The greatest gift you can...
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The greatest gift you can give God is yourself. Give yourself to him even if you become a sacrifice. Don't let anything stand in the way of our service for our God. We don't succeed in this once and for all. That is why we come to church every Sunday to offer ourselves over to our God. That is the kind of worship that pleases him. Don't hold back anything that might stand in the way of giving yourself. Jesus even told us that he should come before the love of our family.
To be transformed is something that should be visible to our family and friends. It does not mean that we have to act like a fundamentalist nut, but the love of our God should show through us. It goes against everything in our being to think of God more highly than we think of ourselves. Let the faith God has given us change us for his benefit. That can take a lifetime, so don't give up! Do it not to earn your salvation, but because God has sacrificed himself for your salvation and all we have to do is receive it and by what we do, show how thankful we are for his gift.
I like that illustration of all of us being part of a body. Think of an orchestra with all its instruments. Each plays a different part but all are essential. Maybe the conductor is your pastor. Maybe some of you will be "solo" instruments who may receive more praise. Each one of you has a talent to give, so think what it can mean if we are not part of a body. Some are legs that lead us around to do God's will and some are eyes that see where God is leading and some are mouths that speak his message to be a blessing to his people. The list goes on. We need to ask the pastor or others what part we are.
If your main talent is making money, then God gave you that talent so you could give to those in need, not just so you can live in luxury! What is your talent? Use it for the "body"!
To be transformed is something that should be visible to our family and friends. It does not mean that we have to act like a fundamentalist nut, but the love of our God should show through us. It goes against everything in our being to think of God more highly than we think of ourselves. Let the faith God has given us change us for his benefit. That can take a lifetime, so don't give up! Do it not to earn your salvation, but because God has sacrificed himself for your salvation and all we have to do is receive it and by what we do, show how thankful we are for his gift.
I like that illustration of all of us being part of a body. Think of an orchestra with all its instruments. Each plays a different part but all are essential. Maybe the conductor is your pastor. Maybe some of you will be "solo" instruments who may receive more praise. Each one of you has a talent to give, so think what it can mean if we are not part of a body. Some are legs that lead us around to do God's will and some are eyes that see where God is leading and some are mouths that speak his message to be a blessing to his people. The list goes on. We need to ask the pastor or others what part we are.
If your main talent is making money, then God gave you that talent so you could give to those in need, not just so you can live in luxury! What is your talent? Use it for the "body"!
