morning... and... evening...

And you shall say to the people, This is the offering

made by fire which you shall offer to the Lord:

two male lambs a year old without spot or blemish,

two day by day, for continual burnt offering.

One lamb you shall offer in the morning

and the other in the evening...

Numbers 28:3-4 Amp

The Lord's direction for His people... given through Moses... 

Daily... you shall offer a sacrifice...

 morning... and... evening... 

When I came across this morning and evening sacrifice in the reading through of The Journey... I didn't think much about it until... I consulted a commentary...

Every morning and evening, a lamb had to be sacrificed. The purpose of this is most important: 'Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the Lord their God...' (Ex. 29:45-46).

---The New Bible Commentary 

The time of sacrifice for the Israelites played two roles...

1. The sacrifice of blood needed to cover their sins daily... that He might continue to dwell in their presence...
2. A reminder that He is their God... and they are dependent on Him...

Today... we Believers live by faith in the once-and-for-all sacrifice of the Lamb of God... Jesus... by Whom all sins are forgiven... and through Whom we have access to God's presence 24/7...

But the reminder... that He is God... that our days are His... and we are completely dependent on Him... may require a sacrifice in our life... a reminder of His presence... grace... mercy...

And I think about sacrifice today... and what is hardest to find... to give...?

Time...

Now my way with Him... has come to a place where every morning... I give Him time... willingly... joyfully... starting may day... in His presence...

This did not always come easily... it began with discipline... effort... but it is now carved into my day...

The evening however... is a different story... my day seems to end in a blur of tasks... fading into a time of relaxing with family... and finally an unconscious state (usually in front of the television on the sofa)...

There is no evening sacrifice to the Lord in my life...

I've felt the call recently to initiate one... but it has yet to happen...

With this Word... I feel the call even more intensely... and remember the effort made for the morning sacrifice to become deeply ingrained in my life...

So this week... I choose to begin to carve out... work for... sacrifice... some time with Him... for Him... in the evening... the twilight of my day... the day He has blessed me with... and walked with me through... faithfully and full of grace...

We'll see how it goes...

May my prayer be set before you like incense;

may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

Psalm 141:2

How do you sacrifice to Him each day...?