True Light

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took His garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also His tunic. But the tunic was seamless woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the Scripture [Ps.22:18] . . . John 19:23-24 ESV

Rev. David Carroll, the pastor at St. Matthew's UMC in Madison, MS, preached a sermon on "The Tunic and Dice" and used this phrase in describing the soldiers . . . and us when we choose the world's view of indifference instead of turning our eyes to Jesus, the crucified and risen Savior: "The soldiers were . . . trading the True for the trivial." We gamble and barter with other's hearts every day, ignoring need and remaining self-focused. Let's go beyond the trivial and seek the True Light!

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Let your daily witness to the world be one that trades the trivial things of this world for Jesus - the True! ~ dho 

Give Glory to the Father

When Jesus had spoken these things, He lifted His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify and exalt and honor and magnify Your Son, so that Your Son may glorify and extol and honor and magnify You. John 17:1 Amplified Bible

The 17th Chapter of John is a well-known prayer that Jesus prayed before His crucifixion. Many times in the New Testament we are given examples of Jesus praying, examples He set for us, teaching us how to communicate with God. If Jesus needed to spend time in prayer, certainly we have an even greater need. E.M. Bounds wrote these words in his book on "Prayer":

What mystery that the Son of God should be under the law of prayer . . . How strange that the blessings that came to Him were impregnated and purchased by prayer.

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Like Jesus, pray that your life gives glory and honor to the Father. ~dho 

Worthy Thoughts

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise... then the peace of God will be with you.

Philippians 4:8-9 NLT

We are constantly surrounded by the opposite of what the Scripture calls us to keep in our minds. The world is full thoughts that are false and reckless, thoughts against God and tainted, ugly and lacking merit. There are so many unworthy ideas and activities that catch our attention or capture our time. Chaos thrives in these things ~ not peace. You will not find God in these places ~ unless He is reaching through for a lost soul. Even then, He is far above the ugly and dark; He is Beauty and Light. God is peace.

The commentary of the Transformation Study Bible offers these thoughts:

The Christian who fills his heart and mind with God's Word will have a "built-in radar" for detecting wrong thoughts. . . Right thinking is the result of daily meditation on the Word of God. (Philippians 4:8 commentary)

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Whatever is worthy of praise, meditate on these thoughts of Beauty and Light. ~ dho 

Be My Vision

“Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart . . . 

Thou my best thought by day or by night

 Waking or sleeping Thy presence my light

 Be thou my wisdom and Thou my true word

 I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord . . .

 Heart of my own heart whatever befall

 Still be my vision O Ruler of all”

"Be Thou My Vision" is a hymn that has its roots in Ireland. Written in the 8th century as an Irish poem, it was translated in the early 1900's and later put to music. In Hosea, God is reminding Israel who He is:

It is I who answer and look after you. I am like a luxuriant cypress; from Me comes your fruit. Hosea 14:8 NASB

God is where we are to look for our best thoughts, our wisdom; His presence is with us. What comfort to know that whatever happens we can find God's Vision. Heart of my own heart whatever befall, still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

The Message translates the Hosea verse: Everything you need is to be found in Me.

Our sacrifice of praise ~
My "best thoughts" will reflect God's wisdom if He is the "Lord of my heart". Let God be our Vision in this world of darkness. ~dho

Dependence on God

So those now who live by faith are blessed along with Abraham, who lived by faith - this is no new doctrine! And that means that anyone who tries to live by his own effort, independent of God, is doomed to failure. Galatians 3:9-10 The Message

"The nearer Abraham came to God in his intercession the more he recognized his entire unworthiness; 'Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord.' Genuine unworthiness is never shy before God any more than a child is shy before his mother. A child of God is conscious only of his entire dependence upon God." from Not Knowing Where by Oswald Chambers

The Thesaurus gives these synonyms for dependence: trust, reliance, confidence, faith. As a child of God, we must acknowledge our entire dependence upon God. This requires that we trust God with all the circumstances of life. Finding confidence in His Power and relying on His Promises demonstrate our faith, our dependence on God.

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Contemplate a time when you did not demonstrate complete dependence on God. What more does God have to do to gain your trust? ~dho

Good Friday - Ransom - Lent 2020

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:15 During this season of reflection and renewal (Lent February 26 - April 12), join me as we examine what "sacrifice of praise" means and how this should and can be our offering to God. What is your sacrifice of praise? – dho

Good Friday
Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, "Truly the Man was the Son of God!"
Mark 15:38 NKJV

Today we must look to the cross of suffering that Jesus endured as a ransom for our sin. Until that day, the Jewish people, the Chosen of God, worshiped Jehovah with blood sacrifices and burnt offerings. At the time Jesus breathed His last breath and died, the High Priest sacrificed the unblemished lamb, preparing the sin offering of Passover. Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies to place the blood offering on the Mercy seat for forgiveness of sins.

On this day, when Jesus died, the curtain of the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom. The Scriptures do not say what happened to the High Priest or the blood of the slain Passover lamb. We are not told the thoughts of the High Priest who witnessed the torn curtain that represented a veil between sinful man and the Holy God. Until this moment in history, the High Priest would have taken the blood sacrifice into the Holy of Holies as an offering for the forgiveness of sins for God's people every year at Passover, but now, the altar of the Lord was exposed.

These historic religious customs tell the God-story of Jesus, a Perfect Lamb slain for the forgiveness of sin. The once veiled Holy of Holies, the Presence of God, is now revealed. To all who seek a relationship with God, Grace is given through Jesus, the True High Priest. What remains? Our confession, "Truly the Man [is] the Son of God!"

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Who will you share the God-story of Jesus with today? ~dho

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