"Our Obligations"

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High:"
(Psalms 92:1)
If I remember right, it was Cain's manner of sacrifice that caused God to be displeased, not exactly his sacrifice itself; there are actually grain sacrifices that are part of worship within the old covenant way of doing things, so it really was not the actual offering; although, if it's an offering for sin or trespass, then it needed to be a blood offering. We can debate the issue if you want, but when it comes right down to it, Cain was offering his works to God; and we know what works are to God, they are filthy rags! Works are needed to produce fruit, so it's not as if we don't want works to be part of our lives; we need works to express our love and thankfulness to the God who saved us; but our works are never meant to be a form of payment for what God has done; we could never ever pay that amount off, not in a thousand years! I want to reheat a message that I posted on years ago; can you believe it's been more than seven years; man, the time is zooming by. The message was about the parable of forgiving others, which is found in Matthew 18:21-35. If you remember the message, it contained three important lessons that we need to remember when it comes to forgiveness; the most important one of all, is the enormous dealt that we have been forgiven, one that continues to be added to, but yet is totally removed. The second lesson is that we need to forgive others, just as God has forgiven us; this is really important, especially because of the continuing dealt; which is our recurring sin and the ripple effect of our past sins. The third lesson was one of our obligations to the One who has given us freedom from the dealt; and when I say obligations, I don't mean that it is any type of repayment or compensation for what He has done; it is our duty, just as slave who is set free, but then chooses to stay with his master, we know where we belong to be, and we know what a wonderful Master we serve. We can get a better understanding of the word "good" as it appears in the verse above, if we remember these lessons; it's not just because it is what God requires, it is what is expected of us because of all that He has done...
"We have an alter from which the priests in the Tabernacle have no right to eat. Under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy be means of his own blood. So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore. For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. And don't forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God." (Hebrews 13:10-16) NLT