But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Hebrews 13:16, NKJV
A Sacrifice of Praise
Have you ever thought about how your life brings pleasure to God? All throughout Scripture, we learn about how we can use our lives to please God. In fact, we were created for God’s pleasure.
Since we have been given new life in Christ, and we’ve experienced God’s grace, we should desire to please God. Since He has given us everything in life, we ought to give Him everything we are.
The writer of Hebrews tells us two distinct ways we can please God. The first is in Hebrews 13:15. The writer says that our first sacrifice to God is praising Him. This is what the Bible calls “worship.”
Worship is the orientation of our entire life to live in awe of who God is and what He has done for us. We can worship God not only by the songs we sing, but also the way we live our lives.
Hebrews 13:16 tells us another way that we can please God: by loving others. When we love others, we are reflecting the love that God has for them. That is why it matters how we treat people.
Our actions are a reflection of how God has loved us. And since we’ve been loved by God, we ought to do good to those around us.
These are two ways that we can bring pleasure to God—by worshiping Him and loving others. This is similar to what Jesus says the greatest commandment is in Matthew 22:36-40. He sums it up by telling us to love God and love others. We love God by worshiping Him and praising Him. We love others by doing good to them and sharing with them.
How are you doing at loving God and loving others? Do you spend time each day in Scripture and prayer, praising God for who He is? If we don’t love God first and foremost, we won’t be able to truly love other people in our lives.
Note after sharing the devotional: a few other Scriptures came to mind as I was reading through this one:
O God, You are my God;Early will I seek You;My soul thirsts for You;My flesh longs for YouIn a dry and thirsty landWhere there is no water.So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,To see Your power and Your glory.Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,My lips shall praise You.Thus I will bless You while I live;I will lift up my hands in Your name.My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
In the very early days of the church, in the book of Acts, believers sacrificed and shared everything with one another:
Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. Acts 2:44-45, NKJV
However, in the USA and western society, we are most definitely not like that. In fact, we are the opposite: independent, self-sufficient, etc. But, one example from our contemporary lives that does seem to fit this is marriage. Husbands and wives, biblically speaking, are commanded to share everything with each other. Marriage is a sacrifice of praise.
Similarly, many of the same people in western society that are of the mindset I described above, also have tended to apply (somewhat) the same principle among family. (I say to a point, because once the kids are adult age, then it stops for some reason. On the contrary, families in the Middle East, eastern Asia, and eastern Europe (and I believe Africa too) are not like this! In those places, families are multigenerational by nature, and this sharing extends as such in these cultures.)
Then there’s me. Through the school of hard knocks I learned that “water is thicker than blood” because it was out of necessity. I was blessed and privileged to form close relationships with friends who were technically “not family,” but they still helped in my life in various different ways. This example is where, in a sense, early Acts living seems to have taken place. These early-church people are not married to one another, and they’re most likely not blood-family (like brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc). But they’re applying the sharing and sacrifice of praise mentality.
I do believe it is generally a good thing. Recently the Evanston Vineyard celebrated its 50th anniversary, and one of the many things that jumped out from the different messages preached, especially as they were sharing about the early days of this church, was how the team, and perhaps the church body on the whole, did life together. One of the speakers even said that two of their core missions from the get-go included doing life in community, and living in authenticity. I do not know if they went all the way like the early church as stated in the above passage from Acts 2, in which they pooled all their money and possession together (I kind of doubt it), but in terms of supporting one another through times of challenge and of heartbreak, they were like family.
Similarly, many of the same people in western society that are of the mindset I described above, also have tended to apply (somewhat) the same principle among family. (I say to a point, because once the kids are adult age, then it stops for some reason. On the contrary, families in the Middle East, eastern Asia, and eastern Europe (and I believe Africa too) are not like this! In those places, families are multigenerational by nature, and this sharing extends as such in these cultures.)
Then there’s me. Through the school of hard knocks I learned that “water is thicker than blood” because it was out of necessity. I was blessed and privileged to form close relationships with friends who were technically “not family,” but they still helped in my life in various different ways. This example is where, in a sense, early Acts living seems to have taken place. These early-church people are not married to one another, and they’re most likely not blood-family (like brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc). But they’re applying the sharing and sacrifice of praise mentality.
I do believe it is generally a good thing. Recently the Evanston Vineyard celebrated its 50th anniversary, and one of the many things that jumped out from the different messages preached, especially as they were sharing about the early days of this church, was how the team, and perhaps the church body on the whole, did life together. One of the speakers even said that two of their core missions from the get-go included doing life in community, and living in authenticity. I do not know if they went all the way like the early church as stated in the above passage from Acts 2, in which they pooled all their money and possession together (I kind of doubt it), but in terms of supporting one another through times of challenge and of heartbreak, they were like family.
Of course, with every form of living there will always be caveats (aside from unbiblical living, which is nothing but caveats!): in those same early days, the body of Christ had to deal with a lying husband and wife who claimed to have given all their money and possessions but didn’t.
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. 6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.
7 Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?”
She said, “Yes, for so much.”
9 Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. 11 So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.
God killed Ananias and Sapphira on the spot for their disobedience and lying to try to cover it up. I unfortunately believe that they are both in hell, because, as the Bible records above, they died in their sins.
The point of mentioning the above is that God will (and does) address people who try to lie, cheat, and steal, especially among such a community who has not only agreed to live sacrificially but vulnerably. It takes great faith and great risk to live communally like that, and these might be major reasons why most of human history, before or since this time, doesn't record communities living in such an arrangement.
The point of mentioning the above is that God will (and does) address people who try to lie, cheat, and steal, especially among such a community who has not only agreed to live sacrificially but vulnerably. It takes great faith and great risk to live communally like that, and these might be major reasons why most of human history, before or since this time, doesn't record communities living in such an arrangement.
But regardless of whether you live among others like the early church did as written in Acts 2 or not, there is something to living as a sacrifice of praise. Trusting God over our self-reliance, and trusting Him over things like money and other earthly comforts, I’m understanding more and more that that is a key part of the Christian life.
Prayer: God, thank You for caring for the needs of Your people. You give me everything I need -- everything I have is Yours. So please use me and what I have to fulfill the needs of others. Even when it feels hard to be generous, please help me to be willing to give everything You've given me for the good of others. In Jesus's name, Amen.