Sacrifice of Praise

Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Heb 13:16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased


Sacrifice of praise.


Jer 33:11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.


In praising we are honoring God, in praising we are worshipping God, in praising we are thanking God. Is it no wonder we are told to offer the sacrifice of praise to God CONTINUALLY? If we are sustained by our God, if we believe we are alive by His grace, that we are blessed to receive the sacrifice of His Son - bringing us forgiveness for the unforgiveable, then why wouldn't we continually praise God?


If we are LIVING for a better county, a better city; if we are living for our rewards found in Heaven upon the day of our Savior's return- we MUST continually praise our God who makes this all possible.


Taking life for granted we go about our daily routines. We occasionally give thanks- and here in America we take the day of Thanksgiving to give thanks when we might otherwise not even think about what we are thankful for. We live day to day, waking every morning, going to sleep every night, eating, drinking, thinking, working, playing and how often are we praising our God during all that? Some people have a routine of giving thanks for the food they eat, some say bedtime prayers where they are quick to offer thanks to the Lord for all He has done. All that is wonderful, it's better than going days and weeks without even thinking about thanking God. Do you imagine some people go months without thanking God? Years? What about those who choose not to believe in God- they surely don't offer any thanks, any praise to God- if anything they are quick to denounce Him- which if they didn't believe in His existence they wouldn't have to do -right?


The sacrifice of praise.


Why was it termed that way?


When we think of sacrifice what does it bring to mind? Something or someone giving up something for another, yes? We can sacrifice our time for someone, we can sacrifice our entertainment, we can sacrifice our resting, we can sacrifice our money; there are many ways to sacrifice.


Offering God the sacrifice of praise, we are giving to Him what?


When a sacrifice for a sin offering was brought to the temple to be slaughtered that sin offering was being sacrificed- we OWNED what was being sacrificed, we were giving that part of us to God.


When we give part of ourselves to God it is a wondrous thing. We are making the conscious choice to believe, to have faith, to honor God when we don't have to- NO ONE forces us to honor God. Even if you are forced to go to church as a child or by a spouse they aren't forcing you to honor God. You could mouth all the words they want you to, but true honor and praise, true worship can only come from your conscious choice to do so willingly, not by being coerced.


Choosing to GIVE to God praise, choosing to Give God thanks are all ways we acknowledge Him as our Creator, our Redeemer, our King, our Lord, our Ruler.


In a world where self-sufficiency and self adoration are paramount, choosing to truly acknowledge you are a dependent being belonging to the Father, belonging to the Son, belonging to the Holy Spirit, is a real sacrifice- a real giving up of part of ourselves to glorify our God.


If we are continually offering the sacrifice of praise to God we are continually acknowledge His Lordship over us, over all. We can't neglect to offer the sacrifice of praise, of thanksgiving, speaking often of our wonderful Lord. We must be ever ready to good and to talk of our God, living our lives visibly as His, never ashamed offering our whole selves as a living sacrifice to God.


Rom 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.


By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, may we live as He would have us live. By His righteousness, by His power, by His amazing love through His forgiveness now and forever!


Amen!