Text- Romans 12:1 – “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship” (ESV)
Before reading on in today’s devotional, I want you to picture yourself worshipping God. What do you see? Lifted hands, closed eyes, and a song in your mouth, right? Now, I want you to take another moment to think of an Idol worshipper. Again, what comes to your mind? A man singing with lifted hands and closed eyes? – I guess not!
You see, I just demonstrated to you that there is something wrong with the way many of us view Christian worship… we see it as an event, rather than a lifestyle, and as such have consigned it to a time of singing that is planned and programmed, or to a weekly activity of fellowship called Sunday worship service (these are truly components of worship, but they’re not all there is to worship).
Worship, in the real sense, isn't just an activity that takes place on Sundays, neither is it just about music; true worship is about glorifying God with our lives, it’s something that should happen everywhere, and at all times. True worship is what should ooze out of our lives 24 hours of the day!
Worship is evidenced in the principles that our lives subscribe to, in other words, how we live our lives daily. True Worship encompasses such things as our use of words, the songs we sing, our priorities, our boundaries, how we spend our time, how we use our resources, our allegiance, our thoughts... in fact, every area of our lives!
In our text, we see what Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans – Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. He says that our Spiritual service of worship should be:
1. A Living Sacrifice – This implies that we ought to completely and continuously give up our lives to God as an act of worship to Him as long as we live. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). God poured out the life of His Son, to die for our sins; in turn we must pour out our lives, to live for Him. That’s true worship!
2. A Holy Sacrifice –What thoughts come to your mind when you worship God – His greatness, His majesty, His wondrous works and so on, right? As described in Revelation 4:8, when they worship God in heaven, they do not say “Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!” “Powerful, Powerful, Powerful!” or “Glorious, Glorious, Glorious!” What they say is “Holy, Holy, Holy!” In effect, recognizing God’s absolute holiness and conforming to that standard of holiness is essential to true worship. That’s why the Psalmist wrote, “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness” (Psalm 29:2).
In conclusion, “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration” (John 4:23-24 MSG)
PRAYERS
1. Father, as I commit myself to live a life of worship starting today, grant me the grace to do so in Jesus Name.
2. Lord Jesus, help me to grow daily in my spiritual service of worship to you.
3. Holy Spirit, teach me to worship the Father in Spirit and in truth; to worship Him out of my very being in adoration.
Image Credit: uptown.apostles.nyc