Verse of the Day 8/7

Verse of the Day 8/7

Psalm 5:3  O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;

    in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.    English Standard Version (ESV)

When we think of the word "sacrifice" we may think of the Old Testament rituals.  Perhaps we think of things of service as sacrifice, giving of our time for God and for others.  We sing of the "sacrifice of praise", giving of our time, gladly, to praise the Almighty.  Today's verse reminds us of the proper "preparation" of sacrifice, that of our wills and minds to God and His purposes.

We've been considering that God is with us wherever we are.   Yesterday I quoted the song "Day By Day and With Each Passing Moment".  It is easy to think of those moments as our waking moments, but have you ever considered that God is with you even before we get up to start the day?

I read the following in a devotional by Dallas Willard where he points out that God's work begins in us before we wake up in the morning. He writes:

The work of God begins while we are asleep and without our help. He continues to work through the day in our worship and obedience. A sacrifice is the material means of assembling a life before God in order to let God work with it.....Sacrifice isn't something we do for God but simply setting out the stuff of life for Him to do something with......On the altar the sacrificial offering is changed into what is pleasing and acceptable to God. In the act of offering we give up ownership and control, and watch to see what God will do with it. With a deep awareness that the God who speaks life into us also listens when we speak, we put into words the difficulties and delights that we foresee in the hours ahead. We assemble fears and hopes, apprehensions and anticipations, and place them on the altar as an offering.

May we come before God this morning, realizing that He has been stirring our hearts even before we woke up.  May we place the hopes and fears of the day on the alter as an offering and see what He will do with them today.

Psalm 130:5-6   I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

    and in his word I hope;
⁶ my soul waits for the Lord
    more than watchmen for the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning.    English Standard Version (ESV)

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Psalm 5:1-3 The Message (MSG)

A David Psalm

5 ^1-3 Listen, God! Please, pay attention!
Can you make sense of these ramblings,
my groans and cries?
    King-God, I need your help.
Every morning
    you'll hear me at it again.
Every morning
    I lay out the pieces of my life
    on your altar
    and watch for fire to descend.