living sacrifice

The following passage is one of my favourite pieces of scripture, it's challenges me every time I read it.

Romans 12:1-2

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God,  to present your bodies as a holy and living sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 

We are appealed to, asked, implored, to offer ourselves as a Living sacrifice. To me, that sounds pretty grim. 

A sacrifice usually involves; blood, suffering and pain. But, we don't have to die. 

We are to be a living sacrifice, Living is to be; dynamic, positive, full of life. Not dormant, distant or dead. 

The reason for this sacrifice, is to give up our own life so a better one can be lived. 

Making the definite decision that God has better ideas for our life than we do, and choosing, not just once, but each day to do what He wants of us. Giving up ourselves. 

We become an offering, which does mean that we probably have to give up certain things as we become wholly committed to a purpose not our own. That's what this sacrifice is about, committing to a purpose not our own. 

That involves a big sacrifice. 

This means we've got to give up the thoughts that we know best. We have to do as we are told!

 I don't think that sits very well with most of us. Every since we were young children we have strived for more and more independence. Yet here we are, reading the Bible and discovering that actually, that hard fought for independence needs to be given up! 

Not to just any cause though, but to the One, the One who created you, the One who Himself gave his life up for you. He did it out of perfect love. Surely He deserves our all?

The point of this sacrifice is to offer up - voluntarily, without coercion, the life we would choose to lead in order to live the life God wants us to lead. This sacrifice is not about laying life down, but having life in its fullness. To choose to put God first, not ourselves. 

It's not about living less but living more, it's not about giving up but living up. 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

It's tempting to think, when we're having a tough time - 'where IS God?', or 'if He was real He'd be doing something about....' 

It seems natural for us to question things when we do not understand what is happening. 

Paul, a guy we read about in the Bible, has a different stance. Yet, he probably has more reason than most of us to question God's motives. He gets; shut up in prison, is persecuted, suffers pain, loneliness and hunger. However, he asks a different question. Not, where is God? or what is He up to? but, 'who shall separate us from the love of God?'

The first word in that question interests me, 'who', not, 'what'. 

Could it be that when we question what is occurring in our lives, when things seem depressing, distressing and disagreeable that we are the 'who' getting in the way of the love of Christ?

If it is us questioning God, then surely it must be us, our minds that are causing the separation between us and God. It's not God's fault, inability or inaction that causes it, neither is it the situation itself.

Paul tells us that tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger and sword cannot separate us from the love of Christ! So, what does? or who can? 

I think we need to take responsibility. Now, I know that the devil works pretty hard to damage our opinion of God, and he whispers lies and deceit in our ears at any opportunity, but don't we have the right to decide what we listen to? don't we have the capacity and the authority to decide who is influencing us?

God is not distant, He loves you, His son even died to restore you and your relationship with God. That's an incredible love!

There is nothing on God's part that is wrong when things seem to go wrong, so who is it that can separate us? 

In the depressing, distressing and disagreeable times, are you diligent in your relationship with God? Do you still put Him first? Do you run to Him? do you spend time with Him? or does that go by the wayside?

Whose responsibility is it to ensure that you remain connected and not separated to the love of Christ?

It doesn't matter what is going on,  'Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture' can separate us from the love of Christ. None of these things. (Message version) 

So, next time you face a difficult situation, consider; who shall separate us from the love of God?' and let the enemy do his worst, stand firm in your relationship with God. Take responsibility and make the decision that you are not going to let the circumstances around you affect the certainty of the love of God - it's much bigger, much stronger and more enduring than anthing you are going through.

Romans 8:35-39English Standard Version (ESV)

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Reconciliation

Romans 5:10 

 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life

Enemies - this implies not just that we were not God's friends, but that we were against Him and actively fighting against him. The dictionary defines an enemy as someone who is actively opposed and hostile towards another.

So, whilst we were actively opposed to God, whilst we were hostile towards Him, He reconciled us - He restored a relationship with us. We didn't even want it or deserve it, but God did it anyway, eventhough we have been actively against Him. 

(I don't know you, but I don't know many people that would fight that hard for a relationship with me!)

Why would any of us do that? Do we work to restore our relationships? 

