Here’s a follow up devo to go along with yesterday’s study in Luke 9:18-27: Let’s see here: go to church (sometimes) and be a pretty good person (most of the time) and try not to hurt others (as long as they don’t hurt me) ORRRR give all of my life completely to live for Jesus and strive to think, speak and act like Him? I wonder which way best describes what it means to be a Christian? Give the Lord part of my life or give the Lord all of my life? Hmmm – that’s a tough one.
Actually, it’s not hard to figure out – it’s hard to live out. We know better. Romans 12:1 says we should offer up our lives as living sacrifices. Luke 9:23 says we should take up our cross daily. Christians are spiritual priests and priestesses. The difference between Jewish priests in the old covenant and you and me as priests and priestesses in the new covenant is that our offering is not an animal; rather, we offer up our very lives every day from here to heaven. Every day we pledge to live for Jesus. Oh, we make a little bit of a mess with those daily offerings; therefore, we keep repenting and hitting the reset button. We no longer live for ourselves but for Him who died and rose again on our behalf (II Corinthians 5:15). Our desire and our Christian commitment is to make every thought, word and deed please the Lord (Colossians 1:10). And, even though we fall short it does not mean we fail. When we fall short, the blood of Jesus continues to wash away our sins; additionally, Jesus is pleased with our faithful heart to live for Him as Lord of our lives.
You would think that living for Jesus every moment of every day would make for a miserable life; however, the opposite is true, because living for Jesus results in joy. You know JOY: J-Jesus first, O-Others second, and Y-Yourself last.
Read Romans 12:1-2 and I Pet. 2:1-10 and then listen to Take It All by Third Day. Then be a devoted priest/priestess today 🙂.
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
1 Peter 2:1-10
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by people, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture:
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone,
And the one who believes in Him will not be put to shame.”
This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for unbelievers,
“A stone which the builders rejected,
This became the chief cornerstone,”
and,
“A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”;
for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this they were also appointed.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.