A Priest and A Sacrifice <> 1 Peter 2:4-5

A Priest and A Sacrifice                                

1 Peter 2:4-5

“Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4-5 NKJV).

In my last post, the focus was verse 4, identifying us as living stones in God’s Kingdom. Today we’ll focus on verse 5.

As living stones in God’s house, we are consecrated by Christ’s blood as holy

priests (Revelation 5:9-10), to offer up sacrifices acceptable to God. This brings us to Paul’s letter to the Romans, which says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2 NKJV).          

Paul declared that we are to give our bodies as living sacrifices in service to God and proceeds to explain how this can be accomplished. After all, it’s a big deal—a big commitment—a big sacrifice for a person to give his or her whole self away. 

 

In verse 2 he explains how we can actually make it happen.

1- Do not be conformed to this world. We must not allow the ways of the world to influence and shape us.

2- Instead, we each must be transformed into God’s design for us. When we got born-again we made a choice to follow Christ Jesus. God has a great life-plan for each of us. With the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit He wants to direct our paths and mold us into His own creations. It’s our choice whether or not to let Him have His way.

3- The transformation God wants for each of us can only come about through the renewing of our minds. No matter how good a person is or thinks he or she is, we each must know this: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways declared the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8 NKJV).

How can we renew our minds? The best place to begin this process is with prayer, asking God to help. Also, reading, meditating on, and systematic study of God’s Word, the Bible. We need to continue to stay connected to God on a daily basis. Renewing our minds continuously helps keep the pipeline to the Throne Room unclogged with the cares of this world and distractions and traps Satan will try to throw our way.

When praying, we can ask God to help us stay focused on Him and His Word. Daily quality time in God’s Word is vital. This is not just reading a devotional. There is certainly a place for meaningful devotionals but real devotion to getting to know the Living God and His Son—our Savior—Jesus Christ is essential to renewing our minds. We want to mature into followers of Christ who are Christ-like (1 Corinthians 11:1) and who have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

4- So that we “may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2c). Paul concludes this thought with the important concept of proving out—that is discerning—God’s will is good for us; that it is acceptable according to God for our benefit; and that it is perfect and complete in facilitating the abundant life God desires and has ordained for each of us.

The word prove in Scripture means to test, discern, examine, try out, (Strong’s* #1381). Thayer** describes prove as putting to the proof. As we walk out God’s calling, according to the transformation we’ve experienced through our renewed minds, we will prove that God’s will for us is indeed good, acceptable, to Him and perfect for our individual well-being.

So, we’ve learned from Romans 11 what it means to offer up an acceptable spiritual sacrifice to God through Jesus Christ. Notice that both Paul and Peter stress that it is through Jesus Christ we approach God with these sacrifices. Christ is our Mediator, through which our transformation and the knowledge of God’s will takes place.

Only through Jesus.

When we receive Jesus as our Savior—get born-again—God then bestows upon us the right and privilege of having Jesus stand in the gap for us. Through His crucifixion, some 2000 years ago, He took the punishment we deserved for our sin. He became our Mediator—the One who settled-up with Father God on our behalf. He continues to stand in the gap and we need to be mindful of that truth every day of our lives.

What are examples of acceptable sacrifices we offer up to God? Here are some practical examples: 1- Praise—glorifying God with our lips in awe and gratitude.  2- My self—like my thought life, my eyes (what I look at), my feet (where they take me), my hands (what they do and touch), and my talents. We could go on and on. 3- My time. 4- My finances. 5- My love and affections to God and other people.

With knowledge of God and His Word, along with help from the Holy Spirit we can offer up pleasing sacrifices which are welcome and acceptable to God.

Let’s pray. Holy Father, thank you for choosing me to be a living stone in your Kingdom. I do want to sacrifice to You pleasing things and I want to be a living sacrifice, Honoring Your sacrifice for me. Thank You for showing me and helping me glorify You with my life in this way. Through Jesus and in the glorious name of Jesus I pray—Amen.

Your comments are welcome.

©Copyright 2018 Connie Wohlford

Fill Your New Year With Optimism - Seven Strategies to Attain Optimism—Part 2

Fill Your New Year With Optimism

Seven Strategies to Attain Optimism—Part 2

Our general outlook plays a large role in the manner in which we step into each moment of every day, either leaning toward pessimism or optimism. Various factors influence our leaning, over which many we can have control. 

