We Are to be Living Sacrifices by Ann Elaine Broughton

      

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God –this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1 NIV).

    We are presently in the season of Lent, for those Christians who follow this tradition. Many Christians give up something as a sacrifice to God during this time. I know people who give up chocolate, coffee, pop, goodies, watching television, etc. during this time as an act of self-denial to honor what Christ did on the cross for us. I don’t see anything wrong in this as we all could use some self-denial in our lives.

But to take it a step further would be even more of a sacrifice. Why not save the money you would spend on coffee, goodies, pop, etc. and give it to a charity or to the poor. I think that would be even more of blessing to you and to others, and it would truly help you to be a servant of God. That would be a true sacrificial act.

    God wants us to serve others and to show them His love by giving to others by acts of service or a donation of money. There are so many people who have needs. It is not enough for us to say, “I actually gave up chocolate for the whole period of Lent.” Just think how more wonderful it would be if you could say, “I gave a family a gift certificate at the grocery store for food with the money I saved from giving up chocolate during Lent.”

    You see God wants you to be a living sacrifice, which means you are to sacrifice yourself some way. Go out of your way to help others in a sacrificial attitude. As you see from the above verse that this is your spiritual act of worship. This is how you truly worship God. It is not by sitting around saying, “I love the Lord”, but it is doing something to show others His love. Even the demons believe in God, “You believe that there is one God, Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder” (James 2:19 NIV). Paul goes on to say, “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone” (James 2:24 NIV).

    So if you are giving up something for Lent, also do something sacrificial and give something to others. Then God will truly be pleased. If you don’t give up something for Lent, then I urge you still to help someone as a sacrificial act of worship. You will be blessed and you will bless others.

    Dear Lord,

I know that just giving up something for Lent is not enough of a sacrifice to you. I know that I must be a living sacrifice every day of my life so that my life will portray the kind of love Jesus showed us when He willingly gave His life for me.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

The Lord Your God is With You: a devotion by Ann Elaine Broughton

“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” Zephaniah 3:17

    What a wonderful verse of hope this is to everyone. It is easy to forget sometimes that God is ready and available to us when we are feeling the pressures of everyday life. He is just a prayer away and ready to quiet you with His love and peace. It is amazing how we rush through life frantically doing what we do so much that we forget who is following us around waiting to quiet us with His love. Try to imagine Jesus standing near you with His arms open wide gently whispering, “Dear one, please fall into my arms and let me give you peace.”

     It must be frustrating to Him as we busily go our ways building up tension within us, not even taking time to be quiet and alone with Him. There He is patiently waiting to help us. Maybe it is time to rest in His arms and take a break. Maybe life has been getting you down with worries, problems, and heartache. He is there for you and He takes great delight in you. Isn’t that wonderful?

   

I would certainly want to take time to be with someone who delights in me, who wants to quiet me with His love and sing over me.  Isn’t it wonderful to think of Jesus holding you in His arms and singing to you? It reminds me of a picture of a father holding someone he loves. Imagine yourself in His arms and His wonderful loving gaze fixed on your eyes. He wants this time with you. It is up to you to take time and be still so He can quiet your soul.

Dear Lord,

Help us this week to seek you in the quietness of your love. We know that you delight in us and want us to have peace. Help us to picture your wonderful arms around us. Give us peace and comfort us with your singing.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

God’s Mercy Is For You by Ann Elaine Broughton

 “The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made” (Psalm 145:9 ESV).

    Have you experienced mercy? It is a wonderful feeling to be forgiven. God shows mercy to us all the time. We are human and make mistakes and if we repent God is so very gracious that he forgives us. As far as the East is from the West, he forgives us of our sins. (Psalm 103:12) Isn’t that so wonderful? I am totally amazed at His love for us, that He is willing to forgive us when we sin and fall on our faces. He is always there to pick us back up and tell us that He still loves us.

    I would like to compare His mercy to that of a mother. Being a mother, I had to discipline my sons many times as they grew up. When they disobeyed there were consequences, but I never stopped loving them. I might have been very mad about what they did, but that did not stop me from loving them. I forgave them and gave them a second chance.

    God does the same thing for us. He knows we are not perfect and that we will make mistakes. The key to it all is that we must confess our sins and be truly repentant about it. This is something that you can’t be flippant about. You are talking to God here. It is imperative that you truly try not to do that sin again. This can be accomplished by praying, reading the Bible, and relying on the Holy Spirit to guide you. 

Dear Lord,

You know that I am not perfect and that I have sinned. Please forgive me and help me to be strong with your strength so I won’t give in to that temptation again. Thank you for your wonderful mercy and grace.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

Let Your Life Reflect God’s Love by Ann Elaine Broughton

 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NIV).

    So are you filled with joy and peace at this moment? It is available to you. The key word here is trust. You must trust God in order to feel this peace. I believe you are what you think. It is very easy to let your negative thoughts get the upper hand in your life so that your joy and peace is squelched. You have control of what you think. Thoughts about your weight, your outward appearance, and your lack of self-esteem can only bring you to a place of defeat. Satan loves to use these thoughts to cause you to feel helpless and inadequate. You are so much more than your outward appearance. God has given you a personality and when it is under His control it can be used to glorify Him in beautiful ways. It has nothing to do with how you look, but everything to do with who you are on the inside.

   One time I was at a teacher’s seminar and a lady came up to me and asked me if I was a Christian. I said, “Yes, what made you ask me that.” She told me that she could tell by the glow in my face, my smile, and the way I talked and behaved. Wow, that was an awe inspiring moment for me. I had no idea that I had an aura of God about me. Isn’t that so wonderful? You can have it too. It is found by surrendering all you are to the Lord.

    Is your life totally surrendered to the Lord? Does His love shine from your eyes? Do the words you speak cause others to be uplifted and happy? Christ is in you and don’t you ever forget that. His power is there to overcome bad thoughts. But you must surrender all those bad thoughts in order to find the joy and peace that is awaiting those who trust in God. Please do it so that you can overflow with hope. The Holy Spirit can help you with this also. Don’t allow those bad thoughts to rule your life any longer. You are a child of the King and your inheritance lies in Heaven with Jesus Christ.

Dear Lord,

I surrender to you all the bad thoughts I have about myself. I know that your presence envelops me and that I can have that joy and peace that only you can give.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen