2 CHRONICLES 24:1-25:28
ROMANS 12:1-21
PSALM 22:19-31
PROVERBS 20:8-10
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
What does it mean to offer your body as a living sacrifice to you?
I think this means so much more than we are willing to sacrifice. I think it does mean to give your body in service to God. Be willing to serve God in the church more than serve your own self-interest. And be willing to make time with him more important than anything else you make time for. Those things are hard enough but I think that it also means to sacrifice our bodies to His will. That means if we are ill, or injured and we pray for help and healing that doesn't come, then we pray Thy will be done, meaning it, and praising God because of it. It means caring for our bodies. Eating right, exercising, not overindulging in anything no matter how much we enjoy it.
Your body was created by God in His image with a plan and a purpose. When we sacrifice our bodies to His will, His plan, His purposes then we are believing that He is who He is, and that is worship. Praising is usually about what God has done in our lives and how He has made a difference to us.
But worship is all about Him and who He is. So to worship Him with our bodies then we must take ourselves out of the picture. If there is any bit of us, what we want, who we are and what we think about our bodies and how they are used, then we are not worshiping God. The better we get at offing our bodies as a living sacrifice to God then the more we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds because the pattern of this world is to think about yourself. The world says if it feels good do it. Just be you. Take care of number one (you). We are not to be conformed to this pattern. As we sacrifice our bodies to God and are transformed by the renewing of our minds that is when we are able to know God's will. We will not just hear it but know that it is His will, His good pleasing and perfect will.
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