Psalms 54:6 I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O LORD; for it is good.
Let me share a story about King Frederick William III of Prussia. During his reign, he faced a tough situation. The nation was drained financially because of costly wars, and he needed a solution to rebuild. After much thought, he came up with a bold idea. He asked the women of Prussia to give up their gold and silver jewelry to support their country. In return, he offered them decorations made of bronze or iron, inscribed with the words, “I gave gold for iron, 1813.”
The response was incredible. Women eagerly gave up their treasures, but something even more remarkable happened—they cherished those simple iron and bronze tokens far more than their original jewelry. Why? Because those tokens were a sign of their sacrifice for their king and country.
Now think about this: when we come to know our King — we’re invited to make a similar exchange. He doesn’t just take the “jewels” of our old life, the things we value most; He also takes our brokenness, our rags, and turns them into something beautiful for His Kingdom.
Maybe today, there’s something God is asking you to surrender to Him. A habit, a worry, or even a treasure you’re holding onto. Let’s take a moment to pray and seek His guidance. When we sacrifice for our King, the blessings He gives in return are far greater than anything we let go of. Trust Him—great things await those who give!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]When Jim Burke became the head of a new products division at Johnson & Johnson, one of his first projects was the development of a children’s chest rub. The product failed miserably, and Burke expected that he would be fired. When he was called in to see the chairman of the board, however, he met a surprising reception. “Are you the one who just cost us all that money?” asked Robert Wood Johnson. “Well I just want to congratulate you. If you are making mistakes, that means you are taking risks, and we won’t grow unless you take risks!” Apparently, Mr. Johnson wasn’t joking! Years later, Johnson & Johnson remains one of the largest multi-national manufacturers of pharmaceutical, diagnostic, therapeutic, surgical, personal hygiene, baby and biotechnology products.
The baby that came into the world through the scenario above was named Ishmael. According to Islamic belief, it was Ishmael that was offered as a sacrifice by Abraham, and through him that they became the rightful inheritors of the promises of God. In other words, Ishmael was the seed through which Islam was born. Hmmm.
In her book, Let Me Be a Woman, Elizabeth Elliot records the story of a friend who had great difficulty accepting the looks God had given her. While everyone this girl knew had grown beautiful golden hair, hers was black. And while they were all still growing, she had stopped. She grew to be only about four feet ten inches tall.
“A young man enlisted, and was sent to his regiment. The first night he was in the barracks with about fifteen other young men, who passed the time playing cards and gambling. Before retiring, he fell on his knees and prayed, and they began to curse him and jeer at him and throw boots at him. So it went on the next night and the next, and finally the young man went and told the chaplain what had taken place, and asked what he should do. ‘Well,’ said the chaplain, ‘you are not at home now, and the other men have just as much right to the barracks as you have. It makes them mad to hear you pray, and the Lord will hear you just as well if you say your prayers in bed and don’t provoke them.’
A United States Army officer who trained pupils at Fort Sill for over 20 years once described the different qualities of the students during the two decades of his tenure. During the 1950’s, he observed the students’ attitude as being so lax that the instructors had trouble keeping their students awake during their lectures. This drastically changed in the mid 1960’s. The students began taking meticulous notes and absorbing every word of instruction. So, what changed?
As we continue to celebrate the God-ordained Feast of Tabernacles — this is a prophetic feast, and one which will be kept by all the people of the world in the coming age. In resurrected bodies, we will be celebrating this feast, year to year in Jerusalem during the millennial reign of Yeshua (Jesus)! Can you imagine it — celebrating with the King of Kings! If that’s not something to anticipate, I’m not sure what is!
The Lord is quoted in this scripture in Matthew. It contains an important principle which believers sometimes tend to overlook. Many believe and even teach that if you’re blessed, your life will be filled with material prosperity, and that if you are undergoing extreme trial, it must be because you have sinned or that you lack faith. The Lord says that the sun rises and the rain falls on both the righteous and the unrighteous alike.