I love my leftovers. Chinese, Thanksgiving dinner, Ribs, and Pizza are a few of my favorites. Whereas I love leftovers, I am certain that God doesn’t enjoy them. Yet, there are times when we find ourselves offering our Great King stuff we have already devoured. It is easy for us to cut corners and offer God and others “leftovers,” “just enough” and shoddy service, isn’t it?

I think we get careless and reckless in our worship and service because we begin to question and doubt his love for us, we forget that he is the great King of Universe, and we become too familiar with handling holy things.

Man, I don’t want to be like the priests and people in Malachi (1:6-14), guilty of the evil crime of offering God sacrifices that a human superior would not accept. He is insulted when we just go through the motions, or when our devotion is turned into duty.

I have decided to live in this book for the next several weeks and let Malachi’s words wash over my heart. Join me in asking the following questions of the sacrifices of your body (Romans 12:1-2), your money (Philippians 4:14-18), your praise (Hebrews 13:15), your good works (Hebrews 13:16), and your witnessing to people who are far from God:

1. Am I giving my best?

2. Am I giving to God first?

3. Is my giving to God costing me anything?

I believe God is calling me to a conscientious spirituality – one that thinks about and changes the attitude and motives of my sacrifice and one that thinks about and increases the quality and cost of my sacrifice.

What other areas of sacrifice can you add to the list? When are you most tempted to offer God leftovers? Which of the five areas above do you need to evaluate and offer God a better sacrifice?

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In John 13, Jesus showed the full extent of his love for his followers when he took off his outer clothes, wrapped a towel around his waist, and washed his disciples feet. Today, let’s push ourselves to show the full extent of our love for the people in our orbit or sphere of influence by putting on the towel and serving them in some unique and practical ways. Let’s take off the outer clothes of selfishness, pride and self-consciousness, image management and put on the towel of sacrifice and servanthood, and wash the feet of:

our spouse

our children

our friends 

our staff or team 

our co-workers

our boss 

our neighbors

or, even a perfect stranger

As take off your clothes and wash feet today, there will be a mysterious cleansing effect in your life and in the lives of the people for whom you sacrifice and serve. Who are some others we can serve? What are some practical and unique ways we can serve them?

Popularity: 24% [?]

Jackie Robinson was the first black to play major league baseball in the modern era (Moses Fleetwood Walker played 42 games in 1884). Breaking baseball’s color barrier, he faced jeering crowds in many stadiums. While playing one day in his home stadium in Brooklyn, he committed an error. The fans began to ridicule him. He stood at second base, humiliated, while fans jeered. Then, shortstop Pee Wee Reese came over and stood next to him. He put his arm around Jackie Robinson and faced the crowd. The fans grew quiet. Robinson later said: “That arm around my shoulder saved my career.”  In that moment, Pee Wee Reese was Robinson’s “ride or die.” A “ride or die” is someone in your life who will be there with you through thick and thin. They will do what they need to do to help you make it through difficult times. In short, a “ride or die” is a very close friend. King David had a“ride or die” list, and we can find that list over five chapters in 2 Samuel (15-19). David’s “ride or die” list include: Ittai, Zadok, Abiathar, Hushai, Shobi, Machir, Barzillai, and Joab. Their examples help us to see what a true “ride or die” looks like. A true “ride or die” will:

1. Pledge absolute allegiance to you, even if it means death
2. Tell you the truth about your life and decisions 
3. Love you when you have nothing else to give
4. Put you first 
5. Not let the past to ruin the friendship 
6. Accepts you, even when he/she doesn’t understand you or agree with you 
7. Will stand with you regardless of risks involved
8. Lay their lives down for you 
9. Give without being asked and they ask for nothing in return
10. Give out of love with no hidden agenda

No price is too high and no inconvenience too great for a true “ride or die.” As I look over this list of characteristics, my “ride or die” list is very short, maybe 5-7 deep. Based on these characteristics, and others you can add, prayerfully make your own “ride or die” list. Who are the people who would be on your list? Why? How can you demonstrate your appreciation for their friendship to you? Would your closest friends consider you a true “ride or die?” 

There is a “Ride and Die” who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)

Popularity: 49% [?]

Over the last several weeks I have been dying – dying to me, you see. Several weeks ago my wife left her cushy part time job at the community college to work full-time again at one of the local high schools. I was really excited at first because the extra money would allow us to implement “operation pay off the house in two years.” I was excited until she had to leave home early, stay at the school late, and burn the midnight oil to put grades in (I knew there was a catch when they said “you won’t have any extra duties.”). What does her new, stressful schedule mean for me? It means death to me. You see, I liked my cushy, part-time father job, but now I have to: make sure my kids have done their homework (right), get up earlier to feed them (eating breakfast is so over rated), make sure they have washed their faces, brushed their teeth, packed their bags, fix their lunches, drive them to school (I am praying for snow days this year), flex my schedule and cut my day short to pick them up from school, go up to the school if they get sick or forget a lunch or homework (it has all happened in the last four weeks), drop off and pick up my oldest son Tuesday and Thursday from a really cool after school science program, of which he has been part for the last three years, and make sure they have dinner in the evenings. Whew! Over the last several weeks I have been dying – dying to me, you see. I really like my personal time, but these last several weeks have taught me that dying to self means that my time must be more theirs and less mine. Dying to self is painful and many times it feels torturous. However, I am gaining new insight; dying a little means I will live, really live a lot. The living a lot part? Well, my wife is less stressed and more focused, She has spoken my love language more often (words of affirmation), the love-making has been “off the chain,” operation pay off the house is in full-effect and we are experiencing a oneness of which the Bible speaks. So, I am asking God, these days, to help me learn to die a little each day, ratify my wedding vows more and more with true sacrifice, and to thank and celebrate my wife every chance I get for having done what I am doing now, for so many years without complaining (that much). I am dying to live.

Popularity: 13% [?]