Author: Justin Hibbard

Justin Hibbard, a husband and father of three, is the Pastor of New Hope Chapel and the Director of Christianity is Jewish. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinoHibbs.

Living Sacrifice Day 3 – Motivated by Mercy

Justin Hibbard

When you are in a corporate worship service, what motivates you to worship? Is it the music, the lighting ambiance, the people you are with, or your feelings? Let’s be honest, sometimes those things impact our worship, and sometimes we don’t feel like worshiping at all. Sometimes we want to stand there with our hands in our pockets and say, “I’m so tired” or “I can’t wait to take that Sunday nap” or “I can’t wait for the football game.” Our emotions can lead us down some dismal roads.

That’s why worship shouldn’t be motivated by how we feel. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t use our emotions in worship. I’m saying that our emotions shouldn’t dictate when we worship. We shouldn’t wait until we’re in the right environment or have the perfect music to worship. We might be waiting our whole lives.

Paul says in Romans 12:1, “in light of God’s mercy.” In other words, the motivating factor in worship should be God’s goodness. Why? Because it never changes. If our worship depends on our emotions, well, who knows what we might feel like. If it depends on someone’s music, then the music is bound to stop or they might play the wrong note. But God’s mercy, we’re told in Lamentations 3:22-23 “never fail. They are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness.”

We began our 40 day challenge with focusing on who God is and our place in His Kingdom. That’s the important first step. Now, we are beginning to look at how we should act in our Father’s world.

Today, even right now, whether you feel like it or not, close your eyes and tell God how thankful you are for what He’s done for you. Be motivated to do this just by the very fact of what God has done for you. Tell Him how good He is. Let that be the beginning of your worship today.

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Missed a day? You can find previous devotionals here.

Living Sacrifice Day 2 – Know Your Worth

Justin Hibbard

My bank has a neat online feature that shows all my debt, all the money in savings and investments, and it spits out what’s called my net worth.  For me, looking at that number keeps me pretty humble.

What’s your worth?  How are you going to calculate that worth?  Are you going to weigh in what you look like, your personality traits, your features, your degrees, your resume, what you own?  Well, that’s how the world may determine your worth in society, but it’s certainly not how God does.  In 1 Corinthians 6:20, Paul says, “You were bought at a price.”

That price was expensive.  It cost Jesus to get you.  One life was given for another.  God gave up His best to save you from the perils of hell.  Hopefully, you are not numb to those words, even though you may have heard them a thousand times.  You are worth so much to God, and He proved it by what He did for you.  Let’s also be sure to realize that God did not do this because we had some merit worthy of salvation.  No, Romans 5:8 says, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

It isn’t prideful to understand your worth, because your worth doesn’t come from who you are, what you look like, or what you’ve done.  Your worth is found in Christ Jesus.  The day you decided to follow Christ was the day you inherited riches beyond your wildest imagination.

Today, and every morning from now on, look in the mirror and say, “I am a child of the Most High God.”  By doing this you are identifying yourself as a citizen of another world and seeing the great and awesome mercy of God that He has freely given to you. Knowing whose we are is one of the first steps we can take towards being living sacrifices.

Click here to subscribe to get the 40 Days of Living Sacrifice directly in your email.

Missed a day? You can find previous devotionals here.

Living Sacrifice Day 1 – Get to Know God

Justin Hibbard

We are beginning a journey – a challenge to be living sacrifices. Where do we start? Well, it’s quite simple, but yet extremely profound. We begin by knowing God. In these next 40 days, we are going to be examining what it means to worship, to be a worshiper, to be a living sacrifice. We ought to begin by knowing who we worship. Paul in Romans 12:1 uses the phrase “pleasing to God.” How can we know what pleases God if we don’t know who He is? This is the first step – get to know God.

When Jesus met with the Samaritan woman at the well, he told her that her people worshiped what they didn’t know. He wasn’t commending their faith; He was criticizing their lack of knowledge of God.

Sometimes we let our preconceived notions and what we think is reasonable dictate what we know about God. Don’t be satisfied by letting me tell you about who God is. Get to know Him yourself. If you haven’t made a commitment to following Jesus, do that today! That is the first step towards being a living sacrifice.

