“Offer To God A Sacrifice Of Praise!”

“Offer To God A Sacrifice Of Praise!”(Heb.13:12-16).
In a conversation at a death celebration, an elder made a joke which for me is more than a joke. The conversation took us to ancestral curses. The elder said the remedy for curses is now available in pharmacies. Sounds funny, right? But beyond the fun, can you see why there is so much disrespect of elders by the young generation?
If there is a cure for curses, there is no reason to respect and revere those elders who may lay a curse on you! Late Prof. Bolaji Idowu, one of the pioneering advocates of African theology expressed the same kind of worry. He said in the past people feared the wrath of Olodumarè, the Supreme deity of the Yorubas and his messengers, the gods. But then, the Yorubas have been introduced to a God who is so ready to forgive even more than men sin. This has created a generation of people who no longer fear the wrath of the Olodumarè and the gods.
A cure for curses in the pharmacy may not be a new teaching. Jesus Christ has been a cure for sin for centuries. The high priest of Judaism use to carry “the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp”(Heb.13:11, Cf. Lev.4:12).
In the same way Jesus suffered and died outside Jerusalem city to make us holy. He is not sold in pharmacies and his cost is inexpensive. Meeting him outside the camp and bearing the disgrace he bore is the token price to pay.
The Lord Jesus Christ bore shame and disgrace outside the city gate for our sake. That was undeserved public humiliation! But he accepted it for our sake. “Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.” After all, “we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.”
Indeed; people build cities, but the cities do not endure. Great cities of ancient civilisations have perished! Besides, the great architects of cities do not endure. Everything in this world is temporary!
“We are looking for the city that is to come.” While we are still looking, we have a prescription for this brief interlude called “Life”: “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
Weekend prayer: LORD, help me to coninually offer to you a sacrifice of praise, to do good and to share with others. Amen!
Have a blessed weekend! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.