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Chapter 1- Scraps of Turkey

Its funny whenever I'm doing my normal "business" through the day, then decide that I should sacrifice some time to God. So I go into my room, shut the door, and spend 10 minutes of my time reading the scriptures, then continue living the selfish way that I desire to live, not taking in anything I just read. We sometimes tend to think that God is satisfied with the little scraps we give  him from our big turkey feast. Giving God 10 minutes of fully committed time to read His word is still honorable to God. It is what we do afterwards that sometimes gets messed up. James 1: 22-24,

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in the mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he looks like."

God doesn't desire a sacrifice of reading His word 24/7, here's what He desires in Micah 6:8,

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?"

Matthew 9:13,

"Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.."

            God doesn't want your scrap of time, he wants YOU. He wants you to be transformed by the Word of God, to prepare for good works, as Ephesians 2:10 says. He wants your life to be used as a tool to be merciful, to love others, to preach the gospel to others. Look at the apostles! They didn't stay indoors reading scripture 24/7, they were out preaching, healing and helping! I'm not saying that you shouldn't read scripture, but I'm saying that what you read in your Bible should be carried out! You get your daily energy from God's word, which should inspire your life to become a sacrifice to God! Romans 12:1 says,

            "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as the living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

            We live in the light, living in love (1 Corinthians 13,) spreading the gospel, living in humility. When we sacrifice our self to God and start living these ways, our attitude for God changes us, driving us further to read God's word! The further we read His word, the more energy God freely gives us to live for Him even more! Once we get into this cycle, its one tough fire to burn out!

    Now you may think that I imply we must spend every second of our lives doing "Holy Things." That is not what I'm saying. Because you and I have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, we are forgiven, and Holy (set apart from sin). We are living by faith in Him, who gives us life. Yes, reading God's Word, helping others, serving others, and praying is all beautiful works of piety God commands us to do, but we obviously can't spend 24/7 doing that. But, what we can do is take heart, knowing that Christ spent every one of His seconds on earth for us, to redeem us, to set us apart from sin, death, and the devil.

So, how do we sacrifice ourselves to God? Well, to start off, it's by realizing that Christ Sacrificed Himself for us. He died on the accursed tree, taking the punishment that you and I deserve. He gives unto us His gifts of mercy and grace, which we receive by faith. When we hear the Word of God proclaimed, our faith is strengthened (Romans 10:17) and our will begins to change to His will. Our life begins to be transformed, not by what we do, but by what Christ has done for us. This transformation of our lives gives us the desire to do what Christ wants, not in the sense of paying God back for what He's done, but simply living in joy as a response to what God's done.