June 18th

June 18th   

Jesus paid it all. His sacrifice on the cross was it. The cross was the final altar of sacrifice. No more fattened calves, rams, sheep or other animals needed to sacrifice as payment for sins. Jesus did it and even said, “It is finished.”

John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

So that is the end of dead sacrifices, which means that you and I don’t have to physically die to pay for our sins. Remember the consequence of sin is death, eternal death. But because Jesus paid it all for us, we are not destined to physically die for our sins. No more dead sacrifices.

Now we are in the era of LIVING sacrifices.

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.

We owe Him everything so we set aside our own plans and desires and take on His life. We do this because we owe him everything, because we are grateful for the rescue, because we have everything to be thankful for everyday. We do this because really we are not our own, we were bought with a price. That price was Jesus’ life!

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

We do this daily because that is what it takes on our end to keep in step with Him. Our human hearts stray easily so we continuously have to realign ourselves with the “altar” before Him.

Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

The consequence of this choice to be a living sacrifice is a transformed life that is more full than anything we could muster on our own, and an eternal inheritance that will blow our mind.

Jesus, thank you for being the final sacrifice for sin. Thank you for choosing that path so that I would not have to take it. Help me to choose the path to follow you and be a living sacrifice for you. Forgive me for grumbling about “sacrifices” that I make and help me to remember your sacrifice so that I am not like that. Thank you for loving me that much Jesus.