Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Over the past few days, I’ve been discussing the will of God and how to walk out His will daily in our lives. The Lord’s general will involves the development of our character and the ways in which we relate to Him and to our fellow man. Much of this is the same for every believer. But each of us is unique, and each has a potential life vision unlike any other. God has an individual will for every soul that belongs to Him, an individually shaped destiny which varies according to our gifting and calling and purpose in His Body.
Not every believer knows or even desires to walk fully in that vision, calling, or destiny. At times we may try to think about or shape a vision for our lives, but the scripture says that we ought to be able to test and approve what is God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will. How do we do this?
First, Paul urges that we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. What does this mean? It means that we make a conscious decision to devote our entire lives to the Lord, holding nothing back, to give ourselves to Him without reservation. The Old Testament sacrifices were animals which were totally offered to God and usually were burned on the altar in fire. Their aroma was pleasing to Him, as their flesh was consumed by the fire. As living sacrifices, we remain alive… but given over, as though we were burning on His altar. Our life is not our own, but is devoted to His purpose and pleasure. This is a conscious decision, a choice which every believer is urged to make. The Lord is then free to shape our lives, our experiences, our discipline, according to His perfect will and purposes for the best possible result.
Paul expands on this decisive act of devotion, saying we must not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. So the act of devoting our life to Him involves a decisive renunciation of the ways of thinking and the values of this present world. (Much could be said about this.) And it also involves a process of renewing our thoughts and values according to the thoughts and values of our Lord. These, then, are the conditions which the apostle gives that we may be able to test and approve what is God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will for our lives.
It’s often said that “God has a wonderful plan for your life.” To me that has always sounded a bit “robotic”, as though I were a rat who needed to find His way through the maze of some “Cosmic Scientist”. But now I know that God’s “plan” for me is anything but mechanical. Rather, it involves the profound realities of my unique individuality; things that He has placed in me and no one else, such that He can beautifully express Himself through my life, my personality, my gifts, relationships, and unique position in the world. Indeed, it is a “wonderful plan”. But in order for Him to shape this destiny, He requires my unreserved consent, my offering… of MY BODY, a LIVING SACRIFICE.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.
[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]In 1917, the Ottoman Empire controlled the city of Aqaba which seemed impregnable to any attack. Behind the city in every direction was a vast desert, and overlooking the city’s harbor were huge naval guns protecting it against any enemy attack from the sea.
Solomon wrote, “a merry heart has a continual feast!” But why does it seem like so many of us are not feasting? How do we maintain a merry heart?
A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of two hundred, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands immediately started going up.
The revivalist D.L. Moody was on vacation in England from his ministry in Chicago. At one point during his sabbatical there, a local pastor prevailed upon Moody to speak at his parish church. So D.L. went to preach the next Sunday morning. That afternoon he recorded in his journal that it was the deadest crowd he had ever seen and the only thing worse than preaching to those people was that he had promised to speak again the same night.
Yesterday, my family and I had the privilege of being among the nearly 300,000 individuals at the March for Israel event in Washington, D.C. As many in the crowd stood in solidarity with Israel, I reflected on our role as believers. In these last days, we are simply called to be watchmen on the walls.
During the Battle of Britain, the German Luftwaffe rained down about thirty-five thousand bombs upon London during nightly air raids, causing terrifying fear and tremendous destruction and mayhem in large parts of London.
Over the years I’ve often gotten emails asking “Do you think revival will ever come to the United States?, When do you think it will come?” While re-reading Charles Finney’s lectures on revival recently, I was reminded that a key aspect of world revival is revival within ourselves.