A Holy Living Sacrifice
Jesus gave His life on the Cross because He wanted to have a relationship with me. Think about that for a minute! God became a man, so He, as the Perfect God/Man, could give His life by shedding His blood for me. My sin was standing in the way of having a love relationship with Him, so He removed that obstacle through His death. The other part of the equation was my repentance and faith in Him as my Lord. The Bible is clear. God doesn't forgive sin without repentance and without the shedding of blood. Jesus did His part. Once I turned away from my sin and doing things my way, and gave my life to Him in faith, we could have that most wonderful relationship. That happened when I was 14 years old, and I can't thank Jesus enough for His love and His work to bring about our relationship. It is not because of anything I have done. I was just giving up my way and trusting Him. He did all of the work of saving.
Once I became His child, I became aware of how to grow our relationship.(Romans 12:1-2) Just the way He gave His all for me, He called on me to give all of me to him. He was the Perfect Sacrifice, who died for me. He called me to be a "living sacrifice." In fact, He desired a holy, living sacrifice. He wanted my best, my all, my body and every part of my being presented clean and pure to Him for His use. Holy is to be set apart to the Lord and set apart from sin. It is to be dedicated to His use and not used for the sinful things of life. That is the only way a sacrifice is accepted. It must be clean and without defect. I can't be perfect like He was, but I can be clean and without known sin. Then, we can have an intimate relationship with no obstacles in the way.
Some people are not having a relationship with Jesus, because they will not turn away from their way and trust Him as Lord. They want to control their own life, and they rebel against God owning them. However, many believers fail to have a close relationship with Jesus, because they refuse to be holy. They allow their pet sins to separate them from the Lord who loves them enough to die for them. They choose to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, instead of enjoying the full favor of the Lord. Real life begins when we crawl up on the altar, having confessed and forsaken our sins, so we can be a holy, living sacrifice for the use of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joel 3 and Amos 1-2.
Once I became His child, I became aware of how to grow our relationship.(Romans 12:1-2) Just the way He gave His all for me, He called on me to give all of me to him. He was the Perfect Sacrifice, who died for me. He called me to be a "living sacrifice." In fact, He desired a holy, living sacrifice. He wanted my best, my all, my body and every part of my being presented clean and pure to Him for His use. Holy is to be set apart to the Lord and set apart from sin. It is to be dedicated to His use and not used for the sinful things of life. That is the only way a sacrifice is accepted. It must be clean and without defect. I can't be perfect like He was, but I can be clean and without known sin. Then, we can have an intimate relationship with no obstacles in the way.
Some people are not having a relationship with Jesus, because they will not turn away from their way and trust Him as Lord. They want to control their own life, and they rebel against God owning them. However, many believers fail to have a close relationship with Jesus, because they refuse to be holy. They allow their pet sins to separate them from the Lord who loves them enough to die for them. They choose to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, instead of enjoying the full favor of the Lord. Real life begins when we crawl up on the altar, having confessed and forsaken our sins, so we can be a holy, living sacrifice for the use of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joel 3 and Amos 1-2.