Daily Devotion: What is a Living Sacrifice? | Tuesday

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The Paradox of a "Living Sacrifice"
The phrase "living sacrifice" is intentionally paradoxical. In the Old Testament, a sacrifice meant death. Paul introduces a radical concept: our offering to God is our life itself, presented alive on the altar. This means the death we experience is a daily death to self, self-will, and selfish desires. A dead sacrifice stays dead, but a living sacrifice has to choose to stay on the altar moment by moment. It's about redirecting our life—our time, energy, and resources—from our own agenda to God's purpose.

Reflection Questions

1. What does "dying to self" look like in your practical, day-to-day life? Name one specific desire or preference you need to surrender today.
2. If you are a "living sacrifice," you are still mobile. In what direction are your "feet" currently carrying you: toward self-gratification or toward service?
3. Think about the most precious "asset" you possess (time, talent, money, reputation). How can you place that asset on God's altar as a living offering?

Further Scripture

• Luke 9:23: "Then he said to them all: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.'"
• John 12:24: "Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed; but if it dies, it produces many seeds."

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