A Living SacrificeSample

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:1-2 ESV

My brothers and sisters in Christ, I am assuming that you have taken the first step of faith in confessing with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, and you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. If so, according to Romans 10:9, you are saved. Our gracious heavenly Father does not want you condemned to eternal punishment, but He sent Jesus to be the sacrifice for our sins. And Jesus told His disciples that He was going to heaven to prepare a place for them and us who believe. He also said He would not leave them alone, but would be sending His Holy Spirit to be our Guide, our Helper, our Counselor, our Advocate.

The story did not end with Jesus’ sacrifice. It was just the beginning. Jesus wants us to continue His work by living a life of sacrifice, just like Him. How did Jesus, this Holy Son of God, tolerate living in this sin-stained world. He had to have felt like a fish out of water. This was not His home. Yet He lived like a man on a mission, laser-focused. Scripture describes Him as having his “face set like flint” (Isaiah 50:7 NIV) toward His mission to love the world, to teach the world, to model for the world and to die for the world.

Guess what! We too, as Christ-followers, have a mission. The mission is to look like Christ and act like Christ and help others do the same. For the next 30 days, we will use Romans as our guide, starting in Chapter 12. Paul understood the difference between being a pagan, or a religious zealot or being one who lives like Christ did.

Years ago, someone told me that if you do something 15 times in a row, it becomes a habit. You get an opportunity to do something 30 days in a row. My prayer is that God’s Word would transform you and give you a hunger for more and more of His holy nourishment. And that you may learn Christ’s secret of becoming a living sacrifice.