Grace Day
Open Your Bible
Hebrews 13:15-16
BY She Reads Truth
Use today to pray, rest, and reflect on this week’s reading, giving thanks for the grace that is ours in Christ.
Therefore, through him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.
Hebrews 13:15-16
9 thoughts on "Grace Day"
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DAY 13: GRACE DAY – We must make sacrifices at times to please God. I know I will these next two weeks financially but it’s all good, sometimes we need that as a reality check!!
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Continuous praise is important! No matter what we are dealing with, we have plenty to praise about. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good!
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I have to admit sometimes I get comfortable in my own little circle. My comfort zone. This is a reminder to me that I need to get out and share what I know so that they too can have the hope that I’ve been given.
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You know how you kind of understand what something means and then you realize that if you tried to explain it to someone else you would have a hard time doing that? That was the case as a read “…continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise…”. I realized that I couldn’t put into words what “sacrifice of praise” meant. So I looked it up. Here is what I read in a nutshell. We often find it easy to praise God when He has blessed us, helped us, and protected us. We feel generous toward Him. We can sing, workship, and talk about how good He is because we can see it. That kind of praise is worthwhile, but it doesn’t cost us anything. It isn’t a sacrifice. The sacrifice comes when life is hard and God seems very far away. Praise is the last thing to bubble up in our hearts, but we choose to praise anyway.
Our praise of God isn’t to be based on our opinion of His job performance. Too many times we treat praise as a “reward” we give God for all the blessings we see. My “sacrifice of praise” needs to continue regardless of circumstances. The result of my “continual sacrifice of praise” will be acts of love, kindness, mercy, service – doing what is good and sharing what I have, materially, emotionally, and spiritually.
Hope that helps someone else. Have a blessed weekend. -
Love the 2 words…through Him(v.15). We can’t do anything in our own strength. We must do everything through the strength given to us by Jesus. A life lived sacrificially only happens when we surrender, saying I need Your strength, Lord, Your Holy Spirit power in me. Lead me, guide me, show me how to do good and share. (v.16)
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I love The Message version this morning:
“Let’s take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus’ name.
16 Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of “sacrifice”—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets.”
May I not consider my Christianity to be a membership to an exclusive club, limiting my praise and actions only to a church building, but may I take my sacrifice of praise and actions to others in all the places I do life.
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I love that, Sue! “ let me not think my Christianity is a membership to an exclusive club”
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AMEN! I so-o agree with you Sue
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It’s always good to read what comes before the “therefore.” The writer of Hebrews has concluding words in chapter 13, reminders of Who God is and what He has done for us. We are no longer obligated to offer animal blood sacrifices as atonement for sin. Jesus ended all of that on the cross. In gratitude for His final sacrifice, “therefore” the only suggested sacrifice is “a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to His name.” (NLT) The praise in our hearts will manifest in our hands. We will take our praise to the streets and do good and share with those in need. One flows from the other, a life – giving stream from the Living Water Who is worthy of all praise. So many are yet thirsty.
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