KEY SCRIPTURE: John 11:2 KJV “(It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)”

The bible introduced Lazarus as a certain man who got sick. Why was he so significant that , his name and story should gain an attention in the pages of scripture? The very next verse gave an incidence that warrants that kind of attention. It was this man whose sister poured a very costly ointment at the feet of Jesus, and wiped it with her hair. Her action of an absolute sacrifice made her very special in God’s programme. The scriptures are filled with many incidences of people who attracted God’s presence and subsequent blessings because they gave an absolute sacrifice to God.

In Luke 7:1-8 a Roman centurion had his servant grievously sick. He asked the Jewish leaders to consult Jesus on His behalf. They quickly went to Jesus, and said the following to him. Luke 7:5 KJV” For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.” This man had built a Synagogue for them. The Lord on a number of occasions said he came for the lost sheep of Israel. Matt 15:24 KJV” But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” This centurion was not an Israelite and so was not qualified to have Jesus attending to his call. The Lord rather responded quickly when he heard that, this man had built a Synagogue for his people. He went, and his servant was healed.

In 1st Kings 3 King Solomon made a sacrifice of a thousand sheep, and at night, God visited him in his dream and asked, “Solomon, what do you want, that I may give you. ? His life was transformed because of that sacrifice. Some people see it as a foolish thing to make grave sacrifices unto God. According to the scriptures, God says the following about cheerful givers. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, “prompt to do it”) giver [whose heart is in his giving].

God loves the cheerful giver. He takes pleasure in such a person and not ready to do without him. Sacrifice will always attract God into your situation. Dear one if all other means of grace , like prayer, fasting and the rest are not making any headway, try  sacrificing something dear.

CONFESSION

Giving unto the Lord is my delight. The Lord is always faithful to honour His word; so I genuinely give my best  to Him, and the Lord always comes through for me.

THOUGHT: TRUE SACRIFICE WILL ALWAYS BREAK DIVINE PROTOCOLS

FURTHER STUDIES

1Ki 3:5 KJV” In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.”

Heb 11:4 KJV” By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh”.