Giving Ourselves unto Whom We Belong

Years ago, a rock singer had a popular song that you sometimes may hear on the pop stations titled My Life. The singer repeatedly says that it is My Life and for other people to leave him alone. Nothing intrinsically wrong with not wanting people meddling in our affairs, but we need to realize that it is not our life, we are not our own, but we belong to the creator of all things. Even though we may never say or sing it is my life, it is very easy to have a this is my life mindset.



1^st Corinthians 6:19) What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

20) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

A Call to Action Due to the Price Paid

1^st Peter 1:13) Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

14) As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

15) But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

16) Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

17) And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

18) Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

19) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

20) Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

21) Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

22) Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

23) Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

In the first chapter of Peter’s first epistle verses 13-17, he encourages believers to prepare their minds and pin all their hopes on Jesus, whom we have received and one day will see face to face. He calls upon believers to be obedient children and forsake their former way of living prior to conversion. Separation to God who is so high above and all together separate than anything in this universe is encouraged by Peter, this separation is to spill over in all areas of life. Additionally, Peter admonishes believers to life their life in reverential fear of God, for He is also is a God of judgment.

Starting in verse 18, Peter gives the reasoning behind this radical holy way of living. He states the price that was paid to deliver us from a life of separation of God. The price paid was the blood of Christ, the perfect undefiled sacrifice to redeem us from our defiled lives. What a price was paid for our redemption, no wonder Paul stated that we were not our own but had been bought with a price.

It is obvious that the price we were bought with was far from ordinary. Apart from being the blood of the Son of God, which is of greater significance than mortal man can fathom, there are some noteworthy aspects of the price that was paid for our souls that should shape our way of thinking and ultimately living.

1) It was a perfect sacrifice. In verses 18-19 of 1^st Peter Chapter 1, Peter speaks of the perfection of the sacrifice. It was a complete, perfect price that God paid for you and me. God does not do things halfway, which means that we have been completely redeemed from our former way of living. That being the case, we ought to live like those who have been totally redeemed.

2) It was a sacrifice in eternity. In verse 20, in my opinion Peter is alluding to eternity before the world and in verse 23 eternity when the world as we know it is destroyed. It is a price that is outside of the continuum of time or of eternity rather. Because of the eternal aspects of the price paid, we should view and live life from an eternal perspective.



3) It is a life giving sacrifice. In verse 23 we see that the price that was paid caused us to be born again, to be given a new life that sprang up from the seed of Christ.

The first step in living our lives in the reality of who we truly belong to is to change our way of thinking. We have to continually remind ourselves of whose we are and the price paid. Instead of thinking about what I want to do, we need to meditate upon what God would have us to do. God has given us gifts, spiritual and natural for us to use for Him during the time of our pilgrimage here on earth, the question we need to be asking is; how does He want me to use those gifts for His glory and the kingdom of God?

　

Psalm 73

¹ Truly God is good to Israel,
To such as are pure in heart.
² But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
My steps had nearly slipped.
³ For I was envious of the boastful,
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴ For there are no pangs in their death,
But their strength is firm.
⁵ They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like other men.
⁶ Therefore pride serves as their necklace;
Violence covers them like a garment.
⁷ Their eyes bulge^[a] with abundance;
They have more than heart could wish.
⁸ They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression;
They speak loftily.
⁹ They set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue walks through the earth.

¹⁰ Therefore his people return here,
And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
¹¹ And they say, “How does God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
¹² Behold, these are the ungodly,
Who are always at ease;
They increase in riches.
¹³ Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain,
And washed my hands in innocence.
¹⁴ For all day long I have been plagued,
And chastened every morning.

¹⁵ If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.
¹⁶ When I thought how to understand this,
It was too painful for me—
¹⁷ Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their end.

¹⁸ Surely You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
¹⁹ Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
²⁰ As a dream when one awakes,
So, Lord, when You awake,
You shall despise their image.

²¹ Thus my heart was grieved,
And I was vexed in my mind.
²² I was so foolish and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
²³ Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
²⁴ You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
²⁶ My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

²⁷ For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish;
You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry.
²⁸ But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
That I may declare all Your works.