If you’ve made that commitment, then right now spend some time praying and reading Scripture.  Learn about who God is from His Word but also let the Holy Spirit speak to you.  One activity I like to do is to read Scripture (even just a few verses), pray that passage by using some of the phrases I just read to glorify and exalt God. If you don’t know what passage to begin with, let me suggest to you my favorite – Ephesians 1:3-14.  Then just spend time thinking about that passage, mulling it over in your heart and mind and letting the Holy Spirit speak to you about what it says.

Do this every morning for the next 40 days, and you’ll be creating a habit of a living sacrifice by getting to know the Lord.

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The Power of Influence

Justin Hibbard

Reflection

God’s plan for Israel was that they would get rid of everyone living in Canaan, but by the end of Joshua’s life, there remained pockets of Canaanites living among the Jewish people.  Joshua warns Israel not to get involved with them – not to intermarry or to take on their cultures and religions.  In Judges 2, we learn that Israel did exactly what Joshua and the Lord told them not to do.  Because of the people they let influence them, Israel stopped serving the Lord, lost their identity as a holy people to God, and they were never able to win on the battlefield.

In my own life, there have been times where my failure to walk with the Lord can be directly tied to the people I’ve hung around with.  It’s not to say that they are to blame for my lack of spiritual discipline, but it speaks to the power people have of influencing others.  Someone wise once said, “Show me a man’s friends, and I’ll show you his character.”  It is so important to teach our children this lesson, because friends have such a powerful influence.  We must say to them, “Choose friends that you want to emulate, because spending time with them will cause you to be like them.”  At some point, children will make decisions for themselves, and we can only hope and pray that they will adhere our counsel and choose godly friends and a path of following the Lord.

This is also a warning for us adults.  It is a reminder to be careful of the people we spend time with.  The tough part about our “grown-up lives” is that most of the time, we don’t get to choose who we spend time with.  We take jobs where we are surrounded by all sorts of people.  Some have terrible attitudes, foul mouths, licentious behavior, and they live for the drunken stupor they will experience on the weekend and complain about how miserable they feel on Monday.  We must not let their contagious behavior affect us, so therefore, we must be suited with the full armor of God.  Sometimes, we may even need to make the tough choice of leaving jobs infected with such behavior.

Let your light shine before all men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father who is in Heaven.  – Matt 5:16

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

Prayer

Ask God to help you find godly friends in your workplace.  Ask the Lord to bring people in your life who can have a godly influence on you, and who you can also encourage to walk with God.  Ask the Lord about ways you can be connected to people at church so that relationships can develop and grow stronger.  Pray for strength and wisdom in sharing about the peace you have in Christ.

As for Me and My House

Justin Hibbard

Reflection

In Joshua 24, even at the end of his life, Joshua declares, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!”  Certainly Joshua is appealing to the parents standing before him.  He is pleading with them to live lives that follow the Lord and to teach their children who God is, what He has done, and the shalom that comes from walking with God.

There are two temptations that we as parents often face.  First of all, it’s easy to fall into the mindset that “our children will learn on their own.”  Sometimes we may feel awkward about really talking to our kids about the Lord and following Him.  So, it’s easy for us to just think that they’ll pick up on little hints here and there, and that will help them in their decisions to walk with God.  Children need instruction.  They need intentional talks and activities and constant reminders about the omnipresent, loving, and awesome God we serve.  We have an awesome responsibility to teach our children about the Lord.  Whether it’s through verbal teaching, modeling prayer, devotion in our own walks, discipline, forgiveness, or love, children will begin to understand the Lord through the way we present Him and model our relationship with Him.

Secondly, there is a temptation in our day and age to rely on others to raise our children.  People send kids to Christian schools in order to get a Christian education and Sunday School and Children’s Church to learn about the Lord.  Those opportunities are great supplements, but they do not replace the instruction of godly parents.  The person who will have the most profound influence is you as a parent.  No one can teach them how to be a man or woman of God better than you.  And so it is up to us to recognize that awesome responsibility and say like Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Prayer

Take some time to praise God for your children and grandchildren (if you have them) and the children at New Hope Chapel.  Ask God to help you in teaching your children to follow the Lord.  Ask Him to reveal areas in your life where you can be a better witness.  Ask Him for the courage and the wisdom to make a home that follows the Lord.