Life Offering

Romans 12:1 (MSG) "So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

When we place our lives on the altar as a sacrifice we need to realize that our life is no longer our own. Our decisions and choices must be based on God's desires and plans. 

Matthew 10:38 (MSG) “If you don’t go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don’t deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me."

We are living in a day when those who call themselves by the name of Christ (Christian) must stop playing games (thinking more about their own desires and concerns) and get serious about living for Christ (seeking him first). The world we knew even ten years ago is fading fast and the enemy is pulling out all the stops to destroy the church. 

Luke 9:62 (MSG) Jesus said, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.” 

Satan is not playing. He is out to crush anyone who gets in his way. One of his major tactics is to get us to focus on ourselves. To focus on our desires, cares, worries, concerns. To take our focus off Christ. He throws road blocks in our path in an attempt to get us to swerve to the right or the left.  

When we are driving along a mountain highway with the mountain on one side and a cliff on the other side, we stay as close to the middle of the road as possible. To run too far on either side could be deadly. If an obstacle comes along we have to make a tough choice. 

The same is true in our spiritual life. The difference is that, in our spiritual life, Jesus has already made the decision about our next step. He has already laid out the path. He gave us free will and we get to choose which way we will go, however, if we seek him first he will give us what we need to make the best choice. 

Matthew 6:30 (MSG) “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met."

Let us offer our lives daily as a offering to Christ. Yielding our desires and cares to his faithful, loving care. If he cares for flowers, we can trust that he will take care of us. Will it always be the way we want it or the way we think it should be  No!! 

Isaiah 55:8a (MSG) "I don’t think the way you think.The way you work isn’t the way I work.”

God’s Decree.“For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think."

God sees the entire tapestry of our lives. He knew each stitch, each milestone, each failure, each joy, each sorrow before we were even born. If he sees ahead and is working for our good, can't we willingly offer all we are into his capable hands today?  

Isaiah 46:10 (NLT) "Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish."

Romans 8:28 (NLT) "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."