Sacrifices Pleasing To God
2009-05-07

Good morning, again. Two days in a row in the morning. I'm hoping to make this a habit. Especially since I really enjoyed finishing a movie yesterday afternoon after school.


Here's a prayer point from the Presidential Prayer Team site. Today is also the National Day of Prayer (funny I thought that was always on Tuesday?).

Pray for President Obama today as he holds his regular daily economic and security briefings, asking God to guide him with His wisdom. As the White House has confirmed that the President makes a regular daily habit of prayer, pray for him today, on the National Day of Prayer, to have a powerful and meaningful encounter with God...

Pray also for all Americans to pause today to take time to intercede for our nation, that hearts will turn to Him in repentance and worship...



Psalm for Today: 50

1-3 The God of gods�it's God!�speaks out, shouts, "Earth!"
welcomes the sun in the east,
farewells the disappearing sun in the west.
From the dazzle of Zion,
God blazes into view.
Our God makes his entrance,
he's not shy in his coming.
Starbursts of fireworks precede him.

4-5 He summons heaven and earth as a jury,
he's taking his people to court:
"Round up my saints who swore
on the Bible their loyalty to me."

6 The whole cosmos attests to the fairness of this court,
that here God is judge.

7-15 "Are you listening, dear people? I'm getting ready to speak;
Israel, I'm about ready to bring you to trial.
This is God, your God,
speaking to you.
I don't find fault with your acts of worship,
the frequent burnt sacrifices you offer.
But why should I want your blue-ribbon bull,
or more and more goats from your herds?
Every creature in the forest is mine,
the wild animals on all the mountains.
I know every mountain bird by name;
the scampering field mice are my friends.
If I get hungry, do you think I'd tell you?
All creation and its bounty are mine.
Do you think I feast on venison?
or drink draughts of goats' blood?
Spread for me a banquet of praise,
serve High God a feast of kept promises,
And call for help when you're in trouble�
I'll help you, and you'll honor me."

16-21 Next, God calls up the wicked:
"What are you up to, quoting my laws,
talking like we are good friends?
You never answer the door when I call;
you treat my words like garbage.
If you find a thief, you make him your buddy;
adulterers are your friends of choice.
Your mouth drools filth;
lying is a serious art form with you.
You stab your own brother in the back,
rip off your little sister.
I kept a quiet patience while you did these things;
you thought I went along with your game.
I'm calling you on the carpet, now,
laying your wickedness out in plain sight.

22-23 "Time's up for playing fast and
loose with me.
I'm ready to pass sentence,
and there's no help in sight!
It's the praising life that honors me.
As soon as you set your foot on the Way,
I'll show you my salvation."
(The Message)

"Mere outward ceremonies being therefore possessed of no value, God repudiates the idea that he had ever insisted upon them as the main thing in religion, or designed that they should be viewed in any other light than as helps to spiritual worship.

"God is absolutely independent of human offerings.

"Faith, self-denial, a holy life, and patient endurance of the cross, are all sacrifices which please God. But as prayer is the offspring of faith, and uniformly accompanied with patience and mortification of sin, while praise, where it is genuine, indicates holiness of heart, we need not wonder that these two points of worship should be here employed to represent the whole."

(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)



Tabletalk Magazine

"Ignorant and Vain Discussion"
1 Timothy 1:6-7

Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

First of all, the title of today's reading scared me. I'm all about those ignorant and vain discussions.

What are the "these" that he is referring to? I believe it is the "pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" spoken of in verse 5. So the problem is not that the false teachers don't know truth. It is that they have suppressed it, not being trained to be able to tell good from evil. Wow. Does that sound familiar??

"We must speak to unbelievers with respect, but let us never refuse to call evil that which our Lord identifies as evil."



Holiness Day by Day

Week 3/Thursday "Adam's Sin Is Ours"
1 Corinthians 15:22

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

"The consequences of Adam and Eve's sin went far beyond their own banishment from the Garden of Eden and the presence of God. God had appointed Adam as the federal head or legal representative of the entire human race. Consequently his fall brought guilt and depravity on all his descendants." We are all born with a sinful nature. The consequences of Adam's sin fell on us.

Praise God the story doesn't end there. The verse doesn't end with "all died." It continues to tell us that, even though we are dead in sin because of Adam, in Christ, we are made alive! Hallelujah!



Today's Journal Reading

Genesis 40-42; Psalm 14

Remember, Joseph is in prison and is pretty much in charge of everything because of God's blessings on his life.

Chapter 40 begins with the words, "Some time after this..." No idea how long. But the Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker angered Pharaoh for some reason, so he sent them to prison. Joseph was appointed to watch over them. Again, the words "some time" are used.

