Sacrifice

Sacrifice

”Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus (Phillipians 2:3-5 NASB),…”

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13 NASB).”

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship (Romans 12:1 NASB).”

Definition: Sacrifice - The offering of animal, plant, or human life or of some material possession to a deity, as in propitiation or homage; the person, animal, or thing so offered; the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim; the thing so surrendered or devoted; to make a sacrifice or offering of; to surrender or give up, or permit injury or disadvantage to, for the sake of something else (Dictionary.com). 

In sacrifice we lay aside our wants and needs for the purpose of elevating others. This elevation can be situational or a lifestyle; when we lift others in aide and encouragement we honor God. Real, true sacrifice is rare. When we really give sacrificially we: give up time until we become inconvenienced; we give up desires so those of another can be met; we give up resources until the ability to meet personal needs is questioned; we give up personal security to aid others who are in trouble or who are in dangerous places; we may also give up life to save life – we don’t wait until we have extra to give, we give in a time of need and we give until it hurts.

We surrender this baby and pregnancy to You and Your will, and thank You for Your help and blessings. If anyone sacrifices something for our child, we pray our baby will be grateful. May gratefulness and sacrifice be part of our lifestyle, not just in consideration, but in action, until our child receives and recognizes the habit and in turn behaves responsibly in gratefulness, and responsively to pass on and share with others even until it hurts.

Child of God, Mission and Inheritance

Child of God, Mission and Inheritance

“…in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:21-22 NASB).” 

“…but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love (Ephesians 4:15-17 NASB).” 

“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me (John 17:22-23 NASB).”

Definitions: Child - a person between birth and full growth; a son or daughter; a baby or infant; a human fetus.

Mission - an operational task, usually assigned by a higher headquarters; an operation designed to carry out the goals of a specific program

Inheritance - To take or receive (property, a right, a title, etc.) by succession or will, as an heir; to receive (a genetic character) by the transmission of hereditary factors; to succeed (a person) as heir; to receive as one's portion; come into possession of. To take or receive property or the like by virtue of being heir to it; to receive qualities, powers, duties, etc., as by inheritance (followed by from); to have succession as heir (Dictionary.com). 

We are children of God: God grafts us into His holy family, making us sons and co-inheritors with Christ. We are on a mission: as new creations we follow Christ in death, resurrection and ascension to heavenly life. He reconciles and mediates for us and through Him we become ministers of reconciliation to others. God qualifies us as we hear His word and obey, then we gain His perspective and keep our innate moral intuition clear of foolish reasoning. We cast every concern on God until we are left with pure abundant and unhindered life; we cast down sin, worldly desires and pharisaical leaven that lead to death. We strengthen ourselves by adding excellence, knowledge and self control to our faith, then God builds on that momentum through personal ministry and refinement until we effectively reflect His image in godliness. Then we use our strength in faith and our devine inner deposit to boldly minister to others through brotherly kindness, truth and love. We aim toward sharing in divine inheritance: after the newly redeemed choose to have trust in Christ, by God's grace in discipleship we connect our strengths to their weaknesses and encourage them to cast their cares to God and allow Him to minister to them and bring renewed life to the journey that adds to their faith. Once strengthened in character and belief we connect our strengths to their strengths and begin to build the corporate identity in Christ. Bearing God’s image and Love, cultivating His kingdom to advance His glory on earth and dwelling with Him eternally was always the creation plan and by means of reconciliation through Christ it is still the plan. We are children of God, on a mission and His inheritance is at hand.

Prayers: We surrender our child to You and Your will, and thank You for Your help and blessings. We know Your creation plan and promise. Our goals are to portray Your glory, discuss Your sovereignty firmly and frequently and express the importance of seeking first Your kingdom and righteousness to see them advance in and from our lives. We add to our faith excellence, knowledge and self control to be like You and show Your true glory, kindness and love. Your grace to us through our faith is amazing and complete, but we never want to let our faith make excuses for lack of excellence, ignorance, poor self control or any misrepresentation of You. We submit ourselves to Your ministry and mission and ask that our child be inspired by us or by other strong believers to do the same.

Appearance

Appearance

"Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7 NASB)."

Definition: The state, condition, manner, or style in which a person or object appears; outward look or aspect.

Caring for ourselves physically and grooming ourselves is only important to man. Bearing this in mind, we should view appearance in perspective to what is most important. Outside of necessary hygiene, every adornment and display or makeup of our physical bodies is strictly physical and so appeals only to physical people; but the LORD looks at the heart - and He is looking for a heart that is completely His. Occasionally primping will gain us favor on Earth: with future bosses, future mates, even gaining credibility as a leader, but God looks past these things and grants favor to us based on our internal display of things like devotion, integrity and true surrender. Things are not always as they appear, God only knows, but let's endeavor to be consistent inside and out.

Prayers: We pray our child will have the proper perspective on appearance, always knowing what matters most to You.

We pray good habits in cleanliness will arise, but any worry or obsession of looks will subside. We need Your help to offer a proper balance and support of appearance since we are far out of plumb ourselves.

Thank You for Your mercy to move beyond fear and worry and thank You for Your grace to be strong and capably aware of all that concerns You. Your help is most welcomed and desired, we cherish Your guidance and long to be more like You for the sake of our child.

Child, Parent, Grandparent

Child, Parent, Grandparent

“The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob (Acts 3:13a).”

"AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS (Acts 2:17 NASB);"

Definitions: Child: A person between birth and full growth; a boy or girl; a son or daughter; a baby or infant; a human fetus.
Parent: A father or a mother; an ancestor, precursor, or progenitor; a protector or guardian.
Grandparent: A paent of a parent (dictionary.com).

We each have a general assortment of familial connectivity: blood lines, inheritances, family traits and appearances. Each generation has a specially designed offering for a full family pursuit of God’s work with advancing, enhancing, connecting in Him and connecting together as His complete "workmanship"(Ephesian 2:10).

Prayers: In the name of Jesus may any lines of depravity, destruction and death in our family be broken. We pray Your holiness, healing and abundant life will flow through our family instead.
Thank You for blessing us with life and peace; we ask that they persevere over any plan to depress or isolate our child from Your given way and destiny.
We surrender our child to You and Your will, and thank You for Your help and blessing.