Living Sacrifice

I was doing a study on what it truly means to be a living sacrifice. I knew about sacrifices from reading bible stories in the old testament. A sacrificial lamb would be have a perfect white coat, it would be fatty and the best in the flock. Jesus Christ was sacrificed as the Lamb of God. We are called to be living sacrifices. What does that mean? 

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2) 

Here Paul is begging us to live our lives (present our bodies) as a living sacrifice. So, our body our life is our sacrifice, we are in need of making it holy and acceptable to God. How do we do that?  

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:1-2)

We need to take out the garbage. It's time to throw away all that does not bring God glory. Jesus Christ died on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Christ died so that we might live. He saved us! We didn't do anything to earn this. Christ was given as a sacrifice in our place! In order to live as a sacrifice we need to live in the world but not of the world. We need to die to ourselves. This is an everyday decision. I found this poem as I was searching for answers.

When you are forgotten, neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don't sting or hurt with the oversight, but your heart is happy being counted worthy to suffer for Christ;

That is dying to self.

When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinion ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence;

That is dying to self.

When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any annoyance; when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus did;

That is dying to self.

When you are content with any food, and offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude, any interruption by the will of God;

That is dying to self.

When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation or record your own good works or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown;

That is dying to self.

When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met, and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy, nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and you are in desperate circumstances;

That is dying to self.

When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit, inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart;

That is dying to self.

Success

I was discussing success with my pastor last night. He ask me what my definition for success was. I started to think about how I would measure success. I told him that I would say in order to be successful you would need happiness. So, what is true happiness? I made a list of 5 things I consider important for my happiness. 

1. Make your life right with God. Where is your faith? I became a Christian when I was 12 years old. I am complete in Jesus Christ and no one else. I have found my calling and I have made the decision in my life to let God lead me. It's best thing I've ever done by far.

John 14:6 "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

2. Know who you are. Be comfortable and pleased by being yourself. One thing I have always told myself is not to change who I am for someone else. This is who I am. I love being me! You are a child of God and He loves you so much. Your lifestyle still needs to be modeled after Jesus Christ. I'm not saying anything is acceptable.

Galatians 3:26
"So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith."

3. Make the best of what you have. Whether it be your job, car, house, church, family, or school. The grass is not always greener on the other side. If you can't change things it doesn't make sense to complain about it. We spend far too much time thinking about silly things that don't matter.

Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

4.  Have a good friendship. I don't have many people I can talk to, but the few I have I can say anything to. I don't think we were supposed to go through life alone. Make a friend or thank God for the one(s) you have.

Jesus and His disciples are a great example. 

5. Don't forget we are not to worry. I don't want worry lines on my face anyway. Let go of those things you hold on to. Give your worries to Jesus Christ, He is asking for them. 1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

Philippians 4:6-7 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.(NLT)

 This is my way of living. Life isn't about being stressed all the time. Let go! Live your life for Jesus everyday!

Marriage

My thoughts on marriage. Now, I am not married, not dating and I have never been in a relationship. I have seen in my short life time (so far) a number of happy couples and not so happy couples. I don't know much about relationships but what I do know is that when it comes time to marry, I want it to be right. I was having a conversation with some friends and the marriage topic came up. My friend was talking about truly knowing your spouse. There are some people that say "I just know he (she) is the one" Ask yourself do I really know this person? Are we going to grow in this relationship and still love each other in 40 years? This is what my friend said, "If you think that person is perfect you need to look for better." You also need to make yourself a 10 on the scale using Christ to measure yourself against.

My parents have a great relationship and sometimes I ask myself, how do they make it work? I know the answer. Christ is the center of their marriage. He is their foundation. That is what keeps them together. I have been blessed to have such a great example of what a Christ centered marriage between a husband and wife looks like. Thanks Mom and Dad! My parents will celebrate their 38th wedding anniversary this year. My parents were given some word of advice as a young couple. Don't go to bed angry. Anyway, I believe perfect is out there and I want him to come straight from God.

I can't believe I'm sharing this but here goes. I believe in that fairy tale story. Finding a prince, having a perfect relationship and living happily ever after. It can happen. When I meet my special someone I want to fall in love with him more and more each day. I want to have a best friend someone I can talk to about anything. I want to have a marriage with Christ as the foundation . I want to live life and live it abundantly with the one Christ has chosen for me. Word to the wise, be sure you know the person before you get married. In my opinion marriage is forever. That's a long time! I want to be happy and I want to make someone happy. I want to fit into the plan. God's plan. I want to live each day growing in Christ with an understanding of His plan for my life and live it out!

That Warm Fuzzy Feeling

This year I made the decision to be healthy. I have started jogging and biking. I'm still trying to eat healthier. I just really love sweets! =) Anyway, about the workout. There is a paved trail just down the road from were I live. It's about 2 miles long so I can get in a 4 mile run in total. As I was jogging I could feel the presence of God. I was enjoying the fresh air, wild life, the bright sun and blue sky. I was in awe of the beauty of God's creation. When I run I listen to music it helps me to keep going! I was listening to a song I don't even remember what is was. All I remember was this fuzzy feeling. My head felt like it was leaving my shoulders and I got goose bumps. I just remember being in complete awe of the God I serve. I felt as if  everything on this earth had just faded away. It was just me and God! I loved it! I want to experience this feeling more often. My jogging time is my escape I can just be with God and think things out in my head. Sometimes I find myself lifting my hands in praise while jogging. People must think I am a weirdo. My God is so big. I don't care  what people think about me. I want them to see that I have something special and I want them to want it too.