I Am a Living Sacrifice

Advent & Christmas

December 21, 2023

I Am a Living Sacrifice

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Romans 12:1 (NRSV)

Read Romans 12:1-5

I believe one of the benchmark days in the life of a Christian is when we grasp the truth that the world's culture has told us a pack of lies about who God is, who we are and who our neighbor is, and that God in Christ Jesus is telling us the truth. When we come to this place, God transforms us into a new person by changing the way we think. (v.2a) In the second part of verse 2, Paul asserted that when we let God transform the way we think, we will learn to know God’s will for us, which is good and pleasing and perfect. This language is very similar to how Paul expressed God continually working in our lives in his letter to the Philippians: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13).

In verse 1, Paul is asserting a powerful truth that is both quite humbling and compelling. When the priest offered a sacrifice to God, it had to be perfect to be received by God as holy and acceptable. Because I am alive in Christ, I am welcomed into God’s sanctuary because God’s deems me as holy and acceptable as a living sacrifice.

My Takeaway: Today’s passage reminds me of Genesis 3:8, “When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden.” At that time, humankind hid in their sin and shame because they were afraid of God. Today, God deems me holy and acceptable, and I can enjoy fellowship with Him as we share in the cool evening breezes. Thanks be to Christ Jesus, who loved me and gave himself for me to make this possible.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.