OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL FOR SUNDAY 30TH JUNE 2019 – DON’T BE A DEAD SACRIFICE

MEMORY VERSE: Romans 12:1

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service”.

BIBLE TEXT: Judges 16:28-31 (KJV)

28. And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

29. And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

30. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

31. Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

Sacrifice is the act of surrendering a prized possession as an offering to God. In reality, it is the death or loss of the object that makes it a sacrifice. In this light, the use of the term “living sacrifice” in today’s memory verse seems like a contradiction, since an object of sacrifice should not remain alive.

However, the term “living sacrifice” is used in that verse with specific focus on our living bodies being presented as holy and accepted unto God. To this effect, (1 Corinthians 6:19) says:

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”

This verse says that our body is God’s temple. A temple is a holy place or a sacred building which has been set aside as a place of worship or consecrated as the house of God.

In the Old Testament, the tabernacle in the desert, the sanctuaries at Bethel and Shiloh, and the temple at Jerusalem were all temples of God in different forms. However, under the new covenant, the notion of God dwelling within us is fundamental to our faith. Our Lord clearly says in John 14:23:

“…if a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

For anyone who belongs to Christ indeed, God is saying that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You therefore need to handle it with all the care, holiness and sacredness it deserves, if it is to be acceptable to God as a dwelling place.

When I was a university lecturer some years ago, there was a young lady whose prayer was always “Lord use me for your glory.” Shunning interest in anything else, this was the only prayer consistent on her list. One day, she needed to use the toilet because she was seriously pressed, but as she opened the toilet one by one she discovered they were all messed up. As she left in annoyance, she heard God saying “I thought you wanted to use the toilet, what happened?” she responded that the toilet were all dirty.

To her shock, she heard the Lord saying the reason he has not used her, despite her numerous prayer was because she was dirty! Therefore, for anyone to be used of God as a living sacrifice, he or she must be clean in and out, and thoroughly furnished unto good works. God expected us to live in holiness and righteousness, while handling our bodies in sanctification and honour (1 Thessalonians 4:4).

PRAYER POINT:

Father, please help me to live the rest of my life as a living sacrifice to You, in Jesus’ Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Deuteronomy 5-6, Ezekiel 7:23-8:6

HYMNAL:
 Take my life, and let it be

1. Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

2. Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet, and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

3. Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.

4. Take my silver and my gold;
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose.

5. Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine:
Take my heart, it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne.

6. Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.