Sacrifices of Praise

When reading from the book of Hebrews, I was struck with the phrase “the sacrifice of praise.”  Here is what the writer of Hebrews says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.  And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Hebrews 13:15-16).

Notice several things from this text about the “sacrifice of praise.”

 1)      The Channel through which this activity is to be done is “Through Jesus.”

2)      The Frequency in which we should be involved in this activity is “Continually.”

3)      The Focus of our praise should be directed “To God.”

4)      The Mechanism through which the praise is to be uttered is “The fruit of lips.”

5)      The Content of the praise should be to “Confess His name.”

6)      The Result or what happens when we praise God is that “God is pleased.”

It is easy to utter words that do not have meaning because they are not expressions of our heart.  That is kind of like singing a song from memory – we know the tune, but we merely voice words which have little or no meaning.  Jesus made an interesting comment about some people who were simply mouthing words.  He said, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Matthew 15:8). Their words were hollow because those words did not come from the heart.  When our lives have been changed by the renewing power of God’s Spirit within us, the fruit of our lips will be that which flows from our heart as a sacrifice of praise to God for who He is and what He has done for us. 

Let me ask you: Has your heart been changed by God?  Are you offering God the sacrifice of praise?  Do you talk about the mighty power of God and praise Him throughout the day?  Have you thanked God today for the air that you breathe?  Have you expressed your appreciation to Him for sending Jesus to die on the cross so your sins could be washed away?  Have you thanked Him for your family?  I encourage you, right now, to express your thanks and praise to God.  Let’s let the fruit of our lips be the expression of our hearts to God as we bring to Him the sacrifice of praise.

The Beginning and the End

For many people the month of March is both an end and a beginning.  It is the end of the long cold winter and it is also the beginning of warmer weather associated with spring.  It is interesting that the Bible also speaks about a beginning and an end.  The first words of Scripture tell us, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Both Jesus and the Apostle Paul spoke about the end.  Jesus said, “This is how it will be at the end of the age” (Matthew 13:49).

The Apostle Paul said, “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power” (I Corinthians 15:24). In a Bible search you will find the words “beginning” and “end” used together in twenty-two different verses.  Most of these references have to do with something that starts and then comes to an end, such as the reign of a king.  However, when you get to the last book of the Bible you will find Jesus using both of these terms.  Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 21:6) He also said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:13).

So, what does Jesus mean by the words Alpha and Omega?  Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet – similar to our A and Z.  The idea of Christ being from A to Z means three things.

1)      Christ is Complete; there is nothing that He needs from any other source to complete who He is.

2)      Christ is Eternal.  He has always existed, and He always will exist.

3)      Christ is Authoritative.  He has creative power, sustaining power, and complete power over all things.

What does this mean for you and me?  The God who created all things and who exists throughout eternity has invited you and me into a personal relationship with Him, through His Son, Jesus Christ.  All we must do is to receive Him by faith and utilize the mighty power that He gives us to live a life that pleases Him. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Have you put your faith in this wonderful Lord who is the Alpha and Omega – the First and the Last?  Why not consider making that decision today?