When The Vultures Come

The Wilderness.  It is a hard place to be. I feel like I've been wandering for a long time. I want to get out. I want to cross over to my promised land.  I feel dried up...spiritually stagnant. Luke warm. I go to church....Sunday, I went to church...the sermon's, BOTH of the them, spoke directly to me. I attempted to seek the Lord....but felt as if there were a giant stone wall in my path. I just couldn't break through. Couldn't get that release in my spirit. Today I have been listening to a podcast of a sermon by Sis. Nona Freeman.  

 She talked about putting your sacrifice on the altar...Genesis 15.  As she was preaching.. I began wondering...What is my Sacrifice? What Does God require from me?  In Genesis, Abraham put an animal sacrifice on the altar....but it didn't stop there. He had to go a little further. After he found out what was required of him, decided that he was willing, and placed his sacrifice on the altar....he had to defend it. The vultures came... they came to destroy his sacrifice. To pick it apart.  He had to beat them off of his sacrifice.  In life...The Vultures come...so often I think we see them circling and we retreat and take cover.. we abandon ship so to speak...and our sacrifice...our precious sacrifice... ends up being picked and pulled and torn apart by the vultures.

vul·ture  (vlchr) n. 1. Any of various large birds of prey of the New World family Cathartidae or of the Old World family Accipitridae, characteristically having dark plumage and a featherless head and neck and generally feeding on carrion. 2. A person of a rapacious, predatory, or profiteering nature.               [from Old French voltour, from Latin vultur; perhaps related to Latin vellere to pluck, tear]

So Many times we pray..." Lord..I give you everything.. I put my all on the altar!"  and then we walk away. Think about that for a minute. Imagine that you have your most precious belongings...and you go to the store....would you leave your belongings sitting in the buggy for anyone to just come along and take? Living here in Baton Rouge... my belongings would be snatched up in less than a heart beat. You don't. You don't walk off and leave your things. You stay by them...you protect them. Why then.. would we abandon our most precious gifts and let the vulture come pick them apart? Why? These unclean animals have no right to even touch our gifts.  But everyday we let them... We listen to the things people say and it discourages us. We believe the things that people say and it destroys us. Little by little the devil picks and picks and picks at our sacrifices... Tells us that we aren't good enough, tears at our faith, plucks at our hope, and rips at our souls. And we do nothing.  We must fight the vultures off... for they will surely come.

 1 Corinthians 15:31 : I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Now look at this definition of  Vulture:

n vulture [ˈvaltʃə]

a type of large bird of prey feeding chiefly on dead bodies.

It feeds on Dead bodies.  DEAD bodies. It feeds on our sacrifice. For we must die daily. We must daily submit to God.. we must daily crucify the flesh...and defend our sacrifice. Because the vultures will always circle and wait for the moment when we aren't alert. We must perpetually and vigilantly protect that which is sacred.  The aroma of our sacrifice ( OUR PRAISE and WORSHIP - OUR FAITH!) attracts the Vultures. They want to defile our promises....We must not let them.  We must beat them off... when they circle we must stand our ground and say "NO! NOT THIS TIME! YOU CANNOT HAVE MY SACRIFICE! IT IS FOR MY GOD, MY KING, MY SAVIOR  ALONE!" Pull yourself up by your bootstraps and Defend your Sacrifice! Defend your Offering. Defend your Joy, your Peace, Your Hope, Your Faith! I know that  The Vultures will come...but at the end of the day...They WILL leave hungry.

YOU CANNOT HAVE MY SACRIFICE!