TUESDAY January 29, 2019
The High Places
And they answered them [Saul and his servant]and said, “Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now; for today he [the seer] came to this city, because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place. As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him.”
1 Samuel 9:12-13
All the way through the Old Testament, you will hear the term, high places. There is a distinction between the high places that the pagans worshiped on and where God’s people worshiped the Lord. Often God’s people could not go to Jerusalem or Shiloh, which were the main places of worship. So they would bring their sacrifices to an elevated place to worship, usually located on a hill.
Notice, the prophet Samuel blessed the sacrifice. This was the first time in the Bible that we see someone giving a blessing for food. Thanksgiving was yet another form of worship. Our tradition of praying and giving thanks for our food started from this chapter and verse.
Calvary Chapel Golden Springs is a place built for people to come and worship the Lord. How do we worship God? Many people would answer by our singing: Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful (Psalm 147:1). Yet worship is not only singing––it is in giving of our thanks: I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart (Psalm 9:1 NIV).Our offerings are also an act of worship: I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you… (Psalm 54:6 NIV).
Understand, worship is presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service (Romans 12:1-2).
We are saved to worship God. All that Christ has done in the past and all that He is doing now leads to this one end.
~A. W. Tozer~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit Somebodylovesyouradio.org!