Repentance & Sacrifice

Through Him, then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. Heb 13:15

I’ve been mulling over several things over the past few days. I still don’t know if I can tie it all together in a coherent train of thought, but I’m going to try.

As I started into Isaiah a few days ago, Isaiah 1:15-20 stood out to me. God’s interaction with His people almost seems to be in two extremes. First, He tells them that He will not heed them, their prayers, or their sacrifices. Then, He calls them to abide with Him. How can that happen if He won’t hear their prayers in the first place?

Two things:

1. Repentance is key. The sacrifices were not received and the prayers were not heard because there was no repentance.
2. The verse from Hebrews comes in – once the repentance has been shown, the second key is making it all about God, not all about me. Thanksgiving and praise are due to Him.

So, how does this fit with me? First of all, I am going to be honest in a way I don’t really want to – I have not been diligent about repentance lately. I’ve caught myself just going through the motions of it and not really allowing my heart to be searched by the all-knowing, perfect God. So, I need to come back to repentance.

Secondly, I have to remember that thanksgiving and praise are not going to come naturally. Naturally I am selfish. Yes, I am made new by the blood of Christ, but I am still working out that salvation. That includes offering the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. A sacrifice is intentional. A sacrifice goes beyond what is easy and natural. A sacrifice takes an act of my will.

I have grown lax in both areas, and my immediate challenge is to shape up. Get those muscles firm again. Oh how sweet is the communion with my God when I come to Him in those ways!