February 9

Romans 12:1 says that Christians are to offer themselves to the purposes of the Lord. Our offering is to be so complete as to be counted as a sacrifice of ourselves. We are not to literally be slain for Him as were the animal sacrifices of old. The Word tells us in this passage that we are to be “living sacrifices.”

We are to be totally alive to Christ. In other words, we are to die to the things within ourselves that stand between us and Him—that’s the sacrifice! We empty ourselves of self that we may fill ourselves with Jesus. How do we advantage ourselves by doing that?

In essence, the advantage is both eternal and temporal. We know that when we own Jesus as our Savior and Lord we are the recipients of all to which He’s heir. We gain His Spirit, His truth, His love, His power and we become vessels in His hand by whom He may scatter seeds of His Kingdom throughout the sphere of our influence.

And beyond that, we know that as we “give, it shall be given to us, pressed down, shaken together and running over” will He pour into our lives of all that is His. We know that as we measure our love and service to His Kingdom, He will measure His blessings upon us. Commensurate with our own willingness to give of Him to others, He will give of Himself to us.