A living sacrifice

Are you a living sacrifice?

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.
Rom 12:2  And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think as to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith.

A living sacrifice.

Spiritual service.

Not fashioned according to this world.

Transformed by the renewing of our minds.

The grace that is given to us.

Do not think of ourselves more highly than we ought.

Think soberly.

God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith.

A sacrifice is what?

Dictionary-
1:  an act of offering to a deity something precious; especially:  the killing of a victim on an altar
2:  something offered in sacrifice
3 a :  destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else
   b :  something given up or lost
4:  loss

Pasted from  

A living sacrifice, a living offering to God. A giving up of ourselves so that God may work in us. A setting aside of ourselves.

We are given a measure of faith, we are given GRACE, and through this we CAN offer ourselves a LIVING SACRIFICE.

Why don't we believe we have to sacrifice anything in our lives? Why do we insist on being the most important thing in our own lives? Sacrifice ourselves? We can barely sacrifice anything, and most assuredly very little that is truly important to us. We tell ourselves that God understands, but what we are really saying is we don't want to give up very much of anything. We pat ourselves on the back while shouting into our conscience that others have so much more than we do. All the while we choose purposely to forget how many truly have so much less than we do. We shove that thought to the back of our mind preferring to indulge the other thought about others who have so much more.

Sacrifice.

It is so much easier to sacrifice anything other than ourselves.  How many prefer to sacrifice animals, and others but not self.

Please LORD, please help us to truly be a LIVING SACRIFICE for you, by YOUR GRACE!

OUR GOD WAS RICH and BECAME POOR for us!

2Co_8:9  For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

Imagine being the richest person in all the world and giving it ALL up so others could be rich.

Giving it ALL up, keeping none for yourself at all whatsoever, imagine it.

Our Savior- a GOD, gave up His immortality so we could have the promise of future immortality.  He gave it up!  Now before you jump in and say He did not give up His immortality, He's alive right now, remember when He became MAN, when He became FLESH, He divested Himself of His Godhood, He stripped off His immortality, He could NOT take His immortality with Him when He put on our flesh which has inherited the tendency towards sin.  He put on that flesh, our flesh. He put on the same flesh as we have and the moment He was born His flesh was subject to the same events as ours is. He could get cut and bruised, He could feel hot and cold, His flesh grew as He aged just as ours does. His flesh began to age with lines, with tiny wrinkles just as ours does when we reach our thirties. His flesh like our flesh could be nothing else if He were to redeem us.

Php 2:5  Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6  who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped,
Php 2:7  but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men
Php 2:8  and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.  (ASV)

EMPTIED HIMSELF- taking the form of a SERVANT, being made in the LIKENESS of MEN.

He EMPTIED HIMSELF! He gave EVERYTHING up to save us! He DID not know beyond a doubt that He wouldn't fail. Yes, there are plans, there are ideas, there are prophecies and they do come to pass, however things don't always unfold as WE imagine. Remember Jonah? He didn't want to go to Nineveh, but he did and he told them to repent or else. He had no way of knowing they'd repent, and yet they did and they were spared the wrath of God. If they chose NOT to repent they would NOT have been spared.  They had a choice to make. So while it was determined what would happen there were contingencies. Our Savior was TEMPTED, lest we forget!  And to be tempted you have to have the ability to give into that temptation or it's not temptation at all.  Our Savior became flesh and dwelt among us…

Joh_1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.


Heb_2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil

1Ti_3:16  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory

1Pe_3:18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit

1Pe_4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin

1Jn_4:2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God

1Jn_4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

2Jn_1:7  For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

OUR GOD BECAME FLESH.

2Co_8:9  For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

OUR GOD WAS RICH and BECAME POOR for us!

For us.

By the grace of God may we realize just what our GOD gave up for us!

Please, LORD, please help us, save us, keep us all in YOU!

