Life can become so daily! You do something day in and day out and if you are not careful your work or quality of task begins to slip. The sad part about that is often we don't notice ourselves that the quality has begun to slip. I believe the Holy Spirit challenges us through Paul's letter to the Romans that would not happen.
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. Romans 12:1
When Joseph and Mary came to the temple to present Jesus there, the same Greek word is used that is translated here as "give." The word means to present, to place at one's disposal, to surrender, to offer as a sacrifice to God. When Jesus was presented at the temple, He was given over to the Father as a gift back to God. In return they expected the Lord to provide, protect, and oversee his life. Paul uses this same word challenging us to present ourselves to the Lord surrendering ourselves to His provision, protection, and oversight.
He is not simply requesting that Christians do this he is constantly, continually urging us to do this until the victory is won. That is the meaning behind the word he uses for "plead." It is a military term used by generals when they were exhorting the troops to fight until there is a complete victory.
Here where it gets interesting. The term "living sacrifice" is in opposition to a dead sacrifice (duh)! A dead sacrifice can only be offered up once, a living sacrifice can be offered over and over again. You might be saying, "when I came to Christ, I gave my life over to Him!" While that is true, we are in a battle with our flesh, daily. It wants what it wants. Until the day we are totally dead in Christ, we must daily offer ourselves up to Christ as a living sacrifice. We must be willing as Paul mentions, to "die daily!" If this were completed at salvation, Paul would have never urged the church in Rome to do this regularly and constantly. We don't realize how much further we have to go or how far we have fallen away if we don't daily check our flesh against His Spirit. It is easy to sneak up on us!
I have mentioned at other times, my concern for the Body of Christ is not so much with the devil because any Christian who is generally sold out to Christ will allow Christ to overcome the enemy in their lives every time. However, free will makes the flesh a very powerful adversary. Paul writes that we will find ourselves acceptable to God for his power, anointing, purpose, destiny, and use as we learn to offer ourselves up to Him on a daily basis.
You can have the power daily to be a radical, sold out, child of the King if you will but choose daily to offer yourself to Him. Watch Him provide, protect, guide, and oversee every aspect of your life. Let's change the world together. Try it for a month and see if everything changes in your life.
Simply pray..."Father, I give all that I am over to you...shape me, change me, empower me, fulfill your destiny through me today. Help me to get out of the way and allow you to be God!"
Watch and see what He will do in you and through you!
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