In my last post, we looked at the first three of the Seven Strategies to Attain Optimism: 1- Let go of the past. 2- Avoid getting hung up on a negative thing or situation. 3- Remember that, for everyone, life has ups and downs. 

Today we’ll consider the next two:

4-  Watch your mouth.

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never harm me.” ─NOT SO!

Have you ever been hurt by words? I certainly have.

A psychotherapist may tell us we have control over our feelings and reactions to words spoken to us. There is some truth there, but tell that to the person who has just heard their spouse say, “I don’t love you anymore. I want a divorce.”

Words can uplift or drag down. They can shed light or confuse; bring stability or knock you on your face; fill you with joy or punch you in the gut.

An article in PsychologyToday.com, titled, “The Most Dangerous Word in the World,” says there’s a word that can literally do damage in a person’s brain. During a brain scan doctors can detect stress-producing hormones and neurotransmitters when a certain word is flashed for less than one second. “These chemicals immediately interrupt the normal functioning of your brain, impairing logic, reason, language processing, and communication.” *

What is that word? It’s “no.”

The article further says that negative words can make an anxious or depressed person feel worse and can affect sleep, appetite and one’s “ability to experience long-term happiness and satisfaction.” *

But we don’t need phycology professionals to enlighten us in this area. God’s Word teaches us much the same thing.

“A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit” (Proverbs 15:4 NKJV).

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones” (Proverbs 16:24).

We must continuously be mindful of our words, whether it be self-talk or directed to others. So much has been taught and written on this subject, we have to wonder why the tongue is still so hard to tame.

James, the brother of Jesus, gives powerful guidance, stating “no man can tame the tongue” and it is “full of deadly poison.” (James 3:1, 12)

We need to ask and rely on the Holy Spirit to help us maintain control over our words on a minute by minute basis. Let’s pray with the psalmist: “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3).

“I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise will be in my mouth continuously” (Psalm 34:1 NSV).

Pinterest Photo

Mindfulness in our speech can help attain optimism in ourselves and those with whom we come in contact. When we do so, we honor God and build up ourselves and others.

*  https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/words-can-change-your-brain/201208/the-most-dangerous-word-in-the-world

    5-  Practice Gratitude

“The struggle ends when gratitude begins.” –Neale Douglas Walsh

Let’s chew on that quote for a couple minutes.

photo by Connie Wohlford

Gratitude will cause optimism to rise up in the spirit of a person. Right now, stop and think of five things for which you’re thankful. Did you know that as you meditate on these things, the production of dopamine and serotonin increases and has a positive effect on your brain?  

Scientific studies show that we literally receive a boost in feelings of well-being as a result of gratitude. Many studies have been performed and articles written about this phenomenon.

There’s no lack of things to be thankful for as followers of Christ and the Bible is full of passages reflecting this truth. If you have much experience in Bible reading and church attendance you can probably bring several to mind without much effort.

The psalms especially extol the glories of the Lord and reasons to be thankful to Him. Thankfulness is an important aspect of worship. As we read through Psalms, we see that praise, worship, and thanksgiving are three pillars in acknowledging God and relating to Him.

Psalm 100 is one of my favorites, especially verses 4 and 5: “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures forever to all generations” (NKJV).

In addition to being grateful to God, we need to express gratitude to other people. Any expression of thanks is welcomed by most people. Knowing how we feel when someone expresses gratitude to us, we should liberally convey thanks to others whenever possible. This is one way we can encourage optimism in others while receiving benefits ourselves.

Thanksgiving leads to contentment even when circumstances of life are less than desirable. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV).

A contented person is a grateful person                  and a grateful person is a contented person.

So, let’s take heart as we meditate on the above Scripture Passages and these forth and fifth of the Seven Strategies to Attain Optimism. Be assured that God wants us to live joy-filled lives, unhindered by pessimistic thoughts and anxieties.

Please check back in a few days to learn more of the strategies. May God richly bless you in your own pathway to attaining Christ-ordained optimism.

Your comments are welcome.

©Copyright 2018 Connie Wohlford