A Living SacrificeSample

"By testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2b ESV)

Once we give ourselves to Christ fully, and our eyes are opened, things in the world start looking different. It is like hitting the reset button on life. It doesn’t mean we quit our jobs and become a missionary, or leave our families and go into seclusion as a monk, but everything in our lives is fair game to be questioned. We have lived our lives so long in habitual sin and unhealthy rhythms and loving and serving the world, that this surrender of our will is a shock to the system. It will feel strange, but it’s okay.

The gracious Holy Spirit wants to teach us what is good, acceptable and perfect, and that is only found in living our lives according to God’s will. And the Holy Spirit will use different ways to teach us, but His preferred way is through God’s Word. Most of us who are just believers in Christ, and not followers, do not read the Bible. If you are like I was, I honestly thought it was just a reference or historical book to carry under my arm to church, but never really thought I could read it and understand it. As a matter of fact, when I was about 26, I remember laying on a blanket with my new wife on a beautiful spring day, and I had this idea that we could read Scripture together. The sentiment was similar to reading Shakespeare together. I remember the words fell on deaf souls because we did not understand.

However, after the "Promise Keepers" experience, I wanted to know God’s will, so I would get up early, flip my Bible open to whatever book of the Bible it fell, and I would read one chapter. I gave God 15 minutes every morning. This was an unorthodox way to read the Bible, but looking back, it is amazing how God started showing me His ways and His truth every morning through some verse. I started to understand, and it started to change the way I lived. For example, I guess I never understood that drunkenness was a sin, until I read about it with new eyes, and it penetrated my soul. I began to realize there was a new life to be found and lived.