Strength made perfect in weakness

2Co_12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Our Savior's grace is sufficient for all of us no matter what we are called to overcome, to live with, to work through, to accept in life.  Often we encounter awful parts of life, things that cause us to cry hysterically, to wish we were never born. Every single one of us has to face terrible things. We have to come face to face with the death of loved ones. We endure our loved ones falling ill. Tragic accidents, sick children, injured beloved pets, awful tragedies that occur to complete strangers that cut us to the quick- all of these things bring us pain . We have emotional traumas, mental breakdowns, and sometimes they occur in ways we can't imagine and yet they exist. Our tragedies might not be another's. Our tragedies some might laugh at, yet they're ours and things we pray to have taken away.

So often we pray asking God to take the tragedies away. We ask Him to heal the injured, the sick, to keep the dying from death. We ask Him to lighten our load, to ease our pain, our heartaches, our lives.  We turn to Him and seek relief and yet all too often nothing changes for all our praying. The pain remains.

What does it mean when the pain remains? Does it mean God wants us to suffer? No. Because God doesn't want anyone to suffer. He allows it because it is what the result of sin brings, but He does NOT want us to suffer. God would have us ALL one with Him. God would have us all be Children of Obedience.  God would have us all children of Love, and He is love!  Yet He allows the awfulness of life to exist because we CHOSE to disobey. We believed that our Creator was denying us something special because of His own evil, that's the lie Satan told. He said that God knew when we ate of the tree we'd be like god, right?

Gen 3:5  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

We believe God was NOT love. And we DISOBEYED.  When we disobeyed we opened the door wide for all the evil that exists today. And God, rather than destroy us a bad creation, a creation gone wrong, instead revealed TRUE LOVE in the GOSPEL of our SAVIOR, SAVED BY GRACE.

2Co_12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.


God's GRACE is sufficient in us for ALL things no matter how horrific and long lasting they may be.  ANYTHING we are called to endure is nothing in the face of ETERNITY with GOD through the SALVATION of our SAVIOR!

No, it doesn't seem like nothing at the time, it seems like EVERYTHING, all consuming and awful, but eternity with LOVE makes all things endurable through HIS POWER.

HIS GRACE is sufficient for us!
HIS STRENGTH is made perfect in our weakness!

By HIS grace we need to glory in our infirmities so our Savior's power will rest upon us!

Glory in our infirmities, so intensely hard to do, to find the hope as pain engulfs us, yet we must CLING to HIM, trust HIM, know that HE will keep us IN HIM for eternity!

Please LORD help us to glory in our infirmities! HELP US! SAVE US! ALL THROUGH YOUR LOVE!!!!!!!

Children of Disobedience

The children of disobedience have the spirit of the prince of the power of the air working in them.  Who is this prince that enables the disobedience in these people? What prince rules over disobedience and therefore over sin, over evil?

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them

The god of THIS world! This is the prince of disobedience. And the god of THIS WORLD BLINDS those who choose to be his, keeping the LIGHT of the GOSPEL of CHRIST from them!
What sort of god would keep the glorious gospel from people? What sort of god would have us kept in darkness?

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Rulers of darkness! Principalities! Powers! Spiritual wickedness! Who?

Joh 12:31  Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

This god will be CAST OUT.

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

THE DEVIL! SATAN!

Rev 12:12  Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

The devil is REAL and NOT TO BE TRIFLED with!

Reread this--


Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience

We who were under SATAN, that's YOU, that's ME!  We were DEAD in our SINS! We WALKED according to the course of THIS WORLD. We WALKED according to SATAN and all those who are NOT living redeemed under the grace through the gospel of our SAVIOR, are STILL WALKING WITH SATAN!

IT'S TRUTH!!!!!!!

Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

THIS IS US! THIS WAS US! IT IS US NO LONGER!

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

BY GRACE WE ARE SAVED!

We are saved from the prince of the air, from principalities, from the powers of darkness, from the dragon, from satan, from the devil!   We don't HAVE to succumb to the course of this WORLD which would have us die in eternal death with Satan.

