The Glory of the Lord in Sacrifice

2 Chronicles 6-7; Psalms. 135; Romans 4 

“When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple…When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord…”

2 Chronicles 7:1, 3

It is the glory of the Lord, his very presence, which we were created to know. The awe and fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. When we are face down in surrender and worship, we know who we are and whose we are. The illusion that we are gods and masters of our own destiny, and the illusion that we can live unaccountably for ourselves, vaporizes in the presence of a Holy God. As we offer our lives today as living sacrifices, the fire of God’s presence will both ensure our flesh and reveal God’s glory. It is our lives which are the temple of the living God, our lives which are the living sacrifices and our hearts which are the altar of sacrifice.

“Lord Jesus, to you along do I surrender worship and declare, ‘You are good and your love endures forever!’”