Unblemished Sacrifice

TEXT: DEUTERONOMY 17:1-6

Key verse: “Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God” (Deuteronomy 17:1).

There was a story about Robert Hartington of Leeds, a Cambridge graduate, who lived in a single room and cooked his own meals. Yet, he gave foreign ministries 500,000 pounds for a pioneer work of the gospel. He preferred to inconvenience himself, just for the salvation of souls. He later commented: “Gladly would I make the floor my bed, a box my chair and another box my table, rather than that man should perish for want of the knowledge of Christ.”

The consecration of this noble man of God of blessed memory summarises the expectation of God from the children of Israel and, by extension, to us, as regards worship. He expected then and now a wholesome and unalloyed sense of responsibility from His creatures in worshi p. Our worship and sacrifice should come out of grateful hearts.

It is sheer wickedness to forsake God in preference for other gods. Our sacrifice must be borne out of voluntary submission to the will and dictate of God. We should learn to take a moment to consider the frailty and brevity of life, and how our priorities reflect this truth. We must strive for a firmer understanding that anything outside the will of God will, one day, fade away. Any other “god” who receives our worship in the form of excess time, thought, energy, or resources will most surely be burnt and be swept aside. Neglect of God for earthly pursuit attracts heavy punishment. In our passage today, those who went after other gods were sentenced to death by stoning, after the confirmation of two or three witnesses.

When we refuse to accept the living God of the Bible, we become worshippers of various elements in life, such as money, worldly possessions and pleasures. God’s warning is clear and unmistakable about the fate of those who choose idol worship, who refuse to accept the established standard of His word.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Nothing less than a living sacrifice is demanded.

THE VOICE OF PEACE

For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace. 

Isaiah 55:12

Not only does God speak to us through His Word, and not only does He speak to us through people and circumstances, but God also speaks to us through His peace.

Colossians says, "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful" (3:15).

Another way to translate that verse is, "Let God's peace act as an umpire in your lives, settling with finality all matters that arise."

God's peace can act as an umpire in your life. He can settle with finality what you should do.

Here's how it works. Maybe you think that something is the will of God. Circumstantially, things have fallen into place. You begin to proceed, but then you have a complete lack of peace. Something inside of you is saying, "Don't do it."

The Old Testament tells the story of a clever group of individuals known as Gibeonites, who lived in Canaan.

God had instructed Joshua not to make any deals with the inhabitants of the land.

So the Gibeonites put on old shoes and clothes and pretended as though they had come from a distant country. They told Joshua they had come to enter into an agreement with him.

Joshua unknowingly struck a deal with his enemies because he failed to consult the Lord. Things can look good outwardly. Everything can seem right. Be careful. Learn to listen to that still, small voice.

Learn to pay attention to that peace, or lack of it, in your heart because that is one of the ways God will lead you.

When you're in the will of God, you will have His peace. All the ways of God are peaceful.

Prayer: Lord, teach me to listen to the voice of peace.

Scriptural Reading: Isaiah 55:6-13

Recipe: WANT TO MAKE A CHECKERBOARD CAKE?

Planning to make something different for your kid’s birthday? What about making a checkerboard cake which will make everyone wonder how you have made it! Well, it is pretty simple actually if you know the real trick. All you are going to need is some time to make this amazing patterned cake and a little patience till you see the result of your effort.
See pics below: 









The main thing you are going to need to make a checkerboard cake is cookie cutters specifically in different sizes. For example, you can start with four cakes which should be 6” round. You will need to level the cakes and then cut two circles from each layer. 

You can use a 2” and 4” cookie cutters to make the circles. The spacing of your rings depends on how perfect the checks are. To start with making this cake, you will need to use the smallest cookie cutter at first to cut the center of each cake. 

Remove the center and keep them aside. Now you have to cut the larger circles and make sure that the widths of all circles are exactly same as it will vary the squares of your checkerboard. Keep the larger circles aside and now it is time to assemble the circles. 

What you have to do is place the cakes alternately so that if the outer layer is the plain one, then the middle circle is chocolate cake and the center is the plain cake again. When you have assembled all four cakes then put them in the freezer so that they can firm up a little bit before stacking. 

To stack the cake circle, you can use a cardboard on the bottom and then use waxed papers in between the layers. You can start frosting once you are ready. For frosting you can use whipped cream of chocolate buttercream. The outer rings of your layers should alternate when you stack them. 

You can apply the frosting to cover the whole cake or make any designs of your choice by having some piping fun. Cut a slice and there you see the amazing checkerboard cake with perfect layer of frosting!





























Source: mycakeschool.com & stylishboard.com

A PASSION TO KNOW CHRIST

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. Phil. 3:10

In today's society, "passion" usually refers to sensuality or sexuality. But the word's meaning an intense desire toward something or someone can apply to limitless life arenas, including spirituality.

Indeed, the one place passion ought to appear is in the believer's life: we should fervently seek to know the Lord Jesus Christ who saved us.

When we claim to know someone, we often mean that we've accumulated facts about the person or simply are aware of his existence.

Unfortunately, too many Christians "know" Jesus Christ in this superficial way. He is the world's Saviour, the virgin-born Son of God who accepted death in our place and then rose again to sit at the Father's right hand.

