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O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. – Psalm 5:3

In the modern age, we don’t often think about preparing sacrifices. Sacrifice is something that we do, not something that we ready for. But in the Old Testament a literal sacrifice required some intention and forethought. An altar had to be built; an animal had to be selected. A sacrifice didn’t just happen in the moment – there was some planning.

Emulating the Old Testament example, we would be wise to prepare our sacrifice at the beginning of each day. Of course, our sacrifice is not a lamb or a calf, but our lives. We need to prepare our hearts to be surrendered to God – to be willing to do whatever He says, to go wherever He leads. We need to start each morning with the commitment to give of ourselves for the sake of others, to the glory of God. As we do this, as we prepare our sacrifice, we, like the Psalmist, can watch in anticipation – and see how He works in and through a life that is wholly yielded to Him.

Bits & Pieces (7/23/22)

Greetings. This weekend may you be surrounded by the love of God and may you be filled with His peace as you rely on Him to provide all you need.

• A Doctor Shares the Secret to Dying Well – “Though everyone knows death is inevitable, most don’t know what to do with the news of a terminal diagnosis. They do not see impending death as a call to evaluate their lives and change. After the initial shock, most patients keep on living the remainder of their days as they always had; I’ve never seen a patient reverse their philosophy of life because the end is finally here.”

• The One Thing About Your Spouse’s Personality that Really Affects Your Career – In this article, Harvard Business Review (a quite secular source), reports on studies that demonstrate something that should come as no surprise to anyone who has read Proverbs – who you marry has a profound impact on your life. As it turns out, the character of your spouse may even influence your career trajectory.

• No, Christianity is Not as Bad as You Think – There is “a wide and growing gap between cultural narratives about Christianity and the reality of Christianity. Here are just five examples.”

• A Simple Solution to a Boring Prayer Life – “The Lord has his people all over the world, and among them are believers of every sort of demographic description. And yet by his Spirit, he gives to all of them a desire to pray. Would he do this for all if meaningful prayer was doable only by some? Would your heavenly Father make prayer so difficult or confusing that you could never enjoy it or, rather, never enjoy him through prayer?”

• The Next 50 Years – “But the most important thing the pro-life movement did to overturn Roe was not political or legal, it was cultural. The pro-life movement’s strength never came from laws or court cases—it came from truth and love.”

• Pain –“I have tried and I cannot find, either in Scripture or history, a strong-willed individual whom God used greatly until He allowed him to be hurt deeply.

• Earlier this week on the blog: Keep Tough & Tender