DAY 8: Offer yourselves to God
Reading: Romans 11:33-12:8
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
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. 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.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
We continue the theme of our relationship with God. Without a
relationship with God, all that we do is worthless. As followers of Jesus
we will come to an understanding of who we are in Christ. In doing
so, we will recognise God for who He is, a generous God, whose ways
are so far above ours. A relationship with God is not good unless we
are transformed people, so in the words of John Stott ‘duty is linked
with devotion and belief with behaviour.’
Paul calls on his readers to offer themselves as living sacrifices. In a
world where they would have seen animals being sacrificed on a daily
basis they would have known something of what this might mean. As
we offer ourselves to God, our whole life becomes worship; we become
renewed and shaped into the image of God, no longer conforming to
the pressures that the world puts upon us. God’s values shape every
aspect of our lives, not just an attitude to money but to the whole of
our lives including how we live in relationship with those around us.
Instead of being squeezed into the world’s mould, let us become Christ
shaped in all we do.
For Further Reading: Philippians 4:4-9 - Paul's practical advice on being holy.
To Ponder: What things in your life are shaped by worldly pressures rather
than the will of God? How might you change this?
To Pray: Come Holy Spirit and fill me with a desire to offer myself as a
living sacrifice, that transformed I may no longer be squeezed
into the ways of the world and instead be conformed to the will
of God. Amen.
‘offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is
your true and proper worship.’ v12:1
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
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. 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.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
We continue the theme of our relationship with God. Without a
relationship with God, all that we do is worthless. As followers of Jesus
we will come to an understanding of who we are in Christ. In doing
so, we will recognise God for who He is, a generous God, whose ways
are so far above ours. A relationship with God is not good unless we
are transformed people, so in the words of John Stott ‘duty is linked
with devotion and belief with behaviour.’
Paul calls on his readers to offer themselves as living sacrifices. In a
world where they would have seen animals being sacrificed on a daily
basis they would have known something of what this might mean. As
we offer ourselves to God, our whole life becomes worship; we become
renewed and shaped into the image of God, no longer conforming to
the pressures that the world puts upon us. God’s values shape every
aspect of our lives, not just an attitude to money but to the whole of
our lives including how we live in relationship with those around us.
Instead of being squeezed into the world’s mould, let us become Christ
shaped in all we do.
For Further Reading: Philippians 4:4-9 - Paul's practical advice on being holy.
To Ponder: What things in your life are shaped by worldly pressures rather
than the will of God? How might you change this?
To Pray: Come Holy Spirit and fill me with a desire to offer myself as a
living sacrifice, that transformed I may no longer be squeezed
into the ways of the world and instead be conformed to the will
of God. Amen.
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