Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.
Romans 12:1-2, The Passion Translation
As we work our way through this scripture, we see a massive chasm between what we call worship in our modern age versus what Paul would call worship in the biblical age. When I was a new follower of Jesus, we used to use the phrase, "Are you sold out to Jesus?" in our conversations with each other. There was this sense that we were never going to know the Lord deeply until we gave Him every part of our life. I think this captures the essence of Paul's remarks here. These are a few ways he expresses it.
Daily become a living sacrifice. When we give ourselves as a sacrifice to the Lord, there is no way we can withhold anything from Him.
Live in holiness. The word holiness simply means "that which is set apart for the Lord." The world wants us to compromise our character, integrity, and spiritual life. A surrendered disciple simply has a submitted spirit, and seeks to live closely to Him.
Live for the pleasure of God. We often forget that the purpose of our life is to bring a smile to God. He created us for His pleasure and enjoys our relationship with Him. We aim to experience the delights of His heart toward us.
Restoring worship comes when we see our whole lives as an act of worship. He is worthy of everything. The least we can do is give Him our lives.
So here is your homework for today:
Read these verses a few times and ask the Lord to speak to you about them.
Pray through the section today. Something like this: "Lord, I surrender my self to you. I want to be your sacred, living sacrifice today. Help me live in holiness, totally close to you. And let me experience the delight of your heart for me as I delight in you."
Ask yourself, "What is the Holy Spirit wanting to awaken in me this year?
Have a great day!
Love, Pastor Stuart