The Sacred offering: CHOICE

Have you ever wondered what is the greatest gift that one could give to God? What could one give to Him that would bless His heart more than anything else?

I asked myself those questions once in my prayer time. I had entered a time of intense worship and thanksgiving before the Lord and my heart-cry was to offer up to Him the best that I could possibly give.

That’s the cry of every heart that is set on God – as is seen all throughout the Psalms – the desire to completely empty one’s self, pour one’s self out as one ultimate offering.

As I thought through those questions that morning, no answer I came up with satisfied.

…LOVE… that’s a wonderful offering – but since God is the author of Love, and is in fact Love Himself, to love Him is really loving Him with Himself! …FAITH… is a very important offering to God – because in Hebrews 11.6 it says that without FAITH it is impossible to please Him. Since pleasing and blessing His heart is what we’re seeking, faith is a wonderful offering – yet it, too, is supplied by God – it is His faith in us! …WORSHIP…is another great offering, because John 4.23 says that the Father is seeking true worshippers – yet, like love and faith, is a gift that is already God-embodied and God-supplied.

As I considered each of these possible gifts and several more – I began to wonder if there was anything I could ever give to God that He doesn’t furnish, a gift that would go way over the top with Him and that only I could give.

When I asked that question in my heart, the Spirit of God spoke one word in answer to me: CHOICE. The one thing He cannot supply is your CHOICE. Every other gift is empty and void without your CHOICE or your choosing Him.

He gave every one of us the power to choose in the very beginning. But ever since then, making the decision to choose Him is something only you can supply. Your choice is a holy, sacred offering – everything else flows from it.

Every day and every moment we are faced with decisions to be made – there is no escaping it. Even choosing to do absolutely nothing is still a choice.

In this life of choices – the question is: what choice will you make? Will you choose your own ways or will you choose God and what He wants?

All through the Word of God, we see people and the choices that they made. Some chose God even to the risk of their own lives, others did not. And some made choices against the heart of God, but later turned from those choices back to His ways – because they could not bear to be of a different heart than Him.

When God has become your sole passion, your highest priority – then your one desire is to do what pleases Him – even at the cost of what pleases you.

Your desire, your passion, fuels your choices in life. If the commandment of Love has not become your passion, then you will constantly find yourself making choices against the way of love. In the same way, if God and His ways are not top priority with you, then the choices you make will most of the time be contrary to Him and what He wants.

But what if you’ve tasted and seen that the Lord is absolute, pure goodness – what if you’ve realized that nothing and no one could ever match the Life and the Love you’ve found in Him… and you’ve chosen Him…

When He is your passion, when His Life is your passion, your choices will mirror that desire.

Yet, keeping God and His ways as your passion is not a one-time decision. It is a choice you have to make not only every day, but every moment.

As you do that, you are giving to Him one continual offering – your very life… all of it. Then, whenever a situation arises in which you would have to choose between what you know God would have you to do or doing something easier or more appealing – you will choose God’s way, because your passion is set on Him.

In Hebrews 11.24-26, we read that “By faith, Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, CHOOSING rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin – esteeming the reproach of Christ GREATER RICHES than the treasures in Egypt; FOR HE LOOKED TO THE REWARD.”

Moses chose what could have seemed hard rather than what looked good or easy – because it was right, it was what God wanted. He considered doing God’s way GREATER RICHES than the treasures in Egypt – for he looked to the REWARD.

Wait a minute – there’s a REWARD? What REWARD?

Just a few verses down from this account, Hebrews 12.1-2 tells us – Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witness, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, LOOKING UNTO JESUS, the Author and Finisher of our faith… WHO FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM ENDURED THE CROSS, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

WHO FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM – that’s talking about reward…

There was something out there beyond the Cross, hell, and the grave that Jesus had His mind fixed on when He made the decision in Gethsemane to do the will of the Father, rather than His own will.

Do you know what was on His mind? You and me, and billions more like us.

When He considered the difference between doing what was right and doing what was easy – He chose what was right.

Why? Because you were worth it. When He considered what was easy on His flesh or the joy of having you for all eternity – He chose you.

Now, as we live our life, as we make our choices – we should do so by following His example – LOOKING UNTO JESUS, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Whenever we choose Him, choose to do things His way – our actions declare “God, You’re worth it… You’re worth getting up early for, You’re worth spending time with – even though I could be doing something else…. It may not be easy to walk in love toward these people or to say no to temptation or my flesh – But God, YOU”RE WORTH IT – I choose YOU and I choose YOUR WAY.”

Our faith, our obedience, our love, our worship are all precious offerings to God. But every one of those gifts requires activating our choice – choosing to love Him, choosing to believe His Word, choosing His will instead of our own.

Not only is God worth it, but the people in the world around us are also worth it.

Our choices effect more than just our own life. Philippians 2.4-5 says “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU WHICH WAS ALSO IN CHRIST JESUS…”

The following verses go on to say that even though Jesus was equal with God, He made Himself of no reputation and He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the Cross.

I believe this is one of the clearest explanations of what humility really is. It’s choosing to be completely reliant on the Lord and obedient to what He wants without question and regardless to your status, your rank, or your reputation in life. We see this in the life of Jesus the whole way through. His choices were never based on who He was, but on His trust in God and what God said to do.

True humility is realizing that ultimate satisfaction and fulfillment in life comes solely from being completely dependent upon God, doing what He wants, following His direction, living His Word.

Isaiah 6.8 says – “Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying– ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me!”

Who will go for us?

That’ what the heart of the Father is asking each one of us – Will you go for Me? Will you reach out to the world, to your friends, to your family, to your co-workers for Me? Will you give of your resources? Will you live the life of faith, will you believe for what seems impossible? Will you live the life-style of worship and purity?

And for the joy set before us, we will do it… because we have CHOSEN HIM, chosen His ways.

We’ve taken this holy, sacred right of choice and chosen to use it for His glory.

So let me ask you – Will you choose what is easy or what is right (regardless of whether it’s easy or not)? Will you choose what you want or will you endeavour every moment to choose Him and what He wants?

That’s a decision that only you can make. But when you do choose Him, you are giving Him your most precious offering – the gift that only you can supply – your CHOICE.

Sharah LaGail Wyatt / First Love Ministries International

P O Box 163974 Ft Worth, TX 76161 / www.ps27fr.org

FIRST LOVE MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL is a Non-Profit corporation

Webpage hosted by Web.com