SUNDAY November 7, 2021

A Living Sacrifice

...at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
Hebrews 9:26-28

When Jesus came into the world, He willingly gave Himself as an offering for sin. It cost Him everything––it cost Him His life. I do not think we consider this great sacrifice often enough. His blood on the Cross was the high price of our salvation. God gave us His Only Begotten Son.

...knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Peter 1:18-19).

With this thought in mind, the apostle Paul gives to us the basis for our reasonable service to God. The sacrifice is not monetary; it is a self-sacrifice of our own bodies in service to God’s acceptable will:

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 (Romans 12:1-2).

God desires your heart, mind, eyes, ears, and feet! He can use them for His glory. To give you a clearer understanding, in the Old Testament times, a priest would go into the temple, and as a lamb was sacrificed, he would place the blood on his right thumb and touch the blood on his right ear and his right toe.

In typology, the blood on his right ear represented the consecration of the ear in hearing God’s voice. The blood on his right toe was the consecration of his feet in his walk with God. The blood on the right thumb was the consecration of doing the work of God.

Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord to thee.
~Frances Ridley Havergal~

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