"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:1- 2).
As I asked the Lord about how to serve Him, about what it means to be a living sacrifice, I began to understand that we are a living sacrifice when we surrender to the 'pricks' (from Paul's, "... it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." Acts 26:14). Often as Christians, we are taught to 'surrender', but to what?? We have a fuzzy image of surrendering to 'God', but how does that translate into the moment? "...OF Him, and TROUGH Him, and TO Him are ALL things...". We need not be afraid of the moment. As we 'go' with it instead of fighting it, we are surrendering to the Lord who "...works all things together
for our good," (Romans 8:28). This is living by faith. I know it seems incredible to many, but as we learn this grace love is born. Romans 5:4 and 5, "...Tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost...". So, when we are asked to go or do whatever, we go, or do it...by faith. So many times when my husband wants me to 'hey, look at this!', or 'can you come here for a minute?' I don't want to. But, this is the very thing that the Lord calls me to do. Hard, huh? Flexible, loving, gracious, peaceable...you begin to see the fruit of the Spirit. "...It is better to obey than to sacrifice..."I Samuel 15:22. I say that because we find it easier and maybe, more 'spiritual' to sacrifice something to the Lord, than to BE the sacrifice He asks us to be.
John 5:39
"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."
No comments:
Post a Comment