Romans 12:1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." Malachi 1:8 "And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?..."
What are we offering God today?
This verse struck me as I enter into my work exhausted. I woke up this morning with a headache and a back ache and an everything ache. I got my coffee and started the list-making in my head of everything that I needed to do. “OK, so eat breakfast, squeeze in God time, work out, lessons, more lessons, planning time, and if I have the energy at the end of the day, maybe I will stay awake long enough to do a little Bible reading.”
Does this sound familiar? And this is from a person without kids! I can’t imagine what the schedule of a working mom or dad looks like, (actually I can because I have friends who share), but today these verses struck me and I was convicted in my heart about my complaining. By dreading our day we are not giving God a worthy sacrifice. By complaining we are not worshiping in spirit and in truth with everything we do. Then what are we working for? Are we working for the treasures of this earth or are we working for a greater treasure in heaven?
Matthew 6:19-20 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
We work for God. Not just me…. Not just the Pastor. YOU! We work for God as an act of worship. So offer God your pleasing sacrifice today.
Sierra
So true Sierra.
ReplyDeleteI've always been a "glass is half full" kind of person but oh how easy it is to complain about the day, the week, my life in general. If things aren't going how I expect, I find it easy to get upset or to worry. But particularly over the last several years, God has convicted my heart to above all else, put Him first in my life and make Him the focus; no matter what's going on around me. And that means to love and serve Him, to praise Him for the good and the not so good, to love and serve others and to be thankful for the blessings in my life. God is a faithful God and he will never leave us or forsake us even in the darkest storms of our life. I thank Him everyday for the storms, as difficult as they are, for without them, I would drift back into my old habits of trying to control things myself. He has also helped me to be more mindful of others and shown me ways to love and serve them. He shows me the earthquake/tsumnami victims in Japan, the hungry, the homeless, the unemployed, members of our military who face death and hardships every day. Through others and through tragedies He reminds me that I have so much to be thankful for; I am so blessed. Some would argue I do have things to complain about but by the grace of God, I believe I am rich and blessed. God commands us to be lights in this dark world and to live our lives so that others see Christ in us and that is my prayer for all of us as lovers of Jesus.
God bless you.
Michael Steve