Genesis 4:1-5
God is the Creator and the owner of everything. God is love and He gives us everything without sparing. God gave everything He made to people. So we have clothes to wear and food to eat all our lives by the grace of the Lord.
Those who know the grace of God cannot forget it for even a single moment. Spiritually God sanctified humans through Jesus Christ and as the evidence God sent the Holy Spirit guaranteing that we are forgiven our sin (Acts2:38; 2 Corinthians 1:20-21).
The grace can come from God only and can be given by the life of Jesus. Who can give such a great thing to humans spiritually and physically and can take care of people's life on the earth? God gave us everything and loves us. So He is worthy to receive thanks, glory and praising from us. We ought to give thanks to the Lord. That is what those who have received God's grace should do.
Cain and Abel offered sacrifices to the Lord for the grace of the Lord. Abel killed a lamb and offered it by faith for the grace of the Lord. Cain offered grains from his harvest to the Lord for the grace of the Lord. However the Lord received Abel's offering given by Abel by faith (Hebrews 11:6). God wants us to give sacrifice with faith or the sacrifice of the blood.
God is interested in the sacrifice of the blood. God put His interest in the blood of the lamb. "... and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrew 9:22)
John the prophet shouted, ""Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) God received the sacrifice with blood and regarded it as faith.
Therefore though we worship, preach and praise God and we are faithful, evangelize and are thankful to the Lord. It might become their own righteousness but it has nothing to do with the Lord. It is like the sacrifice of Cain which was offered without blood and faith. We should give an offering by faith and the grace given through Jesus Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus took up the cross to bear our sin. We should come to the Lord with thanksgiving (1 Peter 2:24).
2013.9.15
