Living Sacrifice

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not 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)

Being a living sacrifice is often not easy, or pleasant. It represents an attitude of self-denial, self-sacrifice, self-crucifixion of the whole person. But remember the problem with living sacrifices is…they want to crawl off the altar.

The living sacrifice that is acceptable to God is that which is “well approved, eminently satisfactory, or extra-ordinarily pleasing” to Him. The living sacrifice does not consist of outward forms, merely external or material, but a holy, well-pleasing, rational, agreeable to reason, sacred service.

Is the living sacrifice worth the cost? Rev. James Montgomery Boice (Pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church since 1968, when home to be with our Lord on June 16, 2000) observed, “If we determine to walk in God’s way, refusing to be conformed to the world, and being transformed instead by the renewing of our minds we will not have to fear that all the end of our lives we will look back and be dissatisfied or bitter, judging our lives to have been an utter waste. On the contrary we will look back and conclude that our lives were well lived and be satisfied with them.”

As you consider your sacrifice, remember…only spiritual things will last through eternity, everything else will burn up (Matt. 24:35). Whoever “does the will of God will live forever” (1 Jn. 2:17). Jim Elliott (killed in Ecuador) said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim gave his life in reasonable service, to gain a spiritual inheritance that will last forever.

We all need to consider our daily situation in light of this Scripture...

Fork in the Road

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on you own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

We all face decisions each and every day! Some only require a minor course correction and we don't think much about them; for most can only produce a fender-bender if they go wrong. Yet others can influence and transform our very life from that point forward, having major impact on us for years to come. How do we determine which course correction represents a minor (a bump in the road) and which are major (catastrophic) path correction?

Any FORK IN THE ROAD represents some kind of choice: Do we continue on the same path we have been following all along, or do we take a different path? Maybe the new path will lead us somewhere that if not tried, we would not move forward...maybe it won't. It's hard to know before we try, but try we must. There's a risk involved in making a decision, and it can feel scary at times. The problem we face is whether or not we're willing to take a risk to make a difference.

Sometimes, there is an additional problem. It's not just that we are hesitant to follow a new path...we are not even aware that it exists. We do not see any fork in the road, but feel that we need a change. Yet, there is usually a fork, even when we're so blinded by our old ways of thinking that we simply can't see it. Making changes start with seeing the fork (a vision), thus looking outside our own capabilities for some kind of direction. As humans, we can analyze what and how to make a directional change, protect ourselves by putting together a portfolio of stock options as a "golden parachute", purchase land/houses, etc. that give us a sense of security for the future; but when it comes right down to it, a choice still needs to be made which way to go.

God never intended us to move down these paths unaware of the final outcome. Scripture offers us a multitude of road maps to navigate down life's highways. According to Proverbs 3:5-6...He only asks: Trust, Lean, and Acknowledge Him to insure that our paths are straight. O'yes, there will still be bumps in the road or an occasional fender-bender, but He is always there to help us up, to start again, and to keep moving forward.

For most Christian, the primary definition for moving forward, trusting His leading for life is the word FAITH. We don't really know what tomorrow brings, but isn't it conforming to know that our paths remain secure as we follow Him.

Just something to think about the next time your are facing a FORK IN THE ROAD.

Eternal Thinking

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.

Colossians 3:12-15a, NIV

If you are a Christian, you have a new perspective on life, because your life is eternal and transcends all the cares of this world. Even if you lose the battle of this life, you are on the winning side of a larger war! If this is true, your values will be governed by the long haul and not by immediate circumstances. You can relax about things in this life; after all, they are passing away, but you aren’t. You don’t need to get all worked up over them. You have the strength to be kind and compassionate in adversity. So if you find yourself living carnally, you need to go back and check your spiritual vision. If you are overly concerned with short-range things, you need to check your long-range vision. We all laugh at the foolish person who in the process of saving a dime squanders a dollar; let’s not be caught doing the same thing with our spirituality. If someone gets very upset in the course of playing Monopoly, we tell them that it is only a game…that life goes on. Likewise, we shouldn’t get worked up about life. Life will end, but eternity will go on! Therefore let us live with eternity in mind, and take the petty troubles of this life in stride.

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No on engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

2 Timothy 2:3-4

Delegation to Others

The road to leadership is paved with action—with doing. Leaders are characterized by doing what other people don’t want to do. They do what needs to be done when it needs to be done, even at the cost of personal accomplishments. While this is an invaluable trait, it can be taken to an extreme and become their biggest liability.

At some point they have to rely on other people to help them do what needs to be done simply because they are approaching “personal burning out”. Delegating is a skill; a skill that can benefit both a leader and those whom he or she leads, but it has to start with the leader.

Remember -- Never keep work simply because you can do it better. By delegating certain tasks to others, it is one of the best ways to develop your people so they can become responsible and produce their own leadership qualifications. Delegating allows people to learn by doing, to take risks, and to build confidence. Only do those tasks that nobody else can do. Determine what needs to be delegated.

A leader must look at what they do and ask themselves…is this really where they need to be spending their time? All routine activities and minor decisions should be delegated to others. Any task that could be performed through someone else in your absence is a good candidate for delegation. Finally, delegating is a means of increasing the effectiveness of your time. It allows you the freedom to focus on the big picture verses the tasks of each day.