Living Sacrifices

What is the biggest act of sacrifice you have ever made?

Was it money you loaned a friend in need once, hundreds of hours of time given in charity or caring for a family member? Then there is to take into consideration when you did this broke and overburdened.

Human nature seems to take the concept of sacrifice very seriously. Ancient tribes sacrificed animals for centuries. Parents are willing to sacrifice for the good of their children and a bright future. Then there are the thousands of unknown sacrifices everyday by strangers for the good of their fellow neighbour.

We have all sacrificed for others to some degree, either for others or personal long term gain.  How much does a mother sacrifice to give birth and raise her children? Or the sacrifice of a father to provide for his family for decades? Proverbs 14:10 says Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy.

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.

One definition of sacrifice is surrendering a possession as an offering to a deity. It can take form in many ways, and be of great personal cost of a relationship, house, career, or moving to a new city. To the believer, whatever it may be it is unique to each person and carries a personal cost.

The theme of sacrifice is throughout scripture. The first offering in the garden was between Cain and Abel. Abraham’s radically obeyed God and willing went to sacrifice his son Isaac. Then there was Solomon’s giant offering to the building of the temple. Or Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthian church in their giving.

Then there is the example of Jesus’ life – a life of complete sacrifice for the good of others until death. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich (2 Cor 8:9).

God Himself sacrificed the most important possession He had too; His only Son Jesus Christ. Given into the hands of a sinful creation and nailed to a cross.

It is clear that God takes sacrifice very seriously. On our part it is meant to be costly and whatever is attached to our heart. Therefore sacrificing the idols of our heart can not be underestimated. For where your treasure is there your heart is also. He asks us to do only what He Himself has done first.

There are times when He will call us to give up items of great personal value to Him. A relationship, a hobby – even our life. To the flesh it will seem unfair, stupid, illogical, or senseless. It will feel unbearable, painful and even heartbreaking. But to the spirit, with eyes of eternity, it will make perfect sense.

Be sure that whatever you give up and sacrifice at the altar with God is a sweet smelling sacrifice to Him. He will honour it and it will come back to you in ways not thought possible. And it will enlarge your faith, drawing you closer to your Saviour and dependence on Him as a mature Christian.

We are called to a life of sacrifice so that we can identify with the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, the greatest sacrifice mankind will ever know. Be encouraged: God is worthy of our lives and our only response in view of His great mercy of salvation is to offer our lives to Him in every area. You will be glad that you did. 

Finishing Your Race

This is an amazing story.

During the Beijing Paralympics, 100m track blind sprinter Elizabeth Clegg competed and won silver medal. A running guide accompanied her ensuring she doesn't veer out of her lane. Her running guide, Mikhail Huggins, runs alongside her and talks to her throughout the race. 

They each hold one end of a rubber tube so he can guide her and lead her to the finish line. The rules for Paralympics who have a blind disability for track events are that the running guide must let the athlete cross the finish line first. 

'You have to be completely in synch and get the start absolutely right,' she says of the relationship she has with Mikail. 'We’re kind of a team — wherever I go, he goes.' 'To execute the run properly you need to be smooth and in time, with both the pace and the stride length correct. Mikail and I need to communicate to make sure our performance is the best it can be. 'It's a team effort, it's not just me. I'm the one that has to cross the line first, but when I get medals I want Mikail to be with me because he helps me do it.' Mikhail in response says, 'I know that I'm Libby's guide, but we come as a team – if she loses, I lose, and if she wins, we win as a team.'

Elizabeth says, 'I have to trust Mikail because I am running at full pelt [blind],' she says. 'He talks throughout the race, indicating where we are in the bend, whether I need to accelerate or hold or relax and he always tells me to put my chin back in because I tend to push it out when I run. 'He definitely has the harder job. All I have to do is run, which is the easy part. He has to talk and run.'

Does this sound familiar? Similarly the Holy Spirit is our running guide, we run within our own lane by the Word of God, and looking to Jesus as our finish line. Your running guide is strong and faithful. And when you win, God wins!

Source: http://www.elizabethclegg.co.uk

Ten Questions to Ask Yourself

2014 - The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask yourself and re-evaluate your life (taken from Don Whitney).

1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in 10 years? In eternity?

 

Source:

http://www.christianity.com/christian-life/spiritual-growth/ten-questions-to-ask-at-the-start-of-a-new-year-11643580.html?utm_source=Christian%20Living%20Connection%20-%20Christianity.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=12/31/2013

 

 

Above Reproach

Have you ever been caught in trouble and held guilty of a crime you didn’t commit?

It is a great feeling when you are vindicated of wrongdoing. A life of faultless living and the highest integrity will always stand against the harshest critics and slanderers.

Living above reproach means that your life is blameless in every area. You are one hundred per cent honest in all relationships, trustworthy in all possessions and uncompromising in character during times of adversity. This is not only limited to a public life, but private as well. Even when you are falsely accused you can stand in confidence knowing that the accusations are nothing but lies, rooted in envy and jealousy.

