Sacrifices of Praise.

Hebrews 13:15-16
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

If you want a great relationship with God, you have to sacrifice something. In order to fully experience the power of God's transformation that he can have on you, you have to understand that it comes from the power of your works, life, and not just your words. You can't just sacrifice your life to God by going to an altar once every couple weeks and praying. You have to sacrifice your life completely to God.

In Hebrews, we are told there are sacrifices of praise. What does that mean? Devoting yourself completely to God on a voluntary level thanking him for your blessings. As I and the scripture above alluded to, this must be a continual process. It can't stop or be interrupted.

Because Jesus is our sacrifice for sin, let us give God a sacrifice of praise (be careful you don't read that as sacrificing praise!) We often go as far as to make these praises because of Jesus' sacrifice for us on the cross. We love him!

How do we make a sacrifice of praise? According to Hebrews, you should do this in three ways:
1. Have fruit of the lips. Praise God with your mouth. Remember, God gave you a tongue. Don't condemn him, but praise him! Don't forget to praise God with your heart too.
2. Do good. This one must start with those who are close to you. If you can't do good to your family, then how are can you do good to others believers, people, and God?
3. Share with others. Be friendly with believers and non-believers. Share what God has taught you with ALL. Have you met someone new at church? You can invite them out to lunch, for example. God loves fellowship.

Not only do we have to realize that Jesus sacrificed his life for our sins, but we must sacrifice our lives to give us time to praise him.

This leads me to a wonderful song: "Oh Praise Him" by David Crowder Band. Be sure and notice Hebrews 13:15 in the video toward the end. It wasn't planned, but I'd definitely say it's the right message for today.



P.S. If you have trouble with the video stopping and starting, keep the video paused, and let it "buffer" (load) as it's called for a while. You will see the red bar along the bottom advance (speed depends on your Internet connection). Wait until that bar gets pretty far along (I'd say more than halfway) before you play the video and it shouldn't pause.