2-20-21 Today in the Word

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | A LIVING SACRIFICE In her poem entitled “A Christmas Carol,” 19th-century author Christina Rossetti wrote: “What can I give Him, \ Poor as I am? \ If I were a shepherd \ I would bring a lamb, \ If I were a Wise Man \ I would do my part,—\ Yet what I can I give Him, \ Give my heart.” How are those without the law supposed to worship God? What kind of sacrifices should they offer? Paul’s message that Gentiles did not need to adhere to the law of Moses to be accepted by God raised a practical question. This would also have been important for Gentiles who were familiar with the sacrifices of idol worship. In verse 1, Paul describes a different kind of offering that pleases God. We are not just to offer Him our heart but our whole body. The apostle explains what this looks like in verse 2. We offer our bodies as living sacrifices when we are transformed by the truth of God’s Word. The word “therefore” links this offering to all that Paul has said in the previous chapters. Our sacrifice is a response to the grace we have received. It is not an attempt to earn or even measure up to our salvation. Although we offer ourselves to God, Paul explains that we serve one another as the body of Christ. Like the human body, where each part serves an important function and contributes to the overall wellbeing of the whole, believers should each employ their individual gifts in order to build up one another (vv. 4–8). >> Do you know what your spiritual gift might be? Understanding the way God has gifted you can help you serve the body of Christ, for “each member belongs to all the others” (v. 5). If you don’t know, begin by answering these questions: What do I enjoy doing for others? Is there some form of ministry that appeals to me? PRAY WITH US Lord, please reveal to us the gifts you have given us to serve you. Grant us opportunities to use our strengths in ministry—and give us grace in our areas of weakness. All the glory is yours!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-18-23 Rage Against Jesus And His People — The Ominous Trend Of 2022

Rage Against Jesus And His People — The Ominous Trend Of 2022 – By Hal Lindsey - https://harbingersdaily.com/rage-against-jesus-and-his-people-the-ominous-trend-of-2022/ By the end of 2022, eight billion people lived on the earth. They were besieged by a series of plagues, droughts, false prophets, war, the threat of greater war, hatred, rage, theft, and violence. The eight billion were fragmented in a variety of ways — according to their nations, level of income, race, gender, various understandings of gender and human sexuality, along with religion or the lack thereof. Change became overwhelming to most of the eight billion. For those over 40, it was almost unfathomable that by the end of 2022, not even half the students at Cambridge University identified as heterosexual. In 2022, deception ruled the day. Trust in government, educational institutions, and the news media had been largely obliterated. Trust in health officials and doctors had become severely damaged. In suc
Read more

9-17-23 Now It Is Obvious Why

Now It Is Obvious Why :: By Dennis Huebshman Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles Once again, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, “But understand this, that in the last days, there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” (ESV – all emphasis mine) Going from cover to cover in the Bible, we see many countries mentioned as being in the end-time activities. However, the once most powerful nation on earth, America, is not specifically mentioned. One would think that this country would be listed because of all it has accomplished up to now. The possibility here could be found in Genesis 12:3; “I will bless those wh
Read more

9-18-23 Power of God’s Control

Power of God’s Control – Terry James - https://terryjamesprophecyline.com/2022/12/25/power-of-gods-control/ Going back just a way in my personal history, I’ll divulge my one-time wanting more than anything to be a cape-wearing, soaring superhero. In that regard, there’s a photograph somewhere in the family archive of myself, Pappy, and David all wearing capes (towels). All three of us were about 6, I think—the age when I was saved in the Seventh Street Tabernacle Church on the corner of Seventh and Derby in Pekin, Illinois. Superman was the rage in the “funny books” (my sons mock me now for using that term for comic books). We studied the Man of Steel and wanted more than anything to fly and perform super feats of strength. Sometimes it got us in trouble –like when we jumped from places higher than were safe for mere mortals with towels affixed around necks. So Pappy, David, and I proved that human beings’ desire for supernatural powers must begin early in life. But what we
Read more