ROMANS 12:1

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

TO PONDER

There was a college commencement speech given way back in 2005 that went viral by an award-winning secular author and professor, David Foster Wallace in which he made the point that everybody worships something. He said that worship is the default of humanity and the only choice we get is what we actually worship. 

As good Lutherans we perhaps feel we have already made that choice because we choose to attend worship every Sunday (unless we are busy) but what if I told you attending worship could be one of the least worshipful things you might do.

In today’s verse, Paul is strongly encouraging the church in Rome (and by extension us) to do more than attend worship weekly, or even daily if that was possible. After all, going to weekly worship is barely a sacrifice and probably, doesn’t change our every day, it often only alters our Sundays.

Paul was challenging God’s people to change our everyday, to live for Him daily, to sacrifice daily, to step out of the comfortable and live a life for Him that actually costs more than what is reasonable (and he wasn’t talking about the price of petrol).

Now, here is the “cheat-code” from today’s verse on how to worship God; live sacrificially for others, give your life for the needs of others, put others first, worship God by doing for the people around you what He has done for you, love and serve sacrificially those you interact with everyday.

Remember, the thing you give your everyday to, you give your time to, the thing you sacrifice for, this is what you worship.

PRAYER: Merciful God, I thank you for the love and mercy you have and continue to lavish on me, I do not deserve your grace, help my life become an act of worship as I offer it as a living sacrifice given for others. Amen. 

Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside