned by this world or the ways of this world. They should not think the way the world thinks, instead, let their minds be changed and renewed in a new way of thinking. A person having a renewed mind is no longer worldly. His mind is transformed by God’s grace. He  sees differently, his desire is to follow spiritual  direction, which, in the eyes of the world may seem foolish or senseless.

The Apostle seems to imply that a man who has not been renewed or transformed in his way of thinking is carnal, so he may not be able to discern what is the good, and acceptable perfect will of God. Therefore, he may not be able to present himself as a living sacrifice.                    

COME FORTH AS GOLD

“But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth  as gold.”

-Job 23:10

The suffering servant Job went through the fire of testing which perhaps no man has ever experienced. He was driven to question God about his sufferings. In the darkness of his pain, he wanted some explanations. His wife saw no glimmer of light in this darkness that she urged Job to curse God and die. And yet Job held on to that last straw of hope. God will not abandon him. In the end his true character had shined forth like gold. All the impurities had been removed by the fiery fire of testing and what remained of his faith and of his life was pure, unadulterated gold, precious and pleasing to God.

THE ONE WHO LOOKS DOWN FROM HEAVEN

From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth- he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

-Psalm 33:13-15  (New International Version)

Mankind today seem to be generally oblivious to the fact that there is One supremely greater and higher who governs this world. God is in control of life’s events even though we may not be aware of it. Man has been too focused on his capacity to achieve everything, transcending limitations, and trusting in his potentials. 

Man’s success in the world’s progress deludes him to believe he doesn’t need to appeal to God in the way he lives. He doesn’t fear nor stand in awe of the God of creation, and some even deny that God exists.

The Psalmist  declares in no uncertain terms that God is looking down from Heaven seated in His glorious throne. He sees the whole human race. We can only marvel at what is implied in this vision. 

God looks at the entire human race, and  nothing is hidden from His sight. Man may think he has been let alone to pursue his own devises, but God knows everything. The Almighty orchestrates the events and the seemingly unrelated circumstances by the counsel of His own will. He oversees all things.   He observes from His heavenly throne all who live on earth and   the things  they do.

Man may think he is in control. Rulers and government leaders may think they are in control in running the affairs of their nations. It only seems that way. God’s sovereignty is real. No one can thwart His plans. Reduced to the miniscule we are like ants in the sight of God, which march to and fro, and He sees what we’re up to.   

REVEALED TO CHILDREN

At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and  for revealing them to the childlike.

-Matthew 11:25

The Lord Jesus Christ made an interesting statement in this passage in Matthew. He praised the Father for keeping and hiding His word to the wise and the learned of this world. Instead, the revelation of God’s word was given to little children.

God’s word is unlike any other. A person may be wise, learned or highly intelligent. He may be an intellectual and well educated,  but God’s word has no attraction to him because he absolutely lacks spiritual illumination. For this reason God’s word is hidden from him. His heart does not have the light of the Holy Spirit. His eyes is closed and cannot see the wonderful things from  God’s law.( Psalm 119:18)

The learned and the intelligent may be proud of his intellectual abilities and capacity to know and gain understanding. He feels superior and relies upon human reasoning and rational thinking. He is, however, bereft of spiritual discernment from the Holy Spirit. This man’s heart is not spiritually attuned to receive God’s truth, so that everything seems nonsense to him. This man does not possess the childlike humility to trust God and receive His word. 

God’s word was instead revealed to children. Who are these children? They are those who possess childlike qualities; who come humbly and trust God like a child.

THE FARMER'S PATIENCE

“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.”

-James 5:7 (New International Version)

Patience is a godly virtue which is very hard to achieve in this age where everything is quick and fast. We push buttons and get quick results.  We eat fast-food served in less than a minute. We go to places with speed. We hate it when we are made to wait. We discard gadgets which are slow and replace them with the latest versions which are faster or fastest. Waiting is a torture for some. We are short tempered as we are impatient.

The Apostle James seems to be a man who has practically learned about patience. He understands the discipline of waiting. In the art and discipline of waiting we learn  patience. “Be patient,” James said, “as you wait for the coming of the Lord.”

Waiting is not a useless, waste of time.  It may be viewed as passive but actually it is active, for in the course of waiting something is happening, which will bear fruit at the right time. To the believers the coming of the Lord is the most awaited event. They do not know exactly know, when, but they observe and wait for the signs and the seasons, and are assured that the Lord’s coming is certain. It would take a lot of patient waiting to welcome His arrival. This is the hard part.

The good Apostle gives the analogy of a farmer who waits for the coming of the harvest. This is how we are to wait for the Lord. The farmer cannot possibly speed up the harvest of his crops by pushing buttons. He needs to wait and allow the crops to grow, mature; waiting for the changing of the seasons until they are ready for harvest. He expectantly waits and allows time to do its work. He keeps up his patient vigil over the crops waiting for the sun and rain to their work. Through  this  patient waiting and expectation the precious harvest comes at the right time.

The Lord teaches us to wait patiently.

On the other hand, the world drives us to restlessness and hurrying in a mad rush of meaningless existence.

The choice is ours.

SACRIFICE OF RIGHTS

“If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a spiritual harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?  But we did not use this right. On the contrary we put up with everything rather than hinder the cause of Christ.”

-1 Corinthians 9:11-12

The legal system based on democratic principles is protective of individual rights. When the law guarantees a certain right one may claim enforcement or invoke protection of such right. The system of justice is rights based. Controversies would involve the assertion and enforcement of a right against a violation or invasion of such right. The law guarantees entitlement. We all have a natural sense of entitlement.

The Apostle Paul, himself a brilliant lawyer,  a Pharisee, in his discourse referred to a particular right to which he was entitled under the (Jewish) law. He said that under the religious law, he who preached the gospel, those who served in the Temple have the right to be supported and provided with their needs from the offerings in the altar. This was a legal right.

But the Apostle said   that as a servant of God he did not use any of these rights. He refused to claim entitlement to this right for the cause of Christ. He did not want this right to be a burden which would hinder the advance of the Gospel. He would instead make sacrifices and give up certain rights for the cause of the Gospel.

Very few people, if not hardly anyone, today have the same attitude as  St. Paul had. We cannot suffer being wronged. We cannot sacrifice our rights; we demand justice. The law gives us a sense of entitlement. It is hard indeed to deal with opposing rights and clashing interests. But where there is humility,  and self sacrifice there is peace.

This great Apostle speaking to the believers, said, “The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged?  Why not rather be cheated? “ (1 Corinthians 6:7)

This is one exhortation which is hard to swallow. But think about it.  Try to imagine if we do this. Judges might be driven out of work.