Daily Devotional

Paul was not asking believers to be a sacrifice as a "by the way" comment. He was "beseeching" the church; he was begging you, by the mercies of God, to do this. There was sincerity in the words that he chose here. It was not a case of, "Oh, if you get a chance, get onto that altar." It was more, "My friend, I implore you. I need you to do this. I need you to present your body to God. Please. Pretty please. It has to be a living sacrifice. It has to be free of spot and blemish."

Oops. Did I just say, "free of spot and blemish?" Well, go back to the Old Testament sacrifices — no lamb could be presented to God unless it was free of spot and blemish. Hallelujah. God does not want your half-baked promises; He does not want only your left leg or your lips; He wants all of you. You cannot have one foot in the church and one foot in the world. Its all or nothing.

He does not want lukewarm Christians, or a dead church. He wants you to come to Him in your entirety — every bit of you needs to be placed on that altar. Are you that sacrifice, free of spot and blemish, which will put your life on the altar?

Now the Word says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But Jesus died on the cross, He was bruised for our iniquities, He was killed and every sin of yours was nailed to that cross. But you have a responsibility as a believer — you have to mature and grow the righteousness of Christ in you. You cannot go to that altar still smoking, or getting drunk on wine, or stealing, or still thinking about that abortion.

God has begun a good work in you and He is faithful to finish that work until the day of Jesus Christ. But we stop that work because of the power of sin in our lives and the little foxes in our vines that eat our fruit. Today, and every day, ask yourself, "Lord, is my life ready to be placed on that altar?"