How many famous people in history and celebrities can you count who have this uncompromising character? Too often a life of fame can all be swept away by a shaky personal life and poor character. A life of faith and convictions the world will at times laugh and mock, but to those who live by them will still be standing with the storms of life come without warning.

Colossians 1:22 ...and above reproach…

Two words that indicate this unseen phenomenon is above reproach. The Greek word for this is “anegklētos” - a legal term used in the justice courts of ancient days. It is pertaining to one who cannot be accused of anything wrong – without accusation. Who cannot be called to account.” (Thayers Abridged). “Unreprovable” or “above reproach” is “not only free from the blemish but from the charge of it” (Vincent).

As Christians our physical life and spiritual life is impacted by this reality. Another translation of Colossians 1:22 reads ...free from accusation. Our internal state or totally purity before God and “above reproach” is alluding to the fact that no charge can possibly be brought against us.  This idea can be interpreted in several ways:

1)      We are looked upon by God above reproach
2)      We are to live lives above reproach
3)      We are free to live our lives in freedom

No scripture underscores this better than Rom 8:31-34, “ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.  Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”

As a believer, right now that is your position in Christ . It has always been your position and your reality from the instant you were saved. This is incredibly powerful.  This scripture can transform your life!

Colossians 1:22  [But] he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.

See Christ presenting you to God the Father.  His all-knowing, all seeing eyes – His searching and penetrating gaze – looking over you and within you.  His conclusion is final – you are holy, blameless and above reproach. All this is said to be accomplished in His sight (verse 22).  This speaks not of a casual glance or brief inspection but of a searching, penetrating gaze.

 
Believe today that your position before God is above reproach because of the work of the Cross Jesus paid for you to have. Let this sink deep into your heart and spirit and with steadfast faith, your life will also become your spiritual condition.

Colossians 1:19-23  For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,  and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

 

Freedom In Christ

Perhaps never before has the world faced such a time of bondage and uncertain times.

Every day in the news there are emerging stories of human trafficking, refugees, terrorism and international conflicts. Hospitals and general practitioners are full of patients dealing with depression, fear, anxiety, and addictions which are rising at an alarming rate. Looking at some of the biggest issues facing our generation today:

• Mental Health - depression affects one in five people with about ten percent of children diagnosed with a mental health problem at any one time. One in four people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year. Women are more likely to have been treated for a mental health problem than men.

• Poverty – over three billion people, live on less than US$2.50 a day and at least 80% of humanity lives on less than US$10 a day. According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty, some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.

• Suicide – one million people across the globe die by suicide each year, which equates to one suicide every forty seconds. To put it into perspective more people choose to end their life each year than murder and war combined, with an estimated five percent of people attempt suicide at least once in their life.

• Abortion – according to the World Health Organisation, every year there are an estimated 40-50 million abortions, or 125,000 abortions per day. In the US, nearly half of pregnancies are unintended and four in ten of these are terminated, over 3,000 abortions per day.

• Climate Change – the past decade was the warmest ever on record with more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today than at any point in history. In the last century alone, sea levels rose roughly seven inches after not having changed noticeably in the previous 2,000 years, with more violent and frequent droughts, storms, hurricanes and fires around the world.

It appears the world has never been more in bondage, lost, broken and hurting than at any other time in history. The 21^st century offers many technological advances, achievements in travel and higher life expectancy. However, with this the world has found new waves of unprecedented violence, internet crime, excessive materialism, poverty, homelessness, wide availability of drugs, AIDS and more that other generations did not.

Is all this a coincidence with several connections? Judges 17:6 says, In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. When society turns away from God every aspect of society breaks down. Our world has completely lost its understanding of morality and run far from the standards of God. People are desperate for total freedom in mind, body and spirit but are looking for it today in all the wrong places. 

Even as believers we can too easily live in fear, depression, addictions and bondage. Jesus mission statement was a life in abundance, but how have we at times wandered so far? Wrong thinking, unbelief and lack of repentance are several reasons. So, is there any hope in the world?  

Christ Came To Set Us Free

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free…

Luke 4:18 NIV

         The word freedom is used dozens of times throughout scripture in many contexts but predominately in the context for the human soul. The gospel’s theme is one of freedom and the release of bondage ever since the Fall of Adam. Ever since God has been in the process of restoring mankind to Himself through His Son. Jesus mission statement was to set freedom to the captives. Any person today who is captive to sin, darkness or any type of bondage, Jesus is still passionate about setting free.

         People were never created to be in prison, slavery or in any kind of bondage. Even if it is our fault or the result of our decisions, to live in any type of bondage is the greatest of all evils. This is why Christ came to set us free. Nothing is impossible with God; even saving a broken and dying world. Jesus came to save and restore every person that comes to Him willingly and desires to become all God created them to be. He is fully committed to your journey no matter how difficult or complicated your life is.

