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LastCallDigest: Worship: Offering Yourself to God - Daily Hope -Rick Warren

Friday, January 08, 2010

So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Romans 12:1-2 (TEV)

Offering yourself to God is what worship is all about.

This act of personal surrender is called many things: consecration, making Jesus Lord, taking up your cross, dying to self, yielding to the Spirit.

What matters is that you do it, not what you call it. God wants your life. All of it -- 95% is not enough.

Our total surrender to God is blocked by several things, including -

  • Our ignorance of God - not knowing what he's really like.
  • Our sinful nature - the desire to be God ourselves, and
  • Our misunderstanding of surrender and the trust that it requires.

Can We Trust God?
Trust is an essential ingredient to surrender. We won't surrender to God unless we trust Him, but we can't trust Him until we know Him better. Fear keeps us from surrendering, but love casts out all fear. The more you realize how much God loves you, the easier surrender becomes.

How do I know God loves me? He gives us many evidences:

  • God says he loves you (Psalm 145:9);
  • You're never out of his sight (Ps. 139:3);
  • He cares about every detail of your life (Matt. 10:30);
  • He gave you the capacity to enjoy all kinds of pleasure (1 Tim. 6:17b);
  • He has good plans for your life (Jer. 29:11);
  • He forgives you (Ps. 86:5);
  • He's patient with you (Ps. 145:8);
  • He sacrificed his Son for you (Rom. 5:8).

God loves you infinitely more than you can imagine -

Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1, HCSB)

If you want to know how much you matter to God, look at Christ with his arms outstretched on the cross saying, "I love you this much! I'd rather die than live without you."

God is not a cruel slave driver, or a bully who uses brute force to coerce us into submission. He doesn't try to break our will, but woos us to himself, so that we might offer it freely to him. God is a Lover and a Liberator, and surrendering brings freedom, not bondage.

When we completely surrender ourselves to Jesus, we discover that he is not a tyrant but a savior; not a boss, but a brother; not a dictator, but a friend.

Live the Truth
Go from knowing the truth to living the truth
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This material was brought to you by Broadcast(B.C.)Christianity. Last Call Digest, is a ministry of Michael James Stone, volunteers, and people dedicated to the Love of God and Salvation of Souls. It is an aggragate of Christian Material selected to Bless you and Prepare you for each and every day you read them. May God Bless You as You Do!! Reading these Devotions will help you to prepare daily for life, living, and your Lord. You will hear God Speak To You thru them.  Jesus  is Coming Very Soon.

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