Last night below freezing, today, a warm wind descended upon us and we reached 66 degrees.

Carla has several varieties of seeds planted in readiness for this spring to plant.  Just not sure when this spring is actually going to be.......

Unless I have complications over the next surgery, I will be going in for the ablation process on the 24^th of April.  I guess they keep me over night.  Deed will be taking us so we don’t have to drive in – hate that Portland traffic, and OHSU can be an exciting adventure to drive to.....

By getting it done at this time I am hoping I will be back on my feet and more productive this summer.  Lots to get done.

1 Samuel 15:21-23   But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.

²² And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

²³ For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

As we know the sacrifices to God in the Old Testament were mandatory.  They were not done because God needed them done; they were done in obedience to His Word.  They were done to show that obedience.

Each offering had specific requirements; failure to present the sacrifice to God in disobedience of those requirements was sin.  But God wanted more than the sacrifice, He wanted them to come to Him with a heart of love and humility.  It wasn’t just bringing something to the priests to take care of it was a process of the heart as well – a heart focused on God.

Going through the motions, but not doing so with a heart that is full of love for Him with a sincere desire to serve Him was an abomination.  As He said here:  “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”

Jeremiah 29:11-13  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

¹² Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

¹³ And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

God loves us and wants the best for us.  If we desire to serve Him, if we open up our hearts to Him He will be there for us.  Any sacrifice we make today should be made with a heart that is not considering it a sacrifice, but a love offering to God to do His Will.

1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

We do not have animal sacrifices to God, because Jesus is our sacrifice.  Once we have accepted Him as our Savior instead of bringing an animal to the altar to be processed by the Priest, we bring Jesus to the altar and lay Him down, directly, before God.

As the Jews had to offer their sacrifices with a heart open to God, so too must we offer Jesus with a heart open to God.  We need to approach with the understanding of Who He is and come humbly before Him.  Then we need to continue in that humility obeying and honoring Him; in service to Him and in obedience to Him.  Our service to Him is our way of showing we have honored Christ sacrifice that we have used for our freedom.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

This is not just a verbal exercise, but we must have a clean heart and clear mind willfully serving God.  While He will continue to forgive us when we sin, we want to do the best that we can to not sin – focusing on the reason for Jesus sacrifice and what that means to us as an individual is paramount to understanding how we should be willing to serve Him.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again