Consecrated

We don’t often hear the word “consecrate” that much in our everyday conversations. But, the word, consecrate, stood out to me in my devotions yesterday. Consecrate: to make or declare something sacred, blessed, holy, dedicated to God, devoted, anointed, set apart.

I’m still thinking about parents at the start of this new school year, so I pulled out one of my “go-to” stories. In Luke 2, we read that Jesus’ parents took Him to the temple to be “consecrated” to God. We took that seriously as the template for consecrating our children to God when they were babies. We prayed that they would be set apart by God, for God.

We usually hear “consecrate” when we’re in church or to those “religious” people studying to become pastors, priests, deacons, evangelists, nuns, etc. But Joshua told the Hebrews in Joshua 3:5 “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.” God was setting them apart as His holy people for His work that required holiness in their lives.

Consecrating/Dedicating/Christening/Baptizing is what many parents do when they take the actions of faith to give their children to God early on in their lives. It is symbolic of “Lord, we need help doing this!” “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

Last Sunday, this mama saw the fruit of her labors (both in the labor room and my laboring in prayer for him over the years). Coming from generations of preachers/pastors/ministers, we naturally assumed our son would carry on like them. But the tide didn’t turn that way. He was his own man and right from the get-go, he was an entrepreneur. We named our son, Ryan, which means “little king” and it held true for him. His business acumen and abilities has served him AND God well.

Last Sunday, he took what God had given him to a new level. I saw him “preach” for the first time. He used that word himself. God has used him to raise up successful businesses and has been financially blessed. With that background, he is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for their church, City Reach in Austin. The church is in a 4-week new series called “Faith, Family, Finance and Future”. They asked Ryan to “preach” about “Finance”. And, oh my soul, he did. I was beaming with pride and joy as this man “preached” about the gifts of God in his life because it is his serving God and blessing the Kingdom of God financially that put the icing on the cake of his life and blessings.

I thought about how two young kids at 18 and 19 “consecrated” this baby boy to God way back when. An old “consecration” song by Fannie Crosby came to mind and this is the verse we prayed over our lives and our children’s lives:
“Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord. By the power of grace divine; Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, And my will be lost in thine.”

What if that were the prayer we prayed, not just for ourselves, but for our families, our marriages, our children, and our businesses? “Lord, I ask you to “consecrate” (set apart, make holy, bless, make sacred) my family, my children, my business, my marriage.” That prayer means stepping away from things and actions that are outside of a “consecrated” life, like the way we manage our personal funds, the way we treat our husband or wife; the way we use our time and talents. Consecrating our families means building homes of integrity and honor that will build a legacy; giving God priority in decision making; making God CENTER of everything.

We live in a world when it’s often difficult to distinguish whose side we’re on, but when we take Joshua’s words seriously, then no question whose side we’re on. We’ve been consecrated and we’re on the Lord’s side. “Choose you this day who you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” Joshua 24:14,15

Ryan “preached” this message on “finances” in a way like you’ve never heard before. I know it will encourage you!