Sacrifice

I read this quote the other day that ministered to me so much:

"The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray." Samuel Chadwick

Then, today our pastor preached an awesome message about worship and sacrifice. When we cease to sacrifice to the one true God, we can be overtaken by our adversary. As long as I am sacrificing, Satan can not usurp God's place in my life. There is no room for him as long as God is in control, in the center of my life.

So, in addition to prayer, Satan fears our commited, continual sacrifice to God. Sacrifice can be: praise, worship, giving, thanksgiving, service, prayer, etc. We can not give or do too much for Him!

Many people today have measured devotion time and calculated commitment. They fit God in when they have time and with no sacrifice involved. How can we forget that it is not about us? We are not here to please ourselves - we are here to worship Him who created us! I want to pray more, and more fervently, give more, serve more, praise more, worship more, commit more - than ever before. There is no cost too great! He deserves everything that I have.

Pastor also reminded us that the most powerful weapon we have against anything that comes against us is the sacrifice of praise. God has always met man at places of sacrifice and provided for them there:

*Abraham lay Isaac on the altar and God provided a ram.

*The widow of Zarapeth offered Elijah the last food that she had and God supplied food to last through the famine.

*A lad offered his small lunch and God fed a multitude.

So many examples throughout both testaments of God providing for people in their need when they offered a sacrifice to the Lord. I will choose to sacrifice my all for the one who gave His life for me. Even if it hurts... Even if I don't understand... I will give it all to Him!