In the movie Mr. Nobody, the main character Nemo deals with his wife’s crushing depression. At one point, she accuses him of taking better care of their car than he does of her.
What does Nemo do? The sensible thing. He pours gasoline over the car and sets it alight. From inside the house, the entire family can see the smoke of his devotion rising into the sky.
How devoted are we to Christ?
Revelation 8:5 reveals the explosive power in following Christ:
“Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.”
Leviticus 16:12 tells of our intimate devotion to him:
“And [Aaron] shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil.”
Hebrews 9:3-4 shows the magnificence our devotion should reflect:
“Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the Ark of the Covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.”
Ezekiel 8:11 is our call for everyone to participate:
“And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up.”
1 Kings 7:50 describes the house of our Lord:
“The cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold; and the sockets of gold, for the doors of the innermost part of the house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple.”
Numbers 16:39 turns the things of the world into objects of worship for Christ:
“So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar.”
Leviticus 16:13 is God’s testament that he brings life, not death, unto all who come to him with a contrite heart.
“[Aaron shall] put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die.”
When we toss our most prized possessions on the altar of devotion, the smoke of our sacrifice will rise toward heaven, proof of our love for our Father above. What does God want us to sacrifice? Anything we have that takes our time away from him.
It’s total commitment that God wants from us. The rest will fall into line as a matter of course.
Copyright © 2016 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.K.04.15c.vp.esv