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.
Romans 12:1 (NIV)Then Jesus said to his disciples, If anyone wants to follow after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life, it will be lost, but if you give up your life for my sake, you will find true life.
Matthew 16:24-25 (NCV)Worship Is Not Something You Attend
If you think worship happens primarily in a church building on a Sunday morning with music playing and lights dimmed, you have missed the most important thing Scripture says about worship.
Romans 12:1 is the most specific definition of worship in the New Testament. And notice what Paul does not say. He does not say, Sing a song. He does not say, Raise your hands. He does not say, Close your eyes and feel something. He says, Offer your bodies. As a living sacrifice.
Your body. Not your voice. Not your emotions. Your life. The way you spend your time. The way you use your money. The way you treat your family. The way you do your work. The way you handles your pain. The way you respond to your enemies. That is worship.
The Daily Decision
Worship is not a decision you make once. It is a decision you make every day, multiple times a day. It is the choice to do what you have been asked to do, even when you do not want to. It is the choice to stay when you want to leave. It is the choice to give when you want to hold on. It is the choice to forgive when you want to hold a grudge.
Every act of obedience is an act of worship. Every act of faith is an act of worship. Every time you choose Kingdom over comfort, you are laying your life on the altar. Every time you choose truth over convenience, you are making yourself a living sacrifice.
And this is what the church has forgotten. We have reduced worship to a Sunday morning experience when it is supposed to be a Monday through Saturday lifestyle.
Evidenced on Monday
True worship is evidenced more clearly on Monday than on Sunday. How you treat your coworkers, your spouse, your children, the stranger on the street. That is worship. How you handle your finances. How you spend your time. How you use your gift. That is worship.
Anyone can sing on Sunday. It takes a worshiper to obey on Monday.
Worship in Your Work
Today, do your work as an act of worship. Whatever your work is today, do it as though you are doing it for the Lord. Let your Monday be an act of worship.
- What does it mean to offer your body as a living sacrifice in your daily life?
- How is your Monday different from your Sunday? Should it be?
- What is one area of your life that does not look like worship?
- What would it look like to make every day a worship day?
- Is there somewhere you have been holding back from God?
- What would it look like to offer that area as worship?
- How can your work today be an act of worship?
Father, I have reduced worship to something I do on Sunday morning. But You are asking for more. You are asking for my life.
Today I offer my body as a living sacrifice. Not just my voice. Not just my emotions. My life. My time. My work. My relationships. All of it.
Teach me to worship with my whole life, not just my Sunday. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Tomorrow we are going to talk about the hardest day: when God rejects worship. Isaiah 1, Amos 5, and what happens when God says no to the worship we bring.
With honesty and hope,
Claire