Sacrifice a.k.a. Consideration

Matthew 22:39
And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

Dictionary.com defines sacrifice as, “the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.” Sacrifice can be such an intimidating word. It implies deprivation, and pain. Jesus’ goal may be to get us to a place where we can be sold out, 100% for Him, but that is an ongoing journey, not a place where most Christians start. Instead we can begin by being considerate, in other words making small sacrifices for someone else.

Matthew 22:39 states that we are to love our neighbors. A simple definition of ‘our neighbors’ is someone other than ourselves, not just the people who live next door. In a biblical sense neighbors are people who are near to us, the people we interact with on a daily basis. Instead of deprivation God may want us to do without for a short time. Instead of experiencing pain God may want us to forsake our wants for the benefit of others. While doing without and forsaking our wants are temporarily not pleasant experiences yet these sacrifices can have eternal rewards. This can be a good way to love the people around us. So a practical definition of sacrifice can be; doing something we don’t want to do for someone else’s benefit.

A couple of examples of the consideration Jesus showed others is when Jesus cooked breakfast for His disciples (John 21:9-13), and turned water into wine as His Mother requested (John 2:3-10). Jesus wants us to follow the examples He set by being considerate and sacrificing our time and energy for others.

Read More:
John 21:9-17

Prayer:
Lord help me to make my considerations for others a sacrifice to You, so that if no one recognizes my efforts I won’t be angry or hurt.

Action Plan:
Decide to make small sacrifices for others without expecting anything in return.

Freedom not Abandonment

Romans 8:9
"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."

Freedom involves choice. Choosing to spend time with someone is love because that means we are choosing them instead of other things we could be doing. God has given us complete freedom. He has choosen us (Matthew 11:27-28), yet at any time we can choose to walk away from Him, and He will let us go. His love for us us so great that He will let us turn from Him.

Turning from Him often means turning into dangerous territory. A co-worker of mine says like telling an alcoholic he can have a little beer, but not whiskey or wine. Our human nature is drawn to sin. When we choose to turn away from Him we are choosing to sin. Eventhough, it doesn't appear that way to us at the moment. It is wise to remember that Satan has a goal and purpose in enticing us to commit little sins. His purpose is to ensnare us and lead us away from God to destroy us (John 10:10).

Since turning away from God is harmful, it would seem that God should do more to make us stay, or compel us to linger with Him. It would seem that would be how He could demonstrate His love for us. Therefore, it is easy for us to misinterpret our freedom as His disinterest. When we are contemplating turning from God and we don't feel like He is pursuing us, we may feel like we are not worth His time, or that He is not interested in us. However, by faith (Hebrews 11:1) we can know that He never leaves us or forsakes us. If we turn back to Him we will find Him standing in the same place where we left Him. He is faithful (2 Timothy 2:13), always waiting for us to return. He is secure, He is steady, He is unmoveable, a Rock (1 Corinthians 10:4, ), the Chief Cornerstone (Psalm 118:22).

Like the hymn says:
"On Christ the solid rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand."

Hallelujah!

Prayer:
Lord, thank you for our freedom. Give me the strength to choose You and turn from sin.

Read More:
John 8:34-36

Action Plan(James 1:22 & 25):

Decide to have prayer time everyday. If you miss a day, make another decision to start again. Don't give up!

God is Love

1 John 4:16 “ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”

God is love! Several times in the Word, the Bible, it says that God is love. (1 John 4:18, 1 John 4:16). This is a continual ongoing state of being for Him. His love does not fluctuate or come and go. It is continual, permanent, and unconditional. God judges, this is an action He does, that has a beginning and an end. His judgment comes about because He is just. However, His love is as eternal as He is. It does not start or stop. It is constant because He is love and He is everlasting. Love and holiness are unchanging attributes of an unchanging great and mighty God. Therefore; like His word says, nothing can separate us from His love because He lives, He is eternal (Romans 8:38-39), and He is love!

Since He is love and we are His creation we do not go unnoticed by God. He is faithful to His creation (2 Timothy 2:13). At times we may have moments when we feel like no one notices us or cares. We all have moments when we feel that way, but our God notices us and loves us. Just as His eye is on the sparrow, His eye is also on us (Luke 12:6-7), and He is concerned about every aspect of our lives.

Although at times it may not feel like it but, He is with us, He is for us, He loves us, all of us, and is not willing that anyone should perish (2 Peter 3:9). Pray and tell God how you feel. He will hear every word of that prayer.

Emmanuel, God with us!

Prayer:
Father, thank you for your love. Help me to remember that you are love and that your love for me is constant.

Read More:
Psalm 136

Action Plan (James 1:22 & 25):
You are loved more than you know. By faith, decide to believe that today.