Is My Sacrfice Living?

"Abraham build an altar... and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar... " (Genesis 22:9)

This event is a picture of the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our lives. Not - "Lord, I am ready to go with you... to death" (Luke 22:33). But - "I am willing to be identified with your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God."

We seem to think that God wants us to give up things. God purified Abraham from his error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tell us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. It is a matter of loosening the things that hold back our lives. These things are loosened immediately by identification with the death of Jesus. Then we enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him.

It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a "living sacrifice" - to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.

             (from "My Utmost for His Highest", by Oswarld Chambers)

Read Mark 6:35-44

"Taking the 5 loaves and the 2 fish, Jesus looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and he divided the two fish among them all." (Mark 6:41)

The author of today's devotion (from The Upper Room) wrote something like this. He recognized a wondrous truth from this passage. Only when the disciples began distributing the bread they had received were their meager resources multiplied; only then did a miracle happen.

The same is true for us. As 21st century disciples (or Christians) of Jesus, we are commissioned to take what is in our hands and use it to meet the needs of others. When we give what we have received from God - i.e. talents, financial resources, time - our gifts are multiplied to meet the needs of those in our communities, in our homes, in our schools, in our countries, and even to the ends of the earth.

Whether we are pastors, managers, counsellors, social workers, students, doctors, general workers, evangelists, or homemakers, God can use whatever is in our hands.

Are we willing to allow God to use us to meet the needs of others?

Prayer: Loving God, help us to be good stewards of the resources you have placed in our hands. Amen. 

20:24 我却不以性命为念，也不看为宝贵，只要行完我的路程，成就我从主耶稣所领受的职事，证明神恩惠的福音。

     保罗在离开以弗所教会的时候，给他们袒露自己的心声，就是对他自己的职分，他的使命分享给以弗所教会的弟兄姐妹。虽然很多人说保罗去耶路撒冷要遭受迫害，但是保罗还是坚持要去。因为他自己不以性命为念，而是看重他从耶稣所领受的任务，去传扬福音。保罗是一个传扬福音的人，他也把传扬福音看作了他人生最大的使命，那就是看万事为粪土，只以耶稣基督为至宝，他得到了这个至宝后，就领受使命，分享这个至宝，就是耶稣基督，就是福音。

    保罗的心声对于我们来说，好像是遥不可及，对我们太难了。更特别对于我们普通会友来说，会把保罗的这个心声看作是保罗对于那些牧者们说的，而不是对普通会友表达的。保罗的这句话其实不只是对牧者在说，而且对于我们每一个基督徒来说，保罗的心声也是我们的心声，我们虽然可能还没有这样的心愿，但是我们每一个人都有上帝给予我们人生的使命和价值，我们每一个人都从耶稣领受了我们自己的职分，或者工作人士，或是照顾家庭，职分本身不是能不能证明福音的约束，而是我们能够看到，其实在我们的生活中，不能什么职分都能证明耶稣的福音。透过我们的生活，我们的工作来证明耶稣基督的福音，而且我们也可以在我们的职分上主动透过我们的话语去分享耶稣的爱，耶稣基督的福音。让我们的生活成为分享，传达福音的生活，让保罗的心声成为我们的生命的心声，就是不再看重我们自己，而是把我们的生命转化成见证耶稣基督的生命，变成最有意义的生活。

诗篇84

诗人内心的目标很明确，就是要去到圣殿敬拜上帝。但是去到圣殿却是要经历许多的艰难和辛苦。

敬拜上帝也是我们每一个人人生之旅的目标，在生活中我们也会有很多的流泪谷，生活在每天中度过，忙忙碌碌，挫折和失败等等都是我们生活中必然会有的。但是我们如果心中向往锡安大道，就是向往着走在上帝给我们的道路上，我们有一个明确的生活目标，就是要敬拜上帝的话，这话就是上帝赐给我们的应许，那就是我们的流泪谷要变成泉源之地，满有上帝祝福，充满在我们的生活中，我们的生活也是充满力量的生活。

明确的目标，敬拜上帝。

有力的生活，上帝同在！

不再一样的生命！