Hi y’all, I pray you are having a wonderful day and that you are learning from this devotional. Even though I have known Jesus my entire life, He still continues to amaze me. It is good to be reminded that we are living for Him and dying to ourselves daily. Open your Bibles and let’s read Romans 12:1.
Being a living sacrifice for the Lord can seem confusing at times. We are going to discuss what exactly being a living sacrifice for the Lord is and what does it look like. Let’s go back to the Old Testament. God’s people would give sacrifices to Him, these sacrifices were usually animals, and sometimes they would bring grain. The Israelites would offer these sacrifices as a way of worship and thanksgiving- they were also a way for us as atonement for our sins or for our sins to be forgiven and cleared. The animal was provided essentially took on their punishment through its death. Sacrificing the animal would symbolize the pardon of that person’s sin and their relationship with God being made right. I remember being younger and not understanding this at all. I did not understand the concept. From the beginning of time, God knew we would choose sin. So, He made a way for us to still be with Him through the sacrifice of an offering. He planned to send us Jesus the entire time.
Now, just because we no longer have to offer physical sacrifices to receive God’s grace doesn’t mean we don’t live sacrificially. We don’t need to offer animals as a sacrifice to the Lord, but our own bodies instead. What I mean by this is that we are to offer ourselves up as a spiritually death. In Mark 8:34-37, the Christian life is a life of sacrifice that involves dying to ourselves and living for the Lord. We live as living sacrifices by daily obeying the Lord and giving up our wants and desires. I know this can be difficult. We can want things that are perfectly normal such as wanting to be married, having children, having a career, etc. Have you taken a moment to think maybe, God has use for you in a different manner? He might be calling you to something different than what your heart desires. Again, I know this is difficult and we think these are bad things, so why don’t I have them? This is not for me to tell you. That is a conversation for you and God. What I can tell you is, keep the faith! Keep trusting in His plan for you. Sometimes you probably think what’s the point, and maybe even walk away, but I am telling you, even though a life as a believer can be challenging, it is WORTH IT. He is worth all of it!
Paul also teaches us in Romans that presenting ourselves as living sacrifices is our true worship. Sacrifices in the Bible were acts of repentance and thanksgiving, but also as acts of worship. Sacrifices were seen as a display of praise and worship to the one true God. In the same way, being a living sacrifice, offering ourselves up to the Lord, is an act of worship. As Christians, we live sacrificially as a means to glorify and honor the Lord. We should want to desire our thoughts, our words, and our actions to glorify Him. So now that we covered what being a living sacrifice is, let’s go over what it looks like to be a living sacrifice. In our day-to-day lives, displaying true worship is when we seek to be holy in all that we say and do. Being a living sacrifice is giving over our entire being, speaking words, and having actions that reflect and honor God. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:17, “that whatever we do, do everything in the name of Jesus and giving thanks to the Father through Christ.” Our lives should be dedicated to worshipping and glorifying God in all that we say and do.
I know this can seem impossible. We’re human, we aren’t perfect, we’re going to fall short every day, but this is where God’s grace comes in. We are going to battle sin that will pull us away from obeying the Lord. Idols will spring up in our lives. We want to honor and please the Lord, but sometimes we find ourselves in a pull between wanting to honor and worship Him or giving into want our flesh wants. Sometimes our flesh wins- this is when we ask for forgiveness and continue to move forward in our relationship with Him. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we remember and rejoice over God’s gift of salvation through Christ Jesus. We receive His mercy. Dwelling on His mercies reminds us of what we have received, what we are receiving, and what we will receive through Christ. In these moments that we fall short, the moments where kick ourselves for falling into the ways of the world, remember grace and mercy. We have it. Allow these two gifts to humble our hearts and encourage us our devotion. The more we remember and rest in God’s mercies, the more we want to worship Him with all that we are. As believers, we live worshipful lives in light of God’s merceries.
Let’s discuss what we just read. I have some questions that I want you to think about, write them down, and if you’d like to comment below, we can discuss them together!
- Read Deuteronomy 6:4-5. What does it look like to personally love God with all your heart, soul, and strength?
- What obstacles do you experience when it comes to worshipping the Lord?
- How does considering Christ’s sacrifice for you encourage you to present yourself as a living sacrifice?
Today’s verse for Lent prayer is John 3:16-17 and the prayer prompt is, “Give thanks to God for His love. Pray that God will cultivate gratitude within you for sending His Son to save you and give you eternal life.”
I hope you enjoy this study and decide to come back. Tomorrow we will discuss Pursuing Holiness. I hope you enjoy the beautiful sunset that was made by our loving Father and y’all have a wonderful night.