June 28, 2013 … The Sweet Aroma of Brokenness

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 179

Passage of the Day #1: Leviticus 6: 19-21 [Our sacrifice to God can only have a sweet aroma in our brokenness.] [NLT] …  
19 And the LORD said to Moses, 20“On the day Aaron and his sons are anointed, they must bring to the LORD a grain offering of two quarts of choice flour, half to be offered in the morning and half to be offered in the evening. 21 It must be cooked on a griddle with olive oil, and it must be well mixed and broken into pieces. You must present this grain offering, and it will be very pleasing to the LORD. 
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Contextual Study for today’s passages above: Leviticus, Chapter 6 [NLT] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passage #1: Romans 12: 1-2 [Living sacrifice in brokenness is sweetness to the Lord.] [NLT] …  
1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

  Reference Passage #2: Philippians 2: 5-11 [The ultimate example of the sweetness in brokenness.] [NLT] …  
5 Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. 7 He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. 8 And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Devotional Song: Go to this link -  … Dear one, hear the group, Hillsong, singing “Here I Am To Worship” … And Please do not miss worshipping in brokenness to this powerful song!!

My Journal for Today: Do you know just how sweet the aroma of our living sacrifice can be in worshipping our Lord when it is presented on His altar of grace in brokenness?

Living in brokenness and surrender just doesn’t fit the mold of modern mankind, does it? Our culture is one which values independence and strength and control; and for a Christian like myself to call on myself and other fellow Christians to follow the example of our living model, Jesus, and to live out a life in complete surrender, just as Christ did while on earth, just doesn’t fit the post-modern world view.

BUT … just like the ancient sacrifice to the Lord had to be broken and burned on the Altar before God [see Lev. 6: 21 above] to become a sweet aroma in Heaven, we must TODAY become broken on the altar of our self-sacrifice to be sweetness to The Lord on His altar of grace (see Romans 12: 1-2 copied above). Our lives must be a “living sacrifice” in order to worship Him (as the song by Hillsong above declares).

The Apostle Paul also laid out what it takes to live as did Christ in his letter to the Philippians, where, in Phil. 2: 5-11, God led him to write about how Jesus laid all His glory and majesty aside in the brokenness of humanity and was broken completely before His Father on the cross so that you and I, in our brokenness and surrender, could live for Him and be lifted up into glory.

So, … today, my friend, … we must decide if we’re going to be a living sacrifice in brokenness so that the aroma of our living worship will be sweetness on His altar of grace.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, may I come to this alter of Your grace in living sacrifice and become a sweet aroma in Your presence. … Amen