You think this world has good things for you? You think this world will be changed to goodness?  No!  This world will not ever be the world that is truly idealized.

Our Savior did NOT come to bring peace to THIS world, but a SWORD.  That sword is the weapon that will defeat the prince of this world, the WORD of GOD defeats satan!

We cannot glorify satan! We cannot glorify this world and its evils!

We must glorify GOD!

By the GRACE of GOD we are SAVED through FAITH! ALL IN HIM! None in us!

Please LORD, we would be saved by YOU!

Save us, LORD and SAVIOR, save us!

Every one is given grace

Eph_4:7  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Everyone of us is given GRACE according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Gifts of God are given to people and not all of those gifts are the same. This gift, the gift of GRACE, is given to ALL of us! You may not get the gift of becoming an apostle, a teacher, a prophet and such, but you are given the gift of GRACE.

Grace, the forgiveness offered to us that we can never deserve, we can never earn.  Forgiveness for our weak flesh, our weak natures, our indulgence in sin.  Forgiveness for choosing to separate ourselves from God through sin, after we know what sin is. Forgiveness for all our short comings. Forgiveness given to us so we can be one with God once more.  Forgiveness so the breech between us and God no longer exists.

The Grace of God is ours!  The grace of God is given to us all by Christ!

We have to accept this gift.

If we don't accept this gift it isn't ours, this gift will not be forced upon any of us.

This gift of grace and forgiveness is given to us every time we seek it in truth and love.  This is a gift that is given freely.

Rom_3:24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

All in HIS amazing LOVE!

Grace in our hearts

Col_3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Imagine - the Word of Christ in us richly in ALL WISDOM.

Imagine- teaching and admonishing one another while singing with GRACE in our hearts TO THE LORD.

One of the key words here I believe is 'LET'. We have to 'let' the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom.  Christ has given us His words, His truth and it is those words and that truth that we must let dwell in us.  We aren't to use our own made up truths, we aren't to admonish and teach our own ideas. We have a curriculum, if you will, and it was given by our Savior during His ministry upon earth. He walked for three years constantly teaching. He taught those that would continue to teach others after He was gone. Our Savior gave us many, many lessons- life lessons and His words are life because He is life and He is the Word.  If we are going to become obsessive about anything in our lives let it be our Savior and His truth.  Christ would have us 'LET' His word dwell in us in all wisdom.  And we do have to allow this, because our Savior will not force His word into us.

If we allow Christ's words to teach us, to be lessons we learn and apply to our lives we are letting His word's live in us.

A person brings to life their beliefs by living them.

If you don't believe in violence, you live a non-violent life.  If you don't believe it is good to use profanity- then you do not use profanity. If you have Christ in your life, you live with Him in your life- His way is your way.

Does this mean people don't make mistakes and do things they would rather not do?  No. People make mistakes all the time. But that's just it, they recognize the mistake for what it is. People can't say they are against violence and in the next breath punch someone unrepentantly.  They can't say they are against abuse and all the while go about abusing others without any remorse.  The repentance and the remorse must be genuine, not something pretended, not something used as mere words without heart value.

Sometimes it seems we are called to endless repentance because Satan has us buffeted on every side and our weak flesh falls victim over and over again to the things we would not do. With our minds we want to desperately serve our Savior, but our flesh fights against our minds.

Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ had an infirmity in the flesh and we aren't told what that infirmity is, but we are told he prayed for it to be taken away more than once. What caused the infirmity? Do we have infirmities that tempt us to do things we would not do if we didn't have them? I have to ask these things because Paul struggled with infirmity and he struggled with the war of mind and flesh.  What was God's reply to Paul as he prayed for his infirmity to be taken away…

2Co 12:7  And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
2Co 12:8  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
2Co 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

TRUTH!

The messenger of Satan was buffeting Paul. A thorn in the flesh.

Is the messenger of Satan buffeting you? Do you have a thorn in the flesh, and by that I'm not just talking about physical thorn because our flesh nature encompasses so much more than mere physical sickness. The things you do that you don't want to do, that's is the flesh nature propelling you forward towards sin.

