BURNING BODIES: DON’T CRAWL OFF – STAY!

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to GOD because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”

Romans 12:1 NLT (New Living Translation)

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“Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.”

Romans 12:1 TPT (The Passion Translation)

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When I read this verse (which I have read so many times) I got struck with the part of the verse that states we should give our bodies as “a living and holy sacrifice,” or, as The Passion Translation puts it, “sacred, living sacrifices.” So, I went digging.

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First, this verse says we should give our bodies; the King James Version (KJV) says to present our bodies. We are the ones bringing our bodies. We are stepping forward to the FATHER, offering our bodies. We are making that decision; it is on me, not on anyone, but on me.

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Second, does the LORD mean our physical bodies or our spiritual bodies? Saints, the translation here is physical body! Your physical body, my physical body.

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Third, living. GOD does not want a sacrificial offering that is dead. Even the animals that were brought to the temple were alive.

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Fourth, holy. We need to be a sacrifice that is without blemish. Sacred.

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Fifth, sacrifice. We are to be an offering.

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Saints, try to wrap your minds around this. My physical body needs to be offered to GOD…. Let's talk about FIRE!! We are alive but should always be burning. We don’t want a strange fire burning us but the FIRE of Holy Spirit.

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Another thing about being living sacrifices is that we have the ability to say, “No more burning.” As opposed to regular sacrifices that are killed and then burned, we are burned ALIVE! We can also crawl off the altar if we feel the heat is too intense.

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The LORD is interested in our choice. Do we choose to stay even if it costs us all, or do we choose to go back to being comfortable?

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Prayer

Here is my body, LORD. It is cleansed in the Blood of JESUS. Burn my body, FIRE of GOD. Burn me of fleshly desires. I want the flames from HOLY SPIRIT, not strange fire. Amen.

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The second part of this verse says that this should be a sacrifice the LORD finds pleasing.  “A sacrifice the LORD finds pleasing” took me to Genesis 8:21.

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“And the LORD was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, ‘I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things.’” Genesis 8:21 NLT‍

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The LORD was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice. The smell of the sacrifice was so good that GOD made a promise. When GOD smells our sacrifice, what does HE say to HIMSELF?

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Do you know JESUS loves smells?

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“The king is lying on his couch, enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume.” Song of Solomon 1:12 NLT

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This is why GOD was able to make such a promise to Noah after the flood.  The LORD was enchanted by the smell of the sacrifice; the Hebrew Bible says it was a soothing aroma.

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Prayer

May our sacrifices enchant JEHOVAH, and may these sacrifices move HIM to make promises to HIMSELF on our behalf, in JESUS’ Name. May our sacrifices produce a soothing aroma to the nostrils of YAHWEH. Amen!

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