“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)
Have you wondered about this Scripture? Have you wondered what it means to worship God … truly worship? Is it praising God in song? Is it praying? Is it serving others? Is worship studying the Bible? What does it mean to present our bodies to God and let them be a living and holy sacrifice? What is the way to worship God?
“True worship is a valuing or a treasuring of God above all things.”
John Piper
Our bodies enable us to reflect our values and treasures through words and actions.
Jesus Gave His Body
We just celebrated the Incarnation … God entering the world in flesh and blood … God entering the womb of a young virgin … God entering the world as a baby. The Word dwelling among men and women. The Son of God eating, walking, teaching, and living life with men, women, and children. God Incarnate. Jesus came to give His body so that we could enjoy life forever in His presence.
God sent His Son into the world as a man – fully man and fully God. He walked in this sin-filled world but lived a sinless life. Jesus ministered to and taught all who would follow Him.
Jesus gave His body as the Perfect Sacrifice to pay the price for our sins. Jesus died, but three days later, He rose from the dead. He offers us eternal life with Him.
Jesus offered His body to God as the Perfect Sacrifice that would bring life to all who would accept Him as their Savior.
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The Holy Spirit Gave Power
After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to many, including 500 at one time. Alone with His disciples, Jesus told His disciples that just as the Father had sent Him, He was sending them to share the Good News. He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” John 20:22.
After Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples were in the Upper Room, and the Holy Spirit filled them, and they shared the Good News with the crowd of people from Israel and other countries who were there in Jerusalem celebrating Pentecost. That day, about 3,000 accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, Acts 2:41. The Holy Spirit empowered the disciples to speak in the languages of all those who were in the crowd.
The Holy Spirit worked through the tongues of men, and God was honored. God was glorified. God was worshiped.
Our loving Creator formed our bodies and breathed life into them. Our bodies are intricately woven and wonderfully made. God’s thoughts about us are vast and outnumber the sands, Psalm 139.
But we walk in a sin-sullied world, and our bodies, like our minds, are sin-stained – until we give them to God.
A Living and Holy Sacrifice
We trusted God with our eternal lives when we accepted Jesus as our Savior. Some of us have dug into God’s Word and dealt with our spiritual lives through our own efforts. But have we dealt with our bodies and minds? What better time to do this than after we’ve spent weeks leading up to our Christmas celebrations meditating upon the coming of the Life-Giver?
“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)
The Holy Spirit lives in those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. He lives in us, teaches us, convicts us of our sins, comforts us, and much more, John 14:16, John 14:26, John 16:3, John 15:26.
We are new creations in Christ, the old has passed away, and the new life has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
When we give our bodies to God, the Holy Spirit transforms our minds so that we live in a way that is pleasing to God. We are God’s own precious possession.
Have you met a person and instantly knew that she was a Christian? Did you see the peace or joy in her that you wanted?
Our worship shines through our bodies.
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Let’s worship God with our bodies. Let’s allow Him to transform us and change the way we think. That transformation in thinking will directly influence how we act and others see us.
We give God our bodies as living and holy sacrifices … worship.
Lord, You are life and all we need. We lay down our bodies and minds as living sacrifices trusting You to transform us. Equip us to honor and glorify You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Reflections
- Prayerfully give your body to the Lord and ask Him to transform you.
- How are you worshipping God?
- What action will you take today?
2 responses to “The Way to Worship God”
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Thank you for the reblog. May your worship be sweet.