In life, if someone is against us, we usually either; ignore that they exist, avoid them or fight back.

These people are hard to love. 

Why would anyone act differently? 

Why did God act differently?

He didn't fight back, ignore us or avoid us. Instead, God looked for the root cause of the problem in our relationship. He found sin, and did something about it. He rectified what was in the way of us and Him so that we do not need to be enemies anymore. That cost Him.

I wonder what would happen if we did the same? If there's someone who we feel we are enemies with, instead of fighting/Ignoring/avoiding them, I wonder what difference it would make if we made an effort. If we took time to look at our relationships and see what was causing the problem and then chose to face it instead of letting it fester. It will cost, it will probably hurt and may even be difficult, but God has done this for us. Shouldn't we do the same? 

Rejoice, I say again, rejoice

Romans 5:2-3

we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings'

'we rejoice in our sufferings'

This seems to be a bit of a theme in the New Testament, and it's not just Paul that mentions it. James also says, 'Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds'.

It seems that when Paul and James amongst others were writing to encourage the churches, that their attitutde was different to ours. Nowadays we see pain, suffering and difficulty as unecessary, usually inconvenient or a punishment. 

Paul and James have a different outlook. 

In Romans, Paul lets us know that, 'we rejoice in our sufferings'. So, it is not something that he is commanding or encouraging people to do, it seems like it is their response, 'we rejoice' isn't an instruction but rather written as if it is a fact. It's not singular either, so it must of been a common attitude from those Paul was around. 

Paul alse says they, 'rejoice in hope of the glory of God'. These people, these christians, seem to celebrate the hope they have in God just as they celebrate suffering. 

These people clearly have a different response to suffering compared to us nowadays. Why is that?

Have we become so comfortable in our daily lives where, to be honest, there isn't much suffering or reliance on God required? Most of us around the world expect to eat today, to have fresh water and have a roof over our heads in some form. We are comfortable, we have come to accept and expect a degree of comfort. Suffering and hardship doesn't seem to feature too much.

Yet, these people, rejoiced in sufferings. Their lives weren't easy, they lived with the tension of whether today was the day they would be thrown in prison, mocked or beaten just for being a christian. Yet they rejoice.

In these days as christians, we may mention that they believe in God to our friends and family, even workmates, but most of us try to keep it light. We don't want to get involved in a theological debate, so we emphasise that it is 'our' faith, 'our' belief, a personal decision that we can keep to ourselves. 

I don't see those in the Bible doing the same. 

We can argue that there could be some fall out if they declare Christ and are overt in their faith. We could lose our job, fall out with friends and family. This may be true. 

But, isn't this how it was in the New Testament? 

Paul and others declared who Jesus is regardless of the fall out. The consequences for them are much harsher than the consequences we could face. For most of us, if we do share who we know God to be, it may affect our employment, it may cause some estranged relationships, but will we endure prison? will we be beaten? will we lose our lives? 

In some countries, this is still a horrifying reality, but even there, you see christians motivated by something stronger than the fear of persecution. 

The suffering and difficulties that these people, past and present go through does not affect their attitude, as this seems to be based on something other than circumstance. 

As Paul says, 'we rejoice in hope of the glory of God'. Maybe it's this that we are missing out on. We rejoice, enjoy and are satisfied in the comfort that this world offers; the stability of a good job, the comfort of a warm bed, the satisfaction of a great meal. 

But, do you realise these are all temporary? These things will not last in the age to come. Paul, and the New Testament christians have their hope in, 'the glory of God'. Not in the glory of this world. 

So, let us decide to do the same, rejoice not in the things of this world which are temporary and will fade away but rejoice in the God who has been here for eternity. He is the one that can satisfy our desires, cover our weaknesses and bring the inner peace to the turmoil of the heart. Let us set our minds on God, learn to enjoy the trials and learn from them. 

Become stronger in faith through the struggles of life because they are reasons to rejoice (even if we don't enjoy them).

Unfulfilled promises

Romans 4:17-18

It is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope,

V20; No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised

'In hope he believed against hope,' 

I love this verse. It challenges me to keep hold of the promises God has given despite the wait. I don't know about you, but I find that waiting hard. 