We have to HOLD fast as Paul held fast, trusting solely in the GRACE of our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!  

Jesus told Paul -  'MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE, FOR MY STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS.'

We MUST learn this, we must remember this!  These are the words of Christ that must dwell within us! This is the hope given to us that enables us to sing of God's glory!

Please LORD, help us to learn in our hearts the truth of YOUR GRACE and know it is sufficient for ALL of us!  That our weakness is understood and it reveals Your strength, Your perfect strength something we can only have through YOUR GRACE and not something we can manufacture on our own. If we could manufacture our own strength Paul would have been preaching for all to find their own inner strength but that wasn't what he preached at all. We need CHRIST'S strength, our own strength will fail us every time!

All in the LOVE OF OUR SAVIOR!

Hope in Heaven

Hope is laid up for you in heaven.

Hope- the word of the truth of the gospel unto us and unto all the world.

The gospel bringing forth fruit.

Knowing the grace of God in truth.

Do you need grace?  We all need grace, don't we? We do if we believe in the hope of Salvation. If we believe that life was not meant to be lived as we live it now in a sin-filled world.

Col 1:1  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,
Col 1:2  To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Col 1:3  We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
Col 1:4  Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
Col 1:5  For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
Col 1:6  Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth

People talk about searching for something more.  People go from one thing to the next continuously searching for some sort of fulfilment within themselves yet inevitably whatever new past time they find to fill the void becomes tedious and boring and they're left searching once again.  Time and time again people realize there has to be something more than there is. Others might tell them they're being foolish that this is all there is and there is nothing else and just make do. Sometimes it's easy for those who have what we like to call 'luck' to say things like that. And still others take temporal pleasures as their goal to a fulfilling life.  They hold fast to each temporary bit of happiness and claim seeking those bits of happiness is what life is all about.

Obviously I could go on and on and on, but I won't.

We have HOPE laid up in HEAVEN.  That hope is SALVATION through OUR SAVIOR. SALVATION from what?

Dictionary Definition- Salvation-

'1
a :  deliverance from the power and effects of sin
b :  the agent or means that effects salvation
c Christian Science :  the realization of the supremacy of infinite Mind over all bringing with it the destruction of the illusion of sin, sickness, and death
2
:  liberation from ignorance or illusion
3
a :  preservation from destruction or failure
b :  deliverance from danger or difficulty'

Needing deliverance- that's what salvation means.  And if we need salvation then we need delivering, right?

Do you need delivering?

Delivering from what exactly?

We need to be delivered from danger- danger from what? Satan.
We need to be delivered from the everlasting death that Satan promises to all who don't accept the salvation offered them through their Creator, their Redeemer.

Danger of death eternal, it's real. You are NOT guaranteed salvation at the end of your life, yet so many seem to think they are. Our Hope is salvation through our Savior and there is no other hope than that for us, none.  We find grace only through our Savior.

There is a movie out right now in the theaters (May 2014) called Heaven is For Real.  Yes, heaven is real, but it's not real for everyone and it's NOT real that You won't die, but simply continue to live on like so many believe today. You don't go to heaven immediately upon death. You sleep. You know nothing. You can't even praise God in death. Heaven IS real, very, very real, and by the grace of our God we will live in heaven with Christ one day, after He returns and calls us forth from our graves, or if we are still living, He calls us to meet Him in the air. This is BIBLICAL TRUTH!  I don't need anyone at all to tell me what heaven is like, I have the truth from my BIBLE. Satan loves to weave His lies so close to the truth that people are deceived, only by the grace of our LORD will we know the truth, discerning between good and evil.

My hope is found in the grace offered to me through my SAVIOR.

My SAVIOR paid my way to heaven, because He and He alone has the only currency accepted in heaven, all other is counterfeit and unacceptable.

Truly, Jesus paid it all.

In HIS LOVE!