Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale Daily DevotionalSample

Painful Praise What does the Bible mean when it speaks of the "sacrifice of praise"? Sacrifice is something that hurts. The mere mention of the word sends shivers up our spine because we rightly associate "sacrifice" with a painful process. Praise is something that speaks of our joy in declaring the goodness of God. The sacrifice of praise is when we declare God's goodness when we don't feel like it. Let's say that you wake up one day, only to find out you forgot to set the alarm and you've slept in. Now you're in a rush because you know your employer is going to give you a hard time for being late. You jump in your car, only to find the ignition doesn't start because your headlights were on all night. You finally make it to your job, but you're so behind on your work that you can hardly get caught up. The day finally comes to an end, and because it's the night your church has its mid-week service, you decide to go. But in order to get there you have to fight rush-hour traffic. Now you come into the sanctuary, and the worship leader says, "Let's worship God!" Do you feel like it? Probably not, but this is where you have the chance to offer the "sacrifice of praise." We won't always want to worship. But the Bible tells us that God is "well pleased" when we offer Him praises under sacrificial conditions. These moments give us an opportunity to offer God something very valuable, and we need to remember this the next time it's painful to sing His praises. -Bob Coy Senior Pastor, Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale What does the Bible mean when it speaks of the "sacrifice of praise"? Sacrifice is something that hurts. The mere mention of the word sends shivers up our spine because we rightly associate "sacrifice" with a painful process. Praise is something that speaks of our joy in declaring the goodness of God. The sacrifice of praise is when we declare God's goodness when we don't feel like it. We won't always want to worship. But the Bible tells us that God is "well pleased" when we offer Him praises under sacrificial conditions. These moments give us an opportunity to offer God something very valuable, and we need to remember this the next time it's painful to sing His praises. Think about it... What does this passage reveal to me about God? What does this passage reveal to me about myself? Based on this, what changes do I need to make? What is my prayer for today?