How Much? Be Honest!

How Much? Be Honest!
by David Brenneman

A Living Sacrifice
"Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God: this is your spiritual service of worship" Romans 12:1.

    God takes great pleasure in worthy sacrifices. In the Old Testament God gave detailed instructions for how His people were to give their offerings. He declared that these brought a "pleasing aroma" to Him (Leviticus 1:13, 17). When the Israelites gave an offering to God, it was no longer their own; it belonged entirely to God. God would accept only the best that people could give. It was an affront to Almighty God to offer Him animals that were damaged or imperfect in any way. God Himself met the standard for sacrifices when He offered His own Son as the spotIess Lamb. Only the death of His perfect Son worthy enough offering to atone for the sins of mankind.
    Now, God asks us to lay down our lives on His altar as a living sacrifice. Just as it was in the Old Testament, our sacrifice once offered, cannot be reclaimed. We belong entirely to Him. We cannot make a partial sacrifice of our lives; our offering must be wholehearted.
    Therefore if you are a Christian, your life is not your own. Rather than dying, however, God asks you to live for Him as a living sacrifice.  Every day, you are to offer your life to Him for His service.  You do not serve Him in your spare time or with your leftover resources.  The way you live your life for God is your offering to Him.  Relentlessly pursue holiness so that your offering to God is unblemished and acceptable to Him (Ephesians 4:1; Philippians 1:27; 1 Thessalonians 2:12). Experiencing God Day-by-Day

We are the deceived.  If Satan's the Deceiver then it stands to figure that there must be a person whom he deceives.

We can watch a magician perform a trick of deception right in front of us and completely be baffled by how it was done. 

So it often is when we look back at our lives and wonder how it was that the things we only now concede weren't good for us came to be in our lives. 

Perhaps it's arrogant presumption.
Perhaps it's a sliver of pride.
Perhaps it was a huge amount of both.

We honestly cannot trust our own heart and need to rely on the word of the Spirit of God with regards to what needs to leave our lives.

We can think we're oh so happy with this or that in our lives.  Ok.  But do those things honor God or you?  Do these things we love take our time and resources away from growing in Christ?  Do they take us away from potential conversations with people whom the Spirit wishes for us to have?

We may not get what we want out of life.  What matters is we get out of life what is important in the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.  That we grow in our sanctification for that is the will of God for us.

These things we consume ourselves with.  Oh and I am right up there with everyone else.   I have a multi-track mind and there's some thoughts that have been churning for years going on to solve problems. 

Our lives are to be a living sacrifice unto God in Christ Jesus.  If we are praying His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven do we mean that or is it truly lip service as the Pharisees and Sadducees were giving God?

Our recreational activities that we love so much...would we be willing to put them on the altar?

Our desires in life...would those go on the altar?

Our dreams...how about those?

Our family and friends?

The stranger that the Spirit introduced us to...did we realize what came about to have that introduction happen and do we pursue it?  Do we continue to pray for these people?

We read that Jesus said to pray...beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.  Hmmm...you do realize that's you?  You're to be that new worker in His fields?

I have many dreams that Jesus, through His Spirit, has told me that they aren't a part of His plans for me.  While disappointing I must trust Him and continue on with what is His plans for me.

Our lives are to be a whole sacrifice.

We can easily try to bargain for what's enough of a sacrifice.  We can because that's human nature.  We can because that's what Cain did.  That's what the children of Israel did.  Sacrifices that weren't without blemish.  Sacrifices that weren't whole and appropriate to offer unto a Holy God.

We read of the really difficult early years of the Church.  Ananias and Saphira.  We can also lie to ourselves well enough to say we're giving God our all too. 

Pray about what you're giving to Jesus.  Pray about what you've been giving Him. 

Do you give your true devotion to something or someone in this world rather than to your training in righteousness in the Lord?  In the day we stand before Jesus the truth will come out as our lives will be tried as though by fire.  The wood, hay and stubble of our lives, the worthless things we put our value in that had nothing to do with growing in Christ, will be burned up.

A sacrifice is something that costs us something.  King David would not allow the owner of the threshing floor to give him the place for free. He said that it should cost him because of what it meant before his God.

It does cost us to let go of things in our lives in order to obey Jesus. 

It does cost us more to provide a proper sacrifice unto God.

We also can miss the point if we're not sacrificing unto the Lord with wrong motives.  Our hearts must be in it.  We should be trusting God that these sacrifices are worth it with respect to our salvation in Christ.  I have eternity to learn what would have happened with my dreams.  I am sure Jesus can show me. 

In this here this now we are to be about the Father’s business of seeking the lost of this world.  We prolong the day of the Lord coming to get us by our not doing our best in His harvest. We hasten the Lord’s return by our obedience to His calling for us in Christ Jesus.  Our disobedience delays it.

There could be someone we're to be the one to pray for or speak to who is that last person who will be saved before Jesus returns.  Ever think of that?  We could be the one who's supposed to be the one who says the right thing, does the right thing, that is what someone needs in order to be saved.

Isn't that more important than our own dreams and desires?

Is your all on the altar of your life?
Better to be honest now with you than to watch in your embarrassment before Jesus that which was your life turning to ashes because you weren't living the best life He had in mind for you.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
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