God has given me promises, but when they haven't been fulfilled days, weeks, months later I find it difficult to hold on. I begin to doubt. Was that really God? Was it me? It seems that I, 'waver concerning the promise of God'. 

How do I learn to hold on? 

This passage tells us that Abraham, 'grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised'. Abraham recognised the power, might and glory of God despite his waiting, despite the as yet unfulfilled promises. 

He continued to praise God. 

The Bible even says he, 'grew strong in his faith'. So, Abraham must of worked on his relationship with God. He continued to spend time with Him and got to know Him better. Abraham grew stronger in faith. To me, it seems that Abraham kept God as the main thing, not the promise God had made. Abraham trusted God. 

Abraham accepted that God was able and in charge, God should be our main focus, not the disappointments, unfulfilled desires or promises. We should spend more time recognising who God is rather than what we are still waiting for.

Abraham did not let what he was experiencing affect his trust in God wane. Abraham realised who God is and knew that God 'was able to do what he had promised'.. God hasn't changed! God is the same today for us as He was for Abraham. He can and does perform miracles.

If God has made you promises, don't let the unfulfillment of them effect your relationship with Him. He still is and will be God no matter what is going on in your life. If the promises He has made you seem ever more unlikely - imagine the glory, honour and praise you will be giving God when they do come to pass.

Grow strong in your faith do that in hope, you can believe against hope.

The power of God

Romans 1:16

I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek

The Bible isn't just a book of words, but, 'the power of God'. It's not a book of instructions/stories or advice, it's, 'the power of God'.

People often find it hard to get stuck into reading the Bible, and some find It boring or deem it irrelevant. 

Perhaps that's because we don't come at it from the right angle. 

If every time we pick up the Bible and turn its pages we recognise that God's power is contained within it, maybe we would treat our time reading it differently. Maybe with eager expectation that the power of God can change our lives, give us direction and hope. Maybe, if we realise that the Bible is truly the word of God then we would look forward to spending time curled up with a cuppa and engaging with it.

So, let's get stuck into absorbing, 'the power of God' - it might just change your life! 

In life or death

Philippians 1:21-24

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

Wow!

What faith! What selflessness!

 'to live is Christ, and to die is gain.' Paul's faith in God that meant he wasn't worried about life or death. That is amazing! 

Life can seem pretty tough at times but most people have a bit of worry/fear about dying. Yet Paul considered dying, 'gain'! 

Being willing to live or die as God sees fit is a real challenge to me, let alone considering it 'gain'. I appreciate that life with God is going to be better, but there are so many things I want to live to see.  Am I prepared to give up the hope of those things if God decides that's best?

I once knew a man that was in just that predicament, he'd been diagnosed with cancer and it wasn't looking good. Yet, he wanted to live. His greatest desire was to have grandchildren, but his children weren't quite ready for that yet so he'd need a few more years. Yet, as he prayed and sought God, he made the decision that whatever God wanted was for the best even if it meant he would not live to see the desire of his heart. The rest of his days he spent in heart-felt worship, fully committed to God despite the pain and suffering he was experiencing.

Such faith! Such selflessness!

This man has been a fantastic role model for me, and those that knew him. 

You may know someone like that too. If not, Paul can be a great role model for all of us. 

He was torn, what to choose? 

Do we want to live? Or die? Do we get to choose?  

Paul could see benefit in both - can you? Paul recognised that he didn't really have the ability to choose and he was clearly unable to decide. (- good job God doesn't leave every decision up to us right?!)

Be assured, you are alive because as Paul says, it is 'necessary' God has some purpose for you that only you can fulfil. 

You may wonder what your purpose is, or even wonder if you have one - God made you for a reason otherwise you wouldn't even be here. So, what are you alive to do? 

What about death then? 

We like to think/hope that we get to have enough time left to fulfil our dreams - but what if we don't? what if God's time line differs to yours? Like it did for our dear friend. 

If God were to choose that your time on Earth was up and He wanted you to be with Him, would you be ready? What things give you a hold on this life on Earth? And would you be prepared to selflessly give them up? 

Live like you want to die. 

Paul and Jesus did.