It is my sincere hope that every reader of this article on PRAISE will thoughtfully consider what is written. More importantly, I know that every true seeker can experience the realities written about in this article, and I have great faith that many, many who read this will receive a witness from the Holy Spirit about the truth of these exciting spiritual matters, and will joyously enter into them thereby being greatly blessed and making themselves a blessing both to God and to their fellow man.

Me, you – a blessing to God? Like Mary in the presence of the heavenly messenger, we might rightly ask: “How shall this be …? The very same Scriptures that pose pertinent and honest questions, these same writings from God provide us with accurate, reliable answers. Many Scriptures could be brought forth to show clearly that we humans have the ability within us to bless the Almighty and Everlasting God; to please and even delight Him; to provide Him with gifts that we can offer up to Him, knowing with full assurance that they will be graciously received and fully appreciated. Consider Psalm 103:1 “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.”

The Christmas season is again upon us. I don’t need to describe the differing implications that the Christmas traditions have for each one of us. No need to go into the deep and often conflicting emotions so many of us experience at this time of year. Enough will be written and spoken about those aspects of Christmastide in other places. I simply say, let’s be daring and make the season different for ourselves this year. We always wanted to do that, didn’t we? We might not all have dreamed about enjoying a “White Christmas”, but you know down deep we’ve sometimes wished for a “perfect Christmas;” one free of commercialism, family strife and childish bickerings. I tell you boldly, this is the year for it! Believe for real “peace on earth, goodwill toward men” and it will come to pass. Don’t take my word for it; rather, rely on the Word of God. Put some of the old ways of celebrating Christmas on hold and risk a whole new approach. Resist the anxieties and apprehensions of giving and receiving gifts from relatives and friends and begin to experiment with the intriguing idea of Blessing God this year of giving acceptable gifts to Him!

Are you with me so far? Are you willing to read on even though I’m beginning to get into “gifts to God?” You know what that usually means: a pitch for money … pressure about making sure you attend Christmas services. They say: “It’s the least you can do. After all Christmas is supposed to be about Him” – that sort of approach. You know what I mean, I’m sure you’ve heard it many times from many different sources. NO; let me assure you, this is not where I’m leading. Financial contributions and church attendance have their rightful place in our relationship with God, but unfortunately, these elements can be so easily perverted or distorted and, all too frequently are associated with “the least we can do for God.” I’m certainly not encouraging our readers to aspire to that! I’m trying to encourage you in celebrating a perfect Christmas. I want to inspire you to give, not the least, but to give the most and the very best of “all that is within you” to God! Nor am I getting to the modern seed faith scam telling you to give so you can get it back a hundredfold, you know shake and pressed down and overflowing and all that jazz that the Laodicean Church keeps telling its adherents is the way God wants people to get rich, to gain a fortune and live in the lap of luxury.

“When you care enough to give the very best”. We all recognize that old Hallmark challenge. The Scriptural counterpart is found in Jeremiah 29:13 “And ye shall seek Me and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.” This was a promise to the Jews of old when their seventy years of bondage in Babylon would be finished. It is both a promise and an assurance to us that once we are translated into the Kingdom of His dear Son by the New Birth into light and immortality, our spiritually vitalized human spirits, even now, have access by Jesus (“His shed blood, His righteousness covering us”) to the very throne room of the Father, through the ministry of the Holy Ghost. Eph 2:18

The way to God is firmly established – it is Jesus; there is no other way. If we have accepted His atoning work for us and received Jesus into our hearts, God is greatly pleased with us. We have become His children, His offspring. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Never again will we ever have to be alone!

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Sacrifices have always been the way to God’s heart. We could not even dare nor start to approach Him but for the blood sacrifice of His dearly beloved and only begotten Son. Even as He sent “the Very Best” for us, so He asks the best that we can offer and clearly states these New Testament sacrifices (gifts and offerings to Him) in Romans 12:1-3 and in Hebrews 13:15-16. You should read these important passages for yourself, but for convenience, let me list them for you here:

• 1. The sacrifice of our bodies, our reasonable service. A modern martyr for the faith knowing that he most likely would be killed, wrote: ”It is not unreasonable for me to give up that which I cannot keep, for that which I cannot lose.”

• 2. The sacrifice of our minds. We allow the Holy Ghost to renew them for us, since God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. (See Isaiah 55).

• 3. The sacrifice of our reputation; not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought.

• 4. The sacrifice of praise; this is fundamental and central to worshipping God “in spirit and in truth.”

• 5. The sacrifice of good works: Hebrews 13:16 says “to do good”.

• 6. The sacrifice of generosity: “to communicate” is the way the Scriptures express it.
  

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Other sacrifices are not so directly stated in the New Testament, but can be seen as the Holy Ghost declares them to the heart of the individual priest. Examples are: the sacrifice of praying for those who despitefully use you, rejoicing in all things even when we are falsely accused for God’s sake, accepting affliction as an instructing tool of our perfection, not returning evil for evil – these and many other things like them are things that require the sacrifice of a priest ministering in behalf of God. In the first four verses of John 14, the Lord Jesus prepares His distraught disciples for ongoing, deep. familiar communion with Himself. The One who is “the same, yesterday, today and forever:” Heb 13:8  forcefully reassured them (and us) that He would be with us intimately then, now and forever. To us, as He said to them: “Whither I go ye know and the way ye know”. John 14:4  So it has been plainly established that we know the way to God. And the gifts and sacrifices that please Him are also made clear to sincere seekers. Hebrews 13:16 makes that quite evident: “… for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” We know the way. We know what to bring. It only remains for us to choose whether we shall ignore God’s Word, flirt with the “way of Cain” by stubbornly offering dead works; rebel against God’s evident commands as did the wilderness dwellers; or, as I earnestly exhort you to do: celebrate this special season of Christmas by entering God’s presence laden with spiritual gifts for Him offered in a spiritual manner, in the spiritual place that He has clearly designated.

On Christmas, you may well be led to attend some church services. You certainly will make some kind of contributions, financial or otherwise, in the form of gifts and presents to loved ones. But before all this and the other Christmas traditions, I urge you to come to Jesus; to give Him your all. Having done that, let the Holy Spirit lead you to the throne of grace with the peace that Jesus paid for in your heart and worship Him this year with praises and thanksgiving in that spiritual church which the Scriptures describe as “the general assembly and church of the firstborn … so that you may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” Hebrews 12:23 & 28