The Psalmist is really discouraged about how life appears at times. How that it seems that the wicked prosper and that there is no repercussions for their evil deeds. However, God gives him a wake-call and he sees the final end of the unrepentant. The psalmist is also reminded of what a treasure he himself has in God. With a renewed faith he declares, whom in heaven do I have but God and there in nothing on this planet that I desire but God.

What an awesome statement. If we could only have our hearts washed from the temporal trapping of this present world and have the healing balm of the Holy Spirit applied to our eyes, we could see that all that we could ever desire or ask for now and throughout eternity is found in our God.

Oh great God, may you free us from desiring the things of this world and turn our wayward hearts towards You. Amen

Death Can be Painful

Imagine being stretched out on two wooden beams laid crossways and having nails driven through your feet and hands to hold you to the beams. Now imagine the cross being stood upright with you nailed to it. If the pain of the nails being driven through your flesh is not enough, imagine trying to hold yourself up in order to breathe as your lungs fill up with fluid. Death by crucifixion is not something that most would choose, but Jesus willingly died this way for the sins of the world.

It is interesting that Jesus tells His followers that in order to follow Him they must take up their cross and follow Him daily. Make no mistake, the cross is a torturous means of execution and we must carry it everyday if we would be disciples of Christ. The flesh must be crucified and we must consent to its crucifixion.

Once I have agreed with God and consented about the death of the flesh by submitting to His will, the process begins. Any part of the soul that is rebelling against God must die. That part of the soul will hang on a cross of God’s choosing until it chooses to give up the ghost as Jesus did. The process is painful; the only freedom from the pain is death, choosing to let the flesh die, letting go and giving in to God.

When Jesus died the veil in the temple was tore in half by God, signifying that the way to God had been opened up for all humanity; so that all people could come right into the presence of God for themselves without the need for a priest. When we let go and choose to die, I believe we open avenues in our lives for people to come and know God.

Why as believers do we expect a pain free trek to Heaven? Following Jesus involves a being executed on a cross. The pain can be intense but the reward is out of this world.

Die Daily

Following Jesus requires the crucifixion of our flesh on a daily basis. Though we have died with Jesus, a daily crucifixion must take place of this flesh we live in. Paul contrasts being in the flesh and being in the Spirit in Romans 8. Even though we who have Christ are in the Spirit and not in the flesh, Paul speaks of putting to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit.

As followers of Jesus, we must put the death our sinful desires. The temptation to sin must be slaughtered by the Spirit of God.
As followers of Jesus, we must put to death our carnal way of thinking. We need to think with the mind of Christ that is within us through the Holy Spirit. We must view this life from God’s perspective.
As followers of Christ, we have to die to anything that competes with our love of the Lord.
As followers of Jesus, we must die to the rights to ourselves. If we are born again believers we are not our own, we have been bought with a price, the blood of Jesus.

Having a Vision

Do you have a vision for your life? Do you have a vision of God's will for your life? I believe it is imporatnt for us as believers to have a vision of His will for our lives. I feel that too often take God's will much to lightly and place too much emphasis on what we want to do. God is working in in His children, but how much more would He do if His children who He redeemed with the precious blood of Christ would only cooperate with Him. I wonder what would happen if God's people would accept their position of working together with God as His bond-servant. I believe we would see an awesome move of God in our lives and experience God as we never have before. Check out my latest on Associated Content A Vision of God's Will

Awesome Devotion

Oswald Chambers devotional for today is awesome. Check it out My Utmost for His Highest

Prayer

As believers what is the most important thing that we can do to make a difference? I believe the most important thing that believers need to be doing is praying. Without God's help we are helpless, without God's blessings on our lives we are hopeless, without the power of God's Spirit we are powerless, and without the guidance of the Holy Spirit we are clueless. Believers should seek God's help, His blessings, His power and His divine guidance. It is through the privilege of prayer that we seek these things. Seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened, ask and you shall receive.