Thursday, May 7th
Romans 12:1
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
James 4:7
7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
The apostle Paul wrote letters urging Christians to pursue godliness instead of the ways of the world. We do that by ...
Presenting our body to God. Our total being—mind, will, physical body, personality, and emotions—is to be turned over to our heavenly Father (James 4:7). Submitting ourselves to the Lord requires both a definite decision to give Him control and a daily commitment to remain under His authority. By surrendering to Him, we position ourselves for godly living.
Becoming a living sacrifice. Jesus left heaven to dwell among us so He might reconcile us to God. He offered up His life for our sake (1 John 3:16). And as believers, we are to follow His example. Paul used the term “living sacrifice” because it’s something that is ongoing and repeated daily.
Life is full of options, and many decisions come down to a choice between God’s way and ours. Since a righteous life is characterized by a focus on God, maturing Christians increasingly sacrifice their own desires and embrace His will. Though we won’t live perfectly, our goal should be to obey the Lord. When we do, we’ll find that aiming to please Him results in greater blessing than if we followed our own preferences.
Lord, please help me to always no matter what put you first, and to never put my own desires or even worldly things above you, but that I may meet you before I meet the world, amen.