A believer who is completely liberated is rare today. The Holy Spirit’s power in our life can put everything on the inside of us back together. Hebrews 4:16 says, Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. You can always approach an understanding person and Jesus understands everything you have been through. No matter how much of a failure you think you are, God still believes in you and desires to encounter you. He does not see who you are today; He sees who you can become.

It is my firm conviction that God doesn’t discriminate based on how deeply broken you are, what addictions you battle with your personal demons. The world will judge and reject but God never will. Jesus said clearly, For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Matthew 9:13). When we come to Christ and bring all of our baggage and mess, He entangles all of our knots and puts us back on the right track. He warmly invites all people to come into His presence with their darkest secrets, to become whole, free and liberated in body, soul and spirit.  

God is a redeemer who liberates every area of our lives into the image of His Son Jesus Christ, our perfect example to follow and imitate. He has the power to use every event in our lives, the good and evil, and turn it all around for good. To become everything God created us to be, to do all that He has planned us to do. From start to finish your life is a work in progress which is predestined as a masterpiece. No sin is too deep, no addiction too powerful for the imputed grace of God and the Holy Spirit to set us free.

When we choose to walk in His ways we will get His results. Choose Christ today my friend, and He can set you free. 

With God I Can Scale a Wall...

Have you ever reflected on your life one day and wondered where things went wrong? Or evaluated how ended up where you are today and questioned what this day has got to do with your destiny?

Life can throw us many difficult challenges and problems. Many times it is easy to question if where we are now is God’s best for us. But seeing through eyes of faith and digging deeper than our feelings are telling us, we can realise that God is doing a mighty work within us. Looking back this time next year, you will be so much a bigger and better person, you might surprise yourself.

The journey of faith is one of constant change, increase, growth and resilience to our mind, soul and spirit. Therefore it can be painful but highly purposeful. Any great leader in history has experienced this which is the process in how they eventually became great.

Pain has divine purpose and a great character builder. Oh pity the man of no pain, fear or suffering for they are not really living but merely existing and will achieve nothing at the end of their days.

Psalms 18:29 With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.

David had many real life battles, fighting wars with neighbouring countries who were hostile and dangerous. They had a bounty on his head and he was a huge target to take out. But David was a man after God’s own heart and a man of great prayer. He had a close relationship and trusted God with His life at every battlefield.

God in all His sovereignty and power sees through eternity and knows everything in advance before we do. Knowing this David trusted God and after receiving a word, without s second thought, went off and did God’s strategy boldly. Each word was a different strategy and principle to apply.

Likewise it is important to never make a principle out of your experience in your journey of faith. What works one day might not the next. We need to always be keeping a soft heart hearing from God and ready to do what He speaks to us in our heart.

Obey God in the thing He shows you, and instantly the next thing is opened up. God will never reveal more truth about Himself until you have obeyed what you know already – Oswald Chambers

We will all experience suffering which shows we are human and have meaning to our lives. The context can make the suffering go away with eyes of hope. Hope is a powerful force that tells us we can survive what we are going through as we see the end of the tunnel approaching.

Yes if you want to achieve something great in life, you will have many days of what feels like overwhelmingly pain. But take heart, God is doing a mighty work within you, and with God you can scale a wall.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all (Psalms 34:19). 

Mirror Mirror On the Wall

Have you ever been caught out with food between your teeth with someone important? What about a bad hair day during a potential date or nasty pimples around your mouth with friends?

It is possibly one of the worst feelings afterwards when you see a photo taken of yourself in a group and there you are, warts and all, which could have been easily avoided with 10 seconds in the mirror!

James 1:23-24  Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it is says! Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like....

It is a simple metaphor yet so powerful. Everyone wants to look good and presentable. But just like our physical body our spiritual body also needs examining and checking out.

Look at yourself and your walk with God – is it attractive, presentable, looking good? Are you strong in the LORD and in the power of His might? Are you making disciples, encouraging those around you, inviting others to church? How about giving, serving, bearing good fruit and strong in faith?

When we fail to live the Christian life those around us notice and take note. Many people are watching us and counting on us to be strong and alive in Christ. What you do matters!

One of the most sobering scriptures is 1 John 1:6-7, if we walk in darkness we lie and fail our faith we profess. We are either walking in the light (living in victory, freedom, joy and righteousness) or living in darkness (slavery, sin, depression, addictions and failure).

2 Corinthians 13:5  Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith: test yourselves. Do you not realise that Christ Jesus is in you – unless of course you fail the test?

Don’t be a hearer of the word but a doer of the word.  Examine yourself today and rate yourself out of 10 in faith, patience, self-control, purity, joy, your walk with God and how it is impacting your relationships.

If there is sin or dirt in your life clean it off and give your soul a good wash! Go to the throne of grace and get on your hands and feet before Him. Repent and turn towards God with a new heart desiring righteousness. His ways are higher, better and greater than our ways...every time.

But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does (James 1:25).