Those are the facts, but collecting and sharing data points will not bring lasting satisfaction. Who is this Jesus that willingly died? Why did He give His life?

The quest for these answers begins a journey to intimacy and true knowledge of Christ. By recognizing Jesus as our Saviour, we are blessed with redemption and a basic spiritual relationship.

But though we've gained heaven, we can miss the treasure of experiencing Christ as Lord.

Few people will delve deep enough into Scripture and spiritual intimacy to claim Him as their life as the One who makes believers complete.

The apostle Paul was so intimately acquainted with God that he viewed his own history and experiences as trash when compared with knowing Jesus.

If you want to thirst for Jesus as Paul did, only Scripture and your experience with Him can fuel your passion. Start by opening the Word and drinking Him in.

Prayer: Lord, I want to know You intimately. Open my eyes to see Your beauty and glory in the scriptures.

Scriptural Reading: Philippians 3:3-12

THE LORD IS YOUR SHEPHERD

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

In the Bible, valleys symbolize periods of hardship and suffering. The Psalmist evokes a particularly dangerous and painful image by referring to "the valley of the shadow of death".

In the midst of a poem meant to provide comfort and assurance is a cold reminder that spiritual valleys are inevitable.

But if we read only of green pastures and quiet waters, we miss the heart of Psalm 23 and a core truth about the believer's life.

The valley verse contains a promise not found among the lovely first lines. In hardship, believers discover "Thou art with me".

God's unwavering presence becomes most obvious to us when we are vulnerable. And along with our experience of His assurance and comfort comes the understanding that the Lord goes with us daily—even into the depths of our despair.

When people do not recognize His constancy, they turn to other coping methods, such as going to bars for a so-called "Happy Hour" or burying themselves in work.

But filled with the knowledge that God holds us no matter how deep or wide our "valley" is, we can release fear and endure suffering.

As the Good Shepherd, Jesus protects and guides His lambs through trials. Even in these low places, we cannot be snatched from Him.

His rod beats away predators trying to drag away one of the flock. And His staff's crooked neck pulls a wandering sheep back from the cliff's edge.

Prayer: Thank You Lord that You are with me even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

Scriptural Reading: Psalm 23:1-6

When You See No Relief For Your Pain and Stress

I was just on Facebook and a friend had posted that people should have to pass drug tests in order to

receive welfare.

Then I sat down on the floor to fold underwear and was thinking about people doing drugs. (Us girls, we do tend to think on a round-about.) 

My thoughts went back a few months to April and May, when I would wake up in the night with intense grief and stress. (You could read more here about my goings on this last year.)

And how all of a sudden I had compassion for people who turn to alcohol when life gets hard.

Because sometimes your heart hurts so much it makes you feel wild and desperate for relief.

In those heart-pressing moments of grief I longed for anesthesia. But in reasoning through this, I concluded that followers of Christ do not anesthetize themselves.

We don't mask the pain.

When our hearts are at a level 10 on the pain scale, we scream out for comfort. We run to arms –to Someone.

How do you know God is real? many people ask.

I will answer –because on the blackest nights of my life I have had someone with me. I have found comfort in the tenderness, strength, and hope of the living God.

I've tried different treatments to escape pain in the past  like eating chocolate or going shopping. ("Retail therapy" my sister-in-law calls it.) I've tried putting in a chick flick to watch love and happiness. That's just the truth. But the chocolate gets swallowed. I shrink the new shirt I just bought in the dryer. The movie ends. All of these anesthetics wear off quickly, and then there is the stab of pain again.

But God's presence in suffering does not wear off. In fact, I am convinced that the Lord is a gifted artist in the way he comforts his people  surprising us individually with a balm of encouragement so intimate and well-timed that it feels like chocolate and a new shirt and a chick flick all at once.

It feels like being loved and cared for.

This is what waits for the raw heart that seeks God.

So I ask you  what pain/stress are you experiencing today, and are you trying to soothe it with anything inferior to the comfort God offers?

Christy Fitzwater 

CONFRONT AND SUPPORT

Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Acts 15:37-39

Conflict in the workplace, in ministry, or even marriage is ‘,inevitable because you are working closely with one another.

God has wired each of us with different personalities that can view circumstances differently.

One person can see a situation and conclude something totally different from another.

There are times when conflicts just cannot be resolved. It doesn't mean that one person or the other is evil or sinful.

It just means that the difference of opinion or the personality clash has no solution.

We see an example of this in the relationship of Paul and Barnabas, two partners in Christian ministry who had a sharp disagreement regarding a young man named John Mark.

In Acts 15, we see that Barnabas wanted to take John Mark on a missionary journey. However, Paul refused.

John Mark had disappointed him once before and Paul didn't want to give him another chance. In the end, Paul and Barnabas agreed to disagree and to part company. Paul went one way; Barnabas and John Mark went another.

Sometimes, that's the only solution to a disagreement. There's a postscript to this story: In 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul writes from his prison cell in Rome and tells Timothy, "Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry."

Sometime after the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas, John Mark redeemed himself and became a valued partner in Paul's ministry.

Whenever there is disagreement, make sure to avoid personal attacks. This will allow you to disagree and still maintain your relationship.

Prayer: Ask the Lord for wisdom to handle conflicts.

Scriptural Reading: Acts 15:37-41