Romans 12:1, “I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”

What does it look like to offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God. LIVING – it’s how you live. LIVING – it’s continual. God is not interested in this one big thing you do one time, or this great thing you do on special occasions – he’s asking for you to recognize all he has done for you and respond with your entire life.

What has God done for you? Really – think about that. Only when you know what God has really done for you, can you then respond correctly.

First, God has given you life. He is literally the only reason you’re here today. He created you in your mother’s womb, knit you together according to his design and breathed life into you. But it wasn’t a one time event – he continually breathes life into you. The very air you’re breathing right now, that’s the breath of God giving you life. If he stops, you stop. He gives you life, moment by moment, breath by breath.

God has given you blessings you don’t deserve. Goodness you never even asked for. Favor you weren’t qualified for. And promises your human mind still can’t comprehend. Everything you have is because of him. Every good and perfect gift is directly from him. Every flower you’ve ever been given – that was him. Every beautiful sunny day – him. Every summer rain shower – him. Every sweet night of rest – him. Every moment of peace – yip, him again. Everything that ever worked for you, everything that ever came together, everything that ever fell into place – it was all him.

What has God done for you? Oh my sister, he has done everything.

And then he made the impossible happen for you – he gave Jesus for you. There was such a gap between you and the laws of God that you would forever fall short of his glory, so God gave Jesus as the sacrifice for your forgiveness. His blood covers you. Throughout the old testament we read of the requirement of sacrifices to cover sin. Animals had to be slaughtered, blood had to be offered, atonement had to be bought. But Jesus’ blood covers us once and for all, making us forever good enough.

God did that for you.

A monumental day in my life was the day someone stood on my porch and asked my first name. I said, “Pamela.” They then said, “John 3:16 – For God so loved Pamela, that he gave his one and only son so that she wouldn’t perish, but she would have eternal life.” He did that for me. And if I would have been the only person in the world, he would have given Jesus just for me.

And that’s your truth too. Jesus was for you. God did that all for you.

When you know God has given you literal life, he’s given you every good thing you will ever experience in your life, and he’s saved your life and promised you an eternity in a perfect paradise with him … well, my sister, that should change the way you live this life. This awareness makes you want to offer your whole life as a living sacrifice.

Living – the way you live.

What would your life as a living sacrifice look like? To put this into very practical terms we can understand and begin using immediately, let’s look at Romans 12:1 in the MSG translation:

“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.”

This is simply living your ordinary life with the intention of honoring God. This is thinking about God in everything you do. This is a continual awareness of his provisions and his providence in the details of every day of your life.

How many of you know the intention behind the action makes a world of difference?!!!! It’s why we love our dogs so much – their intention is always pure. They love you, they’re excited to see you, they want to be with you. Our kids may be acting sweet to try and cover up what they’re feeling guilty over. Our husband – well, who knows what he may be wanting. But our dog – it’s always the same intention.

I can literally go to the grocery store for 15 minutes and when I come back home, my dog Tank acts like he hasn’t seen me for days. The sound of my footsteps walking up the stairs sends his body into full, uncontrollable shaking from excitement. He puts his ears back and smiles. He just can’t get enough of me. It’s how he lives. Not just on Saturdays. Not just when he’s hungry. Not just when he feels like it. Always.

And this is what God desires of us. A LIVING sacrifice because of what he has done for us. Every day, all the time, a genuine excitement to be in his presence, a thorough delight in his ways and works. No matter what we’re doing, no matter where we are, when we’re a living sacrifice for God, our intentions are focused on the genuine delight of him.

God, I hear you – I’ll come barreling down the hallway to you in reckless abandon. Again, envision your dog. Tank is a 130 pound yellow lab who clearly has a body image of a chihuahua. In his reckless abandon to get to me after my 15 minute departure, he will take out any obstacle in his way. I’ve seen him skid down an entire flight of stairs in an attempt to get to me faster. I’ve seen him forget he was tied to a table and drag it across the room just to welcome me back after I went to the bathroom. When I say, “Tank, you want to come outside with Mommy”, he will peel out and lose all traction he’s trying to get to me so fast.

God, I want to be with you. I want to stay close to you. I want to sit at your feet. I want to crawl up in your lap. I want to walk right beside you everywhere you go. God, whatever you’re doing, I want to do it too. I will peel out to get to you!

Again, just like our loyal dogs. They truly show us what a living sacrifice would look like in relationship. This is how we best worship God.

Romans 12:1 in TPT describes living as a holy sacrifice as “Experiencing all that delights God’s heart, and this becomes your genuine expression of worship.” Have you ever thought about what delights God’s heart?

God delights in his creation – when we experience his creation with awareness and appreciation, that is genuine worship.

Today, may you think of all God has done for you and be completely overwhelmed – and may it change the way you live the moments of this ordinary day. Ahhhhhhh, God is here – reckless abandon, ears back, go running to him to be near!!!!!!!!!!

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela