YOUR BODY FOR GOD

Philippines in May: I have been invited to join the teaching team to the Philippines Mindanao site from May 24th to June 3rd to teach the book of 2 Timothy and I have accepted this opportunity. This is the last of nine courses in the three year curriculum for this site. I have been to this site twice already and it will be encouraging to see these Pastors graduate. So please pray for me and for all that is required for this next trip. You can find more information at this link <https://trainingleadersinternational.org/short-term/260/philippines-mindanao-may-2018>

 In Romans 12.1, Paul exhorts all of us who profess to be saved (brothers, and this includes sisters also) to present our bodies to God. The verb "present" is in the aorist tense which means one past action with present ongoing consequences. As Christians we have in our confession that Jesus is our Lord already presented our bodies to God. We need to daily work out this offering that we have already made to God as part of our confession of faith in Jesus Christ.
We are no longer slaves to serve sin with our bodies but we are now enslaved to righteousness by the Grace of God (Romans 6.18). God bought all of us at the cross with his blood and this includes our bodies. One day we will get glorified bodies but for now we live in these mortal bodies so used to serving sin. But we are not to serve sin with these bodies but we are to serve God. We have no basis whatsoever to say we cannot serve God with our bodies and that they need to be satisfied with sin, even if only occasionally. The teaching of the New Testament is quite emphatic about the capacity God has given us to be holy and for our bodies to serve God. Our bodies include our mind, will and emotions. By walking with God in the Spirit we CAN present our bodies to God as a sacrifice of worship.

 We are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. Saying no to sin which the body loves so much, and yes to God, may feel as empty and painful as death itself, and it is death to the flesh. Presenting our bodies to God is a living sacrifice empowered by God. We are to present our bodies as holy to God and as an acceptable sacrifice to God.
This presentation of our bodies as a living sacrifice to God involves the transformation of our minds from thinking like the world, like the way we once thought, to thinking like God and applying God's truth to all our circumstances and relationships.
We worship God with our bodies by our words, actions, attitudes, thoughts, our clothes, what we watch, our social media, how we satisfy our desires, what occupies our minds, and how we use our time.
It seems to me that many Christians are not aware of how much the body is part of the process of becoming holy (sanctification). Romans 6 is worth a month's meditation on this subject.
My prayer is that I would become wholly holy by presenting my body to God as a living sacrifice.