As we read the Scriptures we find that God commanded His people to present an offering by fire unto Him continually. He spoke to Moses, saying: "Command the sons of Israel and say to them, 'You shall be careful to present My offering, My food for My offerings by fire, of a soothing aroma to Me, at their appointed time.' And you shall say to them, 'This is the offering by fire which you shall offer to the Lord; two male lambs one year old without defect as a continual burnt offering every day. You shall offer the one lamb in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil. It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained in Mount Sinai as a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. Then the libation with it shall be a fourth of a hin for each lamb, in the holy place you shall pour out a libation of strong drink to the Lord. And the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; as the grain offering of the morning and as its libation, you shall offer it, an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord.'" (Numbers 28:1-8)

"Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out." (Leviticus 6:13)

As I read about these offerings commanded by God, I recalled the writer of Hebrews speaking to the Church: "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name." (Hebrews 13:15)

Our sacrifice is to be one of continual praise.

We are not required to sacrifice a lamb. The Father, Himself, has already provided the perfect Lamb. Our sacrifice is to be one of continual praise. It is God's will that the minds of His people be centered on Him all of the time; that we be in an attitude of praise toward Him continually. The first thought that came to me was, "I cannot possibly offer a sacrifice — a 'fire of praise' — continually and be critical of anyone, friend or foe! I cannot indulge in the 'pleasures' that come from gossiping or acting unbecomingly if I want my fire to remain burning."

"Let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. For, let him who means to love life and see good days refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. And let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and purse it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." (I Peter 3:8-12)

I may offer my sacrifice of praise in the morning, but the moment I become negative, the fire goes out! To maintain an attitude of praise, I must do whatever it takes to stay positive, not giving in to the flesh in action or attitude. I must guard what I allow into my mind. Is this hiding my head in the sand? Absolutely not. It is life! That doesn't mean that I shouldn't be aware of problems around me — mine or others — or be concerned about them, but everything is seen through an attitude of praise to Him. Is adversity going to happen? Absolutely! But in it's midst I must watch and wait for the promise — as I continually praise Him! I do not believe we are called to praise God for all things, but in all things. As we praise Him in all things, He brings us through them victoriously, and He gets the glory for the victory.

"In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you," (II Thessalonians 5:18)

"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." (Bless: barak - to praise.) (Psalm 103:1-5)

I cannot take in a steady diet of radio talk shows, or even too much of the daily news, and keep the fire burning. Staying informed of things going on around me and being consumed by them are two different things. I must protect the "fire," lest it go out! I must remember that God is still in control!

Now, as I go for my morning walk, I dwell on how good God is, on all of His mighty works and blessings. I offer up a "fire of praise" for the beautiful place He has given me to walk, for the birds that sing and the sun that shines. I praise Him for my family: for my husband who loves Him with all of his heart, for our two wonderful sons and precious daughter-in-law, and for our little puppy, Tiki. I praise Him for my church family and for giving me a post — along side them — in His Kingdom. I praise Him for the righteous family that He allowed me to be born into. To be taught righteousness from birth is truly a blessing.

It is so refreshing when I don't carry criticism and fault finding around on my back.

If I dwell on the positive, on the blessing, then I stay positive! My eye stays clear. If I dwell on the negative, I become negative and my eye is dark. This leads to depression, cynicism and hopelessness. I must look for the good in everything and in everyone. It is so refreshing when I don't carry criticism and fault finding around on my back. A critical spirit is very heavy! So what if someone treats me wrong? Jesus experienced a lot more persecution than I ever will, and still, He loved. Agape love is concerned about those who have wronged us, that they meet their potential in the Lord, not that they get "what they deserve." It does not hold a grudge or attempt to get even. It may call for some action, through proper channels, but the motive is for their good, that they become all that He has called them to be.

"Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." (I Corinthians 13:4-8a)

"Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you." (Luke 6:28)

Are we to be discerning? Yes! Are we to overlook sin? Never! But everything must be done in the spirit of agape love and praise. God gives His pattern of dealing with sin. If there is sin in the camp, there are pastors and elders called and equipped to deal with such things. He has given them wisdom and grace to do it, not you and me!

Our motive for praising Him, continually, is not so we can get something from Him. It seems that fallen human nature takes everything good and distorts it, making it self-serving and self-centered. God desires that we be like our little puppy, Tiki. She lives for us. We are to live to be in His presence, our life totally centered around Him and what He is doing. He wants us to be totally dependent upon Him, trusting Him to meet our every need.

To us, the blessing we receive from our continual fire rising to the throne, is the feeling of being clean before Him, of staying centered on Him, of trusting Him in every situation. To the Lord, our continual fire is a soothing aroma.

When we guard what we allow into our mind and what we speak with our tongue, we keep the "fire of praise" burning continually!