One night they both had a strange dream. Joseph interprets their dreams. The cupbearer's dream foretold that he would soon be re-instated by Pharaoh. But the baker's dream foretold his execution. Joseph asked the cupbearer to remember him when he got back to Pharaoh, because he was in prison for nothing that he did.

Both events happened just as foretold. However, the cupbearer forgot Joseph.

Until some time later when Pharaoh had a couple of disturbing dreams. When all of his wise men and magicians couldn't interpret it, the cupbearer said, "Oops." Or something like that. He remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh, "Hey, there's this guy in the prisons who interprets dreams and they happen just like he said."

So Pharaoh sent for Joseph. Joseph, first of all, gives credit to God for giving the meanings. Joseph then proceeds to explain the dreams. There would be seven really good years. Then there would be seven really bad years. Joseph suggested to Pharaoh that he appoint someone to preside over Egypt and take 1/5 of the produce of the land and store it during the good years. That would create a reserve for the bad years.

Pharaoh liked the idea so much that said to Joseph, "Ok, you do it." So now, after all that he has been through, Joseph is second in command in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. And things happened exactly as they said. Since his idea was so good and worked so well, but the end of chapter 41, Jacob and Pharaoh pretty much own everyone and everything in Egypt, and "all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain."

Meanwhile, back in wherever it was that Jacob and Joseph's brothers lived, Jacob hears that there is grain for sale in Egypt. He says to the other brothers, "Why are you standing around looking at each other?? Go down to Egypt and buy grain so that we may live." So off they went. All of them, that is, except for Benjamin. Jacob wasn't about to endanger the only son he had left from his favorite wife.

Here's where it really starts to get fun. Joseph's brothers show up before Joseph. He recognizes them, but they don't recognize him! So, just for fun, he accuses them of being spies.

They beg and plead. They make the mistake of telling him about the younger brother (of course he already knew this...), so he says they cannot leave until the younger brother comes down. This would be the only way they could prove to him that they weren't spies. He confines them for three days, after which, he says that one of them will stay while the rest carry the grain up to Canaan. At least, at this point, they make the connection that this is happening to them because of what they did to Joseph. Reuben even tries to take the high moral road by saying, "I TOLD you not to do that!!"

Seriously, I'm almost rolling on the floor at this point.

But here, Joseph turns aside to weep, because he can understand what they are saying, and they don't realize this.

So he binds up Simeon and sends them off with their bags of grain, and has their coin returned to them in the sacks, as well. When they opened their bags and found the money in there, they trembled in fear, asking, "What is this that God has done to us?"

When they get back, they have to explain to Jacob why Simeon isn't with them. He grieves, asking, "You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin??" Reuben even offered his own sons as sacrifice if he did not bring Benjamin back safely. But Jacob refuses. "My son shall not go down..." he says. This ends chapter 42, and my reading for today. Jacob will have to relent later, because they will run out of grain and need to go back.

One lesson seen in this reading is that wise saving and thrift can pay off in time of trouble. God gave Joseph great wisdom, and essentially, it saved the whole world from starving to death. So saving isn't necessarily a bad thing. But keep in mind, Joseph knew what was coming because it had been revealed to him by God.

Another lesson that Joseph's brothers learned is that our sin will find us out. We will eventually be held accountable, especially when our sins hurt others, more especially when those others are weaker than us. There are consequences to our actions.

The lesson of God's control is continued througout this story. God worked everything out, from the selling into slavery, to the accusation by Potiphar's wife, to the dream interpretations in prison, to being second in the land only to Pharaoh. What an amazing sequence of events, and it was all God's plan. Every bit of it!

Finally, we can get too attached to our families and children. Jacob was willing to allow his whole family to starve to death because he didn't want to send Benjamin down with his brothers. Sometimes "love" causes us to make foolish decisions.



Father, I pray for wisdom. Especially in matters of finances, because I am so unwise in this matter. Our nation is experiencing tough times. Nothing like the worldwide famine that Joseph's world knew, but things could still get worse. Financial wisdom would be very valuable in this time. Help us to be good stewards of all that you have given us.

Let me also always be aware that my sin will have consequences. Even sins that I think won't hurt anyone but me. I pray for faithfulness to you and your gospel!

I also pray that my love for other people will never get in the way of your plan. Well, honestly, I realize that I cannot get in the way of your plan, but I can certainly affect my involvement in that plan. Never let human affection get in the way of my service to you. That can sound cold-hearted, but of course, I don't mean it that way. I just need to remember that Jesus spoke of possibly having to "hate" family members, and not love them more then him. Let me never allow people to "starve" because I'm afraid of what might happen to my own family. Your purpose is higher than any relationship. I must realize this.



May we all remember those sacrifices which please God. Faith. Self-denial. Enduring the cross. A holy life. And let us walk boldly before him!

Grace and peace, friends!



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