These they laid on the breasts, and then Aaron burned the fat on the altar. (Lev. 9:20)
Expanded Passage: Leviticus 9:19-20
Going into my first year at university, there was a term that was thrown around quite a bit: the freshman fifteen. The freshman fifteen is the concept that a freshman in university can expect to gain about fifteen pounds in their first year. To be honest, I was a little scared of it. Through hard work, I actually achieved the opposite of the freshman fifteen. I lost fifteen pounds in my first semester. The reward for my work was great. I felt better about myself, and people noticed a difference when I went home for Christmas.
In the Old Testament sacrifices, they cut away the fat and burned it, offering it to the Lord. Should we not then cut away the impure intentions from our heart, offering up our sins and struggles to the Lord? This is not to say you cannot worship God if you are struggling with something. Rather, it is to say that there is freedom from those chains that hold us back from pure worship.
Jesus took the sin in our lives to the cross that we might be able to experience freedom. Jesus has already done the work; we need only to work with his power. When we begin to worship God with all that we have to give, holding nothing back, real life change can begin.
Identify an area where you need freedom, and pray for it.
Ethan Zent is a Kingswood University graduate and Wesleyan worship pastor at Follow Church in South Carolina. He enjoys exploring the great outdoors and thrifting with his wife Kellie.
© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
