Present Your Bodies

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. (Romans 12:1)

We need not become experts in religion or ministry, but in exclusivity –- that is, taking ourselves back from the world and from ourselves, that we might be able to offer our lives to God exclusively, which is the only reasonable thing for us to do. Therefore, we must first deny ourselves and lay down our rights before we have anything to offer the Lord at all. Truth is, most Christians have so little to give, for our hearts and our time are divided and parceled out to a myriad of folks, causes, activities, affinities, and the like. And even so, we convince ourselves that we are living for God. Help us, Lord!

God has called us to live consecrated lives. A consecrated life is not an isolated life or a petted life; but a life set apart for the Lord's purpose only. The Holy Spirit has been given to us to teach us the focus and discipline that makes us useful and pleasing to the Father. He is bringing us into the full measure and stature of sonship, where we bear a remarkable likeness to Christ, not the world. Each day, we are to present God the lives Jesus came and died for -- lives that are no longer ours, but His! The Lord doesn't want anything from us; He wants everything!

Let's Pray - Father God, I take my life back from myself and offer it to You once again. I am willing to lose my life and gain eternal life, and to serve You without reserve. That is what any reasonable saint will do. In Jesus, Amen.