Consecrated!

Consecrated!!

1 Chronicles 29:5B NIV

[5] Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”

As you read the chapter from where the verse above is taken, we see David laying a legacy of praise for Solomon. We also see the power of generational impact and legacies. David knew his time as king would soon be up, and he needed to preserve the truths he had learned and applied to his own life, and pass them on to the next generation. It is important to also apply this to myself. What am I storing up for the ones coming after you? I must be very deliberate about making an impact in the world I have been placed in, and ensure that I do this in the light of eternity. This point is very relevant as we consider that this chapter ended the book of 1 Chronicles as well as the reign of king David. The very next chapter starts with the settled reign of king Solomon. I have to keep this truth right in front of me: no matter who I am today or what I have put together or acquired, one day, there will be a changing of the guard. 

Solomon was young and inexperienced, but it did not stop God from making him king. We read of Josiah, who was 8 years old when he became king. Let no one think that s/he has time to still serve God in the future. The best time to find and serve God is today. We count in days, months and years, but God deals in encounters. He is not limited by time, space or circumstances, yet He will use the familiar to give awesome encounters of His power, grace and mercy. As many as will seek Him will get diverse experiences and encounters that will entrench their faith in Him. That is why the verse above is critical to the message for us today: God is waiting to do amazing things in our lives, but He will not force Himself on anyone, or go against the exercise of my freewill. This is why the verse above asks a question; not laying it down as a law. Surrender cannot be forced on this side of eternity. It has to come from the heart. 

Consecration is the 'act or process of officially making something holy and able to be used for religious ceremonies'. Just as David made a call to the people in the verse above, using his own personal life as an example of accountability, sacrifice and total submission to God, so does the call again go out today. What would you do for God, but even more importantly, how would you do it for God. To offer what is holy is to holy. I cannot offer what is holy from an altar that is defiled. Am I willing to consecrate yourself to God and His work? It is my relationship with God first, and then all I do for Him and His house. Would I seek to beautify His house with my endowments and gifts? Is there anything I consider so precious that I think I cannot give up? May nothing on this earth be so precious to me that it will deny me eternity with God. I am not given forever on this side of eternity. We have a time limit to do our best for God, and then we depart for our eternal home. Before that call comes, pour yourself into the place where you have been planted. God's time of favour is here.